Emanresu

10. Even with the teleporting. Superbly done. Hope this guy directs at least two of the season-of-seven next time around - I know it's not logistically feasible but I wish he could direct all of them. These last two episodes, along with The Door, were the standouts this season, and the two he directed last season (7 and 8) were the standouts last season. The score was outstanding and brilliantly used. The only weak acting performance was Baelish - this was well written (within the confines of teleportation) and even Dorne didn't entirely suck, probably because it was very short and mostly Diana Rigg. The cold look on Arya's face was terrifying. I thought she was going to taste Frey's blood for a minute, she pushed her finger into his throat wound.

We're invested in Wun Wun. Never saw much of Rickon. Fairly sure we all felt the death of the former much more than the latter.

10 for me. This and the Door standouts this season, the last couple of episodes - 8 in particular which was poor - throw this into sharp relief. Was it perfect? No. We'd all predicted how it would play out and Vale armies was a bit Helms Deepish and plotwise that jarred a little. But the battle was brilliantly done - I can't think of another depiction of a battle of that era which felt so real. Why, though, didn't Sansa tell Jon about the Vale armies - could have saved hundreds and hundreds of their side's men. I did get a little grit in my eye when the Stark banner was unfurled again at Winterfell. Sure that was just me. Mereen was swiftly dealt with - Tyrion had a good episode for once (it's the writing, not the acting which is always great from Dinklage, and the writing this time was up to it). Tyrion vs Dany was good and the Dany/Tyrion/Theon/Yara scene was really good. They set up R+L=J for ep 10 as well (Jon will find something in the crypt to show his parentage in parallel to Bran revisiting ToJ - a letter, a harp, a scroll, his own future resting place with his parentage on it, whatever). So he finds out at the same time we do. Or at least that's what I reckon. Plus Davos will want a wee chat with Mel, and I wonder if Littlefinger will be feeling as smug at the end of ep 10 as he is at the start of it. Throw in Arya vs Walder Frey and Cersei's Bonfire Of The Sanities and we might have us an episode...

6 for me, and that's generous. Most of the episodes this far I've been a high marker compared to others but this disappointed in several ways. Arya. No tinfoil - fine - but then what the flippety flop was she doing in the last episode, if that really was her? How stupid do you have to be to draw attention to yourself and then just chill - unarmed - enjoying the view from the bridge? Knowing that the Worlds' Deadliest Assassins(tm) were after you? And that wound would have killed her - no way that knife didn't pierce an intestine and it was twisted. She would have died of septic shock even if she hadn't jumped into a canal full of human waste and Seven knows what else. A cuddle, a bandage and a light opioid (which is what Milk of the Poppy seems to be) would not have changed that, and with the abs pierced like that no way could she do that parkour. Her end scene with Jaqen was strong and nicely done, but the rest was ridiculous - out of character and poorly written (and I'm not usually one who thinks that of GoT - like I said, I tend to give higher marks than most on here). I did like that Lady Crane had changed her lines per Arya's suggestion but that was nowhere near enough to save a very poorly written arc. Bring on the book. Cleganebowl DENIED. Get Lowpe. A bit meh but good to have the Hound back so hopefully better is round the corner. Mereen - really? Really? Riverrun - like last week this was a highlight for me and it's a shame it's over. Jaime and Brienne's scene was beautifully put together, well acted and well shot. The only thing I didn't get was Blackfish choosing certain death over helping his niece. Did like the Jaime-Brienne Wave Of Poignancy at the end of it. Kings Landing. Cersei's November The Fifth (apologies to non-UK readers for the UK reference) has already been heavily foreshadowed - I think they took it too far in this episode as it's pretty much certain now how it's going to go down. They could have left a little doubt and not made it blindingly obvious. The actor who plays Tommen did a great job portraying his weakness and Headey was superb as always - she gets a lot of nuance just in her face and the way she holds herself. Cleganebowl RE-DENIED. Get Lowper. "I choose violence" was a brilliant line well set up, but what followed was, well, I really should try to find a synonym for meh so as not to repeat myself so much. Maybe my expectations were too high but really this was a disappointing episode for me. The stupidity of Arya - quite out of character, she was very resourceful previously, fooling Tywin among other things, tricking Jaqen to get out of Harrenhal, taking out Meryn Trant - and the unreality of her survival really set a bad tone from the start. Whole episode next week is Winterfell, obvs, leaving The Burning Of Kings Landing, ToJ redux and Ominous Things Oop North for Ep 10. I think the wall isn't coming down this season (it's coming down fo'shizzle, but probably not yet) but would quite like to be wrong on that.

