The Best Episodes So Far?

[Shadow on the Wall]

I agree in general that S2 is the weakest season as a whole, but the Littlefinger/two whores scene in You Win Or You Die (which is otherwise a great episode) is, for me, easily the worst scene of the whole show.

Aye it was a very dodgy scene, but he made up for it with this gem:

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=1LXu-0X8ECw

Personally, I didn't feel Season 2 was uneven. However, at that point in time I hadn't read Clash of Kings in a while and I ended up watching the whole Season within a week, without annoying breaks. So to me it was simply great enjoyment that flowed beautifully.

[grand old duke of stark]

'Azzanadra' wrote:

Baelor, Blackwater and the Rains of Castermere were defiantly the best.

Ironically, they were the 9th episode in each of their seasons.

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Agreed, and in that order. The first two were perfect, the third with only minor flaws. Those three are iconic and rare episodes of telly I shall never forget. Other favourites included Winter is Coming, Fire and Blood, the Pointy End, And Now his Watch is Ended, Kissed by Fire, theWolf and the Lion, and Second Sons.

[Queen Elsa]

1. Fire and Blood - the birth of the dragons plus the music give me goosebumps.

2. Blackwater - best battle scene I've seen on tv

3. Baelor

4. Rains of Castamere

5. A Golden Crown - epic death scene of Viserys and Dany eating a raw bloody horse's heart, yum!

6. And Now His Watch is Ended - Dracarys!

7.The Pointy End

8. The Wolf and the Lion

9. Winter is Coming - great pilot

10. Kissed by Fire

Not much from S2?

[Frey Pies]

I think that Season 3, was, by far, the best season of the show. I don't think there was a single episode in that season that I didn't find very well done (though this was the case with Season 1 as well). However, the highs of Season 3 were much, much higher than any of the OMG moments of the other seasons.

[Pinkie Baelish]

That one is close, but I would give the dubious honor to Dany's one-sided shouting match outside the gates of Qarth in Garden of Bones as the worst scene of the show.

S2 was the most uneven season, as well as the weakest overall, but it also reached the greatest heights in the form of Blackwater, which I consider to be the greatest episode thus far. And it contained the most powerful scene in the show in the form of Theon's capture of Winterfell and botched execution of Rodrik. However it also had the worst episode (The Nightlands) and the aforementioned worst scene.

Dunno, Theon's castration scene was one of the few scenes that I would classify as "bad", so that's up there in the list of worst scenes from the show.

Agree on most of your points for season 2, but I still regard it to be better than season 3. Season 1 was tighter, but Season 2 was more ambitious and had greater high points, what with Blackwater and Theon's arc for the entire season. I have a soft spot for season 2, and often find myself defending it more than other posters on this forum do. It had some mediocre moments, but it's highlights are arguably some of the series' finest moments(eg Theon seizing Winterfell, Battle of the Blackwater).

[Frost_Nocturne]

Dunno, Theon's castration scene was one of the few scenes that I would classify as "bad", so that's up there in the list of worst scenes from the show.

Agree on most of your points for season 2, but I still regard it to be better than season 3. Season 1 was tighter, but Season 2 was more ambitious and had greater high points, what with Blackwater and Theon's arc for the entire season. I have a soft spot for season 2, and often find myself defending it more than other posters on this forum do. It had some mediocre moments, but it's highlights are arguably some of the series' finest moments(eg Theon seizing Winterfell, Battle of the Blackwater).

Theon's castration was certainly the most cringe-worthy scene of S3 (one of few), and not for the intended reason, though I still consider Qarth to be worse. The trouble is that S2 had many more such scenes than the other seasons, most involving LF, Jon, or Dany in Qarth. One method I've used to compare the seasons is comparing the individual storylines for each. S2 had a phenomenal storyline for Tyrion and Theon, but at the expense of almost everything else. Robb and Jon's arcs in S2 (and Dany's, to a slightly lesser extent) were the lowest point for the show thus far (until Theon's S3 arc, arguably).

To compare:

KL (mainly Tyrion in S2): S2 wins, it was more focused and had much larger stakes, to start.

Robb: S3 wins easily

Arya: Close, but I would give the edge to S3 thanks to the last two episodes developing her character.

Jon: S3 wins easily, not that it had to do much to beat S2.

Theon: S2 wins easily

Bran: S3 wins if we're including only scenes that feature Bran (thanks to him having an actual arc), otherwise Bran's storyline in S2 would just be merged with Theon's.

