The Lord of Cinder

4/10 I highly doubt I'll be watching season 6, even if I may be spoiled.

True Detective season 2, please be amazing! Balance must be restored!

I always find it odd how some people think that you cannot compare different genres (genre as in fantasy, sci-fi, cyberpunk, western etc.). As GRRM himself wrote in one of his shortstory collections (paraphrased and butchered beyond recognition. I don't have the book at hand right now): "Genres don't matter. Genres are no more than furniture and painting in a house. It's still a house. Every genre, every story has the human element, and that is what matters". One book I recently read, The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie, is a story about war in a fantasy world. It does have magic to a very minimalistic degree, it does have fantasy realms and fantasy names. Yet the focus of the book is on the characters, on the humans, their struggles through this pointless fight where men die for naught. The same story could have, with a few alterations, been told in an entirely different setting. Yet should it not be compared to other books that deal with war because it's fantasy? No? Ok, fine.

From a purely "this is what the show is and what I've come to expect from it"-perspective, I'll give it a generous 7 because I'm in a good mood today (I surely wasn't yesterday after having watched this episode). It would be a 3/4 if I start to think too much about how much from the books is totally butchered. It was a decent GoT episode. But my god, it may also be the episode that finally made me decide to not watch the next season before TWoW. Definitely the most disappointing and head-scratchingly logicless episode 9 so far.

As far as I see it, most unsullied were pleased by this episode. I guess they needed a cheesy happy scene to end a season that pretty much gave everyone traumas about weddings and people with wolfheads. If they had included LS now, there would be THOUSANDS of complaints about not saving it for later, and probably THOUSANDS more about how horribly that scene was executed. Many book readers expected that to happen, but the unsullied did not, and having LS at the end of the episode would have made the most memorable scene of the season, the Red Wedding, seem worse. They could not have pleased most book readers, and they probably knew that LS would disappoint many unsullied if it happened this early, so they went for Daenerys happy moment. Sure they could have had a cliffhanger, but do we really need a cliffhanger in a show where the Red Wedding happened? They ended it with a cliffhanger last season, something that angered lots of people, especially because they couldn't make up for that cliffhanger this season. Maybe they could have had a cliffhanger with a wildling army, but that would have made a lot of people expect a huge battle (or black screen) at the beginning of the next season. As book readers we know it won't happen at the beginning, but it would be disappointing for the unsullied. I don't think ending it with Daenerys was a bad choice, it was just not that well executed IMO. I think we're believing too much in our own expectations, and when those expectations aren't met, we get angry and disappointed. Unsullied don't know what to expect, and in that sense I believe most of this episode seemed for them like a good episode to end the season with. Sure, nothing big happened, but a lot of people got where they had been travelling the entire season. Some set new goals, someone's storyarchs came to an end, and we got some big revelations about the only war that matters and Bran's destiny. Just think about books/movies like Harry Potter and LotR. The Fellowship of the Ring did not end with any big cliffhanger or wtf moment, but rather with characters setting new goals or getting closer to their goals, telling us: "the story hasn't ended yet". Most Harry Potter movies didn't end with any kind of big moments, but rather with people just having it cozy in the aftermath of the big event. To me this episode seemed like a normal ending, and next year we're back to see what new adventures and challenges await the characters we love and hate.

