Tywin

My views exactly. Barely scraped a six this, but only because I look it it all through the eyes of a book reader.

8. Liked the dragons. They look cool. Would have been good if Dany's hair had burnt off though. Minor thing though... Sick of seeing Ros. It's not even funny now. Can't they pay some other girl to take her clothes off and stand in the background? Pycelle scene was alright but went on too long. Sansa's actress finally showing signs of improvement. Throughout the season I found her a bit wooden. I know she's trying to seem all prim and proper, like a lady at court - but the moments she's expected to unleash her sadness and grief didn't convince me. Joffrey's actor is nailing his character perfectly. Kudos. Arya scenes - awesome. Actress is perfect. Guy they got playing Yoren is class too. Shae's feigned innocent coyness seems to have been replaced with 'girl power' fieriness. Fair enough. King in the North bit was mint. Like the actor they have for Greatjon Umber a lot. Littlefinger and Varys banter scene... Not as good as the earlier one. The conversation went nowhere and provided no foreshadowing to anything or any real exposition. They respect each other? ... Blah, went on too long. I suppose such is necessary in a TV adaptation to keep audiences aware of the dynamics. More direwolves = good. Rickon's actor delivered his lines well enough. Mirri Maz Duur... Actress delivered the lines a bit too flatly. The one time we as an audience get to truly understand her motives for f**king Dany and Drogo over and it's just explained so matter of factly. Jorah - cool as ever. Actor is top notch. Night's watch actors are all great. Kit Harington is Jon Snow. Guy they got playing Sam is also mint. Old Bear speech was epic.

Some spoilers in my 'review' for potential non-book reading viewers... Beware. Apologies, I don't know how to hide stuff with spoiler tags etc... Anyway. Best episode thus far in terms of pacing. A few tiny things bothered me, but they were miniscule. Overall I give this a 8. Favourite bits. - Mountain smacking Loras from his saddle and the Hound stepping in. - Littlefinger and Varys banter in the throne room. - End fight outside of Littlefinger's brothel between Ned and Jaime. - Arya seeing the dragon skull. - Anything Tyrion says and Bronn kicking arse. - Lysa being suitably weird. Just how I pictured her. Not quite how I pictured the Eyrie, but cool nevertheless. Totally how I pictured the Sky Cell though. Good additions not from the books. The scene with Cersei and Robert I felt was well done for fleshing Robert out a bit more than just a drunken lout I think. I think it was an understated pivotal moment personally in showing how loose everything is held together in terms of the power in Westeros - also gave Cersei a bit more substance beyond her being a bitch. Less necessary in the book, but vital I think for a TV format. The scene with Theon and the prostitute provided some good exposition that shows he's got a chip on his shoulder, feels he has something to prove and will make his actions later on resonate all the more. Minor annoyances. Loras and Renly. It made Renly come off as too soft and unsure of himself. I think though that from the angle of a TV series, it's good for ratings to show that gay characters exist - makes the world seem more multidimensional. The scene went on a bit too long though, the gayness was made too blatant and it over emphasised an aspect of Renly's character that was never there in the books. His whole fear of blood etc. I suppose, this sets things up for when he does go to war though later on - to show he has something to prove. Sansa needs more exposition I think. I think more evidence of her realising her ideas of gallant knights and pretty gowns are childish fantasies in light of what's going on is needed.

*Implied miniscule, light spoilers here... watch out* Good episode, but the scene with Viserys was the weak point for me. Joffrey's actor redeemed himself for me in the scene with Cersei though. For some reason Harry Lloyd just doesn't cut it for me as Viserys. I don't see how Daenerys could have been terrified of the guy all this time. Fair enough, I as the audience don't have to find him frightening but it seemed like a key moment to really push the whole thing of Dany coming into her own. Fair enough there's the pre-conversation with Mormont to provide a sense of this but in the book it shows that Dany pushes Viserys away when he shouts at her. I think the scene could have been cut better, more close ups on Viserys face or something and better intonation in Lloyds lines - he's meant to be mad, but his anger seems... laughable. As is, he seems like a pantomine baddy when he should in my eyes provide more solid basis for audiences to understand what Dany has graduated from. He was alright in the first episode granted. The council scene where Ned is being told how much money the treasury is in debt... Iffy, lines came out a bit too quickly between Ned and Littlefinger. Small issue though. Dany seems to just accept her pregnancy like Oh, I am pregnant... Oh well... That's life eh? and she seems to have gotten 'friendly' with Drogo a bit too easily for my liking. Bran in my mind could have been made to look more sick and frail, perhaps some makeup to make him look pale, sweaty etc - on the edge of death. The lack of dream exposition for the character may weaken his impact in the story in my view - since he's a very mystical character later on. Rest of the episode was good. I think Kit is a good fit Jon Snow. Best bits: Syrio/Arya sparring. Syrio's actor is spot on in terms of his mannerisms and way of speaking, though in my mind he's a slap head. Tyrion banter is always good. I chuckled when we saw him pissing off the edge of the world. 6.5/10 Edit: I rewatched the scene with Viserys in again... I think maybe I have been a bit unkind to Harry Lloyd. Though I still think it could have been shot better. At least after Ned choked Littlefinger a bit, we got Littlefinger's quiet little retort as he straightened himself up. I think some kind of close up on Viserys' face to show the growing impatience he's being made to suppress would have been appropriate - as a sort of equivalent. It would certainly make what's coming have more impact.

7.5/8 I liked the Lannisters in this episode the most. The banter between Cersei, Jaime and Tyrion at the table was top-notch and I liked the little look Tyrion give Jaime and Cersei when they were looking between one another following the mention that Bran might live. I happen to like how Dinklage speaks too. He makes Tyrion sound noble and posh sounding which I think fits the character well, given he has has to be devious and eloquent to stand out more. Arya's actress is very good. Personal grievances: No Barristan and Renly during the scene where Ned finds Arya in the hall. I always liked the Renly piss-taking bit where he makes fun of the name of Joffrey's sword (Lion's Tooth). Joffrey seems a bit... I don't know... off in places. The bit where Tyrion hits him, he's fine. The bit where he's talking about Ilyn Payne to Sansa and he goes to touch her seemed a little wooden.