The Top 500 Songs Of 2013 - Part 20 of 50, #310-#301

#310 Eminem (feat. Nate Ruess) - "Headlights" from "Marshall Mathers LP 2" - A very moving and introspective song from Eminem, featuring the singer from fun. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bDLIV96LD4

#309 The National - "Fireproof" from "Trouble Will Find Me" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9l0dcScdo0

#308 Icona Pop - "In The Stars" from "This Is…Icona Pop" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzBndKF5hVg

#307 Cloud Cult - "1x1x1" from "Love" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbPh2wBEhAw

#306 Jake Bugg - "Slumville Sunrise" from "Shangri La" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4wTRbW0aos

#305 The Little Ones - "AWOL" from "The Dawn Sang Along" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0OOakrl_C0

#304 Pearl Jam - "Sleeping By Myself" from "Lightning Bolt" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHSpVznisck

#303 Kings Of Leon - "Temple" from "Mechanical Bull" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nItYgMJBMA0

#302 Talib Kweli (feat. Raekwon) - "Violations" from "Gravity" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWKIaD7PotU

#301 The Sadies - "The Very Beginning" from "Internal Sounds" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_knIQC8x7UM

The Top 500 Songs Of 2013 - Part 19 of 50, #320-#311

#320 Natalia Kills - "Trouble" from "Trouble" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hUP43YiyJc

#319 Black Sabbath - "Live Forever" from "13" - Black Sabbath's latest comeback album is easily one of the best metal albums of 2013. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppI1nqZxPTQ

#318 Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - "Kissing The Machine" from "English Electric" - Speaking of artists that you thought you'd heard the last of, the heroes of "Pretty In Pink" released a brilliant album in 2013 as well. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs9MK6PA-eU

#317 Bun B - "The Best Is Back" from "Trill O.G. - The Epilogue" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=728v8ahlT7Y

#316 Ashley Monroe feat. Blake Shelton - "You Ain't Dolly (And You Ain't Porter)" from "Like A Rose" - Another brilliant satire of traditional country from Ashley Monroe.  I had thought that this was a cover of an old-school country song from the 70's until the "Fifty Shades Of Grey" reference. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2kWS9GKk4o

#315 Wiley (feat. Kano And Lethal Bizzle) - "First Class" from "The Ascent" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1Ywl92o8_s

#314 Lorde - "A World Alone" from "Pure Heroine" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWUnVyO1Klk

#313 Hayden Panettierre And Chris Carmack - "Can't Say No To You" from "Nashville: Season 2 Soundtrack" - Nashville continues to be a source of great music, even if the series itself has slid into soap opera tropes. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdTRmUi2VrU

#312 The Arcade Fire - "You Already Know" from "Reflektor" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCQW--8VYN0

#311 The Band Perry - "Better Dig Two" from "Pioneer" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIdCo_QAz_E

The Top 500 Songs Of 2013 - Part 18 of 50, #330-#321

#330 Krewella - "Killin' It" from "Get Wet" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ9-1WD-rBA

#329 The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Despair" from "Mosquito" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvrjn_pF9tY

#328 Talib Kweli (feat. Nelly And Abby Dobson) - "Before He Walked" from "Prisoner Of Conscious" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz7z7jtEDEU

#327 The Leisure Society - "Everyone Understands" from "Alone Aboard The Ark" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMbkV6k1PqQ

#326 Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - "Hate The Taste" from "Specter At The Feast" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_js-Qg6JCM

#325 Man Man - "Head On" from "On Oni Pond" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI1PWcTe0W4

#324 Alice In Chains - "Stone" from "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KmYFY5oOvM

#323 The Arcade Fire - "We Exist" from "Reflektor" - The first of eight Arcade Fire songs on the countdown. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRXc_-c_9Xc

#322 NoNoNo - "Pumpin' Blood" from "We Are Only What We Feel" - This is a song that I expect to chart higher in the 2014 countdown, as it became a huge hit. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3j4I0PqNzKE

#321 Atoms For Peace - "Judge Jury And Executioner" from "Amok" - Thom Yorke's highest-charting song of 2013. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4tW3mhp9io

The Top 500 Songs Of 2013 - Part 17 of 50, #340-#331

#340 The Strypes - "Heart Of The City" from "Snapshot" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUb85vZJMcU

#339 Jay-Z feat. Nas - "BBC" from "Magna Carta… Holy Grail" - 15 years ago, could you imagine this collaboration not ending in a fist fight? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chOsxx47X8I

#338 Black Sabbath - "Pariah" from "13" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbPBL3IDvT0

#337 The Generationals - "Put A Light On" from "Heza" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2GMQShkJYM

#336 The Sadies - "Another Tomorrow Again" from "Internal Sounds" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v99-WEQ682s

#335 Kid Cudi - "King Wizard" from "Indicud" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmvU3urYQgI

#334 Selena Gomez - "Come And Get It" from "Stars Dance" - Score another point for cheesy, but undeniably catchy pop music. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-D1EB74Ckg

#333 White Lies - "Be Your Man" from "Big TV" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z17K7Zsr5I

#332 Zola Jesus - "Sea Talk" from "Versions" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlddZf9R0jU

#331 Queensryche - "Don't Look Back" from "Queensryche" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4KUCVYWjwM

The Top 500 Songs Of 2013 - Part 16 of 50, #350-#341

#350 Black Sabbath - "God Is Dead" from "13" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhhOU5FUPBE

#349 Andrew Stockdale - "Keep Moving" from "Keep Moving" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fjias-BvDO0

#348 The Summer Set - "Lightning In A Bottle" from "Legendary" - An appropriate song title for a band that will probably never reach this level of bubblegum pop bliss again. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLgXl_6NIW0

#347 Kacey Musgraves - "Blowin' Smoke" from "Same Trailer Different Park" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEsEUpk5rU8

#346 Phoenix - "Bourgeois" from "Bankrupt!" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nnTilC-854

#345 Grouplove - "What I Know" from "Spreading Rumours" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH-oZolya8s

#344 Justin Timberlake - "Amnesia" from "The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_poWgUQYtU

#343 The Fratellis - "Whisky Saga" from "We Need Medicine" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K-hbWl-glw

#342 Eric Church - "The Outsiders" from "The Outsiders" - The advance single from Eric Church's album, which would go on to become the best-selling country album of 2014, so I would expect to see a couple of his songs make the 2014 countdown as well. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Fy0UE6s2lA

#341 Modern Ritual - "Matches And Gasoline" from "Perception Is In The Echo EP" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TgNB6ARl4g

The Top 500 Songs Of 2013 - Part 15 of 50, #360-#351

#360 Little Green Cars - "Harper Lee" from "Absolute Zero" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHwMDr6dMHI

#359 Kelly Clarkson - "Wrapped In Red" from "Wrapped In Red" - The first of two Christmas songs by Kelly Clarkson to make the countdown, the only Christmas songs this year. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IFfZRVRbqM

#358 Chance The Rapper (feat. BJ The Chicago Kid, Lili K., Kiara Lanier, Peter Cottontale, Will for the O'mys, & JP Floyd for Kids These Days) - "Good Ass Intro" from "Acid Rap" - "Cremate your friends and freebase the ashes" - Pretty much says it all for this artist and this fantastic album. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjmiLp47Yg8

#357 Surfer Blood - "Gravity" from "Pythons" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qcmruH138Q

#356 Richard Thompson - "Good Things Happen To Bad People" from "Electric" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRtpzjzkYbc

#355 Laura Welsh - "Cold Front" from "Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGkJwAGJFi4

#354 Swearin' - "Dust In The Gold Sack" from "Surfing Strange" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmpOntxlbcY

#353 Passion Pit - "American Blood" from "Iron Man 3: Heroes Fall" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4Rr5qAFXE8

#352 Paul McCartney - "New" from "New" - Sir Paul's fantastic album deserved more presence on this countdown, but it was a tough year. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-EX38A1Rlg

#351 MGMT - "Alien Days" from "MGMT" - MGMT continues to distance themselves from their debut album (and not in a good way), but every album has one brilliant pop gem and this is it for "MGMT". - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBu_bzxvgdI

Game of Thrones Season 5 Speculation - Part 5 - Cersei Lannister

CERSEI LANNISTER


THE VALONQAR PROPHECY

Cersei Lannister is one of the "stars" of AFFC.  AFFC marks the first time that she has been a POV character in the series and she provides most of the King's Landing (KL) story for AFFC and ADWD (Jaime also has KL chapters in the first half of AFFC, but he departs for the Riverlands midway through the book).  Her POV opens with her learning of the death of her father, Tywin, at the hands of her despised brother Tyrion.  With this murder happening in such close proximity to the death of her eldest son Joffrey (whom she believes was also murdered by Tyrion), Cersei's mental state is deteriorating rapidly into paranoia and delusion, a mental state only made worse by a prophecy she was told as a child, which seems to be coming true despite (or mostly likely because) of her best efforts.  Throughout the course of AFFC, details of the prophecy in question are slowly revealed in dreams and flashbacks, but I expect that GoT will show most, if not all, of the prophecy at the start of S5.

As a young girl, Cersei attends a fair with her friends Jeyne Farman and Melara Heatherspoon, who goad her into having her future told by a maegi (like Mirri Maz Duur) that they refer to as Maggy the Frog.  Cersei, who dreams of marrying Rhaegar Targaryen, asks Maggy whether she'll marry the Prince (Rhaegar) and how many children they'll have.  Maggy tells her that she won't marry the Prince, she'll marry the King (by whom she means Robert Baratheon) and that she'll have three children, but he'll have sixteen.  Maggy also foretells that Cersei will be Queen "until there comes another, younger and more beautiful, to cast you down and take all you hold dear".  Cersei comes to believe that the prophecy refers to Magaery, though many fans believe that the yonger Queen is actually Dany or Sansa or possibly even Arianne Martell (my preferred theory).  She goes on (unsolicited) to give her the following prophecy regarding her children:

"Gold shall be their crowns and gold their shrouds, And when your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you."

