Exactly. But even in the books, particularly given he understands he needs an heir and wants his claim secured, expressly stating if he dies Shireen goes on the throne, I don't think he would do this, so it makes no sense in either medium.

I think he misunderstands the majority of the upset, then (or perhaps we're the minority, but either way). It's not the killing of such a character that has upset me so much as that in a story sense it demonstrated a regression and betrayal of character development for Stannis in a story move that seems mainly for…

Agreed for sure. I loved Robert and Renly's casting too actually haha. Whatever issues I'm having with the show itself I love 95% of the casting and this very talented cast make even the scenes I loathe watchable.

Expert, noun; "a person who is very knowledgeable about or skilful in a particular area."

I feel the need to add an obligatory remark that I actually really liked Man of Steel haha. It had, more than most superhero movies, that emotion that he's referring to.

Either or, both are fine. Just an expression anyway and the semantics are intact for both. Fear not- your life is not a lie haha.

Brilliant summary.

See below. In summary of the debate:

It's popular to say it was all 'boring' in the books. I'm sorry, but, yes, some were slow, but you can't label every story as 'boring' with as many arcs as there are, and the best- Greyjoys, for example, Tyrion's long journey and the introduction of the Griffs- have been either axed or simplified or butchered (Dorne)…

Much as I did actually really like that scene that's why I felt the show could have benefited from the books' extra epic addition of having her burned and literally cracking down on him to subdue him. He was a complete wild card who she tamed, not a "save the day" figure.

"… becoming 'predictable' in the eyes of a segment of the audience, though I would argue that constant nihilism is just as predictable as eternal optimism."

So, our predictions- will Lady Stoneheart appear next week? I'm bracing myself for disappointment but part of me remains hopeful. But, ultimately, I don't think we'll see her. Perhaps we'll see (and I'd probably dislike this) Sansa as a take on her.

I can certainly see that playing out. What's more, horrible as it would be, I can see it playing out WITHOUT Stannis' awareness, let alone condoning. That was entirely my issue with the show's move there.

I understand where they're at now they are drawing on future material, but if they're that dead set on deferring from the books they can make their own, and have a little more common sense than saying "but but George said it happens," because we don't know what's going to happen in the books is what happens in the…

"GRRM told D and D to do exactly what they did in this episode."

George was quoted by a producer- so it may be out of context to begin with- and Stannis' murder of Shireen wasn't being discussed so much as Shireen's death. Instinctively, along with where Stannis is in the books compared to Shireen and how he's been written in show and book for the past four seasons and five books…

The show really can't spoil the books, as an aside, because it's so distinctly different now. It can show us stuff from them, sure, but when we've got Stannis burning his daughter and Sansa in Winterfell odds are it won't ever be in the book. But other than that, I do agree it's not hard to avoid those potential…

I'm not even angry so much as disappointed. The first 4 seasons had their changes and faults but not many I really thought were disastrous. They were excellent works of story and, above all, amazing adaptions and insanely respectful to their source material. And now this show I loved so much as a book fan seems to…

Yara? Who's Yara?

You just summarized by thoughts so well. I REALLY hope George's hope of Winds of Winter before Season 6 comes to fruition. I think "making stuff up as they go along" is a good description for a lot of what the producers are doing.