175 replies to this topic

[SyrioForel33]

I don't think the Pycelle scene was a bad one, I just think it was ill placed. For that and for a few other reasons, I'll go with a 9.

This episode was really more set up than action, if you think about it, and thus I'm not going to go 10 just yet. Still a great episode tho.

[Daenerys]

Episode poll ratings (minimum 100 votes, top and bottom 5% thrown out):

Epi | Title								   | Rating | 6.........7.........8.........9.........10
----|-----------------------------------------|--------|-------------------------------------------
101 | "Winter Is Coming"					  | 7.9	| ********************
102 | "The Kingsroad"						 | 8.2	| ***********************
103 | "Lord Snow"							 | 7.9	| ********************
104 | "Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things" | 8.2	| ***********************
105 | "The Wolf and the Lion"				 | 8.8	| *****************************
106 | "A Golden Crown"						| 8.8	| *****************************
107 | "You Win or You Die"					| 8.2	| ***********************
108 | "The Pointy End"						| 9.2	| *********************************
109 | "Baelor"								| 8.9	| ******************************
110 | "Fire and Blood"						| 9.2	| *********************************

Overall series average - 8.5

So, a definite upward trend as the season progressed.

Weakest episodes, tied, 101 "Winter Is Coming" and 103 "Lord Snow"

Strongest episodes,tied, 108 "The Pointy End" and 110 "Fire and Blood"

[Ser Warpechowski]

The Pycelle scene was good for me. It showed us that he is a player just as any other. His exposition speech may not have been needed but it was probabily helpfull to some viewers.

Now, about the highpoints. Mormont speech was definitaly the best moment of the show, if not the entire season. It had the epic tone and feeling I was expecting from most other episodes. I love the speech + war scenes in any show, and in this one it was doing superbly. It gave me chills, unlike most other episodes that made me feel nothing.

The Dragon´s birth scene was amazing too. It was perfect and almost 100% as the book. Another awesome moment there. The dragons are very well done and althrough they do look a lot like CG it was done very well and they adapted 100% to Dany´s body and the surounding.

The King of the North scene was not perfect for me (I wish there were more people and more shouting) but it was amazing too. I just wish there were more people to give it more of an epic feeling.

Nonetheless, just as episode 8, another 10 from me.

[Asarlai]

Tywin, on 21 June 2011 - 05:47 PM, said:

What made you come to the conclusion that Ros was featured a lot just to save costs? Personally I'd say that there are much more likely guesses.

It was a joke. I was trying to grasp at some logical explanation for why this one whore happens to be with EVERYONE who has a plot-centric story to tell.

Damn, let's just send her to the Neck to meet with Howland Reed.

[Tywin's bastard]

Asarlai, on 22 June 2011 - 01:47 AM, said:

It was a joke. I was trying to grasp at some logical explanation for why this one whore happens to be with EVERYONE who has a plot-centric story to tell.

Damn, let's just send her to the Neck to meet with Howland Reed.

Perhaps it already is Howland, warging into her body?

[Giants Blood]

I haven't had time to read every single post on this topic so far, but nobody (maybe 1 person!) seems to have mentioned the most glaring "miss" of this episode... The Cersei-Lancel scene. I love the subtlety of certain that comes with a book/programme like this, and some subtle links (Pycelle recap of Mad King-Dany Burning alive comes to mind!) work really well, but I watched the ep. with none-readers, and they were a bit like "ey? what's going on here?" Firstly, they had no idea it was Roberts "cup boy" and secondly they didn't see the significance of him being with Cersei, nor her motivation for it. Slightly too subtle for none-readers?

Now that semi-rant is over, thought it was another fantastic episode. They have done an amazing job all series of bringing the character we all love to life! Hopefully we'll see a little more of Jaime next series than in the books (although I guess bringing scenes forward is the way?)and hopefully the Hound will get his due!
Cant wait for more Littlefinger, Tyrion-Bronn etc... and hoping the new characters (Jaqen and co.) play out as well as these ones have and live up to my expectations, as some of my favourite characters get introduced here! Also, I was really impressed with the CGI for the Dragons. Pleasantly surprised!

