John (Snow) Doe

8 A lot of great stuff; definitely instilled in me a sense of "and the story goes on." I thought the Pycelle scene was pretty unnecessary - would've preferred more closure for the 'main' characters we've grown attached to. I thought the ending for Jon was actually more powerful than Dany's because of the great allusion to the very first shot of the series. As for Dany's ending - I was genuinely impressed with the dragons, but I think the blackout and switch from night to day lost a lot of momentum. The scene would've been more powerful had they followed (my memory of?) the book and shown the dragons flying out of the fire into the night sky. Awesome seeing a teaser of Jaqen - it felt like a nice tilt to loyal readers who're eagerly awaiting his TV premiere (non-viewers obviously have no idea what to expect). Very powerful performances from Tywin and Jaime - having heard gossip about mixing seasons and events from different books, I was concerned Cat was going to release Jaime in their final scene...very thankful that didn't happen. Did anybody else pick up on anything from other seasons?

5 fucking cock block.

8 Very enjoyable - whole episode went down pretty much as I expected. Only reason I can't give a 9-10 is for lack of innovation/surprise.

9 A welcome balance of dialogue and action; and within the dialogue, both exposition and plot advancement. I'm really enjoying how the Winterfell scenes focus more on Theon - I find him generally more interesting than Robb and I think they've cast him perfectly The Dany storylines are gaining some welcome momentum thanks to clever directing - they no longer feel like a needless sideplot. Mad props on using the title of the episode to allude to both Ned's revelation of Robert's "heirs" and Viserys' ultimate fate. Best episode yet, IMO.

8 Overall, I'd say the best episode yet - the action scenes were a welcome departure from the usual mold, and I applaud the decision to focus almost entirely on King's Landing and avoid The Wall or the Targaryen plot line. With so much going on, less was more. In hindsight, I guess my criticism of the fight scenes (all 3!!!) is that they seemed too short - would've loved to see more of Bronn in action. I also felt the 2 Stark guards that got speared went down too easily, and Jory getting a knife through the eye felt too fabricated and staged. And Tyrion was supposed to have taken an ax to the mountain men! You know from later in AGoT and ACoK that he's actually quite formidable in h2h combat. The fight choreography and cinematography seemed a bit off to me, too. Mad props on showing Gregor killing his horse - it's all too easy to opt not to show that, but it adds so much flavor! I was a big fan of the Loras/Renly scene. Coupled with the Winterfell scenes focusing on Theon, we've gotten some nice set-up/foreshadowing for Season 2 (as if there was ever any question of its being produced!). The Robert/Cersei scene was fantastic - an excellent departure from the book with vivid character development. Lena Heady has said in interviews that her interpretation of Cersei is that she once had sincere affection and hopes for her and Robert; this made the climax of that scene much more dramatic for me - Cersei asked Robert if she could ever have filled the void left by Lyanna, and he said no. He then proceeded to ask how that made her feel, and she took a sip of wine and replied with indifference - in that one shot of her sipping the wine and replying, we saw Cersei confirm in her head her decision to kill Robert. I loved it. Is anybody else disappointed that they've outed Jorah Mormont as a spy 2 seasons early?

ps - if somebody would please direct me of how to use the "spoiler protection", I'd be much obliged. Or is that option only available to moderators?

I don't think voice-overs would suit the TV series - the books aren't written in a first-person perspective, and so much of their richness depends on subtle observation (as Syrio would say, using your eyes) than on explicit acknowledgment. I've been as much a critic as anyone on this forum re: lack of action and overabundance of dialogue. Frankly, I'm reminded of how slow the books were to grow on me; I wasn't a dedicated page-turner until about page 300 of AGoT. But I trusted GRRM and I'm glad I did, so I'll trust D&D. Looking ahead, it's perfectly possible that the show is about to change gears completely and go to all action, little dialogue. From the preview of Ep 5 alone, it's clear we're in for (i) Cat & Co v. Mountain Tribes (ii) Ned & Bodyguard v. Jaime & Lannisters, and (iii) Sandor v. Gregor. I'd prefer they strive for balance, but I'm yearning to see swords clash.

My intent wasn't to be insulting, and I apologize for doing so. By "inflated", what I mean, I suppose, is that being fans of the books, we're inclined to love this series and view it with starry eyes, no matter what. I know I am. Personally, I love ASoIaF and generally think GRRM and D&D can do no wrong; but I think it would be ultimately detrimental to the series for us to indulge ourselves while not considering the wider audience, from which the show draws its subsistence. When Season 2 was greenlit, I breathed a huge sigh of relief and basically thought to myself "I can enjoy this show and not worry about what the non-readers and non-fantasy fans think; they don't matter anymore." In press releases leading up to the show, GRRM and the producers continuously voiced concerns over attracting viewership outside of the readership. Bearing that in mind, I've tried to (i) enjoy each episode for my own sake while watching it, and (ii) later evaluate it from a more objective view. In giving my honest opinion of each episode, I'm trying to separate myself from my biases that I hold as a fan.

Point taken Tywin's bastard. I'm not saying things have to be done with a flashback - I was just suggesting it as a way of conveying information without another dialogue scene, which IMO, this show has too many of. The power of the screen is visualization, which I don't see them emphasizing enough.

