Thoros stole the limelight. Very impressive introduction, much better than the Reeds --- but the Reeds are awkward in the books as well, just a plot device for Bran. Shae is doing fine, though HBO has nearly turned her into a POV character with her Sansa/Ros intrigue; for book readers this is not so intruiging because we know it's invented. Shae doesn't have a story of her own in the books, so it's going to be interesting to see where HBO will have taken her by the time Tyrion kills her. I miss the Slayer scene. In the books, Sam falls during the march and is approached by an Other (he kills it with dragonglass). The whole undead setting in my imagination (based on GRRM's tone and description) is much more terrifying than these CGI zombies. Reading the books, I imagined the eeriness and grace of something like Ring Wraiths in a winter setting. Season 1 did a better job of this in 1x01 with the little girl wight. And of course, you can't be afraid of what isn't depicted... will we see any more white walkers this season once the Watch reaches Craster's Keep? Probably not. Jaime sure talks a lot. His punchlines are 50/50 hit & miss. I suppose he has to work double with Brienne in company. Something I missed from the fight scene (not that it took place in a stream) was sexual tension. The fight carries on for some time, past the point that Jaime has clearly embarrassed himself, but it's left unclear who's going to break the ice first, and that's when the Bloody Mummers arrive to break the tension. There may not have been enough time to give the scene its full due. Keeping on the theme of sexual tension, I think Margaery/Joffrey scenes are revealing some interesting notes about the King. Moving from one scene where Joffrey is nitpicking his clothing to another where he shies away from Margaery after a discussion about Renly's sexuality, and repeat discussion about Sansa's beauty (Tyrion+Shae, and Cersei+Joff in S1) which never interested Joffrey ("Do I have to marry her?"), you would be tempted to conclude that D&D's adaptation is interpreting Joffrey as homosexual... did anyone else pick this up from either show or book? I thought Joff's opinion of making "degeneracy" criminal was reactionary, given that immediately after declaring this he shies away from Margaery's obvious sexual advance.