All-in-all, Looking forward to no.2!!

[Giants Blood]

And is it me, or are the people saying they loved Jaqen, or loved the look Jaqen gave Arya, seeing something I didn't? The role of Jaqen hasn't been cast yet (to my knowledge) and in the episode all you saw of him was a hooded figure? The other two in there were Rorge and Biter, surely?

[Kolwynia]

I thought Emilia Clarke's Dany owned the episode.  When I was reading the book, I didn't care about Drogo too much, but seeing her desperation during the scene before she kills him was actually really sad and moving.  I'm glad they left her hair unburnt for the scene after the funeral pyre.  Having it burnt in the books was cool, because there was a feeling of rebirth, that she was starting over.  But seeing her in the show, covered with ashes but untouched by the flame, with the little dragon on her shoulder as it finds its voice...she looked like a newborn goddess.  That scene was perfect.

[Asha—Not Yara!]

Giants Blood, on 22 June 2011 - 04:57 AM, said:

Firstly, they had no idea it was Roberts "cup boy" and secondly they didn't see the significance of him being with Cersei, nor her motivation for it. Slightly too subtle for none-readers?

Lancel was clearly introduced in earlier episodes, so sharp eyed non-readers will know him, and there should be no problem further clarifying who he is in the second season.

[Ser Warpechowski]

Bread crums. Maybe someone has not realized that is Lancel but giving bits of information like this is definitaly going to help some realize what is going on.

Lancel looks so much like a woman that I have no doubts most people will remember him.

[Quinn]

mh... 8!

Pycelle(Ros?!)/Finger/Varys (????) and 5 minutes of Bran? no way...

[Synjin]

Ser Warpechowski, on 22 June 2011 - 10:48 AM, said:

Lancel looks so much like a woman that I have no doubts most people will remember him.

Seriously.  For a split second I actually thought it WAS a woman when the scene started.  Then I thought it was Loras--another very skinny and effeminate guy.  

I agree that it was very subtle and that non-book readers would have to be paying attention to grasp the fact that not only was that Robert's squire, but also Cersei's cousin!  It's obviously going to be revisited in season 2 once Tyrion starts manipulating him.

[Lion of Venice]

9 out of 10 for me, one of my favourites episodes if not THE favourite.
Only two things are in the way of a full 10:

-Shae acting like a bitch, screaming and being annoying.
-Random Roz and her sexposition scene with Pycelle, I wasn't needing that and neither was the audience I think.

[CryFenril]

Of course, the Watch riding out beyond the Wall and seeing the screaming/burning/hatching was awesome. And I could even understand Pycelle's scene, as a piece of knock knock, he's a player too.

Shae still sticks in my craw, but she didn't manage to ruin the episode for me. Despite my misgivings, I'll give them a chance with it.

Grenn, Jon, Sam, and Pyp in the woods - wow. Admittedly, the "wheep!" when Sam gets knocked off is horse is pure comedy, but that didn't detract from the solemnity of the recitation of their vows for me. It's just so... so... so very Sam.

The conversation between Tyrion and his father was epic on a personal scale. As was the verbal sparring between Varys and Petyr - who both come across as shallow, brilliant, and very very dangerous.

Catelyn being tempted to brain Jaime for good with that rock, and dropping it instead... whooo, I don't think I'd have had the strength to let it go. My respect for her went way up with that one - which I think is why they added it.

What won the episode for me was Iain Glen. The look on his face when he said "I won't watch you burn", and after she kissed his cheek, is something you can only get from a truly superb actor. It was the instant that he realized how much she meant to him, and I can't imagine it being portrayed any better. Won my vote, anyway.

All the mysticality and CGI aside, this is a human drama, and that was a moment of drama that completely took me into the story. If I hadn't liked the series before that, it might not have been strong enough to save it for me, but already thinking they did a good job made this kind of the coup de grace.