It's this prophecy that motivates Cersei's actions for much of her life, but especially during the events that will be covered in S5.

The Valonqar prophecy (VP) tells Cersei that all three of her children will be crowned and die before Cersei is killed by the valonqar, a Valyrian word that translates to "little brother".  Throughout her life, the details of the VP (along with Maggy's prophecy that Melara would die the night of prophecy) begin to come true.  She marries Robert after he becomes king and while she can't verify how many children he has, she has three children of her own.  When Robert dies, Joffrey is crowned and his death, which she believes to be at the hands of Tyrion, leads her to begin taking actions that she believes will prevent the rest of the prophecy from coming true, starting with the attempted elimination of the person that she believes to be the Valonqar, her little brother Tyrion.

There are many different theories about who the valonqar who kills Cersei is, with Tyrion being the most obvious candidate from Cersei's perspective and Jaime (who is Cersei's twin, but was born after her) being the fan favorite (other theories say that it could be any number of other candidates, so long as the candidate is someone's younger brother or part of an order that calls themselves a brotherhood), but for the narrative of S5, it's only important to know that Cersei believes that it's Tyrion because this belief is beginning to drive her mad, with disastrous results for all of Westeros.

A source on the internet claims to have the details of the storyline for Episode 1 and the source claims that the episode will begin with a pre-credits cold opening of Cersei dreaming about the VP.  While internet sources are sketchy to begin with and I doubt the authenticity of the rest of the leak, opening S5 with this scene makes perfect sense.

Maggie the Frog and characters that fit the description of young Cersei and Melara have been confirmed for S5 and given that the KL storyline in Season 4 ended with Tywin's death, it makes perfect sense for S5 to open with the immediate aftermath of that event.  The show has famously avoided flashbacks (which are prevalent in the books) to this point and a big deal has been made out of S5 featuring the first flashback in the show's history.  Putting this particular flashback (Young Cersei and Melara visiting Maggy) at the very beginning of the season puts us immediately into Cersei's mindset, which is important as her actions drive most of the events south of the Neck in Season 5.  I believe that the season will open with Cersei dreaming about the prophecy (which will be revealed in full, though I don't know if she kills Melara during the dream or at all) and waking up to hear the bells that indicate that the body of Tywin Lannister has been found.


A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES

The death of Tywin Lannister and the young age of King Tommen leaves a power vacuum in King's Landing that is filled by Cersei in her role as the Queen Regent and it's possible that she might be the absolute worst person for the job.  Her father famously (in a scene new to the show) told Cersei that the reason he didn't entrust her to contribute more to ruling the Seven Kingdoms was because she wasn't as smart as she thinks she is, and he couldn't be more right, as it turns out.  In AFFC, Cersei surrounds herself with toadies, pushes away anyone who challenges her ideas, makes enemies at every turn and generally screws up with every decision that she makes.

AFFC opens with Cersei and Jaime investigating Tywin's murder, with both coming to the correct conclusion that Tyrion committed the murder and Varys helped him escape (of course, Jaime's role in the escape is suspected by Cersei, but never known for sure).  The investigation also turns up a special coin from the Reach that is allegedly tied to Olenna Tyrell.  Most readers theorize (and it's virtually confirmed in ADWDF) that this coin was planted by Varys to contribute to the collapse of the Lannister-Tyrell alliance and it certainly does help to turn Cersei against the Tyrells (not that she needed the help).

At Tywin's funeral, Cersei begins to alienate the Tyrells by denying Mace Tyrell the position of Hand of the King and giving Garth Tyrell the job of lord treasurer (in place of Tyrion) that Tywin had promised him, giving these positions instead to her toadies Harys Swyft (after Kevan Lannister turns her down) and Gyles Rosby.  She also appoints Orton Merryweather as justicar (and begins a "close" friendship with his wife Taena, who is almost certainly a spy, either for the Tyrells or more likely for Varys) and Aurane Waters as grand admiral (to prevent the job from going to Paxter Redwyne, a Tyrell bannerman) to the Small Council and names Qyburn the new Master of whisperers in place of Varys.

Shortly after Tywin's funeral (and at the urging of Mace and Olenna Tyrell), Tommen and Margaery Tyrell are married, though the wedding can be annulled at any time as Tommen is too young to consummate the marriage.  After the ceremony, Cersei arranges for pyromancers to burn down the Tower of the Hand, in part because of the events that happened there in ASOS, but also in part because she believes that Tyrion and Varys may still be hiding in the hidden passages in the Tower (she is probably right about Varys, though Tyrion is long gone), displaying the first signs of a paranoia that drive her decisions for the rest of the book.


A COMEDY OF ERRORS

With her Small Council in place, Cersei begins to take a series of actions, both official and in secret that will tear the Seven Kingdoms in two and quickly lead to her on downfall in ways both tragic and hilarious (the second reading of her chapters in AFFC reads like a slapstick horror movie).  Thinking that the High Septon was an agent of Tyrion's (which was partially true), Cersei has Osney Kettleblack murder him.  After Gregor Clegane died of the wounds that Oberyn Martell inflicted on him, Cersei arranges for Balon Swann to deliver Gregor's skull to Doran Martell and bring Princess Myrcella, her betrothed Trystane Martell and Doran Martell back to King's Landing, secretly plotting to have Trystane murdered by agents posing as outlaws allied with Tyrion.  Her choice as grand admiral, Aurane Waters is unpopular, as he is a bastard and the highborn distrust bastards (in this case they're right, more on that later), as is her decision to fund the creation of a new fleet of ships by suspending payment of the debts owed to the Iron Bank and the Faith of the Seven until after the conclusion of the wars.  Upon hearing that Davos Seaworth is treating with Wyman Manderly as Stannis' Hand, Cersei offers to free Manderly's heir (a prisoner at Harrenhal) if he executes Davos (not really a blunder on her part, but important to Davos' ADWD story).  She also arranges to send 100 men to the Night's Watch with the secret mission of assassinating Jon Snow on the belief that Jon was allying the NW with Stannis.

That's a lot of conspiring for one Small Council meeting, but Cersei saves the craziest plot for the end of her fourth chapter in AFFC.  Cersei instructs Osney Kettleblack (a spy of Littlefinger's who also spied on Cersei for Tyrion that hasn't been introduced or cast on the show yet) to seduce Queen Margaery, making both parties guilty of treason.  Cersei intends to have Margaery executed for the treason and have Osney sent to The Wall for the crime, though his real mission is to execute Jon Snow.  After executing Jon Snow, Cersei promises to give Osney a pardon and a Lordship.  She even hints that she might marry him after the completion of his mission.

Later, because she doesn't have enough enemies, Cersei begins to plot to humiliate Loras Tyrell, have Bronn (who named Lollys's bastard son "Tyrion") killed, sends Jaime to the Riverlands to resolve the siege at Riverrun and sends Mace Tyrell to lay siege to Storm's End (which is actually a good idea... and Jaime's).

The blunder that affects Cersei most directly occurs when she travels to the Gret Sept of Baelor to treat with the new High Septon, a pious man who is often referred to as the High Sparrow, because he was the leader of a group called the "sparrows", who champion the smallfolk and represent the lower class of those sworn to the Faith.  In exchange for officially recognizing Tommen as the King and forgiving the crown's debts to the Faith, Cersei allows the Faith to restore the Faith Militant and the Poor Fellows, giving members of the Faith the ability and authorization to use force to defend themselves and enforce the laws of the Faith throughout Westeros.

After news of Euron Greyjoy's invasion of the Shield Islands reaches King's Landing, the Tyrells demand that the Redwyne fleet be sent to the Reach to protect Tyrell lands.  As the fleet is currently being used to lay siege to Dragonstone, Cersei seizes on the opportunity to send Loras Tyrell to Dragonstone to hasten the siege so that the fleets can be freed to defend Highgarden.  Loras does lead the charge to take Dragonstone successfully, but he is (allegedly) mortally wounded in the process and is expected to die soon.  With Loras at death's door, Cersei moves forward with a plan to replace him in the Kingsguard (Qyburn provides the candidate, an unknown knight who is almost certain a Frankenstein version of the remains of Gregor Clegane) and use the High Septon to eliminate Margaery.  In her final move, Cersei commands Ser Osney to go to the High Septon and confess to sleeping with the Queen (this is technically true as he does sleep with Cersei before confessing, but not Margaery), kickstarting the investigation into Margaery's "treasons".

And then it all goes to hell.

Margaery is arrested by the Faith, but when Cersei visits her at the Sept of Baelor, she discovers that the High Septon has been interrogating Osmund Kettleblack, who has confessed to sleeping with Cersei (and denies sleeping with Margaery) and murdering the previous High Septon on her orders.  The High Septon, empowered by the newly resurgent Faith Militant and Poor Fellows, orders that Cersei be arrested and detained until trial.  She's taken to a cell and tortured with sleep deprivation for two days until Qyburn is allowed to visit her. 

