Dolorous Nick

That's exactly how I felt when I read it in Storm of Swords and, even though I knew what was coming, that episode STILL invoked that same response!

Oh yeah, nice touch in adding The Rains of Castamere to the final credits. Nice little reward to fans of the books as well as the series. Much appreciated.

Ten out of ten for me. Great acting by all, but Rory McCann in particular was absolutely spot on. The Hound went from an absolute terror (I counted two men cleaved in half) to absolutely terrified in a way that was very believable. I like the palpable tension between him and Bronn before the battle. I've seen plenty of epic battle scenes in plenty of films by now. What separates the great ones (Braveheart, LOTR, Saving Private Ryan) from the mediocre ones (Kingdom of Heaven, Troy) are the ramifications, the emotional investment that the viewer has in the outcome. The scenes involving soldiers from both sides leading up to the battle, the dialogue on the battlements between Joffrey, Tyrion, Lancel, and the Hound, the silent fear of the women and children confined below, away from the fighting, Cersei's description of the inevitable rape/murder that the women would face if Stannis were to breach the gates, all of this made me care about The Battle of the Blackwater. A tip of the hat to everybody involved in this episode. Fantastic hour of television.

I just realized something. I remember thinking that last night's episode ended on kind of a weak note, but then remembered that, because I had read the books, I already knew that the two corpses in Winterfell weren't Bran and Rickon. So any element of surprise/relief in that final scene just wasn't there for me because I never really feared for the two youngest Stark children. In some ways, reading the books detracts from the show because I know what happens next. In other ways, however, it builds suspense because I can't wait to see how they portray certain events from the written story to the screen. (I can't wait to see how House of the Undying is portrayed for example.) This is probably a different thread altogether though!

He is taller, true, but significantly thinner and far less intimidating in appearance. In other words, I wouldn't say that Larry Bird is bigger than Warren Sapp.

Robb is a young, red-blooded man who, during a time of extreme self doubt and vulnerability, meets a beautiful yet mysterious young woman who shares his values of compassion and mercy. This woman has just poured her heart out to him, alone, in his tent. I don't think it that far-fetched to envision a scenario in which these two end up horizontal on the floor.

I gave it a 7/10. This was mostly a set-up episode for things to come (House of the Undying, Blackwater, etc.) Likes I wasn't sold on the actor playing Stannis when he was first introduced. I always pictured Stannis as more physically imposing and a little less...whiny for lack of a better word. However, Stephen Dillane hit it out of the park during the short time he was on screen tonight. He captured Stannis' essence, as a bitter, jealous man who carries around a lot of emotional baggage that stems from both feeling slighted by both of his brothers and from not receiving due recognition for his crucial part in Robert's Rebellion. Davos was fantastic as usual...like most of the cast members, the actor really seems to understand his character. Regardless of how much of their dialogue was actually from the books, I really enjoyed the interaction among Bronn/Varys/Tyrion and feel that they add some much appreciated humor to the show without overdoing it. Great chemistry there. Cersei...you bitch! Where have you been? Welcome back! The Brienne/Jaime interaction was exactly as I pictured it from the novels, and that's a good thing. The last time I hated a villain as much as I hate Joffrey was Tim Roth's Archibald Cunningham from 1995's Rob Roy (Those who have seen the movie will know what I mean.) Jack Gleeson is despicable on screen (which means he's doing his job). He didn't even really do much of anything tonight and I still wanted to smack him! Dislikes I always felt that Harrenhal was supposed to represent a complete loss of innocence for Arya. I don't want to spoil the book for those who haven't read it, but I think the show missed the mark by leaving some events out. They need to recast The Mountain for Season 3. Gregor Clegane is the one character from the story in which the physical resemblance/characteristics are EVERYTHING. Conan Stevens was perfect, mostly due to his menacing size and facial expressions and not necessarily for his Shakespearean dialogue ("SWORD!"). TV Tywin, Joffrey, and Jorah all appear physically different from their book counterparts, but because their acting is top notch and they capture the essence of their characters, it doesn't really matter. With the Mountain, it does. They need a bigger, scarier guy to fill the role, plain and simple. Rory McCann, who plays The Hound, looks like he could pick his teeth with this guy.