Cas Stark

I wonder why Selmy, out alone in a hostile city that just rioted and attacked the queen, would be wandering around, by himself, without armor? Answer: so he can get killed by some unskilled former slaveholders, LOL. The whole thing was totally unrealistic except in the vein of "simulated fight for entertainment purposes only so it doesn't have to make sense or even follow the story in terms of weapons or soldier's prowess". I didn't get that Daario and Grey Worm were there to arrest anyone in the previous scene, it seemed an awkward segment designed more to showcase that Daario is much more savvy and street smart than the unsullied, I assumed it was D&D's idea of foreshadowing and structure or something. Walder Frey will definitely return, though after so long, it won't have the same importance to show only viewers, it would have been better for continuity if we saw him a couple of times between season 3 and season 6.

So you give more points for production values than for acting and writing? Interesting. I'd score it the other way around, acting and writing are much more important to the success of any project than it's production values, there are a gazillion beautifully produced films with good actors that were terrible because of bad writing, but you have to look hard to find something that had great writing, great acting but was ruined by poor production values. In my opinion.

It isn't really baffling. Most people who say the show is "bad" or give it low ratings are book readers, they probably liked the first season or even the first couple of seasons, but are disappointed with the show NOW. However, they like the story, and have been watching for 5 years, so continue watching even if it is with much less pleasure/anticipation than before. Also bad is a relative term. GOT is worse now than it was earlier, but it's not like watching the Kardashians.

I thought the prevailing idea was that LF plan was to betray the Boltons to Stannis? If his actual idea is that marrying Sansa into a family of ruthless, badass skin flaying torturers like the Boltons is going to help him, then that is extremely naive.

Better than the first two episodes, so at least that is encouraging.

That would be strange, since odds are that Marg loses her trial in the book. If she isn't ever even put on trial in the show and Cersei is disgraced then that would leave the Tyrells in full power. Maybe Marg wins her trial in which case, a trial could be cut from the show. The perhaps was just to key us in, in case we're really stupid, that Marg is going to try and get rid of Cersei, which she did this episode, getting Tommen to try and get her to back to CR.

How is Loras being persecuted for being gay a much better plotline? It is completely irrelevant to the main story of Cersei and Marg's conflicting trials. It will be a waste of time.

I agree, my bet is that Grey Worm survives. I am a bit surprised that it does strongly appear they intend to kill Bronn since he is such a fan favorite and they're fast running out of those, with nobody really to replace them with because I don't think the Sand Snakes are going to be favs.

I don't remember the night lands as that bad of an episode? It seems to me it was better than both of these.

That's interesting. Show Cersei is much less evil that her book self, so I wonder at this, but maybe, since I thought it very odd to cast Lolys if that was the only time we see her. That would at least give a plot point reason for casting her, she will go to KL to find out what happened to Bronn and Cersei would give her to Qyburn. It might make too much sense for the show to do it though, LOL.

Is there a prevailing sense of bitterness that the show is finishing first? Hasn't that been a foregone conclusion for quite a while? I don't know, my problem isn't the cuts, it's that for these 'cuts' the final product feels rushed, the pacing is poor, the decisions of how the cuts were made, and cuts + their own filler and the ever growing list of continuity errors and strange and inconsistent characterizations. I doubt anyone expected the show was going to be able to have all plotlines, all characters from the books. I'm also not sure how any type of poll would account for what you're asking, they already take of the top and bottom percents out to try and get a better sense without the votes on the margins.

Do you find that odd, or not? Me, I find this season is appreciably worse based on ep. 1 & 2, I thought ep 1 was the worst premier by far, and ep. 2 not very good and both episodes extremely slow with little tension. But this seems like a minority view. Critics are raving about both episodes. Is there anything different in terms of the number of people voting that might have caused the dip? I'm not sure if ep. 2 is the absolute worst of all the episodes, but it definitely would probably be at least a bottom 4.

Didn't Bob make Ned regent in GOT?

I really don't know. She is SO inconsistent, I worry for Sarah Connor. I've generally really liked Sophie's perfomance every season, so, her somnambulist impersonation was very strange, her make up also was terrible. I don't know anything about B. Singer, if he's good w/actors or not, that could be the difference.

LOL. I agree, Sophie's performance, which I have always liked, seems really strange to me, she did seem like she could barely stay awake in last night's episode. I don't know about 'miles ahead' but Emilia was good last night, though I'd say "good" as opposed to servicable for the first time in a LONG time.

Okay, good, I thought I might be going crazy, I thought Meereen was the best part, and some of the Wall. I got a glimpse for the first time in a long time of Season 1 Dany.

The show is billed as an adaptation. The double Ds have said they intend to end it the same way the books end. And while it now resembles something much closer to 'inspired by' than 'adaptation' the showrunners seem to believe they are faithful to the basic characterizations in the books. But, just in evaluating the show, I'm unclear in the show what those "differences" are, actually. In the books there were many clashes over Cersei's decision making once she gained power. None of this exists in the show. In the show she basically rejects him because 'he took too long' and now everything is different or some such. It's quite random. She spent her time pining for her brother's return, and then when he returns, still besotted with her, in love with her, not questioning her, she rejects him out of hand for no discernable reasons that are articulated in the show.

Accepting the inevitable is passive, you're rolling with it, she don't love me no more, I gots to move on. That's very different than making an active choice to cut ties with someone who is toxic, which is a positive step, recognizing the relationship is destructive and moving away from it. In the show, if anything, that recognition and decision has gone to Cersei, a complete role reversal. Perhaps they're going to redeem her instead of him.

His sister has done nothing but reject him, him "changing his mind" has no meaning. When your girlfriend breaks up with you, and then, later on, you call her up and tell her you're breaking up with her, it's silly. Jamie rejecting Cersei will be silly because he has already been rejected, thus, 'rejecting' her won't have any bearing on any type of redemption or change in the values and focus of his character.

I don't really get that from him and don't see that the audience is meant to think he's creepy, the show is not very big on subtext. People thought "Talisa" was a spy, she wasn't. People thought Shae was pretending to love Tyrion, she wasn't. I think Show Daario is supposed to come off as charming.

I guess the only justification is that Show Varys dumb plan is awfully close to Book Doran's dumb plan: wait until the Targs grow up to make an alliance while sitting on your duff and doing nothing to help them out. Though Vary's randomly believing that the Targs are going to be good rulers, despite the Mad King, and not having had any contact w/them is dumb, at least Book Doran's interest isn't good government, LOL.

How is Ann Boelyn Marg on the show "complicated"? She's a social climbing schemer who uses her sexuality in an obvious manner. That is literally all there is to her in the show. Just because she gets a lot of screen time doesn't mean she's complex or more complex than in the books.

No, it isn't the worst episode of the series, but it's probably the worst opener of the series. I can't remember season 3, but i do remember 1,2 and 4 openers and this episode is much inferior to all of those, very much inferior to last year's opener. Compared with the cold opening of Tywin and ice and ending with Arya and the Hound....this episode doesn't compare, I thought the flashback fell very flat as an opener, but maybe the TV only audience had a different reaction, and everything else was sort of ho hum except Mance's death.

What is contrived about it? It seems to me much less contrived than "I'll out Loras as gay and this will destroy Margery as Queen". It doesn't need as many characters as the book, only 1 accomplice actually, who would be the 'lover'.

Why? What was wrong with the original story of Cersei trying to frame her for adultery and Cersei getting caught her in own trap?