Fez

Really not a very good episode. I think they made a mistake spreading asos out so much. The last two episodes have been slow as molassas.

I'm so tired of Theon scenes.

Seem like we just get one of our first spoilers for books 6/7 with Mel's line to Arya that they'll meet again, right? Presumably at some point after Tywin's dead and Cersei is running the show, she'll appoint him to the KG; possibly as a "take that" to the Tyrells after the Tyrells propose marrying Margery to Tommen.

A few good scenes, but no excellent ones (although if Jamie/Brienne/Bolton had gone on longer it might've been), and a lot of dullness or misfires (thought the climbing scenes were cheesy as hell, and contained some not very good CGI). Giving it 6. ETA: That said, I still don't mind any of the story changes. I just want the changes, and the fidelity to the book, to be better written. Which this episode wasn't.

8, I guess? It had a lot of really good scenes, but they felt rather disjointed; moreso than usual. Two larger complaints would be that 1) I didn't think the Jon-Ygritte cave scene was "earned." Having the scene was fine, but the whole bit about 'staying there forever' just felt wildly out of place since, unlike the books, there wasn't already a developed relationship. I'd have cut those couple lines and kept the rest, which was otherwise a fine scene. 2) I thought the final few scenes, starting with Loras sparring, were really rushed. I almost got whiplash, how fast things were jumping around. But otherwise it was a really good episode. I give particularly props to the Jamie monologue in the bath.

A 9 for me, not quite as good as last week's 10. Overall it was really amazing episode, with some great dialogue and moments. Also, Beric was goddamn awesome. But there were two issues that stopped it from being a perfect 10. 1) Jack Gleeson is so good that I legitimately can't stand watching extended Joffrey scenes. I know that's a credit to him and the writing, but if I so can't stand a scene that I'll mute it until it's over so I don't have to listen to him, that's an issue. I know that's my issue, but this is my rating. Even with this, the episode would probably still be a 10, but... 2) I never much liked the Dracarys scene. I thought it was silly in the books and I thought it was silly here. It never made sense that the slavers would be so stupid, I don't care how "blinded by greed" they are supposed to be. So, the music was epic and the visuals were cool, but I just didn't like the scene. I was hoping the writers would find some sort of change to the transaction so that the end effect was the same, but that the process would make more sense. They didn't, so the episode ended on a silly note, so its a 9.

So good. So goddamn good. 10/10. And so funny, I was laughing almost the entire time it seemed. The thing is though, the first two episodes weren't nearly as good. If GoT can be this good, why isn't it always at least nearly this good? This episode is proof that's its possible to balance all the different plotlines without seeming jumpy or giving anyone a shortshrift. The Jon story maybe, but, much as I loved that one in the books, that one isn't nearly as interesting in the show; and hasn't been through the entire series. But yeah, I heart this episode this episode so much. Even if I was drinking brandy (yeah, and?) throughout.

Also the Meereenese Knot joke. D&D showing their trollface I see. :rofl:

Maybe its because I was drinking a bit (read: a lot) that made me like this one so much more than the first two episodes, but I don't think so. This was well-paced, well-written, not too jumpy but still covered most (or possibly all) of the ongoing plots, and really funny. I was almost dying at the start of the small council meeting. 10/10 Also the song at the end, that was amazing. Just the juxatipostion between Jamie's scream and how upbeat and happy-sounding it was. I was literally, literally rolling on the floor laughing.

Can't imagine how long it took to make that.

I wondered that too. Apparently, the answer would be 4 million euros (and two years' work).

I think commercial/short film by Cartier is just amazing. Too bad I can't afford their stuff.

