Game of Throngs

[Dream]

Spoiler:

As I recall the previous episode, Theon had a plan to raid a stronghold that he named, that wasn't Winterfell. He didn't seem to be thinking bigger than that, I recall him mentioning holding it until relief came. I think there is a bit of a gap between that presumably successful act, and taking Winterfell itself.

As an aside, we have for Theon yet another strong protector type for a main character, dispensing plain talking wisdom along with menacing sword toting. It's like a fundamental trope for the series: A character gets their story going, and attracts a loyal protector to follow them around glowering.

[maybeagnostic]

Spoilers from first book:

Spoiler:

Winterfell probably has a few hundred people living in the fortress itself but the Winter Town is abandoned over the summer. The idea being that in the North people work the land all through the summer to build up food stores and then move into their local castle village for the winter which means that over the summer Winterfell and other fortresses are almost abandoned compared to their total capacity.

Spoilers from episodes 5 and 6:

Spoiler:

Almost all experienced fighters and young men are away fighting the war, Theon feigned an attack on a nearby castle, and ser Rodrick gathered everyone who can possibly fight (mostly retired veterans and boys who grew up enough to fight since Rob left) to go defend the coastline from the reavers. I think in the books he leaves a couple of guards behind but Theon scales the wall at night while they are slacking off and completely unaware of any possible attack. He kills the few guards which only leaves Winterfell with people who weren't given a weapon even when ser Rodrick was desperately arming everyone that could possibly help him fight the Ironborn.

I liked the new episode quite a bit. It breaks from the books in several small but significant ways which makes it a lot more interesting for me. Previous episodes were like watching a good play I knew well- I could appreciate the acting but most of the time I knew what each character was about to say before they said it.

[pseudoidiot]

So, the girl from Volantis in Robb's camp. Book (up to book 3 to be safe) spoilers:

Spoiler:

It seems pretty obvious they're grooming her to be his love interest. But wasn't the girl in the book from Westeros? Or am I totally misremembering?

[LaserGuy]

So, the girl from Volantis in Robb's camp. Book (up to book 3 to be safe) spoilers:

Spoiler:

It seems pretty obvious they're grooming her to be his love interest. But wasn't the girl in the book from Westeros? Or am I totally misremembering?

Book/Show spoilers...

Spoiler:

I think she may be lying about her origins. From the casting of the show, she appears to be Jeyne Westerling. It is possible that they're changing her backstory, I suppose, since Jeyne was the daughter of the lord in some hold that Robb ends up capturing.

[maybeagnostic]

Book 2 spoiler:

Spoiler:

Yes, Jeyne Westerling took care of Rob after he took an arrow storming her keep. I think her grandmother was a witch from the East (possibly Volantis?) and her mother was a merchant and while her family was old it was very poor and insignificant. We might have just seen the aftermath of the attack on her home when she was first introduced? Anyway, she only gets a few lines in the books so it wouldn't be much of a loss if they changed her backstory.

[ArgonV]

Episode only spoilers

Spoiler:

Yeah, it was pretty much implied from the get-go that Theon would be taking Winterfell, when talking to his first mate. I like him even less now.
Pretty sure Baelish recognized her. It's subtle, but it's there. There were complaints Arya's killer friend (forgot his name) wasn't killing supernatural enough, but he killed this general with a blow dart. Won't that arouse suspicion? And I guess he threw torture guy of a wall?
Curious who took Daenerys' dragons. I'm guessing it's those creepy warlock-types.
The older Stark brothers would seem to have some luck Robb with is pretty healer girl and Jon captures a beautiful wildling girl. I guess she won't be killed, since they could've done so already. Curious what they will do with her...

[Dream]

Like the Burly Protector Character trope, will Men Led Astray By Weakness For Women be a constant thing? Stannis, Theon, Jamie, maybe Robb depending on how you read it, Tyrion and probably others I can't remember all have women trying to get something from them, and going after it via the pants. It's kind of getting old for me. I'm fully expecting to find that

Spoiler:

The dragons were nicked while whatsisname was sexing up that masked women who recognised him in the last episode.

