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How would you rate episode 208?


How would you rate episode 208?  

408 members have voted

  1. 1. What's your rating from 1-10, with 10 being the highest/best

    • 1
      5
    • 2
      5
    • 3
      10
    • 4
      15
    • 5
      18
    • 6
      47
    • 7
      89
    • 8
      110
    • 9
      73
    • 10
      36


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Tyrion awakens to a changed situation. King Joffrey doles out rewards to his subjects. As Theon stirs his men to action, Luwin offers some final advice. Brienne silences Jaime; Arya receives a gift from Jaqen; Dany goes to a strange place; Jon proves himself to Qhorin.

Seeing as we didn't see anything beyond them approaching the gate, perhaps letting the story play out would be a good idea.

As for Karstark's line that has you upset, I'm 99% sure it was intended to show how distraught he is over his sons' deaths, not that he is actually a follower of the Seven.

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Gave it a 9.

First off, to all the haters, remember this is not a book where your imagination and the author's words can give you limitless possibilities. I am so sorry that you do not like the way the show is turning out, but please be more articulate and discerning when assessing this TV SHOW (NOT A BOOK!!!) because it makes me feel guilty for absolutely LOVING the show, as if its some kind of a betrayal. I love the books, and I love the show and to me they are separate media with their own conventions and imperatives.

This episode was absolutely amazing. Remember, even the books are not all about the action. Its also about the 'games' that characters play off each other. I was gonna call the Theon/Asha scene followed by the Tyrion/Bronn scene a 'one-two punch of excellence' but then we got Arya/Jaqen, Tyrion/Varys, Tyrion/Cersei, Davos/Stannis and finally Robb/Hotness, and I was completely blown away by the writing. The adaptation from the books, the emotional and character build up, spot on! Absolutely spot on! Great building of anticipation for next week (and the promo looks amazing!) I am hoping it would be the 10/10 that I am saving for it since the beginning of the season.

It might be a general american audience thing, where people get bored with character development and lack of action (I know its not the case with people who love GOOD fantasy/sci-fi) but some of the comments here just dont figure for me. I loved all the one-on-one character interactions (save maybe the Shae scene).

Next week, Blackwater Bay, welcome to the world!!!

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You're lying to yourself if you think you'll ever see Jaquen again this season!

Am I now? No one less than Tom Wlaschiha himself reports:

My role a magical assassin called Jaqen H'ghar and he mainly interacts with Arya, the little stark girl, and he is a teacher. What I liked about that character is that at the beginning he appears as one of the bad guys because he is introduced as an assassin but he turns out to be more her teacher and helps her to kill off her enemies.
And I got to shape-shift
which was great - it was my first shape-shift on screen (laughs).

Next time you accuse someone of lying, check your sources first. Otherwise you look like a real <INSERT CRUDE PEJORATIVE>.

Thanks in advance for your apology.

Edited by CrypticWeirwood
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He'll be in the last episode titled Valar Morghulis. The description for it states that Jaqen gives Arya a gift.

They called the first episode of the season "The North Remembers". And I ask you: WHAT?

That they killed Ned? THOSE BASTARDS!

No, that's not what the north really remembers. The North really remembers the Red Wedding. That's what the North remembers.

Like I said before, I don't think Valar Morghulis is tied to Arya. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. I explained in the previous post why it doesn't make sense to me to see Jaquen run after Arya.

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Gave it a 9.

First off, to all the haters, remember this is not a book where your imagination and the author's words can give you limitless possibilities. I am so sorry that you do not like the way the show is turning out, but please be more articulate and discerning when assessing this TV SHOW (NOT A BOOK!!!) because it makes me feel guilty for absolutely LOVING the show, as if its some kind of a betrayal. I love the books, and I love the show and to me they are separate media with their own conventions and imperatives.

You know, you're right.

A tvshow has to spend money to create scenes. A writer just spends ink.

