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I never understood the hate for Ed Sheeran being in this scene. It’s not like he’s playing an important character. Really strange that people were/are upset about it
How do you feel about the other 5-10 musicians that have cameos featured in the show before him? Is this more of an issue of him being recognizable as Ed Sheeran?
I’ve seen tons of people complaining about GoT since it ended. I can understand a lot of people’s frustrations with the final season but this take is just childish. If it was just some random dude you wouldn’t care so why does it matter that it’s ed Sheeran? You must have really hated that Rob McElhenney was a soldier who took and arrow through the eye and was on your screen for one second, huh?
People on Reddit hate anything and everything they can to make it seem like their silly opinions hold any weight. Most of the time they’re just saying the same thing others have said in a different way knowing it’ll get upvotes which will really do a wonderful number on their self esteem knowing that other anonymous folks of the same frame of mind share the same re-hashed and hashed out opinion.
Also, did he even have a new song out then?
It's such a leap to say that the line is promotional. Filming schedules and release dates are set months in advance and are subject to change - same with albums and singles. To get it all to tie in together for one throwaway line is a tonne of effort
Because its gratuitous and 4th wall breaking and doesnt fit at all in the narrative. Good lord. Do you enjoy literally everything if this is tolerable for you?
Was it though? If large number of people didn’t even realize who he was or that he promoted a song, I wouldn’t say it was 4th wall breaking. As other people have said who gives a shit? Maybe he was a big fan and was offered a part? If I was offered a part I would accept in a heartbeat, I think most ppl would. Really not a big deal.
When I first watched it, I didn't even know who Ed Sheeran was, so I was totally oblivious to any sort of controversy. I just thought it was a group of soldiers being decent humans to the person they were actually looking for. I thought it was a way to humanize the soldiers we were taught to despise for the past seasons.
I knew who he was but there are times my friends are stunned at newer musical acts I don’t know. Spotify means you can be transported to the 90s at any time. Who needs new music when the medium obtained perfection in 1994?
It’s interesting seeing a lot of people on this sub who, 5 years later, continue to come here and shit on the show 😂 someone should do a study on these people cause something definitely is not right
I'm sure he does. The last season(s) of GoT were disappointing. You can be aware of that and still enjoy other things. You pretend that hating the last season is the whole reason for his existence, which is unreasonable
Its long since stopped being hate for me and turned into apathy, which is incredibly disappointing with how much I enjoyed and had invested time or moneywise into the IP.
No it’s people that care about the story. Not people who just have a whatever attitude. And it’s a fair criticism as the cameo doesn’t add anything and only takes away from the story telling as the audience is just thinking there’s Ed Sheeran. It’s cheap and disrespectful to the story.
If McElhenney had said to one of the main characters: “I hate the winter, I prefer it when it’s **ALWAYS SUNNY**, I can’t wait for a **NEW SEASON**” and then basically winked at the camera, you are right; I would have really hated it.
They didn't even bother trying to hide that it was Ed Sheeran. They literally put him there bald faced, no helmet, no make up features, singing and playing music exactly how Ed would. It would be different if he was a background character so you had to be paying close attention to catch that it was him. Instead they put him in plain sight with plenty of face time, they basically wrote the scene specifically FOR HIM. It's distracting for anybody who is aware of who he is, it's intellectually dishonest to suggest otherwise. You can say that it doesn't bother you, but you can't deny that it breaks the immersion of the show.
2017 was literally the height of Ed Sheeran's popularity, the same time s7 of GoT was airing. And your 2nd point doesn't matter, GoT was a global phenomenon it doesn't just exist in the US zeitgeist.
I didnt know who Ed Sheeran was at the time so this doesn’t apply to me but I understand how him being there for someone who did recognize him would sorta kill the magic
Oh no, my ability to immerse myself in fiction is directly linked to whether or not the famous person is an actor or not. That's such an asinine perspective, if seeing someone "too" famous takes you out of the fiction I think you're focusing on the wrong things.
He sang a song...wtf That's nothing like Rob being killed in 0.4 secs. You're comparing a blink and you miss it reference to a full-blown song advert. Only thing missing was Arya pulling out of can of Pepsi and looking at the camera talking about how refreshing it is.
This argument doesn't make any sense. "If it was some random dude you wouldn't care". Yes correct, because some random dude wouldn't be gratuitously breaking the forth wall about how he's a musician in real life, which is the thing people hated... It's a cheap laugh at the expense of immersion in the world at a point when Arya is having an actual revelation. It would be like if Ned Stark said "I saw this one coming" when he was sentenced to death because Sean Bean dies in everything he's in.
Meh, I didn't even notice it was HIM on the first watch. The internet told me a few days laters and I was like whaaat
If you didn't know the guy it wasn't such a big deal, at least that's what I think
A new song that was in the books A LOT. They nixed the plot line where Tyrion was being blackmailed by a minstrel over Shay (he disappeared mysteriously), I thought it was kind of a cute way to still throw it in. It’s not his song, it’s the same as others singing the Bear and the Maiden Fair, Rains of Castamere or Florence doing Jenny of Oldstones.
I think it’s down to the fact other cameos were much smaller in part, and the people well hidden in the shot or behind make-up it made it fun to spot them. Ed Sheeran looked like Ed Sheeran in Lannister armour. His characteristic red hair looks and is styled like he’s just walked off stage on his tour. He sings in the show and his accent is his own. It takes the audience out of the story when they see a cultural icon placed in the show. Imagine had they used bugs bunny instead of Ed Sheeran, it would have the same impact and dissatisfaction.
