A Game of Thrones on HBO - I guess this is really going to happen.

[Berkut]

I have to essentially agree with Berkut on that one. Sansa's "betrayal" is just a detail IMHO. A reasonably sized detail but still a detail.

Berkut is right in the sense that if there had been a better plan that could not fail no matter what,

Come now, you know I have not said anything of the sort.

Colts playing the Lions.  What could possibly go wrong.

Saying that Cersei going up against Ned is like the Colts (Cersei) going up against the Lions (Ned) and therefore the outcome of some particular play is not really that important is not at all saying that the only way that play could have gone well would be if Ned had some "perfect" plan that could never go wrong.

Ned lost to Cersei because Cersei was better at the game than he was, not because Sansa told her Ned was going to ship her away from Kings Landing. In fact, if anything it is the other way around - Sansa told Cersei *because* Cersei was better at the game than Ned was - certainly Cerseis plans were never derailed by some child telling her enemies what she was going to do, if for no other reason than she wasn't silly enough to tell children that kind of information.

Sansa telling Cersei was that actions of a 12 year old girl. Or was she 11 at the time?

And what did it really tell Cersei? That Ned was getting his daughters out of Kings Landing, and hence was likely to be making a move. So? It's not like she didn't know that anyway, and she was moving against him already - the most it did was make her decide that now was the time to move (before he got such a valuable hostage out of her control).

I still don't see any reason to think that it changed the outcome in any material manner.

[Berkut]

I am also interested in Rhaegar. I like the way your mental image of this character we have never met changes so drastically as the books progress. Once Barristan is telling Daenys about him, you cannot help but wonder if Robert was the real asshole of the War of Rebellion, rather than Rhaegar (yeah, I know, the real asshole was Aerys...bear with me here).

On the other hand, Barristan describes Rhaegar as being intelligent, honorable, and thoughtful. Even if Lyanna was willing, running off with someone betrothed when you are already married and the betrothed in question is heir to a great house when your own kingdom is on precarious ground because your father is insane doesn't really seem very intelligent or thoughful, and certainly is not honorable, even if it isn't as monstrous as the claims that Lyanna was kidnapped would have you believe.

[Eddie Teach]

Once again TV fails me.

If they had Dany played by a child all the action would be off-camera.

[The Brain]

Once again TV fails me.

If they had Dany played by a child all the action would be off-camera.

The actress doesn't interest me. The character does.