Funny - I rather liked that (Snow's ineffectiveness at diplomacy). He's been brilliant with what he knows but he can't play this game so well. It'd be dull if he was good at everything. Always interesting to see others' takes. I think there'll be plenty of Arya next week ("No-one").

Wow, but that was short. Loved Lady Mormont, Arya buying her passage, the fact that not all houses are falling behind Jonsa (so she's written to Littlefinger, natch, like we knew she was always going to). Blackfish still has it. Hints of Jaime mojo returning? Good to get some Bronnage, and Diana Rigg turned it up to 11 with Cersei which was satisfying - "you're not going to kill them all", though, when we all know what Cersei is (probably) thinking of doing... And Sandor Didn't love Yara/Theon so much for some reason. What was the significance of the flower picture Margaery gave Olenna? And how does a highly trained assassin not kill her completely surprised mark - why stab her in the gut rather than open an artery, for example? We were never going to get the Broken Man speech. Ian McShane was good though. Not sure if that was supposed to be the Brotherhood? They've changed if so... 7 for me, solid and moved the plot on and some high points as above. Lost points for shortness, the Waif's incompetence, and shortness again. Last three episodes are all long ones but last week and this were both a scene (or in this case two) light, which is disappointing.

Some more developed thoughts (my first reaction was posted at 0315 my time here in the UK and I was a little tired). After last week we were always going to get a step-back, take-a-beat, exposition episode. I enjoyed it just as much though and it set so much up for the rest of the season. Bran's visions were too fast to see much but you can find stills from it at http://imgur.com/gallery/5WMdv/new (you have to click once more to load all the others up). I'm taking this as Bloodraven's "final upload" to Bran. There's a bunch of stuff we've seen before: Bran being pushed, Red Wedding, Hardhome and so on. Take this as Bran being caught up on what's happened back at the ranch while he's been gallivanting up north. But there's also a bunch of stuff we haven't: - several wildfire shots. Recall that the Mad King wanted to use this to burn King's Landing and Jaime killed him to stop him (we see Jaime doing this in some of the flashback frames). My personal theory is that this feeds forward into something we will see this season, Cersei losing her battle against the Faith and using that wildfire to burn Kings Landing herself. The books foreshadow this (lots of comparison of her green eyes to the green of wildfire, her character to wildfire and so on). Everyone thinks we'll get the big battle in Ep 9 and then the Wall coming down in Ep 10. Me, I'm not so sure. I think the Wall may not come down till next season, and Cersei will burn Kings Landing this season. Either Tommen or Jaime will try to stop her and will kill her, fulfilling the prophecy (more likely Jaime). The other sequence is Young Ned and then his bloody hand over what looks like an amateur C-section wound and what is clearly a woman's hand. I take this as being him cutting Lyanna open to deliver Jon and making some promise to her (that he would tell Jon his true parentage - which he never did - or something else that's influenced him heavily throughout). I think we will see this in longhand (as it were) ep 10. Well, that' s a lot of words for the first ten seconds or so of the episode, isn't it. I'd best speed up a little. They've merged Coldhands and Benjen for the show (GRRM has said Benjen is not Coldhands in the book, and Coldhands is scared of fire but ColdBen clearly isn't). His backstory (CoTF using dragonglass to "save" him) is probably what Coldhands' backstory will be something like in the books, though. Thought that bit was brilliantly conceived and acted. I found myself wanting Bran to show Meera some affection, but also wondering if "becoming" the new Three Eyed Crow moves him a little past being wholly human. Then the Tarlys. A bit overlong? Maybe but established a lot of backstory. Sam's Dad almost undid everything that the Wall had done to Sam, but then New Sam came back, took the girl, the baby and the sword. Yay New Sam. Gilly standing up for Sam was also great. Dickon was less of a, well, Dick(on), that I'd expected - maybe they figured that one massive weapon in the family (I mean Sam's Dad, not the sword) was enough. Arya not killing Lady Crane was very predictable but I liked the way they did it - beautifully acted by all concerned and Lady Crane finished the job of Arya deciding that she's Arya, and not no-one. At this point it looks like that means the Faceless Men will try to kill her. However I wonder if Jaqen doesn't really mind which one dies - the Waif is clearly not no-one either as she holds a personal grudge against Arya, and no-one wouldn't do that. It might be that the Waif's death will pay for the missed kill and Arya will just be banished rather than on a permanent kill list. If not, though, Arya will likely die next season (I think she's got more to do before that happens) at the hands of the Faceless Men. Which will make me Very Sad Indeed. Margaery is so faking it (as my kids would put it), and probably abandoning Loras in return for her own freedom. By doing so and convincing Tommen (who isn't capable of faking it - he's a True Believer(tm)), she has also established her own power base in King's Landing, entirely independent of both Lannisters and her own house. The High Sparrow is the consummate politician - but so is she. I'd have preferred Lancel to tell Jamie that he slept with Cersei and have Jaime storm off to the Riverlands (in the books, Jaime is cold to Cersei at this point), but oh well. I liked the Frey scene. He's going to get his, no question. And next episode we get Blackfish and (almost certainly) further Houndly Goodness, so that's something to look forward to. Is it just me, or did no-one actually die this episode? Wights are already dead, they don't count... Oh and Dany channelling her dead husband was a bit of nostalgia - Drogon done grew some, didnee - she used the same words as Drogo did in Vaes Dothrak in Season One, more or less, and now has them totally on board with getting on these thousand ships she doesn't have. If only someone was coming over the sea with a thousand ships. In the books I suspect she marries the relevant Greyjoy then gets rid of him/he dies somehow. Can't imagine her getting on with Euron though...Yara? I can also see Cersei burning Kings Landing and then Dany landing there to find it all burned down. Remember her vision in the House of the Undying - the iron throne in a burned out, roofless room and flakes of snow falling through...gawd, maybe she burns it ep 8, Battle of the B'stards ep 9, Dany landing ep 10 plus Tower of Joy. The more I think about I the more I don't see how they have time to fit everything in and the wall come down this season. I could be wrong about much of the above and that, though, so we'll see.