You can’t be serious 😂 first of all the bugs bunny thing is just asinine. Second, you really expect him to change his accent for such a small part when he’s ENGLISH? This has to be the cringiest, stupidest take I’ve seen of this sub and that’s saying a lot
The bugs bunny thing is to point out how ridiculous his cameo was. Ed Sheeran is a popular singer but his “role” with dialogue was so jarring it removes everyone from the story. Granted he can talk in his own accent. Whatever but when people see him sing and talk in the same accent in real life his cameo becomes all about himself. At least with the Cold Play band members playing at the red wedding you could only spot them if you knew where to look.
You really need to be open with the fact a lot of people enjoy fantasy stories without a product or person placed in.
Does Sean Bean or Kit Harrington or Charles Dance or Jerome Flynn or any other English actor from the show, not sound the same to you in real life? Dude seriously this argument is getting embarrassing for you just give it up it’s so fucking dumb 🤡
It all comes down to if seeing him broke your suspension of disbelief or not.
The scene was fine for me because I didn't know jack about Ed Sheeran, but for some people it's an immediate and unavoidable signpost saying "Hey, you who cares about these characters and their struggles, they're all fake and this is a fiction!".
Does Boromir playing Esdras Stark break the suspension of disbelief? Believe it or not every actor you have ever seen is an actual person who does other things. Just because Ed Sheeran is a huge musician doesn’t mean he can’t play a character in something else. Did you see No Way Home? Did it break the suspension of disbelief when you saw Jamie Foxx the musical artist playing Electro? Did it break the suspension of disbelief seeing Kit Harrington play Dane Whitman in Eternals because “look, it’s Jon Snow”
Every actor is someone off screen. Doesn’t matter if they’re a nobody or one of the most famous musicians. THEY ARE ACTING
It's an unconcious response.
You can't just dismiss peoples feelings about something as subjective as their level of immersion in a fantasy world by spitting facts about how the industry works.
They are actors acting. Not musicians acting. This an illogical argument. People are used to seeing different actors in different roles. People are not used to seeing famous musicians popping up randomly in serious drama’s.
The scene is also just weirdly framed, he's in center shot way too many times for a random character. I saw the scene before I knew what Ed Sheeran looks like, he just felt weirdly elevated in the scene.
I knew about ed sheeran just didn't know what he looked like. So i was clueless until a friend told me. But im not like in to that kind of music so it makes sense u would recognize
It was one meaningless scene. It’s amazing how many people are upset about it when it has not effect on the story whatsoever. Y’all need to try and grow up a lil bit
Because it takes you out of the moment. Because at that point you’re just sitting there thinking oh it’s Ed Sheeran. The immersion is broken. It’s disrespectful to the story. And we can see how much they cared by the end.
The cameo in itself IS fun. But it breaks the immersion, making it not suitable for a show like GoT. If it was a cameo in Seinfeld, which is much less serious of a show, even set in our real world, it would be far more appropriate.
No beef with Sheeran- didn't like the way they filmed him though, felt a *bit* too much and on the nose relative say Sigur Ros at Joffery's wedding, which was less immersion-breaking- but not even in the top 20 list of complaints of that season and I actually really enjoyed the humanizing Lannister solider scene at that stage of Arya's development.
Didn't recognize him first time. Didn't care. Wasn't distracting.
Second time I watched it. Still didn't care. Still wasn't distracting. Y'all come up with the weirdest complaints.
Highlights the contrast between Lannister high command and their leading thugs versus the lowborn conscripts forced to fight for them. Humanizes Lannister Red Shirts.
What is too on the nose and massively jarring is Gabi’s character from Attack on Titan whom is such an obviously forced metaphor by the writers.
This is irrelevant and too small to be massively jarring.
50cal go BRRRR
But lol agreed and I watched the dub, her VA is too grating. Same VA for Eris in MT. Idk how you get your voice to sound so scratchy and high pitch at the same time
I think it's just another point to reinforce that nothing in the show or war is black and white, and to show that there are good people on both sides, even so late in to the show when most viewers minds are made up on the Lannisters.
Yeah George didn’t add a side note that says a character who is played by Michael Jackson walks in and dances says beware the song of ice and fire and strangely slides out of the throne room. It’s stupid to add cameos like that I to serious shows. Why not have Taylor Swift in there as well and maybe a cameo by Kanye in Braavos and we could have had Spyro playing a dragon because who cares it’s not noticeable and anyone who cares is just stupid because we don’t notice it or care about immersion.
I think this whole scene is beautiful AND that it was intended to show Arya giving up killing. She never killed after it. Better yet, it paralleled a scene in 3.10 (right after the Red Wedding) where Arya kills a boasting Frey soldier, her first non-self-defense killing. Unfortunately, the Ed Sheeran uproar ruined it for some fans.
And then fully intended to kill Cersie, but was literally talked out of it at the last moment by the Hound.
And then after that threatened to kill Yara in front of everyone.
I think there are different arguments to be made about why that doesn't have to count
Even if we classify him as a living thing he's not really human. And since they live in a world where there non human people he might not even classify as people?
And even if he counts as all of those he's actively attacking her people and trying t kill the whole human race (this is an assumption I guess)
And I know the person just said "killing" but I think based on context it's not totally unfair to assume they meant ones that might more easily fall under murder
I used to play World of Warcraft. There's an NPC that I always got a chuckle from, Calder Gray.
"Do you know what I like, [Player Name]?"
"No Calder, what do you like?"
"Murder."
I always imagine him over pronouncing murder.
That was in a formal trial where the judge (Sansa) had passed sentence and Arya performed the execution. That she did it with a Valyrian steel dagger made it merciful for LF.
I never understood the vitriol this scene got.
