Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

I thought this one was pretty good too:

http://i.imgur.com/PX3IuT8.jpg

Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

Dammit! When people said something about Mastodon in the episode, I was expecting something like the image on the Left side of the picture below, not like the image on the Right side!

http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/o...psi4kll8hd.jpg

Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

Still reeling from this episode this morning. It was just too good.

I was thinking, they've been making a big deal about Olly's objections to Jon's plan. Anyone else think he's going to do something stupid that fucks shit up in a big way before the season ends? Even speaking with Sam this episode he appears to remain unconvinced.

Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

They just released the episode title of episode 10 'Mother's Mercy'

Interesting..

Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

where the hell is Varys? we haven't seen him since Jorah nabbed Tyrion, right?

Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

Valyrian steel.

Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

Valyrian steel, you guys. Valyrian Steel.

Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

But seriously, I probably would have been asking what was up with that if they hadn't included a line about it in the "previously on."

Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

Yep still hanging in the brothel in Volantis waiting for Tyrion to finish taking a wizz

Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

I don't understand how her kids managed to escape from the boat and were killed so quickly and raised from the dead before attacking and killer her. Too bad she didn't have the heart to defend herself and just wanted to give up and join them.

Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

So what happened to the White Walker's clothing when Jon Snow sliced him? He just seemed to disintegrate into ice including his outfit. Are his clothes made of ice too? Or is it just magic that I shouldn't concern myself with?

Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

Yeah, what happened to Varys? The last time we saw him was way back in episode 3 and so much has happened since then. (That was the same episode when we 1st met the High Sparrow as he was barefoot and feeding the poor so, yeah, quite a long time ago season-wise.)

I hope Varys shows up in Meereen before the season ends. Already the Daenerys storyline got substantially better with the addition of Tyrion as her new advisor. Adding Varys to the mix would make it even better.

Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

When the White Walker king took that baby from Caster's Keep and touched him, did he turn him into a White Walker or a wraith? Because I assumed he became a White Walker when his eyes started to glow, but now that I saw all those wildlings turn to Zombies with blue glowing eyes, I'm not sure any more.

Also speaking of characters who exited stage left, what happened to Ned's brother from Season One? Have we ever seen (or heard from) him after he left the Wall?

Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

No, he's still missing in the books as well

Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

My assumption was that her kids were safe and the wights were some of the other wildling children who weren't so lucky. Being a mother, and likely knowing all of those kids, she couldn't bring herself to fight them.

Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

I don't think those were her children.

Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

My understanding: wights are the reanimated undead soldiers of the White Walkers. Wights are slave zombies. One of the dead Rangers reanimated as a wight in Castle Black several seasons ago and there was some discussion at that time about what it was. Wights can also be animals and giants, as other have pointed out. The horses the White Walkers ride are horse wights.

The baby from Craster's Keep was not dead. The baby became a White Walker through some sort of elaborate magic that has not been explained. Apparently White Walkers are made from human babies.

BTW, none of this is explained in the books at all. In fact the show has already gone much further with the White Walkers than the books. We're all speculating about how the White Walkers actually work.

Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

I thought that this was pretty flimsy and even sexist.

Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

Why? I bet plenty of men would struggle with it as well.

Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

Likely true, but the fact that she just let zombiefied kids eat her after being such a badass all episode very mildly bothered me. Maybe I'm too sensitive

Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

I thought it had more to do with how hopeless the situation was, and she decided she could no longer fight this tidal wave of death. Every person has a breaking point.

Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

I think they were the relatives she said were dead possibly.

I think part of the reason this episode was so effective was that at least for me I had no idea there would be this big battle and then it kept growing anf growing. The cinematography and art design were phenomenal and it was truly cinematic in scope. I was actually awed and that almost never happens.

Cannot wait to see the Frost spiders.

Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

I think the biggest surprise of this battle was that it's in episode 8 instead of episode 9 of the season. I didn't see that coming.

Although I liked the battle scene, I don't think I liked it as much as other people did. The lead up to it was too long, such as with the female wilding leader taking soooo long to put her kids in a boat that it completely telegraphed that she was about to die.

And a lot of the battle looked to me like a "Zombies vs. Vikings" version of World War Z and didn't seem remotely like Game of Thrones at all. (Personally, I think the "Battle at Castle Black" last season was a superior battle scene in the show.)

Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

I'll echo this. For some reason, not keeping track of the episodes, I thought they'd cut away after we saw what was coming and we'd get this grand battle next episode at most, but they did a fantastic job just laying everything out.

I know there are other things brewing, but does Jon Snow really think that his ragtag bunch in Castle Black plus the remnant of the wildlings will really hold this bunch back? Also what makes him so sure that without him (or even with him), people would follow his order to allow the wildlings through? He barely won the popular vote, and that was before he announced this really unpopular plan, plus he probably took his most loyal men with him anyway.

Re: Game of Thrones (S5E08) -- "Hardhome" -- 5/31/15
 

Fun episode, the pace of that battle felt better then some of the other ones on the show and it was nice to see the real threat in "full" compared to the glimpses of individual creatures. That sword moment was great, the fight totally had me hooked to it so i'm sure the look on my face was the same as Jon's.

Loved the Tyrion/Dany conversation. It's pretty neat to see Tyrion lay out everything she's encountered and the problems she's had/has to deal with in just a few minutes.