I hoped to see Robb destroy the westerlands. All I saw was him flirting with some unknown chick and then doing her. I guess it would have cost too much for her to be called Jeyne Westerling and be the daughter of a Lord from the Westerlands.

I hoped to see the Bloody Mummers. Instead they killed the Tickler, cutting out Arya's best scene. It would have cost them a hell of a lot of money to kill off some other randon dude and not the Tickler.

I hoped to see the lord of Casterly Rock and learn more about the character. I hoped to see lord Tywin. Instead I saw an old grandfather, telling stories to some unknown serving girl like the good old chap he is. It costs a lot of money to present Tywin Lannister as Tywin Lannister and not Bill Cosby.

Lastly, I wanted for the show to pay attention at least at the minor details, those details that actually cost nothing.What did I get?

Rickard Karstark saying he wants to cut out his heart and give it to the Father. It would have bankrupted the show if he had said "The Old Gods" instead of "The Father".

I understant that there are some things that a tvshow can not show. I understand that there are things that need changing.

I don't understant why they have to screw up so much!

Season 1 was awesome. It was at least 10 times better than this one.

Judging from the point of view of a book reader.

Judging from the point of view of someone who hasn't read the books, both seasons are awesome.

It's a great show but it could have been better. Some things they should not have changed.

And, CrypticWeirwood, if they really do bring Jaquen back and make him into a pussy, then they only ruin another character.

But I'm really sure it will be epic to see some guy run after a young girle and give her an iron coin.

"Hey, wait! You left before a man could give you a coin. Here, and Valar Morghulis. Oh... a man just deserted from a Lannister army but no problem. It's not like a Mountain is still here hunting for outlaws. Let a man just change a face."

Can you taste the epicness?!

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You know, you're right.

A tvshow has to spend money to create scenes. A writer just spends ink.

I hoped to see Robb destroy the westerlands. All I saw was him flirting with some unknown chick and then doing her. I guess it would have cost too much for her to be called Jeyne Westerling and be the daughter of a Lord from the Westerlands.

I hoped to see the Bloody Mummers. Instead they killed the Tickler, cutting out Arya's best scene. It would have cost them a hell of a lot of money to kill off some other randon dude and not the Tickler.

I hoped to see the lord of Casterly Rock and learn more about the character. I hoped to see lord Tywin. Instead I saw an old grandfather, telling stories to some unknown serving girl like the good old chap he is. It costs a lot of money to present Tywin Lannister as Tywin Lannister and not Bill Cosby.

Lastly, I wanted for the show to pay attention at least at the minor details, those details that actually cost nothing.What did I get?

Rickard Karstark saying he wants to cut out his heart and give it to the Father. It would have bankrupted the show if he had said "The Old Gods" instead of "The Father".

I understant that there are some things that a tvshow can not show. I understand that there are things that need changing.

I don't understant why they have to screw up so much!

Season 1 was awesome. It was at least 10 times better than this one.

Judging from the point of view of a book reader.

Judging from the point of view of someone who hasn't read the books, both seasons are awesome.

It's a great show but it could have been better. Some things they should not have changed.

And, CrypticWeirwood, if they really do bring Jaquen back and make him into a pussy, then they only ruin another character.

But I'm really sure it will be epic to see some guy run after a young girle and give her an iron coin.

"Hey, wait! You left before a man could give you a coin. Here, and Valar Morghulis. Oh... a man just deserted from a Lannister army but no problem. It's not like a Mountain is still here hunting for outlaws. Let a man just change a face."

Can you taste the epicness?!

The producers did manage to epically pussify jon snow. So that had to add to your enjoyment.

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4/10

Arya: Story Butchered. tywin situation not making any sense. no soup, no bolton, no coin, no epic losing innocence due to murder.

Cat: No riverrun, no hearing of Bran and rickons death, not making any sense. a nice rounded character got flatted.

Danny: um.. yea - lets get to that house of the undying part next season, yes?

Jon: four scenes of plain soap opera. not getting on with the story. not building towards halfhads climax. blah.

