JonF311

Presumably they could break down the wall. I don't think we were told it's wrought with spells of indestructability. We don't know if Martin intends to make major use of Xaro after his brief appearance in Book 5, nor if Pyat Pree is really going to show up again for revenge, but the show needs to be careful not to foreclose such options. I mean, imagine if Cersei had poisoned Tomen last week. I don't mind departures from the books; they're necessary for several reasons. But I don't want this series turning into another True Blood where the later seasons bear only a passing acquaintance with the books.

The show has built up Dany to be impervious to fire, period: the scalding hot bath in 1.1, picking up the red-hot dragon eggs, pointing out that molten gold killing Viserys means that he was not the true heir of the Targaryen, and of course Khal Drogo's pyre. And there's some element of this in the books too: in Book Five she handily survives Drogon's fiery visit to the stadium.

Well, I half expected Michael Jackson to come tap-dancing out of the snowstorm and start singing "Thriller." Seriously, the Wights were altogether too B-grade horror movie cliché. On another matter, my mind was screaming "Plot Hole!" when Dany showed up in Xaro's bedroom. Hello, the guy just offed twelve of the most powerful guys in Qarth-- he should have enough guards around his home to withstand three armies. And the guards should definitely have orders to keep an eye out for a certain silver-haired Targaryen who Xaro must know hates his guts now. And meanwhile there's potential plot discontinuity issue looming. Xaro reappears in Book 5, not in a key role (though he may play one in book 6), and we are even told the Pyat Pree is looking for Dany to have his vengence on her. So maybe we can assume that Xaro's servants wake up and get him out of the vault? And that old Pyat Pree really is Undying?

Gave it a 7, mainly because the Houses of the Undying stuff was poorly done. I understand that the visions, which were confusingly cryptic in the books, would be incomprehensible on TV (to non-readers), but they should have included the prophecies. In the book Dany (OK, Drogon) does not kill Pyat Pree with dragonfire, but rather incinerates the eponymous "Undying Ones". And Xaro.... Another nit to pick: the White Walkers looked a little too grade B horror movie cliché for my liking-- as if they had borrowed the make-up artist from the old Thriller video. Minor quibble: non-readers may be confused as to why Sansa did not go with the Hound last week, since it certainly seemed like she was considering it.

She's still a b***h, but she's a human b***h, non a one-dimensional harpy. IMO, one of Martin's biggest failures in the books is the botch he made of Cersei. Lena Headey and the writers have rectified that in the series. an if you think she's too nice, would you want her as a mother-in-law?

I remember the story from the book, but no I don't recall this in the tourney scene last season Just Littlefinger making some witicisms about Renly and Loras (and showing some creepy interest in Sansa), Gregor cutting his horse's head off, and Robert being drunk. Apparently it was one of those quickie things that if you blinked you missed it. Also, I grasp the budgetary limits and I was NOT disappointed with the wildfire as displayed-- I am still giving the episode a 10. As for Tyron at the gate, I had a sense of "Huh? That's all they had to do? Tip over a boat and cut a couple limbs off?"

Overall an excellent episode, and I gave it a 10. Some minor quibbles: - The Tyrion-leading-the-charge scene did feel rushed as others noticed. - The wildfire special effects were awesome, though as others noted the book left the impression the fire filled the entire river and was more critical to Stannis' defeat. - At some point the series should have established how Sandor came by his own burn scars; the scene where he turns tail would have been more comprehensible to those who haven't read the books. - Yes, we have to have a naked whore. Good grief, will the gratuitous T&A never end? Some quibbles with other comments: - Yes, a single "ghost ship" coming out of the mist is suspicious-- but what are Davos et al supposed to do? Stannis' fleet does not consist of hydroplanes. There's no "Reverse engines!" possible. - Ancient and medieval leaders often did lead at the vanguard in the pre-firearms days. Armor and skill were to protect them. Yes, sometimes they came to grief but them were the breaks. Leading from the rear was very poorly thought of. But Stannis does need a helmet. Why not give him a very obvious one, something stag-like with some hint of the Lord of Light? - The Cersei scenes, IMO, were quite properly balanced with the battle scenes. It brought home the creeping fear women would endure shut up in a castle with no idea how things were going-- and knowing what their own fate would be if the city fell. - Yes, Cersei is mean to Sansa-- she genuinely does think the girl is stupid. But (IMO) she's not just being a sadist, unlike Joffrey. On some level she's also trying to toughen Sansa up, knowing all too well what the girl is heading for if she marries Joff. There's a touch-- just a touch-- of womanly comraderie in her bitchiness. A couple more comments: - Lena Headley deserves an Emmy for this season. She has created a believable human Cersei, with all her nastiness intact, yet a woman we can alsounderstand, something Martin in the books has badly failed to do. Even knowing that she would not poison Tommen at the end, I believed she might do it. And note where she goes to die: to the Iron Throne she could not actually make her own. There's also a creepy note of unconscious prohecy in her drunken words and the parable she tells Tommen: has she in fact written Joffrey off bit can't admit it to herself? - I had a fleeting flash of sympathy for Joffrey during his indecision whether to obey his mother's summons or stay at the battle. it lasted about .8 seconds, but it was real while it was there. - Uh-oh. Cersei smells something fishy about Shae. - Good grief, even Lancel was good tonight instead of being a total simpering idiot! Yes, he ran back to Cersei after getting a flesh wound, but then stood up to her. - Go Podrick!