For sure M is faking...Tommen probably isn't though and she's probably abandoning Loras too...

8 After last week this was always going to be a take-a-beat, develop-some-plot. Tarly bit felt a tad overlong. Kings Landing stuff was well done. Dany scene was cool. The best stuff was north of the Wall - seems like they've merged Benjen and Coldhands (GRRM has said they Coldhands is not Benjen in the books, and Benjen is apparently not scared of fire on the show). Walder Frey is still Walder Frey and Arya was never going to stay no-one - I just hope once she kills the Waif the FM don't come after her some more, because if they do it's not going to end well for her. Bring on the Gravedigger :-)

If 10 is practically unobtainable as a score, then the maximum feasible score is actually 9. But then - was this REALLY a 9, could it not have been improved at all, hmmm, better make the maximum actually obtainable an 8...no, hang on...and so by infinite descent (well, nine steps of descent anyway) you can't logically give any score... Less flippantly, this argument - is the maximum ever attainable - is not new, nor is it constrained to episode ratings (think figure-skating/gymnastics scores, where for a time it was practically impossible to attain the maximum score). My own view is that to the extent ratings make any sense (and objectively they don't - as this thread and its compatriots from other episodes prove, the same episode will attract wildly different ratings - my own view is that this was a 10 but that view is no more or less valid than someone who, say, thought it was a 3 or a 4), the top score has to be realistically obtainable. In my view this episode hit that mark even though there were things (like the Littlefinger Teleporter) I didn't like so much. Your view may differ. That's fine. The world would be dull indeed if we all agreed on everything. I gave it a 10 because even with a few niggles I thought it was one of the very best episodes Game of Thrones has had (and obviously I'm into Game of Thrones or I wouldn't be watching its sixth season). If you don't think that it was then give it a lower score. Neither one of us is more or less right than the other - scores are by their nature subjective. I enjoy reading views which differ from my own - sometimes I will change my mind based on what I read, though I don't think anyone can write anything which will change the fact I enjoyed that episode as much as any episode of Game of Thrones. Something I find interesting is the idea of rating GoT and some other great series - say, The Wire (to my mind the best television yet created) side by side. Could I conceive of a scale to rate episodes on in that context? Honestly, I'd struggle, because they are such wildly different animals - it would be like saying is the best of this cat breed better or not as good as the best of this dog breed. It's still all opinions, though, nothing more, nothing less.

