Hedge Lawyer

I voted an 8, rounded down from 8.25. The Meeren, Eyrie, and duel scenes were fantastic. The Moat Cailin scene was also well done. I could do without the Grey Worm love subplot. The beetles conversation was entertaining and well acted, but probably should have been shortened in the editing process.

What's with the condescension? Your explanation doesn't exactly hold water. Jaime killed Karstark's son- in the book and in the show- long before Cat let him loose. Karstark could have murdered him long before. Karstark was in Riverrun in the book while Jaime was prisoner, after the Whispering Woods, yet didn't kill him. He didn't, because he was obeying Robb. In the book, Karstark goes psycho after Cat releases Lannister. Cat's rationale for releasing Jaime has nothing to with Karstark, and there's no absolute logic dictating that but for Cat's releasing him, he would have undoubtedly killed Jaime. It's a stretch.

GRRM made it work in the book- the Westerlings were a family that used to be the power in the Westerlands before the rise of the Lannisters. Honestly, it's a stretch either way.

I generally don't complain about the show's changes (I actually prefer some of them- e.g. the new and improve Qarth story), but I'm a little troubleed / concerned about a few: 1. No mention of Tyrion's giant chain? How will there be a Blackwater without the chain? Even if it's there, the build-up to the chain was one of the best parts of ACoK, and it really showed Tyrion's brilliance. 2. I didn't like Cat setting Jaime free before hearing of Bran and Rickon. It was the supposed death of her two sons that spurred her to free Jaime in the book. Freeing him before hearing of their deaths doesn't make as much sense. It seems out of character. Her act in the book was pure desparation. Here, there was no basis for such a rash act. 3. Why make Jeyne from Volantis?

I agree with this. I gave the episode a 9- it made an hour seem like 10 minutes. I know that the show is deviating from the books, in some cases pretty significantly, but the show holds up. I think having GRRM involved makes the differences still feel believable. I think that I like show Cersei better than book Cersei (and I like book Cersei), and I know that I like show Qarth better than book Qarth. Dany's story is much more interesting in the show that it was in ACoK. Ygritte is pitch perfect. The show keeps me wanting more. I look forward to each episode.

Kevan was in season one, and he was at the council meeting in this episode IIRC.

I'd give it an 8 to 8.5. Another quality episode. My only problem with it was that it once again crammed too much into a single episode.

Am I the only one who is glad that they're apparently cutting the Reeds? I never liked them in the books, especially creepy little Jojen. Giving Bran Jojen's greendreams and sending him north with Osha is a good way to simplify the story for tv without cutting too much important detail.

My wife and I said the same thing!

The book never implied that Joff was sexually aroused by torture. This scene did, IMO. Book Joff was sadistic, but TV Joff is off the charts.

I agree. That line was the worst thing about this episode for me. Book LF would never have said it. TV LF isn't as cunning as book LF. In the book, LF is a brilliant operator and financier, personally keeping the kingdom afloat finacially. This doesn't come accross on TV, where the character is much more hamhanded. That said, he's perfectly cast/

I liked the Joffrey/whores scene. It established that t.v. Joffrey is more of a sadist than book Joffrey. As someone else said, he's a teen boy given two beautiful women to do with what he wishes, and he chose to torture them. I thought that it was a statement scene for his character. Not a bad addition IMO. I'm 99.99% sure that the "Volantis" girl is Jeyne Westerling. To me, this was the second best episode of the season behind episode 3, and I get the feeling that things are really going to start picking up next week.

Also, I liked the Joffrey and the whores scene. It firmly established his sadism in a way that even the Sansa scene didn't- after all, he's always held a grudge against Sansa since the incident with Micah, and he hates the Starks in general. The fact that he passed up sex to torture prostitutes that never did anything to him shows Joff in an even dimmer light. Joff is basically Ramsey Bolton level evil on the show, whereas he wasn't quite that bad in the book.

I'd give it an 8.5, but I voted 8. Very good all around, but a bit disjointed (as with most of this season, things feel rushed because they're trying to fit to much in to single episodes- I really think that they should have done at least 12 episodes this season). I like Littlefinger proposing the Jaime for the girls trade; it will make Cat's release of Jaime seem a bit more rational. I loved the quick intro to Roose Bolton. Tyrion once again stole the show. I can't wait for next week. P.S.- bring back the original Mountain! Hopefully he'll be available again and reclaim the role. If the series makes it to his duel with the Viper, then I want the original Mountain fighting it in all of his glory.

Just when I was starting to get worried about this season, episode 3 won me back. I'd rate it 9.5. It was outstanding, easily the best of season 2 so far IMO, and better than almost all of the first season. I love the way that it stuck so close to the spirit of the book while simultaneously making significant changes (e.g. compressing about 5 Arya chapters into one brilliant scene). They even redeemed some of episode 2 by taking the opportunity to better explain Yara's motivation in her ride with Theon. I think the thing that made this episode so great is that the individual scenes were longer. The disjointedness of the first 2 episodes wasn't an issue here. I'm very much looking forward to episode 4- maybe they'll finally do justice to Stannis & Davos .