Ferrum Aeternum

This was a solid but unspectacular episode; a good way to end the season, though it was missing the punch of a really big event or two. Still, what was done was generally done well, so I gave it an 8/10. Liked: - Both Arya & Hound scenes were fantastic. Arya being our witness to RobbWind made an awful bit that much worse; the look on her face was heartbreaking. Her revenge on the Frey men was a good way to show her first real kill, and in no way is meant to be a substitute for killing Polliver later (remember, she still has to get Needle back). - Bran & Co. at the Nightfort was excellent; best Bran material in a very long time, and provided some nice momentum for his story headed into next season. - Roose & Walder was darkly amusing; glad to hear the Blackfish escaped, though I wish we could've seen some of his heroics on screen. - Best Ramsay/Theon scene thus far. - Asha (Yara) got a cheer for standing up to Balon. Sure it's a departure from the books, but I liked it. Of note - Gemma Whelan has finally grown on me in that role. Only took her a season-long hiatus to get it right, I suppose. - Davos was great in every scene. His scenes with Shireen and Gendry were heartwarming and funny. He also salvaged the scenes with Stannis & Mel that could've been superb if they'd stuck closer to the source material. - I enjoyed all the King's Landing material with one exception (see below) Didn't like/indifferent: - What was up with Sansa giggling and joshing around with Tyrion? I guess the point was to show that she was warming up to him a little before the hammer dropped on her via the RW news, but...it felt jarring to me. Weird scene. - Did Ygritte really have to shoot Jon three times? The whole scene felt a bit unnecessary but Jon getting feathered like that stretched the bounds of credulity for me. - Stannis continuing to defer to Melisandre over Davos at every turn is frustrating. This seemed the perfect opportunity to get Davos some real equity in that dynamic. - Dany's Mhysa scene was ok, I guess. I get the "white saviour" angle people are bringing up, but it's likely all that happened was they did a call for extras in Morocco and those are the folks they got. Don't see how this is the producers' fault. As to the scene itself, it played out pretty much how I pictured it would. The music definitely added some oomph although the crowdsurfing got a bit silly after the first moment or so.

Riveting, powerful television. The RW scenes were incredibly tense and dramatic, with a payoff just as horrifying as what I'd imagined, despite any changes. The rest of the episode was outstanding as well; it's fairly incredible how much they managed to pack into an hour! A few minor nitpicks here and there but nothing to get hung up about - 10/10.

Fantastic episode, miles ahead of the last two weeks. 10/10.

IMO it hasn't been the lack of action and epic moments that's bogged down the last two episodes, but rather the interpersonal stuff that has been presented just hasn't been very interesting compared to what we're used to seeing. Contrast with Episode 5, which only had one true WOW moment (the Hound & Beric) yet was riveting all the way through - even the "slow" stuff - due to superior writing, direction and performances in those scenes.

Ha, so much this. I forgot to address Ygritte in my comments, but good grief has she ever gotten boring. At this point in their relationship, you'd think she'd be past mocking every fucking word out of Jon's mouth.