Having slept (ended at 0305 my time here in the UK) some more developed thoughts than my early post. Still think it's a 10. Yes, even despite the Littlefinger Teleporter(tm) which seemingly enables him to travel unlikely distances in impossible times. The Wall stuff has been consistently strong this season and that continued. Sansa is growing into her role and future as Queen and is taking the lead more and more. I do enjoy the Brimund/Torienne thing. Loved the fact that Sansa made Jon his cloak - some of the old Sansa still lives in this new, reforged Sansa. Dolorous Edd fantastic as always - though you have to wonder if Jon will ever see any of those left behind alive again, as the Wall is surely coming down, either at the end of this season or (more likely) in Season 7. Sansa said all the things to Littlefinger we've been thinking - though I think ultimately she will need the Vale's armies. Lord Commander Edd :-) Arya's plot advanced nicely too - there seems to be genuine resentment by the Waif of her and we've seen a big fight between those two in trailers/set photos which hasn't happened yet. From the episode blurbs (ep 6 "Arya faces a difficult choice", ep 7 "Arya makes a plan") I'm tending to think she will decide not to kill the actress and ultimately leave the House of Black and White, with Needle but on her own terms, this season. Whether that marks her for future engifting by the Faceless Men as a punishment I don't know. Loved her reactions to the play - clearly she is not no-one. Kingsmoot - we kind of knew what was going to happen (or we did if we'd all read the books). Nicely done, though, and Yara and Theon will now try to get to Dany first. Mereen - loved the way Varys was blindsided and visibly shaken by the red priestess. Made me wonder what will happen as different sects of that religion clearly believe they have found different Messiahs. In real life, that usually doesn't end brilliantly, for anyone concerned. Loved the Dany-Jorah scene. Two good actors and they had something a little more to do than has so often been the case (yes you're a complex three dimensional character with shades of light and dark, insanity and insecurity - but just for now you're a single-minded X-machine, whatever X is at the time). Well written and beautifully acted by them both. White Walker origins - didn't come as a surprise that the CoTF created them to fight against men. The last(?) of the CoTF sacrificed themselves to save Bran so clearly that relationship didn't work out in the long term. Hodor. This plot point was straight from GRRM (and it showed). Brilliantly executed - that last scene was one of the most powerful the show has done. The score, as so often this season, really added to the scene - just superb. I have no more words for it but I will rewatch it over...and over... Loved Max von Sydow's delivery of "No" when Bran asks "but am I ready?". In fact I loved his delivery of every line he had. Musings: - now Bran has "the mark", will The Others now not actually try to kill him, but herd him south of the wall so that they can break that magic and get through the wall? In the books there's another option (Horn of Joramun) but that's never been referenced in the show. - Bran's abilities are still obviously raw, and his mentor died before they became mature (cf All The Other Stories Like This, e.g. Luke Skywalker - is Benjen Stark going to be Yoda? Can't really see that...) - Very sad that Summer died. They've not given Arya warging in the show but I hope she reunites with Nymeria somehow, though it's not clear how she'd be able to control Nymeria's Pack (if she has one in the show). Wonder if all the wolves will die in the end. Some obvious metaphors with the names (Ghost, Summer, Lady, Shaggydog all obvious; Grey Wind maybe less so; Nymeria least obvious of all at this point) What I'm not quite clear on (well actually quite a bit, but in particular) is the limit/extent and nature of Bran's power. He seems to be a mechanism where different places/times can bleed into each other - Bloodraven knew he had to take him back so that Hodor could bleed into Wylis, and vice versa, as the last thing necessary to keep him alive for the next little bit. But it all feels very raw and uncontrolled. Will he influence something that happens at the Tower of Joy? Probably not - but you don't just drop an ability like that into the plot for no reason, and I can't wait to see what that reason is. Well, OK, that's going to be a season 7 thing isn't it...

