The Rune Maester

That's actually an excellent point. I totally forgot about Brienne, the distraction we get from Jeyne and Robb. But seriously, Renly died quickly and was quickly forgotten, and the huge blonde woman-knight is also forgotten. ha!

Hehe, I don't know about the book Ygritte, but this one is beautiful by both wildling and common standards, and definitely knows how to, ahem, warm Jon up :D Maybe his dirty subconscious was at work while chasing her. An amazing cast choice for Ygritte. But I completely agree with you on the very last scene - where the hell is Doeah and where was Jorah?!! I don't mind the dragons being stolen, it definitely adds to the dynamic, but it seems quite suspicious, almost as if an inside person was involved? And Dany totally got pawned :(

Considering I still haven't read the books, I would give this episode a 9/10 because it was incredibly engaing and dynamic! Yes, perhaps Tywin is a little bit too tolerant, and Arya holding the note in her hand is quite annoying, but overall great acting for Maisie! Theon's conquest was so dramatic and bloodied, it makes you shiver. Perhaps Bran acted more like a modern child rather than a Medieval one (good point from an earlier comment posted here), but it definitely made the scene much more emotional. Oh, and Theon's butchering... horrid... Cercei gave the best ice-cold and bitter look she could, and Tyrion slapping Joff again was priceless! We need more king-slaps! The Hound coming to the rescue was such a reliever as the rape scene looked quite authentic, although you cannot deny he acted more like a Terminator than a knight. Jon and Ygritte were so cute! I'm jealous of Ygritte for rubbing her butt to Jon, but then again she is an incredibly beautiful and temperamental wildling :3 However, Jon capturing Ygritte instead of letting her escape is a deviation from the story, as far as I know, and it would be interesting to see how it will progress. And Dany, oh God.... From what I read in this topic, Dany is much more shrewd and smart in the books than she is in season 2. All this whining, empty threats, and the perfectly logical and convincing replies of the Spice King definitely undermined the character.... With her dragons stolen now, I'm quite curious to see how she will reclaim them. Hopefully the House of the Undying is coming soon :) But yeah, TV-Dany is too whiny, acting more like a teenage-girl at the moment, rather than a Khaleesi and a mother of dragons.... Overall, the episode was very exciting, much more dynamic in the first half, with small bits of romance flowing in the air, and puddles of blood soaking Winterfell and King's Landing. It is a bit sad to know that some important parts of the plot are being changed in the TV-series, hopefully HBO will be more faithful to the books for the last 4 episodes of the season. Despite a few awkward/unconvincing moments and some book deviations, it was a very exciting and entertaining episode ! 9/10