276 replies to this topic

[Ran]

What'd you think?

[Greyjoy67]

Best of the series so far. Easily. A good 9/10. A lot more action, longer scenes, people moving. A couple of the previous episodes (not all) buzzed around too much.


Winterfell scenes were fantastic, and Ser Rodrik had a great death. Bran's screaming; Luwin's plea - it was like a punch in the gut. Fantastic acting all round.

Riot scene was very well done too, and Tyrion nailed the part from the book where he just loses it at Joffrey.

Ygritte is great. Arya's scenes were great, and Baelish turning up actually worked quite nicely - revealed a bit of Tywin's backstory to the audience, established where the Tyrells are and provided some more great Maisie-Charles Dance moments.


They've also given the Dany story some oomph finally, because I must admit I didn't give a toss about her in the first few of the series.

What else? "Talisa" is slamming, and a certain bastard is confirmed to appear at some point. YASS.

[SelaBela]

I freaking. LOVED this episode! Things are actually happening! I was on the edge of my seat during Tywin/Arya scenes, does he know? Does he not know!? AHH! So good!  Jon/Ygritte had me cracking up so bad! I think the riot scene was very well done, even though they weren't on horses.  I LOVED the Hound/Sansa.  For a second I thought they were going to turn Sansa into Lollys.. but phew!

RIP Ser Rodrik!

ETA: Also, excellent to know that they aren't getting rid of the Bastard of Bolton!!! Glad they aren't combining Roose/Reek.

Edited by SelaBela, 06 May 2012 - 09:11 PM.

[Fez]

Wasn't actually the biggest fan of this one; definitely not nearly as good as last week's. Scenes felt like they were just happening because they "were supposed to" and not properly connected to the series as a whole. I didn't mind the changes from the book though (series =/= books, etc., etc.) and I was happy to get confirmation that Ramsay Snow still exists.

I think part of my problem with this episode was there was too much Theon and whiny Dany (seriously girl, you've shown a lot of maturity in the past; can you not act like a spoiled pre-teen please?) and not enough Tyrion or Arya.

Gave it 7. I might've given it a 6, but my opinion of the episodes almost always improves on a re-watch and so I'm hedging my bets.

[SelaBela]

OH! And I don't really mind that they're adding some oomph to Dany's story line.  Was that Pyat Pree carrying the dragons?

[MMOWarrior]

The first ten minutes were the most intense of season two so far..  This episode did a lot to advance the story.. Scene after scene had the emotion you experience when reading the book..

[Died a Hero]

8

I liked the riot, but hated seeing Myrcella crying as she left. She wouldn't/didn't do that. It looks like the Dog's make-up was done better this season, and his rescue was perfect. The siege of Winterfell was a bit rushed, but all and all done nicely. The beheading was brutal, Theon kicking the stubborn head from its shoulders, and Bran's reaction was perfect. Plus, Shaggydog! Arya's scenes are always prefect, and it was cool how they got Tywin's father story out there without stumbling around with it. Not to mention the dart in the neck just as the guy hit the front door. If you're going to move away from the script, this is how you do it. I loved hearing that the Bastard (no, never bastard, you mustn't call him that!) of Bolton will be involved and not just his father rushing back up. The north scenes were ok. I'm not sure why they couldn't have just stuck to the script, but whatever, I guess Jon needed some cock-teasing. But now I'm convinced both David's secretly hate Dany and will do everything in their power to make her story almost unbearable to watch. I love Emilia Clarke, and think she does amazing things with the crap they give her, but this episode really was a low point for poor Dany. She refuses to beg...let's make her beg. She never takes her eyes off her dragons...let's get someone to steal them. Ugg...

Brought what would have easily been a nine, maybe even a ten episode, down to an eight.

[Lord Godric]

I gave it a seven. A good episode, but not the best. The Winterfell scenes were done brilliantly, but there were a few problems.  And no, they are not for me just where the show diverges from the books.  I like Ygritte's character, but, and this is probably my main gripe of the episode, I thought it was confusing if Jon tried to kill her and missed or purposely didn't kill her.   Compare that to Theon's beheading of Rodrik and it nearly makes Jon look as pathetic as Theon did when we all think back to how cleanly Ned killed Gared in the first episode.  

Other than that though, I really loved the Winterfell scenes.  So glad to hear that Ramsey will be included (please let the Reeds be too), loved the Riot scene and especially Tyrion's rage, and (although a little weird) I liked the Littlefinger/Arya/Tywin scene.  

Looking back now, I probably should have given it an 8.

[boojam]

Prety much straight down the line, best parts of George's story survive.
Well Arya made better choices than George did.
Now we can get Weasel Soup, lord I hope so.