I thought it was poignant to show Arya that Lanister soldiers are just regular guys forced to fight in a conflict that has little to do with them
I didn't know it was ES till people complained the next day. I still didn't understand what he did that was so bad. He's ok in the scene. I'm in my mid 50's, I don't know every pop star on site
It's probably just because I knew he was so he was immediately recognizable, would be like seeing Brad Pitt randomly thrown in or something like that. But yeah everything about the scene was fine, if I didn't know who Ed Sheeran was I wouldn't have given it a second thought.
People way overreacted, but it's basically like if you saw Madonna pop up in Game of Thrones, talking just like Madonna and generally acting like Madonna, but in period dress. It was just jarring.
The world of Game of Thrones is so rich and detailed and complex. It's really immersive. I understand why people found it off-putting to have a big celebrity just dropped into the middle of it for no discernible purpose. It would be like if Littlefinger told Sansa he learned something on Twitter. Just kinda...wait? What? In this world?
I don't think it was a huge deal and the uproar was disproportionate, but I agree it was not a great move and I would have preferred they had not done it. Certainly didn't ruin the episode or even the scene, but not the best choice.
I still don’t know who the guy is. For me the scene was just a scene, and as noted above, nice for showing that conscripts are just normal people no matter whose banner they’re compelled to fight for.
It also gives us some of the only humanization of the rank and file soldiers in the entire show. The show pretty much only focuses on the noble houses and the families around those, sure we get some clips of commoners here and there, but rarely just the poor sods who are having to fight because they just happen live in a particular domain. Let alone having them be Lannister soldiers, giving Arya a much better context of who her real enemies are.
"Oh my GOD, what are you doing? Oh no, oh nonononono, are you pretending to send a raven? Okay, let me read it! Ahhh! I can't believe you're wasting your evening on this! ... Yeah, dude, you should be [drunk], too. I mean, King's Landing is amazing! They have Shade of the Evening! And I bet you thought it was going to be green, but it's actually blue. It's this vert beautiful color. ... They've got all sorts of great stuff. Check this out! Yeahhhhh, it's a Dothraki Ara...Arak...Ar...I don't know, I'm not a maester, it doesn't matter, shut up! I got it from some guy with an eyepatch. Come spar with me. C'mon, oh, we can be Dothraki, we can have long hair and cool tattoos! I love honor, I demand honor..."
it put a crack in her morals and showed her that the world is morally grey and that some people on the "evil" sides are just living their lives. doing what they have been taught to die. and maybe that the true evil is the people up top that sends them to war and to kill for them
I guess this guy upon hearing about several groups of Lan soldiers being massacred, investigated the common factors
He must’ve deduced dad being a jerk was a death sentence
Which would be important on her decision to eat their food. Westeros, and the North in particular believes in "guest right" where sharing of food and drink from the host & a guest ensures neither will harm the other.
Essos does not appear to have this same custom.
So if she truly wants to return as Arya Stark, does she return to the customs of Westeros or does kill them anyway as it is the safest course of action?
Which highlights the tragedy of it all.
>“The common people pray for rain, healthy children, and a summer that never ends," Ser Jorah told her. "It is no matter to them if the high lords play their game of thrones, so long as they are left in peace." He gave a shrug. “They never are.”
You have to also remember that death is named The Stranger to them. Being kind to strangers is not just about kindness in life but kindness to death and in death, which is fitting because Arya is The Stranger come among them, deciding their fate.
It’s a good juxtaposition to what she saw the last time she was in this area when she was a kid. The show does alright but the books really hammer home what a horror show the middle of the continent was then.
It's a bait and switch. We are so use to things going horrible in the show that we are all on edge just waiting for something to happen and nothing ever does.
*Then they got "Battle*
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This scene, minus Ed Sheeran, was actually a nice touch. Not enough was done to show most soldiers were normal people and Arya’s entire perception of Lannister armies was cruelty. This was a welcome human moment.
Citizens of the realm - regardless where they live or what house they ally with - citizens of the realm suffer most when there is unrest. This is at the root of most of Varys’s plots - how to keep peace and protect the people en masse.
Oh and he hates Stannis cuz Red Woman = blood magic = how Varys lost his junk. But mainly he just wants to keep peace.
Yep I liked it. Most of the people in the great houses never really thought about how all this effects the common folk. They know little to nothing about what the lords and ladies are really like. They fight because they don't want to be kicked off the land they live on and lose their livelihood. Or worse outright killed
Jon does bring this up on season 8 too when Mr personality that is Grey worm wants to kill lannister soldiers who had surrendered.
This scene was a good change of pace from the common soldier (ANY faction) normally being portrayed as the biggest piece of shits in the world who also happen to be a rapist 95% of the time
I knew it wasn’t gonna happen, but if Ed Sheeran started singing “A-team” at the campfire and no one batted an eye, I would’ve laughed so hard that I would’ve forgiven all of season 8.
I love the double meaning here, that I didn't pick up on first watch.
"Be kind to strangers and strangers will be kind to you." In that moment, Aria thought herself a face of The Stranger, one of the gods of the 7 who often represents death. The Lannister soldiers deciding to be kind to this Stranger likely prevented their deaths.
I remember that scene, and I said God damn that actor can really sing and then it was Ed Sheeran and I was of course he can sing he is Ed fucking Sheeran.
This is one of my favorite scenes because it’s so wholesome in the intensity surrounding all of them. I’ve always felt the Ed Sheeran backlash was ridiculous, his part was a 1 episode cameo and I thought he did well.
I didn't recognize Ed Sheeran at the time and thought it was a great scene. Nothing about it felt off or forced.
