On May 23 2014 04:57 Jockmcplop wrote: Has anyone else noticed Little Finger's propensity for 'batman voice' in this season. What happened there?
He always had batman voice, I always thought it was strange Also the reason why Tyrion shouldn't/can't die is because Peter Dinklage is the fucking boss. Hands down the best actor of the show.
@Dany/Bran scenes = I agree hugely boring (Dany used to have good scenes but it's lost its weight or they are showing very boring stuff, possibly the actress isn't that great so over time it affected my impression of her arc)
The north is somewhat slow right now but I think it has the potential for the most intriguing arc, albeit we haven't seen the iron bank city at all yet and they are supposed to be the most powerful so that could be very interesting (I don't think we will get quite there this season).
Stannis arc = wtf!? this guy is so damn annoying, only Davos keeps it interesting because he is doing everything
@Girl Poll Nathalie Emmanuel definitely the hottest
On May 23 2014 04:57 Jockmcplop wrote: Has anyone else noticed Little Finger's propensity for 'batman voice' in this season. What happened there?
He always had batman voice, I always thought it was strange Also the reason why Tyrion shouldn't/can't die is because Peter Dinklage is the fucking boss. Hands down the best actor of the show.
@Dany/Bran scenes = I agree hugely boring (Dany used to have good scenes but it's lost its weight or they are showing very boring stuff, possibly the actress isn't that great so over time it affected my impression of her arc)
The north is somewhat slow right now but I think it has the potential for the most intriguing arc, albeit we haven't seen the iron bank city at all yet and they are supposed to be the most powerful so that could be very interesting (I don't think we will get quite there this season).
Stannis arc = wtf!? this guy is so damn annoying, only Davos keeps it interesting because he is doing everything
@Girl Poll Nathalie Emmanuel definitely the hottest
Yeah it is slightly ironic, Stannis has the most legitimate claim, yet I have the least desire to see him as King or in the story at all for that matter.
On May 23 2014 23:49 Darkhorse wrote: BTW this trial by combat is super high stakes. If Oberyn loses we lose two of the best characters in the show in about 5 seconds.
There would literally be riots if that were to happen.
I am certain GRRM doesn't care in the slightest. Especially because the books are far ahead. Also don't forget the red wedding.
On May 23 2014 23:49 Darkhorse wrote: BTW this trial by combat is super high stakes. If Oberyn loses we lose two of the best characters in the show in about 5 seconds.
Yea, i was thinking the same way, but i also remember beheading of Ned Stark in season one, which also was pretty unexpected. So mentally am preparing myself for a big loss
Personally I like Oberyn, very charismatic since the beginning, he become my favorite, since all my previous favorits are dead, I feel bad for Oberyn :D
One more thing, interesting to know what kind of role Tyrell's house played in Joffrey's death.
I think Olenna made it quite obvious that they were part of it. And after rewatching the scene, the cup went like this: Joffrey let's it fall, kicks it away. Sansa picks up, gives Tyrion. tyrion fills and gives back to Joff, Joff drinks. Joff puts it back at his table. At the table sit Margaery, Olenna and Mace Tyrell, in that order. Joffrey takes the cup again, drinks and starts coughing. He takes a big sip from the cup and starts dying. I'm pretty sure Olenna did it.
On May 23 2014 23:49 Darkhorse wrote: BTW this trial by combat is super high stakes. If Oberyn loses we lose two of the best characters in the show in about 5 seconds.
There would literally be riots if that were to happen.
I am certain GRRM doesn't care in the slightest. Especially because the books are far ahead. Also don't forget the red wedding.
On May 23 2014 23:49 Darkhorse wrote: BTW this trial by combat is super high stakes. If Oberyn loses we lose two of the best characters in the show in about 5 seconds.
Yea, i was thinking the same way, but i also remember beheading of Ned Stark in season one, which also was pretty unexpected. So mentally am preparing myself for a big loss
Personally I like Oberyn, very charismatic since the beginning, he become my favorite, since all my previous favorits are dead, I feel bad for Oberyn :D
One more thing, interesting to know what kind of role Tyrell's house played in Joffrey's death.
