Disclaimer: I judge the episodes on their own merits. I put no expectations on them based of what I've read. 9/10 - Choreography was phenomenal. Ser Alliser vs Tormund, Jon vs. Styr, and even the extra's fights were well down. Sure, it wasn't The Raid quality 10/10, but it's probably the best I've seen on TV. - Cinematography. Tell me that one minute sweeping crane take wasn't impressive. I think it's the single most impressive shot in GoT. I think Neil Marshall did leagues better establishing the scale of this battle. I felt that was Black Waters' biggest problem. - CGI was really good. The scythe scene was excellent. - The editing was great as well. I really like the decision to have the fighting continuous for a 20 minute period. Also, the editing was less chopping than in the Black Water episode. - Ygritte's death scene was a little too corny for my liking. Overall, this is very much a Neil Marshall production. This episode very much reminded me of Dog Soldiers (the buildup to battle, a confrontation that you don't see, the bastards of the group becoming likable). I'll probably get stoned for this, but Black Water, to me, is a 6/10. This episode was a marked improvement for Mr. Marshall.