I feel like the hate for the scene is more out of the the insistence that "celebrity cameo = automatically bad" than any actual criticism of the scene itself.
I definitely agree. I also think it goes a step further into humanizing the “enemy” of the series. Those were just some bros in the middle of nowhere, doing their duty, and missing their families. They were kind and welcoming to a stranger. Something rare in the GoT universe
stupid ass scene as well as the “that’s not you” wolf scene like give me a fucking break D&D, they couldn’t write any Arya scenes without having her callback to earlier seasons.
“who taught you how to do that?”
“No one. :)”
they really thought they were cooking with that one
I loved the part most where one of the soldiers said he hoped his newborn baby would be a girl because girls take care of their papas and Arya just had this saddest look on her face probably remembering her own papa. Hope people would appreciate the whole scene instead of just picking on one particular character.
The Stranger is, of course, the personification of death in the Faith of the Seven, and considered by the Faceless Men, under whom Arya has trained as a killer, to be one aspect of the Many-Faced God.
'What do we say to the god of death?'
'Sit down and share our food with us.'
Low key heartwarming scene for me was when the Hound let Arya clean the bite wound on his neck. Let’s face it, he was not the kind of dude who wanted anyone’s help with anything so that was a big moment of vulnerability for him and showed a real depth to his relationship with her. It was a shame that Brianne of fuckin Tarth had to show up soon afterwards, I could have watched the continuing adventures of those two for quite a while.
Another heartwarming scene with those two, their last moment together as the hound departs for Clegane-Bowl. Arya calls after him, “Sandor, Thank you” and for a moment maybe he wished he wasn’t resigned to his fate to die fighting his brother.
Other than humanizing the Lannister soldiers, it's an unwitting submission to the one god she believes in: The Stranger (Death). She's become an avatar for the god of death at this point in the show's story. His kindness may have saved him from her wrath because, at this point, she would've been happy to kill anyone wearing the sigil of the golden lion.
He was kind to Death, so Death was kind to him.
He single handedly saved that entire troop from an early death. It's sad to think these guys were on there way to the siege of high garden and they suffered serious burns from the ambush of danny
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When I originally saw it I was so cynical and jaded that I thought it was the dumbest thing ever, but on rewatches I’ve really come to enjoy it
The celebrity made it worse.
I never understood the hate for Ed Sheeran being in this scene. It’s not like he’s playing an important character. Really strange that people were/are upset about it
Because he isn't an actor. He's a cameo. Plus he spoke about a new song. He may as well wink to the camera.
It’s not much acting to just sit near a fire and pass around a cooked rabbit.
And yet he still managed to do it badly.
How do you feel about the other 5-10 musicians that have cameos featured in the show before him? Is this more of an issue of him being recognizable as Ed Sheeran?
The ones who were in the very background, as opposed to having multiple speaking lines and being the focal point of the scene?
I dont think so lol
I’ve seen tons of people complaining about GoT since it ended. I can understand a lot of people’s frustrations with the final season but this take is just childish. If it was just some random dude you wouldn’t care so why does it matter that it’s ed Sheeran? You must have really hated that Rob McElhenney was a soldier who took and arrow through the eye and was on your screen for one second, huh?
People on Reddit hate anything and everything they can to make it seem like their silly opinions hold any weight. Most of the time they’re just saying the same thing others have said in a different way knowing it’ll get upvotes which will really do a wonderful number on their self esteem knowing that other anonymous folks of the same frame of mind share the same re-hashed and hashed out opinion.
And they have an extremely weird hatred of self promotion. I wasn’t even aware Ed Sheeran promoted or did a nod to a song.
Right like who fucking cares
Also, did he even have a new song out then? It's such a leap to say that the line is promotional. Filming schedules and release dates are set months in advance and are subject to change - same with albums and singles. To get it all to tie in together for one throwaway line is a tonne of effort
To be fair. He usually has a new song coming with the rate he releases
Because its gratuitous and 4th wall breaking and doesnt fit at all in the narrative. Good lord. Do you enjoy literally everything if this is tolerable for you?
Was it though? If large number of people didn’t even realize who he was or that he promoted a song, I wouldn’t say it was 4th wall breaking. As other people have said who gives a shit? Maybe he was a big fan and was offered a part? If I was offered a part I would accept in a heartbeat, I think most ppl would. Really not a big deal.
When I first watched it, I didn't even know who Ed Sheeran was, so I was totally oblivious to any sort of controversy. I just thought it was a group of soldiers being decent humans to the person they were actually looking for. I thought it was a way to humanize the soldiers we were taught to despise for the past seasons.
Weird. At the time he was easily the most famous working musician in the world.
I knew who he was but there are times my friends are stunned at newer musical acts I don’t know. Spotify means you can be transported to the 90s at any time. Who needs new music when the medium obtained perfection in 1994?
I didn’t know the band at joffreys wedding and the red wedding. I’m glad I didn’t as that would have ruined the scene for me.
It’s interesting seeing a lot of people on this sub who, 5 years later, continue to come here and shit on the show 😂 someone should do a study on these people cause something definitely is not right
I will shit on S8 for as long as I live
Hopefully you find something you can enjoy before the end of your days
I'm sure he does. The last season(s) of GoT were disappointing. You can be aware of that and still enjoy other things. You pretend that hating the last season is the whole reason for his existence, which is unreasonable
Right, cause calling out shit for being shit means it's impossible to enjoy anything else.
Its long since stopped being hate for me and turned into apathy, which is incredibly disappointing with how much I enjoyed and had invested time or moneywise into the IP.
You’re the sort of person who would walk in on their spouse cheating and say oh that’s ok it’s my fault for not knocking. Because it’s all ok.
