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Can't argue with any of that. Jon's "strategy" at the Battle of the Bastards wasn't exactly worthy of Sun Tzu, either. Pretty sure it was just "full frontal assault." Even his enemies thought he might do something clever,using his knowledge of Winterfell, having grown up there (as I recall, either an Umber or a Karstark implied something like that), but...nope. Just "full frontal assault," even though he was BADLY outnumbered, and his opponent was in a fortified castle. If Ramsay hadn't been so stupid as to go out and meet them in the open field, I really don't see how Jon could have won, even with the Vale men who arrived.

Pretty shocked Tyene and Yara got crossed off. I thought Yara would go the distance, and Tyene would end up with Bronn. Guess not. Loved the Hot Pie and Arya scene, but I thought the reunion was a little too casual, almost like they just hadn't seen each other for a few hours, rather than a few years. But hey, overall I loved it. My only Issues are very minor.

An interesting thought, but I don't think they were in the middle of an ocean. I thought Yara & Co. were just going down the coast of the Narrow Sea., and Euron & Co. were coming up the same coast, and that s where they happened to meet. I will agree it seems implausible that they got THAT CLOSE to each other before anybody realized they were there, though.

No offense taken. My rating takes into account how much I "enjoyed" it. Well, long anticipation can make a person "enjoy" something more. It's a highly personal, highly subjective thing. That doesn't mean if something is garbage I'm going to love it just cuz I waited a REALLY long time, though. So no, I would not extrapolate to the extreme hypothetical you asked me about. Having said that, I waited 16 years between Return of the Jedi and Phantom Menace, and I've gotta say, I was pretty ready for Phantom Menace when it was released Hmm. I think a lot of people would agree with me that anticipation can enhance an experience. In fact, some people purposely take things slowly in order to savor them. I don't lean heavily in that direction, but there IS some of that in me. A lot of people really enjoy a big build-up, I think.

I considered giving it an 8, but the fact that it was the season premiere, after we had waited so long, pushed it up to a 9. (Not surprising it wasn't a 10, though. As a season premiere, we can't expect much in terms of big events or major developments)

Good ideas, but it's only about a mile. I have a feeling Bran and Meera would be at Castle Black "wheelbarrow style" before they could even build a sled. Warging a horse or elk would be awesome, if one happened to be close by. Im not sure what Bran's 'warging range" is, though. I also considered Meera just leaving Bran there and running the mile to Castle Black to get help and bring it back, but if I were Bran or Meera I would not be in favor of splitting up that way, especially with Summer no longer around (If Summer was there to guard Bran, then I think clearly the best choice would be Meera running the mile to Castle Black) Of course, all of this assumes that they ARE IN FACT at the tree about 1 mile north of Castle Black, which I strongly assume to be true, but I don't think was confirmed..

I was assuming they were at the weirwood tree which is about 1 mile north of Castle Black (established distance in Season One, when Jon and Sam went there to take their vows). Still a ways to travel, I know, but I think rather than Meera dragging Bran it would be more efficient for her to hold up his legs while he "walks" on his hands like in a "wheelbarrow race," especially over rough terrains and the like. I would certainly love a scene next season showing them approaching Castle Black like that. HAR!!

I gave it a 10. Tons of awesome stuff. Biggest surprise (by far): Margaery dying. Most electric character: Lyanna Mormont. HARRR!!!!!

9.5. Almost perfect, but it lost tenths of a point b/c of (a) Sansa's withholding of critical information, (b) Jon's plot armor (and I'm convinced that's all it was, I don't believe he has some special fighting powers now, the show runner said after the episode it was luck), and (c) lack of realism in Rickon's final scene. (Nevertheless, these things only add up to half a point in my mind, overall it was a "top three all time episode")