Not the best episode, though not the worst either. A not so strong 8/10. I enjoyed most of the episode, though towards the end the pacing started to feel odd. And that last scene wasn't that bad, Daenerys wasn't crowd surfing, she was being carried. All this talk about crowd surfing made me think she really would just lay on her back while "surfing" on the crowd, not being carried by a couple of people. And remember, guys, this is pretty much Daenery's peak so far, after this it's mostly downhill. Let the Daenerys fans have something to celebrate! But the Unsullied scene was way better, and some parts of that Mhysa scene felt rather awkward, and not in a good way. But I loved the music of this scene. Btw, what the hell did the "For the Realm" track do on the OST, I thought it would end the episode, but the Mhysa theme did. Where was "For the Realm"? Another scene that didn't impress me was the last scene with Stannis, Davos and Melisandre. It just felt odd. This is the first time I felt that they were doing the Stannis character from the books injustice. He just felt ... odd, and he smiled and laughed, that is so not Stannis! Yes, he thought it was ironic, but it was still out of character IMO. I didn't mind Melisandre doing a 180 because, well, she's Melisandre, she's not easy to understand. Melisandre is, at least I think so, a religious fanatic, so her behaving strangely because her flames told her something didn't bother me. Now that I've talked about the scenes and things that did bother me, I'll talk about the things I liked. Davos was perfect this episode, and I really think it was nice to have some screentime with him after a season with very little Davos. He is pretty much the good and honest guy of the show, and let's hope that as long as his name is not Eddard, he will stay alive. At least he admitted that he's a slow learner. I loved the scene where he talked to Gendry, it made him feel even more human and probably relatable for most of us. And I believe some unsullied cheered when he saved Gendry (I hope he doesn't drink seawater!). Oh, and someone explain me why there really is a 'g' in night. Ramsay is still a giant, psychopathic dick, while Theon has no dick, that dick went to his sister and father, a father who also is a huge dick, but the sister's got the balls. Oh, and Theon is not Theon anymore, he's Reek, it rhymes with weak. I really feel sorry for Theon. Even though I don't like him, no one deserves what he is and will go through. The fact that Balon didn't die surprised me, though I don't mind it that much. I guess he'll die episode 1 or 2 next season. Maybe episode 2 to foreshadow a certain sociopath's death (come on, GRRM is writing episode 2. I find it hard to believe that he refused to write that scene that made us all cheer). I wonder what they'll do with Yara, guess we'll have to wait ... I don't even want to know for how long! Season 4 will be magnificent! I was probably one of the few who thought Sam had several daggers, and thank the gods he did. Now people will stop whining about Sam not taking that dagger with him, he had more than enough. Loved the scenes with Sam, Bran and all the others (Hodoooooooooor). Seriously, I'm glad they've had more Hodor lately, I can't get enough Hodor! And I loved the way they cut to Walder after Bran telling the Rat Cook story. Hodor. Yeah, Walder killed some people under his roof, but it is really Tywin who should suffer a shitty death, heh. The scene with Walder and Roose was great, and it somehow made me understand their characters better (still hate them with a passion burning hotter than Aerys' passion for fire). The episode started on a really dark note, and I loved it. Roose just looking at the destruction, the Hound trying to get away with Arya and the Freys parading Robbwind sent chills down my spine. Poor Arya, she's not going to get any happier after seeing Robbwind. Like seriously, that image will haunt the nightmares of many people. I loved how they imported her coin scene from ACoK to this episode (I guess it also had a trace of Tickler-stabbing), just seeing her kill that Frey bastard made me happy she's one of the Starks who is still alive. And the Hound is just awesome. Who can't love the Hound at this point? May they travel together for a long time in season 4. I also REALLY hope Sandor is a gravedigger, show Sandor has made me like him even better. Didn't hate the Shae scene, nothing very wrong with it, and I guess they'll start to make Shae like Tyrion less and less until she finds another lion. The biggest thing that bothered me about the Jon and Ygritte scene was how she caught up on Jon. Like how? Did she fly on Orell's eagle or something? And those three arrows probably made the unsullied unsettled. Will Jon die like his fath ... Boromir, or will he survive? Fortunately we wizards know. At least one lesson is learned: love is not easy. Neither is it for Tyrion and Sansa. I loved how Sansa started to show her badder side to Tyrion, and who knows, maybe in the end they could have been a reasonably (insert Huell) happy couple. But of course everything is ruined when her mother and brother were killed by Tywins quill. That scene with the Lannisters was very well done, and not very different from the one in the book, if I remember correctly. The Lannisters may have won the war, but the family is falling apart. And Joffrey was threatened by Tyrion and owned by Tywin, but not before Joffrey actually hurt his grandfather's pride. For me that scene was a very important one, for in Westeros the winner doesn't take it all. The Tyrion and Tywin/Cersei scenes didn't feel like anything new, but still they showed us how fucked the Lannister family really is. Oh, and Jaime, who has had a pretty bad time the last couple of seasons, is back! I hope we get to see the scene between him and Cersei next season. Oh, this is going to be a happy reunion! Wow, this was a long post. I don't believe this was a particulary weak finale for a season that has mostly been setup for the next one. I guess the first episode of the next season will be a normal first episode, but from the second episode and onwards everything will be awesome, as long as they don't screw it up. What will they do with Jaime? What about Yarasha? Will Theon, I mean Reek, still just be tortured? Will the PW really be in episode 2? What will happen at the Wall? Where are Grenn and Dolourous "the best lord commander" Edd? Will we have a spinoff series where the Blackfish is constantly killing Freys? Is Bran really the one who can save everyone from the WW (not Willy Wonka, Wodrow Wilson or Walker White)? I can't wait! Edit: The absence of Coldhands came as no surprise to me. I believe we'll get Sam's Coldhands scene happen to Bran and co. Sure they've got weapons and dragonglass, but against wights those things are useless. They get attacked by wights. Enter Coldhands. I'm happy they did not include lady Stoneheart, because it will be way more shocking and worth it at the end of the next season. If they have something close to the original Stoneheart scene from the books, I'll be happy. The only thing that bothered me is what they'll do with Beric. Maybe we'll see him resurrect her next season, after all we had Pyp, Aemon, Balon and Yara just for this one episode.

