A good season finale, although slightly disappointing due to the hype going into it (This was the ONLY episode submitted in the writing category for this year's Emmy nominations). I thought the scenes North of the wall were well done, although the Jon/Mance confrontation and Stannis intervention really should have ended episode 9. The chaos of the wildling raids versus the calculated assault by Stannis and co. would have made for a nicer contrast had they been shown in the same episode. The scenes following were equally great-- many hints at future storylines (Melisandre's fiery gaze at Jon; and what exactly is she planning on doing with Shireen?), and a much deserved final scene between Jon and Ygritte that provided a much better sense of closure than "The Watcher's on the Wall" did. As with the majority of KL scenes this season, I thought the ones at the beginning of this episode were incredibly satisfying. The Qyburn scene was a huge tease, but I'm interested to see how graphically they'll portray his Frankenstein-esque experiment next season. And having Cersei admit her incestuous acts with Jaime to Tywin--which does not happen in the books--was a great addition, and one that I thought was almost more effective in bringing down the Lannister patriarch than the crossbow used by Tyrion later in the episode. At first I thought the Lannister sibling sex scene was misplaced in this episode, but I think that when Jaime's decision to save Tyrion at the episode's end are considered, the two scenes together do a great job of showing that, despite still desiring her sexually, Jaime has grown leaps and bounds from the man who threw Bran out a window to protect his sister and their love. I found the Daenerys scenes to be much more bearable than most this season, and actually thought they were rather tragic upon a second viewing. The decisions to allow voluntary servitude and to imprison her own dragons, along with the increasing turmoil in cities she had previously liberated, brings into question her title as "Breaker of Chains." Overall though, I was really underwhelmed by Dany's storyline this season, and hope we see her doing a lot more next season, other than sitting on her throne and occasionally standing up. I expect we'll see much more of the city of Meereen and further explore its culture (although I'm a bit disappointed by D&D's interpretation of Slaver's Bay, the cities lack the far-east, flamboyant feel created by Martin); and can I get a Strong Belwas up in here or what? The episode's best scene, by far, was the encounter between the Brienne/Pod and Arya/The Hound. It perfectly packed several themes of the series and novels--moral ambiguity, misguided loyalty, and visceral brutality--into a thought-provoking and heart-wrenching 5 minutes of television. Loved everything about it--the dialogue between Brienne and Arya, the hand-to-hand-to-rock-to-ear-ripping combat, and the Hound's pleas of mercy to a stone-faced Arya. I think I loved it even more because it was so unexpected, and yet it made perfect sense to have these characters cross paths. The writers did a great job with reconstructing Brienne's story from the books, allowing her to interact with more of the series' major characters (e.g. Cersei, Margaery, and of course Hot Pie); but her meeting with Arya and the Hound takes the cake. Despite all of the action, I think Bran's scenes resonated the least with me. I was glad to finally see the Green-seeing gang have some action, but the skeletons were poorly animated and I think will only serve to confuse audiences (are they wights, or something totally different?). I don't think Martin would approve. I wasn't too shocked by Jojen's death--I'm actually surprised more minor characters haven't been killed off to make room for future major character additions (cough Strong Belwas cough cough). And while I approve of the child of the forest, I was completely underwhelmed by the Three-eyed raven; I understand that a weirwood root growing through an eye socket might be a bit much to ask for, but Martin's eerie descriptions deserved a much better interpretation. I don't have much to say about the long-awaited Tyrion scene with Shae and Tywin, probably because it just wasn't one of my favorite scenes in the books either. Although I will say I was disappointed that show-Shae met the same fate as book-Shae, despite the two characters being radically different from one another. Or maybe deep down they were more alike than most believe, and show-Shae was merely better at feigning love for Tyrion than book-Shae? Or maybe her abandonment by Tyrion ultimately led her to the same fate as her book counterpart? I'm interested to hear what others have to say about this. One consolation from D&D's interpretation: we'll never have to hear Peter Dinklage utter the phrase "where do whores go?" As with season 3, the final scene was lackluster; but no cliffhanger is better than a cliffhanger that didn't involve Lady Stoneheart. My hope is that they're able to bring back Fairley for a more extended role in season 5. But so much time has passed since the Red Wedding (both within the show and in real time), and without a single mention of Lady Stoneheart, or at least a new leader of the BwB in the Riverlands, I'm starting to wonder if she'll be joining Strong Belwas in the Excluded Characters Club. Overall there were some great scenes (Brienne/Pod/Arya/Hound definitely one of the top ten best ever) , but definitely not the episode it was built up to be, nor the best episode of the season. 8/10