[Adacore]

Book 2 spoilers (on comparison between the book and the show, minor implied spoilers for future episodes of the show):

Spoiler:

I think they changed more stuff in that episode than in any other so far - almost every scene was different from how it was in the book. Robb and the replacement girl for Jayne Westerling was all new stuff; they weren't mounted for the riot in Kings Landing (which made it considerably less plausible that they'd get away so easily); the guy almost telling Tywin about Arya then being killed by Jaqen, Littlefinger's visit to Harrenhal was new too I think; Jon and Ygritte running around the Frostfangs and snuggling; Osha distracting Theon with sex; and Dany had her freaking dragons stolen?! Plus Xaro is completely different (and way more likeable) in the show than he was in the books, and it's implied that he wants to marry her because he actually likes her, whereas he's gay in the books and just wants her dragons and power. I guess it all worked ok, the only scene that really felt like it wasn't so good was the riot, and that's probably because horses create a nightmare for both the budget and the action choreography.

Also, given how shy they're not about showing nudity, what's with the lack of Qarthian dresses? I was interested to see those.

Bookish spoilers...

Spoiler:

It happens pretty much as you recall, but not immediately. I think Bran escapes a few days later or something.

Where's Reek/Ramsay? Other characters, such as Jojen and the Freys were also left out entirely, which might complicate things later a little bit.

Book 2 and early-3:

Spoiler:

They could easily enough have Bran meet Jojen and Meera somewhere after he's escaped. He kinda needs to meet them before heading north much though, or some of the plot developments on the Bran stuff won't make much sense.

[quantumcat42]

Book 2 spoilers (on comparison between the book and the show, minor implied spoilers for future episodes of the show):

Spoiler:

Robb and the replacement girl for Jayne Westerling was all new stuff;

I'm puzzled by why everyone thinks she's a replacement.

Spoiler:

It's very obviously Jeyne, who's very obviously lying about her name and background for very obvious reasons. She isn't even lying about everything, like her mother's background. There'll be a big reveal before the season's done.

[Chen]

Like the Burly Protector Character trope, will Men Led Astray By Weakness For Women be a constant thing? Stannis, Theon, Jamie, maybe Robb depending on how you read it, Tyrion and probably others I can't remember all have women trying to get something from them, and going after it via the pants. It's kind of getting old for me.

I wouldn't say Stannis is being led by Melisandre. It seems to me both are somewhat using each other to get what they want. I don't really see how Jamie is being manipulated by Cersei either. Theon sure with Osha, but this is pretty much in Theon's character as we've seen. Shae is a prostitute so aside from money she doesn't seem to be trying to get anything more from Tyrion. Robb with the new girl is not really clear what's going on yet in the show and they completely changed this storyline from the book so I don't know what they're doing with the girl's motives.

Book spoilers

Spoiler:

In the books Robb and Jeyne legitimately fall in love. Now it turns out extremely badly for Robb, but she didn't intentionally lead him astray as per the trope.

[Diadem]

Agreed. Sex is definitely a powerful motivator in Game of Thrones. But that's true for the real world as well, so that's only realistic. People will do strange things for sex, or love. But the only man deceived by sex is Theon, I think. I didn't much care for the scene, I think it was only put in to meet their boob-quota. But one instance is hardly a pervasive pattern.

And it fits Theon's character. He's not very bright, and thinks mostly with his dick. See also his interaction with his sister.

[SlyReaper]

I'm still trying to get my head around his little change of heart. He leaves Rob Stark apparently completely loyal to the Stark family. As soon as he meets his aging curmudgeon of a dad on some distant wind-swept crap-hole of an island, he's like "Option A: Stay loyal to the family who have raised me from childhood as one of their own, protected me, and given me everything I have. Option B: Throw my lot in with this hateful old dinosaur and my painfully smug sister, neither of whom will ever respect me. OPTION B IT IS!!!".

[Dream]

I had trouble with that too. But remember that he's a vain idiot. His father manipulated him with shame. I suspect he'll have a great crisis of confidence, and realise his mistake when he realises that his father is acting driven by shame too, and is more interested in dying with some shreds of imagined dignity than he is with earning that dignity by being a good king and father. Hence the scene where Theon confronts him with his capitulation to the Baratheon and Stark families, and challenges him to admit to failing, but is rebuffed with anger and lust for conquest.

It takes Theon being a fool to set it up, but it has great potential to be an excellent thematic strand of the show.

[Adam H]

I'm still trying to get my head around his little change of heart. He leaves Rob Stark apparently completely loyal to the Stark family. As soon as he meets his aging curmudgeon of a dad on some distant wind-swept crap-hole of an island, he's like "Option A: Stay loyal to the family who have raised me from childhood as one of their own, protected me, and given me everything I have. Option B: Throw my lot in with this hateful old dinosaur and my painfully smug sister, neither of whom will ever respect me. OPTION B IT IS!!!".

