I think, overall this episode was one of the best in the TV show, and I actually think that this is probably the closest the show has ever gotten to the books in terms of plot development. Edmure and Brynden are setup well I think (you have no idea how excited I was to see Riverrun on the credits too) I've heard people complaining that Brynden is too mean and Edmure is too inadequate, but for time's sake It was done well, and I really enjoyed the funeral scene. I think Edmure will be lightened as a character, either by him doing something that doesn't cause problems, or by Cat ensuring Robb that Edmure has a kind heart. I was also very impressed at how accurate they were with Edmure's failure to just hold Riverrun, they explained what he'd done wrong in less than 4 minutes, and it made sense. The mountain would still be a high value target and killing him would increase morale, so I can understand why Robb would be furious, especially since he lost 208 fighting men to hold a stone mill. Another nice touch was introducing the Lannister hostages, so methinky they're going to be keeping Karstark's betrayal. The Pod Scene, whilst uneccessary for the major plot points, does provide a lighthearted feel to the episode to juxtapose the dramatic side of things, which seemed to be a major theme for the episode here. And I actually think it helped attach to the character more, since Bronn, Tyrion and Pod are all going to be heavily featured in King's Landing, and it helped establish a "buddy" feel to their relationship. Also, props for the Mereenese knot joke. I enjoyed Daenerys' scene quite a bit, especially the "Rhaegar fought valiently, Rhaegar fought nobly, and Rhaegar died" line. Changing the plaza of punishment to the walk of punishment doesn't bother me in the slightest, and I think they captured the negotiation fairly well, if a bit too quickly. But they kept the same tone from the books, especially Dany's anger at Barristan and Jorah questioning them, and I like the hint that she understood the bastardised Valyrian Kraznys was speaking. I have to say though, I'm not impressed with the casting choice for Missandei, she just doesn't feel right to me, her acting seems a bit flat. Ah, the glorious Theon scenes, I've seen a lot of complaints about these, but I'm happy that they're going in this direction rather than removing Alfie for two years and dropping him back in again, I think it'll be interesting to see how the mind games between Ramsay and Theon play out, since we already know that Ramsay pretended to be friendly, and build up a kind of Stockholme syndrome relationship with Theon, making him believe that whatever Ramsay did to Theon, he did because Theon had made him do it by "misbehaving". So I think they're doing that well. The actor hasn't had a chance to come into his own yet, and I definitely think that he can play a sadist like Ramsay, but he doesn't look too menacing, and maybe how they first introduced him (as a broomsweep) might end up reducing the impact of this character being sinister. (Loved the forshadowing though "You little bastard") Jon's scene, so far i'm liking them, as slow as they're going. I'm still not seeing Ciaran Hinds as being my Mance Rayder though, he looks like he's had a stroke, he's far too blunt and his jaw looks too square cut, i'm loving Tormund though, and I think sending him to the Wall with Jon will be a good time to build up their bonding relationship. (We'll know when he makes a joke about his manhood and says HAR! That they did a good job) I also like what they're doing with the White Walkers, adding the Artist element to make them seem more Alien to us. The small council chamber made me laugh out loud, just the facial expressions of Cersei, Varys and Tyrion made it worth it. It kinda shows that Tywin's kids are reduced to just that, kids, in his presence. Arya's scenes might be some of my favourite in the series, Thoros does a brilliant job and has a sort of Jack Sparrow feel to him, and the goodbye between Arya and Hotpie was done well and made me laugh a fair bit, especially Gendry's "Yes..it is". I also love Anguy's banter with the Hound. As for Locke and his merry men (who are brilliant singers it would seem) I think I might prefer those to the Bloody Mummers, Vargo was a pretty uneccessary character, and we already know that the story is going to the same place (Locke will take Jaime sans hand to Roose at Harrenhal, where Qyburn will take care of his wound, and Roose will meet with Jaime and that whole business will go down, setting the scene for the RW) It was a nice touch to keep the Sapphires line in, and I think that Locke has more reasoning than Vargo to cut Jaime's hand off, since it's perfectly reasonable for him to believe Jaime is going to be beheaded, so it makes no difference that he has 1 hand or 2, it was just a way to show Jaime that he wasn't fucking around. Nicolaj did a brilliant job with that scene too, especially the scream, at first the realization, then the pain kicking in. And of course, that ending. I didn't like the song (it wasn't done very well if you ask me) but again I did like the sudden change in tone between Jaime's loss and the upbeat Bear and the Maiden fair. So far, my only concern Is Stannis' storyline, i'm a Stannis fan, and imagine my surprise to see him grovelling on the beach to Melisandre about how he needs some lovin' I also didn't like him bringing up Renly like he did, at this point in the story he's meant to be Grieving for Renly, not getting angry with him. Stannis isn't needy like that. It's such a shame too, I love Steven Dillane's portrayal of Stannis, and this is more a writing issue than anything else. Overall, brilliant episode.
