The Monkey

9/10 Great stuff. Didn't mind the HOTU changes, as most non-book readers are completely clueless to the backstory, and it is unreasonable that they would have the faintest idea who Rhaegar is (hell, most of them don't even seem to know that Ser Jorah is Lord Commander Joer's son). The three-headed dragon seems pretty important, but it's not unrealistic that they could squeeze it in at some later point. Besides, by the Dany has any relevance to the rest of the story the show will probably be cancelled anyway. That Dany stayed in Essos so long was GRRM's biggest mistake. I have a few gripes however: Why didn't Luwin tell Bran & co that it was the northmen who burned down Winterfell? Such an easy thing to do, and would have saved a lot of confusion. Why didn't Arya kill anyone? Might seem like a small point to most, but as Arya is by far my favourite character, I think it's the biggest flaw of the season. Why doesn't the White Walker kill Sam when he's sitting there like a dumbass?

Can someone tell me what the hell the Bronn/The Hound scene amounted to? Pretty dull and pointless if you ask me. Yeah, they're both interesting characters, but their meeting just fell flat.

9/10 The visual effects were mindblowing in most cases, especially the wildfire explosion. The acting was top-notch (as it always is), I wish the Lena Headey haters would shut up. Her acting in this episode is some of the best stuff you will ever see on TV. My only mayor gripe i I have with this episode, is that we never got so a sense of how big the competing armies are. It just seemed like a few hundred men on each side. Stannis is supposed to have 20,000 men (in the book, probably more in the show, as it's implied that the majority of Renly's 100,000 troops joined him, with the Tyrells having to flee and all). I know they did a hell of a good job on a limited budget, but just a few CGI shots, showing a vast amount of soldiers, would've been nice. Ah well, great episode regardless, can't wait the dynamics between Cersei, Tyrion, Tywin, Margaery and Joffrey next episode/season, it's gonna rock.

Has Roose Bolton been named on the show yet?

Voted 8/10. Well acted as always. Quite pissed at the lack of Weasel Soup, and no Arya killing the guard. Maybe she'll kill some one next episode, a man can hope. I did like the Robb/Talisa scene. Some nice acting, but I don't understand why Robb (& Catelyn) haven't found out about Bran and Rickon's "death". That would have made Robb's mistake all the more powerful. All Tyrion scenes were great, as were those in Winterfell. It seems a bit stupid for Osha to just walk around in Winterfell, seems way too risky. The Jon scenes were OK, but we seriously, we need Ghost. He was absent a lot in the book too, but never for this long. They've run out of direwolf CGI money, it seems.

Come on, Jaime can't lose his hand before his duel with Brienne. If they are gonna cut it off in the next episode, why didn't they have Brienne fight him during his failed escape? That duel was one of the things I looked forward most to seeing on screen, and I won't forgive them if they cut it. It's not like a one-on-one duel is gonna create a huge hole in the budget.

It was Lorch who Tywin bullied for his illiteracy, not Gregor. Gregor is one-dimensional, that is why his sole defining trait, his size, is all the more important. They could even have pulled it off with this new actor, if only they had stuffed some more padding inside his armour. Shame.

I think Cat will be the one to cut his hand off.

Good episode, 8/10 The Winterfell scenes were great, the ending was sufficiently powerful. I wonder if non-readers will be fooled by Bran and Rickon's supposed deaths. The Harrenhall scenes were great as always, glad that Tywin is showing some ability to see through Arya's lies. I like the humanization of Cersei, great acting from Lena Headey. Two points off for the drawn out scenes beyond the Wall (although I do love the actress playing Ygritte), and the seemingly omnipotence of Pyat Pree.

Would you rather be a ghost or a zombie when you die?

Not at the moment, no, but are you denying that Arya's story is taking her in that direction?

I got a wacky theory. In the scene between Arya and Tywin, where the latter discusses his relationship with his father, he says something like: "He loved us. He was a good man, but a weak man. So weak he nearly destroyed our House and Name." I think this is supposed to reflect Arya's views on her own father, Ned. She is beginning to see how foolish he was to expect his own honour to be mirrored in everyone else. And as we are witnessing throughout the five novels, Arya's storyline drives her in a direction that she will end up to be just as cruel and ruthless as Tywin is. By putting the two of them together, D&D are essentially trying to show that they have the same personalities, only differentiated by 50 years.

As others have said, there are two dimensions to this TV series. One is making a faithful adaption and the other is making good television. In nine cases out of ten, the two coincide, but when they don't, the latter has to be given priority. I don't agree with all the changes they have made (the Littlefinger fingerbanging brothel scene in S1E7 comes to mind), but in general it has served the purpose of making good television. Expanding Dany's arc in Qarth with the stolen dragons subplot was necessary, because she simple doesn't do enough in the books to warrant the interest of the audience (and the cost of the set and actors involved). Diverging from Arya's Harrenhall storyline was also necessary because the chapters in the book were interesting only because of Arya's internal monologue. If that part had been kept faithful to the books, we would have half a season of Arya being bossed around by Lannister and Bolton henchmen, and killing a few nobodys in the process. Making her Tywin's cupbearer was a brilliant move and, apart from making the story more interesting, also gives us plenty of screen time for two fantastic actors to play off one another. I will gladly trade the original story for that. Regarding the popularity of the changes, take this episode. It is arguably the least faithful to the books so far, but even so the majority of non-book readers in other forums seem to think it's the best episode of the season. Also, the fact that the 75% of the voters in this thread (the majority of which I would assume are book readers) have given it a score between 8 and 10 also speaks volume to the depth of this episode's success.

