Northernmonkey

I give it a seven. Like last week's episode it was a slow one but much more rewarding. Ian McShane, the Hound, Lyanna Mormont and the Blackfish - can't complain with that. One tiny thing that annoyed me - why does Sansa wear so much make-up? It looks completely out of place in a grim Northern setting. She even seems to have plucked eyebrows.

The interesting thing about Euron is that for someone who is supposedly godless he's definitely in touch with his spiritual side. Since he was a child he dreamed that he could fly (in a way that's reminiscent of Bran) and since he became an adult he regularly hallucinates and cavorts with warlocks and wizards of all kinds. It seems like he's got some kind of demented supernatural edge that to me makes him a lot more interesting than Ramsay. It makes for an interesting comparison with Aeron. Aeron is the religious one but rigidly sticks to the traditional way of life. Euron is the godless one but his mind his completely open to everything the world has got. I wonder if Euron is a way for GRRM to express his views on religion in ASOIAF in some way. EDIT: To put it simply it's the religious aspect to Euron's storyline that makes him so interesting. The same goes for Aeron for that mater.

Clad head to heel in scale as dark as onyx, he sat upon a mound of blackened skulls as dwarfs capered round his feet and a forest burned behind him. And ideas what the forest refers to? Could it be a sign that Euron gets hold of a dragon?

This is mindblowing stuff. The best TWOW chapter we've seen so far and one that really should have been included at the end of AFFC. It's interesting that no-one really saw this coming, even though it seems quite obvious in hindsight. I started a topic a couple of years ago called "What is the Damphair up to?" and no-one suggested that he might be on board the Silence. The closest anyone got was someone who said: "Nevertheless, I'd say that whatever Damphair is up to, Euron is one step ahead. Therefore, I would predict that Damphair won't last for long in the next installment." It just goes to show how hard it is to predict where the story is going to go.

Dany asked one of the ex-Khaleesis for help beforehand so I assumed that she'd spread something flammable on the floor.

This would be the most illogical thing yet. Someone who supports the Starks handing over one of the last remaining Starks to Ramsay makes literally no sense whatsoever.

If there's a GNC on the show the Umbers aren't involved. If you wanted the return of the Starks then the absolute last thing you would do is hand over Rickon to a renowned psychopath who would almost certainly kill him. That would be the most illogical thing ever.

6 for me. The good bits: Jon and Sansa reunion and Littlefinger finally getting the Vale to do something. It's great to see all the pieces falling into place for a massive battle. Theon and Yara reunion setting things up nicely for the Kingsmoot. Cersei and Olenna working together and setting up a big showdown with the High Sparrow. The pink letter (pretty much). Great scene. The bad bits: Dany's end scene. I can't stand it when they do the holy messiah stuff with her. Awful. Tyrion negotiating with the slavers. The scenes were okay but I just don't care about Meereen. We all know Dany's going to ditch the place soon so it all seems a bit pointless. The High Sparrow and Margaery. I love the High Sparrow but his scenes are getting a bit repetitive. By the end of the series he'll have had a lengthy one-on-one conversation with every character on the show.

But there's the question of legitimacy. Marrying Faegon to the heir to Dorne would instantly dispel any doubts as to whether he was the real thing or not. It could be a powerful tool in recruiting forces to his side. And although technically Faegon shouldn't need to marry Arianne to get Dorne's support, it would still be a risk to actually snub her. Who knows if her or Doran would take it personally?

Good chapter. There's some very obvious foreshadowing of Elia causing trouble. I might be in the minority but I love the travelogues and the world-building. I enjoyed getting to see another part of Westeros firsthand - the caves, the weather, the plantlife. It reminds me of some of Brienne's AFFC chapters, which in my opinion are some of the best GRRM has written, even if they don't have a huge impact on the plot. Although I still think Arianne is quite a boring character.

8 for me. Best episode of the season so far because it didn't have any weak bits. Even Arya's scenes were quite well done for once. Dany and Sam's scenes were a bit boring but they needed to be done for plot reasons and they kept it brief. The Wall - Absolutely brilliant. Loved the hanging scene and Jon leaving was quite an emotional end. Tower of Joy - Pretty good. Very close to how I imagined it. Some people might think the two swords were a bit silly but I don't really care about that. Meereen - Tyrion and Varys as brilliant as ever. Kings Landing - I love UnGregor and great to see Qyburn and Olenna again, but maybe we've had enough "character A goes to see the high sparrow" scenes. Winterfell - Great scene. Quite an entrance for the new Lord Umber.

I gave it a 6. It was strangely unsatisfying. A few too many cliffhangers for my liking. Good: - Meereen. That was a great scene and delighted to see Varys and Tyrion back together - The brief battle scenes. Brilliantly done - The walk of shame. Exactly how I pictured it in the books and I liked Robert Strong Bad: - Stannis' death. Just felt a bit rushed and anticlimactic - Meryn Trant. We get it, he's evil. No need to have him hit little girls with sticks - Arya and Jaqen's face changing scene. Just seemed a bit cheesy. Reminiscent of that terrible scene in the cave in The Empire Strikes Back And then there's For The Watch. Quite a good scene but there just wasn't enough time spent this season examining the motives behind it. Seemed a bit rushed.

People tend to dislike Brienne's story in Feast and Tyrion's story in Dance anyway, so by that logic it's no worse than in the books. Personally I thought Tyrion's storyline has been dealt with brilliantly this season. His scenes with Varys, Jorah and then Dany were all excellent.

Theon can barely speak so of course he hasn't had many lines.

Scrap it entirely and put her in with the Winterfell storyline.

But that's my point. They couldn't do Tyrion, Jaime or Brienne's Feast or Dance storylines because that would mean casting a load of new characters and having a load of new settings. Logistically they had to mix Brienne's storyline in with the Winterfell one and mix Jaime's in with the Dorne one.

It would improve the quality massively, but I guess there's a problem with budget and getting it finished in time.

People forget that there's a limit to how many characters and settings you can have in the show, meaning that D+D are forced to make a lot of changes. For example take the Sansa/Ramsay storyline. That was absolutely necessary because the alternative was having two extra characters (Harry the Heir and fArya) and one extra setting and storyline (The Vale). A lot of people's criticisms of the show can be put down to logistics, and the sheer difficulty of adapting such an epic series of books.

I gave it a 6. Would have been a 7 but it was just too depressing. Can't argue with most of it - gripping, engaging, brilliantly acted. The only bits I didn't like were the sandsnakes playing slapsies (that was cringeworthy) and Dany flying away on her dragon while the emotional music played (I just don't think dragons are that exciting).

Yeah in the books it's Nymeria, but I don't think it really matters. I expect some of the sandsnakes to accompany him to KL anyway.

What's the problem with Trystane getting the scene on the small council?

Apart from the scene with the sandsnakes playing slapsies like it was something deep and meaningful. That was cringeworthy.

A lot of people have been saying this but I bet the viewing figures don't go down. To be honest I don't believe that you won't watch the finale.

I thought it was a low-key death for a character who was far more interesting in the books. He was definitely underused in the show. I don't see the point in including him at all when all he did was convince Dany to open the fighting pits.

I agree about a lot of your criticisms, but not about the Sansa storyline. In the show the Boltons are openly rebelling against the Lannisters, so it doesn't matter if Sansa is a fugitive. Cersei said herself in tonight's episode that she can't send an army to Winterfell, so the Boltons are effectively safe. I think this deviation from the books is very clever way of adapting the books.