Another way of looking at it:

Option A: Stay loyal to a family that stole me from my blood when I was a child, and never loved me or made me feel like I belong.
Option B: Throw my lot in with my real family who don't trust me yet because they think I've been brainwashed by their enemies (have I?), but once I prove myself to them I will be their prince and someday king.

[Diadem]

Well Theon, both in the books and the show, is clearly a complex person. He's not exactly an asshole, but he's clearly not as nice as most of the Stark children. He has some good characteristics, and some flaws. Mostly, he's very vain, and quite naive.

The background is that Balon Greyjoy rebelled against the kingdom, sometime after Robert Baratheon took the throne. This rebellion was quickly squashed (they were hopelessly outnumbered) and Theon was given to the Starks as their ward. But ward really is a nice word for 'hostage' here. Though Ned, being the honourable guy that he was, tried to raise Theon to the best of his abilities. But Theon is just old enough to remember this. So it must have been a traumatic experience for him, ending up at the enemy.

So he's thorn between loyalty to his old family, who he still dimly remembers, and loyalty to the Starks, who were enemies at first, but ended up showing him love and kindness (though they never really accepted him. At least not all of them. Ned probably did, as did the children. But Catelyn never does).

And then he and Robb think up this plan for the Greyjoys to join Robb's rebellion. Obviously Theon is overjoyed with this. It's his chance to support both his old and his new family at the same time. He's pretty much expecting a hero's welcome at home. The long lost son returning home. But not just that, returning home with a plan that allows the Greyjoy's to gain significant influence and power.

The rejection of his father, both of him personally as a son, and of his plan to ally with Robb, is completely unexpected, and really shatters his confidence. He's desperate for recognition.

Also, like I said, he's naive. He clearly did not expect that conquering Winterfell would involve, you know, killing people.

[Dream]

The rejection of his father, both of him personally as a son, and of his plan to ally with Robb, is completely unexpected, and really shatters his confidence. He's desperate for recognition.

I think this fits with my reading. Theon actually has the best plan for the Pyke Isles, but his father rejects it in favour of a foolish scheme. He doesn't even ally with the Lannisters, just thinks that the Starks being distracted is a good excuse to do some raiding and call himself a king. Theon is essentially forced to give up on common sense, which I think is what he does in the letter burning scene. Neither he nor his father could ever really believe that they could hold off whatever Westron army comes after them ultimately. They're more interested in their "iron prices" than planning for the future.

[Diadem]

Agreed. Balon's plan is foolish. He's probably right in that no one will come after him while everybody is distracted. But once the dust settles everybody will hate him, and this time around they won't let him live. They'll probably execute depopulate the entire islands and salt the earth.

Theon's plan on the other hand is a very good one. Robb is already doing very well, and the Iron Islands can gain a lot by allying with them. The Lannister lands have a lot of vulnerable coast-line.

It's interesting that the books really reverse the standard fantasy trope here. Generally the hero faces insurmountable odds, but somehow wins. In A Song of Ice and Fire the hero (Robb) is the dominant force. He's clearly winning the war. Both Balon and Renly have every reason to ally with him. Balon for all the above reasons. And Renly can't win realistically win the Iron Throne without Stark support. But Renly refuses to cooperate if the Stark's claim independence, as does Stannis after Renly dies, and Balon actually attacks them. He goes from being clearly winning to losing almost everything in a few chapters / episodes.

[Dream]

But Renly refuses to cooperate if the Stark's claim independence,

Spoiler:

But I thought in the show, Catelyn agrees with Renly that Westros will be under the Iron Throne but with a King in the North. Since Robb's campaign is against the Lannisters, not the Throne, surely that would have stood had Renly lived. Of course they never got to work out hte details, but uniquely among hte pretender kings, Renley wanted to let Robb rule the north, and Robb didn't want to contest his claim on the throne.

[Diadem]

I thought they hadn't reached an agreement over that yet? Though they did view each other favourably.

Either way it doesn't matter. Renly is dead, and Stannis is a lot less flexible.

[gmalivuk]

Yeah, I don't recall if it happened that way in the book, but Renly's definitely pretty accommodating in the show. Also, should things from the second most recent episode still be spoilered? I mean, I guess we could assume people more than a week behind aren't currently reading through the thread, but that might not be the safest assumption to make?