I gave it a 7/10; at best a mixed bag and in retrospect about on par with last week. Despite a few standout scenes, the remainder of the episode seemed filled with overlong, somewhat awkward bits that did little to convey any forward momentum in most of the storylines. Liked: The bear and the maiden fair - One of the most memorable scenes from the book was translated in a believable and visceral fashion here. Gwen Christie continues to nail her portrayal of Brienne perfectly, and damn if Jaime's heroic moment didn't bring a single teardrop to this cynical eye. Locke (who's turned out to be a great villain and admirable stand-in for Vargo Hoat) was great as usual, although a part of me hoped that somehow he would end up in the pit himself by the end. And of course, Bart the Bear did an awesome job too. :) Daenerys and the slaver - Great work on all fronts. The slaver had some fun reaction faces, but in all honesty he had more guts than I would've being in that close proximity to the dragons! I also liked these bits because it's important to show Daenerys having a motivation to hang around in Essos, i.e. liberating all the slaves she can. This will help in future seasons when folks wonder why the fuck she hasn't already sailed west. Gendry and Mel - Maybe it was a little weird for them to be sailing out of King's Landing (though not really, who in KL knows either one of them?) but it provided some beautiful shots and was a nicely played scene to set things up for later. No complaints at all. Tywin & Joff - The symbolism of Joff demanding a meeting with his powerful grandfather while sitting the Iron Throne couldn't be lost on anyone. Even so, Tywin dominated the room simply with his presence, and Joff, who rarely backs down, did exactly that. More setup, but well done. Jaime/Roose - My regards. Also liked Jaime's banter in his scene with Qyburn and Steelshanks. Tyrion/Bronn - Typically excellent work from these two. Tyrion/Shae - Not a particularly exciting scene but a necessary one. Good stuff. Didn't like: There weren't any particular scenes where I disagreed with the subject matter (not even the Theon scene). Rather, a general complaint. Many of the scenes just felt bloated and far, far too long. - The Talisa/Robb sequence I had no problem with, until it dragged on for what, 5 minutes? What could have been a cute and fun scene with a nice reveal (Talisa's pregnancy) dragged on until it became a chore with only butt-shots for redemption. - Did we really need a 3-minute story about wights from Osha? I think everyone gets the drift about those guys by now. At least now we have the definitive reason why she's so paranoid about heading north, and thus why she doesn't trust the Reeds. I still can't quite figure out how they're going to split she and Rickon off from the others. - The aforementioned Theon scene would have worked fine for me had the setup with the whores been handled more quickly. I actually got so bored during this scene that I checked the time on my phone, which I never do while watching this show. Again, no problem with the subject matter (I believe the next time we see Theon, he'll be full-blown Reek, and it's important to know how he got there else the transformation wouldn't make sense). General comments: I still think the series is giving Edmure extreme short shrift; he barely had any lines in this episode. By the time the RW gets here, non book readers may be wondering what the big deal is. Next week's preview looks brilliant. Hopefully after two weeks of decidedly slow-burning setup, things finally start to roll downhill.

This was my least favorite episode of the season, but wasn't awful by any means. 8/10 and still better in my opinion than episodes 7 and 8 of last season. Liked: - The entire Wall climbing sequence, start to finish. Some very convincing tension on the way up, and those end shots were magnificent. - Varys/LF round (???). These scenes never fail to deliver and this one might have been my favorite yet. - Tywin/Olenna. A fun exchange between two power players. - Theon/Ramsay. Not for the squeamish (obviously) but Iwan Rheon is nailing this psychotic character dead-on. And the revelation that he was in all probability "that fucking horn-blower" from S2e10 shouldn't surprise anyone! - Three words for Roose Bolton: cold fucking blooded. McElhatton doesn't need leeches and all that crap to come off creepy as book Roose - he's got it down pat with expressions and voice inflection. - Freys, Robb & Tullys. Lame Lothar sighting! Edmure and the Blackfish were great. This season has needed more of them and I hope they're more prominent in the next few episodes. - Handling Sansa's discovery of the wedding plans offscreen was a smart move, IMO. The LF voiceover was great (poor Ros though, just as I was starting to warm up to her...). Didn't like: - Pacing in this episode was all over the place, in contrast to the past three where it was near-perfect. Several scenes felt either rushed or too long. - Nothing particularly wrong with the Sam/Gilly scene or the Bran/Reeds scene, but starting the episode off with these two quiet (and let's face it, somewhat forgettable) scenes was a mistake in terms of hooking the viewer. - BWB handing over Gendry was sloppy in execution. I had assumed Thoros and/or Beric would talk him into going with Mel rather than allowing him to be taken by force. As it was, they come across as little more than greedy thugs. I did like Arya's confrontation with Mel, especially Mel's slightly freaked out reaction.

Superb episode. Not my favorite, but I couldn't find any flaws so I gave it a 10. - Hound vs. Beric was absolutely epic. Best fight scene in the show thus far by a mile. - Crazy Selyse scene was great. Loved seeing Stannis express remorse for his infidelity with Mel, Selyse's deluded encouragement of it and Stan's incredulous reaction & general awkwardness around her. Very well done and the best Stannis scene since he and Davos on the ship in 2.08. - Shireen's Patchface song was a nice nod to bookreaders. Loved the scene with her and Davos in the dungeon too. - Jaime/Brienne was powerful and again wonderfully executed. - Speaking of executed, the entire Karstark subplot resolution was deftly handled, although I thought it might have fit better as the end scene. - Tywin/Tyrion/Cersei was just fucking brilliant. This show is humming on all cylinders right now.

