lakin1013

5. There were so many issues. I listed the few things I liked. -Fellowship dialog on their way to catch a wight -flaming sword - KEWL - I want one! -Polar Bear Zombie thing -Jon and Dany being vulnerable to each other in a believable way

And in the show (i think show, could be books too) Cersei tells Ned that she aborted the baby. I just don't find Cersei a reliable narrator.

I have a secret tinfoil theory that Gendry is the only trueborn child between Cersei and Robert. Because of that and the hatred Cersei had for Robert, she gave the infant away but claimed it died. As I remember, but cannot prove, the text does say the child is sickly but it never says it died.

Cersei's children Cersei will outlast her children and die by the hands of "the valonqar". “ Cersei: Will the king and I have children? Maggy: Oh, aye. Six-and-ten for him, and three for you. Gold shall be their crowns and gold their shrouds, she said. And when your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you.

I enjoyed the forming of the Fellowship of the Undead, the Seven Companions on their way to getting the ring zombie. I particularly like how these characters have been written (cynic, philosopher, pragmatic among a few) and I look forward to their quest. On a very small note, I hated how Tarly reached for Dickon's hand when they were about to be roasted. He never showed Sam a bit of affection yet he reaches out to Dickon. Not going to miss them at all. Sam will be a wise head of House Tarly. One thing I liked during this episode is the call backs to why each character has reason to dislike or know another. On the beach, when Tyrion said ...last time I was here, I killed my father...and Davos replies to Tyrion that... you killed my son with wildfire. Some posters call this fan service but it helps me to remember who hates/loves who from the past. Sansa and Arya have some vinegary words and I liked that Arya seemed to be able to puncture Sansa's ego. I am just not sure that Arya is right about the conclusions she seems to be drawing. I enjoyed the episode and cannot wait to see how the FELLOWSHIP fares. 8.

CoTF did create the WWs. How or why did they lose control of them? The show has spent time showing us how the children made the 1st WW. Then, to me, there is a big hole, then we are told the CoTF and the First Men are fighing the WWs. Did the children make a mistake and has the show told us what that is/was?

8. I was entertained. When Bran said ...chaos is a ladder ... and we saw LF's face - I cheered. ???Why are the CoTF fighting with the First Men against their own creation, the WWs. Did I miss something in a previous year????

6. Lots of reunions and different dyads of people in conversation. I would never expect to write that Bran's homecoming was the least affecting, but it was. It also seemed to me that Sansa has become the Stark greeter. She found and hugged Jon. She hugged Bran home and we know Arya is on the way. I think Sansa should wear a sash saying Official Winterfell Greeter. WHY ON EARTH is Littlefinger following Sansa around like he is some trusted councilor? Dude leaves an oil stain everwhere he walks. Where did Meera go? Ep was ok. Jon and Tyrion talking was fine. Jamie and Olenna was fine.

5 (and I lingered over the 4 for quite awhile). I found this episode, for the most part, to be ridiculous. Anybody here watch Zoo - totally stupid and entertaining show? This ep reminded me of Zoo. Euron 'Jack Sparrow' running down his drawbridge/claw/tentacle thing laughing with joy was beyond anything, except for the Miss/GreyWorm sex. Are there audience segments clamoring for those two to have sex? Why? Dany is turning into a imperious white walker queen, is that where they are going? Jorah has a sword in his cell? Varys being interrogated now? Do Jon and Sansa suffer from intermittent cousin deafness, whereby they cannot speak to each other unless they are in front of a crowd? Looky here, Nymeria is big. And Different. Who would have guessed? Cersei never went into the rooms in her castle? Gosh, it was awful to me. I read the comments giving it a 10 with great amazement.

7. First episodes are generally getting characters into place, somewhere, and indicating to the viewer was is to come. This episode did that. The reason I did not rate it higher was due to the 'Arya kill all Freys' scene. If I was an Arya fan, I would be very worried as she is now written into a corner. Looks like Atomic Arya is now in place. I really liked the Jon/Sansa argument. I honestly could see both of their arguments, and I could understand why they each think as they do. The scene had depth and real life logic. I appreciated it.

Sometimes, on midday Saturdays, SyFy channel reruns Silent Hill: Revelation with both Ned and Jon. I have to confess I always watch it for them and of course Pyramid Head!

