Yeah, based on what we've seen in promos (Cersei choosing violence, The Mountain rampaging) there's no way we're getting a straight up Trial by Combat here. Now, I have no idea what Cersei thinks her next move is going to be; she can't just hide behind The Mountain forever. And she probably won't just cut and run…

That's a good point. Their music is always presented with such incredible ceremony, so you remember to Listen and Appreciate the timeless and indelible melodies. And fine, they're really good. Although I totally edited out about 4 minutes of 'Hey Jude,' ending in a fade, for a playlist. Because Holy Shit, does it go…

I honestly don't know why I feel like I'm constantly being bombarded by The Beatles. I don't listen to the radio very often, and when I do, I'm not listening to a station that would play their music; and I hardly ever listen to their music digitally, which is where I have it all, tucked away in folders on a hard…

The Beatles are foundational, by which I mean that without them as a pillar of 60s rock, we'd never have a huge amount of the great music that followed. But they're not the only pillar of 60s rock, or 70s rock, that proved deeply influential. I'd much rather listen to the Bowie catalog and imagine what music would…

Yeah, not a lot of small talk on that journey.

But seriously, she's with Brienne on her way to Riverrun.

Even a Red Priestess has to take some time off from time to time stay home with her shadow babies.

Maybe Ray used to be a bannerman for the Freys, or something. Lady Stoneheart doesn't really accept atonement as an excuse.

At what point do we think people besides Jon and Co., and other Northeners already predisposed to believing such things, are going to start coming around to the idea that the White Walkers are a.) real, and b.) coming to destroy everything? Because that's the endgame here, right? I feel like it's high time to convert…

If I'm going to buy that theory, I'd rather accept that Jaqen has been manipulating Arya's journey from behind the scenes the whole time, because otherwise it relies a little too heavily on coincidence for me. And if that's true, I'd hope it was for something a little more important than testing The Waif.

Oh, well then yeah, definitely. Haven't read the sample chapters. I'm waiting to be surprised when the whole book comes out, so I can read it and then immediately die of old age.

Yeah, holy shit, that seems totally obvious now that you bring it up. They wouldn't waste Richard E. Grant like that.

She left as part of the whole contingent, so if she's not with Jon and Sansa, I guess she must be with Brienne.

I mean, this is coming from the same showrunners who made Kit Harington do endless semantic gymnastics to preserve the "surprise" that Jon Snow was coming back from the dead.

As far as deaths go for the rest of the season:

No, you're right. I was thinking back to last season when the Faith would just show up places and drag people off without much fanfare.

Wow, I hadn't even considered the possibility that Cersei might actually die before her trial. I definitely agree that whatever happens, The Mountain won't prove to be as amazing a protector as we've been led to believe he'll be, because that's just Storytelling 101. But yeah, maybe she gets killed? And then all the…

I think Arya needs to work this one out on her own. She's the one who sought out Jaqen's help to begin with, and started this whole mess. Having Syrio Forel show up and duel The Waif would be robbing her of her agency, not to mention kind of invalidating how badass Arya's supposedly become. All this training shouldn't…

Plus Cersei clearly thought that, by being the mother to the King, she'd basically be the puppet master controlling Westeros. Her motivations always come back around to how she can benefit.

The Tyrells aren't as bad as the Lannisters, but they're being driven by the same lust for power. It's just that the show has done such a good job emphasizing how pointless controlling the Iron Throne actually it's like Dramatic Irony Theater watching the various contingents try to out maneuver each other while…