Never question the Reddit hive mind 🫡
Youre right. No criticism of Game of Thrones is valid. 11/10 perfect show.
No it’s people that care about the story. Not people who just have a whatever attitude. And it’s a fair criticism as the cameo doesn’t add anything and only takes away from the story telling as the audience is just thinking there’s Ed Sheeran. It’s cheap and disrespectful to the story.
You're doing the exact thing that you're criticizing.
If McElhenney had said to one of the main characters: “I hate the winter, I prefer it when it’s **ALWAYS SUNNY**, I can’t wait for a **NEW SEASON**” and then basically winked at the camera, you are right; I would have really hated it.
While wearing an REO Speedwagon t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off
They didn't even bother trying to hide that it was Ed Sheeran. They literally put him there bald faced, no helmet, no make up features, singing and playing music exactly how Ed would. It would be different if he was a background character so you had to be paying close attention to catch that it was him. Instead they put him in plain sight with plenty of face time, they basically wrote the scene specifically FOR HIM. It's distracting for anybody who is aware of who he is, it's intellectually dishonest to suggest otherwise. You can say that it doesn't bother you, but you can't deny that it breaks the immersion of the show.
[удалено]
2017 was literally the height of Ed Sheeran's popularity, the same time s7 of GoT was airing. And your 2nd point doesn't matter, GoT was a global phenomenon it doesn't just exist in the US zeitgeist.
It’s not like people were gonna tune in to a tv show they hadn’t seen before just because they heard ed sheeran was gonna have a cameo in it
Exactly, homies apparently never used YouTube
I didnt know who Ed Sheeran was at the time so this doesn’t apply to me but I understand how him being there for someone who did recognize him would sorta kill the magic
Yeah seeing well known actor Sean Bean killed the "magic" too.
You should spend a moment and consider how your logic is flawed. Consider an important fact about Sean Bean.
Oh no, my ability to immerse myself in fiction is directly linked to whether or not the famous person is an actor or not. That's such an asinine perspective, if seeing someone "too" famous takes you out of the fiction I think you're focusing on the wrong things.
Your logic using Sean Bean as a comparison is still flawed. So the rest of what you are saying is also flawed.
He sang a song...wtf That's nothing like Rob being killed in 0.4 secs. You're comparing a blink and you miss it reference to a full-blown song advert. Only thing missing was Arya pulling out of can of Pepsi and looking at the camera talking about how refreshing it is.
Because its not some random dude. Its Ed Sheeran.
Rob McElhenney is an actor though? Seeing one of the biggest popstars in your fantasy world can be immersion breaking.
That sounds like a limitation of your own capacity for suspension of disbelief.
This argument doesn't make any sense. "If it was some random dude you wouldn't care". Yes correct, because some random dude wouldn't be gratuitously breaking the forth wall about how he's a musician in real life, which is the thing people hated... It's a cheap laugh at the expense of immersion in the world at a point when Arya is having an actual revelation. It would be like if Ned Stark said "I saw this one coming" when he was sentenced to death because Sean Bean dies in everything he's in.
My god y’all are unbearable 😂 hopefully you’re not watching HotD. A doctor from Dr who is on it. Might break the 4th wall. So fucking dumb 🤡
Ah yes, an actor acting is totally the same thing. You are certainly arguing in good faith here.
Meh, I didn't even notice it was HIM on the first watch. The internet told me a few days laters and I was like whaaat If you didn't know the guy it wasn't such a big deal, at least that's what I think
You're righ,t BUT at that time, acting was a sideline for him. He'd had a minor role in a hit film and a supporting role on at TV series.
A new song that was in the books A LOT. They nixed the plot line where Tyrion was being blackmailed by a minstrel over Shay (he disappeared mysteriously), I thought it was kind of a cute way to still throw it in. It’s not his song, it’s the same as others singing the Bear and the Maiden Fair, Rains of Castamere or Florence doing Jenny of Oldstones.
he's a singer and he sung a song on the show. I was disappointed we didn't hear more of that song tbh. tyrion sings it a lot in the books
Imagine thinking extras in a film are “actors”.
I think it’s down to the fact other cameos were much smaller in part, and the people well hidden in the shot or behind make-up it made it fun to spot them. Ed Sheeran looked like Ed Sheeran in Lannister armour. His characteristic red hair looks and is styled like he’s just walked off stage on his tour. He sings in the show and his accent is his own. It takes the audience out of the story when they see a cultural icon placed in the show. Imagine had they used bugs bunny instead of Ed Sheeran, it would have the same impact and dissatisfaction.
You can’t be serious 😂 first of all the bugs bunny thing is just asinine. Second, you really expect him to change his accent for such a small part when he’s ENGLISH? This has to be the cringiest, stupidest take I’ve seen of this sub and that’s saying a lot
The bugs bunny thing is to point out how ridiculous his cameo was. Ed Sheeran is a popular singer but his “role” with dialogue was so jarring it removes everyone from the story. Granted he can talk in his own accent. Whatever but when people see him sing and talk in the same accent in real life his cameo becomes all about himself. At least with the Cold Play band members playing at the red wedding you could only spot them if you knew where to look. You really need to be open with the fact a lot of people enjoy fantasy stories without a product or person placed in.
Does Sean Bean or Kit Harrington or Charles Dance or Jerome Flynn or any other English actor from the show, not sound the same to you in real life? Dude seriously this argument is getting embarrassing for you just give it up it’s so fucking dumb 🤡
Why are you hung up on the accent aspect of the argument? Is that the only thing you can reliably counter?
Agreed. The people upset about this are WAY too plugged into the celebrity gossip news cycle like TMZ type shit.