Really not sure how I feel about this episode. There were parts that I really liked (Arya, all the Kings Landing stuff, Theon's scenes, Brienne and Jamie, Dany post-HotU) but at the same time I had some serious problems as well. First was the absolute lack of explanation for too much stuff. Jon and Halfhand's fight wasn't properly set up and there was absolutely no explanation for the burning of Winterfell. Sure we know Ramsay did it, but in terms of show-only its just confusing. And then there's Robb's marriage. I don't think it was properly set up either and considering the aging up from the books I don't think the suddenness makes much sense; at least not without better explanation. Also, why was it in front of the seven? Second was the HotU. I've always said I'm fine with changes, and I'd be fine with changes here, I just don't much care for the changes they made. It was cool seeing Drogo again (and completely surprised me, so that was neat), but I wanted more stuff. Just seeing a ruined throne room and then the wall before happy family time wasn't interesting enough and moved too slowly. Again, I don't need Dany to see all the David Lynch-ian visions from the book, but I wanted something a bit more substantive. Third was the White Walkers/Others. The wights look great, like the cast of the Walking Dead invaded the set, but the WW/Others themselves just look goofy (although their swords and undead horses do look good). Considering how great the rest of the CGI has been (seriously those Dragons are amazing), I'm rather disappointed; particularly since this was the final image of the season. Now all that being said, there was certainly plenty to enjoy about the episode as well. And I really liked how much it jumped around this week and how overwhelming it sort of was. It acted as reminder to people: yes, we really do have this much plot going on right now; dare you to keep up. That was fun. Also the face changing and Tywin's horse shitting were really well done. ETA: oh and this week further confirmed that I'm an even bigger fan of show Stannis than book Stannis. Stephen Dillane is so great, I can't wait until his end-of-ASOS and onward plot begins.

Well god damn if that wasn't something. That's a 10/10 (but... this one goes to 11!). So, so much to love even without all the added suspense that I'm sure non-readers must've felt about how things might turn out. I loved or at least really liked just about every episode of the series thus far (with maybe 2 misfires) so I don't want to say this one blew them out of the water, but in a way it really, really did. It elevated the show to a whole other place through some combination of GRRM's script, Marshall's directing, the extra budget, and the catharsis of 18 and a 1/2 episodes worth of tension being broken in 25 brutal, wonderful minutes. I think my favorite scene though is one that I'm not seeing mentioned much, it was just the short tracking shots before and after Bronn/Tyrion (itself a great bit) and before Tyrion and Sansa started talking (also great): just seeing men rushing through a throne room completely empty except for those massive braziers to head towards the walls. For some reason it was then (despite already knowing the battle was going to be shown) that it just hit me that, holy fuck, this is actually going to go down and it is going to be awesome. Also, enough good stuff can't ever be said about Stannis. I wasn't really a fan of BookStannis until ADWD but since I did end up a fan I was more readily on his side earlier this season. These past two episodes though, it doesn't matter what preconceptions I had about him, I am forever and always on ShowStannis' side. Oh and the Blackwater on fire has (at least temporarily) replaced Discworld being carried through the cosmos by the Great A'Tuin as my desktop background.

Yeah I saw that. I thought there was going to be another tag with "until the final episode" but nope, they just left it like that. Maybe the promo folks are so excited about the Blackwater they forgot there's another episode after that? Anyway as for this episode, its a mixed bag. I liked almost all the individual parts but I thought the episode as a whole was just a little underwhelming; possibly due to a noticeable lack of Tyrion until near the end. I like the Jon/Ygritte interaction but I'm just not sure how they are going to have that story go in a place that makes sense. On the other hand I'm totally on board with the Qarth changes. Pyat Pree is nuts and since none of it really matters in the end I really like having a storyline that I have no idea where its going. Tywin/Arya was fun, although I'm ready for her storyline to start to move forward again. Theon's still such a shit; also I think they made it very clear that those bodies aren't really Bran and Rickon. I'm so glad Jaime is back in the story again too; and he knocked his scenes outta the park. I agree though that it would've made more sense for his scene with Cat to wait until she heard about Bran and Rickon.

Not going to get in to the debate over the artistic license of the producers, I think I've been very clear in the past how I stand on that issue. (Although I do reserve the right to get righteously upset if all of a sudden one of the dragons gets killed or Littlefinger is the third name or whatever) I do want to say though that I've thought things over and if I could vote again I think I'd give it an 8 instead of a 7; maybe even a 9. I think I was initially just shocked at how quick things were moving compared to previous episodes and that change made me think of the episode as disjointed, when in reality everything that happened had been set-up rather nicely. As always, its hard for me tell just how well things are flowing together since I, like everyone whose read the books as many (or far more) times than I have, can connect all the dots no matter what.

Oh I agree. And even the things that seem like that might lead to big changes aren't really. Littlefinger at Harrenhal is annoying (seriously, is his secret weapon having a car?) but even if he recognized Arya it's not like she's going to end up back at King's Landing. Dany losing her dragons was a shocker, but it makes sense, and you know she's going to get them all back. The major notes are all still being hit, and I don't see any evidence that future ones won't be. Changes for their own sake can be annoying but the only one I really noticed was the Jeyne Westerling stand-in and its clear that storyline is heading to the same place. Changes that improve on something in the novel, like Arya being forced to "waste" her second death, are great. Changes that reveal something important about a character, like the Tywin/Arya interactions, are always welcome in a story. Changes that can add drama without sacrificing the story or common sense, like someone trying to steal the dragons, should be welcomed. GRRM has frequently said that his authoring-style is akin to gardening, where he doesn't always know what the paths the journey will take when he starts out, but that he does know where it will all end up. Dan and David are growing their garden a bit differently, maybe more hydroponically (disclaimer: I don't have a good grasp of gardening terminology), but they will still have the same tomatoes in the end. Ripe, delicious, and bloody, tomatoes.