I rather liked this episode. The characters behaved in ways that mostly made sense for them. I have gotten over the teleportation device, or rather I thought I had, until I saw Varys in the boat it was like --- wha??? Still, folks acted consistently. I was glad to see Jaime smirk at Frey. I was glad to see Cersei blow the whole thing up because that is something she would do. The Sam part was just padding. Sansa turning down LF was a great relief and that will feed plenty of plot next season. There was no GHOST and that is unforgivable, but nothing is perfect. At the end of the episode, I felt entertained.

I do not argue with your many good points but I think Jon is 'being built as a leader' as we watch. He is still a teenager and at his sullen, self-pitying best, he was just a nobody, a bastard (I believe those are his own words). Sure he fought in battles, one in a huge walled castle, one against supernatural beings, and now directly against other human beings. He will not make these same mistakes again. I find this a rare view to a hero being made, instead of born or supernaturally gifted. This is a hero that doesn't even know he is a hero, at least not yet. Yes, I give you the plot armor (armour?) but I like that we get to see his errors, like when even Tormund is saying exactly what I was - don't. And I try to keep in mind that this is still a teenager, not a man grown.

I am using your quote but so many others have said this, consider it a generic use. Imagine - You have been told that bad guy is a player, good with tricks and bait. You know this. Bad guy has your little brother, thus the reason for the fight. Bad guy, hundreds of feet from you, unties your little brother and tells him to run to you, kind of raising your hopes. Then, bad guy begins playing at shooting arrows at your little brother's back. Remember, you were told that BG was evil, sick, and good at games. But finally BG sends an arrow through your little brother's heart. YOU --calmly ride back to your place, leave your brother's dead body in the field, call for Charge and you and all your men all ride right over his body, mangling him beyond all recognition OR --you go insane with anger and charge the BG I am going to argue that Jon is human and he did the human thing. Sansa has lived with a monster and can imagine monstrous things far easier than Jon. I cannot fault Jon for a perfectly human reaction to grief and disbelief and cruelty. Jon is not yet the commander some of us want him to be, and I for one am not even sure that is what I hope for. PLUS we got that insane visual of all the horses charging Jon, while he stands there with his sword drawn. Gorgeous image.

I have been thinking about this rating all day. Technically, on a technical level, I think the episode was a 10+. The visuals, the overheads, the filming was simply beautiful. Some of the shots were so breathtaking I wanted to just LOOK at what was on the screen. It was the type of episode that you want to watch twice, once just to see, and then once to hear. But for some reason, the battle fell flat to me, it felt shallow. Certainly Ramsay deserved to die and we were all pretty sure that he would either die or be jailed so maybe it was the knowing. Or maybe the show created such an over-the-top monster that we stopped believing, and recognized that his death is a plot marker that we had to get through. I HATE Littlefinger being the savior, I HATE Sansa lying to Jon, I HATE that the dragons get all the air time while GHOST is apparently kennelled somewhere. I HATE the banter between Yara and Dany. Why, when the Stark banners were put up, did I not fell a thrill of pride? I do not understand the writing at all. But I go back to the gorgeous visuals and the sets and the filming. I give it an 8, which is the highest score so far this season. And the only reason it is an 8 is that beautiful shot of Davos with the stag, or Jon standing, facing the calvalry.

Still deciding on a score BUT for those who complain about Kit's acting -- There was a scene where Ramsay orders his calvary to charge and Jon is standing there alone, facing this. If you watch his face closely, there is a clear set of reasonable emotions: 1. Amazement. He is still a young man who has never seen anything quite like this. Hardhome was chaotic and disorderly, this is strategic and purposeful. He is amazed. 2. Resolute. He realizes he is going to die where he is standing. Nothing will change that fact and his face registers that this moment is where he ends. 3. Resignation. He raises his sword and moves forward. He will fight to the death, to the last minute. His face shows his commitment to the fight. It reminded me of the series of emotions that ranged across Natalie Dormer's face when she was standing on the steps at the Sept and Jaime comes riding up. I think he did a really good job communicating to us, while using no words. Good acting.