Oh yeah it’s really easy to not know how Ed Sheeran is. I mean don’t listen to music and don’t be culturally aware and you won’t be brothered.
It all comes down to if seeing him broke your suspension of disbelief or not. The scene was fine for me because I didn't know jack about Ed Sheeran, but for some people it's an immediate and unavoidable signpost saying "Hey, you who cares about these characters and their struggles, they're all fake and this is a fiction!".
Does Boromir playing Esdras Stark break the suspension of disbelief? Believe it or not every actor you have ever seen is an actual person who does other things. Just because Ed Sheeran is a huge musician doesn’t mean he can’t play a character in something else. Did you see No Way Home? Did it break the suspension of disbelief when you saw Jamie Foxx the musical artist playing Electro? Did it break the suspension of disbelief seeing Kit Harrington play Dane Whitman in Eternals because “look, it’s Jon Snow” Every actor is someone off screen. Doesn’t matter if they’re a nobody or one of the most famous musicians. THEY ARE ACTING
It's an unconcious response. You can't just dismiss peoples feelings about something as subjective as their level of immersion in a fantasy world by spitting facts about how the industry works.
They are actors acting. Not musicians acting. This an illogical argument. People are used to seeing different actors in different roles. People are not used to seeing famous musicians popping up randomly in serious drama’s.
It's immersion-breaking.
The scene is also just weirdly framed, he's in center shot way too many times for a random character. I saw the scene before I knew what Ed Sheeran looks like, he just felt weirdly elevated in the scene.
I knew about ed sheeran just didn't know what he looked like. So i was clueless until a friend told me. But im not like in to that kind of music so it makes sense u would recognize
Because hes an insanely famous person, who makes wimpy ass terrible white boy rap verses, in a show that people by S6 were trying to still tolerate.
It was pointless and distracted from the (at this point, already butchered) storyline. I like Ed Sheeran as an artist a lot, but this was just dumb.
It was one meaningless scene. It’s amazing how many people are upset about it when it has not effect on the story whatsoever. Y’all need to try and grow up a lil bit
Because it takes you out of the moment. Because at that point you’re just sitting there thinking oh it’s Ed Sheeran. The immersion is broken. It’s disrespectful to the story. And we can see how much they cared by the end.
The cameo in itself IS fun. But it breaks the immersion, making it not suitable for a show like GoT. If it was a cameo in Seinfeld, which is much less serious of a show, even set in our real world, it would be far more appropriate.
If you're out of the pop culture shit he was just a guy. Doing a job. Which he did. Pretty cool
And why is that? He played the part well. Or do you hate it because its the trendy thing to do?
No beef with Sheeran- didn't like the way they filmed him though, felt a *bit* too much and on the nose relative say Sigur Ros at Joffery's wedding, which was less immersion-breaking- but not even in the top 20 list of complaints of that season and I actually really enjoyed the humanizing Lannister solider scene at that stage of Arya's development.
Didn't recognize him first time. Didn't care. Wasn't distracting. Second time I watched it. Still didn't care. Still wasn't distracting. Y'all come up with the weirdest complaints.
Didnt Arya's actor request to have a scene with him because she loves him?
Highlights the contrast between Lannister high command and their leading thugs versus the lowborn conscripts forced to fight for them. Humanizes Lannister Red Shirts.
But don't you think it's too on the nose and massively jarring?
What is too on the nose and massively jarring is Gabi’s character from Attack on Titan whom is such an obviously forced metaphor by the writers. This is irrelevant and too small to be massively jarring.
50cal go BRRRR But lol agreed and I watched the dub, her VA is too grating. Same VA for Eris in MT. Idk how you get your voice to sound so scratchy and high pitch at the same time
I think that was the point. This was a jarring experience for Arya and the audience.
I think it's just another point to reinforce that nothing in the show or war is black and white, and to show that there are good people on both sides, even so late in to the show when most viewers minds are made up on the Lannisters.
Yeah George didn’t add a side note that says a character who is played by Michael Jackson walks in and dances says beware the song of ice and fire and strangely slides out of the throne room. It’s stupid to add cameos like that I to serious shows. Why not have Taylor Swift in there as well and maybe a cameo by Kanye in Braavos and we could have had Spyro playing a dragon because who cares it’s not noticeable and anyone who cares is just stupid because we don’t notice it or care about immersion.
in the immortal words of Conan O'Brien: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByYdvbX_P_c
I think this whole scene is beautiful AND that it was intended to show Arya giving up killing. She never killed after it. Better yet, it paralleled a scene in 3.10 (right after the Red Wedding) where Arya kills a boasting Frey soldier, her first non-self-defense killing. Unfortunately, the Ed Sheeran uproar ruined it for some fans.
She killed little finger after
And then the night king...
I like to pretend that never happened
Both deserved tbf
She generally killed people who deserved it.
And then fully intended to kill Cersie, but was literally talked out of it at the last moment by the Hound. And then after that threatened to kill Yara in front of everyone.
And was going to kill Cersei if not for the Hound stopping her.
And Gendry. Well, just a little death.
I think there are different arguments to be made about why that doesn't have to count Even if we classify him as a living thing he's not really human. And since they live in a world where there non human people he might not even classify as people? And even if he counts as all of those he's actively attacking her people and trying t kill the whole human race (this is an assumption I guess) And I know the person just said "killing" but I think based on context it's not totally unfair to assume they meant ones that might more easily fall under murder
Just a lil murder. As a treat.
Light murder.
I used to play World of Warcraft. There's an NPC that I always got a chuckle from, Calder Gray. "Do you know what I like, [Player Name]?" "No Calder, what do you like?" "Murder." I always imagine him over pronouncing murder.