Tyrion: no chain-strategy to date. no reason to react to the whore-swap. half-baked at best.

bran: no jojen - no biggie. why drop out the dreams? why not build this character? he is more of a liability 'till now.

overall - the show is doing a bad job for the past three weeks at least (if not the whole season). for a book adaptation it is sloppy at best, dropping out awesome parts and replacing them with pointless sex and cheap drama (too much telling, not enough SHOWING, ya know?).

when considered on its own terms, as if the books aren't there to guide it: a generic soap-opera with a dazzling coat of paint. worst pacing i have ever on hbo. looks like a million dollars, but slow and lacks intelligence and/or soul.

all you people that agree with this (and i read your reviews and know that a lot of you see eye to eye with me on all of the above) and still give it an 8/9 - well... lets get our proportions straight: 8-10 is community-level wit, six-feet-under deepness, soparnos coolness-factor. 8-10 is GOOD TELEVISION. something that season is simply not.

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lol with weasel soup. that scene is completely irrelevant. did any one of you actually watch the show? robb stark's army is all together, there is no separate part of the army commanded by bolton who could come over and take harrenhall. since no one can take harenhall (which they would anyway soon abandon next season), there is no point in lannisters losing control over it. hence there is no need for stupid weasel soup.

arya did what she needed to do this season, and that was to escape from the lannisters. mission accomplished.

and btw, entire arya's storyline in ACOK actually makes much more sense in the tv show compared to the book original. it was too convulted with her being servant for the lannisters, then orchestrating coupe to take over the castle, then being cupbearer for bolton, then never revealing her identity to northerners, then killing her own allied soldier (I know that bolton was already traitor at the time, but she did not know that) to escape. honestly it was a mess. it is easier to follow what is going on this way, you know, just like it should be in a freaking TV show.

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Her storyline is easier to follow, maybe, but that's because it's not a very good storyline. Her narrative has been in stasis since episode 4. All those Tywin scenes? Nothing happened, in a thematic sense, for her character. Great writing and acting exercises, but not actually important. The complicated narrative at Harrenhal in the novels is far more interesting and has a great deal of impact on Arya's development.

Edited by Ran
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far more interesting and much harder to follow for a wide audience. and TV shows are made for wide audiences, not for us the no lifers who read all books 8 times and now have to complain about stupid details.

I loved every scene with tywin and arya. I don't understand what kind of progress was she supposed to make while being in a lion's den? her "tightrope walk" relationship with lord tywin must have been very interesting for everyone who did not read books. she could have made a mistake and be revealed at any time. hell, she could have even tried to kill him like in that teaser scene with a knife behind his back. it was exciting. and that is what TV shows are all about.

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A 9 for me. I no longer care about being faithful to the books - I'm on a re-read now and have just got to 'Dance', and on the second time around, I'm actually finding more flaws with the over-bloated plotlines in any case. So much can be pared back and that's what the show is doing. I have no problem with it, and duncanthemedium has said all I want to say, anyway. I also loved the character interchanges this week. The opener with Yara and Theon set the bar.

I just knocked off a point for the Robb/Talisa scene, which dragged just a wee bit for me.

All in all the episode felt like a placeholder, of course, but it was so well presented that I didn't feel the lack of forward action.

And a nod to the books, for me personally: I am so glad Grenn and Sam unearthed that horn with the dragon-glass - because I still reckon it's the true Horn of Winter, and still believe it after a second read of the novels. ;)

Onto Blackwater....

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The progress was her internal development, her fear, her anger, her loneliness, and her desperation, her need for vengeance, all leading to becoming more more inured to violence and killing, to the point she can casually kill without feeling anything.

Now ask yourself, does this shows version of Arya show any of those characteristics? This showArya is playing a game, the bookArya was playing for keeps.

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I wish we had a dedicated Season 2 thread to discuss, but Benioff and Weiss need to be taken out to the woodshed for some of the season long plotting and story decisions. Some of them are just awful.