10. Outstanding. Even with the Littlefinger Teleporter(tm). What an ending. Loved Sansa making Jon a cloak(!), the Arya bit was fantastically done showing how she is torn, Brimund (Torienne?), Edd, but that last segment. Just wow.

8/9 for me. Last 8/9 I gave 9 so this one got an 8. A strong season so far and this is a strong episode. Liked: Jon and Sansa. Just perfectly done. Sansa in kickass mode. More please. Seems very likely if anyone ends up on the Iron Throne it will be her and from that first step when she took Brienne's oath she's moving it up a notch. The long overdue return of a vestige of Tyrion's mojo Cersei and the Queen of Thorns Asha/Yara and Theon The fact that Dany saved Dany, not the Super Daario Brothers Davos/Mel vs Brienne - though I wanted someone to tell Davos about Shireen. Yay! Pink Letter! No Dorne No pussy jokes! No cock jokes! No fart jokes! Not so much: Jon's reluctance to recognise the truth in what Edd says about the real war being against the Others - and there isn't really a choice to join it or not, they know it's definitely coming after Hardhome, and the only choice is how well or badly to get ready for that. Littlefinger - something about that scene didn't work for me, can't put my finger on it. Control of Sweetrobin is nicely established but something about the rest didn't really ring true for me. Royce has more to him than that. Dany ex machina - the first time she survived fire I could buy it was because of the blood magic. This time not so much. Even though her clothes got burnt her hair somehow remained intact. Not a fault, just a shame that Osha got killed off so fast - Nat Tena was brilliant in that role and it would have been good to see some more developed scheming first (she was always for the chop though).

8.5 for me. Likes: Arya - the test of drinking that potion and the look on her face when she said "no-one" at the end. She was more honest with herself about The Hound - it felt like a layer of something had been stripped back, and it felt like at least at this point she truly had become no-one. Something will pull Arya back out of no-one later on but at this stage I thought it was very well done. Great acting from Maisie Williams. Surely she will take Needle when she goes back to Westeros but that's not a very "no-one" thing to do, so maybe I've got something wrong there. Constant hints about Cleganebowl - calling Ser Robert Strong "Ser Gregor" more than once, reference to trial by combat, reference to the Hound. Wall - great performance from Kit Harrington, thought Owen Teale's delivery of Thorne's speech was spot on, quite certain the lingering on Olly was a shout-out to the fandom. Loved the uncertainty about who Jon is any more, loved the look on his face at the very end, loved the bits with Tormund and Edd. Umber guy - loads of ambiguity and again a lot of good acting in that scene. Is it really Shaggydog? I'd like to think the look Osha gave Rickon means no (yay, GNC). But only 7 more eps this season and 13 more afterwards - is there time to add GNC to all the other stuff that's happening? Hope they give Osha more to do, Nat Tena is brilliant in that role. High Sparrow - very subtle performance again from Pryce. He used the threat of violence against Jaime, he's now using a softer technique against Tommen. Man's a consummate player and a brilliant politician and Pryce carries all of that off so well. ToJ - they were always going to split it over more than one episode and I think Bran will rebel against Bloodraven a bit and go back when he's not supposed to. Loved the way Ned heard Bran, foreshadowing that Bran will somehow effect things we are yet to see. Really hope Bran is not the reason Hodor has an aphasia. Also suspect that when he goes off and the Night's King sees him, he's off-piste at that point (and maybe attracts them to Bloodraven's cave, resulting in that being burnt and him, Meera and Hodor just making it out - Bloodraven will know this is going to happen if it is, but I'm speculating instead of reviewing so I'll stop now). Any ways up we will see more in the next episode or two (next episode is one of the long ones so expect Stuff To Go Down). Dislikes: That dragon scene apart, Tyrion has really disappointed so far this season. Hopefully that picks up a bit. How much wine did he want to play a drinking game with? The level was very low to start then seemed to go up and down a bit. Dany. Yyyyyaaaaaawwwwwn. Clarke can act so it's not that, but not captivated by this stuff so far this season. After the epic events of last episode this was always going to be a catch your breath kind of affair, but it was none the worse for that and I can't wait already for the next one. I don't think Sansa will miss Jon; I think ultimately they will have to deal with Ramsay who will have Rickon up his sleeve. I'm going to get a rubber bracelet with WWLD - What Would Littlefinger Do - ready for ep 4 :-)

