Who was the man that Arya recognized?

Ser Meryn Trant. He's a member of the kingsguard, and he was one of the ones that Cersei sent to grab Arya when Ned was being arrested.

He was also one of the ones that Joffrey had beat Sansa, though Arya doesn't know that. Last she saw him, she was running while he was fighting Syrio.

Thanks, Hil. We usually watch with Victor and thessaly and they remind us of all the stuff we can't keep track of. Maybe I'll read the books after this season ends.

Robin is with some minor lord now, isn't he? I thought Sansa and Littlefinger took him to be an apprentice with one of the Lords of the Vale when they were on their way to Winterfell.

I'm assuming Bran is still hanging out with the Children of the Forest somewhere. Who knows what happened to Gendry. He could've gotten all the way to Braavos himself by now.

I wish they'd let Arya be Cat of the Canals. Has a nice ring to it. Better than Lana of the Canals.

I think Stannis would do anything at this point to sit the Iron Throne and keep it, including ditching Selyse to secure an heir and thereby a clear line of succession, whether or not Melisandre told him to. I feel like a line has been crossed that can never be uncrossed with the killing of Shireen. I mean, he's already murdered his only daughter, whom he loved enough to move heaven and Earth to find a way to cure her Greyscale, so why would he balk at getting rid of the old queen for a nice, fertile, new one, if that's what he thought was necessary to secure the future of the realm? In short, boo, Stannis.

And I thought people could hug, kiss, touch, etc. Shireen because she was "cured" of Greyscale and is therefore no longer contagious. But I could totally be making that up.

And I thought people could hug, kiss, touch, etc. Shireen because she was "cured" of Greyscale and is therefore no longer contagious. But I could totally be making that up.

That's what I thought, too. It left a scar on her, but it's not growing anymore, so she's not contagious. Which means there IS a way to cure it, but it's not widely known. Which does seem odd -- everyone seems to talk as if there's no cure, not ever, but we know that she was cured, by someone. I wonder who that someone was, and why the cure isn't more widely known. We also know that it can be spread via objects, since Shireen got it from the doll, but Stannis also touched the doll and wasn't infected.

Who knows what happened to Gendry. He could've gotten all the way to Braavos himself by now.

After two years, he could be much further than Braavos. It seems like Westeros to Braavos takes about a week or so on a ship.

My feeling on Stannis is that, at this point, he seems to think that the only way to get the Iron Throne is to do exactly as Melisandre says. Up until now, every time he's listened to her, things have gone his way. She's been telling him for a while now that he should sacrifice Shireen, and he's been saying no, but changed his mind when he realized that he was getting farther from his goal. If he wins his next battle, I think it will solidify in his mind that the only way forward is with Melisandre, no matter what she tells him to do. If he loses his next battle, though, I think that's the point where he'll stop listening to Melisandre -- if he killed Shireen and the Lord of Light didn't bless him like he was supposed to, then I think he'll turn on Melisandre.

When Shireen and...someone were discussing how she was cured, I think it was mentioned that "nobody knows" what worked on her (because they were trying so many things at once? Not sure) and that's why she's the only one who has ever been cured. I'm 85% sure I'm remembering that from the show and not the books, mostly because my memory of the books is getting hazy and I remember visuals.

I think you are both right about Stannis. He believes Melisandre is his path to the throne, and the throne is his destiny, so he will do whatever she says. But I agree that sacrificing Shireen is a watershed and now he might be more willing to do terrible things (or even break rules which really fucks with my understanding of who Stannis is but I would think "don't kill your daughter" would be as vital a rule for him as "don't steal" and "don't claim thrones your brother has more right to" so who knows what he's about anymore?!) even before Melisandre tells him he must.

Didn't Stannis already kill his brother?

Technically, his shadow killed Renly. It's unclear exactly how much Stannis knew about how that was going to happen -- my impression is that he had some idea, but chose to not ask about the details. And that was in the context of war -- Renly was challenging his claim to the throne.

Yeah, but that's my point, Renly was in the wrong in Stannis' mind. His getting killed was on a par with Davos losing his fingers. Just.