Game of Thrones (contains serious, massive SPOILERS)

[The Shoemaker]

This sets up a pretty epic next season. Will it be the last one?

I believe their plan is to do two more short seasons. Next season will have 7 episodes, and the final season may have 6. Next season is also delayed, so it won't be debuting in April 2017. They said the reason they wanted to delay shooting was so they could have some greyer, wintery weather at their usual shooting locations (since winter has arrived and all).

Uh oh, sounds like a Mad Max Fury Road situation, looks like we'll be waiting another 15 years for this one :p

[Kreegs]

Two shortened seasons? Oh brother. That irritates me. Why not just have 15 more seasons, each with only 1 episode and just drag it out like non other...

[Kong Wen]

Two shortened seasons? Oh brother. That irritates me. Why not just have 15 more seasons, each with only 1 episode and just drag it out like non other...

Because that would be awful and dragged out, but two shortened seasons will be excellent and not dragged out...?

[Kreegs]

Two shortened seasons? Oh brother. That irritates me. Why not just have 15 more seasons, each with only 1 episode and just drag it out like non other...

Because that would be awful and dragged out, but two shortened seasons will be excellent and not dragged out...?

I was sarcastically exaggerating, but its not like 10 episodes is a long season anyway. 6 seams really short for a non-British show.

[Kong Wen]

Two shortened seasons? Oh brother. That irritates me. Why not just have 15 more seasons, each with only 1 episode and just drag it out like non other...

Because that would be awful and dragged out, but two shortened seasons will be excellent and not dragged out...?

I was sarcastically exaggerating, but its not like 10 episodes is a long season anyway. 6 seams really short for a non-British show.

I'll take 7 good coherent 70-minute episodes over 13+ filler-full episodes any day.

[The Shoemaker]

I think looking at this season alone you can tell it would have been a lot tighter if it was only 7 episodes or so.

They said before that the budget for each episode is getting higher and higher and it has become increasingly difficult to film so many large set pieces in just a single year for a season. So by having shorter seasons we can expect tighter episodes with higher budgets and more time put into them. Considering the amount of White Walkers they and dragons they are going to need to film, it makes sense.

[Kong Wen]

I think looking at this season alone you can tell it would have been a lot tighter if it was only 7 episodes or so.

They said before that the budget for each episode is getting higher and higher and it has become increasingly difficult to film so many large set pieces in just a single year for a season. So by having shorter seasons we can expect tighter episodes with higher budgets and more time put into them. Considering the amount of White Walkers they and dragons they are going to need to film, it makes sense.

They're also doing a good job of drawing important storylines towards each other and cutting off loose threads, so that should mean less to cram into each episode, and a less rushed feeling of spending 5 thrifty minutes on each plot to keep things moving.

I don't think fewer, tighter episodes could have worked before this season, but we're definitely at a point where it's possible now. When everyone comes together, we're basically going to have a miniseries of set-pieces. 6 episodes is perfect for a season like that.

[VictorViper]

I don't think fewer, tighter episodes could have worked before this season, but we're definitely at a point where it's possible now. When everyone comes together, we're basically going to have a miniseries of set-pieces. 6 episodes is perfect for a season like that.

Couldn't agree with this more.

[Kong Wen]

Kiwi posted it in the chat yesterday, but it's worth posting here as well.

Warning: massive spoilers for everything that's ever happened in Game of Thrones.
If you're not caught up to the end of Season 6, Episode 10, try to resist watching this for now.

[Kong Wen]

Spoilers regarding Jaime's activities in Season 7, and overall spoilers of the whole series up to the end of Season 6:

Spoiler

A lot of people are speculating that Jaime will head to Casterly Rock to liberate it from Dany's Unsullied forces, who will capture it by going through the sewers. I believe he won't go to Casterly Rock, and if he does, it will be later in the season, after he makes an important stop at another major city.

He's going to Highgarden.

There are a couple clues to this, but we weren't able to start really putting the pieces together until the most recent trailer came out.

The first clue was a brief scene of the Dothraki fighting Tarly soldiers in the previous trailer. Why would Dany be fighting the armies of Randyl Tarly, her ally Olenna Tyrell's bannerman?

The second clue came in the latest trailer. There's a brief scene of Jaime walking along the ramparts of what looks like it could be King's Landing or Casterly Rock... except one eagle-eyed viewer pointed out a dead Tyrell man on the ground, leading speculation that this is in Highgarden. But what's he doing there?

Our only direct experience with Randyl Tarly is that he's a hard, military-minded jerk who values power and might above anything else. With House Tyrell's virtual eradication at the hands of Cersei, I believe the new Queen will offer to make Randyl Tarly the Warden of the South and Lord Paramount of the Reach in exchange for his loyalty against the shattered Tyrells and their alliance against the invading Eastern hordes: Unsullied and barbarian Dothraki, neither of whom he would respect. She'll send Jaime, a military man and leader of House Lannister. Together, Jaime and Randyl will capture Highgarden, which is where that scene with Jaime on the ramparts will come from.

It's after the sack of Highgarden that the Lannister/Tarly forces will encounter Dany's Dragon & Dothraki army, which is where the scene of Tarly men being jumped comes from. Jaime's lion-charge on the flaming battlefield is probably from this battle scene as well.

Now, none of this means that Casterly Rock isn't being taken—we know there is a force of Unsullied there (Dany divided her armies). And it doesn't mean Jaime won't eventually go there, either to attempt to free it, or alone after his army has been ravaged. We don't have enough information. It's possible that the shot with Jaime, Bronn, and the wagon train is his army en route to Casterly Rock from Highgarden when the fighting breaks out. We'll learn the details soon enough.