Wasn't actually the biggest fan of this one; definitely not nearly as good as last week's. Scenes felt like they were just happening because they "were supposed to" and not properly connected to the series as a whole. I didn't mind the changes from the book though (series =/= books, etc., etc.) and I was happy to get confirmation that Ramsay Snow still exists. I think part of my problem with this episode was there was too much Theon and whiny Dany (seriously girl, you've shown a lot of maturity in the past; can you not act like a spoiled pre-teen please?) and not enough Tyrion or Arya. Gave it 7. I might've given it a 6, but my opinion of the episodes almost always improves on a re-watch and so I'm hedging my bets.

Not really. All she does is show up from time to time to tell Dany that "to go West you must go East". The problem is that Dany has shown no inclination to go East, GRRM has said that we won't see Asshai (which is to the East), and there are only two books left and Dany really needs to start heading towards Westeros.

I obviously defer to you on the matter and its been quite a while since I've read acok; but I honestly don't remember him ever saying 'I' or 'you'. Shame that. He goes from a 10 on the badass scale to a 9.9. If you're gonna have a cool verbal tic that makes you completely distinct; you gotta stick with it.

Not perfect, but nothing ever is. It's easily a 9 though. My only complaint is that Renly's death was a little underwhelming and that Loras didn't seem nearly broken up enough about it. Also sad at the lack of Varys. Otherwise it was spot on and one of the best of the series. I particularly enjoyed that the writers finally just focused on plot and didn't feel the need to throw in random T&A to "spice it up".

Not saying there's a causation between there being no pointless sex scenes or added scenes that dragged on forever and this being my favorite episode of the season thus far; but there's definitely a correlation. Even though Jagen's occasional use of pronouns was disappointing, overall he was great. Arya was also great as always; loved her short monologue on her brother. Bronn getting lots of lines was a welcome move as well. Qarth still seems more like a cheesy '80s thing, but I'm starting to dig it. Iceland truly looks beautiful; I gotta visit sometime.

Not as good as last week, but overall I liked the episode quite a bit; it's a 7. The biggest problem was the Joffrey/prostitutes scene; it went on for far too long. Particularly since the whole episode was only 50 minutes long. I also wasn't the biggest fan of the Dany/13 scene. Not due to the lack of dragons but because it felt and looked like something straight out of a '80s fantasy film. And Littlefinger continues to act stupidly around people with the power to order his execution; just doesn't jive with me. On the other hand, the Harrenhall scenes were fantastic in an incredibly disturbing 1984 type way; the Renly/Stannis scene was really good and looked beautiful at that location (although I missed the peach); the Shadowbaby was suitably creepy; and Tyrion was suitably awesome as always. The rest of the episode was solid. ETA: And I'm big fan of the Harrenhall entry in the credits; no moving parts, just blackened lumps.

Great episode, I liked it a lot more than last week. I was kinda hoping this would be the episode Dany met with the envoys from Qarth, but there really wouldn't have been enough screen time for that. I'm really liking the Greyjoys; far more than I ever liked Theon's chapters (pre-adwd) which I always considered a drag.

Was one of the weakest episodes in the series thus far, imo. Not because of the changes, I don't care about that really, its just that it felt disjointed and dragged on too much in the middle. Also, and I say this for the first time ever, there was far too much sex. I was fine with Stannis/Mel scene (although, correct me if I'm wrong, this is a change from the books, yes? I thought it was never clear if Stannis had an affair or was seduced while asleep) but the Theon/Captain's daughter scene dragged on even worse than it did on the page and the brothel scene was completely unnecessary. I would much rather have preferred either another Arya scene, or some checking in with a character not in the episode; maybe show Joffrey being randomly cruel and stupid. There were some definite great scenes of course; Tyrion/Slynt, Tyrion/Cersei, Davos/Saan, Theon/Balon, and Arya/Gendry were all really good, but they were surrounded by a lot that left a lot to be desired.