I agree that this season has been really predictable so far. As enjoyable as it is to watch, sometimes I feel like i'm just watching them go through the motions with no real investment on my part. I'm not sure if it's because showrunners are trying to wrap things up or if we've just come to know the characters so well that their actions perfectly jive with our expectations. Probably both...Maybe it's because it seems near impossible to avoid fan theories these days!
Also, It would blow my mind if Varys was somehow connected to the attack. I REALLY hope not, though - he really believes in Dany and Tyrion is his friend, right?? Either way, I don't think this will end well....
Honestly, that arc felt like such filler in the 5th season. I would not have missed it. I am guessing D&D seeded Dorne in the first ep for a reason, but...it's so unclear as to why atm.
I agree that this arc had a ton of potential, but overall, I don't get the impression that Arya is all that better off than when she began. We only saw her do the face-swap thing once when assassinating Meryn Trant. They did not go into the mechanics of it, but is that something she'll be able to perform at will from now on??? And if she could, why didn't she use it to fool/escape the waif? Like, ok she can fight in the dark now...but other than, I don't sense much development in her skills nor her character.
I agree about The Blackfish being an idiot. He was a good character, but...Why didn't he just go with Brienne? He COULD have went with Sansa, and say they actually take back winterfell, does he think Sansa would serve under the lannisters!?!? ofc not! He would have most certainly had a chance to retake Riverrun in the future if he'd been more patient.
Also, and the video I linked below raised this point, but why did Edmure practically kill/trade in his uncle for a wife and kid that he could not have possibly known very well????
And some random musings:
If the brotherhood are going north (and seeing how fast ppl have been getting around this season), would it be too farfetched to believe they could serve as reinforcements in the battle of the bastards?
Or will Baelish arrive and save the day? And if Baelish does arrive with the knights of the veil, will he simply serve Sansa/Jon or try to take control of the chaos for himself?
Also, @beni and I like to watch the episode reactions @ GameSpot on YT after each ep. These guys raise some interesting points sometimes!
also LMAOOOOO @ this comment:
"Arya is DEAD!!! The Waif killed Arya and cut her OWN FACE off and stole Arya's face and identity! She's is now NO ONE (just like Jaqen confirmed and then smirked when she said that she was Arya Stark). Mind blown! She will pretend to be Arya of House Stark to carry out a mission. THEY KILLED ARYA and NO ONE..... NO ONE knows it! lol. D&D trolling hard."
That would be INSANE if that actually happened - since we didn't actually witness the fight, but Arya is too much of a favorite to get that kind of a harsh treatment IMO.