Do you think it can be argued that Tommen’s “alliance” with the High Sparrow is a savvy move? It got Margaery out of custody and prevented her from losing face in walk of shame, prevented bloodshed, and arguably made him more popular with smallfolk. Obviously it won’t end well and Tommen isn’t savvy enough to navigate this but it seems like the move could have produced a lot of benefits.

It’s a good short-term move, and bears many of Margaery’s fingerprints.

Long-term, Loras seems to still be a prisoner, which is bad, and the High Sparrow has been further legitimized, which is also not good if you’re the king.

I briefly thought the Horn Hill in the show was Highgarden, not how I pictured it at all.

It does look quite Highgardenesque, especially with the classical colonnades.

Do you think Horn Hill in the show is too big of a castle for a second-tier (albeit powerful) lord?

Not too big – too ornamental. Horn Hill is the castle of a prominent marcher lord. That thing should look like a fortress capable of resisting a siege for years at a time, because it needs to be.

Do you think that the Volantene Slave soldiers are closer to real world Janissaries then to their counterparts in Slaver’s Bay? These soldiers must have something keeping them together… something more then Author Hand Waving Magic?

Somewhat closer, yes.

Well, up until recently, the Faith of the Red God acted as a bit of a safety valve. But now Benerro is preaching that the End Times are coming.

What proportion of the maesters are appointed to castles and what proportion remain at the Citadel, do you think? And how does a maester get the opportunity to stay at the Citadel rather than be sent out on castle duty?

Seems like most of the maesters get sent out. My guess is that maesters who are apprentices of (and thus future candidates for) the archmaesters) get to stay, but most leave.

Why do you think LSH is still going to make an appearance on the show?

Because there’s no other reason why, after all this time, they’d move Jaime and Brienne down into the Riverlands and mention the Brotherhood Without Banners again if that’s not the case.

And the show has shown itself willing to do major events out of sequence – see Balon Greyjoy.

Would Steve Rogers ever have been a fan of Father Coughlin?

I don’t know if he would have been a fan, per se. But as an Irish Catholic with leftish political leanings, he certainly would have been familiar with the Little Flower’s radio broadcasts.

But I think Rogers would have turned against Coughlin pretty early on – Coughlin started attacking FDR’s New Deal in 1934, by 1936 Coughlin’s anti-communism led him to support Franco in Spain, and between ‘36-38, Coughlin went all-in on his anti-semitic Protocols of the Elders of Zion/Jewish Bankers are Bolsheviks theory.

Given Rogers’ strong anti-fascist tendencies, I think he would have broken with Coughlin in ‘36 if not before.

Any thoughts on the new Damphair chapter at Balticon?

Just got my hands on a transcript, so working on a Quick Analysis as per usual. Should be up soonish, once grading and vacationing permit.

Have you ever postulated on the exact nature of the feudal hierarchy of the Gifts, especially concerning the possible differences between Brandon’s – and the New Gift. From the text, tenants of the lands in the Gifts paid socage to the Watch, yet this did not include military service? So is it rather a bastard form of Quit-rent to the Watch while owing fealty to the Starks of Winterfell?

I don’t think there is a difference between the two gifts. I think the tenants pay (or at least paid) rent in kind – food, horses, etc. And that food supports the Night’s Watch, who do the military service.

And no, the tenants don’t owe fealty to Winterfell, as technically the Gifts are separate from the North. Hence why Torrhen’s sons were so pissed off about the New Gift.

Thoughts on HBO’s Game of Thrones, Season 6, Episode 6

Thoughts below the cut, as per usual, to avoid spoilers:
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