I think Olenna made it quite obvious that they were part of it. And after rewatching the scene, the cup went like this: Joffrey let's it fall, kicks it away. Sansa picks up, gives Tyrion. tyrion fills and gives back to Joff, Joff drinks. Joff puts it back at his table. At the table sit Margaery, Olenna and Mace Tyrell, in that order. Joffrey takes the cup again, drinks and starts coughing. He takes a big sip from the cup and starts dying. I'm pretty sure Olenna did it.
Yeah seems pretty obvious for us viewers. No way Margery would of done it without the blessing/encouragement/request of Olenna. Tyrion is too smart to do it in a way that would be so likely to see him as the cause.
I suppose a case could be made for Mace to have done it. He could of been promised the seat for the trial and additional titles and lands for cooperating. He has shown how hard he wants to suck up to Tywin. But Tywins dismissal of his flatering and general attitude of disinterest in his thoughts leads me to think he wouldn't trust someone like that with such a task. If anything IF he was in on poisoning Joffry he would of had Olenna do it as it would be a mutually beneficial arrangement.
The fact that he was killed BEFORE the marriage was consummated puts a cloud around Margery's status, which seems like a less desirable arrangement than Olenna would negotiate.
are dragons immune to magic like wargs and stuff? would be jokes if the dragons backfired on dany, i think its a smart move to get the biggest possible army before invading.
On May 23 2014 23:49 Darkhorse wrote: BTW this trial by combat is super high stakes. If Oberyn loses we lose two of the best characters in the show in about 5 seconds.
There would literally be riots if that were to happen.
I am certain GRRM doesn't care in the slightest. Especially because the books are far ahead. Also don't forget the red wedding.
On May 24 2014 01:33 cSc.Dav1oN wrote:
On May 23 2014 23:49 Darkhorse wrote: BTW this trial by combat is super high stakes. If Oberyn loses we lose two of the best characters in the show in about 5 seconds.
Yea, i was thinking the same way, but i also remember beheading of Ned Stark in season one, which also was pretty unexpected. So mentally am preparing myself for a big loss
Personally I like Oberyn, very charismatic since the beginning, he become my favorite, since all my previous favorits are dead, I feel bad for Oberyn :D
One more thing, interesting to know what kind of role Tyrell's house played in Joffrey's death.
I think Olenna made it quite obvious that they were part of it. And after rewatching the scene, the cup went like this: Joffrey let's it fall, kicks it away. Sansa picks up, gives Tyrion. tyrion fills and gives back to Joff, Joff drinks. Joff puts it back at his table. At the table sit Margaery, Olenna and Mace Tyrell, in that order. Joffrey takes the cup again, drinks and starts coughing. He takes a big sip from the cup and starts dying. I'm pretty sure Olenna did it.
Yeah seems pretty obvious for us viewers. No way Margery would of done it without the blessing/encouragement/request of Olenna. Tyrion is too smart to do it in a way that would be so likely to see him as the cause.
I suppose a case could be made for Mace to have done it. He could of been promised the seat for the trial and additional titles and lands for cooperating. He has shown how hard he wants to suck up to Tywin. But Tywins dismissal of his flatering and general attitude of disinterest in his thoughts leads me to think he wouldn't trust someone like that with such a task. If anything IF he was in on poisoning Joffry he would of had Olenna do it as it would be a mutually beneficial arrangement.
The fact that he was killed BEFORE the marriage was consummated puts a cloud around Margery's status, which seems like a less desirable arrangement than Olenna would negotiate.
This just made me realize that the timing before consumation has the advantage that people wont suspect the Tyrells. Because they do not directly get the throne as a consequence. Worth a thought at least.
On a slightly unrelated note I wanted to write a post on the Valyrian Swords. As we know, J.R.R. Martin knows his shit and his material is full of real life historical references and events. A particularly interesting case are the valyrian swords. In the books and in the show those swords are made from valyrian steel and have properties which cannot be achieved by the technology at the time and the craft of forging these has been lost. Thats why the Valyrian swords are the most treasured possession in Westeros and only the best warriors and house leaders get to have one. But what if I tell you the Valyrian swords actually do have a real historical reference.