Same. It is my favorite scene in all the books and they nailed it. Everything else tonight was great too. Favorite part aside from the final scene was the look of mad twisted joy on Iwan Rheon's face when he pulls the bait-and-switch on Theon. That look told me he'll be perfect for his role. Oh, and I gave it a 10/10. Duh. :P

10/10. Superb television with plenty of laughs to go along with some genuine tense moments. Maybe D&D need to direct more episodes? Random thoughts: The "Meereenese Knot" reference by Tyrion was an awesome nod to book readers! Actually even though that scene was this week's typical silly GoT naked chicks extravaganza, even it was well done thanks to Tyrion's "sales pitch" to Pod. If I were writing the episode, Stan & Mel's conversation would have gone differently, although Mel's deadpan reaction to Stan's goofy "I want you" line was comedy gold. Gold, Jerry! At least now the viewing audience knows that shadowbabies aren't an unlimited-use deus ex machina. I have to say I'm enjoying not knowing what the hell is going on with Theon's arc (apart from the identity of "Boy"). Quite interested to see where this is going. The chase scene was fantastic (and I'm sure cost a fortune in stunt men and horses). The Blackfish is as ideal a casting as could possibly be done - bravo Clive Russell, and of course Nina Gold. Astapor scenes were again hilarious and riveting. Dany's arc is my favorite thus far this season. LOL'd hard at the small council meeting. Some great comic timing! :lol: Even with my skin crawling at knowing what was coming next, I fist-pumped at Jaime saving Brienne with the Sapphire story. And while I like Locke well enough as a Hoat replacement, I did miss "Thapphireth??" I think this episode may have set the record for intelligent, non-sex related backstory exposition. Loved Barry & Jorah talking Rhaegar, especially the inclusion of Jorah's fan favorite line. So yeah, this was great. And judging by next week's preview it looks like we're due for no less than three explosive, epic scenes in that episode! Should be killer!

Very strong episode. Loved the Reeds, Thoros, and especially the QoT. Diana Rigg is perfect for the role as far as I'm concerned. Theon's scenes were disturbing as they should have been - and "boy" looks like he'll be fantastic in his...future role. :devil: Forgive me for not understanding all the consternation about the infamous character assassinating Cat scene. Basically all she said was that she momentarily felt bad for wishing Jon dead and in her guilt thought she might be able to accept him among her own, and then when he got better, she went right back to business as usual. Hardly a ruination of either book or show Cat. . I didn't miss it, and I doubt Godric did either. The simple fact of the situation was that she wished ill on Jon and then he caught the pox. A devoted believer in the supernatural (as Cat is) might believe her prayers had been answered, so to speak, and feel intense guilt in retrospect. So she made the sevencatcher as a "motherly" gesture in a moment of doubt, then came to her senses once Jon recovered. As to her statement at the end to Talisa about this all being her fault, Azad's explanation above captures my opinion pretty well:

Good stuff, some ups & downs but overall a solid opener that I'd put about on par with last season's. 8/10.

Not yet.

This poll need to go to eleven. That was pure epic joy to behold!!

