Peter Howie

I enjoyed the plot of this episode and I was distracted by plot holes like last week. I also love Gemma Whelan's portrayal of Yara (Asha) Greyjoy and so was thrilled to see her return. I'll be a book snob though about one thing: Varys. Varys in the books is badass and I think the show reflected this in the first season. Now he's been reduced to Tyrion's sidekick. Varys' is a major player in the Game of Thrones, Tyrion is not. The comedy duo is cringeworthy to watch.

I think the show has generally been good at portraying violence or dangerous situations in believable ways; thus, it's disappointing that many of the scenes required me to suspend disbelief: 1. The Bolton dogs were not particularly vicious once they came face to face with Sansa and then they disappeared during the fight between Brienne/Pod and the Bolton men. 2. I assumed when Theon and Sansa entered the river there would be serious risk of hypothermia coming. Instead they reappear a scene later completely dry. 3. The blows Arya took to the head were so over the top. Those types of blows would cause her skull to fracture.