Lets step back and get some details about medieval swords clear. For centuries swords have been forged from iron. The process is pretty straight forward - smelt the ore to separate the iron from the slag and forge with a big hammer. But iron itself is not particularly strong and good on its own - thats why smiths carbonized iron to create steel. Steel as we know is much stronger so the blades are more durable flexible and cut better. But smelting the ore and separating the iron from the rocks is not easy. It demands very high temperatures in order to remove the slag easily. Smiths back in the day managed to remove slag by hitting the hot steel with a hammer but the steel was never pure and some slag still remained making the blades imperfect. The smelters back in the day just were not hot enough in Europe to get pure iron. Europe just didnt had the technology to make good steel.
In the 8th to 10th century though elite viking warriors wielded swords which were so far ahead of their time that it took more than 800 years for Europe to have the technology and the access to such materials on industrial level. The Ulfberht Swords were made from crucible steel , a material so pure strong and flexible that these weapons were by far and away the best swords anyone in Europe has ever used - before that or since. The meaning of the word ulfberth is to this day unknown but it was written on all 100 blades that were found till this day and not all swords found are even authentic. Some of them are replicas not created from the same steel. At the time the ulfberth swords were extremely rare and only the jaime lannisters and the jon snows of the era had one. But how did vikings have access to such advanced technology and how were they able to create this material and refine it. The answer is that they havent created the material themselves. You see, vikings traveled the world before anyone else. The popular theory is that they bought the crucible steel from India and managed to smelt it and forge swords with it. They probably had access only to a limited supply of the material and after the blacksmiths who initially got the material created the first batch of swords and died there was no one to continue the production and no one to replicate the process, therefore the secret of the swords became lost for centuries. And this all makes sense , similar to how Ice was melted and two new swords were created from it, the secret is not how to make the damn sword, its how to purify the material and have such a great steel.
So the secret of the Ulfberht swords in Europe was lost for more than 800 years - no one knew how the best weapon on the continent was made and only a handful of soldiers ever got to wield one. And now Im back to getting more drunk.
On May 24 2014 09:53 disciple wrote: On a slightly unrelated note I wanted to write a post on the Valyrian Swords. As we know, J.R.R. Martin knows his shit and his material is full of real life historical references and events. A particularly interesting case are the valyrian swords. In the books and in the show those swords are made from valyrian steel and have properties which cannot be achieved by the technology at the time and the craft of forging these has been lost. Thats why the Valyrian swords are the most treasured possession in Westeros and only the best warriors and house leaders get to have one. But what if I tell you the Valyrian swords actually do have a real historical reference.
Lets step back and get some details about medieval swords clear. For centuries swords have been forged from iron. The process is pretty straight forward - smelt the ore to separate the iron from the slag and forge with a big hammer. But iron itself is not particularly strong and good on its own - thats why smiths carbonized iron to create steel. Steel as we know is much stronger so the blades are more durable flexible and cut better. But smelting the ore and separating the iron from the rocks is not easy. It demands very high temperatures in order to remove the slag easily. Smiths back in the day managed to remove slag by hitting the hot steel with a hammer but the steel was never pure and some slag still remained making the blades imperfect. The smelters back in the day just were not hot enough in Europe to get pure iron. Europe just didnt had the technology to make good steel.
In the 8th to 10th century though elite viking warriors wielded swords which were so far ahead of their time that it took more than 800 years for Europe to have the technology and the access to such materials on industrial level. The Ulfberht Swords were made from crucible steel , a material so pure strong and flexible that these weapons were by far and away the best swords anyone in Europe has ever used - before that or since. The meaning of the word ulfberth is to this day unknown but it was written on all 100 blades that were found till this day and not all swords found are even authentic. Some of them are replicas not created from the same steel. At the time the ulfberth swords were extremely rare and only the jaime lannisters and the jon snows of the era had one. But how did vikings have access to such advanced technology and how were they able to create this material and refine it. The answer is that they havent created the material themselves. You see, vikings traveled the world before anyone else. The popular theory is that they bought the crucible steel from India and managed to smelt it and forge swords with it. They probably had access only to a limited supply of the material and after the blacksmiths who initially got the material created the first batch of swords and died there was no one to continue the production and no one to replicate the process, therefore the secret of the swords became lost for centuries. And this all makes sense , similar to how Ice was melted and two new swords were created from it, the secret is not how to make the damn sword, its how to purify the material and have such a great steel.