I really loved it but ended up only giving it seven. Not sure why - it was late (0300 local time) and maybe I was feeling grumpy after the jarring prelude to the (excellent) resurrection scene. It was short (not quite as short as the last one) but didn't feel short - they packed a lot in there. I didn't get Davos going to Melissandre at all. What gave him that notion? Why didn't he ask about Shireen or Stannis? The resurrection scene was nicely done - van Houten did a great job again, lots of nuance and vulnerability, and waiting until it was just Jon and Ghost before the eyes opened was well done. But the set-up jarred for me, so minus a point there. No sign of Jon warging into Ghost. I loved WunWun - though I'd rather hoped to see Ghost vs Oly. We will have to wait and see what kind of Jon has come back - how he will have changed, what happens to Thorne et al. I thought Arya would have to learn to fight a bit better before going back in to the HoBaW. Presumably she'll stay blind in there for a bit. No sign of her warging cats. I liked Disaffected Meera, and the signpost that Bran isn't now stuck there for the rest of his days like Bloodraven was. Ramsay killing Roose, fat Walda and the Rooselet was always going to happen. Something didn't quite ring true though when Walda was pleading in the kennels - that scene didn't quite work for me. I loved Tyrion and the dragons (great band name, right there). However for the second episode out of two, Tyrion's dialogue - apart from the killer line "I drink and I know things - it's what I do" - was not up to the usual standards. Two lame and unnecessary cock jokes in two episodes? The dialogue in general in this season so far doesn't feel as tightly crafted as we've been used to in earlier seasons (pace Dorne - let's all just try to forget about Dorne). Hopefully that improves a bit as we go on. So minus a point for that. What was the point of the Frankenmountain scene, other than to establish what we'd already kind of realised, that he's badass and can kill The Unbefrankened quite easily? Jamie and the High Sparrow was excellent. I found Tommen a bit annoying but Heady rescued that scene with (again) some great acting. Loved Euron. Great actor, great character, bodes well for the rest of the season - Yara and him facing off and the whole Kingsmoot thing. I hope they take some time as there's plenty they could put in to that to make it really interesting, nuanced and strong. I liked Damphair and hope we see more of him. Wasn't quite convinced by Theon leaving when he did but Exposition Calls. He's needed to be Yara's shill, I guess - the extent to which he's up for being anyone's shill right now is not clear to me, but we'll find out. Why didn't Brienne name the Hound? Sansa would have known instantly who it was, of course. So I'd regrade up to an 8 on reflection. The previews for Ep 3 looked awesome - another late night but it's all worth it

I gave it an 8. Partly, probably, because I'm just glad it's back :-) Not a 10 because, well, Dorne and the Bad Pussy Revolution. Let's avenge Oberyn by killing off the rest of his family? And what a waste of a fantastic actor (Doran/Siddig) and a nuanced plot in the books. I'm assuming there was a second ship or something to get them there so fast. I'm also assuming that because they made such a horrible job of it last season they just decided to kill that thread off and be done with it. The stuff at the Wall was excellent (and no I don't think there was a continuity error with Mel, we saw the glass bottles albeit out of focus, she didn't take her potion but she did before she took the bath in that other episode). Van Houten, Teale and Cunningham were all superb. Loved Brienne's oath enough to see past the tiny chasing party Ramsay sent after the one single most strategically important "asset" he has, namely Sansa. I guess it was just one group and other groups were looking elsewhere or something. Very much looking forward to Sansa's arc this season. Also enjoyed the Roose/Ramsay scene. Arya - as expected and we kind of know how her season will pan out already, or at least the first half of it. Ditto Dany (loved the Monty Python bit - the second time they've referenced Python within Dany's storyline). Kings Landing - I can accept what we got, as scene-set for what is to come, though I wanted to see a little more. Headey did a fantastic job. And actually that was most of the episode - setting the scene for the rest of the series and wanting to see a little more than we got in each place (except Dorne). I hope the other episodes are longer - it felt very short. I'm pleased it's back and I'm enjoying waiting for the next episode.

The first 10 of the season for me. Fantastic episode. Bring on Episode 9. If only the seasons were 20 episodes long!

