An 8 from me. As a premise, I have to say that I am treating books and TV shows like two completely separate works, not indulging in thorough comparisons and simply judging each episode by how much I enjoyed performances/dialogues/storylines (to be honest, I didn't even mind D&D dropping a couple of characters and storylines - fAegon and Quentyn - that I thought were a bit dull in the books). Anyway, I found this episode the best of the season so far. I appreciated Arya's storyline, Maisie did a great job on that, and the Needle moment did it for me. Jaqen/nonJaqen is pulling off Kindly Man decently enough, and I am quite happy to have Wlaschina back on the show. I liked Janos' execution, plus all the Wall's scenes, I am normally not a great fan of Harington, but I have to say that the Jon-Stannis-Davos team is NAILING it (and that nod is all I ever wanted). I was pretty neutral towards the wedding arc, and the marriage being consummated doesn't bother me much. Good first impression of the High Sparrow, I think the character has been cast quite well, and I like that he's not strongly dislikable from the outset, and that he isn't portrayed like a fanatic stereotype like somebody else was saying somewhere in this forum. Like how Volantis was represented, and again, didn't mind much the variations from the book in the brothel scene (although I wouldn't mind a tad less of Tyrion whitewashing). Pretty happy with Varys being there as the two do make an entertaining pair. Brienne's little speech was good as it gives a bit of depth to her character, depth that at times has been forgotten in the last season or so. Her offering to teaching Pod how to be a knight including sword training reminded me vaguely of Book!Jaime training with Ilyn Payne in the Riverlands. About Sansa's arc, I'm witholding judgement for now, as there's a lot of potential of going both ways. The North Remembers lady gave me the chills for a second, and I loved Sansa's glare in meeting Roose before shifting to her courteous self. If I hadn't read the books first I reckon I would be quite happy with the current storyline, although it's hard at time not to worry. That said, I am not sure I would have wanted the show to follow Book!Sansa storyline chapter by chapter because it wouldn't have made great television.