So the secret of the Ulfberht swords in Europe was lost for more than 800 years - no one knew how the best weapon on the continent was made and only a handful of soldiers ever got to wield one. And now Im back to getting more drunk.
I saw a Nova program on the Ulfberht swords a month or two ago, was fun. They hypothesized that the swords came from the Middle East: Iraq, Iran, etc.
Sounds a lot like damascus steel swords. You know, the kind of swords that were everything like what we expect from katana in modern popculture. With the small difference that we have no more reason to believe that katana actually were any good.
The damascus steel wikipedia page was actually pretty interesting. I didn't even know superplasticity was a real word.
On May 23 2014 23:49 Darkhorse wrote: BTW this trial by combat is super high stakes. If Oberyn loses we lose two of the best characters in the show in about 5 seconds.
There would literally be riots if that were to happen.
I am certain GRRM doesn't care in the slightest. Especially because the books are far ahead. Also don't forget the red wedding.
On May 24 2014 01:33 cSc.Dav1oN wrote:
On May 23 2014 23:49 Darkhorse wrote: BTW this trial by combat is super high stakes. If Oberyn loses we lose two of the best characters in the show in about 5 seconds.
Yea, i was thinking the same way, but i also remember beheading of Ned Stark in season one, which also was pretty unexpected. So mentally am preparing myself for a big loss
Personally I like Oberyn, very charismatic since the beginning, he become my favorite, since all my previous favorits are dead, I feel bad for Oberyn :D
One more thing, interesting to know what kind of role Tyrell's house played in Joffrey's death.
I think Olenna made it quite obvious that they were part of it. And after rewatching the scene, the cup went like this: Joffrey let's it fall, kicks it away. Sansa picks up, gives Tyrion. tyrion fills and gives back to Joff, Joff drinks. Joff puts it back at his table. At the table sit Margaery, Olenna and Mace Tyrell, in that order. Joffrey takes the cup again, drinks and starts coughing. He takes a big sip from the cup and starts dying. I'm pretty sure Olenna did it.
Yeah seems pretty obvious for us viewers. No way Margery would of done it without the blessing/encouragement/request of Olenna. Tyrion is too smart to do it in a way that would be so likely to see him as the cause.
I suppose a case could be made for Mace to have done it. He could of been promised the seat for the trial and additional titles and lands for cooperating. He has shown how hard he wants to suck up to Tywin. But Tywins dismissal of his flatering and general attitude of disinterest in his thoughts leads me to think he wouldn't trust someone like that with such a task. If anything IF he was in on poisoning Joffry he would of had Olenna do it as it would be a mutually beneficial arrangement.
The fact that he was killed BEFORE the marriage was consummated puts a cloud around Margery's status, which seems like a less desirable arrangement than Olenna would negotiate.
This just made me realize that the timing before consumation has the advantage that people wont suspect the Tyrells. Because they do not directly get the throne as a consequence. Worth a thought at least.
I think you are totally right. I'm going to have to go back and see if there are any good reaction shots from Tywin (possibly in the background) but I suspect he was in on this whole scheme too. He realized very quickly Cersi had let Joffry get out of control and there was no pulling him back. Tywin didn't want Joffry to be king any more than anyone else once he found out what he had truly become.
Littlefinger and the Jester being able to sneak Sansa away then Littlefinger securing The Vale, a claim to the North, and an earlier established claim to Haaren Hall (not far from the Iron Islands) seems like it has too much to do with securing the rule of the Lannisters, for Tywin not to be involved. Unless Littlefinger just knew that going into all of this and that was the angle he planned on playing to extract more from the Lannisters later anyway.
On May 24 2014 11:00 Mataza wrote: Sounds a lot like damascus steel swords. You know, the kind of swords that were everything like what we expect from katana in modern popculture. With the small difference that we have no more reason to believe that katana actually were any good.
The damascus steel wikipedia page was actually pretty interesting. I didn't even know superplasticity was a real word.
Yeah I thought he was basing it on Damascus steel given the ripples in the metal and all.
On May 24 2014 09:53 disciple wrote: On a slightly unrelated note I wanted to write a post on the Valyrian Swords. As we know, J.R.R. Martin knows his shit and his material is full of real life historical references and events. A particularly interesting case are the valyrian swords. In the books and in the show those swords are made from valyrian steel and have properties which cannot be achieved by the technology at the time and the craft of forging these has been lost. Thats why the Valyrian swords are the most treasured possession in Westeros and only the best warriors and house leaders get to have one. But what if I tell you the Valyrian swords actually do have a real historical reference.