On the Reeds and Winterfell (Book 2 and potentially future episode (though with changes in this episode some of what I expect to happen may not) spoilers):

Spoiler:

I do hope both of them show up at some point, perhaps after Bran sets out from Winterfell. In addition to being pretty plot relevant, I just thought they were both pretty awesome characters, and it'd be a pity not to seem them in the show.

I don't think it actually spoils anything to say that the specific identity and backstory of Robb's presumed love interest isn't actually all that important to the plot, except inasmuch as she isn't a Frey, who Robb was promised to marry in the first season in exchange for Granddaddy Frey (Walther?) letting his army through. In this most recent episode, though,

Spoiler:

she does seem pretty clearly to be lying about her background. I'm just not convinced they'll have her reveal the same truth as was in the book, since as I said I'm not sure how important the specifics really are.

[LaserGuy]

It's interesting that the books really reverse the standard fantasy trope here. Generally the hero faces insurmountable odds, but somehow wins. In A Song of Ice and Fire the hero (Robb) is the dominant force. He's clearly winning the war. Both Balon and Renly have every reason to ally with him. Balon for all the above reasons. And Renly can't win realistically win the Iron Throne without Stark support. But Renly refuses to cooperate if the Stark's claim independence, as does Stannis after Renly dies, and Balon actually attacks them. He goes from being clearly winning to losing almost everything in a few chapters / episodes.

The author intentionally reverses a lot of traditional fantasy tropes in the series. I think Sansa was really written to highlight this: She'd fit in perfectly well in a Knights of the Round Table or Lord of the Rings type of story, but is really hopeless in this one.

FWIW, in the series, Theon's plan would actually fail because of geography. In the books, he wants them to attack Casterly Rock, which is on the west coast of Westeros. In the show, he wants to attack King's Landing, which is on the east coast. Balon Greyjoy would have to sail his ships all the way around Dorne and up the coast, right through Stannis' fleet to get to King's Landing. Or go north, I guess. It makes the narrative in the series a bit easier to follow, but it doesn't actually make sense from a strategic standpoint. On the other hand, the show plays pretty fast and loose with distances and timings anyway.

[Diadem]

Yeah that part didn't really make sense. I guess tv shows have to keep things simple for everybody to be able to follow it.

Though, there are several major rivers running east-west through the continent. It's possible they are connected with canals, allowing ships to pass through the continent. Of course sailing ships through enemy-controlled rivers is still a hopeless endeavour.

[maybeagnostic]

Robb really cares about taking Casterly Rock though. If he took the Lannister's castle and money they would be left with no allies.
Spoilers for episode 5

Spoiler:

And Renly can't realistically win the Iron Throne without Stark support. But Renly refuses to cooperate if the Stark's claim independence...

The show perhaps didn't make that very clear but Renly's host is actually twice the size of all the other armies combined. He already controlled two of the seven kingdoms, two others (Dorn and the Vale) wouldn't oppose his claim to be king, and I think he would have gladly accepted the North being autonomous but not independent (which it pretty much was under Robert already) which gives him the North and the Riverlands. He only had to defeat the already battered Lannisters and Stannis. Renly really had the throne in the bag and nothing short of a miracle could have stopped him

One point the show really didn't stress enough was the importance of the Tyrells. 'Everyone is here but the Tyrells and their vassals' means half the army is gone.

[Chen]

Yeah that part didn't really make sense. I guess tv shows have to keep things simple for everybody to be able to follow it.

Though, there are several major rivers running east-west through the continent. It's possible they are connected with canals, allowing ships to pass through the continent. Of course sailing ships through enemy-controlled rivers is still a hopeless endeavour.

I think it was really just the first point you made. They barely talk about Casterly Rock and I suspect people would get pertty damn confused about it. Not to mention no map has shown Casterly Rock so people wouldn't even know where it is.

[Adam H]

I don't know, I feel like you could easily make it clear:
"The Ironborn will attack Casterly Rock."
"Lannister's castle. Good idea M'lord!"

[Diadem]

They don't even have to mention casterly rock really. "You could raid their vulnerable coastline while their army is elsewhere".

[Adacore]

They don't even have to mention casterly rock really. "You could raid their vulnerable coastline while their army is elsewhere".