A VERY strong 9/10 I would have loved to give it a 10/10, but there were some things that didn't make me feel it was a perfect episode. This was one of the greatest episodes of GoT, and it was so full off spectacular moments that I'll not even try to tell about all of them. Highlights for me were: The Hound and Arya, "no more Hodoring!", Rickon and Bran :frown5: , Jorah, Daario and Grey Worm as the three musketeers, all the gruesome deaths (four important characters and a direwolf died in this one episode, now that's brutal), and the performances of pretty much all the actors at the RW, Roose just letting Cat see the chainmail sent shivers down my spine. The scene was heartbreaking, and I'm currently really, really sad and melancholic, everything seems so meaningless :crying: . Michelle Fairley crushed my heart, and that part where she pleaded Robb to save himself was even more heartbreaking than in the book. RIP Robb, Cat, Talisa, old man who got shot by Ygritte and all you northmen who didn't deserve what you got (no RIP to Orell, didn't like you). What left me a bit disappointed, and was the major reason for this rating not being a 10, was the music during the RW. It wasn't chaotic and loud, and the Rains didn't play when the slaughter actually started. AND WHERE WAS THE DRUM? WHY COULDN'T THEY KEEP THE DRUM?! That drum was one of the things about that scene that still haunts me in my dreams, and I have NO idea why they didn't have it in the show. At first I thought Cat's final moments were a bit odd, but when rewatching (yes, I actually managed to rewatch the scene), I understood how we got to see that her scream when she cut Walder's wife's throat was her dying scream. She lost her will to live, and while she did not claw her face, it left us with a pretty haunting image, though my gripe is that it looked a tad fake.

9/10 One of the best episodes so far together with episode 4 and 5, though I hope the next one will be better than any before it. I don't really have anything big to complain about, the only thing I felt a bit bugged about was the scene where Melisandre seduced Gendry. It wasn't necessary for any other reason than to have another nude scene with Carice. I thought she was going to drug him, which would have worked, considering she didn't die of the poison in the first episode of season 2 (correct me if there's something I've forgotten about Melisandre's poison resistance). Everything else was really great. I have no complaints about the opening scene with Arya and the Hound, and they included a lot of small things from the books (Arya trying to kill the Hound with a rock, the Mountain being way worse than the Hound, and the Red Fork part). I liked all Daenerys scenes (especially the bathtub one, heh), and Daario seemed well cast. I didn't mind the changes from the books, since it's understandable that the series has to simplify some minor plots due to time and money. And is it just me, or are they spending more time on details this season, because they actually remembered to include Daario's naked-woman sword and arakh. The conversation between Stannis and Davos was great, and as some interviewer on the internet said: the way the scene is filmed makes it look like Stannis is trapped, a prisoner of his duty. Also a good scene to make the unsullied understand that Stannis is not a manic zealot who is willing to do anything to get the throne, at least not without speaking with good ol' Davos first. I also like swapping Edric Storm with Gendry, makes the viewers more invested than if it was someone we didn't care about. My favorite part had to be the wedding scenes in King's Landing, which surprised me, considering I didn't care that much for Tyrion and Sansa's wedding in the books. I guess it is more interesting to watch awkward weddings than to read about them (don't kill me). Every scene was great. We didn't get the entire "well, this is awkward" scene in episode 6, but we did get a whole bunch of awkward, uncomfortable and comical scenes in this one. "I am the god of tits and wine" and "now my watch begins" made me laugh, hard. Sansa kneeling, I can understand the change, after all we don't get to peer into Sansa's mind in the show, and Tyrion is pretty whitewashed (which should make his change in character in the next seasons have a bigger impact), so many TV-viewers would get mad at her. Joffrey is back again, creepier than ever. Olenna trying to figure who's what was priceless, and Loras trying to break the ice with Cersei made me feel a bit sorry for him. And finally, Sam the Slayer. No Coldhands bugged me at first, but I guess we'll see him next episode (just to have another big moment to trick the unsullied into believing nothing more will happen). I didn't think the White Walkers at the end of season 2 looked close to as creepy and menacing as they could have, but in this scene the TV-adaptation Walker looked perfect! The entire scene had a chilling atmosphere, first with the ravens quorking, then suddenly becoming silent, only to hear the ghastly crackling noise from a White Walker. And Samwell confronting the Walker reminded a lot about Samwise facing Shelob in LotR, which is awesome! All in all, great episode, and my expectations for the next one may be too high ...