Ok that said, I had wondered what they would do with Qarth, because except for The House of the Undying and a little of the finale , I thought Qarth was a dead fish in the novel. I thought they would punch it up some way. Lord know how they have reconstructed Georges narrative, I think the House of the undying will have more meaning now. Can't wait.

Loved the way they kept the Hound and Sansa sequence, even better than the novel.
Applause for Sibel Kekilli , that one sequence shows she can act!

Lord they just have too much drama to stuff into 10 hours, and old refrain.

Edited by boojam, 06 May 2012 - 09:34 PM.

[Lord Godric]

boojam, on 06 May 2012 - 09:30 PM, said:

Prety much straight down the line, best parts of George's story survive.

I agree with this immensely.  And when it comes down to how much I care about the level that the show "remains true" to the books this is all that matters.  That Martin's story and the essence of his characters survive.

[nothatso]

Gave it my first 10. I feel like you'd have to be extremely nitpicky to give it anything below an 8. Just my opinion.

[BoX]

worst episode ever!

[bikie]

best of the year for me, gave it a solid 9... if I had to nitpick, I thought the hound's fighting was a little too "terminator" like and if I never hear dany's threats again, it will be too soon... would have been a 10 but I still think the show has room to be even better... that hour went by like 10 minutes though... great stuff...

[Laohu]

I personally think Bryan Cogman and Vanessa Taylor's episodes have been the best so far this season. That is not to take credit away from D&D, but just an interesting fact I noticed. As has been mentioned before, D&D has taken the hardest parts of the story to adapt for their own episodes. Still, episode 6 was great.

Here's to hoping we can see the ratings and audience numbers continue to rise!

[Ferrum Aeternum]

I waffled between a 7 and an 8, gave it an 8 because I felt the strengths of the episode in the end won over the weaknesses.  

Theon taking Winterfell was incredible.  Probably the most intense scene yet in the series and the best opening scene by a wide margin.  I was absolutely gutted by Rodrik's execution sequence - the performances and direction were just as visceral and disturbing as such a scene warrants.  Mind blowing.

The entire KL riot sequence was fantastic and very much brought to life one of the most memorable scenes from ACOK.  Tyrion/Joff and San/San were both awesome beyond words.  Also, hats off to Lena Headey's ice queen turn with Tyrion at the docks...understated and powerful.  

I was climbing the walls during the LF/Tywin/Arya scene.  Tywin said something about the Tyrells but I didn't hear a word of it.  Cheap thrills maybe, but thrilling nonetheless.  Great television.  I'm certain LF knows who Arya is since he managed to get a pretty good look at her when she spilled the wine.  Plus, of course, she spoke.  Wouldn't surprise me that LF would keep this information to himself, knowing full well the value of exclusive information.  The 2nd Arya/Tywin scene was pretty good as well, although I find it difficult to believe Arya wouldn't have thought her cover story ahead any further than she apparently did, and furthermore that Tywin continues to buy her obvious lies and misdirections (or at least not react to them).  

Jon and Ygritte's stuff was good, not great.  I'm not wild (pardon the pun) about the story deviation from the book, i.e. Jon not letting Ygritte go.  I do think Rose Leslie will make a good Ygritte, though.  She certainly seems to understand the spirit of the character.

THRILLED that Roose is sending Ramsay to retake Winterfell.  If this means we get Ramsay next season and beyond then it's outstanding news.

Dany's conclusion scene - well,the story deviation here sets up a very real and distinct conflict for her to resolve in Qarth, which would have been more difficult to pull off if the source material had been followed to the letter.  But, something about it feels sloppy.  I have to admit that just last week, during the scene with Dany and her handmaidens I wondered about the security of the dragons, but didn't think the showrunners would actually go there at this point in the story.  Feels like they're rushing things.  I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now, but hopefully they'll have a creative solution for resolving this.  Also, incidentally, I thought Emilia Clarke chewed the scenery a bit too hard in the scene with the Spice King.  Dany is a melodramatic character by design, but she pushed it a little too hard for my liking in that scene.

The Arya/Lorch scene was another one that seemed unnecessarily rushed and silly.  Pretty much an awful way for Jaqen to chalk up kill #2 (incidentally, Jaqen is almost completely wasted in this episode, which is also a shame).  Arya snatching the message was beyond stupid and reckless and seemed like a contrivance to get the scene going.  In the end, one genuinely bad scene wasn't enough to ruin the episode for me.

Oh and - although it'd be obvious to label Talisa as a spy (Robb even mentions it, tongue-in-cheek), it would still surprise me if she isn't.

[zippypoodle]

That episode was all kinds of awesome.

In fact, it was objectively awesome.

Anyone who disagrees is simply wrong.

10

And I must say I am highly disappointed in the people who write the analysis for this site. I doubt I'll read any more of their drivel.  Despite their attempt to disguise it, they are clearly book purists.

