Ampris

I really hate violence so I could have done without the opening scene. I wasn’t sure that they would show Greywind’s head on Robb’s body, but for Arya to see it… god. That was beyond what I was expecting. I like seeing Sansa happy and joking. It was a nice scene even if it was short lived. But cmon, “sheepshift” – they do love to beat us over the head with her stupidity, don’t they? But Tyrion is really at his best. His Small Council scene was so strong. Whitewashed or not, he’s at his forte. Tywin saying that only a dozen men were killed at the wedding just shows to me how much they botched the potential of the RW in the show. Things like Frey pie only happen because of how many families lost men at the RW. (Btw, I have a friend whose last name is Frey – and it’s pronounced like “fry.” So in my mind Frey pie is a rhyming phrase and all the better for it IMO. I refuse to pronounce it like “fray” on that principle.) As much as I like Charles Dance, Tywin’s continued wounding of Tyrion makes me very impatient to see Tyrion kill him. Hodor hodoring down the well made me laugh so hard. And I loved how Bran told the Rat King story about guest right before they cut to Walder Frey, but they still should have explained it better before the RW. Also, I am disappointed that we didn’t see the whole Nightfort gate thing with Sam. I know there is much speculation about his oath opening the portal and what it means. Guess that’s for naught. I am confused about Roose Bolton saying that Robb refused his advice at every turn. I don’t remember Roose offering him much advice at all but I didn’t pay much attention knowing what was coming. I tried to distance myself from Robb Stark. As much as I hate the Theon torture porn, I do admire how great the acting is. The whole cock and sausage parallel was a bit far though. I know that we have to see the descent of Theon to learn how he becomes what he does in later books, but they are taking too much delight in showing it. A lot less could have the same effect. I know we’ve all guessed at Bran’s role but I think that’s the first time they’ve really come out and said that Bran is going to be the one to stop the Others. Wow. Totally did not see Ramsay mailing Theon’s cock to Balon. But Yara’s reaction even before she said anything was still so strong. Her censure of her father’s actions was writ in every feature of her face. I love Asha in the books and thank fucking god they finally show her being SOME of the badass that she’s supposed to be. “She does know her way around a man’s head, I’ll give her that.” lololol I liked the scene with Davos and Gendry, not for any profound reason but just for the conversation itself. I just plain enjoyed it. I know that most people hate Shae, but I never have, not in the show. And seeing her scene with Varys really broke my heart. I have no doubt she’ll still end up dead, though the “how” of it remains to be seen, and I found myself wishing she would have just taken the damn diamonds and sailed away and LIVED. Damn her. Okay I know I said I don’t like violence but seeing Arya give the Frey bannerman the Braavosi coin before killing him gave me chills. I have been waiting so long to see her done the justice in the show suitable to bookArya. And I laughed when the Hound told her to tell him the next time she planned on doing that. Did they really have to make Jon and Ygritte’s ill-fated romance more painful? It’s one thing to shoot an arrow at him as he flees. It’s another to confront him, one on one, and still shoot him THREE times. Wtf? I can’t quite remember but I thought it was Jon’s idea to send the summons to the kings of Westeros? Not Maester Aemon? But I’m not sure. I’m glad they kept Davos reading the missive though. Sending Gendry back to KL though? I’m interested to see the reason for that. Say what you will about the twincest, but Cersei’s expression when she saw Jaime… wow. Love is love. And wrong or not, you can’t deny that much. “people learn to love their chains.” Oh yes they do, my wise khaleesi. That final scene with Dany… holy shit. What a powerful way to end the season. The music, the adoration of the crowd, the expression on Dany’s face, and the expressions on the faces of Missandei, Barristan and Jorah – you can just see them finally grasping how far she is come and what kind of figure she has become. The wonder and awe is palpable. Overall a very solid finale and a solid episode in and of itself. A good place to end.

Thank you for sharing that, now I get to wade through pages of Unsullied whining about "Robert" and "Ron" and "Rod" and "Rob Snow" dying... oh and "Kathryn Stark" and the killing of the "dogs" - seriously this shit is painful to read.

