Raksha 2014

I've always thought that Varys serves Varys first and foremost and second (in the books) the Blackfyres if he serves any dynasty.

I missed that; who said it?

Arya? Sansa? Bran? It's hard to tell. Probably Bran, since he's the last male Stark; with Jon being a legitimate Targ. Though I think that Sansa can give the Stark name to her future children (if she survives to have them).

Not necessarily crazy, just enraged; they murdered Missandei in front of her eyes; no mercy for Cersei/King's Landing now.

Maybe...Looks like most voters had a higher opinion of the episode than I did anyway, though it certainly wasn't the worst.

Nowhere to click; at the top of the page, the results are shown.

I don't know how to do the actual vote; but I'd give it a 6. The episode didn't do much for me; there were too many boring patches (I'm not a zombie/wight fan and the darkness and swirling snow and wind also made it hard to figure out what the heck Jon and Dany were trying to do or actually were doing.

A rather underwhelming episode. Wasn't this one promoted as surpassing the Battle of Helm's Deep in LOTR: The Two Towers (the movie)? For me, at least, it didn't come close. It didn't come anywhere near the Battle of the Blackwater or even the Battle of Hardhome. I could barely see what was going on; too much darkness and swirling snow. Though I did like the shots of Rhaegal and Drogon up in the clouds; and Drogon (or was it Rhaegal) banking to blast the Night's King. I do admit to a certain dislike of zombies; so nearly 90 minutes of zombies coming closer and closer to slaughtering everyone in Winterfell was not going to be a favorite battle of mine. At least there were some nice moments with Sansa and Tyrion; despite Sansa's very inconsistent characterization (being brave enough to want to stay on the ramparts to 'protect her people' one minute and then saying despondently that she and the others hiding in the Crypts are "useless"). The ending? Not very believable, but at least Ding Dong The Nights King's Dead! And, conveniently, so are the other Walkers and all the shrieking wight-zombies. Good riddance. The Dead: Edd, Beric, Theon, Melisandre, Jorah, Lyanna, Grey Worm (I think), Viserion (again), most of the Dothraki and (?) the Unsullied, the pesky Walkers and Night's King as noted. I knew poor Theon was a goner, but he achieved redemptive forgiveness and praise from Bran and went out like an Ironborn and a Stark. I'm so glad that Ghost, Gilly and Little Sam, and Davos survived. I thought there would be a higher death count.

Bran was just sitting around being significant and warging some crows to see battle progress but tell no one about it.

The way things are going, Arya will probably kill Euron.

So the woods witch was wrong and Rhaegar plunged the realm into civil war and destroyed his own family for nothing?

I think Theon knew he was going to die if he returned to Winterfell; and wanted to do so defending Bran. At least Bran thanked him before he died; redemption for Theon, if a bit obvious.

I thought I saw him among the survivors at the end; but I'm not sure.

Most memorable for poor little Lyanna's killing a zombie giant; and for the Sansa/Tyrion moments. The rest of it, meh, too dark, too murky, too many zombies, and how did Arya get by the zombies and White Walkers to sucker-stab the Night's King?

Not as great an episode as I'd hoped. Mostly dark and murky and increasingly hopeless until the last two minutes. I couldn't really see much of what was going on. Dead count? Theon, Grey Worm (I think), Beric, Jorah, Melisandre. Anyone else? Bran was pretty much useless. Most worthwhile moments were Sansa and Tyrion.

But the Starks' reunion and affirming their loyalty and love is important. "The lone wolf dies but the pack survives". The only 'pack' seems to be Arya and Sansa; but during the night that could well be the last night of their lives, all four Starks - Jon, Sansa, Arya, Bran - go their separate ways; which is sad...

It would make sense for Theon to die next episode, fighting for House Stark and the North, sent off to battle with an embrace from Robb's sister and her forgiveness.

I think that Jorah and Grey Worm won't survive the Battle of Winterfell. Ditto Theon, maybe (but his days are numbered).

So far this episode is much better than the first.

Dany should really shut up about breaking the wheel, since she wants to be the Targaryen Queen of Westeros at the top of that same wheel; does she want her own power, should she win, vastly curtailed or her head put on a spike by angry peasants who took her at her word...Yes, it's rather absurd that she is talking about changing the social order while she goes on about everyone bending the knee to her as the true and only ruler of the seven kingdoms.

I think that Daenerys should have fried Lord Tarly and chained Dickon, marched him to Dragonstone and kept him as a hostage for House Tarly's allegiance. By frying both the lord and heir of the (apparently) only major House left in the Reach, she's driven House Tarly and possibly what's left of the Reach into Cersei's corner. Or didn't Daenerys know that Randyll left a wife and daughters?

Overall, not a bad episode, but not the strongest finale I've seen in the show. When did Sam transcribe the High Septon's entry about annulling Rhaegar's marriage and wedding R + L? Gilly was reading the entry to him and Sam was absolutely uninterested? And does Sam have any proof of the entry's existence, other than Gilly's memory? Will the North, or Daenerys, or the rest of Westeros, ever accept Jon as the righful Targaryen heir based on either his teenaged brother's visions or his best friend's girlfriend's memory of reading a High Septon's diary back in the Citadel? Dany and Jon are going to be very confused... Is Sophie Turner's acting rather stilted in the episode, or is it just me? There's not much emotion registering in her voice and face. And I would have preferred some indication that she and Arya planned the turnabout on Littlefinger, and that Sansa had even talked to Bran, instead of leaving the viewers to connect all the dots. I am celebrating Jaime's Independence Day, Finally! I wish Cersei joy of Euron on his eventual return; they deserve each other. Tormund and Beric are presumably dead? Where's Gendry? Is the final season coming out in 2018 or 2019?

Daenerys did finally have tears in her eyes when she was talking to Jon about what happened to Viserion. Maybe the actress can't make herself cry. Iain Glen is a good actor, and has the finest cheekbones in the show.

Arya in the books never cared about nice dresses or hairdos and yet in this (and the last) episode, Arya really seems to resent Sansa for having enjoyed "nice things" and "pretty dresses" and having had a nice hairdo during Ned's execution. And in the book, I think I remember Arya actually remembering that Sansa had screamed; or at least noticing. I think Arya is trying to test Sansa, but her idea of testing is going way too far, both as a sister and a Stark of Winterfell (i.e. threatening to murder the Lady of Winterfell).

Sansa is showing huge restraint in not having Arya imprisoned and/or beheaded for threatening to kill the Lady of Winterfell. Arya apparently thinks it's okay to psychologically and physically threaten your sister. Ned would be so proud of her - not!