Edited by zippypoodle, 06 May 2012 - 11:23 PM.

[smo]

That was a great episode!  LOVED it!  They just seem to be getting better and better.  The scenes with Jon were great.  Arya was great.  Tyrio and Joff were amazing as ususal.  And everything at Winterfell was perfect.  I can't believe there are only 4 left for this season.  How long will we have to wait for the next season?

[Watcher_inthe_Woods]

Had to think about the episode before I decided to rate it an 8. Wasn't sure how I felt about all the changes but really was on the edge of my seat pretty much the whole time....Winterfell scenes were great!!!

[A Time for Wolves]

Loved this episode in so many ways. Gave it a 9.

[Tadco26]

The episode started so strong and fell off the tracks so hard, it's a shame.  It really is turning more and more into a story inspired by the books more so than trying to adapt them faithfully.  I was hoping that season 2 would try to be at least as faithful as season 1 if not more so, but it seems the opposite is the case.

Bran and Theon's scenes were all great over all.  A great adaptation that kept the spirit of the books even with it's changes.  Nitpicking, I did wonder why Rodrick returned alone to Winterfell when he left with 200 men.  Osha's changes worked overall and I am glad they are able to get the wolves more screen time.

Likewise the riot scenes and all the Kings Landing scenes worked out well.  There was a Kingsguard visable on the boat with Myrcella which was a nice touch even if he wasn't named.  It looks like that was supposed to be the high septon praying as she left, and I belive he was the one who lost his arm, though I saw no crown so maybe I am wrong.  The tone, and overall action fit well and we got some more screen time for the Hound and Sansa.  Even the Shae and Sansa scene worked out pretty well despite me not being a fan of TV Shae.

Jon's story started out well up to the point that he "missed" his swing and Ygritte escaped, rather than being let go.  Now even that would have been acceptable, if she had actually escaped.  But now she is his prisoner and one has to wonder what changes this is going to lead to.  We already know that Qhorin wants to kill her, so waiting for the other Nights Watch to show only delays her death.  They already made it clear they don't have the food or manpower to guard her as a living prisoner.  So what is Jon's plan in keeping her tied up, and just as importantly why did the writers decide to change this?

Spoiler

Is Jon going to join the wildlings now?  It would be a huge change for him to join them under any other circumstances than Qhorin's orders.

Arya's story line in Harrenhal is almost completely original at this point.  The only real similarities are she is at Harrenhal which is under Lannister control, Gendry is a blacksmith and Jaqen has offered to kill 3 people for her.  TV Tywin certainly is forgiving of lieing cupbearers.  Littlefinger teleports to Harrenhal from Renly's camp, and appears to recognize Arya, but that is up to interpretation.  I have to say I expected Littlefinger to stay with the Tyrell's and negotiate from there, maybe send a raven to Kings Landing or Harrenhal.  Arya sees a piece of paper that mentions Robb and for some reason decides to take it, and doesn't bother hiding it in a pocket or something, leading to the contrived death of Ser Amory by dart at Tywin's door, very sloppy for Jaqen considering all his kills before weasel soup look like accidents, but he was rushed.  Still he looks very much like a normal man who kills people rather than a mystical assasin at this point.  We miss out on the "magical" nature of Weasel's own dog killing him as well as Amory's death by bear.   A

s for Ser Amory mailing Tywin's battleplans to the wrong lord.. Why would Amory personally be sending ravens and how did he get the idea to send it to the wrong one?  To send it to ANY lord he would have to have some ability to read or interpret, or did he just pick a lord from a hat and mail it off and "hope" that was the right one?  How does Tywin know that the wrong lord got it?  Certainly one of Robb's lords would not send a mail confirmation...  At best Tywin would get news from the intended lord that he never recieved the letter which could be due to any number of reasons.  Unless the letter was never sent, and some one caught the mistake before it left, which is not the impression I got watching it.

Dany's story is completely off the tracks now and many of the scenes play out like parodies of the book, with Dany throwing temper tantrums and while the Spice King's general reply was both logical and convincing, Dany's actions and attitude make her look like a moron more often than not, which is not the impression I got of her at this point in her story reading.  Losing the dragons and what appears to be most of her people makes one wonder, if she can't keep them safe even with Xaro's guards (at least in the books), then how will she possibly do so with most of her people killed?  Also they have completely dropped the whole part where people from all over the city were coming to visit Dany and give her gifts and tribute in exchange for seeing the dragons.

The episode had some really outstanding scenes, some of them were among the best of the entire series.  It was fairly entertaining TV and some of it was even great, but the liberties they are taking with parts of the story, and in particular changes which will require even more changes in the future, are making this the least faithful adaptation of the books yet and unfortunately none of the major changes were for the better in my eyes.