The Chequered Raven Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Am I the only one who did NOT like this episode at all? Some really good scenes, I like NC-W's acting much more than as he still was the arrogant asshole. A man who has after all found to itself and struggels in finding his place because all his "world" does not at all accept his change... The Brienne-scenes were very good, alos fitting how they changed the way Pod joined her. Not good: The Tyrell-Littlefinger Plot was told to early. Surely the readers know, but for the unsullied it would be better to riddle if Thyrion did not... Bran at Crasters? Why? To give him screen-time? The book-scenes of his journey are material enough, I think! The final scene - a waste of screentime! The tiny Ice-Stonehenge was a joke, and the most interesting thing with the Walkers - nobody knows what they are, from where they are, and what they want - is spoiled The first time I'm disappointed by the show! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Desmond Wine's Bane Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Plus Side Grey Worm infiltrating the slavesBronn/Jaime - I thought this was quite good. Said a lot about where both of them were atKingslayer Bros Inc - ditto for aboveMarg/Olenna - a really well paced scene and loved how the framing pulls in closer and closer until the reveal is made. Only drawback was the Baelish voiceover at the start, but excellent otherwise.Jon/Locke - Loved this scene on most fronts - especially Grenn stepping up, and Jon-Locke interaction. A tad put off by Slynt suddenly knowing more about the NW protocols than the Acting Lord CommanderJaime/Brienne - fantastic sequence and loved the swaying of Pod as he struggled to stay in the saddleSam/Jon + Volunteers - Solid scenes but still have some doubts about how it will all be resolved. Revelation of Bran to Jon important loose end tied up IMOCrasters - slightly on the plus side, but a few things just seem 'off' about it. I'll have to do a rewatch Minus Side'Kill the Masters' in English, after all the work they have done on creating languages, this just really stood outTargaryen banner - would have had more impact if they had introduced it sometime in the last 3 yearsWW - Wasn't overly impressed as it was depicted for some reason... needs a re-watch but I just see problems with overemphasising the WW menace now instead of as a 'vague, mysterious yet present' danger. Making them too menacing now risks people not rooting for the right side at the Battle of Castle Black. It might work out but I am not impressed at the moment. NeutralMissandei/Grey Worm - OK I guess, a pity they haven't spent this much time on Dany's character the last couple of seasons.'Injustice' line - hopefully that and the final scene gets played out as the decent to megalomania, but I doubt it. I might have had in the plus side had they changed her outfit out of the Madonna Blue into Targ Red/Black.Baelish/Sansa - I'd like to have this as a plus, giving Sansa some lines for once etc, but I am just cold about the Littlefinger portrayal. I loved his movements, but that voice....Twincest - I'd love to put this as a plus. As a scene on its own it deserves it. As a scene following E01 and E02 it deserves it. It is glaringly obvious they just shouldn't have had 'that' scene last week at all.Margommen - not bad, borderline in the plus column. Id like to give an 8 but it doesn't quite make it, so 7 (almost a 7.5 but just short) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Stark Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 (edited) I really enjoyed it, although yes, it was different from the books. I get that. And I don't really mind it to be honest. Actually had fun getting solid answers to theories we had the whole time, like LF's involvment in Joff's death, and the Tyrells. The scenes blended together almost perfectly. I'm not sure about the White Walkers, and never really have been with the show because they're not even CLOSE to how I imagined them. I realize it's a show, and they wouldn't be right on with what I created in my head, but they are so off from what I imagined that it's disorienting. And whoever wrote "they were surprised when Darth Maul showed up at the end"....that gave me a good chuckle. And the scene at Craster's, there are a lot of comments about how evil these people are, and that it's not GRRM's style. I honestly thought it was pretty well done, with a few minor quibbles. But if they had got rid of him drinking from Mormon'ts skull I would have been 99% okay with the whole thing. That part was a bit much. Great show! I haven't been excited like this in a long time about a show. EDIT: I gave it a 9.Ep One: 8Ep Two: 8Three: 7Four: 9That's some pretty damn good television, in my opinion. Edited April 28, 2014 by Steve Stark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Desmond Wine's Bane Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 And the scene at Craster's, there are a lot of comments about how evil these people are, and that it's not GRRM's style. I honestly thought it was pretty well done, with a few minor quibbles. But if they had got rid of him drinking from Mormon'ts skull I would have been 99% okay with the whole thing. That part was a bit much. Yeah that and the 'Gift to the gods' chant to be honest. Quite offputting. I did in general like the rest and showing why Karl is the dominant person there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Stark Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Yeah