8/10, solid but unspectacular. In fact this is the first episode I can remember in the series without any "big" moments to speak of, and some key elements were obviously left out or put off until later. But what was done, was done very well. As others have pointed out, this is generally a slow part of the book so a slower episode could be expected. - I've finally warmed all the way up to Robb/Talisa, even acknowledging the possibility that she is who she says she is. The two have developed great chemistry and the love scene was the, erm, hottest in the series thus far by a wide margin. Their dialogue leading up to the lovemaking was excellent as well. This is a deviation from the books I can live with. - Asha/Theon was brilliantly played, and adds yet more layers of depth to Theon's story. - I'm fine with Catelyn's reasoning for releasing Jaime vs. what happened in the book. All her children in danger/captivity + Jaime's life threatened = use her only bargaining chip while she could. To me it made just as much sense as the book version. - Brienne and Jaime's interaction was entertaining and captured the spirit of their early banter in ASOS (although I was waiting for him to drop "wench" on her at least once!). - All the stuff north of the Wall was great, a contrast (IMO) to last week's overlong, aimless time wasting. Rattleshirt rocked it. Qorin and Jon's interactions, however brief, were spot on with the spirit of the book. It appears we'll get our pivotal scene after all. Though I must be the umpteenth to ask - where is Ghost? I'm hoping he'll at least show up to help Jon in the duel with Qorin. Sam and Grenn finding the dragonglass cache was cool as hell - loved the stone with the cryptic First Men writing. - Arya's story was...ok. I can live with no weasel soup. I CANNOT live with no iron coin, face changing or valar morghulis. Hopefully Jaqen will catch up with them down the road and we'll get that scene. And yes, it's too bad Arya didn't get her first kill with the guardsman. They're obviously taking a more subtle approach with her descent into cold blooded assassin mode. Maybe their approach works better for TV. - The KL stuff was fun, Tyrion/Bronn especially. Tyrion/Cersei/Ros was excellent, and Tyrion/Shae was touching and very believable. Dinklage is a brilliant actor. - Not sure why the Dany/Jorah scene was even included; as brief as it was it just felt like filler. I guess I was more disappointed that HotU didn't happen in this episode. Hopefully that means the scene will be epic and will need a lot of screen time. Fingers crossed. - The final reveal was very anticlimactic; I would have much preferred we not find out until episode 10 that Bran and Rickon were still alive. The scene itself felt a bit clumsy too, not a big fan of Luwin just moseying down into the crypts to talk to Osha - it makes the notion they could all hide down there less believable. Blackwater looks epic and I cannot wait.

I've rewatched a couple of times and this remains my major beef with the episode. The ending scene, which had the potential to shock the unread viewer completely numb, lacks punch because it's obvious that the two burned kids aren't Bran and Rickon. Leaving that one line of dialogue out would have made a world of difference.

Yep. He and presumably the other warlocks derive power from the dragons, which is why he wants to keep them and Dany at the HotU "forever." A number of clues point to this - in particular, Quaithe's cryptic conversation with Jorah in episode 4 has a great deal more resonance now, i.e. "dragons are fire made flesh, and fire is power."

Re-watching and wanted to add one thing - Emilia Clarke was outstanding in this episode, especially in the scene with Jorah.

8/10 again. Not perfect (in particular I thought the final reveal of "Bran and Rickon" was handled a bit clumsily, considering its importance) but a lot of nice touches throughout and the best exposition this season. Quick impressions: - Apart from the end, Theon's story was again handled in top notch fashion. I'll admit despite my disdain for Theon's character that I was quite amused by his kicking the shit out of Black Lorren. LOL'd at the preceding dialogue - "the giant musta took em" "giant? you mean Hodor??" :D - Loved all the stuff at Robb's camp, including "Talisa's" reaction when Robb wants to take her to the Crag!! Methinks a certain Lady Westerling hasn't quite been forthcoming with King Robb. :D The Jaime/Alton scene was fantastic because it succeeded in drawing me into the notion that it was just a long expository scene, then WHAM! Well played, D&D. - Satisfied to this point with the Qarth story - the truth of my prediction (shared by several other boarders) that XXD was behind the dragon theft, at least in part, was no great surprise. The wanton murder of the Thirteen definitely was!! I'm eager to see how this gets resolved. - The Sandor/Sansa scene was ok, albeit rushed. - Tywin Lannister is not a moron! At least not a complete one. He knows Arya is highborn and I suspect (given 'milord/my Lord') has known all along. Since apparently Ty will be leaving Harrenhal next week, that little plotline is about to come to an end - again, excited to see what happens. BTW - speaking of Harrenhal, that establishing shot leading into Ty's window was fantastic. A+++ to the CGI folks! - Quaithe!!! Fun little scene. Although I'm ready to see her speak with Dany directly. - Another fun little scene was Bran/Rickon/Hodor/Osha. - Jon & Ygritte was fine, but a little long and drawn out. Could have done with one fewer scene of them wandering around in the snow. Now we can be reasonably certain that Jon/Qorin won't go the same as in the books. Again not too happy about that but we'll see what happens. This episode definitely had that "setup" feel to it, which is fine so long as the payoff works. Is it next Sunday yet?

