How would you rate episode 502?

[DRS]

As everyone will agree, the show is not the book. To know where the story will go gives each the freedom to tell the story. I watched several times to make sure I was not being too hasty, but have not seen anything to change my opinion. To me David and Dans telling is flat and contrived. Like they have grown board with the project and want to be done with it.

Three of Ten is being kind.

Mother of Dragons should be changed to Mother of The Short Bus..just painfully bad.

Sansa..well, as there is nothing else to draw from, her story gets a pass..but where she is heading in obvious and is bound to get mired is a subplot that is beyond implausible.

Lord Snow should have been able to draw out his being chosen Lord Commander. Again, I understand that the writers created a bunch of show only content, but truth be told, their story is far less interesting than GRRMs.

House of Black and butchered..pfft..I hope they redeem this plot line.

[Ran]

411 votes, 6.99 average -- gosh -- and 7.11 with top/bottom 5% removed.

[The Killer Snark]

I voted 9. There was nothing particularly wrong with it, and I really like how they're treating Jon and Stannis this season. I'm not going to spoiler anything for non-leaked episode viewers, but it gets better from here on in. The pace of this season is unnecessarily slow however on account of too many missing characters and drastic shortcuts in dramatic story arcs. What I didn't like about this episode was the rather silly, too narratively convenient, alteration of the original keeper of the House at Braavos for Jaqen Hghar.

[I love Cersei]

Didn't like all of it, but all of it was better than episode 1. Therefore, I'm happy.

[Just Maid]

One week later, but Ifinally found time time to watch the show :blushing: . First, I think it was an exciting episode. :) Last week I said that the episode was a little slow, but the second episode was a completely different thing. I really like everything that happen in The Wall and Mereen. It was a solid 9.

[ValrianSunni]

It was an entertaining episode. I get why they truncated Jon's election, and substituting an Aemon deciding vote was a nice touch to make up for the drama the book has with the raven popping out of the kettle. I liked the Dany scenes as well. I also like the Cersei scene with the Council and Kevan. The Arya stuff is dragged out a bit but I don't see it as much of a big deal.

Biggest complaints would probably be Jaime/Cersei (which seems chronically screwed up) and Ellaria. If they kept Obara, they might as well have introduced her in this episode. D&D would probably defend it on the grounds that Dorne is so unfamiliar to the audience that they need a familiar face to make the introduction. But I'd reject this on the basis that she was in like 3 episodes last season, they cut her hair and therefore there's no reason why should she couldnt be just crying in a corner during the introduction to Doran.

I give the episode an 8. Episodes early in the season often set things up for more explosive finales, as we've seen in the past.

I liked Ellaria Sand taking on the function of Ariane Martell. Cut those characters wherever you can, and use the actors you've got. Maybe Quentyn will be cut as well. Though I loved him in the books, It's not tv worthy.

Sansa and Brienne were interesting. Who knows what was going on in Sansa's head, but she seems to be keeping her own council, distinct from Littlefinger. Brienne never had much of a plan about what to do with the Stark girls if she found them. If Brienne had spoken any louder Cersei might have heard her back in KL!!

I love Shireen and hope that nothing bad happens to her. She should start a school. I wonder if

<s Jon Connington is coming s>

I love Jon at the Wall. I was sorry to see Sam's nomination pass so quickly, but the bit about Janos Slynt hiding with Gilly, "in a puddle of his own making" made up for it.

I loved seeing Arya. I thought maybe the House of B&W people saw that she had a list, that she wasn't afraid to defend herself with her sword and that that's why they let her in. Also loved Jaqen H'agar. Make use of the actors you've got.

Where's Margaery?? I can't wait to see what's up with her.

[The Killer Snark]

Oh, don't worry. Margaery in the upcoming episodes is up to a whole load of smirky fun.

[TheNorth's1stKnight]

I liked this episode better than the first so I give it a 9. I'm not a fan of all the deviations from the books but I really do like Jaime and Bronn going to Dorne, that should be entertaining.

[Jdawg Laurence]

Much better than the first. I felt the voting was a little too fast at the wall, but overall a nice episode.

[MizasterJ]

Season 5 Episode 2 Review

This was an interesting episode that took an in depth look at rulership through the examples of Doran, Cersei,Tyrion / Varys, Dany,Stannis, and Jon. Mercy seemed like a central theme as well.
I was anticipating flashbacks scenes, and a lot more from Dorne. The set of Dornish water garden is some of the most elaborate and incredible sets to date. I’m actually thankfully for the reprieve of sexuality in favor of story development.

Great to see Drogon all big and fierce , except I’m pretty sure that scene was meant for Quaithe. Drogon just wanted to see what all the fuss was about and get back to swooping down terror. But seriously, where’s Quaithe?
I have mixed feelings about Dany executing that guy felt like it was a tad out of character. Still the scene was dramatic and fits into the episode theme and maybe the season theme.

Arya’s parts were shallow. I don’t see why they waited till next episode to see her inside, especially if they are going to call the episode House Black and White.

On a side note I just have to say how the holy hell can they cast Areo Hotah without a freakin beard?!? He’s a bearded priest for God sake. That’s an easy cast, just get a guy that can grow a beard, but no instead they blatantly disrespect the fans and GRRM, with total disregard for character back story and fan appreciation. Give him a damn beard and a damn axe or otherwise rename the character !

Why couldn’t we get 1 scene of Trystane and Myrcella or some of the sand snakes?

Doran is a little on the dull side. Why not include a sweeping shot of the Dornish deserts or mountains as it leads into the location? Dorne is a very exotic place, more than just water gardens, it deserved a better intro compared to the bleak city of Braavos. Ah well. Hey it was funny seeing Lollys, even though thats not how i pictured her.
Not bad for episode 2, still holding my interest soundly without pissing off my inner fan boy too much. 7/10

Edited May 1, 2015 by MizasterJ