Stannis: S3 wins in my view, though not by much. The main problem for Stannis in S2 was the lack of screen-time. S3 fleshed out the storyline properly, doing especially well with Davos and improving with Melisandre, while unfortunately altering Stannis' character and relationship with Mel.

Dany: S3 wins easily

Jaime: S3 wins easily, thanks to him hardly appearing in S2 and lacking his own storyline.

Which makes 7 wins for S3 vs 2 for S2. Even discounting Jaime that's a clear advantage. Obviously this is in no way scientific or objective, though I would think that the majority of viewers would agree with any of the "easily" comparisons.

[Frost_Nocturne]

Complete Episode Rankings:

#30. The Nightlands

#29. Garden of Bones

#28. The Prince of Winterfell

#27. The North Remembers

#26. Valar Dohaeris

#25. The Climb

#24. The Bear and the Maiden Fair

#23. A Man Without Honor

#22. Walk of Punishment

#21. Lord Snow

#20. Valar Morghulis

#19. Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things

#18. The Old Gods and the New

#17. You Win or You Die

#16. The Pointy End

#15. The Ghost of Harrenhal

#14. Second Sons

#13. The Kingsroad

#12. Mhysa

#11. A Golden Crown

#10. Dark Wings, Dark Words

#9. What is Dead May Never Die

#8. And Now His Watch Is Ended

#7. Fire and Blood

#6. Winter is Coming

#5. Baelor

#4. Kissed by Fire

#3. The Wolf and the Lion

#2. The Rains of Castamere

#1. Blackwater

[juseas]

1. The Rains of Castamere (3x9)

2. Blackwater (2x9)

3. Fire and Blood (1x10)

4. Baelor (1x9)

5. Winter is coming (1x1)

6. Kissed by Fire (3x5)

7. And Now His Watch has Ended (3x4)

8. Second Sons (3x8)

9. Garden of Bones (2x4)

10. The Pointy End (1x8)

[Death By Fire]

1. Blackwater

2. The Rains of Castamere

3. The Pointy End

4. A Golden Crown

5. You Win or You Die

6. And Now His Watch Is Ended

7. Valar Morgulis

8. The Climb

9. A Man Without Honor

10. Fire And Blood

[Azzanadra]

I think that Season 3, was, by far, the best season of the show. I don't think there was a single episode in that season that I didn't find very well done (though this was the case with Season 1 as well). However, the highs of Season 3 were much, much higher than any of the OMG moments of the other seasons.

As far as seasons go, the first is IMO the best because it is the most closest to the books,

[Born Sinner]

1. The rains of castamere

2. Blackwater

3. Baelor

4. And now his watch is ended

5. Fire and Blood

6. Golden Crown

7. Kissed by Fire

8. The pointy end

9. Walk of punishment

10. Winter is coming

[PeterStark]

Kissed by Fire, Blackwater and Rains of Castamere.

Season 3 is easily the best series in my opinion. Season 1 was good but was lacking the little finishing touches that Season 3 had. Some people exxagerate Season 2. The series was fantastic, just because it was the worst one doesn't mean it's actually bad. Plus Theons story was fantastic in Season 2.

[Kolantero]

S3E9 (red wedding) and S2E9 (blackwater) for me. Season 3 the best overall.

A really great scene was Jamie's confession in the Jakuzi with Brienne

[Daske]

Season 3 is easily the best series in my opinion. Season 1 was good but was lacking the little finishing touches that Season 3 had. Some people exxagerate Season 2. The series was fantastic, just because it was the worst one doesn't mean it's actually bad.

I would argue that they took more chances in S2. Some paid off and some didn't, but I think that gave them the confidence to really go for it in S3. The show has defintely grown, and now stands on its own two feet which it will really need to do with the more difficult or non-existant material to work with from now on. I think S2 paid the price somewhat for this to happen, but at the end of it all it may be a blessing in disguise because the books to come clearly can't be adapted as straigtforward as S1.

[PeterStark]

I would argue that they took more chances in S2. Some paid off and some didn't, but I think that gave them the confidence to really go for it in S3. The show has defintely grown, and now stands on its own two feet which it will really need to do with the more difficult or non-existant material to work with from now on. I think S2 paid the price somewhat for this to happen, but at the end of it all it may be a blessing in disguise because the books to come clearly can't be adapted as straigtforward as S1.

Completely agree. However I don't think there was an aspect of S2 that had a major impact on the series. There have definitely been some failed risks in S2 but were never severe enough to put me off the series.