Qyburn reveals that Kevan Lannister has taken over the regency, the Tyrell armies are marching on King's Landing for Margaery's trial and the realm is currently be governed by Harys Swyft and Pycelle.  He also reveals that Aurane Waters has stolen the royal fleet and was possibly heading north to join Stannis (a Winds of Winter preview chapter indicates that he's actually in the Stepstones, ruling as a new pirate king).  Cersei has previously been informed that her plan to murder Bronn ended up with him as the Lord of Stokesworth (and aware that she tried to have him killed), but she's not yet aware that her decision to stop repaying the Crown's debt to the Iron Bank has caused them to fund Stannis' rebellion or that her plot in Dorne has been discovered, causing Doran Martell to send two of the Sand Snakes to King's Landing, which will doubtlessly end in blood-shed.  Desperate for a champion, she writes a letter requesting help from Jaime, but he ignores her request, effectively ending their relationship.  Fortunately for Cersei, one of her plots appears to be working in her favor, as Qyburn informs her that her champion, Ser Robert Strong (again, Frankenstein Gregor) is ready to defend her at her trial and he's eligible to do so thanks to the death of Arys Oakheart in Dorne.

Prior to her trial, Cersei is forced to walk from Baelor's Sept to the Red Keep naked and shorn of all body hair as atonement for her sins.  During the walk, Cersei begins to hallucinate, seeing Tywin, Ned Stark, Sansa Stark and her direwolf Lady, Tyrion and Maggy the Frog.  Cersei collapses at the door of the Red Keep, where she is picked up by her champion, Ser Robert Strong.  Cersei's trial by combat and Margaery's trial before the Faith will be some of the key events of The Winds Of Winter.

A Dance With Dragons ends with Kevan Lannister responding to Aegon's invasion of the Stormlands, dispatching Harys Swyft to Braavos to treat with the Iron Bank and discovering the body of Pycelle, who was murdered by Varys and his little birds, who also murder Kevan because his competant leadership may stop Cersei from destroying the Lannister-Tyrell alliance and thwart Varys' plans.


SEASON 5 ADAPTATION

Cersei's storyline will be one of the most prominent of Season 5, occupying a lot of screen time and dominating the events in King's Landing.

There haven't been any casting announcements for Taena, Orton Merryweather, Aurane Waters, Gyles Rosby or Harys Swift.  It's possible that these roles will be filled by extras, but it's more likely that they'll be written out of the show. 

Eliminating Aurane Waters will likely eliminate the Royal Navy storyline, but this is covered because Stannis has already secured the support of the Iron Bank and the need to default on the loans is covered by the Season 4 where Tywin tells Cersei that the Lannisters' gold mines have been exhausted.

The various toadies can be replaced by larger roles for Mace Tyrell, Qyburn and Pycelle (which will help to sell the significance of his death in Episode 10).  Mace will probably be named Hand of the King, as there's been no word that Ian Gelder, the actor who plays Kevan will be returning for Season 5 and the actor who plays Mace (Roger Ashton-Griffiths) is a significant enough actor to earn a larger role this season before going to Braavos late in the season.  There has also been rumors indicating the Qyburn's role will be expanded from the books, with more specific details revealed regarding his "treatment" of Gregor Clegane.

Speaking of Ser Gregor, I am wavering back and forth on how the skull / Ser Robert Stone storyline will be handled.  On the one hand, the whole "secret identity" thing is BS that doesn't fool anyone on paper, so it's likely that they'll just say that Gregor Clegane survived, but on the other hand the monstrous skull is what sells the Martells on the fact that justice had been done for Elia.  I think (since I'm not being graded on this...) I'll split the difference and say that Gregor survived, but will be executed later.  This is a more satisfying result for the Martells and it will enfuriate them next season when they learn that Gregor will be acting as Cersei's champion in her trial by combat, a move that will accelerate the Sand Snakes' actions in King's Landing, whatever they may be.

All of the Kettleblacks have been written out of Game Of Thrones to this point and there hasn't been any casting news yet for Season 5.  With Meryn Trant heading to Braavos with Mace Tyrell, he can't be used as Cersei's pawn in her scheme to frame Margaery.  There aren't really any other notable Kingsguard members unless she chooses someone random, Bronn and Jaime are going to Dorne (not that either would help Cersei in this mission) and most of the characters Cersei frames for having affairs with Margaery aren't involved in the show.  I suppose she could frame Loras and Marge for having an incestuous affair, but that seems a little... on the nose for even Cersei to try to get away with it, so I'll have to leave the prediction vague until more information is available.

Leaked information from filming indicates that rather than sending him to Dragonstone, Cersei will use the Faith to have Loras Tyrell arrested, probably for being a homosexual.  Unless he's executed, this will simultaneously take him out of the picture in the short term, but keep him in the picture in the long term, which may not be an option in the books, depending on the severity of his injuries.

Rather than sending Jaime to oversee the surrender of Riverrun, she'll send him to Dorne to bring Myrcella back to King's Landing.  This will be done to enhance the Dorne storyline and make sure that the audience is invested in it as a part of the main storyline.  Bronn will accompany Jaime (there's a lot of leaked evidence showing this), so Cersei won't be conspiring against Bronn this season.

Jonathan Pryce has been cast as the High Sparrow and there are many indications that the Sparrows will play a massive role in the events in King's Landing this season, raiding brothels and other sinful establishments and harassing Loras Tyrell (maybe they will go down the incest road, but it's more likely because he's gay) and Littlefinger (who I have to assume Cersei orders back to King's Landing).  I expect this storyline to be carried out throughout the season and probably stick pretty close to AFFC and ADWD.

The Walk of Penance has been confirmed and much publicized.  I expect that the hallucinations will be included as well, as Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister) has hinted that he'll be back this season (though that may just be as a corpse at his funeral) and the other actors shouldn't be a problem either (Robert Bean (Ned Stark) has hinted that he's interested in returning for flashbacks).


MY SEASON 5 PREDICTIONS FOR CERSEI LANNISTER'S STORY:

Season 5 will open with Cersei dreaming about her encounter with Maggy the Frog, who gives her the Valonqar prophecy.  The discovery of Tywin Lannister's body and his funeral will be in Episode 1 and that Cersei will dispatch Jaime to Dorne to bring Myrcella back to King's Landing in Episode 2 or 3.  Olenna Tyrell will be returning this season for Tywin's funeral / Tommen and Margaery's wedding, which will happen before Jaime's departure.  Qyburn and Pyrcelle will have larger roles this season than they do in AFFC and Qyburn's experiments with Gregor Clegane will be given a much larger focus than they are in the books.  The High Sparrow should arrive early in the season and the Sparrows to cause trouble in the name of the Faith throughout the season.  Cersei will order Littlefinger back to King's Landing early in the season and he should arrive mid-season.  Cersei will meet with the High Sparrow mid-season and authorize the return of the Faith Militant and Poor Fellows.  She will dispatch Mace Tyrell and Meryn Trant to Braavos to treat with the Iron Bank in Episode 5 or 6.  She will use the Faith to have Loras Tyrell arrested for homosexuality-related "crimes".  Throughout the season, Cersei will frame Margaery Tyrell for treason.  Margaery will be arrested around Episode 7 and Cersei to be arrested later that episode as the final scene of the episode.  Cersei will remain in her cell until the Walk of Penance, which will take place either in Episode 9 or 10.  After the Walk of Penance, Cersei will have a scene where the details of her trial by combat are laid out and she's introduced to her champion, Ser Gregor Clegane of the Kingsguard.  One of the final scenes of the season, but not the final scene of Episode 10, will be the murder of Pycelle by Varys.

The Top 500 Songs Of 2013 - Part 14 of 50, #370-#361

#370 Tinie Tempah (feat. Labrinth) - "Lover Not A Fighter" from "Demonstration" - The song starts out rather slowly, but once the tempo picks up, it gets crazy good fast. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4vx0Cy5Hi4

#369 Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - "Night Cafe" from "English Electric" - The legendary 80's New Wave band contiues to make great music under the radar. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPKzOAYu7qs

#368 Andrew Stockdale - "Long Way To Go" from "Keep Moving" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngLAhi3pQcY

#367 Kid Cudi - "Immortal" from "Indicud" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrbyNGVvgqY

#366 Danielle Bradbery - "Talk About Love" from "Danielle Bradbery" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxikfwcDLwY

#365 Jake Bugg - "Messed Up Kids" from "Shangri La" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5owbeIh2WBY

#364 Club 8 - "I'm Not Gonna Grow Old" from "Above The City" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACj976xkQ30

#363 Autre Ne Veut - "Gonna Die" from "Anxiety" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTbzfybCgNY

#362 The Lonely Island - "Spring Break Anthem" from "The Wack Album" - The Wack Album didn't do as well in my countdown as The Loney Island's last album, but it was still the best song parody album of the year, mostly because Weird Al took the year off. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUw4Qh9uFK8

#361 Paramore - "Still Into You" from "Paramore" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OblL026SvD4

The Top 500 Songs Of 2013 - Part 13 of 50, #380-#371

#380 Ian Rubbish And The Bizarros - "Maggie Thatcher" from "Ian Rubbish And The Bizarros" - Fred Armisen's hilarious parody of The Clash debuted on Saturday Night Live and released an EP shortly after. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsqW9Wm7bxE

#379 Say Lou Lou - "Beloved" from "Lucid Dreaming" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsZir4UBf74

#378 The Blow - "Make It Up" from "The Blow" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4rCdHb6ZZI

#377 Beyonce - "Pretty Hurts" from "Beyonce" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXXQLa-5n5w

#376 Sheryl Crow - "Give It To Me" from "Feels Like Home" - Sheryl Crow is still a master of the power-pop ballad, as evidenced here. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIlf_CqDVPw

#375 The Strypes - "You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover" from "Snapshot" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tDLL6fngx8

#374 Lorde - "Still Sane" from "Pure Heroine" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8g8jQEBn_s

#373 Best Coast - "I Wanna Know" from "Fade Away" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wdf-nvPCSE

#372 Pacific Air - "Float" from "Stop Talking" - One of the lightest, breeziest songs on this year's countdown. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYyBmQf80XM

#371 Frightened Rabbit - "Backyard Skulls" from "Pedestrian Verse" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx7dF89a3z4

