thequicksilverthings

10/10. I've given one or two episodes 9/10. I've been saving my 10 all season, and this episode deserved it.

Even thought I've read the books, this episode managed to keep me on edge the entire time, and I loved it. And honestly, Jon's death is hit me much harder than the Red Wedding.

9/10. Highest rating I've given any of the episodes from this season so far. It was near perfect for me, and I'd rate it 9.5 in the poll if I could. Absolutely solid episode. Hopefully the final two episodes can at least match this episode in terms of quality.

A second viewing was more enjoyable. I skipped the parts in Dorne. I think that helped.

I liked the episode. Last week's episode was a lot of setup, and I was prepared for this episode to be another setup episode. I gave this week's episode 8/10.

The only thing I didn't like was how Dany burning the leaders of the Great Families played out. Dany going from executing those men at the beginning of the episode to admitting fault at the end of the episode after a quick chat with Missandei felt rushed. There was such a clear connection between Dany's actions, and the actions of her father, and the scene could have been so much more powerful, in particular if Barristan Selmy hadn't died in the last episode.

The way I would have done it, Dany would have made the order to have the leaders of the Great Families gathered in the dungeons, but Selmy would be there asking Dany to reconsider. Dany would ignore Selmy and have the men burned. In a later scene, Selmy would deliver that speech about her father Aerys that was in the second episode where he talked about the kinds of things Aerys did to maintain a sense of control. I would have Selmy killed off after this somehow. Then, Dany could still have her scene with Missandei where she tells Dany that she's seen her heed the advice of her counsellors, as well as ignore it. All of this wouldn't even necessarily have happened in the same episode. It just would have happened more or less in this order.

I feel like rearranging things in such a way could have made Dany burning the leaders alive, Selmy's death, and Dany's admission of fault that much more powerful, and could have helped define where her character's going this season a little better. But that's just me...