Yes - Harrenhal probably needed to be streamlined for a 10 episode television season, but as I and others have pointed out, there was absolutely no payoff for three straight weeks of Tywin and Arya scenes. None at all! This truly was Arya's Haunted Harrenhal Vacation. What a wasted opportunity.

Qarth is dreadful. Talisa and Robb are so forgettable. And yes everything is building to the battle at Blackwater, but something suggesting some sort of urgency in Kings Landing would have been nice. Tyrion is reading a book about siege warfare the day before a siege? *shakes head in disbelief*

A big fat 4 out of 10. I am being generous.

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you don't seriously expect a 10-year old girl to slid someone's throat in cold blood in american TV show do you?

her character will have plenty of time to become darker in 3rd season when she is a bit older, and when she learns about all deaths in her family. right now, she is homeless little girl on the run, not a killing machine in the making.

btw I agree about the Horn of Winter. the fact they bothered to show a horn being discovered with obsidian blades could be a major spoiler for the future.

Edited by kaukula
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People need to calm down and judge the show in the long run, yes it is irritating at times when they omit what we see as important character developments, but we do not know for sure yet if they have not just moved them. Remember that Arya murdering a guard could easily happen in season 3 of the show, which quite frankly, they will need to beef out as they cannot do a whole series of her in the wilderness before meeting Beric. They can easily have a scene where Arya kills a Lannister scout or to that effect.

I am not a particular fan of Talisa (mostly as the name Tulisa is just polluted in my mind as synonymous with terrible music, other British people will know what I'm saying), but she is still fulfilling the role of Jeyne Westerling from the books, as long as the role is fulfilled in the general character arc, ie. Robb betraying the Freys then I think it is fine, I mean Jeyne or the Westerlings were hardly the most important characters, the importance came from what Robb does and the consequences of his actions.

I am disappointed Stannis hasn't been given more screentime this season though, given his importance, he isn't really coming across as much of a threat even now when he's sailing, The Kings Landing scenes were far too calm, I hope they build this siege up a hell of a lot in the next episode before any fighting begins. I would guess that that is their plan as any serious tension this week would be mostly forgotten in the wake of what would therefore be pointless violence.

All in all, whilst I agree this season has not been as spectacular as the first, I think its ridiculous to write the whole show off based on character story arc changes that have not been completed yet on screen, judge the arc at its end not the middle!

Edited by A Knight Without Honour
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I was pretty disappointed. I'm kind of over the show now, so much of the tv additions are just stupid. Like that extended wahfest scene between Robb and his new love interest. Even my non-reader flatmates cringed the whole time. And my flatmates are so confused about the Brotherhood without banners. One reckons he knows who they are but he actually doesn't. And I'm now so confused I'm not sure if maybe they've rewritten them so I can't explain them to my flatmates without confusing them more. They think the brotherhood are who has been killing all the people :facepalm: I tried explaining that's not it but I confused them even more.

Was hoping for more action, but just got a whole lot of boring. It should've picked up by now 4/10 from me.

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I’m sorry that you are upset that the show writers rightly chose to put more emphasis on developing a critical plot element instead of fickle flames of fanficky flibbertidgets. How the King in the North and Ned’s Stark’s heir came to lose is head is only about a vigitillion times more important than some icky and stoopeed Harlequin SanSan romance fantasy. I’d be really unhappy if they’d made the contrary decision.

Pretty damn ironic post considering the Robb romance is nothing more than fanfiction from D&D...

you don't seriously expect a 10-year old girl to slid someone's throat in cold blood in american TV show do you?
And why the hell not? Whatever happened to "it's not TV, it's HBO"? Also, if you ever watched the Wire, remember Bodie, Poot and Wallace. Arya slitting a guy's throat to escape from a dangerous place is tame compared to that.
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Gave it a 9 - good dialogue and this episode starts to tie threads together. Probably the best of the series so far, although I agree with the previous poster that series 1 was much better, but reading the books after Game of Thrones its all downhill so nothing to be surprised about.

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