mystikherb

Umm... Do I gotta state the obvious here? Nah, I'm sure you'll be hearing back about this a good bit... but maybe you should give the RW chapter another read through... pay attention to the details ;]

I needed a bit to fully evaluate my opinion on this episode. I'm sure anyone on this post is totally okay with seeing everything, it didn't say "spoilers" in the title and I'm going to go very in depth so I'm putting the spoiler tag anyway. It can't hurt to be careful. So all in all, while few things were not what I expected I was very satisfied with the episode and feel that it did do justice to the book. As far as the RW goes, of course the book was more effective. Of course the book was more tragic, you were in Cat's head for all of that. Still, brutally awesome episode. I'll give it a ten. I could be nit-picky and go for 9.5 but at that point (along with comparing it to everything else on tv) I might as well just admit it was basically a 10 for me. Can't wait for the finale.

I couldn't agree more on your take of the episode. I will admit that it was by far not my favorite of the season. However, I feel like a lot happened and it was a necessary and enjoyable episode. I sort of saw it as a set up for the set up of the ending that will come next episode. On that note, I think "Second Sons" is pretty important for a lot of reasons. First of all, it's the last episode before the RW. I expect (by that I mean hope) to see more of Grey Wind and Cat before the end comes. I can at least say that scene with Robb and Talisa worked well for me in the task of building up the characters before they come crashing down. I hope for a little more of this with them in episode 8, but I'm more anxious to see how they handle Cat (and Grey Wind). The episode also has some other important events in it, and I'm hoping they deliver (the show is usually pretty good about doing this with the bigger moments). We have Sansa and Tyrion's wedding (which from the preview looks like all I could want it to be), and we also have Sam's moment to shine. I know tons of people have been waiting for this and I hope they do his character some justice. Over all I'm very ready to see the next episode, it looks like it'll be good but it'll also give us a great idea of what to expect for the last two episodes. By the way, having said all I've said about Theon, I do agree that the length and frequency of his appearances could be at least shortened a bit for the sake of other stories (coughcoughBRANcoughcoughWAYBEHINDcoughcough).

Nice to picture though ;P

All I'll say is that if she dies off screen and any of this is remotely close to what happens, I'll be a very, very, very sad camper.

Oh don't worry, they've basically said they're going to. It is the song they play as the RW kicks in to high gear, and they've definitely said that the music will play a huge role in that scene. Plus, the episode is called "The Rains of Castamere". Worry not, I'm pretty sure they will. I have pretty high hopes for it. After all, the scene is their main motivation for this season so they should hopefully pull out all the stops. :]

Same page. If I'm being perfectly honest, I get tired of people saying things like "this episode was terrible" and just waiting to pounce on something they didn't like every week. If you don't like the show, stick to the books. If you don't like either, what the hell are you doing here? It doesn't make someone look cooler to be overly critical, it just comes off looking bad that you participate so heavily in a fan forum based around something you bash every week. I liked the episode. After the scene with Robb and Talisa, I'm excited to see people's reactions the RW. It's gonna be heartbreaking, whether people are shocked or can kinda see it coming. Also really enjoyed Dany's scene with the dragons. And am I the only one who is actually really enjoying Theon's arch? I don't even really see it as being about Theon (though it is), I see it more as establishing the character of the Bastard of Bolton, who deserves some fucked up introduction seeing as he is arguably the sickest character in the story and definitely becomes an important villain to the story. As far as that goes, I think Iwan Rheon is nailing (hah) the role. I hope the show get's far enough to show more of his DWD story arch.

If I really think about it, I might say this episode was a 9 or 9.5. The reason I would not go for a 10 is because every episode of any show could be improved by my tastes in some small way. Here's what I will say. This episode is the best one so far this season by a mile. I will also say that it is definitely a contender for my favorite episode of the entire series so far, if it hasn't already won that honor. When I think about that ending... Dracarys. Fuck it. 10.