tarantella

I didn't like how they did Tyrion's "battle" scene. I guess it's inevitable since they obviously don't have the budget to show an actual battle, but still. It makes me wonder what they'll do when they have to depict the Battle of the Blackwater, since they can't just gloss over that. Aside from that, everything was great. Good thing they got the Tysha story in. I don't remember Shae being a foreigner, or being so bitchy either, but I liked her well enough. I noticed they're not implying she's an actual whore here, she almost comes off like the daughter of exiled nobility or something like that. So this might put a very different spin on the Tyrion/Shae relationship in the next seasons. And the last scene still got to me, even though I knew it would happen. You were too good for us, Ned.

Barristan was already being lazy about his secret identity if you ask me. Dropping a few letters from your name isn't that creative.

Thanks. I should really pay more attention when I'm rereading this stuff.

It's been a while since I read that part, but I seem to remember the wound Drogo got being really serious in the book. Like actually life-threatening, not the kind of thing a huge warrior king like Drogo would just walk off.

I'd agree with that, at least for the most part. My favorite scene in the last episode was one of the original ones, the opening scene with Tywin and Jaime, which I thought was a great way to introduce Tywin's character. I'd be disappointed if everything I saw in the adaptation was a one to one match to the books. However, these scene have to add something to be any good. Littlefinger's pimp scene in ep 7 didn't add a thing. In fact I thought it took something away, by having LF spell out just why he acts like such a bastard instead of having the audience figure it out for themselves. And the lesbian softcore backdrop made me feel like I was watching a high budget fantasy-themed porn for a few minutes. Hopefully the writers have learned their lesson from the reactions to that scene, both from readers and non-readers.

10. There are loads of badass scenes this episode: Syrio beating armed Lannister goons with a wooden stick, Barristan's resignation/dismissal and of course Drogo. And it was a great set-up for the next episode. Only complaint might be there was too much jumping around this episode from place to place, and a couple of scenes didn't have the impact they could have. Arya's first kill for one felt rushed.

I noticed a lot of people disagree about how Tywin comes off in this episode, whether his portrayal here matches up with that of book Tywin. Maybe it's just me, but I never felt like I got a very good impression of Tywin's character from the books. Almost all of what we know about him we hear from other characters, and he is talked about a lot throughout the series. But we don't get very many scenes with him actually present, and it's hard to say what exactly is going on in his head sometimes. I'm not familiar with anything else Charles Dance has done, but I liked the way he played Tywin in ep 7. It was a good introduction to this ruthless patriarch and his relationship with his sons. And he's got the icy stare down.

I'd give this one an 8. Tywin definitely fits the hardass patriarch bill really well and I thought they got the relationship between him and Jaime down in that scene. The Dany scenes were also pretty good, especially now that we're seeing how Jorah is conflicted. And I couldn't stop cringing at almost every single thing Ned Stark did or said this episode. I still think they're getting Renly wrong. He seems way too halting and hesitant. In the book he was a flashy, slightly arrogant guy, I imagine usually with a rakish grin. Granted he had to be serious this episode, but still. I don't know how they're going to pull off that scene between him and Stannis in season two at this rate. And Littlefinger telling those whores all about his ambitions and his love for Catelyn... ehh. The whole thing felt wrong, it didn't seem characteristic of Littlefinger at all and it overstayed its welcome. I have absolutely no problem with those kinds of scenes, but this one felt jammed in. For lack of a better word.

9. Complaints first: The "hunt" was sort of crap and I'm not sure I like where they're going with Renly's character. I know he doesn't share the same tastes as his brother, but I don't remember him being all pissed off like this from the books. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. The fight between Ser Vardis and Bronn was great, but there was one thing I found weird about the whole situation. What exactly is Bronn supposed to be in the TV series? In aGoT he's definitely a mercenary hired by Catelyn, so it's not particularly shocking that he'd fight for Tyrion or use dirty tactics to beat Vardis. In the series, however, no mention is made of what exactly Bronn is. He's rough-looking and rough-fighting, but he could pass for a hedge knight just scraping by. Lysa's court seems to be shocked at how dishonorably he fights, "no way for a knight" I think gets said at some point. So I thought that whole bit was weird. Other than those complaints, everything was great, Tyrion's back and forths with Mord and his "confession", the trial by combat, and especially the crowning. It's sad to see Harry Lloyd go - he made Viserys fun to watch.