1) Does anyone else’s description of the episode name the mercenaries as the Stormcrows? Dunno if that's a shout out to the book readers, or if they originally had multiple merc companies in there and just ended up cutting them from the final edit without editing the description. 2) Okay to start I am ridiculously excited to see The Twins in the opening even before any of the episode starts! 3) Hey what’s the big furry dog looking thing running in front of the line? Direwolf? What’s a direwolf? 4) Bread and salt… why didn’t they talk about it sooner? There were plenty of opportunities. And they really should have explained for non book readers the significance of guest right and all that. I bet many were wondering why they wasted time showing all that. "You could have had both of them for all I care." Hehehe. Several Walda’s but none that seems like a “Fat Walda” to me. (Okay, I see later that Bolton is supposed to be already married… why would no one have been suspicious of that? I was under the impression northern families generally marry among themselves.) Robb’s speech was very moving though, very eloquent. “Love? That’s what the Starks of Winterfell call it, eh? Heh heh heh. Very honorable. I call it a pretty face. “ Not sure how I like Talisa being there for the RW, very curious to see how that plays out… 5) Aww, no sewers. So sad. Really wanted to see how they depicted that one. 6) First time mother or no, is anyone really stupid enough to have a new baby’s head uncovered in a frozen wasteland? 7) Love Arya and the Hound with the old man. Like her standing up to him and then knocking him out when he calls her kind. 8) Osha trolling Rickon about blood drinking was hilarious. 9) Shaggydog taking out the one Wildling FINALLY showed how big the direwolves are supposed to be. About damn time. 10) “I’m a great whistler, greatest in the land.” Am I the only one who thought that was an innuendo? 11) I giggled at the Frey girls flirting with Blackfish and his disgusted reaction. 12) I’m trying to figure out why Talisa had a very concerned expression on her face when they took Roslyn for the bedding. Was it just because she is foreign? They didn't even show the men stripping her, so I don't see what was so disturbing about the custom... Guess Talisa saying she would name the baby Eddard if it were a boy seals her fate, and the doors closing with her still inside… 13) Robb being shot by crossbowmen doesn’t have quite the same effect as Lord Bolton stabbing him, though I’m guessing they’ll still have Bolton finish him off. (Yep, I see later that they did.) And Catelyn not killing the “special” Frey is something I don’t think they should take out. The cowering wife instead? Still an “innocent” but not quite the same; I think it’s reasonable to assume the wife knew what was going to happen but a lackwit would have been completely ignorant. Also lame that no one set Greywind free. I thought they were going to have Arya do it but instead they just surround him with crossbows while he’s caged? Cmon. Talisa bleeding out from her belly was very visually well done, HUGE emotional impact, and I am glad that she is not a spy after all. But I am sad to see her die. Okay so Bolton did finish Robb off and “the Lannisters send their regards.” I know people were upset that we didn’t get Jaime when he left Harrenhal but whatever. It's not a huge difference for me. 15) One thing that kind of pisses me off – the biggest episode of the year, actually one of the biggest of the season, and it’s only 53 minutes? Wtf is that? I was hoping they’d actually extend it over the time limit like they have done with some episodes but no, instead we get shafted 7 minutes. More even if you take out the previews and recaps before the episode even starts - the show never begins on time. 16) Oh and the preview for the finale – saw Theon damn it. I was hoping we’d finish out the season without more torture porn.

Making bad decisions isn't the same as being dimwitted. And seriously, Arya was what, 10 at that point? She was concerned with getting back to her family and surviving. Yeah in hindsight she could have chosen differently, but that doesn't make her dimwitted. As for Robb/Theon - my understanding was that Robb really did think of Theon as a brother. Who really suspects their brother will betray them?