The Top 500 Songs Of 2013 - Part 12 of 50, #390-#381

#390 Kerry Ingram - "It's Always Summer Under The Sea (Shireen's Song)" from "Game Of Thrones Season 3 Soundtrack" - The first of two Game of Thrones songs from Season 3 to make the countdown. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G06vHNw6sTY

#389 David Bowie - "(You Will) Set The World On Fire" from "The Next Day" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyMs58tyDT8

#388 Pusha T - "Numbers On The Boards" from "My Name Is My Name" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DawrlSwHUiM

#387 Lady Antebellum - "Better Off Now (That You're Gone)" from "Golden" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTnXZzuJsFc

#386 Ski Lodge - "Just To Be Like You" from "Big Heart" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ5DdErHjXQ

#385 TLC - "Meant To Be" from "20" - A welcome reunion for one of the best R&B groups of the 90's. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXSHxWJnjHI

#384 Sia - "Kill And Run" from "The Great Gatsby Soundtrack" - The second of six songs from the Great Gatsby soundtrack.  The movie itself was middle of the road, but the music and spectacle were first rate. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ylcg4m8UUPs

#383 Texas - "Detroit City" from "The Conversation" - If you told me that the singer from Texas was related to Debbie Harry, I'd probably believe you.  The style and sound is remarkably close to that of vintage Blondie. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaqDQUmKop0

#382 Sky Ferreira - "Nobody Asked Me (If I Was Okay)" from "Night Time, My Time" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzl3GkRytnE

#381 Lorde - "Glory And Gore" from "Pure Heroine" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOks2HArHf0

The Top 500 Songs Of 2013 - Part 11 of 50, #400-#391

#400 The Weeks - "Brother In The Night" from "Dear Bo Jackson" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPU8mu0ds9A

#399 Tegan And Sara - "I'm Not Your Hero" from "Heartthrob" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSGbOmW4AjI

#398 Iggy And The Stooges - "Burn" from "Ready To Die" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDGG2k3tbIw

#397 VNV Nation - "Everything" from "Transnational" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjnHGk98QRk

#396 The Generationals - "Spinoza" from "Heza" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGl2QJ1ReJY

#395 Big Sean (feat. Lil Wayne And Jhene Aiko) - "Beware" from "Hall Of Fame" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-rQZ6IGhCM

#394 Disclosure (feat. London Grammar) - "Help Me Lose My Mind" from "Settle" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBW9VEE29W4

#393 Brandy Clark - "Take A Little Pill" from "12 Stories" - 2013 was a great year for sad, thoughtful country music, the antidote to the bro-country that has turned country music into Top 40. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s9_gj29N2w

#392 Los Campesinos! - "What Death Leaves Behind" from "No Blues" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXfC9N-zm04

#391 The Preatures - "Is This How You Feel" from "Blue Planet Eyes" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8XmoroZ3zo


Part 12 will be delayed by a few days, as I'll be out of town and unable to post.  It should be posted on Sunday or Monday.

Game of Thrones Season 5 Speculation - Part 5 - Arya Stark

ARYA STARK

Arya Stark's story takes place across both AFFC and ADWD and thanks to numerous leaked scenes, photographs and images from filming, it seems as though Season 5 will be sticking very closely to the events in the book.

AFFC opens with Arya arriving in Braavos (instead of her intended destination, the Wall) aboard the ship that she booked passage on with Jaqen's coin at the end of ASOS / Season 4.  The captain takes her to the House of Black and White, the headquarters of the Faceless Men (FM), where Arya meets the Kindly Man and the Waif, who teach her about the history and mission of the FM.  Arya decides to begin training as a Faceless Man and surrenders her identity (sort of...) by giving up her worldly possessions, though she does hide Needle rather than throwing it away. 

Eventually, her training allows her to assume the identity of Cat of the Canals, a young girl who sells oysters on the streets of Braavos.  While posing as Cat, she saves Samwell Tarly from a pair of Bravos who are threatening him and learns that her brothre Jon has been elected Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.  When Cat learns that Dareon, the singer who accompanied Samwell to Braavos has deserted the NW, she kills him, violating the rules of the Faceless Men.  As punishment for violating the rules, Arya is given a potion that causes her to go blind, ending her storyline in AFFC. 

Her training picks up in ADWD, as she learns how to function without eyesight.  Her sight is restored after she identifies the Kindly Man as the individual who has been randomly attacking her as part of her training.  Arya's chapters in ADWD conclude after she successfully kills a merchant by poisoning a coin that the merchant bites to test it's authenticity (the same trick that Jaqen H'ghar uses to kill Pate in AFFC) and she is assigned to work with Izembaro, the master of Mummers. 

Ordinarily, I would leave out scenes from The Winds Of Winter, but the Mercy chapter that was released shortly before the start of Season 4 is clearly going to be included in Season 5 in some capacity.  While training with Izembaro, Arya assumes the role of Mercedene (aka Mercy), an actress in a play written by Phario Forel (presumably the brother of Syrio Forel) that's based on the events of the first three books (Arya is playing a character based on her sister Sansa).  In the audience of the play, Arya spots Harys Swift and his entourage from King's Landing who are in Braavos to treat with the Iron Bank.  Of interest to Arya is Raff the Sweetling, who she seduces away from the playhouse, taking him to her room where he kills him by cutting his femoral artery.  She then makes him repeat the last words Lommy said to him, before killing him the same way that he killed Lommy.

There has been a large amount of leaked information and officially released footage / images from the filming of Arya's story this season and the images confirm much of the storyline from the books will be included this year.  Footage has been released showing Arya arriving at the House of Black and White and the Waif has been confirmed as a character, though the Kindly Man hasn't (more on that later), images of Arya dressed as Cat of the Canals have leaked and casting calls include characters that are almost certainly going to be the Bravos who Arya saves Samwell Tarly from.  I expect these storylines to be adapted almost directly from the page to the screen.  There have also been photos and interviews indicating that the Mercy chapter will be included this season, though with a different cast of characters.

Arya's first few chapters of arriving at the House of Black and White (HoB&W), choosing to become a FM, hiding Needle and training in the House of Black and White will take place as they did in AFFC with one major exception, which is that the Kindly Man will be replaced by Jaqen H'ghar.  The actor who plays Jaqen has been announced as returning for Season 5 and while the character in AFFC remains in Westeros (possibly killing Balon Greyjoy and definitely killing Pate), but I don't expect to see the AFFC prologue or Balon Greyjoy's death (sadly, as I've looked forward to seeing that particular scene play out on-screen for years) on the show and any involvement he might have in the Citadel can wait until Season 6 if it's included.  Jaqen provides a familiar face for fans of the show, so bringing him back helps to tie the Faceless Men storyline this year into the main story from previous seasons.

After training at the HoB&W, Arya will assume the role of Cat of the Canals for a few episodes and while I expect a few scenes on her own as Cat, her key scenes will involve Samwell Tarly and Dareon.  Dareon hasn't been confirmed for Season 5, but I'm operating on the assumption that he will be involved, but be such a minor character that a casting announcement wasn't necessary.  Saving Sam allows him to interact with another member of Jon's family, though Sam doesn't know that's the case and it sets Arya up to kill Dareon, which leads to her being blinded as punishment for breaking the FM's rules.  In my opinion, Arya being blinded is an important part of her character development that needs to be included in Season 5 and the only violations that are serious enough for that punishment would be killing Dareon or the "Mercy" killing, which I think will be used as Arya's Season 5 climax.  I think that Arya waking up blind will be the last scene of a mid-season episode, probably Episode 5 or 6.

I'm not sure how Arya's blindness training will be presented on-screen (which is one reason why it might be excluded), but I think it will need to be a multiple-episode storyline in order to be sold properly.  I expect that she'll regain her vision in Episode 7 or 8.

That leaves the Mercy storyline and her first sanctioned kill to fill out the rest of her storyline, which I think will be combined into one storyline.  Mace Tyrell will either be the Hand of the King or the Master of Coin in Season 5.  Harys Swift and Gyles Rosby have been written out of GoT, while a relatively famous actor was cast to play Mace Tyrell, meaning that they intend to use him in a larger role than he was used in Season 4. 

After the wedding of Margaery and Tommen in AFFC, Cersei takes Jaime's advice and dispatches Mace to lay seige to Storm's End, where he stays until the end of AFFC, when his forces make their way back to King's Landing for Margaery's trial.  Later in The Winds Of Winter, Storm's End becomes significant again when it's attacked by Aegon and the Golden Company.  I don't think that the siege of Storm's End will be a significant storyline in Season 5 because Aegon isn't being included in GoT.  Cersei may dispatch a force to re-take Storm's End, but I think it's also very likely that Storm's End will be completely forgotten.  Either way, it won't play any part in Mace's story this season, as photographic evidence leaked during filming proves that his storyline will run through Braavos this season, which means that Mace, or more accurately his guard Meryn Trant, will run straight into Arya's path this season.

In ADWD, while Cersei is imprisoned by the Faith (more on that later), Kevan Lannister dispatches Harys Swyft and a group of Lannister soldiers who previously served under Gregor Clegane to Braavos in order to treat with the Iron Bank regarding the Crown's debts.  In TWOW, Swyft and his entourage are attending the play that Arya is peforming in under the guise of Mercy, who lures one of the guards, Raff the Sweetling (who Arya interacted with in A Clash of Kings when he murders her friend Lommy) away from the play and murders him by cutting open his femoral artery.  Tycho Nestoris has been confirmed as returning for Season 5 and the actor who plays him has confirmed that he'll be remaining in Braavos this season (instead of going to the Wall, where Tycho goes in ADWD, an unnecessary plotline in the show, as described in my post on Jon Snow), so the Iron Bank storyline is definitely taking place this season.

