Game of Thrones Season 5 (TV ONLY)

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

Surprise wasn't my feeling. She did marry the king. The king is dead. To me, it smacks of desperation to immediately marry off the younger king to the last king's wife. Almost certainly what it is, but I felt it deserved a little more exposition considering it should be a big deal that the future Queen is more important than the king and appearances are a big deal in the 7 kingdoms. Instead we got a lot more Varys/Tyrion back and forth.

You brought up her sneaking into Tommen's room. To me it was "Hubby's dead, time to move on up" and that was the end of it: she'd now be marrying up again. The only person who seems to give a real shit is Cersei, and not because there's anything wrong with it socially, her grievances seem tied to Margery personally (or any woman after her sons) rather than "hey, why is this woman marrying another King?"

Why would there be anything wrong with it socially?

I frequently watch the show with various family, and it still surprises me a little at how bothered people can get by the medieval marriage practices in the show. If I was in a similar situation in, say, Crusader Kings wherein I found a great princess for my heir to marry and then my heir up and dies, I'd marry the same woman to my former heir's little brother (my new heir) in a heartbeat without a second thought. Why would practices like these be socially weird or unusual to the people who live in this world? For the common folk, sure, maybe (although even low-born marriages in such a medieval society would still often have an element of strategy and financial sense to them), but for the nobility it's only expected that marriages be made with strategic alliances in mind. Being a 52-year-old and marrying your 16-year-old second cousin because it makes strategic sense to do is just par for the course and not something these people would generally bat an eyelash at, unless they're deliberately trying to drum up manufactured outrage for political reasons or something.

[Darth Yan]

Weren't there some cases where papal dispersion was needed (i.e. there were rumors, probably unfounded, that richard iii wanted to marry elizabeth of york his niece. According to various people if Richard did he would have needed papal dispension from the pope.)?

[Pelranius]

Well, Henry VIII needed a papal dispensation to marry Catherine of Aragon, since she was the widow of his brother Arthur (they claimed the marriage to Arthur was never consummated). *Looks at Cersei's kids and chuckles*

I believe Richard III would have also needed a dispensation if he had planned to do so.

[TheFeniX]

Why would there be anything wrong with it socially?

Littlefinger makes sure to point out Sansa is still a Virgin. Bolton only wants her for her name, but it's obvious virginity still has value. That conversation was when I really started thinking more about how the show seems to be glossing over Margery and Tommen being married.

From the books (Concerns Rob Stark and his wife): Spoiler

Robs whole bit, at least from what I've gathered from wikis, was that he didn't marry some chick and get her knocked up because he fell in love. He sexed up some young maiden (no pregnancy) while he was distraught because he received news his brothers were murdered (EDIT: By his childhood friend and ward of his house). Having "stole" her virginity, he did the honorable thing to her family, wed, and basically signed his own death warrant.

That made more sense that what we got in the show: I never felt Rob breaking his marriage pact with Frey made much sense considering who he was, how he was raised, and that he would risk everything for love.

So when I wasn't satisfied by the show's explanation, the books made sense. But I've been able to find little on the Margery - Tommen pairing.

I frequently watch the show with various family, and it still surprises me a little at how bothered people can get by the medieval marriage practices in the show.

I'm not bothered by the idea. The show sets precedents and when those precedents get muddy, I like to know why it's acceptable for them to get muddy. Bolton's motivations for not caring about Sansa's virginity is flat-out stated. The Lannisters putting up with Margery marrying Joffrey after her marriage to Renly was also explained. Going from Joffrey > Tommen kind of just happened and I think it's worth a bit more exposition considering the precedent.

Why didn't the Lannister's try just stick with pawning Cersei off on the Tyrell's, keep the father on as Master of Coin, maybe try to pawn Margery off on another "lesser" Lannister, and save Tommen to solidify another pact? I get the people love Margery and no one but Cercei is crying for Joffrey: but I could easily see the Lannisters jockying with the Tyrells on this issue. The "gave" them the king. That king is dead. Why then turn around and give them another crown without a fight? I would easily understand if Tywin had already been killed, but he hadn't yet. It just kind of happens. Maybe I missed something, definitely possible.