I wanted to remark on that beautiful filming of Davos, holding the stag carving, on that small hill, with the sunrise behind him, his cloak blowing in the breeze - just beautifully done. I have not rated the episode yet, and it won't be a 10, but I did think that shot to be utterly gorgeous, almost painterly, for a television program.

Dreadful. I too spent time trying to think of how the story of Arya would go. It just never occurred to me that it would be an outright fantasy. Girl running and jumping with deep, puncture stomach wounds. Sure. Jaime lurves Cersie. Okay. Let's tell party jokes. Why not? Jaime and Brienne wave to each other - ya know, how friends do. What a waste. I am going with a 4.

This episode was so choppy to me, it seemed like we flipped back and forth between settings with little warning. I like Sandor as much as the next person but there was way too much of him. I also noticed that tonight we got another Jaime, this one rather decisive and in charge, rather than the one last ep that was following his sister around. To me the ep went like Sandor - Jaime - Sandor - Jon/Sansa/Davos - Sandor - Jaime - Arya and so on. The episode was awfully short, as well. Here, it did not begin until 8:13 and the full opening credits and music were yet to play. I would bet this episode was about 42 minutes long, if that. I gave it a 5, the lowest rating so far, I was not impressed. I do love the Blackfish, though :-)

6. I cannot imagine ever rewatching this episode again. I am sick and tired of the dragons being used when Ghost, whose owner has just resurrected from the dead, for gosh sakes, is invisible. And what exactly was the point of the dragon use? To make Dany's followers even more ardent? They already were ardent. And look over here - a bad father! Wow, that a new character type for GoT, right - what? Nevermind. And look over here - Jamie looking all grand, riding his white horse up the steps, that's cool, right? Well, nope because the HighSepton actually totally removed Jamie's purpose -- but he did look cool, right? I guess the only thing that saves this ep from a lower score is Arya cuz she is killed the waif, right? Oh wait, that is probably next week, with more stick beating. Happy days. Bran and BenJen save the ep from a total waste. And frankly, I am thinking of lowering the 6 to a 5.

For me, everything you said. I give it a 5 too. Also, I did not find the actual ending, the death of Hodor all that moving. I do like the CoTF and the WW story and will rewatch to catch what I may have missed.

I agree completely. All my problems are solved so thank you.

I agree completely. I was referring to the folks who complain that the show is not faithful to the source, thus a 'bad' adaptation. I think at this point we need another word for what we are complaining or praising because the very definition of adaptation means ...a movie, television drama, or stage play that has been adapted from a written work, typically a novel. As I understand it now, the show producers are working off Martin's notes for how he sees the series, the uncompleted series, finishing. If there is no tangible finished product, there is nothing to adapt from? adapt with? We have to lay the blame right on the writers or producers.

It is amazing to me that people actually engage in a 'why did you vote an # rating' for a particular episode argument. Look at the survey poll. Right now, there appears to be about 466 total voters and a majority of 280 gave the episode a rating of 8, 9, or 10. That is roughly 60% who liked the most recent ep. If you liked the ep too, why on earth do you care about those who gave it a 1, 2, or 3? That group numbers 55 voters, or about 12 per cent. So if you did not like the ep, you have company, you are not alone. You are in the minority but you are not alone. If 1 is on the scale, then it cannot be argued that 1 is not a valid rating. Same with 10. This is an opinion rating and the only thing we can conclude is that, on this site, after this episode, with this poll, 280 votes out of 466 total voters gave this episode a rating of 8, 9, or 10. It is a useless exercise to argue with fellow posters about their episode ratings. So why do it? On another note, many currently complain or praise this show as an adaptation. If the original source material is no longer available, or the adaptation has passed the available original material, is it still an adaptation? If the producers are just working off the proposed outline by the source creator, but not yet a created source in tangible form, is this still an adaptation?

8. Overall I liked the episode and I especially appreciate that things are beginning to come together. This allows me to relax into the story when I know there is a plan and up til now, I was a bit doubtful. Loved the Jon/Sansa reunion, the pink letter, and Edd making the 'you saw what was at Hardhome, how can you leave' argument. Not because Jon would stay but because this is exactly what a character in Edd's position would say. It natural and normal response from Edd - the viewer at home is thinking the exact same thing. How could I never have thought of Tormund and Brienne - they must do this!!!!! Torienne? Brimund? Torbri? Let's have Jaime be the loser.