Winterfelon

Blackfish Quite. I count three significant scenes with him so far (Funeral, Cat, Freys). Only in the last of these is he an out and out 'brute'. But given the character's book history, perhaps he knows the folly of not marrying when compelled (as now does Robb) and this is all being brought to bear? It could, perhaps, have been handled with a bit more finesse from a writing point of view, but we need to see a fighting fish given what happens later in the books. I think it's perfect casting again and that the fish is far from ruined!

Great shout. :cool:

There is one line I think where Theon looks at a woman and thinks 'those days were all over now' or similar, but it's never explicitly stated which is why we all wonder. :)

At this point, I'm actually finding the show is working much better as a bit of TV. The first (two) series were by and large so faithful to the books, that they almost functioned as a companion piece rather than a show in its own right. Kind of like the books, but with all the good bits taken out! However, that said there is good and bad: I'd agree we don't need any more Theon torture, but that story line has to be kept alive as otherwise he'd most probably turn up in two seasons' time, recast and you'd lose the whole thread. Also, some strands are going to translate well to TV, some aren't. And some will have to change given the end game and the time scales involved. The Jaime and Brienne 'Br-omance' is TV gold. But TV knows how to do that. The really long arcs - outside of soap opera - it struggles with. I'd argue Doctor Who has this issue atm, but I digress. Tyrion is good as ever - there is ample time to show his complexity. The Blackfish - casting-wise - is almost spot on for me apart from being a bit tall. From my recollection he was always a 'hearty' individual, so giving Edmure a bit of stick isn't totally beyond the pale. Edmure - that actor is a good actor, but he always ends up playing bad guys or arseholes. I think he's miscast as Edmure. I also don't agree with those who say Edmure's a sympathetic character here. He screwed up too, so there's issues on both sides. Also, I think the RW's impact will be diminished as something's off with how Robb has been handled this year. I don't get the sense of him being the 'good' guy. But I guess there's still time. The Ygritte thing is - in my view - the biggest misstep/deviation. As Ran said in his excellent review, it's cliche but it's also implausible given the stakes and also how Ygritte has been set up in both books and show. Bad D&D. The Reeds/Bran - all good in my book. Dennis Pennis (Thoros!) is quality, but I do take the point about the shift from the books, but makes sense the other prince is someone we know rather than some random. It's also an essential part that - from the books - no one is perfect,. No one is immune to the filth and everyone has a pay master - even the BWB. Sad, but true. EDIT: Also - on Tyrion becoming a 'good' guy. Given what he ends up doing to Tywin, I think it makes sense he is a bit more sympathetic.

Hmm - perhaps. Although they can probably cover it in the 'House of the Damned' (forget the real name :P) when she gets told she'll be betrayed once for love etc...

Hello (First post! :)) Overall, I thought they did a great job with some pretty challenging stuff to pull off well on TV. I agree that the Pycelle scene felt a bit random at this point, but perhaps he needed a bit of building up as he does become a bit of a 'playah' in AFfC. Jaime was class in this ep - despite a couple a of slight tweaks, you sense his evolution already. Pretty well note perfect for me. Tyrion/Tywin: great. Charles Dance is the epitome of badass. Throughout the series, all the central elements,have been good to great, but if no one has already both Mormonts and Barristan Selmy (tho not in this ep) deserve an extra shout out - spot on!