[I hate Dorn]

1: Kissed By Fire

2: A Golden Crown

3: Blackwater

4: A Man Without Honor

5: Baelor

6: The Reigns Of Castamere

7: Fire And Blood

8: And Now His Watch Has Ended

9: Winter Is Coming

10: What Is Dead May Never Die

[Hard Truths Cut Both Ways]

Couldn't resist doing a complete rankings

30. Dark Wings, Dark Words (3.2)

29. The Night Lands (2.2)

28. The Prince of Winterfell (2.8)

27. The Old Gods and the New (2.6)

26. The Kingsroad (1.2)

25. Mhysa (3.10)

24. Lord Snow (1.3)

23. The Bear and the Maiden Fair (3.7)

22. The Climb (3.6)

21. A Man Without Honor (2.7)

20. Valar Dohaeris (3.1)

19. Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things (1.4)

18. Garden of Bones (2.4)

17. Walk of Punishment (3.3)

16. Winter is Coming (1.1)

15. The North Remembers (2.1)

14. The Ghost of Harrenhal (2.5)

13. Second Sons (3.8)

12. The Wolf and the Lion (1.5)

11. Valar Morghulis (2.10)

10. What is Dead May Never Die (2.3)

9. Baelor (1.9)

8. Kissed by Fire (3.5)

7. And Now His Watch Has Ended (3.4)

6. The Pointy End (1.8)

5. Blackwater (2.9)

4. You Win or You Die (1.7)

3. The Rains of Castamere (3.9)

2. A Golden Crown (1.6)

1. Fire and Blood (1.10)

[Colonel Green]

1. Blackwater - the rare episode that more or less conforms to the three classical Aristotelian unities. Pushes TV budgeting to the breaking point, and, in the show's most uneven season, delivers such a capper that it partially redeems earlier inconsistencies. Remains the best episode for a majority of the main characters in it.

2. The Pointy End - The episode preceding this, You Win or You Die, was disqualified from the list for polluting its generally excellent contents with the awful Littlefinger/whores scene. Instead this, the follow-up, is terrific. This and Blackwater set a standard for GRRM's episode that The Bear and the Maiden Fair unfortunately failed to match.

3. And Now His Watch Has Ended - Terrific mini-climax.

4. A Golden Crown - It's almost too bad to see Viserys go, given how good Harry Lloyd was.

5. Second Sons - Shrinks the focus not quite to Blackwater levels, but still to great effect. This is a model the show should use more often (whereas the "an episode in one place" format is probably unrepeatable).

6. The Old Gods and the New - Theon's capture of Winterfell and the execution of Ser Rodrik is one of the most powerful scenes on the show, and there's a number of other stellar parts to this.

7. Dark Wings, Dark Words - I like seeing all three of the Stark kids with POVs get strong material in one episode, and this also has the intro of the Queen of Thorns, and the awesome Jaime/Brienne fight, among other things.

8. Fire and Blood - This remains the strongest season-ender of the show.

9. Kissed By Fire - Features the series' best fight scene to date.

10. The Rains of Castamere - I don't rate this as highly as some, but if this lacks some of the power it could have had, it's largely the fault of previous episodes' shortcomings.

[redriver]

I don't get what's so good about Blackwater,aside from the special effects.It didn't really engage me emotionally at any stage,whereas many other episodes did.Baelor and The Rains of Castamere top my list.

[Pinkie Baelish]

I don't get what's so good about Blackwater,aside from the special effects.It didn't really engage me emotionally at any stage,whereas many other episodes did.Baelor and The Rains of Castamere top my list.

-The fantastic writing - I still regard it to be the best screenplay the show's had so far, and one that was Emmy-nomination worthy

-The direction of the fight scenes

-Wildfire explosion

-The soundtrack

-The parallels between Joffrey and Stannis - Joffrey retreats to his chambers, Stannis leads the charge himself

-Sansa showing an inner strength and being more queen-like than Cersei

-The Hound finally breaking and realising the Lannisters aren't worth dying for

-Tyrion stepping up to the call of duty in his finest hour. I'm glad they didn't show him fighting in season 1. Him leading the sortie was that much sweeter for it.

-Humanizing Cersei

-Showing the horrors of war and how it affects the various characters

-That chilling ending where Cersei nearly poisons Tommen on the Iron Throne

Oh, and this.

"Hundreds will die."

"Thousands"

#Mannis