Lets step back and get some details about medieval swords clear. For centuries swords have been forged from iron. The process is pretty straight forward - smelt the ore to separate the iron from the slag and forge with a big hammer. But iron itself is not particularly strong and good on its own - thats why smiths carbonized iron to create steel. Steel as we know is much stronger so the blades are more durable flexible and cut better. But smelting the ore and separating the iron from the rocks is not easy. It demands very high temperatures in order to remove the slag easily. Smiths back in the day managed to remove slag by hitting the hot steel with a hammer but the steel was never pure and some slag still remained making the blades imperfect. The smelters back in the day just were not hot enough in Europe to get pure iron. Europe just didnt had the technology to make good steel.
In the 8th to 10th century though elite viking warriors wielded swords which were so far ahead of their time that it took more than 800 years for Europe to have the technology and the access to such materials on industrial level. The Ulfberht Swords were made from crucible steel , a material so pure strong and flexible that these weapons were by far and away the best swords anyone in Europe has ever used - before that or since. The meaning of the word ulfberth is to this day unknown but it was written on all 100 blades that were found till this day and not all swords found are even authentic. Some of them are replicas not created from the same steel. At the time the ulfberth swords were extremely rare and only the jaime lannisters and the jon snows of the era had one. But how did vikings have access to such advanced technology and how were they able to create this material and refine it. The answer is that they havent created the material themselves. You see, vikings traveled the world before anyone else. The popular theory is that they bought the crucible steel from India and managed to smelt it and forge swords with it. They probably had access only to a limited supply of the material and after the blacksmiths who initially got the material created the first batch of swords and died there was no one to continue the production and no one to replicate the process, therefore the secret of the swords became lost for centuries. And this all makes sense , similar to how Ice was melted and two new swords were created from it, the secret is not how to make the damn sword, its how to purify the material and have such a great steel.
So the secret of the Ulfberht swords in Europe was lost for more than 800 years - no one knew how the best weapon on the continent was made and only a handful of soldiers ever got to wield one. And now Im back to getting more drunk.
I saw a Nova program on the Ulfberht swords a month or two ago, was fun. They hypothesized that the swords came from the Middle East: Iraq, Iran, etc.
Do you have the name of the documentary at hand by any chance?
On May 24 2014 11:00 Mataza wrote: Sounds a lot like damascus steel swords. You know, the kind of swords that were everything like what we expect from katana in modern popculture. With the small difference that we have no more reason to believe that katana actually were any good.
The damascus steel wikipedia page was actually pretty interesting. I didn't even know superplasticity was a real word.
Yeah I thought he was basing it on Damascus steel given the ripples in the metal and all.
Actually, Ulfberhts are made from crucible steel and Damascus steel is also a type of crucible steel, so they are similar in that regard.
On May 24 2014 11:00 Mataza wrote: Sounds a lot like damascus steel swords. You know, the kind of swords that were everything like what we expect from katana in modern popculture. With the small difference that we have no more reason to believe that katana actually were any good.
The damascus steel wikipedia page was actually pretty interesting. I didn't even know superplasticity was a real word.
Yeah I thought he was basing it on Damascus steel given the ripples in the metal and all.
Actually, Ulfberhts are made from crucible steel and Damascus steel is also a type of crucible steel, so they are similar in that regard.
On May 24 2014 09:53 disciple wrote: J.R.R. Martin
why?
Because a fantasy writer who picks a name based on another, more illustrious fantasy writer, is intentionally trying to get people to mix it up, reap positive associations.
On May 24 2014 11:00 Mataza wrote: Sounds a lot like damascus steel swords. You know, the kind of swords that were everything like what we expect from katana in modern popculture. With the small difference that we have no more reason to believe that katana actually were any good.
The damascus steel wikipedia page was actually pretty interesting. I didn't even know superplasticity was a real word.
Yeah I thought he was basing it on Damascus steel given the ripples in the metal and all.
Actually, Ulfberhts are made from crucible steel and Damascus steel is also a type of crucible steel, so they are similar in that regard.
EPT