[TheHammer]

There were mutiple scenes last season mentioning her Marrying Tommen, including a late night scene where she snuck into his room. It was made quite clear that the Lannisters needed the backing of the Tyrells. It was more than money, it was also the soldiers and food that Highgarden provided. Margaery's marriage to the king (whomever it may be) was the way to secure it. She's worth being married off because of her family name and being of child bearing age. In the same way that Cersei was "worth marrying off" to Loras Tyrell despite being a widow...

I don't know why you are surprised that it actually happened.

Surprise wasn't my feeling. She did marry the king. The king is dead. To me, it smacks of desperation to immediately marry off the younger king to the last king's wife. Almost certainly what it is, but I felt it deserved a little more exposition considering it should be a big deal that the future Queen is more important than the king and appearances are a big deal in the 7 kingdoms. Instead we got a lot more Varys/Tyrion back and forth.

Once Joffrey was dead any power to hold the alliance between the Tyrells and Lannisters died with him. The marriage was political and intended to tie the two families together. It made perfect sense that for that to continue Tommen would need to marry Margaery. Not really sure what you were expecting. There were multiple scenes following Joffrey's death where the idea of Margaery marrying Tommen was brought up.

You brought up her sneaking into Tommen's room. To me it was "Hubby's dead, time to move on up" and that was the end of it: she'd now be marrying up again. The only person who seems to give a real shit is Cersei, and not because there's anything wrong with it socially, her grievances seem tied to Margery personally (or any woman after her sons) rather than "hey, why is this woman marrying another King?"

Marrying Tommen was ostensibly Cersei's idea. She approached Margery about it, and later her father - to show him she was "doing right by the family" I suspect. It was also probably part of her attempt to drum up support to convict Tyrion, but that's neither here nor there.

Hard to say what he was thinking, but obviously he didn't think he'd be immediately executed. He was a man used to giving orders not taking them having until very recently been sitting at the table (courtesy of throne) that Jon now occupied.

Refusing a direct order, especially that disrespectfully, from the Lord Commander was suicidal. Slynt had to have been there long enough to know his old title meant shit. Further, he may have been Thorne's little lacky, but how many nobles are running around in crow feathers now? Most of them are peasants, other criminal peasants. That he thought that situation would turn out any other way is insanity. I would be more inclined to believe he finally just realized he was fucked and figured a clean beheading was a faster way to die that pissing himself in fear off somewhere away from Castle Black. But he seemed genuinely surprised he was about to get executed... in Westeros... where this shit happens all the time.

He apparently didn't think Jon had the balls to do it. Or he felt he had more support than he did amongst the night watch. Had Alliser Thorne supported him, there was a possibility of a Nights Watch civil war given that Alliser had received nearly as many votes as Jon. And I think deep down Slynt was expecting Thorne to save him.

I'm sure Jon's short look of consternation was having to behead a man, but Stannis's "good job" nod didn't make a lot of sense because the idea of Jon sparing him was just as insane as the circumstances that lead to the beheading. Removing how much of a danger the man is personally to Jon for a second, he's also a danger anywhere else he's in charge because he's an incompetent coward and scumbag opportunist who would sell any of them out if it benefited him in the slightest.

Trolling around the wiki, the books seemed to have done a better job (GASP!) putting some ambiguity in there. But from what I saw in the show: there's about no other way that situation could have gone down.

Well obviously Slynt's last minute begging for mercy gave him pause. Remember, Jon had once before been tasked with beheading someone - granted it was a pretty girl and not a preening cowardly piece of shit, but I think the idea of being an "executioner" bothered him regardless. But I suspect he decided to do it for all of the reasons you just listed. Still, he did ultimately do his duty as was taught to him by Ned - passed the sentence and swung the sword. That's what the nod from Stannis was - assurance that he did the right thing by not granting mercy.