Arya killed Raff The Sweetling in Episode 1 of Season 4, in a scene that mirrored the scene in A Storm of Swords where she killed The Tickler (whom she had Jaqen kill in Season 2 in place of Weese, who wasn't on the show).  Not only did Arya kill Raff in Season 4, but she did it in the same way that she killed him in the Mercy chapter.  It's highly unlikely that the show will use the same murder technique again in Season 5 and it's highly unlikely that Arya will seducing anyone on the show, so some sort of hybrid murder technique will be used to off the Raff substitute, Meryn Trant.  One thing that I absolutely expect is some bad-ass variation on Syrio Forel's legendary Season 1 line: "What do we say to the God of Death?  Not today."  It's quite possibly too awesome not to use.

Arya has plenty of reason to kill Meryn Trant (and she doesn't even know about all the horrible things he did to her sister), the member of the Kingsguard who (we assume) murdered Syrio Forel.  The show has reiterated this point several times in the last few seasons, most recently when the Hound mocked her because Syrio, who Arya claimed was the greatest fighter that she'd ever seen, was killed by Trant, who is regarded as a joke.  The leaks that showed Mace Tyrell in Braavos also showed Meryn Trant there, where he'll be murdered by Arya before the end of the season.

One interesting possibility presented in the trailer is that Meryn Trant will be killed by Arya wearing the face of Mercy.  This speculation is the result of a woman seducing an man whose identity can't be confirmed.  The woman is new to the show and it's entirely possibly that she is Arya disguised as Mercy and the mystery man in the shot is Meryn Trant.

The reason that I think that the Meryn Trant murder from the Mercy storyline will be combined with her first Faceless Man murder from ADWD is that I view it as the one corner in Arya's storyline that the show could cut to streamline the story.  While the completion of the first stage of her training is important to Arya's storyline, killing a random merchant doesn't drive the overall story forward in the way that killing Meryn Trant in the Mercy storyline will.  The show is going to be cutting a lot of corners and combining these two chapters would be a great way for Arya to move forward in her training, close out her Season 5 story and set up Arya's storyline for Season 6.  The method of killing might be the coin trick from ADWD, but I'm guessing that Arya will choose a more personal, more visceral method of execution for Trant, given their relationship.  Also, there's a delicious irony to Meryn Trant being killed in Braavos because he murdered Syrio Forel, the former first sword of Braavos (and if they include the GoT meta-play from TWoW, at a play written by a relative of Syrio's) and the show won't ignore that opportunity.

It should be mentioned that the show may choose to replace the Dareon kill with the Meryn Trant kill.  This would work, but the timeline would have to be shifted around considerably and it's unlikely that Arya is in the face-shifting stage of her training before she is blinded, so many more changes would be necessary for this option than the one I predict.

Either Arya's murder of Meryn Trant will be her final scene in Season 5 or the fallout of that murder (which hasn't happened yet in any material available before the publishing of TWoW) will be.


MY SEASON 5 PREDICTIONS FOR ARYA STARK'S STORY:

The captain from Episode 10 of Season 4 will bring Arya to the House of the Black and White.  Arya will agree to train as a Faceless Man by Jaqen H'ghar and the Waif.  While training, she'll learn the history of the Faceless Men and witness petitioners asking for and receiving their gift (death).  Arya's training will continue when she abandons her identity as Arya of House Stark (though she only hides Needle rather than throwing it away) and assuming the identity of Cat of the Canals.  As Cat, Arya rescues Samwell Tarly from a pair of Braavos, but violates the rules of the Faceless Men by killing Dareon for deserting the Night's Watch, leading to her being blinded as a punishment (note: this may happen at the end of the season as punishment for killing Trant).  After a few episodes of blindness, Arya will earn her eyesight back and be assigned a mission related to Mace Tyrell's mission to the Iron Bank, leading her to kill Meryn Trant, partially for her mission as a Faceless Man, but mostly as revenge for killing Syrio Forel.  Her season will either end with the murder of Meryn Trant or with the fallout of that murder, seen from the perspective of Mace Tyrell or in Jaqen reprimanding Arya for violating the rules of the Faceless Men.

Next Week - Cersei Lannister

The Top 500 Songs Of 2013 - Part 10 of 50, #410-#401

#420 Florence And The Machine - "Over The Love" from "The Great Gatsby Soundtrack" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSPOCVjla_4

#419 Danielle Bradbery - "Endless Summer" from "Danielle Bradbery" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVW4KZWSicY

#418 The Transplants - "Come Around" from "In A Warzone" - Tim Armstrong and Travis Barker's punk super group had another great year in 2013. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTgKmbQ-6mM

#417 A$AP Rocky - "Goldie" from "Long Live A$AP" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLCf-URqIf0

#416 Sky Ferreira - "I Will" from "Night Time, My Time" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ph2g5m5Kes

#415 Franz Ferdinand - "Love Illumination" from "Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ooq23i-QGBM

#414 The Thermals - "Where I Stand" from "Desperate Ground" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lnYYL0xwtw

#413 Wale - "Golden Salvation (Jesus Piece)" from "The Gifted" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXtqduJHyIA

#412 Lemaitre - "Cut To Black" from "Relativity 3" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kjpZ_sPxzc

#411 Danielle Bradbery - "Young In America" from "Danielle Bradbery" - I wonder if Bradbery will be the only winner from the Voice to make these countdowns in the future? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ddyt96P94jw

The Top 500 Songs Of 2013 - Part 9 of 50, #420-#411

#420 Florence And The Machine - "Over The Love" from "The Great Gatsby Soundtrack" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSPOCVjla_4

#419 Danielle Bradbery - "Endless Summer" from "Danielle Bradbery" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVW4KZWSicY

#418 The Transplants - "Come Around" from "In A Warzone" - Tim Armstrong and Travis Barker's punk super group had another great year in 2013. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTgKmbQ-6mM

#417 A$AP Rocky - "Goldie" from "Long Live A$AP" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLCf-URqIf0

#416 Sky Ferreira - "I Will" from "Night Time, My Time" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ph2g5m5Kes

#415 Franz Ferdinand - "Love Illumination" from "Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ooq23i-QGBM

#414 The Thermals - "Where I Stand" from "Desperate Ground" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lnYYL0xwtw

#413 Wale - "Golden Salvation (Jesus Piece)" from "The Gifted" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXtqduJHyIA

#412 Lemaitre - "Cut To Black" from "Relativity 3" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kjpZ_sPxzc

#411 Danielle Bradbery - "Young In America" from "Danielle Bradbery" - I wonder if Bradbery will be the only winner from the Voice to make these countdowns in the future? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ddyt96P94jw

The Top 500 Songs Of 2013 - Part 8 of 50, #430-#421

#430 Neon Trees - "Some Kind Of Monster" from "Iron Man 3: Heroes Fall" - Pop-rock at it's finest, this time buried on a soundtrack inspired by one of the biggest movies of 2013. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdV_fedO_v0

#429 The Fratellis - "We Need Medicine" from "We Need Medicine" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlq6L07wxrA

#428 Ashley Monroe - "Weed Instead Of Roses" from "Like A Rose" - A perfect send-up of old-school country music styles and tropes. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdfqzuQ8j5I

#427 Lorde - "400 Lux" from "Pure Heroine" - The first of 10 Lorde songs on this year's countdown. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFioOF8b3u4

#426 The Strokes - "50/50" from "Comedown Machine" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgkGx8A85r0

#425 Jake Bugg - "Lightning Bolt" from "Jake Bugg" - Jake Bugg is possibly the best indie folk artist around at this time. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY0oPg1h8fQ

#424 Atoms For Peace - "Default" from "Amok" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxWBd840E9g

#423 Eminem (feat. Kendrick Lamar) - "Love Game" from "Marshall Mathers LP 2" - Eminem places another song on the countdown thanks to Rick Rubin's production, Kendrick Lamar's guest vocals and a style sample of "The Book Of Love". - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdZHuPsomd4

#422 Bad Religion - "Fuck You" from "True North" - The perfect sentiment for one of punk's most enduring acts. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKDgk8MKCc0

#421 Pillowfight - "Get Your Shit Together" from "Pillowfight" - The lyrics aren't what you would expect from the style and sound of the artist, which just makes it work so much better. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BeGcf5BhB0

The Top 500 Songs Of 2013 - Part 7 of 50, #440-#431

#440 Bastille - "The Silence" from "All This Bad Blood" - The first of three songs from one of the best new rock acts of 2013. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00p2FW7ZLVo

#439 Marnie Stern - "Immortals" from "The Chronicles Of Marnia" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzsZwFvXFro

#438 Thee Oh Sees - "I Come From The Mountain" from "Floating Coffin" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-e5M3EdjSc

#437 Ashley Monroe - "Like A Rose" from "Like A Rose" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2R3WF9u1kA

#436 Young Galaxy - "Sleepwalk With Me" from "Ultramarine" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePQCKFpa4cc

#435 Disclosure (feat. Sam Smith) - "Latch" from "Settle" - Based on the popularity of the song, it probably should have been ranked higher on the countdown. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93ASUImTedo

#434 The Thermals - "You Will Be Free" from "Desperate Ground" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4BmrXKH_3Y

#433 Future Bible Heroes - "Living, Loving, Partygoing" from "Partygoing" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iWbsS63NNo

#432 Crystal Fighters - "LA Calling" from "Cave Rave" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tZSY6RRGlw

#431 The Goo Goo Dolls - "Last Hot Night" from "Magnetic" - Even a long-washed up 90's band can still have a hit if they combine the right elements from their glory days. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zadPi22gsM

Game of Thrones Season 5 Speculation - Part 4 - Danerys Targaryen

DANERYS TARGARYEN


The first scenes of Dany's ADWD storyline (the shepherd presenting the bones of the child Drogon killed and Dany chaining her other two dragons) were included in Episode 10 of Season 4.  Even with the first big moments covered, I don't think that the storyline will progress beyond the end of ADWD this season, as her storyline provides the perfect climactic scenes for Episode 9 and a series of short scenes that will fit perfectly into Episode 10.