Book 2 (and future episode) spoilers:

Spoiler:

Maybe there's a secondary reason they did it too - to make it clear that Kings Landing is vulnerable to an attack by sea, which hasn't really been that obvious in the show so far, in order to set the scene for the Battle of Blackwater in episode 9. Plus the idea that the capital could be threatened is more dramatic than just 'we might raid this place you've never seen'.

Which isn't to say that it makes sense, attacking Casterly Rock to pincer the Lannisters second army with Robb's army was a great plan, attacking Kings Landing from Pyke is a terrible one. If it weren't for Balon Greyjoy being an imbecile, he would've seen that being given domain over the Lannister lands was way better than anything he could hope to achieve north of Moat Cailin anyway, in the long run.

[Lucrece]

The Greyjoys are miserable sailor/raiders. Gaining Lannister land does nothing for them because currency and easy opulence isn't what they value as a culture -- establishing dominance and status through their own means is what merits value in their view. It's not that Balon is an idiot -- it's just his ethics and way of life do not value longevity, stability, and efficiency over satisfying your personal whims by feats of strength/barbarism.

Too bad the Greyoys are just wimpy Bolton wannabes. Now, the Boltons are some true ruthless, psychopathic people.

[SlyReaper]

Yeah, I've been to Bolton. I know what you mean.

[CorruptUser]

The Greyjoys are miserable sailor/raiders.

Book spoilers, not sure which book

Spoiler:

I like the juxtaposition between The Ironborn and The Onion Knight. The Ironborn wear iron armor while on ships, because hell yeah we're badass. The Onion Knight says no armor when on a ship, because hell no I'm not an idiot.

Also, IRL, wearing armor wouldn't have exactly added any danger until very recently; sailors in the age of sail generally did not know how to swim. On purpose, actually; if you fell overboard, you were assured death unless you found some floatsum AND your ship turned around to grab you, which was unlikely since the battle would last for hours. Except in a very few places, those hours would kill you from hypothermia. Knowing how to swim would only prolong the death.

[LaserGuy]

On Episode 7 (series only)...

Spoiler:

Lots of good stuff happening now--the intensity is definitely ratcheting up.

Obviously some big stuff happening in Winterfell this week. I think the ending was a bit rushed, maybe, even though a fairly huge part of the episode was devoted to this plotline. It didn't give the same "Oh my God!" factor as some other major deaths in the series. I think they're doing a really good job with Theon, though. Even his clothing and expressions are looking more crazed and desperate as the episodes go by, and even though he's making a lot of really stupid decisions, it's all very believable and follows quite naturally. I think this is done a lot better than, say, Joffrey, who is a lot more of a flat character and is apparently just outright evil.

The scenes with Ygritte and Jon Snow are pure gold. I'm glad that they decided to focus more on this relationship than in the books. Ditto for Arya/Tywin. I wonder a little bit about what Tywin's game is here. I think it's obvious that he knows something is up with Arya--he's being very methodical about it, fitting the pieces together and testing her stories. He's recognized at this point that she's highborn, and a Northerner, so it seems hard to believe that he wouldn't be the slightest bit concerned that she might be a spy. There's also the question of why Arya doesn't just immediately put Tywin's name on Jaqen's hit list. I mean, I guess you could argue that she feels Tywin is better than the alternative where people were being tortured and stuff, but it's hard to argue from the broader perspective of the war and family and all, as well as the increased risk of Tywin discovering her identity, that she wouldn't just bite the bullet and off Tywin right away.

What does everyone think of Jamie's escape attempt? It feels to me like he was basically aiming for a suicide-by-cop type of thing. He can't have believed he could have actually escaped in his current condition. But dying in an attempt to escape with the added bonus of throwing the Stark camp into chaos seems like a pretty good outcome for him.

I find myself not really liking Dany at all this season. She vacillates between whiny and horribly entitled, and seems a little clueless.

Related book spoilers...

Spoiler:

They've changed quite a bit this season compared to the books. I looks like they're basically going to end up in the same place, but the changes in the details could have some long term consequences.

I think it is notable that Jon Snow did not discover the obsidian weapons cache in the show. Will this mean that Sam won't become Sam the Slayer? I doubt it. I think that's a rather important development. I guess it's possible that they could just have somebody else find the weapons when it is convenient to return to that group, but it will make it a bit more of a deus ex machina sort of feel if Sam immediately finds the things and then kills one of the Others right away with it. Ghost has also disappeared (again), which is a little disappointing since he plays a fairly important role for Jon's story, and the series seems pretty insistent on writing him out of as much as they can. Given that Jon is possibly about to be captured by Wildlings at this point, does it mean he won't kill the Halfhand? Or will he escape them for now and run into the Halfhand again later?

