wallofice

I gave it a 5, which is maybe too low, but it seemed more like a series of well-crafted scenes to me than a cohesive whole with forward momentum. I think it did a good job of getting the pieces for each storyline in place, but it would probably benefit from a rewatch once the whole season is out.

I gave this episode a 6, but I suspect I tend to rate more harshly than others regardless. It was an enjoyable episode overall, but there was some big stuff I just couldn't get past. It didn't make sense to me that Cersei went to Jaime and professed her devotion and desire for them to be together openly... only to have him decide off-screen to release Tyrion and risk her ire forever. I feel like we either shouldn't have had the Cersei/Jaime reunion at all, or else we needed an extra scene with Jaime and Varys discussing how Tyrion's release would be possible. Tyrion and Jaime parting as best friends for life was okay, but then I was confused by Tyrion's intense need to go visit his father's chambers. What was he hoping to accomplish before he saw Shae on the bed? Just to ask his dad why he sucked so bad and then pray to the Seven that no guards were around to take him right back to his cell? Ensuring Shae brandished a weapon so Tyrion had an 'excuse' to kill her certainly did nothing to improve my mood, but I guess they softened the blow by having him visibly shaken by what he'd done instead of defending himself or thinking she deserved it. (Which she didn't, in case you were wondering.) I know my feelings about the books and the changes in the episode are bleeding into my interpretation of onscreen events, but it really did affect my enjoyment. On the other hand, the Wall story line rebounded very well from how botched it's been - in my humble opinion - all season long. Everything's in place for an exciting season 5, even if it'll take place sans my favorite wildling princess. Daenerys' scenes were also lovely in a bittersweet way, and I felt for her much more than I did when Jorah was banished. Jojen's death was handled respectfully, and Brienne's fight with the Hound was brilliant. Had Sansa gotten a finale scene this season, I might have forgiven my anger at the King's Landing scenes, but as it is, I can't say I felt more than lukewarm about the episode as a whole.

I like Jon going to see Mance on a suicide mission as a response to Ygritte's death (which harkened back to Sam thinking he had nothing to live for before Gilly showed up alive with the baby)... But I thought it was a poor move for him as a future commander. He himself says there's no one around to command anything - I assume he either doesn't know Alliser's alive or else Alliser's incapacitated - and he's leaving the men even more vulnerable to future attacks that he knows are coming. So while I get that he wants to try to end it himself without putting anyone else in harm's way, it showed a lack of regard for his fellow night's watch members that I don't think was intentional on the showrunners' parts. At this point, I don't see why Jon would make a better commander than either Alliser or Edd, other than because I know he's commander in the books.

I didn't feel like the battle at the wall earned a full episode the way Blackwater did, and I certainly don't think it needed to stretch out into the finale as well. I wish we had seen the Night's Watch making actual preparations in previous episodes instead of just telling us how many wildlings there are without ever showing us more than Ygritte's band of murderers. I don't have strong feelings about Stannis, but his arrival would have made for a much stronger episode in my opinion. Not to mention that despite the previously reminding me that Mance exists, I almost ended up believing that Tormund would just replace him since there was no sign of anyone caring about him until the last few minutes.

I haven't gone through the whole thread yet, but I saw a lot of hate or disinterest re: the Grey Worm/Missandei story line. So I just wanted to give it some love. I was actually concerned that aging Missandei up would mean she replaced Irri in the "Dany is sexually frustrated" plotline, which I was not looking forward to at all. Instead, they've given her and Grey Worm a sweet - though I guess it's bitter as well - and tentative romance that helps remind me that there's still moments of goodness to be have in the midst of the unrelenting tragedy. I know they're barely supporting characters and it might feel like a waste of time, but it's also such a rare thing to actually get the stories of the downtrodden on this show. The Game of Thrones isn't just about the highborns and their power struggles - everything they do affects the commoners. Of course, Missandei and Grey Worm's lives have been much more difficult than your average ASOIAF lowborns, as they've been slaves very nearly from birth. So to watch that they do with their newfound freedom and how they relate to the world that Dany is trying to build is really refreshing to me. As for Sansa, well, I'm still of two minds about it. I'm happy to see her taking charge, and I'm thrilled that D&D definitely grasped how she's putting together all the lessons she's learned over her years of captivity. I'm mostly just concerned that they'll push too far with Sansa/Petyr - which is definitely not something I want to see - and also that they'll forgo Sansa's core of human decency in favor of flashy game-playing tactics. Not to mention that I was hoping that Alayne "revealing" herself to be Sansa in the books would be accompanied by Littlefinger's downfall, so now I'll have to wait for another course of action. I do love how she one-upped him, though. She could have him eating out of her hand and he knows it.

I actually really enjoyed most of this episode - at least on a scene-by-scene basis. It didn't do much to move the plot forward, but it did reveal a lot of things about the characters.