THE SONS OF THE HARPY

Based on scene descriptions and casting information, it's clear that Season 5 of GoT will follow Dany's ADWD storyline for the most part, despite last year's off-hand comment, which seemed to dismiss the Sons of the Harpy (SotH) storyline as "revenge killings" that were nothing to be concerned about.  The early indication of the "revenge killings" dismissal seemed to be that S5 would take Dany's story in a completely different direction, but the inclusion of the Stalwart Shield scene indicates that this is not the case.

Dany's storyline in ADWD is set almost entirely inside the walls of Meereen, as GRRM explores the internal conflict between Daenerys the Conquerer and Daenerys the Ruler.  The SotH are an insurgency group in Meereen, allegedly comprised of individuals associated with the Great Masters who ruled Meereen before Dany's arrival (I say allegedly because the identity of those responsible for the attacks has yet to be revealed by the end of ADWD).  The insurgents / terrorists are targeting freed slaves and Unsullied guards, killing an escalating number of innocents each night in an attempt to end Dany's rule of the city.

Dany tries several methods of dealing with the SotH, including torturing suspects and the taking of hostages (who she refuses to kill out of a sense of mercy) from powerful houses that were suspected of involvement in the SotH.  What eventually works to quell the attacks is Dany's betrothal and eventual marriage to Hizdahr zo Loraq, a move that also seems to bring a temporary peace with the other enemy forces from Slaver's Bay who represent the external threat to her rule (more on that later).

One notable SotH attack that seems to be confirmed in the show is the attack on Stalwart Shield, an Unsullied soldier who frequented brothels in order to be held by the women who work there.  With casting information seemingly confirming the inclusion of this storyline, it has to be assumed that the show will be sticking fairly closely to the ADWD storyline, though the absence of other key Meereenese characters makes this difficult to forecast.

There are a number of key characters in Dany's ADWD story that seem to have been written out of the show.  As far as named characters go, Hizdahr and Yezzan are the only ones from this storyline that have been officially cast at this point, as far as I know.  Hizdahr was introduced early in Season 4 and seems to be playing a very different character on the show than he was in the ADWD.  Hizdahr is introduced in ADWD as a frequent petitioner from a powerful house who is lobbying Dany to re-open the fighting pits (think gladiators in ancient Rome) that were closed when she took Meereen.  On the show last season, Hizdahr's character was significantly altered, becoming a much more sympathetic character and illustrating to Dany that even the worst of her enemies can have redeeming qualities.  It's hard to believe that this character change will be ignored going forward.  When it was announced that the character of Yezzan will be a prominent Meerenese citizen (in ADWD, he's a military commander from Yunkai) who suffered financial losses when the fighting pits were closed, I had assumed that he would be assuming part of Hizdahr's role this season (but Hizdahr will still marry Dany).  That went out the window when it was revealed that Yezzan will eventually purchase Tyrion and Jorah.  While I still expect him to be the petitioner who nags Dany to re-open the pits early in the season, I think at some point he will leave Meereen and defect to Yunkai (how else could he purchase slaves?).  If Yezzan won't be filling multiple roles in Dany's court, this leaves a lot of unanswered questions about how the storyline will be adapted.

Other than Hizdahr, the most significant Meereenese character in ADWD is the Shavepate, a rival of Hizdahr's and another potential suitor for Dany (though certainly a less valid one strategically).  The Shavepate is one of Dany's chief supporters and advisors throughout and his absence from the storyline will cause massive problems, as his actions drive much of Dany's story and Barristan's story after Dany leaves Meereen.  I think that the show will fold the Shavepate's role in the story (always advising more violent solutions that are more oppressive of the Great Masters) into Daario Naharis' character, giving an established character an expanded role.

Also missing is the Green Grace, a key figure in Meereen and possibly one of the leaders of the SotH.  The Green Grace advises Dany on Meereenese culture and suggests that she marries Hizdahr.  It's a relatively small role, so it's possible that it could be an unnamed character or a role so small that the casting isn't announced.  It's also very possible that Hizdahr will be given an expanded role, acting as the Meereenese ambassador as he did in Season 4, representing Meereen's interests in the show.

So what's my best guess for how the show will adapt the SotH storyline this season?  One of the first scenes will be the statue of the Harpy being torn down on Dany's orders, emboldening the freedmen, but infuriating the Meereenese.  In episode 1 or 2, the Stalwart Shield scene, where an Unsullied will be murdered in a brothel will occur in response.  There will be more subsequent attacks and eventually Dany will consent to marry Hizdahr zo Loraq and re-open the fighting pits.  The roles played by the Shavepate and the Green Grace will either be eliminated or folded into existing characters, with Hizdahr and Daario having expanded roles from the books.


THE MEEREENESE KNOT

Meereen was one of the primary settings in ADWD.  With the exception of her final chapter, every Dany chapter in the book took place in or around Meereen, but Meereen was also an important destination for numerous characters in ADWD and AFFC, particularly Tyrion, Aegon, Quentyn Martell, Victarian Greyjoy (and some theorize Euron Greyjoy) and Archmaester Marwyn.  Meereen is also the destination for the armies of Qarth, Yunkai, New Ghis, Volantis and various sellsword armies hired by the city-states of Slaver's Bay.  By the end of ADWD or the preview chapters provided for The Winds Of Winter, all of these travelers have arrived in Slaver's Bay with the exception of Marwyn.

First of all, let's discount the characters that will definitely (or probably) be dropped this season.  Quentyn Martell doesn't exist in the show's continuity and neither will his journey to Meereen or his actions upon arrival.  Even if Victarion and Euron Greyjoy eventually play a role in the show, they are unlikely to have a role in Dany's Season 5 story (the less said about the laughable Daario = Euron theory, the better).  There isn't a Kingsmoot, Euron and Victarion haven't been cast yet, Balon is still alive, Dany already has the ships that Victarion would be delivering if he were in the show.  They may factor into Cersei and Margaery's story in Season 5 and they may have a role to play in Season 6, but that remains to be seen.  Aegon hasn't been cast and if the story plays out the way that I think it will (see my posts on Tyrion and Dorne), his role will be completely superfluous and thus eliminated.  If Marwyn is included in the show, it won't be until after Sam reaches Oldtown, so I think, if anything his story will be delayed until Season 6, though he may depart at the end of Season 5.  On a sidenote, I think that Marwyn will be the one who eventually convinces Dany to travel to Westeros, but it won't happen until at least halfway through The Winds Of Winter.

I've already discussed Tyrion's journey to Meereen and I'll address his role in Dany's story soon, but first I'll go into the armies that will be laying seige to Meereen this season.  Unlike in ADWD, I don't expect to see Xaro Xhoan Daxos again.  In ADWD, Xaro appears as an envoy from Qarth to offer Dany the ships that she would need to sail to Westeros.  In truth, Xaro is Dany's last chance of avoiding a war in Slaver's Bay.  This will be dropped from the show because Xaro is presumed dead (though I've always had a hail mary theory about him not being dead because who would make a safe that couldn't be opened from the inside?) and because the envoy from Yunkai (maybe he'll make another appearance?) has already made the same offer to Dany and the show isn't likely to repeat itself.  The Yunkai storyline in Season 3 played out the same way it did in ASoS, so I expect them to be the primary antagonists in S5.  There's no reason not to include the other city-states in the Yunkish army, as one sentence would suffice to mention that they're involved, making the army opposing Dany much more threatening.  Tyrion will be stopping in Volantis on his way to Meereen, so I would expect their involvement to be made clear while he's there, particularly if the scene with the widow of the waterfront is included.  I expect Volantis to be included, as it will likely play a huge role in the outcome of the Battle of Meereen, especially if the Greyjoys don't play a role.  The sellsword armies will likely be generic sellswords as most of the purpose of highly specific sellsword companies (getting Quentyn to Meereen,  switching sides on Dany back and forth) have been eliminated or condensed on the show. 

I expect that the flamboyant aspects of the attacking armies (the Herons, the slaves that are chained together, etc.) will be replaced by generic CGI armies and I think that much of the siege will be taking place either off-screen, in updates delivered in council meetings with Dany or in CGI shots designed to show the massive forces arrayed against Dany.  Most of the Yunkish siege that we see in ADWD is a result of Tyrion's story and it seems as though Tyrion's story is going to skip straight from being sold into slavery to being Dany's advisor in short order.  Also, CGI and off-screen mentions are a lot cheaper than filming with thousands of extras, so it seems like a logical way to save budget.

The possibility also exists that the Yunkish invasion may be written out of the show to an extent.  Tyrion and Jorah can be sold into slavery somewhere outside of the proximity of Meereen, negating the need for a siege setting for this scene.  The trailer proves that the Sons of the Harpy will be staging a climactic attack in the fighting pits of Meereen this season (negating the purpose of the Hizdahr marriage story arch, but oh well) and that may be used as a substitute for the siege of Meereen, for this season at least.  This would be disappointing, but understandable from a budget perspective.


TYRION, JORAH, DANY AND CO.

Season 4 ends with Dany chaining her dragons, but very much remaining in control of Meereen and Slaver's Bay, having sent Daario, Hizdahr and the Second Sons to Yunkai to settle the uprising against her ending of the slave trade.  In Meereen itself, Dany's chief advisors are Ser Barristan Selmy, her handmaiden Missandei and the captain of the Unsullied Grey Worm.  Outside of Meereen, but soon to enter / re-enter the story are the exiled Jorah Mormont and Tyrion Lannister.

