Pinn

Shock and awe!

Hell hath no fury like a woman and her dragon scorned...

Is anyone else tired of Euron showing up undetected and wiping everyone out?

Yah a frontal cavalry assault on a standing army that size is pretty pointless. Writers should have added SOME more effective tactical ideas...like creating a tier of fire barriers, letting in some of the invading army cross a fire line at a time before lighting a firewall behind them, killing them off and then retreating behind the next fire line... anything. Poor Dothraki. As for the darkness and the cold, remember the first Long Night description (from the wiki) and I think the writers wanted to capture some of that: Eight thousand years before the Targaryen Conquest, a winter known as the Long Night descended upon the world, which lasted an entire generation. Thousands starved as the crops and fields lay buried under dozens of feet of snow. In the darkness and cold of the Long Night, the White Walkers descended upon Westeros from the farthest north, the polar regions of the Lands of Always Winter

Generally poorly written and directed. Some scenes felt static and forced. Example that comes to mind is Gilly's tepid reaction to Sam's plan to leave her and her baby alone again, even if it is to Horn Hill

Every scene from this episode moved the story ahead considerably. Not too concerned about the content left out from the book, this was first rate viewing and I loved all of it. 10

...or nothing at all. Else I totally agree; you are taken out of the moment completely while still trying to digest the ramifications of what just happened. It actually detracts from the impact of the event. Poor creative decision imo.

Stannis going up the ladder first. Really? Never a big fan of rah rah speeches to the troops, even if it was as sardonic as the one delivered by Tyrion. Other than that, an excellent episode. I particularly liked the maturity that Sansa displayed. The implicit barbs in her nuanced conversations displays how far she has travelled from her early naivete at beginning of the series. She also looks better with her hair down.

Yes, Tywin totally suspects her, hence the food "sampling". He is setting a trap and she is merrily falling into it by being too clever by half. Interesting to see how this plays out. Nice addition to the series.

I would have preferred a little more of the subdued and tempered confidence that she has gained from believing in herself--a strength she uses in allaying any doubts she may have to herself while shielding them others around her. It is that strength that has carried her and maintained her very loyal core of followers thus far. I think the directing has made her a little too shrill and disempowered compared to my take of her from the books. Jon & Ygritte -- I think the idea is to try to build some chemisty here, hence the longer scenes.

Overall I liked the first episode. How in the world are they going to fit the rest of this book into nine episodes? The only part that didn't work for me was Tyrion/Shea bedroom scene. I thought the acting and dialogue felt forced and unnatural. Not sure about Melisandre. Looked a bit too straight to me. Could have used a touch of HBC Bellatrix wierdness. I think Liam Cunningham will be a good choice for Davos. Cheers