Knowing full well that our hot date canceled on us tonight, because she has quote-unquote better things to do than hang out with MY idiot friends (even though last time we all partied together, she had, like, so much fun), leaving us with nothing better to do from 5 p.m. until whenever the Pro Bowl is on (haha), HBO just released a crop of new images from season three of Game of Thrones for us to over-analyze. Old favorites like Arya and Stannis are there, as are GoT newbies, including Mance Ryder and Lady Oleanna, the name of the best Band song never written.
I copy and pasted the names above each photo exactly as they were written on Game of Thrones' Facebook page, a point I mention only because one of the last names is a spoiler(ish)...That being said, it's arguably the least important SPOILER ALERT of all-time, so for all those who watch Game of Thrones not for the lineages, but for the boobs and dragons, enjoy the OH MY GOD LOOK AT DAENERYS LOOK AT THAT BIG ASS, TOTALLY SUBTLE STONE DRAGON STARING DOWN STANNIS. For the rest of you, OH MY GOD LOOK AT THAT LAST NAME.
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Not sure why but I was actually worried after season 2 that they may be ignoring the Reeds.. glad to see I was wrong.
Hell yeah, Queen of Thorns! I love that old bitch.
Beric Dondarrion doesn’t look nearly as rough as I would’ve expected, but I get it.
I figure he’s hiding most of it, because there’s a fine line between looking like a scarred badass and being clearly not right.
Beric appeared briefly in season one. He looks tougher here than he did then, what with the eyepatch and the bigger beard. Not sure it’s the same actor…
Damn, Patty. Not the first time you commented exactly what I was thinking, only this time it was about Beric. He doesn’t look half bad for someone who keeps spoileryspoilyspoilyspoily.
JJ they recast, it isn’t the same actor
NON-SPOILERY Question to someone who read the books: I’ve been told that the first two seasons, as amazing as they were, are basically set up, and that “A Storm of Swords” is where shit really takes off. Is there validity to this, or is it going to be more of the same (admittedly awesome) kind of stuff?
Third book is the best in my opinion, shit gets real crazy.
I’d say that’s true. Books one (A Game of Thrones) and especially two (A Clash of Kings) are great, but they’re nothing compared to the awesomeness of book three (A Storm of Swords). There’s a lot less set-up and a lot more pay-off.
Book three definitely has the most shit hitting the most fans.
There is going to be a lot of “OMGWTF” from the folks who haven’t read the books.
What Josh and Quattro said.
And Patty.
well shit, now I’m all excited and whatnot
I’ve told my non-book-reading friends who watch the show not to read ahead, and at least 80 per cent of that is because I want to see their reactions to certain events.
Let’s not go nuts here. I wouldn’t say that the first two are “basically set up” for the third one. The third one is a little better than the first two. That’s all. But the TV adaptation should slow things down a little. They’re not cramming the entire book into one season.
So far, A Storm of Swords is my favorite, but here’s hoping GRRM lives to write those last two installments and they blow everything that came before out of the [Black]water.
ASOS is great IMO not because the first two books are a set up, but because all the characters that you have gotten to know over the first two books are finally spread far enough around that previously unconnected characters start crossing each other’s paths. It’s kinda like reading a book chock full of Easter eggs.
(Like when SPOILERYSPOILYS meets SPOILERYSPOILYSPOILY at the SPOILYSPOILY but can’t tell SPOILERYSPOILY because he promises not to, or when aforementioned SPOILERYSPOILYSPOILY is camped out within the same vicinity of SPOILERYSPOILY and neither knows it but SPOILERYSPOILYSPOILY’s SPOILY comes to the rescue of SPOILERYSPOILY at a key moment, or when SPOILSPOIL who we haven’t seen since SPOILER admits to SPOILERIFFICA who he really is, and when Jaime Lannister pretty much does or says anything.)
Wish they would’ve got another unknown for Jojen. I can’t help but see the little whiny kid from Love Actually.
THAT KID WAS THE CUTEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO CUTE KIDS AND HOW DARE YOU SAY OTHERWISE I’LL SHIT ON YOUR GRAVE!
…..But yeah, no, casting.
What Christian said.
Really ready for this. I’ve had nothing going since Boardwalk ended.
Justified? or are you talking about Sundays?
Forgot about ol’ Justified…
I thought Thoros was bald? He also wasn’t dressed at all like described.
Really faded red robes. As in, faded until they look kind of dark brown. I can give it a pass.