There's no reason to change Selmy's role this season.  I'm sure he'll take on some of the responsibilities of Meereenese characters that have been written out of the show (investigating the SotH in place of the Shavepate, perhaps), but for the most part there won't be much difference between book-Selmy and show-Selmy.  Interviews have indicated that Missandei will have a larger role this season than she did in ADWD, becoming a personal confidant and sort of right-hand woman to Dany this season.  This makes sense, since she'll be accommodating the role of Irri (killed in Season 2 by Doreah) into her own role.  I also expect the show to expand on her chaste romance with Grey Worm, since the show added scenes last year specifically to that end.  Grey Worm will also have a larger role this year than he does in the books.  I doubt that the hostages Yunkish storyline will be included this season, as I expect that the battle itself will be simplified greatly, so Grey Worm will be free to be involved more in the battle plans to defend Meereen and the SotH investigation.

Daario and Hizdahr will probably be back in Meereen early in Season 5, if not right from the start.  If their diplomatic / military mission to Yunkai goes well, it guts a lot of the main storyline for the second half of the season, so it's unlikely that will be the case.  Daario and Dany have already consumated their "business relationship", so doing so won't be a major plot point in Season 5, though her marriage to Hizdahr certainly wlil be.  I expect them to fill the devil-angel roles in Dany's internal struggle between peace (Hizdahr) and war (Daario) this season as they did in ADWD, with Hizdahr taking up a large portion of the Meereenese roles that won't be included this season.

A romance between Grey Worm and Missandei was introduced in Season 4 and all indications from the trailer are that this storyline will continue in Season 5.  The trailer includes a shot of GW lying down and Missandei approaching his face.  It's unclear whether this is a romantic setting or if GW is in some sort of catatonic (or dead, though it's unlikely that would be shown in a trailer) state, but it does seem as though the connection between the two will continue this season.  It is unsettling that GW isn't in any of the photos at the fighting pits, but that could just be a coincidence.

I expect that the pale mare's arrival (possibly foretold by a severely altered vision from Quaithe) to take place midway through the season.  The introduction of a plague forces the issue of the battle, whereas Meereen could otherwise hide behind their walls and wait out the Yunkish siege.  This sort of plot device can be easily introduced with a scene or two and drives Dany's story forward to the inevitable climax.

Also driving towards the unraveling of the Meereenese Knot in ADWD are the arrival of several outside influences, all of whom will be trying to bring Dany to Westeros.  As previously discussed, these won't include Quentyn Martell or the Greyjoys, but they will include two characters who are in a collision course with Dany in ADWD but have yet to arrive by the end of the book, Tyrion Lannister and Jorah Mormont.  While Tyrion and Jorah are in Meereen and take place in the climactic re-opening of the fighting pits, they never interact with Dany before she departs on Drogon.  This will be very different in Season 5.

The most shocking piece of leaked information this year (and possibly in the history of the show) was a series of images showing Tyrion sitting on a dais with Dany, Hizdahr and Missandei, watching Jorah participating in a gladiator fight in the fighting pits.  The reason that this is shocking is that it proves that Dany will not only be aware of Tyrion's presence in Meereen, but she will meet with him and accept him as an advisor.  The placement on the dais is not a coincidence.  The re-opening of the fighting pits is a wedding gift that Dany gives to Hizdahr (the image also proves that they will get married) and placing him in a position of high honor (along with her husband and her confidant Missandei) indicates that he is an important advisor (the absence of chains indicates that he's not a prisoner or a servant in disguise as some have suggested).  So how did this happen?

Leaks from filming show that Tyrion and Jorah will be captured and sold into slavery (by AAA) to Yezzan.  Other leaks indicate that they will escape and sneak into Meereen.  I don't know how or when they escape from slavery or exactly how they introduce themselves to Dany, but my theory is that it will be handled similarly to the way that Quentyn Martell introduced himself in ADWD.  During a scene of Dany holding court, Tyrion and Jorah will step forward from the shadows.  Tyrion will announce himself and explain his intentions, Jorah and more importantly Barristan Selmy will vouch for his identity and after a rousing speech wherein Tyrion explains that he is the perfect ally for Dany, with his knowledge not only of Westerosi politics and the Lannisters, but also his marriage to Sansa Stark, his allies in Dorne and his knowledge of dragons.  Basically, Tyrion will give Dany the pitch that he gave Jon Connington on why he would be a good advisor to Dany.  Add in the fact that he was convicted of murdering Joffrey and he did, in fact, murder Tywin Lannister and I believe that Dany will take him into her service with little hesitation.  Things will not go quite so well for Jorah, however, as he'll be taken to the dungeons.  He'll be spared an immediate execution for violating his exile, but to earn his way back into Dany's graces, he'll have to prove himself at the re-opening of the fighting pits.


A SHORT-LIVED PEACE

Game Of Thrones has a long history of disastrous and otherwise horrible wedding scenes and while the ramifications of Dany's wedding to Hizdahr are eventually tragic and earth-shattering, the wedding itself goes off without a hitch, luring viewers into a false sense of security for the epic disaster yet to come.  Of course, any experienced viewer of the show knows better, but I still think a few people will be fooled into thinking that Jorah's fight in the pits is the key moment in the scene, but readers of ADWD know that it's the reappearance of Drogon that's the key.

Dany marries Hizdahr zo Loraq in order to achieve peace inside the walls of Meereen so that the city can present a united front against the armies of Slaver's Bay massing outside their walls.  As an added bonus, the marriage, along with some concessions from Dany regarding the return of the slave trade outside of Meereen will secure a temporary peace with Yunkai and their allies.

As a wedding gift to Hizdahr, Dany agrees to allow the re-opening of the fighting pits in Meereen, a gladiator venue where warriors (previously slaves) would fight to the death for fame and glory (and now, for a share of the prize money).  In ADWD, Tyrion and Penny perform their jousting routine and Dany inadvertantly saves their lives when she stops the slavers from unleashing lions to devour them.  Several fights take place before a climactic pit fight raises such a commotion that it attracts Drogon back to the fighting pits.  When he starts eating one of the pit fighters and generally killing everyone in sight, the peace Dany achieves has come to an end.  The chaos eventually ends when Dany successfully mounts Drogon, who flies off into the Dothraki Sea.

In Dany's absence, Hizdahr does his best to hold together the peace accord with the Yunkish, but the writing is on the wall and war is inevitable.  Everything comes to a head by the end of ADWD with two key events, the Yunkish decision to begin flinging Pale Mare corpses into Meereen and Quentyn Martell's accidental / intentional freeing of the other two dragons and his fiery death.

I expect Tyrion's arrival in Dany's court to happen around Episode 7 (it may even be the final scene of Episode 7 or whatever episode it takes place in).  The wedding to Hizdahr would then take place in Episode 8 or early on in Episode 9, leaving the events at the fighting pits to be the climactic "holy shit!" moment for Episode 9 and Season 5.  This will be set up like the Red Wedding, with an ominous tone throughout and the storyline getting just a little bit more attention than it should, but not enough to tip off that the big event will be taking place in Meereen (there will be competing storylines in King's Landing and Braavos just as there was Kingscrown in the same episode as the Red Wedding). 

Like Joffrey's wedding in Season 4, I expect Dany's wedding and the re-opening of the pits to dominate just a little extra screen-time, with a slow build up to a shocking event.  There will be some mild entertainment in the pits, substituting for the dwarf jousting that won't take place on the show and some minor fights that will serve as undercards before Jorah's climactic fight for his life.  I don't expect that the poisoning sub-plot will take place (no Strong Belwas and no Shavepate equals too many missing elements for the storyline to be included) on the show.  During or after Jorah's fight, the Sons of the Harpy will stage a massive attack on the fighting pits, as evidenced by the trailer.  This attack will cause a massive panic, but it will be nothing compared to Drogon's return to the pits in response to the uproar.

I think that Jorah will survive Drogon's return (but die later on) and I think that it's possible that Hizdahr could die in the chaos that ensues (possibly being murdered by the SotH).  Using the battle at the Wall in Season 4 as an example, someone important has to die (Pyp and Grenn) as a consequence of the climactic event in order to sell that the event had consequences.  The story still needs Dany and Tyrion for the endgame and Barristan Selmy is still needed for the battle of Meereen.  That leaves Jorah, Daario, Hizdahr, Missandei and Grey Worm as possible candidates.  While it's possible that Missandei and Grey Worm might die (and them being built up as characters that we love actually makes it more likely that they die tragically), I think that Hizdahr is the more likely candidate because it would quickly free Dany of her obligations to Meereen, end the peace accord with the SotH and Slaver's Bay and put Tyrion and Selmy in a position of power and authority to defend Meereen against the invaders, which I think is the direction that the show will take for the rest of Season 5 and much of Season 6, while Dany is in the Dothraki Sea.