In toto, I'd say it was one of the strongest episodes of the season, which is good considering it has to hook a substantial audience into waiting for next spring. I think that that strength comes from the interactions between characters as much as (if not more than) it does from the special effects or environment. It seems like the actors have finally relaxed into the people they are supposed to be, and are able to bring more out of themselves.

[Envie]

I gave this final episode a 9 out of 10. I really really liked most all of it.

I'm in the camp that didn't mind the extra Varys vs. Littlefinger verbal sparring and Pycelle w/ Roz scenes. At first I was doing a head scratcher as to why they felt the Pycelle thing was necessary, but as I said in the other thread regarding it - I think it was necessary to help non-readers better understand just how corrupt all of the little council members seem to be at this point... all vying for some small power within the castle - they too are playing the game of thrones in a different way than those out on the battlefields. Showing Pycelle feigning his weak old man routine is a good way to help watchers who didn't get all the details in the books to see behind the facade.

I docked a fraction of a point for the bouncy scene to scene rushing. I felt it was a little rushed to cram everything in that final hour. This season really could have used just one or two more episodes to flesh out the final setup for book 2 in my opinion. I also docked another fraction for my disappointment that Daenerys' hair didn't get burnt off like in the book. A nit-picky detail to be sure, but it seemed significant to me in the book, and as someone else said, signified her 'rebirth' along with her dragons. I felt moving up the scene between Catelyn and Jaime from book 2 to book 1 was a good move for plot sake, but I wasn't sure I liked the way Catelyn portrayed it in the television version. Finally, the last tiny fraction of a point will go to Shae. Like others, I'm not crazy about the way they are portraying her, last episode or this final one either.

Overall, my fractions of one point don't add up to much but nitpicking and opinion like everyone else. It was a phenomenal season end and HBO and the creators get massive kudos for tackling such a monster saga as this one and doing it justice. I had huge doubts going into the idea of watching this on HBO - but my skepticism was immediately put to rest from the first episode right on through to the last.

The dragons look GREAT! Two thumbs way up.

[Carldog]

Finally got to watch it.... good ending.  For the first time since the begging of the season the show felt epic.  Let's hope they come back next year with some more $ and step things up a little.

Gave this ep a 9.

[Giants Blood]

Synjin, on 22 June 2011 - 12:59 PM, said:

Seriously.  For a split second I actually thought it WAS a woman when the scene started.  Then I thought it was Loras--another very skinny and effeminate guy.  

I agree that it was very subtle and that non-book readers would have to be paying attention to grasp the fact that not only was that Robert's squire, but also Cersei's cousin!  It's obviously going to be revisited in season 2 once Tyrion starts manipulating him.

Yeah, I later talked to a friend (non-reader) who thought IT WAS LORAS. I then told him it was Lancel and he kind of got it... Still, I agree that they will probably focus on this more in the next series! Looking forward to some Lancel-Tyrion banter!

[Slingingstones]

I enjoy the way the screenplay varies from the book.  The differences are not enough to keep the story from being told.  Well done.

Edited by Slingingstones, 23 June 2011 - 12:49 PM.

[MyDogIsNamedDanerys]

My final count:
6 > 9 > 10 > 7 > 5 > 8 > 2 > 4 > 1 > 3

Taken as a whole episodes 5-10 were all phenomenal.  I went back to 1-4 recently and they came across much better on second viewing.  I think it helped that I was just less worried about the show sucking on rewatch!

[Lord Bloodraven]

I really enjoyed the finale. Throughout the season I find that I'm constantly reminded how great the actors are; I consistently find myself liking characters that I don't normally care for in the books. I thought the interplay between Varys and Littlefinger was excellent, and the behind-the-scenes type glimpses we get of the small council (which we don't have in the books) in general. I also think that the closing scene with Daenerys and her dragons was very good. My biggest fear before watching this episode was that the dragons would be cheesy or corny, but I think they are quite realistic (for being mythical creatures and all). I give it a 10.

Edited by Lord Bloodraven, 24 June 2011 - 10:42 AM.