Not a kneeler

I have watched this episode four times now and would like to change my vote from 9 to 10. Before I wasn't stirred by the KitN speech. I must have been groggy at the time. I don't see the flaws that others see, maybe because I have at last accepted that this is such a different medium than the books that holding them up in comparison to each other doesn't work. The time jumps are hard to deal with. I have to force myself to remember that this show does not necessarily run in a linear fashion.

Mostly I loved it. Just a few things bothered me. The KitN bit could have been more electrifying. The timeline thing still bothers me even though I know it's more a function of my linear mind than the actual writing. When it happens in the books I am just not that annoyed by it. A subtitle saying "three months later" would be too 1950s and I don't know how else they could make that less jarring. Congrats to D&D for solving the Meereenese knot so well. I feel like we are actually pushing forward and can possibly reach a conclusion in my lifetime. I will still be able to enjoy the upcoming books as much as if they had arrived first. Oh, one thing was very satisfying. Lady Olenna and the Sand Snakes. Nice.

Gave it a 10. I expected to hate this episode from all I heard about it. Could care less about how medieval warfare is conducted. I like naval battles, not land battles. Wow, was I wrong. We had strategy, we had arm to arm conflict, we had one aspect I learned by studying battles in the Pacific during WWII called the fog of war where things turn on unexpected moments. In battle things are never as clear cut as historians describe. Things go wrong, plans get messed up because the other side will make an unanticipated move. It was thrilling. It was epic. I have to watch it again to pick up on the details I missed, but that won't be a laborious task. I also sort of enjoyed Jon beating Ramsey to a pulp, and Ramsey met a fitting end. I did get a sort of laugh when Jon didn't listen to Sansa and she turned out to be right. Ramsey had Jon's number until the end. Then Jon figured him out. Meereen? Yay, Tyrion. Dany is truly unsettling, though.

Loved it and let me tell you why. Arya's story arc. I think the weakness of this season and all seasons is that D&D are following GRRM's system which involves POVs spun out over a long period. This is tricky in book form, but in TV land it can lead to what seems like useless or next to useless scenes. Watching Arya's story arc in Braavos seemed slow, time wasting, whatever, yet we see her time and again failing to learn. What is she failing to learn? Arya is filled with rage which spills out as impulsive acts of violence or impulsive decisions, such as going back and suddenly saving Lady Crane. She never thinks of consequences, never plans ahead. Everything is in the moment. Over the season we see her do this again and again. We see her reveal herself. This is who Arya is, but can she learn to control it? In the end of this episode finally the payoff. It looks like Arya is just running mindlessly for her life, but she is luring the waif into the place where she has hidden Needle. She couldn't have planned the candle, but either that was just D&D shortcutting which you are allowed to do in TV and not in books, or there really is a reason why the candle was burning. Anyway, Arya springs the trap and kills the waif by controlling the situation. Arya knew she learned to fight in darkness because the waif had trained her while she was blind. The waif lost because she didn't learn. She underestimated Arya. This whole season has plots cooking on the stove. Cooking, unless you are doing a TV cooking show, is time consuming and this type of narrative makes it possible to watch plots evolve. The other plotlines will do so as well. It does, however, require a bit of patience.

This episode deserved an 8, but in a burst of enthusiasm I gave it a 9. It had two of the best scenes this year. It had Lyanna Mormont, a brilliant child actress playing a well written part, and it had Olenna Tyrell cutting Cersei to shreds. The drawing of a rose was also very well done. My disappointments mainly center around its brevity. The credits started to roll and I couldn't believe it. Too many ends were left hanging, and this was one of my main criticisms of DWD. D&D started off at a great pace, but things have slowed down. Three more episodes to go, boys. You are approaching the home stretch. No more dilly-dallying around.

I gave it a 6. Inevitable after the high of the last week's stellar performance. Still, everything here moved the storyline along. I never liked Randall Tarley, but now I truly hate him and hate that we spent at least five full minutes or ten sitting down to dinner with him. I am never watching that segment again. The northern storyline was the best for me, but I also really enjoyed Arya's time in Braavos. I wonder if the episode seemed so bland because no one died? I seem to be measuring progress by the body count. Shame on me.