[Pelranius]

Why didn't the Lannister's try just stick with pawning Cersei off on the Tyrell's, keep the father on as Master of Coin, maybe try to pawn Margery off on another "lesser" Lannister, and save Tommen to solidify another pact? I get the people love Margery and no one but Cercei is crying for Joffrey: but I could easily see the Lannisters jockying with the Tyrells on this issue. The "gave" them the king. That king is dead. Why then turn around and give them another crown without a fight? I would easily understand if Tywin had already been killed, but he hadn't yet. It just kind of happens. Maybe I missed something, definitely possible.

The Lannisters are in a very precarious position, between Tywin being dead and them being up to their eyebrows in debt to the Iron Bank.

If Cersei tried to marry off Margaery to a Lannister, like say one of Lancel's brother, Olenna would tell Mace to play hardball and cut back on financial support to the Lannisters. The Lannisters have to pay both the Crown's debt and their own military budget, and they probably can't cover both on their own dime, since the gold mines ran out. (Granted, the Tyrells might not know about the gold mines running dry, but cutting back on support to the Lannisters is still going to hurt Cersei et al either way).

[Elfdart]

Some scenes felt a little contrived. Did Mr. Piss himself really have balls (the man is a proved coward) to force Jon's hand like that? Did he really think a Stark (calling him a bastard is one thing, but he knows Jon, has tried to have him killed) was going to back down when he rebuffed his authority twice? Did he really think Thorne was going to step in? Yea, Jon has enemies, but half the men +1 voted for him to be Lord Commander. And, oh yea, Stannis Fucking Barathon has an army there and seems to be on fairly friendly terms with said bastard. Was he expecting some kind of mutiny or for Jon to back down? He literally had no choice but to execute Slynt and in fact had many good reasons for doing so aside from the public disrespect, so the scene lost a lot of impact for me. I get that Slynt was a coward, but a suicidal idiot? It ended up just being kind of a "like father like son" callback to the first season.

The looks Thorne and Slynt gave each other suggest that The Pisser thought Thorne would back him up, and when Thorne stood up for a second like he was going to interfere, I thought so too. But Thorne did an ole! and the surprised look on The Pisser's face was priceless! So no, he wasn't suicidal -just really fucking stupid to bet his life on Thorne's loyalty to him and Jon's being a pussy. Wrong on both counts.


Now Sansa I don't get. Is she thinking that Brienne is going to save her? Or that by marrying Bolton, she can get them to bump off Littlefinger (Bolton looked like he wanted to shiv the fucker aleady)? Did she bring her necklace of poison with her, hoping to take out the Boltons and Littlefinger Hamlet-style? Or is she just a dumbass as usual?

I can't decide which queen Sir Friend Zone is taking Tyrion to. I'm leaning to Danerys.

Oh, and what happened to Robb's great uncle who had to pee right before the Red Wedding?

[TheFeniX]

Not really sure what you were expecting.

Exposition.

If Cersei tried to marry off Margaery to a Lannister, like say one of Lancel's brother, Olenna would tell Mace to play hardball and cut back on financial support to the Lannisters. The Lannisters have to pay both the Crown's debt and their own military budget, and they probably can't cover both on their own dime, since the gold mines ran out. (Granted, the Tyrells might not know about the gold mines running dry, but cutting back on support to the Lannisters is still going to hurt Cersei et al either way).

Something like this: bam, and I can fill in the rest of the gaps. Even a one-off line like Tywin saying "same play, different actors. We still need them and all the other stuff won't count for dick without a new crown for the daughter" and I'm sold. But I don't recall getting that. Just Cercei saying "here's your pitch-hitter."