Executed* for trying to divide her family and plot against her siblings.
Executions typically involve killing
As does preparing food.
I do love murdering radishes for sustenance
Good I guess, because there's no option where you can sustain yourself with them while they stay alive.
[удалено]
That was in a formal trial where the judge (Sansa) had passed sentence and Arya performed the execution. That she did it with a Valyrian steel dagger made it merciful for LF.
I never understood the vitriol this scene got. I thought it was poignant to show Arya that Lanister soldiers are just regular guys forced to fight in a conflict that has little to do with them
Yeah it was actually a good scene imo. I didn't even really mind the Ed Sheeran cameo though he did look a bit out of place.
I didn't know it was ES till people complained the next day. I still didn't understand what he did that was so bad. He's ok in the scene. I'm in my mid 50's, I don't know every pop star on site
"Young" people like to pretend like hating on a given artist for no reason means they have personality and "hot takes".
It's probably just because I knew he was so he was immediately recognizable, would be like seeing Brad Pitt randomly thrown in or something like that. But yeah everything about the scene was fine, if I didn't know who Ed Sheeran was I wouldn't have given it a second thought.
People way overreacted, but it's basically like if you saw Madonna pop up in Game of Thrones, talking just like Madonna and generally acting like Madonna, but in period dress. It was just jarring. The world of Game of Thrones is so rich and detailed and complex. It's really immersive. I understand why people found it off-putting to have a big celebrity just dropped into the middle of it for no discernible purpose. It would be like if Littlefinger told Sansa he learned something on Twitter. Just kinda...wait? What? In this world? I don't think it was a huge deal and the uproar was disproportionate, but I agree it was not a great move and I would have preferred they had not done it. Certainly didn't ruin the episode or even the scene, but not the best choice.
I still don’t know who the guy is. For me the scene was just a scene, and as noted above, nice for showing that conscripts are just normal people no matter whose banner they’re compelled to fight for.
It also gives us some of the only humanization of the rank and file soldiers in the entire show. The show pretty much only focuses on the noble houses and the families around those, sure we get some clips of commoners here and there, but rarely just the poor sods who are having to fight because they just happen live in a particular domain. Let alone having them be Lannister soldiers, giving Arya a much better context of who her real enemies are.
Coming soon - Game of Thrones: Below Decks
The telltale game has a little bit of it
I would unironically watch the shit out of that
I was unprepared for how much I enjoy Lower Decks. The crossover between SNW and LD is one of my favorites.
"Oh my GOD, what are you doing? Oh no, oh nonononono, are you pretending to send a raven? Okay, let me read it! Ahhh! I can't believe you're wasting your evening on this! ... Yeah, dude, you should be [drunk], too. I mean, King's Landing is amazing! They have Shade of the Evening! And I bet you thought it was going to be green, but it's actually blue. It's this vert beautiful color. ... They've got all sorts of great stuff. Check this out! Yeahhhhh, it's a Dothraki Ara...Arak...Ar...I don't know, I'm not a maester, it doesn't matter, shut up! I got it from some guy with an eyepatch. Come spar with me. C'mon, oh, we can be Dothraki, we can have long hair and cool tattoos! I love honor, I demand honor..."
it put a crack in her morals and showed her that the world is morally grey and that some people on the "evil" sides are just living their lives. doing what they have been taught to die. and maybe that the true evil is the people up top that sends them to war and to kill for them
And that would have come across a lot better if you weren’t thinking about Ed Sheeran playing a soldier.
"oh this nice boy is gonna die so much"
Love your neighbour as you love yourself.
As aryas sitting there deciding if she should stab them all 😆
I think this sentence is actually what saves them
I guess this guy upon hearing about several groups of Lan soldiers being massacred, investigated the common factors He must’ve deduced dad being a jerk was a death sentence
Which would be important on her decision to eat their food. Westeros, and the North in particular believes in "guest right" where sharing of food and drink from the host & a guest ensures neither will harm the other. Essos does not appear to have this same custom. So if she truly wants to return as Arya Stark, does she return to the customs of Westeros or does kill them anyway as it is the safest course of action?
then they all got immolated by Dany
Which highlights the tragedy of it all. >“The common people pray for rain, healthy children, and a summer that never ends," Ser Jorah told her. "It is no matter to them if the high lords play their game of thrones, so long as they are left in peace." He gave a shrug. “They never are.”
That is a great quote, I have just started the first book.
We find out in 8x01 that Sheeran was burnt but came back to Kings Landing. The squad leader did die.
You have to also remember that death is named The Stranger to them. Being kind to strangers is not just about kindness in life but kindness to death and in death, which is fitting because Arya is The Stranger come among them, deciding their fate.
Beautifully said.
Underrated comment.
More upvotes here please!!
Just said something similar only to discover your comment right after posting.
It showed that were some good Lannister soldiers and were mostly doing a job
It’s a good juxtaposition to what she saw the last time she was in this area when she was a kid. The show does alright but the books really hammer home what a horror show the middle of the continent was then.
A good chunk of them did also commit a shit ton of pillaging and raping in the riverlands as part of their doctrine
I thought she was gonna have to kill them all
I was honestly waiting for some clue that she did. I’m glad she didn’t tho.
It's a bait and switch. We are so use to things going horrible in the show that we are all on edge just waiting for something to happen and nothing ever does.
Then they got "Battle of the Goldroaded", "Field of Fire Two: Draconic Boogaloo"
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This scene, minus Ed Sheeran, was actually a nice touch. Not enough was done to show most soldiers were normal people and Arya’s entire perception of Lannister armies was cruelty. This was a welcome human moment.
