It is known.

That's funny: I was thinking of Oswald, Kennedy and nukes in Dallas as an example, too. Weird.

Yes, I think you're exactly right about how much power Littlefinger gained from those rewards from Tywin. But I still suspect that from his perspective — the guy who wants "everything" — it wasn't as much as he was expecting. For example, maybe he wanted Winterfell and Sansa instead?

I propose that the AV club add a third forum: Game of Thrones (oldbies), which is for experts who want to discuss the show but haven't watched it up to the point where it laps the books.

I preferred it.

Maybe so, but for me that speech to Brienne — and the way it inverted the story of the 'kingslaying' — was the key to his redemptive arc last season (such as it was).

Oh sorry; I meant that Robert seemed content to let his council run things and just be the figurehead, and that seemed to work OK. (At least, until it didn't.) Probably better than under the Targaryens, and certainly better than Joffrey.

He's also a character trapped by circumstance. If his version of why he killed Aerys is accurate, in a different story he'd be a hero for it rather than a villain. It was, at least in part, the honor-based culture of the Ned Starks of the world that confined him to the role of Kingslayer instead of savior.

Thorne! It's the Allister that throws me off… he just doesn't seem like an Allister. More like a Mance or a Rickon.

I'm wondering if conveniently losing his Master of Coin and Tywin's casual attitude about the debt to the Iron Bank will end up being related.

Her reactions in this scene seemed to show that she's learned some things from Tyrion, Margery and Olenna.

Really good points. But from Jaime's reaction this episode, it seems like Tywin is willing to pin Joffrey's murder on Tyrion, which, at least for me, would make it much harder to like team Lannister. Unless, of course, he just gets sent on some new adventure instead of executed, in which case, I'm all for it.

Hasn't it been implied that things were OK — by Westerosi standards — with Tywin as Hand before the Mad King went mad and pissed off the Starks and Baratheons?

Theon's sister arriving at the Dreadfort seems like a candidate for this season's episode 9.

I liked the bit about Maester Aemon pushing for a new Lord Commander, and the new info that it's something of an elected position. I'd assumed it had just fallen to Mr. IDon'tCareIfTheyLikeMe (whiffing on his name at the moment.)

I think FJP just belatedly realized that serving Commander Mormont could have been worse.

Disqus is gacking on "Sort by Oldest" again. Seems like it should be able to handle 1000 comments. "Sort by Newest" sucks.

Yep. It was a big double spiral of horses' heads — IIRC, the Rangers' horses after the battle at the Fist.

"…how did none of the slaves just escape that same way?"

Also, they're excellent at site-specific installations.