The looks Thorne and Slynt gave each other suggest that The Pisser thought Thorne would back him up, and when Thorne stood up for a second like he was going to interfere, I thought so too. But Thorne did an ole! and the surprised look on The Pisser's face was priceless! So no, he wasn't suicidal -just really fucking stupid to bet his life on Thorne's loyalty to him and Jon's being a pussy. Wrong on both counts.

A man like Slynt taking a sucker's bet like this, with his life no less, didn't sit right with me. And with Stannis right there to take sides, there's no way a snake like Slynt could think Stannis wouldn't burn him alive just for giggles after sorting through the bullshit. Sure, Jon might be deposed for being weak, but Slynt still comes out on bottom. Even if Thorne used the opportunity to take command, he'd have to take action against Slynt or also be viewed as a doormat. Who knows, him and Thorne might have had a discussion about possibilities and Slynt got thrown under the buss when Thorne realized Jon wasn't going to just start fucking with him for grins.

Also, I don't mind ambiguity, like this:

Oh, and what happened to Robb's great uncle who had to pee right before the Red Wedding?

We don't know, we can only make barely informed guesses because even the Bolton's and Frey's might have forgotten about him and/or think him among numerous bodies. Who knows? But the Margery thing just kind of annoys me.

[Ziggy Stardust]

Did he really think a Stark (calling him a bastard is one thing, but he knows Jon, has tried to have him killed) was going to back down when he rebuffed his authority twice?

When has Jon tried to have Slynt killed before this episode?

As for your comments about Margaery and Tommen, there was plenty of exposition about that last season. What's the point of continuing to dwell on it when 99% of the audience understands what's going on?

[Sinewmire]

Now Sansa I don't get. Is she thinking that Brienne is going to save her? Or that by marrying Bolton, she can get them to bump off Littlefinger (Bolton looked like he wanted to shiv the fucker aleady)? Did she bring her necklace of poison with her, hoping to take out the Boltons and Littlefinger Hamlet-style? Or is she just a dumbass as usual?

I thought the situation couldn't be plainer; Littlefinger is delivering her enemies to her. This is her chance to "make her own" justice. As much as Sansa doesn't trust Littlefinger, she hates the Boltons, and Littlefinger is giving her what he promised. The chance to hurt those who hurt her, and murder the buggers in their sleep.

[RogueIce]

The Kingdom needs money just as bad as the Lannisters. Marrying Margery off to some lesser Lannister wouldn't have accomplished anything, because Cersai and Flower Power got that covered. Marrying Margery to the King ties them to the Kingdom's fortunes as well, so when they lost one King, they went with the next one. The King is dead, long live the King and all that.

[Pelranius]

Now Sansa I don't get. Is she thinking that Brienne is going to save her? Or that by marrying Bolton, she can get them to bump off Littlefinger (Bolton looked like he wanted to shiv the fucker aleady)? Did she bring her necklace of poison with her, hoping to take out the Boltons and Littlefinger Hamlet-style? Or is she just a dumbass as usual?

My impression of the shenanigans in Episode 2 at the inn was that Sansa was trying to get Brienne away from Littlefinger (Brienne and Pod have to sleep sometime, after all).

My guess is that she'll try to play the Boltons against each other.

I can't decide which queen Sir Friend Zone is taking Tyrion to. I'm leaning to Danerys.

Danearys sounds like a better bet, I don't know if Ser Friend Zone has heard about Cersei's lordship offer yet

Oh, and what happened to Robb's great uncle who had to pee right before the Red Wedding?

Gone to the same place as Gendry, Rickon and the Greyjoys.

[TheHammer]

Not really sure what you were expecting.

Exposition.

They did plenty of exposition last season. I'm glad they didn't waste screen time rehashing it.

If Cersei tried to marry off Margaery to a Lannister, like say one of Lancel's brother, Olenna would tell Mace to play hardball and cut back on financial support to the Lannisters. The Lannisters have to pay both the Crown's debt and their own military budget, and they probably can't cover both on their own dime, since the gold mines ran out. (Granted, the Tyrells might not know about the gold mines running dry, but cutting back on support to the Lannisters is still going to hurt Cersei et al either way).