Ran, I call it like I see it; as a reader and a viewer, I'm entitled to an opinion. Fans need to be critical because our feedback is obviously being noted (D&D are members of this forum) and therefore holds the potential to make the show better. I am as big a fan of the books and the show as anybody, but my honest perception is that the general audience and critics alike are overly-enamored with the novelty of this show, causing them to discount some serious flaws (similar to how "The Walking Dead" was received). Just because the show is good doesn't mean it can't be better. Anybody who watches the show is welcome to disagree with me. However, no number of critics or viewers disagreeing with me will change my mind - the only thing that will do that is a better show.

I want to begin this by saying that I'm really enjoying the show and I'm extremely relieved it's been renewed for a second season. As a fan of the books, it's clear to me that the production staff has a lot of respect for the books and GRRM's vision. However, I think that reverence is actually becoming a detriment to the show. The writers and production staff need to use the advantages inherent in the TV medium - advantages which are not available in literature - to make the story richer and more dramatic. Instead, they are sticking so closely to the book that they are falling into the trap of telling us what happens/happened instead of showing us. As a case in point, one scene I found excruciatingly boring was Jaime and Ned's meeting in the throne room towards the beginning of Ep 3. What was the point of this scene? It was another extended dialogue scene in which history/background was laid out. Staging it between Ned and Jaime only served to establish enmity between them, but that had already been done. How much cooler would it have been for Ned to walk into the room, and then a panoramic shot of the room fades to the same room 20 years ago, showing the Starks roasting and Aerys laughing manically? It would have given us the same information in a more interesting way, using the advantages of a screen medium. Overwhelming the audience with exposition via dialogue makes for a generally boring show and alienates a lot of viewers. It threatens the longevity of the show. Looking at the ratings, in which the lowest episode ranking (when adjusted for outliers) is close to an 8, it's pretty clear to me there's some inflation. Look at how many people, in their reviews each week, write "best episode ever". I'm enjoying this show, I think it's great - but it's not as great as it could be, for obvious reasons. Most of my friends who're watching the show as non-readers are confused and disillusioned. As fans, I think we should be most critical of the show; by handing out high praise in light of the show's shortcomings, I feel we're undermining its potential.

7 This episode was very refreshing after last week's travesty: there was legitimate plot advancement, exposition was laid out by means other than shameless 2-way dialogue, and there were some good action scenes. I still think this show is dangerously lacking in "wow" factors that will sustain a non-reader audience. The writers should be smarter about departures from the book - instead of having another exposition scene such as the one with Viserys in the tub, why not have a Dothraki raid on an anonymous village, or a flashback to a battle in Balon Greyjoy's rebellion? There are better ways to give information and advance the story, ways which could also offer broader appeal. I agree with moonjump05 that Littlefinger telling the Hound's story was painful - why do we have to learn about everybody and everything this way? It felt just like last week's terrible scene in which Jaime recounted the executions of Rickard and Bran Stark. On that note, Sophie Turner actually earned some points in my book this week - I've been skeptical on her acting thus far, but I think she finally showed some promise. Overall, I'm losing faith in this show - it's employing the same formula each week, and there isn't much creativity or risk taking in the writing and directing. I think a lot of people on this forum should take the view of a non-reader and essentially ask: is this a good show apart from its foundation in great literature? There is a lot of ratings inflation going on.

Those of my friends who are also fans of the series agree with me: an efficiently laid-out opening, offering as much information as possible, but lacking in "wow" moments that both define the series and hold power to attract non-readers. I was very happy they stayed loyal to the books, but I think this actually became a detriment since the opening is slowly paced and doesn't draw you in right away. I was honestly reminded of how lukewarm I was on the series when I started reading - of course I eventually became a page-turning devotee, but that didn't occur probably until page ~250. The cold-opening was extremely well done and powerful, but apart from that, I don't see what in this episode (beyond the sheer novelty of the series) would attract a non-reader audience. A pilot should be a series wrapped into 1 episode; that is, it should offer a taste of what's in store. I don't think that was done here, and I'm concerned.

8 This was a powerful episode. It had some real action-packed, exciting moments (eg - Bran's direwolf scene) that were missing last week. A lot of critics are commenting on how powerful the ending - Ned's killing Lady - was. I'm glad that this scene struck a chord with non-readers, because I think it sets the tone for the series and offers a taste of what's to come. Since it resonated well, so should the rest of the series, if properly executed. My personal favorite scene was the Jon-Cat interchange in Bran's room; I found the music really powerful and the entire experience very exemplifying of the grit and bleakness that define this series. I'm really pleased/relieved that they're sticking close to the source material.

4 This episode was an actionless onslaught of two-person extended dialogue scenes. Although a lot of important plot points were advanced, and characters introduced, there wasn't a lot of creativity with the directing, or anything to keep you engaged beyond the topic at hand. I respect that they're trying to stay close to the book, but a smart director/producer would have the characters actually doing something whilst conversing. The highlight was the Syrio scene; it was a great scene because he and Arya were doing something besides talking to one another. This episode gives a lot of ammunition to critics who pan that the show is just an unfolding of superfluous exposition. After how awesome last week's episode was, I can say I was honestly disappointed with this episode, and felt as close to "bored" as I have been thus far.