The Northern Scholar

2 minutes ago, of man and wolf said:

If this gets a 1 from you, then every show pretty much is gonna get that. Which makes it a non sensical vote.

But there are plenty of shows that are able to maintain consistent characterization and themes over several episodes and seasons. Taking GOT solely on it's own merits, they fail far too often at the simplest of things. 

I can't give it anything higher than a 5. If I totally ignore any themes, narrative logic, or consistent characterization, it was a decently entertaining episode if not largely bland.

But I can't overlook that stuff, so it gets a 5. Do they care at all about consistent characterization? 

5 minutes ago, Howdyphillip said:

 I am going to have to disagree about the high side of things here. I gave the show a 10/10 and I quite often do this. That score doesn't mean that the show is perfect, it just means that it is among the top tiers of shows that I have ever watched. Again, I grew up dreaming of swords and dragons. To have a show that has this much budget, that is based on books I have absolutely adored for close to two decades is so fulfilling to me that I can watch every week in amazement. 

 At this point, the majority of people rating this show here is giving it a 1. I really just have to laugh at that. Clearly, with any objectivity at all, this is not among the worst TV shows ever made, but week after week, people flood in here and try to out do one another in reasons why they just hate it. 

And I have to continue rolling my eyes at people who call this a good show. On its own merits, adaptational decisions disregarded, it suffers from bad writing, inconsistent characterization, and plot holes.

To call it a top tier show is an insult to shows like The Wire and Sopranos.

3 hours ago, Fat Pink Master said:

If people voting 1 are trolls, then people voting 10 are trolls too (there's no objective critique that can call this episode perfect), so it evens out.

There are plenty of valid criticisms to make about this episode that merit a low score. It's not simply trolling. Inconsistent characterization, plot holes, and bad writing are things we can judge about this show on its own merits. D&D want to take the show off into their own AU fanfiction realm? Fine. But at least be consistent within your own universe.

It was boring. And inconsistent within the show's own internal logic.

Awesome.

Jon Snow may be dead. Doesn't mean he may not be back as someone else...

You must be special then.

So I should just mindlessly clap my hands because we saw a super cool battle?!?!?!?

I'll pass.

I was completely underwhelmed by the final battle. Personally, an impressive fight scene is not one that throws as much crap on the screen as possible and adds to the tension by shaking the camera.

Book losers, eat your heart out. The show has surpassed it finally.

You're cute. Keep thinking that.

Largely underwhelmed by the episode. The walking dead zombies take me out of the moment so much.

Bleh.

The Walking Game Of Deads.

So cheesy.

I hate Olly.

So we get Lanna of the Canals. Why change the name though?

Because they can. I know it's stupid, but stuff like this grates on my nerves.

The Sand Snake taking off her clothes was so predictable. I'm over the nudity quota for every episode. It's just disappointing that it's maybe the most IC thing any snake has done all season.

I think it would have been far more rewarding for the audience if D&D had written a romantic scene leading up to their copulation, rather than relying on yet another exploitation film trope.

Agreed. But expecting something like that is giving way too much credit to D&D.

He's still alive but as stated up above prepare to be disappointed.

This makes me so sad. That's such a classic line. But more importantly, it's such a powerful moment where Jon shows his growth while acknowledging his roots as someone raised at Winterfell.

Did anyone else get giddy at the mere mention of Rhaegar or was it just me?

I definitely did! I wish HBO could put together a short digital clip showing the Battle at the Trident or something like that. I don't think it's feasible, but I know they've done it for shows like the Wire.

The way they introduced the Reeds is laughable and kind of lazy, in the books the Stark and Reed children were friends/playmates and Jojen had talked to Bran frequently about his dreams/abilities. In the show, all of a sudden some weird kid randomly pops into Bran's dreams? "I've been searching for you" Okay, whatever. Bran's chapters are probably the least interesting to me in the books(next to Samwell) and it's going to be cringeworthy/amusing to see how they work around the actors age and apparent growth spurt.

I mean, are they really that acquainted with each other in the texts? Bran doesn't know who they are when they arrive at Winterfell. Maester Luwin has to tell him who the Reeds are and why they're so important. Sure, the show does plop them into the plotline pretty quickly, but I think it's a stretch to say they were "friends/playmates" in the books.

It was an EXTREMELY lazy effort of incorporating Tom O' Sevens into another character. There are dozens of songs in the books, but all we get is Rains of Castamere over and over. Come on...

Also I cannot wait until Shae dies. She might be a terrific actress in her native German, but her cadence and speaking pattern in English are like nails on a chalkboard and her character's completely muddled constitution drives me insane.

I tend to agree with the theory other posters have presented. The show creators want the audience to recognize the song so when the RW comes along and they hear the music, it instantly resonates.

Besides, of all the complaints one could raise about the episode, the inclusion of Rains of Castamere seems trivial.

I think the arya inn scene was the writers way of telling the fans, you see how stupid it would be to make arya this kick ass fighter at this point in the story and they are right. I think they are justified in telling fans to chill.

I think that's a fair point. I think I can forgive them if they can find a way to recreate the scene with the Hound at the Inn even though they've already killed the Tickler.

Oh, where oh, where is the murdering Arya Stark? She seems so helpless. It grids all my gears

I wish I could like this. While the changes to Cat's character have been far more obvious, the subtle changes to Arya's mentality/attitude have bothered me more.

Oh the whole, I enjoyed this episode. I really like how they handled the introduction of the Reeds, though I wish they kept the oath. It's almost like they're trying to wash out the entire "ice and fire" theme from the show.