While I don't agree with your opinions on the show, I admire and applaud the fact that you're sensible enough to stop wasting 50 minutes of your week watching a TV program that doesn't appeal to you, rather than using it as a platform to continually piss and moan to others about the impurity of the product.

I waffled between a 7 and an 8, gave it an 8 because I felt the strengths of the episode in the end won over the weaknesses. Theon taking Winterfell was incredible. Probably the most intense scene yet in the series and the best opening scene by a wide margin. I was absolutely gutted by Rodrik's execution sequence - the performances and direction were just as visceral and disturbing as such a scene warrants. Mind blowing. The entire KL riot sequence was fantastic and very much brought to life one of the most memorable scenes from ACOK. Tyrion/Joff and San/San were both awesome beyond words. Also, hats off to Lena Headey's ice queen turn with Tyrion at the docks...understated and powerful. I was climbing the walls during the LF/Tywin/Arya scene. Tywin said something about the Tyrells but I didn't hear a word of it. Cheap thrills maybe, but thrilling nonetheless. Great television. I'm certain LF knows who Arya is since he managed to get a pretty good look at her when she spilled the wine. Plus, of course, she spoke. Wouldn't surprise me that LF would keep this information to himself, knowing full well the value of exclusive information. The 2nd Arya/Tywin scene was pretty good as well, although I find it difficult to believe Arya wouldn't have thought her cover story ahead any further than she apparently did, and furthermore that Tywin continues to buy her obvious lies and misdirections (or at least not react to them). Jon and Ygritte's stuff was good, not great. I'm not wild (pardon the pun) about the story deviation from the book, i.e. Jon not letting Ygritte go. I do think Rose Leslie will make a good Ygritte, though. She certainly seems to understand the spirit of the character. THRILLED that Roose is sending Ramsay to retake Winterfell. If this means we get Ramsay next season and beyond then it's outstanding news. Dany's conclusion scene - well,the story deviation here sets up a very real and distinct conflict for her to resolve in Qarth, which would have been more difficult to pull off if the source material had been followed to the letter. But, something about it feels sloppy. I have to admit that just last week, during the scene with Dany and her handmaidens I wondered about the security of the dragons, but didn't think the showrunners would actually go there at this point in the story. Feels like they're rushing things. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now, but hopefully they'll have a creative solution for resolving this. Also, incidentally, I thought Emilia Clarke chewed the scenery a bit too hard in the scene with the Spice King. Dany is a melodramatic character by design, but she pushed it a little too hard for my liking in that scene. The Arya/Lorch scene was another one that seemed unnecessarily rushed and silly. Pretty much an awful way for Jaqen to chalk up kill #2 (incidentally, Jaqen is almost completely wasted in this episode, which is also a shame). Arya snatching the message was beyond stupid and reckless and seemed like a contrivance to get the scene going. In the end, one genuinely bad scene wasn't enough to ruin the episode for me. Oh and - although it'd be obvious to label Talisa as a spy (Robb even mentions it, tongue-in-cheek), it would still surprise me if she isn't.

I thought it was simply because the bird depicted on the show is a raven. To that point, you know good and well if they'd said "crow" on the show someone would be bitching about the bird actually being a raven, and not a real crow. :bang:

OK. I've seen this Quaithe-as-figment theory posted here before so I assumed that perhaps she hadn't interacted in the books with anyone but Dany. Yes, at the docks just as they're about to leave the city (I think? I know it's right toward the end of the book). So yeah, that was an item from the book both Qarth-y and interesting. Looking forward to how they handle that on the show.

I'll echo this sentiment. And yes, it may very well be due to the fact that I found the Qarth storyline to be boring and utterly forgettable in the books, House of the Undying notwithstanding. The bit with Pyatt Pree was entertaining as hell (Dany and Jorah's reaction faces were priceless) and served to underscore the general weird creepiness of the Warlocks very effectively. Quaithe's look was different than I was expecting, but she came across as a complete mystery, which again goes along with the book. And by her addressing Jorah, we now know (as far as the show is concerned) that she isn't a figment of Dany's imagination, which is a relief as that would have been cheesy in the extreme.

10/10. My favorite episode of the series thus far.