Arya/Tywin is likewise a pretty big digression from the books. In the books, it's more believable because she's really only involved in her local problems, and it is only really at the end that she realizes that she's been missing the big picture. In the show, she's in close proximity to Tywin all the time, is obviously considering taking the risk to kill him herself (at least that's how I interpret what was going on while she was playing with the knife in this episode), so it's hard to imagine that she wouldn't recruit a helpful assassin to do the job for her.

[ArgonV]

Episode 7 speculation/spoilers (I haven't read the books, so no accidental spoilers)

Spoiler:

I don't believe Bran and Rickon are dead. When they stumbled upon the farm, it was explicitly mentioned: 'Hey, that's where I sent the two orphan boys!' So I'm guessing they're dead now, because I was missing Osha and Hodor, as well as that I don't believe they would spend all that time on developing Bran and his prophetic dreams/seeing through his wolf to let it go nowhere now

I agree Daenerys is getting a bit whiny, but she's been through a lot. Her people left her, he husband was killed, the man she trusted has ulterior motives and now her people get killed and her dragons get stolen, while she's tied up by a bunch of arrogant plutocrats.

Yeah, Jamie probably wasn't expecting to get very far. But I doubt Catelyn will kill him. Just injure or maim him.

I wonder where the Jon storyline is going to. Has he killed before? Apart from ice zombies? I can't remember. If not, that would explain why he has trouble killing Ygritte. But it seems he's pretty much screwed now, unless Ghost/the other rangers swoop in and save him. I doubt Ygritte actually likes him enough to convince her comrades to not kill him.

Arya really did want to kill him during the dinner scene, I can't understand why she doesn't make Tywin the third target. Of course, conditions in the camp would probably worsen for all of them, but she obviously wants him dead and it'll throw everything in disarray. I can't figure out his play either though.

[Yakk]

Book level spoilers. About Arya. If you don't have book 2 memorized, I'd skip it:

Spoiler:

Arya has heard too many fairy tales. She knows what to do with the last wish. Scary little girl.

[LaserGuy]

Book level spoilers. About Arya. If you don't have book 2 memorized, I'd skip it:

Spoiler:

Arya has heard too many fairy tales. She knows what to do with the last wish. Scary little girl.

Bookish spoilers

Spoiler:

In the context of the book, her decision-making process makes some sense. She's a lot more involved in her personal bubble, and, as I said, isn't really thinking about the big picture (and is being abused by Weese). In the show, she's in Tywin's presence every single day, and, at least in this episode, appeared to be actively thinking about killing him. She has motive, means, and opportunity, and even if Jaqen is unsuccessful (which he almost certainly wouldn't be, given what we know about him from the books...), it is rather unlikely that the blame would come back to her.

[Lucrece]

I need more Melisandre in the show. The Lord of Light soundtrack and pretty much the entire music in this series is highly underrated. Quaithe, Melisandre and I can't wait to see Dany and how the show brings her journey in the House of the Undying into life.

Cersei's talk with Sansa was so amazing and touching at the same time.

[Dark567]

I kinda think the music is a little disappointing actually.

[Vanguard]

Cersei's talk with Sansa was so amazing and touching at the same time.

That new development makes me sad. Geoffry is basically going to become a rapist now, because Sansa will NOT want it.

[Chen]

That new development makes me sad. Geoffry is basically going to become a rapist now, because Sansa will NOT want it.

Was there really a question of that though? I mean after seeing all the stuff he does, if his wife decided to say "not tonight dear" do you think he'd actually abide by it?

[Vanguard]

That new development makes me sad. Geoffry is basically going to become a rapist now, because Sansa will NOT want it.

Was there really a question of that though? I mean after seeing all the stuff he does, if his wife decided to say "not tonight dear" do you think he'd actually abide by it?

Regrettably. Still, at this point it'd be trying too hard. Effective though. He's been evil enough in many other subtle ways (And even non-subtle, considering Tyrion's "gift"). We don't really need more.

[Diadem]

They still have to marry first. A royal marriage will take some time to arrange, and with King's Landing about to come under siege, I doubt it's their first priority. So there's still plenty of time for new plot developments.

It's been a while since I read the books. All that stuff in Qarth, that is new, isn't it? I don't remember any of it.