Nagisa Furukawa

This is an incredibly self-defeatist attitude to take for something as silly as a TV show. Even if GRRM is smarter than you (and I'm not saying he is, though I am saying that it's an incredibly out-of-context thing to think about), it doesn't mean that he's infallible or can do no wrong or can't write something dodgy now and then. Be proud of your own opinions, whatever they may be, positive or negative, because they're yours and no one else's. If it feels off to you, then it's off to you; you can't be in the wrong in a situation like this. And honestly, I'm sure GRRM would tell you the same. Feeling like you have to like something, even if it didn't quite work for you, because you feel like you're at fault is no way to like something at all.

I totally get what they were going for with the song thing and that kind of tonal dissonance works really well for me sometimes, but the problem here is just that I don't think it's a very good version of The Bear and the Maiden Fair. The Rains of Castamere was a great rendition where as this just felt jumbled, awkward and more obviously "putting-the-book-lyrics-to-music" than a song in its own right compared to TRoC.

Bit slow this week, but I didn't mind it, bar a couple things. Didn't like how they did Robb/Talisa. The story was so eye-rolling expected. Since they've kept in Theon killing the fake Bran and Rickon, I have no idea why they decided to keep Catilyn and Robb ignorant of it when grief from their deaths is perfect for tipping Cat over the edge and releasing Jaime, and for Robb to break his marriage vow and sleep with another woman. The change to Cat's actions isn't too bad since the core reasoning, to get Sansa and Arya back, is the same, but the change to Robb's felt really hollow as "oh, god, my brothers are dead, I need comforting" just works better than how cheesy they played it up for romance. I totally get the need to "show, not tell" and that the Robb romance had to be on screen; I just wish it was being done slightly differently. I also missed "weasel soup," but unlike the above, I totally understand why they cut it. In general, Arya's story feels kind of truncated, but it's been pretty well executed so I don't mind. My biggest "Yay, we're going to get-- aww..." moment of the episode was Tyrion asking Varys what he wanted. With all the focus on Varys in this episode, I thought for sure we were going to get Varys' backstory about when he was castrated and how he hates magic. I was a bit crushed when I realized the scene had ended.

I'll never understanding this "All or nothing" mentality. It's like the whole "You're with us or you're with the enemy" thing. Yes, we're all grateful Dan and David have made such an accurate, loving adaptation that captures the book's spirit, etc. It doesn't mean, as both fans and just human beings with tastes and differences, we may not like everything or have minor complaints or are bothered by a change, not simply because it is a change at all, but because of what it specifically changing what from what. This is a forum for fans to express their opinions, in a discussion thread marked aside for the followers of the books. Minor complaints voiced here are not going to change what's already been done, nor will it make the showrunners do things differently in future seasons. I really don't see what's so bad about people using this specific avenue to voice their (sometimes) negative thoughts.

I thought Episode 3 was the best episode yet this season. I think Bryan Cogman does some of the best scripts for the show; you really get a feel for his love of the books in those episodes. On the downsides, I wish Pycelle would've been naked and urinating as in the book, but I can understand why they didn't! But without it, I thought the scene felt a little flat. In the episode, it's a good sequence, but it's one of the funniest bits of the book. I agree with those who say Yara doesn't have any of Asha's charisma. And Aidan Gillen's voice continues to be raspy and strangely worded? Did something happen to him in the last year? Has he been ill? On the upsides, Tyrion's three deceptions was excellent, as I expected it to be. I was rolling my eyes at some of the Tyrion/Shae argument, but it led to the wonderful Sansa/Shae scene, which I grew to love in its comical bizarreness and then even more when it changes and Sansa suddenly broke down at the end. I don't recall it in the book (if it was, I don't remember it happening like this), so it's probably my favorite original scene of the show just in its uniqueness of tone. Gods, there were so much good stuff in this one. Maester Luwin's scene, Brienne of Tarth (!!!), what started out as an HBO Sex Scene ™ with Margaery but turned into an actually brilliant scene with a Queen of Thorns in training, Theon burning the letter and being drowned by who looks to be Damphair (!!!), Yoren's monologue which is great in its own right and foreshadowing one of the most iconic aspects of Arya's character, the final attack, which was generally well done although I very, very much missed "WINTERFELL!" "HOT PIE!"... After having mixed feelings to some aspects in the first two, I loved this a whole lot more. One other question: why was Dragonstone (which isn't in the episode) in the opening credits and not the Stormlands (which is)? Not a big deal, but the locations usually match with where it takes place, so that's just a tad bit disappointing too.