Something like this: bam, and I can fill in the rest of the gaps. Even a one-off line like Tywin saying "same play, different actors. We still need them and all the other stuff won't count for dick without a new crown for the daughter" and I'm sold. But I don't recall getting that. Just Cercei saying "here's your pitch-hitter."

Again, I don't know how much more you need than this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t94wFKCUKc
(3:40 on)

And this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBXuSoeS2Q0

Marriage between Tommen and Margaery, why they need the alliance... I don't know what else you are thinking you need to satisfy "exposition". Did you miss those scenes?

There is also the scene where Margaery sneeks off to Tommen's bedroom in the middle of the night to begin wrapping him around her little finger.

The looks Thorne and Slynt gave each other suggest that The Pisser thought Thorne would back him up, and when Thorne stood up for a second like he was going to interfere, I thought so too. But Thorne did an ole! and the surprised look on The Pisser's face was priceless! So no, he wasn't suicidal -just really fucking stupid to bet his life on Thorne's loyalty to him and Jon's being a pussy. Wrong on both counts.

A man like Slynt taking a sucker's bet like this, with his life no less, didn't sit right with me. And with Stannis right there to take sides, there's no way a snake like Slynt could think Stannis wouldn't burn him alive just for giggles after sorting through the bullshit. Sure, Jon might be deposed for being weak, but Slynt still comes out on bottom. Even if Thorne used the opportunity to take command, he'd have to take action against Slynt or also be viewed as a doormat. Who knows, him and Thorne might have had a discussion about possibilities and Slynt got thrown under the buss when Thorne realized Jon wasn't going to just start fucking with him for grins.

Slynt was a coward and a fool who had always counted on his "friends" to save him. He kept talking of his "powerful friends in the capital" right up until he started begging for his life. In the end he had no friends where he needed them.

Also, I don't mind ambiguity, like this:

Oh, and what happened to Robb's great uncle who had to pee right before the Red Wedding?

We don't know, we can only make barely informed guesses because even the Bolton's and Frey's might have forgotten about him and/or think him among numerous bodies. Who knows? But the Margery thing just kind of annoys me.

They didn't forget about the Blackfish. They noted that the wasn't amongst the dead. Walder Frey said something to the effect of "He will be found, but even if he isn't what can one old man do?". And again, unless you missed the two scenes I linked I don't feel your Margaery complaints are even remotely valid...

[TheHammer]

Now Sansa I don't get. Is she thinking that Brienne is going to save her? Or that by marrying Bolton, she can get them to bump off Littlefinger (Bolton looked like he wanted to shiv the fucker aleady)? Did she bring her necklace of poison with her, hoping to take out the Boltons and Littlefinger Hamlet-style? Or is she just a dumbass as usual?

I thought the situation couldn't be plainer; Littlefinger is delivering her enemies to her. This is her chance to "make her own" justice. As much as Sansa doesn't trust Littlefinger, she hates the Boltons, and Littlefinger is giving her what he promised. The chance to hurt those who hurt her, and murder the buggers in their sleep.

I agree. Sansa has no reason (that she knows of) to try and bump off Littlefinger. He "saved her" after all from Kings landing. And he made it clear that this is only phase 1 in their "revenge against everyone" plot, although his own ambitions extend beyond that quite a bit.

The Kingdom needs money just as bad as the Lannisters. Marrying Margery off to some lesser Lannister wouldn't have accomplished anything, because Cersai and Flower Power got that covered. Marrying Margery to the King ties them to the Kingdom's fortunes as well, so when they lost one King, they went with the next one. The King is dead, long live the King and all that.

In fact, marrying her off to a lesser Lannister might actually lead to Cersei's own downfall. You've already got Kevan Lannister non too please about the situation. With a powerful backer like the Tyrells, one could easily see a change of the guard there where a cadet branch of the Lannisters becomes the new primary - and possibly a Tyrell sitting on the Iron Throne.

