Ferrum Aeternum

8/10. Overall a very good episode with a few odd/disappointing turns for me. There were some great scenes, and certainly more positives than negatives, but not quite as good as last week's. The two Tyrion scenes were his best yet this season as far as I'm concerned. Enjoyed the entire Qarth sequence (the Spice King was a pleasant surprise - I wasn't expecting much but was quite entertained by his delivery and mannerisms). I think the Xaro/Dany dynamic will be more interesting on the show than the book's version, which I found to be one of the more predictable and boring parts of ACOK. The parley was extremely well-done despite one glaring omission (more later). And the Shadowbaby scene was riveting and phenomenally well-executed.

That said, while I don't mind the Talisa storyline per se (and certainly agree with the function that it serves), the initial interaction with her and Robb felt unconvincing to me. The situation felt contrived and the dialogue and some of the delivery seemed forced - something I'm not used to seeing on this show. Also the Joff/whores scene, while well executed and certainly effective in its message, was unnecessary and took time away from other, potentially more relevant uses of screen time. Yes, we know Joff is dangerously sadistic - we just saw as much in the directly previous scene when he threatened Sansa with a loaded crossbow and had her beaten. There's a fine line between unsubtle and overkill and having a concept so obvious bludgeoned into the audience's head insults its intelligence. Also wasn't wild about the Cat/Littlefinger scene, although the presentation of Ned's bones helped redeem its shortcomings a bit. I do wish they'd shown the actual bones though - I talked to two non-readers last night who thought they'd just sent Ned's head in the box! :o

Oh, and there shoulda been a peach. No reason for there not to be a peach. :P

Definitely looking forward to next week though - all hell promises to break loose on a number of fronts!

I gave it a 9/10, better than last week imo. I didn't mind any of the changes.

I give it a solid 8, bordering on a 9. Not perfect by any means but a strong opening to the season.

Superb from start to finish. This is what I envisioned this TV show being when it was first announced several years ago. No major complaints and nothing this week that felt like filler.

I'm not completely pleased with the series relationship between Rob & Theon. My understanding from the books was that they were friends and that Rob trusted Theon (else wise, why would he send him where he did later). My take was that Theon was treated fairly and equally with the "trueborn" Stark children.

It's necessary so that Theon's turn of the cloak in Season 2 will make sense. If he and Robb were all buddy buddy right now with no conflicts between them, his change of heart next year would feel much too rushed and random. Externalizing conflict is one of the unfortunate consequences of any TV adaptation of a written work.

Randall Tarly would be a good casting choice for Wedge. :thumbsup:

I'll second that. Always had a bit of trouble visualizing Tarly but Lawson seems ideal.