Oh so you’re one of those…
Meera Reed looks a little too jewy, but other than that they all look great, especially Stannis the Mannis sitting by that stone dragon
*shrugs* I always imagined her with really wild hair, so it works for me.
Stannis the Mannis lol
He looks great in that shot, all grey haired and tired looking. It’s excellent
I was hoping for a picture of Arstan Whitebeard.
I follow the actor who appeared in the first season on twitter, hoping to get updates or information. All he ever tweets is “What’s everyone doing this weekend?” He better be in this season. Strong Belwas too.
There was a pic of Whitebeard on winteriscoming.net’s tumblr not too long ago. He’s in this season, which is awesome, but no one was cast for Belwas; so here’s hoping they can fit him in later.
So uh, is there an official spoiler thread to talk about that name (change)?
Apparently it was just a slip up, my opinion is that it was done on purpose to rattle the book nerds (myself included) but that it doesn’t actually have any truth to it. I mean c’mon, it wouldn’t make any sense at this point…
Nice to see the new characters finally! Some look great (Queen of Thorns, Mance, Blackfish), but I’m a bit puzzled with the Brotherhood without Banners…
Thoros is supposed to be a priest of Rhllor like Melissandre, but he wears no red?
As for Beric, I thought he was younger but should also look more “weary” (you know why book readers). The eye-patch is nice though, but that may be confusing later on when another character with an eye-patch comes into play
Thoros’s robes are faded and patched. I guess you could say they faded to dark brown, and got patched by wearing regular clothes under them.
Thoros is also part of band of outlaws, so it makes sense that he isn’t totally priest like
Oleana Tyrell looks like one of those Trade Federation fuckwits from The Phantom Menace.
I can’t tell you how excited the picture in slide 1 made me. Cause that picture means one thing and one thing only, and that thing is fucking awesome. I just hope we don’t have to wait til the finale to see it (knowing they are splitting ASoS into two seasons).
Not sure I’d freak out about that name change too much: the photos are uploaded on HBO.com as well, and have a different name listed on that one.
The name listed on the facebook photo is also what the character was named in the photos for season two, so it might be a mistake.
I’m betting it’s a mistake. They’ve gone too far not doing it that way that it wouldn’t make a lot of sense to change it.
I agree with JtBF, it would just confuse viewers at this point and outright piss off the readers
Brienne looks badass, which is not something I can ever object to.
I had some trouble thinking of Ciaran Hinds as Mance, but damn if he doesn’t look the part. Even without the cloak.
I can’t help but look at him and think “Caesar”…just can’t help it
I pictured Mance about 20 years younger, but I figure I have enough faith in the casting directors for GoT that he’ll be nevertheless perfect for the role.
There will be eunuchs.
Lavender scented?
Red Wedding or GTFO.
Sansa is as frustrating as she is beautiful.
I finally started getting the sense by the end of ASOS, and particularly by the beginning of AFFC, that once Sansa finally makes her move, it’s going to be as precise as it is game changing. She starts to undergo a rapid maturation process as a result of things that happen in this book. (Because, apparently, watching your own father executed in front of you, being a hostage in a hostile royal family, and having your fiance beat the shit out of you through his Kingsguard isn’t quite enough to make you grow out of your childhood fairy tale fantasies of how the world works.) I think she’ll end up being one of the major chess pieces left to move near the close of the ‘Game’.
Agreed. For as much as she was one of the most annoying characters in the beginning, I have a feeling her arc will be the most interesting of all the Starks. Conversely, Robb is the worst.
So much of this ^
Yup. Robb, for being such a battle phenom, shame he was essentially undone by a little bit of p****y. Shouldn’t have taken his mind off needing that damn bridge!
WESTERLING!?!?!?!
Um, I mean, “Smith”?
Oh. I see. Totally someone fucking with us. HBO site caption: “Oona Chaplin as Talisa Maegyr Stark - Photo Helen Sloan/HBO”.
When the Game of Thrones facebook site uploaded these pics, she was called Westerling but they quickly changed it.
Eh, it just hasn’t been the same ever since Dany stopped getting naked all the time.
Ya they totally didn’t capitalize on the Qartheen dress
Bummer for your sake that none of the Dany/Irri sex scenes will come to pass in the TV show. It is known.
On the other hand, they’ve cast a 23-year-old as Missandei. I’m just sayin’.
I also think Missandei will be warming Dany’s bed.