I gave it a 10, completely blocking out a few weak points. The LF scene was not well done. When it was over I was shaking. The last scene was deeply shocking. I grieve for Summer, but at the heart of a direwolf you find a brave smart dog and that is what brave dogs do. I didn't find it cheap or wasted at all. I certainly didn't want it to happen, but I knew from the beginning that these were not lapdogs. Some major plot points finally revealed. Still digesting the implications if the children of the forest and their responsibility for the WW.

I gave it a 9. I was glad the death of Osha did not depict gratuitous violence. I knew it was coming and to see her flayed would have turned me off. The last scene with Danaerys was a nice twist - she didn't need her dragon to fulfill her promise. In the books she promised the Khals would die screaming, and from that point I expected Drogon to swoop in and light them up. Nice touch. As a book reader I cannot help but be annoyed about the character assassination of Jaime. D&D have seemed to interpreted his character as a lapdog to Cersei. I keep having to remind myself that the books are the books and the show is the show. Still, annoying, though. D&D's greatest strength still remains their ability to visualize their story as having a beginning, a middle, and an end. You can see this show building toward a climax and coming to a conclusion. I love George's written words and plotline, but his story keeps growing like a yeast bloom when you are making bread. Eventually you have to add the rest of the ingredients, throw it in the oven and bake it.

For me it was a solid 7. The best and most solid was the North. Jon, Bran Ramsey. And Olly. So relieved that came to a just and abrupt end. I was really pained over the death of Shaggydog, but not at all surprised. The southern storylines, Kings Landing, Sam were dull. It moved the story along, but was not riveting. The HS showed a sympathetic side, but Tommen fell even farther in my estimation. Arya, thank goodness she found her sight. Are we done with this Waif business, please? Mereen. Dany all of them. These are just breadcrumbs, just to keep the viewer aware that something will eventually happen. At least, we can finally see the storylines converging. I feel that this episode represented progress. We know the series ending is in sight just over that yonder hill. Stories have a beginning, a middle, an end. Books have a beginning, a middle, an end. Series (both books and TV) have a beginning, a middle, an end. Thank goodness D&D know this.

I gave it a 9, although if possible it would have rated a 8.5. I was unspoiled this time which may have improved it. I look for spoilers so I won't freak out when the most horrifying things happen, but that may be a mistake on my part. I actually seem to enjoy the episodes more when I don't know what is coming. And this from a person who has read the books five times. It is essential to look upon this series as a different animal than the books. When I compare them, I find myself liking GoT less. What's the point of watching to only criticize.

I gave it a 7 by carefully forgetting about the Dorne storyline. That was pathetic. All of the storylines in the north, the Wall and Winterfel were good. I especially like the Theon and Sansa storyline. I liked Sansa for the first time. Tyrion and Varys were delightful. Cersei showed that she is not just this crazy evil queen. And Arya, well, that was just a tease. I can't wait for Dorne to be smashed to bits. Don't care how or by whom. All in all, the time flew. Couldn't believe it was over. Why did they run those credits half way through? I couldn't wait for most of the episodes to be over last season.

After the first viewing I would have given it a 3. I saw it again yesterday with friends and now would give it a 7. Glad I waited. Strong points: Stannis and Shireen, Jaime saying Tarth, finally we see the poisonous nature Cersei hides behind her love of her children. Tired of that whitewashing. The Sparrows were terrifying. Sansa at Winterfell? That whole plot line makes me cringe. Mereen is even more unsettling. Goodbye Barristan. Sheds tears.

I gave it an 8. I really like that we are not jumping madly from one location to another in order to copy the pacing in the books. I also loved the nod to Bear Island and Alysanne. King in the North.. Once I accepted that this is a completely different animal than the books, I found it a lot easier to deal with the changes which, sometimes, are an improvement over the books. One change I did not like was the absence of the Raven at Jon's election. It did not have to fly out of the kettle. Just an appearance would have been sufficient. The Meeren plot was pretty well done and illustrated in a nutshell how Dany's experience as a ruler is falling apart. The final bit where Drogon comes close to her at her beseeching, but never touches her and then flies away leaving her truly alone really said it all. The settings, the GSI, all that is brilliant. Compared to the first episode, it moved really fast. I couldn't believe it was over. The first episode caught me yawning a few times. Some things were rushed. What can anyone say. There's a lot of ground to cover in only 10 hours. Still, I have decided to love this for what it is just as I love the books for what they are.

:crying: testing Well, that didn't work.