Why do I think Jorah will survive Drogon's return?  Because I think he'll die later this season, in Episode 10, freeing Dany's other dragons.  The dragons have to be freed and it pretty much has to happen in Season 5, as it's more of a season-ending climax than a season-opening catastrophe.  This is made especially true since the dragons were chained up at the end of Season 4 rather than the beginning of Season 5.  In ADWD, Quentyn frees the dragons in a desperate attempt to win Dany's hand.  He frees the dragons, but dies in the process in an awesome, Jurassic Park-esque way that is custom-made for television.  Quentyn isn't in the series, but someone has to free the dragons.  Tyrion has nothing to gain from freeing the dragons and he needs to survive this season.  It would be similarly out of character for Selmy (who I think will die during the Battle of Meereen), Grey Worm and Missandei.  Hizdahr (if he's still alive) fears the dragons and would never free them, so if we operate on the assumption that the dragons must be freed as the climax of Dany's story in Meereen and to set up the battle in Season 6 and we operate on the assumption that an important character must free the dragons and die in the process, Jorah is the only logical choice left.  It's been established in the past that Jorah fears the dragons, but given his station at the end of Season 4 and the position he'll be in by the end of Season 5, he'll be desperate enough to try and die for his efforts.  I don't think Jorah will survive until the end of The Winds of Winter, so it's not a huge narrative shift to have him die earlier in the story, particularly since his role as an advisor could be filled by Tyrion from this point forward in the series.  It's also very possible that Daario Naharis could be the one to die freeing the dragons.  A leaked script (which may be BS) indicates that Daario is upset because Dany won't (or can't) unleash her dragons on Yunkai.  While this plot point is borrowed from Brown Ben Plumm, Daario won't defect the way that Plumm did (leaked images indicate he'll be by Dany's side in the fighting pits), but he might try to set the dragons free to impress her, the way that Quentyn does in ADWD.

I expect Selmy to be ruling as a sort of Hand of the King while Dany is absent from Meereen with Tyrion, Daario, Missandei and Grey Worm advising him (along with any other survivors).  I expect the SotH to resume their attacks and for Yunkai to begin flinging Pale Mare corpses over Meereen's walls to force the battle to happen ASAP.  The Meereenese aspect of Season 5 will end with Jorah's death and Selmy's and Co's discovery that the dragons have been released.  I expect we'll see some sort of attack on the pyramids as the dragons establish their roosts there as the season ends.

Dany herself will also have scenes in Episode 10.  You can leave her disappearance as a cliffhanger for an episode or two, but not for an entire season (especially not for a 40-week off-season period).  This is especially true with my projected cliffhanger regarding Jon Snow closing out the season.  One of the "Big 4" (Dany, Jon, Tyrion, Arya) can be MIA or presumed dead at the end of the season, but not more than one, in my opinion.  I imagine we'll see either two shorter scenes or one extended scene in Episode 10 where Dany is alone in the Dothraki Sea before she encounters a khalasar led by one of the bloodriders who abandoned Khal Drogo (obviously not the one who Drogo killed in Season 1, but one of the others will substitute fine without 99% of fans noticing or caring).  It's even possible that Dany and Drogon might respond to the situation immediately, something that hasn't happened yet in ADWD.  Something is simple as a squint of the eyes or a vengeful smirk on her face could be enough to tip off what happens next (my guess... fire and blood).  I don't think Season 5 will end with a Dany scene (I think it will be Jon's murder), but this will take place towards the end of Episode 10.


MY SEASON 5 PREDICTIONS FOR DAENERYS TARGARYEN'S STORY:

Season 5 will open with the demolishing of the Harpy statue and the attack on Stalwart Shield at some point during Episode 1, launching the Sons of the Harpy storyline.  During Episode 1 and 2, Dany will deal with the ramifications of the SotH and Yunkai and Slaver's Bay will declare war against Meereen.  Through the middle of the season, increased activity by the SotH and the beginning of the Yunkish siege on Meereen will prompt Dany to arrange a betrothal with Hizdahr zo Loraq.  Around Episode 7, Tyrion and Jorah will present themselves in Meereen and be brought before Dany, who hears Tyrion's epic speech and is persuaded to allow him to advise her, though Jorah will still need to prove himself.  Dany and Hizdahr will be married in Episode 8 or 9 and the fighting pits will re-open, with Jorah fighting for his life in order to earn his way back into Dany's good graces.  During or after Jorah's fight in the pits, the Sons of the Harpy will stage a massive attack on the fighting pits, causing chaos and drawing Drogon to the fighting pits, causing mass devastation and the death of Hizdahr zo Loraq. 

Dany will mount Drogon and the two will fly away into the Dothraki Sea.  Barristan Selmy will rule in Meereen in Dany's absence with help from Tyrion, Missandei and Grey Worm while the SotH amplify their attacks and Yunkai prepares to attack Meereen.  A deseperate Jorah Mormont attempts to free Dany's dragons, only to get killed for his efforts.  Yunkai attempts to end the siege at Meereen by flinging corpses infected with the Pale Mare over the city walls, forcing Meereen to prepare for a battle that will start in Season 6.  Season 10 will close with Dany wandering in the Dothraki Sea before being confronted by a khalasar led by one of Khal Drogo's former bloodriders.


Next week: Arya Stark

The Top 500 Songs Of 2013 - Part 6 of 50, #450-#441

#450 Foxygen - "San Francisco" from "We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace And Magic" - The song called "San Francisco" is a psychedelic throwback to 60's era hippie rock?  You don't say. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtdWGGpvY1s

#449 The Uncluded - "Scissorhands" from "Hokey Fright" - As you can imagine, this song is partially about Edward Scissorhands. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhlgHxuJiOU

#448 Camera Obscura - "Break It To You Gently" from "Desire Lines" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFTPtaQf09E

#447 Blood Orange - "You're Not Good Enough" from "Cupid Deluxe" - 80's nostalgia rears it's head in the music video for this song, one of 2013's best. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gtdpnKbT10

#446 The National - "This Is The Last Time" from "Trouble Will Find Me" - The National won the 2013 title for most-represented artist in the countdown with eleven songs, one more than Lorde, Queens Of The Stone Age and Vampire Weekend. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VVp-tKqFNY

#445 Steve Earle - "21st Century Blues" from "The Low Highway" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxDTeoeWZeI

#444 Ministry - "Thanx But No Thanx" from "From Beer To Eternity" - Although the vocals sounds an awful lot like Tom Waits or Nick Nolte, it's actually Sgt. Major sampling William S. Burroughs's poem "A Thanksgiving Prayer". - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq6T9q1TYao

#443 Frank Turner - "We Shall Not Overcome" from "Tape Deck Heart" - "The bands I like, they don't sell too many records, the girls I like, they don't kiss too many boys.  Books I read will never be best sellers, yeahBut come on fellas at least we made our choice, hey!"" - Frank Turner laying out the spirit of indie art in one chorus. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmOZuSyAQnI

#442 Placebo - "Loud Like Love" from "Loud Like Love" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi_AJxsdOKo

#441 Jay-Z - "Somewhereinamerica" from "Magna Carta… Holy Grail" - The first of nine Jay-Z songs on the countdown, though only eight were from "Magna Carta… Holy Grail". - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmtgsCMsuVM

The Top 500 Songs Of 2013 - Part 5 of 50, #460-#451

#460 Snoop Lion (feat. Mr. Vegas) - "Fruit Juice" from "Reincarnation" - The best song from the genre-hopping artist formerly known as Snoop Dogg's debut reggae album. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ascf0fkHZE

#459 Andrew Stockdale - "Ghetto" from "Keep Moving" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOFZUgPdCtY

#458 The Rebel Light - "Goodbye Serenade" from "Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0ZS1Y-82Rk

#457 White Lies - "Heaven Wait" from "Big TV" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBPHLJQTC80

#456 The Arctic Monkeys - "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High" from "AM" - Even in such a good year, this song probably should have been much higher in the countdown. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6366dxFf-Os

#455 She And Him - "I've Got Your Number, Son" from "Volume 3" - The only song from M. Ward and Zoey Deschanel's third volume of indie-rock throwbacks to make the countdown this year, but several other songs from "Volume 3" came close. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDS_gybdWb4

#454 Talib Kweli feat. Miguel - "Come Here" from "Prisoner Of Conscious" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f1aAQdE3lY

#453 Elvis Costello And The Roots - "Wise Up Ghost" from "Wise Up Ghost And Other Songs" - A year without an Elvis Costello song (he has another coming up later) is a year wasted, it seems. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSDEs6_iNqQ

#452 The Civil Wars - "Oh Henry" from "The Civil Wars" - It's a tale as old as time.  As soon as a brilliant band gets a following and starts to break through, they break up.  Civil Wars doesn't sound anything like At The Drive-In, but it's the same notes from different instruments. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG8iQ4qgvm4

#451 The Born Ruffians - "Ocean's Deep" from "Birthmarks" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs2DvdGojWY

The Top 500 Songs Of 2013 - Part 4 of 50, #470-#461

#470 Sky Ferreira - "Heavy Metal Heart" from "Night Time, My Time" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yULXlAjPGs

#469 Savages - "City's Full" from "Silence Yourself" - The thing I like the most about Savages is the wild vocals, which are out of control in a way reminiscient of Patti Smith. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzIpMRzeMcM

#468 The Black Angels - "Don't Play With Guns" from "Indigo Meadow" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-4gAjLt9Yo

#467 Of Montreal - "Triumph Of Disintegration" from "Lousy With Sylvianbriar" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtSKoSIF7Tc

#466 The Eels - "Bombs Away" from "Wonderful, Glorious" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4YkOIIe8Tw

#465 Justin Timberlake, Carey Mulligan And Stark Sands - "Five Hundred Miles" from "Inside Llewyn Davis Soundtrack" - Inside Llewyn Davis is the folk equivalent of the Crazy Heart soundtrack from a few years back, the latest in a long line of brilliant soundtracks produced by T Bone Burnett. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7eYaJr1j-0

#464 Midlake - "The Old And the Young" from "Antiphon" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k-pMMW01yw

#463 Kanye West - "On Sight" from "Yeezus" - The first of six songs from Kanye West's "Yeezus" album, one of the year's best. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnrLXDYnS6c

#462 Phosphorescent - "Song For Zula" from "Muchacho" - This might have been the most commonly-used song in movie and television soundtracks and trailers in the past few years. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPxQYhGpdvg

#461 Blue October - "Bleed Out" from "Sway" - The raw emotion that Blue October excudes in their songs is completely hit or miss, being either excellent or awful. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JC7Wsp_3qI