that and the 'Gift to the gods' chant to be honest. Quite offputting. I did in general like the rest and showing why Karl is the dominant person there. True, that was minorly irritating. But it kind of went with the previous Craster scenes where the girls were obviously brainwashed and would answer Craster's questions with memorized lines. So it didn't surprise me that they had some chant for when they sacrificed the babies...although I'll agee with you that I didn't particularly enjoy it. I still find it hard to believe, in the book and show, that these women never teamed up and killed Craster. After all, giving up a child to the forest...it would only take one of them to lose it and stab him in the throat. Women become bloodthirsty when you mess with their children. Maybe that's where the brainwashing chants come in...it made them feel better about being forced into sacrifice? Craster's Keep...the whole situation is just creepy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmavridis Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Strong 8 bordering on 9. I like that they had Dany at the beginning to get her out of the way. I hate it when you look the clock and realize that it's 45 minutes past the hour and you just know they're going to close out with Emilia making some boring diatribe with that stupid smug look on her face... The violent stuff at Craster's was pretty lame, IMO. I hate caricatures like Karl who are evil for no reason other than 'because they're evil'. GRRM knows how to build a true character, D&D still have no freaking clue. Everything outside of Dany and Craster's was top-notch. I agree. Strong 8, not 9 because of the caricatures like Karl and the deviation in Bran's story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Monkey Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 (edited) Good episode. Not great, but it did its job. That last sequence with the White Walkers was exquisite, it's good to be reminded every now and again that this is a fantasy story. I really didn't mind that they merge Jon and Bran's story. Hey, maybe they could even have a reunion scene, that would be so sweet. If Bran can convince Jon that it's his destiny to meet with the Three-Eyed Crow, Jon would keep the secret and the story could play out pretty much like in the books. Edited April 28, 2014 by The Monkey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmavridis Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 As for the "spoiler" stuff about the "Others" and Craster's male children, is something that is suggested in this forum by many people and if I recall well is implied in the books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bungholes First Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 9 out of 10 Chickens. Bryan Cogman needs to be promoted to showrunner status. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bravos sealord Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Yes George ,finish the books .I`m a bit long in the tooth and hopefully will live to read them Excellent episode ! Deviations from book OK with me. Superb ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ilúvatar Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 6/10 The liberation of Meereen started off okay, but I hate how it suddenly cut forward to another Daenerys cheese moment. I'm now wondering why they even bothered with Grey Worm's first seen at all. They could have had an extra few minutes of Daenerys walking around like the Pope to cries of "mhysa". :rolleyes: Even the crucifixion scene felt rushed like they couldn't wait to show another shot of Daenerys being glorified. Cersei and Jaime's scene was good. Surprise, surprise, she's not acting like a rape victim, confirming that last week's scene was consensual. I think they went too far revealing how Joffrey was killed. I fully expected Littlefinger to brag to Sansa about his involvement and go into detail about the necklace, but Olenna blurting her own involvement out in a city full of spies seemed a bit much to me. I think most viewers already got the message the moment Littlefinger's scene cut forward to the Tyrells. I was surprised to see Locke at the Wall so soon. His interactions with Jon weren't a bad deviation from the books though in my opinion. Alliser Thorne was great as usual. Loved the scenes at Craster's Keep (especially the character Karl) up until they caught Bran and co. This seemed like a huge and unnecessary change to me that could result in things happening that I didn't want to happen (Stark kids reuniting). The final White Walker scene was an underwhelming surprise. I wasn't at all impressed by their homeland, icehenge, or the leader who looks like some kind of frost vampire. And the confirmation that White Walkers are created using human babies sort of cheapens them as a fantasy race in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Stark Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Ha! "IceHenge". The final White Walker scene was an underwhelming surprise. I wasn't at all impressed by their homeland, icehenge, or the leader who looks like some kind of frost vampire. And the confirmation that White Walkers are created using human babies sort of cheapens them as a fantasy race in my opinion. Good point on the White Walker scene. It does cheapen their mystical race a bit. Some are even saying that we know too much, which takes away from the eeriness. I can understand that too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shinjinobrave Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Very hit and miss. Everything north of the wall was terrible, Nikolai isn't getting anything to work with, Dany's cruelty was a dud and Emilia's acting isn't improving... That being said I loved Sansa, Margaery and Olenna in this, great work. That being said, the bad outweighs the good.It's a 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ran Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 258 votes in, 8.09 average, 9 median, 8.29 normalized average. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEvilKing Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 (edited) That was a really good episode. First off, the Craster's Keep storyline. They're inserting an original subplot that's actually good? Well played. I certainly did not expect them to capture Bran and co. Dirk was ridiculously entertaining, Locke at the Wall is intriguing, Kit's acting has gone up a couple of notches this season. Right now the stuff at the Wall is more interesting than KL. Speaking of KL, still some good stuff there. Jaime's storyline played out as expected and was solid quality. QOT admitting to her role in Joff's murder was badass. Margarery sneaking into Tommen's room... lucky kid is all I can say. Dany's slave rebellion and crucifiction of the masters could have been a bit more brutal, it felt like they wanted to show how ruthless she can be but at the same time were too scared of turning people against her. Littlefinger scene was alright. His accent continues to make me chuckle. Looking forward to comical antics at The Eyrie next episode. That final scene. Holy shit. I-is that book canon? I kind of have to think so, otherwise why even include it if it doesn't turn out to be important? ETA: Gave it a 9. Edited April 28, 2014 by TheEvilKing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perin Stone Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Am I the only one who did NOT like this episode at all? Some really good scenes, I like NC-W's acting much more than as he still was the arrogant asshole. A man who has after all found to itself and struggels in finding his place because all his "world" does not at all accept his change... The Brienne-scenes were very good, alos fitting how they changed the way Pod joined her. Not good: The Tyrell-Littlefinger Plot was told to early. Surely the readers know, but for the unsullied it would be better to riddle if Thyrion did not... Bran at Crasters? Why? To give him screen-time? The book-scenes of his journey are material enough, I think! The final scene - a waste of screentime! The tiny Ice-Stonehenge was a joke, and the most interesting thing with the Walkers - nobody knows what they are, from where they are, and what they want - is spoiled The first time I'm disappointed by the show! You're not alone/ I hated everything that happened after they got to Castle Black. Apparently fending off the wildling attack from the south, defending the wall from the huge army and becoming Lord Commander isn't enough for Jon to do this season so they had to invent more things for him to heroically do... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Killer Snark Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 (edited) I gave this a solid 8. It was a similar type of episode as last week's underrated flair-fest, but there was something a bit workmanlike about it, and the pace was a tad flat-footed throughout most of its second half. Sandwiched between the promise of the Dany opening and a thrilling scene with the Others (I really liked it) were a slew of scenes that were generally sensitive to the books without being as interesting as last week's, except for some possibly dubious alterations: I know we're being cheated of Vargo's unspeakable death by Gregor, but what exactly is Locke, his alter-ego, doing at The Wall? The Castle Black scenes were fairly credible, but simply went on a bit too long. It unnecessarily made us miss the presence of Oberyn, and Dany should have been featured more. Her appearances are getting bittier, and we need more of them to counteract how inactive she gets later on. On the plus side, Margaery getting her smexy groove on was good, and the scenes between Jaime, Bronn and Tyrion were nicely handled even though each of these listed deviates from strict adherence to the novels. I can't objectively give this one less than 8, but the steady pace worked fine the last time round, and now it's time they started to pick things up. The tension of the outcome of Tyrion's trial, btw, is somewhat neutered by the show's continued sidelining, if not complete elision, of the character of Greg Clegane. Edited April 28, 2014 by The Killer Snark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Richman Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 It was by far the worst episode ever. If the 1st few episodes were this bad I would have never kept watching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Killer Snark Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 It's the weakest so far of the season, I will certainly give you that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherCrannogman Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 (edited) Not sure why they are moving so fast, I am learning way more from the show than I ever wanted. They are trying to do too much in each episode, I give it a 5. Edited April 28, 2014 by AnotherCrannogman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.