Lord Jibblejab

Yeah, I can appreciate that I suppose. I just can't help but whinge about it anyway :)

I gave it a 7 or 8. My opinion of it fluctuated multiple times throughout watching it, but overall, dat's some good TV rite thar. I thought the duel itself was just as powerful as it was in the books, honestly. My only qualm was it could have gone on longer, but it DID have that nice "back-and-forth-what's-going-to-happen-oh-god" quality, and Oberyn yelling out and pointing to Tywin really gave me goosebumps. Also, it was nice to see some real skill at arms on the show for once! Vale scenes fluctuated a lot. Although I like the route the book takes with the singer Marillion far more, I thought Baelish's lies and apparent lies-through-Sansa were great. The fluctuation happened when it was revealed that Baelish really WAS lost without Sansa, and it was she who came up with the lies. Maybe D&D know some things about Sansa in Winds of Winter and how under-handed she'll become, but they should NOT explore this at the expense of Baelish's character. They made him look lost and incompetent. This was my biggest criticism of the episode. After a lot of thought, I've decided the Theon/Reek scenes were good. Alfie Allen really is amazing. Oh, and seeing an ironborn being TOUGH for once in Ralf Kenning was nice. The reason why I didn't come to love the Theon scenes initially was because I thought it was too damned fast. In an episode exploring the love life of Missandei and Greyworm and the plight of beetles, it felt cruel to have it cut between negotiation and flaying so quickly. The scene in the books, where Theon has to drink himself through the Ironborn screams beside the hounds, was REALLY powerful, and I wanted that here. Theon scenes this season in general have a tendency to annoy me, because of how the show kept Theon around through seasons 3 and 4 rather than having him disappear after season 2 and come back in season 5. Now, rather than having a hugely powerful and concentrated storyline with season 5, starting with a powerful reveal moment where you realise this character is still alive... we have the more diluted take on it which the show is doing. Uggh. It just feels like such a disservice to one of the greatest characters in the book. If you're only going to have him appear every 2 or 3 episodes, at least give his scenes more focus/length than some other bits of filler in the episodes. (Yes, I realise it's probably because D&D realise that a lot of the TV audience hate Theon/Reek and don't want to see him too often... but honestly... forget those guys! :P) Moving on, what REALLY surprises me is people here who disliked Jorah's dismissal and described it as "lacking emotion". That scene was the surprise highlight for me, and it almost got a tear from me. And the music, as ever, is incredible. I loved that scene. And yeah, the beetle scene. I really liked the point of it, but it just went on for far too long. (also 'dis is my first AFOIAF post hai guys!)