It was a montage. Note the parallel though between her washing long hair and Sansa's bath - same actions on the hair, same kind of dripping into the same kind of bucket.

@The Grandmaster (for some reason the quote functionality isn't working for me) - great catch - will have to watch again to check. Nice one.

She tried to slip lies into the narrative but Jaqen picked them all up. She thought she meant it about the Hound though - she doesn't realise how fond of him she became. But Jaqen does. I liked that bit.

Grudging 7. Arya scenes were awesome. WF stuff was well done and I liked the parallel with washing Sansa's hair and Arya washing the dead peoples' hair, water running off the same way into the bucket. Final scene was horrific but Theon played it perfectly and we all know Sansa is in part taking Jeyne Poole's place so it wasn't unexpected. Still very hard to watch though. So high score for HoB+W and WF. Middle score for the KL scenes. Cersei isn't falling apart as much as the book Cersei, which is fine except that's necessary for what follows, at least in the books. I hope they make some kind of sense out of it. Tommen really is useless and you'd expect a belusted 16yo to at least cry out or make some kind of protest or something. Dorne is just horrible. The Sand Snakes are beyond parody, that fight scene was abysmal, the making out scenes were unnecessary - nothing to like about the way Dorne is being portrayed at all. Tyion and Jorah - loving it so far, and we know from the season previews that so it ties together in that sense. So a 7 over all but a 0 for Dorne. Eps 3 and 5 remain strong favourites for me this season so far.

This and ep 3 have been the strongest for me this season. Loved the pacing - fewer, longer segments really works. The Sansa/Theon stuff was just superbly acted - Sophie Turner is showing a real depth to her talent this series. She has great things ahead of her (not least the remaining series of GoT!). Loved the Awkward Dinner and the dynamics between Roose and Ramsway. I still can't decide of Generic Old Northern Man and Generic Old Northern Woman are really Starkers or really Bolton Placepeople. Either way the candle in the tower is clearly going to happen and has the potential to be an amazing piece of work. I don't know what the Awful Scene will be, one imagines Ramsay finding out that Myranda showed Theon to Sansa and punishing her, but maybe it's a Fat Walda thing? I also love the tensions around Stannis - we're being led to love him, a little. Will he take Winterfell only for Brienne to kill him? How does Mel end up back at the Wall (we all know she does). They haven't given the same hints on Mel's ruby as GRRM does in the books so when - as will surely happen - her true nature as a centuries-old Whatever is revealed it might jar for show-only peeps. Jon looks like he will personally be at Hardhome. Where's that going? I suspect the "killing" of Jon will be in ep 10 to leave a cliffhanger for s6 (is he alive or not - well, obviously, yes, but how and in what form and, well, you know). Lots of R+L=J hints, I presume because it's so clearly true (but it might just be D+D f**king with us). I loved the fewer, more extended segments and hope they keep this up. I really missed Arya but not so much KL - I don't feel as invested there yet. Maybe LF's return next episode will change that. The thing I miss is the stuff around the possible-Hound on the island, I wish they'd found a mechanism to keep that in the show. Give me that over JonCon/fAegon any time. Jorah and Tyrion are fab together, and obvious Jorah was going to get greyscale (and that that will be the plague that hits Mereen). D+D may be better at Mereeneese knots than GRRM, even (off to wash my mouth out with soap and water now). I'm not sure I buy Missandei=Harpy, but I don't understand the stuff with her and Grey Worm. Why include it? I mourn Barristan but his show character is different from his book character and I guess some of his stuff in the next book will go to Jorah in the show.

I gave it a 9. This and ep 3 are runaway favourites this season. For some reason I just couldn't engage last week. Loved the fewer, longer segments and loved Tyrion/Jorah. The Wall stuff remains awesome. 9 not 10 because of the suddenness of Dany's decisions - no motivation or insight, Emilia Clarke does well but those scenes needed more work to be credible, for me. Love the change of power between her and hubby-to-be but I wanted insight into her thoughts and feelings and the script didn't allow EC to show that.

Definite 9. Some brilliant acting from Natalie Dormer and Maisie Williams in particular. And I too liked the nod from Stannis. I still don't really get what's happening in Winterfell, but I guess it will become clearer...

I'm buying the idea Brienne might kill Stannis more now. I'm still confused about what's happening in Winterfell.