9/10 The Theon scenes were extraordinary, and the death of Ser Rodrick carried almost as much emotion as Ned's death last season. Alfie Allen has become one of my favourite actors on the show. Issac Hempstead-Wright is also doing a fantastic job as Bran, it's so hard to imagine he's only 12. When you see all the horrible child actors in other movies and TV-shows, it's such a relief to see true young talent on this show. Dany's rant was a bit dumb, but the twist with the stolen Dragons was a nice twist, and adds some compelling storylines to what was the worst part in the book. Arya's scenes were great as always, some real tension at her scene with Tywin and Littlefinger. Lorch's death was a bit contrived, but it gave a good excuse as to why Arya didn't name anyone important as her second kill (something that bothered me in the book). The personal chat between Arya and Tywin about their fathers was nice and brilliantly acted from both Maise and Charles (as always). They are making Tywin a bit gentler in the TV show, but I don't mind in the least. It will only serve to make Tyrion and Tywin's conflict in later seasons all the more powerful, as viewers will supposedly "root" for the both of them. The Jon scenes were a bit of a drag at times, but the wonder scenery more than made up for the wooden acting. Also, the Bastard of the Dreadfort!! :D

He was the street preacher in King's Landing, the one who called Tyrion a demon monkey.

He has? When did he do that?

I got a question about the division if Renly's former army. In this episode Stannis says that all of Renly's bannermen except for the Tyrells have joined forces with him. It's unclear if this means just the House Tyrell, or their vassals as well. In the book, if I recall correctly, the only Tyrell vassal forces to join with his were the Florents, the rest were Stormlords. Thus, about 20,000 men joined with Stannis, while the other 80,000 didn't, and eventually joined the Lannisters. However, Stannis' quote (I meant quotation, sorry grammar-Nazi-Stannis!) about the Tyrells fleeing suggests that the troops that still haven't sided with him are in minority. Why else would they need to flee? It makes it sound like the Tyrell host is only a few thousand strong, at most. This would severely weaken the Tyrell's role in the upcoming victory at Blackwater, and thus undermine their hold over House Lannister.

Don't forget though that in the show it was Tywin who saved her and Gendry from The Mountain's men, so she probably owes him her life. Not to mention that being Tywin Lannister's cupbearer is probably among the best positions a serving girl can have in the castle, and she would lose that if Tywin were do die, and potentially be thrown into a much more dangerous position. Besides, Tywin has never wronged her personally, and had nothing to do with her father's death. Yes it would help Robb's war effort, but I think she at the moment is thinking primarily of her own safety rather than the outcome of the War of the Five Kings. Selfish? Perhaps, but could you ask more out of a 12-year-old girl?

The guy who is playing Dagmer is Finchy in the original The Office. Didn't expect that.

I voted 7, but in retrospect maybe it deserves an 8. The negatives: The scenery in Qarth was flawless, but the narrative just wasn't smooth. The Renly death scene and its aftermath was a bit underwhelming. I missed Loras killing the rainbow guard, as that action said so much about his character. I'm bummed that The Tickler died so early, as now they have changed one of my favourite scene in all the books, where Arya stabs him in book 3, while screaming out his questions. The positives: Tyrion is a champ as always. Arya/Tywin and Arya/Jaq'en were amazing. Great acting! Brienne is awesome. Don't mind the changes in Bran's storyline. The Fist of the First Men is terrific, fucking amazing location they found in Iceland. No Ros or Shae! :D No tits at all this episode, think it's a series first.

The Spider probably told him Catelyn would be there.

Consider this: How necessary was it (in the books and the series) for Joffrey to show Sansa her fathers head after the execution? We already knew he was a cunt (to quote Bronn). There is not fault in emphasizing a character's traits through well-made scenes. The non-book readers I've spoked to had nothing against that scene, and I think the controversy about it on this forum is just an example of book-readers holding non-book scenes to a higher standard than book scenes. If CoK had featured Joffrey torturing prostitutes, no one would have complained.

The Quarth scene was silly, but then again, it was a bit unrealistic in the novel too. The fact that no one in the city would even try to steal her dragons is a bit unbelievable.

To be fair, it was weak in the novel too, so I can't blame the producers. The House of Undying was the only good Dany chapter in the whole book.

8/10. The Tickler could have been doing the torture himself, and I didn't get the sense of utter horror that marked the corresponding chapter in the book. The Tickler wasn't even named, but hopefully he can make Arya's list anyway. I loved Tywin's entrance, though. Charles Dance has such a tremendous screen presence, I have no idea how he does it, but I fucking love that guy. Dany's refusal to show the dragons seemed a bit strange to me, and why she would threaten the 13 in the position she's in is beyond me. I guess we are finally seeing some of that Targaryen madness. Tyrion was great as always (and no Shae, yay!). Stannis' portrayal is starting to grow on me. Like the Renly and Stannis parley, but non-readers must've been confused as to how Stannis got there. Wouldn't have hurt to before it have a quick scene of "Stannis has landed on the shore! Quickly, prepare for battle. I'm gonna have a chat with my brother." I didn't mind the Catelyn/Littlefinger scene. Michelle Fairley performance was top-notch, and her decision to free Jaime makes more sense to viewers this way. The shadowbaby was every bit as creepy as I had hoped. Fantastic scene.