[TheHammer]

So Littlefinger's plan essentially looks like what we thought it would be. Plan A - Stannis invades and makes Sansa ruler of Winterfell, and Wardeness of the North. Plan B - She bides her time as Ramsay Bolton's wife until an opportunity presents itself. Of course he's certainly not in the "know" when it comes to Ramsay which makes Plan B for less tenuous.

Lots of fight scenes. Cersei makes her gambit to marginalize the Tyrells, but one has to wonder how wise it is to try and weaken and alienate your one true ally. I suspect that will come back to bite her in the ass. Tommen again shows how he's different from Joffrey who almost certainly would have had his Kings Guard "clear out the rabble" on the way to see the High Sparrow. He clearly suffers from lack of any wise council as the two women in his life attempt to manipulate him to their own ends.

[FaxModem1]

Thank goodness Jon Snow kept to his vows, for Melissandre's vagina is dark and full of terrors. She probably would have used that to assassinate Roose Bolton, and Winterfell would have been led by old Ramsay Bolton.

[Pelranius]

Cersei makes her gambit to marginalize the Tyrells, but one has to wonder how wise it is to try and weaken and alienate your one true ally. I suspect that will come back to bite her in the ass. Tommen again shows how he's different from Joffrey who almost certainly would have had his Kings Guard "clear out the rabble" on the way to see the High Sparrow. He clearly suffers from lack of any wise council as the two women in his life attempt to manipulate him to their own ends.

Not to mention that a lot of people in King's Landing suspect C+J = T.

Lancel will probably snitch, and the High Sparrow decides to get rid of Cersei and her kids (though that begs the question of who's he going to install as king? Stannis and Danny don't seem like ideal candidates, from a fundamentalist point of view).

[TheHammer]

Cersei makes her gambit to marginalize the Tyrells, but one has to wonder how wise it is to try and weaken and alienate your one true ally. I suspect that will come back to bite her in the ass. Tommen again shows how he's different from Joffrey who almost certainly would have had his Kings Guard "clear out the rabble" on the way to see the High Sparrow. He clearly suffers from lack of any wise council as the two women in his life attempt to manipulate him to their own ends.

Not to mention that a lot of people in King's Landing suspect C+J = T.

Lancel will probably snitch, and the High Sparrow decides to get rid of Cersei and her kids (though that begs the question of who's he going to install as king? Stannis and Danny don't seem like ideal candidates, from a fundamentalist point of view).

I dunno if the high sparrow has that kind of juice. The militants at his command certainly can beat up commoners and unarmed brothel patrons, but against trained armored knights and Lannister guards one has to presume they'd fall quickly. But Cersei certainly has opened the door by allowing the nobility to be treated the same as commoners.

[Pelranius]

Cersei makes her gambit to marginalize the Tyrells, but one has to wonder how wise it is to try and weaken and alienate your one true ally. I suspect that will come back to bite her in the ass. Tommen again shows how he's different from Joffrey who almost certainly would have had his Kings Guard "clear out the rabble" on the way to see the High Sparrow. He clearly suffers from lack of any wise council as the two women in his life attempt to manipulate him to their own ends.

Not to mention that a lot of people in King's Landing suspect C+J = T.

Lancel will probably snitch, and the High Sparrow decides to get rid of Cersei and her kids (though that begs the question of who's he going to install as king? Stannis and Danny don't seem like ideal candidates, from a fundamentalist point of view).

I dunno if the high sparrow has that kind of juice. The militants at his command certainly can beat up commoners and unarmed brothel patrons, but against trained armored knights and Lannister guards one has to presume they'd fall quickly. But Cersei certainly has opened the door by allowing the nobility to be treated the same as commoners.

I'm surprised that his militants are more heavily armed- yet. Lancel has some military training, and I'd be surprised if he was the only highborn/noble in the militants' ranks.