What? Putting honor before intelligence doesn't make them dimwitted. Robb quite obviously had a good mind for strategy, winning all his battles against TYWIN. You don't do that by being dimwitted. Ned figured out the truth about Cersei's children. In the show he had a lot of help from LF for that but in the book he dug a lot more on his own. Not to mention his success in supporting one rebellion and defeating another. Arya continuously gets out of messes. Weasel Soup is a good example of her using her brain. Sansa is truly naive, I have no argument against that. But at least by the time she is in the Vale she starts to learn SOMETHING. The show has dumbed her down even more than the books. Benjen wouldn't get to be first ranger by being stupid. Bran and Rickon are for the most part still too young to really make a determination. Though honestly the whole dreaming of Ned in the crypts and therefore knowing he was killed is a complicated deduction to make for a child.

Well I'm American, and I don't dislike it, but I do dislike violence. The quote you're talking about is someone's signature, can't remember whose, but I've seen it quite a bit. It is indeed a very good point.

I wish all the bitching about the nudity could be taken to the nitpicking thread. Not gonna argue that some of it is gratuitous but there is actually a lot more sex in the books. It's not that difficult to tune out the naked bodies. I hardly notice them anymore.

Maybe because they didn't actually show it? I'm not sure why he screamed, actually. From what I have heard leeches produce a numbing agent in their saliva, which is why when you're wading through their natural habitat you often don't feel them attaching to you. But I'll have to google to confirm.

No, she was talking to Margaery.

Why do a bunch of people think that Sansa noticed Joffrey moving the stool and thus realized Tyrion couldn't reach? As stupid as they've made showSansa, she could have been completely unaware.

I think she was looking for blood, not... other things. It used to be customary to display bloody sheets after a wedding night to prove the virginity of the bride, since usually they bleed the first time. That's how I took her looking, anyway.

Actually, sex excites before leechings! lol didn't you hear Mel's comment about how much blood he had?

That would have been my thinking, if I were her. He IS a hottie.

Arya and her rock – yay for book loyalty. And Stranger looks promising! By the previews I thought that the scarred man, the Titan’s Bastard, was Daario by the clips they showed. Instead he’s some longhaired Absolut Hunk wannabe who’s not even pretty =( Sorry, I see the fangirls are already swarming, but the way his eyes are set creeps me out. They made Drogo such a hunk, was another good looking piece of man eye candy so hard to hire? “The second sons have faced worse odds and won/run” lol Don’t like how they seem to be merging the Second Sons, Stormcrows, and especially the Golden Company though. How will that affect the storylines of Tyrion and fAegon? “I’ll come visit you soon…” Yes, I bet you will Melisandre. Love the book Davos is reading =) One of the moments that made me really lack pity for Sansa was when she refuses to kneel for Tyrion. I am so frustrated by little things they change for no reason. How hard was it to keep that little bit true? Some people on this thread are saying that was her moment of strength. I think it’s her moment of pigheadedness and cruelty but to each their own. God Gendry’s abs <3 That sex scene with Gendry seemed much more realistic than any they’ve shown so far. But leech on the cock? Damn that’s brutal, even for Melisandre. “Your brother will become your father in law, that much is beyond dispute.” QoT is really only there for comic relief, she proves that week after week. “I am the god of tits and wine. I shall build a shrine to myself at the next brothel I visit.” I don’t know why that made me lol so hard, maybe because he was trolling Tywin, but damn! Jack Gleeson continues to be one of the best actors on this show. I won’t miss his character but I’ll miss the actor. Maybe they should die his hair blue and make him fAegon. Sansa is supposed to be only 14? I thought they aged everyone up, and she certainly looks at least 17. “And so my watch begins” - that’s a nice touch. And why did they take out the whole story about not naming children? I guess they can do the Dalla-Gilly child switch still without it, assuming they actually introduce Dalla at some point. Considering how little we’ve seen Mance Dalla is hardly important at this point. Sorry, but all the crows in the weirwood were fucking creepy. And “It’s come for the baby”? How about the Others just hunt and kill humans? However, SAM THE FUCKING SLAYER, about fucking time! Overall, this episode automatically trumps the last few because there was no Theon torture porn.

We better get Sam the Slayer tonight and not more of Sam the Singer.