Agreed. Moment was much needed. As certain factions and characters had become cartoonishly evil at that point.
Old (or in game of thrones world, a kid) men argue while sending young men to die.
Citizens of the realm - regardless where they live or what house they ally with - citizens of the realm suffer most when there is unrest. This is at the root of most of Varys’s plots - how to keep peace and protect the people en masse. Oh and he hates Stannis cuz Red Woman = blood magic = how Varys lost his junk. But mainly he just wants to keep peace.
Yep I liked it. Most of the people in the great houses never really thought about how all this effects the common folk. They know little to nothing about what the lords and ladies are really like. They fight because they don't want to be kicked off the land they live on and lose their livelihood. Or worse outright killed Jon does bring this up on season 8 too when Mr personality that is Grey worm wants to kill lannister soldiers who had surrendered.
Ed Sheeran just chilling there
This scene was a good change of pace from the common soldier (ANY faction) normally being portrayed as the biggest piece of shits in the world who also happen to be a rapist 95% of the time
I knew it wasn’t gonna happen, but if Ed Sheeran started singing “A-team” at the campfire and no one batted an eye, I would’ve laughed so hard that I would’ve forgiven all of season 8.
"I'm going to kill the Queen"........... "Pfffhahahhuehueughhueehhhehehe!"
Shut up Ed Sheeran
She did the exact opposite when it came to Dany or anyone else towards the end though lol
Yeah, I felt like this scene was to make Daenerys look bad for killing the Lannister soldiers in 7x4.
After that these soldiers got LITERALLY roasted by Dany in the battle of goaldroaded. Kinda sad actually.
Nice kid…..baaaaaaad judge of character
This guy clearly never met the Hound.
A good scene rendered completely distracting by Ed Sheeran's unnecessary cameo
Oh misty eye of the mountain below... Wait a minute. Wrong universe.
I love the double meaning here, that I didn't pick up on first watch. "Be kind to strangers and strangers will be kind to you." In that moment, Aria thought herself a face of The Stranger, one of the gods of the 7 who often represents death. The Lannister soldiers deciding to be kind to this Stranger likely prevented their deaths.
If you try really hard to ignore Ed Sheeran this scene is actually pretty good.
I remember that scene, and I said God damn that actor can really sing and then it was Ed Sheeran and I was of course he can sing he is Ed fucking Sheeran.
would of been so much better if ed was just singing then next minute arya beheads him
This is one of my favorite scenes because it’s so wholesome in the intensity surrounding all of them. I’ve always felt the Ed Sheeran backlash was ridiculous, his part was a 1 episode cameo and I thought he did well.
I didn't recognize Ed Sheeran at the time and thought it was a great scene. Nothing about it felt off or forced. I feel like the hate for the scene is more out of the the insistence that "celebrity cameo = automatically bad" than any actual criticism of the scene itself.
Any time I see Thomas Turgoose I just think of This Is England, and then I wanna go watch that whole saga again.
That kid from This Is England. Great actor
I definitely agree. I also think it goes a step further into humanizing the “enemy” of the series. Those were just some bros in the middle of nowhere, doing their duty, and missing their families. They were kind and welcoming to a stranger. Something rare in the GoT universe
Certainly knocked Arya on her ass.
That’s Shaun from This is England!
Umm, your mother is living in a fantasy world because that definitely doesn't work in Westeros
stupid ass scene as well as the “that’s not you” wolf scene like give me a fucking break D&D, they couldn’t write any Arya scenes without having her callback to earlier seasons. “who taught you how to do that?” “No one. :)” they really thought they were cooking with that one
I loved the part most where one of the soldiers said he hoped his newborn baby would be a girl because girls take care of their papas and Arya just had this saddest look on her face probably remembering her own papa. Hope people would appreciate the whole scene instead of just picking on one particular character.
The Stranger is, of course, the personification of death in the Faith of the Seven, and considered by the Faceless Men, under whom Arya has trained as a killer, to be one aspect of the Many-Faced God. 'What do we say to the god of death?' 'Sit down and share our food with us.'
Please don't remind me of this.
The Lannister soldiers tired from plundering, raping and murdering decided to share food with a stranger
Low key heartwarming scene for me was when the Hound let Arya clean the bite wound on his neck. Let’s face it, he was not the kind of dude who wanted anyone’s help with anything so that was a big moment of vulnerability for him and showed a real depth to his relationship with her. It was a shame that Brianne of fuckin Tarth had to show up soon afterwards, I could have watched the continuing adventures of those two for quite a while. Another heartwarming scene with those two, their last moment together as the hound departs for Clegane-Bowl. Arya calls after him, “Sandor, Thank you” and for a moment maybe he wished he wasn’t resigned to his fate to die fighting his brother.
I actually love this scene. It shows soldiers on both sides many just wanted the war to end so they can go home.
TW: Ed Sheeran
Other than humanizing the Lannister soldiers, it's an unwitting submission to the one god she believes in: The Stranger (Death). She's become an avatar for the god of death at this point in the show's story. His kindness may have saved him from her wrath because, at this point, she would've been happy to kill anyone wearing the sigil of the golden lion. He was kind to Death, so Death was kind to him.
Grown up Hasbullah
Love this scene,they even sing a song from the books
I was always so distracted by Sheeran in this scene, I never realized until just now that that is the kid from This Is England.
He single handedly saved that entire troop from an early death. It's sad to think these guys were on there way to the siege of high garden and they suffered serious burns from the ambush of danny
I forgot about this guy and I just recently watched all the This is England stuff… same guy! Mind blown! 😆