[Sinewmire]

I know Cersei isn't supposed to be as clever as she thinks she is, but I really wanted to shake her by the lapels this episode.
You just drew a sword you can't wield to strike at your only allies! Once the Sparrows, like most religious fanatics, are released I can't see the collar going back on any time soon.

This is going to be bad. I'm seeing the Bonfire of the Vanities in King's Landing.

[Elfdart]

Thank goodness Jon Snow kept to his vows, for Melissandre's vagina is dark and full of terrors. She probably would have used that to assassinate Roose Bolton, and Winterfell would have been led by old Ramsay Bolton.

Judging from where Jon kept his right hand just before pulling it away, he just barely made his saving throw against her Amazing Tits spell.

Cersei is incredibly stupid, since it's only a matter of time before Lancel rats her out. Chekhov's gun is pointed right in her face like Elmer Fudd's shotgun and like Daffy Duck, Cersei is demanding that the trigger gets pulled:



The fact that Lancel is in town means at least one person in King's Landing has first hand evidence of the Queen committing a crime that could mean the end for her. Even if cousin-fucking is tolerated like it was for the Hapsburgs and Plantagenets, she was committing adultery while Robert was still alive. If that wasn't bad enough, it would almost certainly bring up the incest allegations about her and Jaime (the wowsers were already muttering "bastard" at Tommen). That witch in the hut called it: Cersei and her inbred kids are probably goners. I feel badly for Tommen and Marcella, but Cersei is long overdue for a beheading.

[Pelranius]

Kevan Lannister didn't seem to kindly disposed to the Sparrows, and if Olenna comes back, she could ask him to ride along.

The High Sparrow probably isn't going to be very wild about Franken-Gregor.

[TheHammer]

I know Cersei isn't supposed to be as clever as she thinks she is, but I really wanted to shake her by the lapels this episode.
You just drew a sword you can't wield to strike at your only allies! Once the Sparrows, like most religious fanatics, are released I can't see the collar going back on any time soon.

This is going to be bad. I'm seeing the Bonfire of the Vanities in King's Landing.

That's the thing, I think she views the high sparrow as naive and easily manipulated. And right now she has Margaery quite perturbed and seems rather pleased with herself. I've seen enough Game of Thrones to know that I can't predict how exactly this will turn out, but if Cersei and Tommen are over-thrown and a theocracy installed, we are potentially headed towards a holy war as Stannis moves south.

I have to wonder what's going to happen to Littlefinger. Clearly the sparrows neither respect nor fear him, and in fact he would seem to be a prime target. He seems unaware at this point of the goings on, but always a chance that changes as he gets closer to Kings landing. Otherwise be interesting to see what happens when he is blindsided as he has done so many others before.

[Ziggy Stardust]

Littlefinger knows that Stannis is at Castle Black, but do the Boltons? We didn't see them this most recent episode, but last episode in the scenes with them they didn't mention it at all, and I feel like that would be the number one thing on their mind if they knew there was a large army at their back door.

Also, the scene with Jon Snow writing the Boltons for help was idiotic. I mean, he JUST had a conversation with Stannis about how he was days away from marching south to conquer Winterfell, so why bother dealing with the Boltons at all right now? Yes, the Night's Watch needs men, but just wait for Stannis to conquer the place and then ask for help. It just seemed like an unnecessary scene considering the circumstances.

[Vympel]

EW nails it:

Cersei is a disaster as a leader, even worse than I imagined. She’s stripping her inner circle of experienced advisers. She’s empowering creeps. She’s sending away her most loyal warriors. She could have gotten her son killed by sending him into Flea Bottom. She just managed to undermine her son’s authority in public—bad enough Tommen’s so young, now he looks weak, too. And all this because of a catty power play with Horny Miss Smirk-Boobs? It’s like somebody became U.S. president, then sent Navy Seals after their high school bullies and gave nuclear weapons to PETA. Worse, really.