[Poll] How would you rate episode 510?

[Chebyshov]

I gave it a 2. Aside from the WoS there was literally nothing I could call "good," and a lot I would call outright "bad" (usually meaning illogical). And for the walk I was just super projecting the books onto it anyway.

The show felt this season like the Ember Island Players' performance of the "Boy in the Iceberg".

Same plot, but ridiculous and parody like, with a view into the future that would be completely different.

Actually, the Players gave a truer depiction I think. If nothing else at least their cartoonish characterizations were consistent.

[ummester]

I had no idea they could sync it to the point that we just saw the scene and don't really know if it was CG'ed or not....pretty cool!

It's possible to do - but it would be a lot easier if the body double had a green mask or something, which it didn't look like in the still shots. Or, the old fashioned way - they find an actress who looks a lot like Lena, apply some makeup and just use her in the distance shots.

[Metopheles]

I gave it a 2. Aside from the WoS there was literally nothing I could call "good," and a lot I would call outright "bad" (usually meaning illogical). And for the walk I was just super projecting the books onto it anyway.

Actually, the Players gave a truer depiction I think. If nothing else at least their cartoonish characterizations were consistent.

"AVATAR STATE -YIPYIP"

Yeah, you are right. They mixed up some stuff, but were consistent.

I shall go now, because my heart is so full of sadness, it is making me tearbend :crying:

[igrewupinKL]

They should've finished on Hardhome.

[vividox]

Stannis & Co.: Well then. Half of Stannis' army abandons him, Selyse hangs herself out of guilt, Melisandre leaves him, Boltons slaughter his entire army, and Brienne shows up in time to finish Stannis off herself. That escalated quickly. I did like how they showed Stannis fighting right up toward the end, and how he kicked the shit out of those two guys even though he was badly injured.

Brienne: Of course Brienne leaves a second before the candle is lit. Because plot timing.

Sansa and Theon: Wow. Miranda's death was brutal. Headsplat right onto the stones below. I rather enjoyed that. Sansa and Theon into the snowbank, we all know they survive.

Dorne: Jesus Christ this plot sucked this season. Typical GoT shock value with Jaime and Myrcella having a nice father-daughter moment and then Myrcella dying in his arms. In case I haven't said it enough times this season, Ellaria's character was befouled in the making of this series.

Arya: Well I guess that was kind of cool. Meryn Trant all of a sudden acting like one of the most sadistic characters on the show was completely unneeded and out of left field, but hey, Arya got her kill in. I hate that they left out Arya's cool, "I didn't kill him, Arya Stark killed him" answer. You know, the line that made her progressing in her training make sense.

Meereen: Okay then, Tyrion and Varys are ruling Meereen now. Hurrah. Dany is surrounded by the swirling Dothraki horse vortex of doom.

Walk of Shame: I thought the lead up to the walk was kind of weak. It made it feel like the walk came out of nowhere. The walk itself was probably the most well done scene out of the entire episode (season?). A damn near perfect representation of what happens in the books. But why the hell didn't Cersei immediately ask for Tommen at the finish line? Cersei's #1 character trait is caring about her children, and she didn't ask about him, WTF?

The Wall: Why the hell is Jon having that conversation about the White Walkers with Sam? Why isn't Alliser there? And Dolorous Ed? And every other high ranking Night's Watch left? Why does Sam have to ask to go to Oldtown? Why is Show!Jon the absolute worst commander ever, sulking in his chamber reading scrolls and doing nothing? Why does the Night's Watch need the Benjen ruse to kill Jon? Most of this seemed rushed, unnecessary, or downright trite. Lots of what happened in this episode could have been spread throughout the season and done better. Jon's "dead" though, and they made quite the point of putting Melisandre in the same locale.

---

I'm generally not one to shit on the show because books, but there were so many changes in so many storylines that detracted more than they added. Even with all the big things happening this episode, I can't help but feel pretty disappointed by it. Perhaps that's just a reflection of the season as a whole. I'm having to suspend more and more disbelief just to continue watching the show. I had started coming to grips with the disparity between the show and the books last season, now it's hard to find the similarities.

6/10. I think that's tied for the worst rating I've given in this show. And it's getting increasingly harder to justify giving sixes.

[Cyvasse Khal]

8/10. Would liked to have seen a lot more of the Battle of the North, but what we saw was still good. Wasn't sure how to interpret Theon & Sansa jumping - whether it was suicidal or to potential safety. Walk of Shame was fantastic, all down to Lena Headey (although was slightly detached from it knowing it was a body double). Arya was decent enough, although the continuous face changing was a bit overdone and flashy just for the sake of it. Drogon just being like a big cat was pretty funny. Meereen convo was okay, but don't necessarily agree that the Meereenese people would follow Missandei & Grey Worm in any way. Enjoyed Tyrion & Varys, and wish these two would stick with each other for the remainder of the series. Dorne was ludicrous, so at least it's consistent. I was a bit underwhelmed by the Jon stabbing, I guess when you know something's coming it's hard to make it epic.

Season 3 as a whole has possibly been the weakest of them all. Hardhome was amazing, and a strong back half to the season, but the majority of the first 6 episodes were not great. I can safely say i'm more than ready for Winds. I need this story in George's words now.

[Consigliere]

4/10. The WoS was decently done. I thought this episode was supposed to break the internet but it was just more of the same illogical plotlines, inconsistent characterisation and plot holes. So I guess the burning of Shireen ultimately proved to be pointless and Reek morphs into Theon out of the blue and decides to kill Myranda and rescue Sansa (actually there is no Sansa, only Jeyne Poole). The entire WF plotline has been a joke and the same goes for Dorne. The finale was in keeping with the rest of this season - thoroughly mediocre.

[lakin1013]

1. I cannot believe that was the finale.

Dorne - that was it? Ellaria and SS wanted Myrcella dead. They had her all this time and waited to kill her until she told her uncle/daddy she knew and was glad? Why? And she was killed by poisoned lipstick? Why did I have to watch Dorne all season thinking something was coming when the only thing coming was ....nothing. Boring. BTW, I can get past the prophecy thing (crowns of gold) because Myrcella has gold hair. So only Tommen is left.

WoS - Overlong and boring. As soon as the nature of the crowd changed, then we knew there would be name-calling and throwing and such. I never felt sympathy for Cersei in the book and I felt none here, except impatience at the length of the scene.

Stannis - Not a Stannis fan here, but I did enjoy who he was, in the books. He was consistently true to his character and the show has ruined him for me. BTW, I do not think Brienne killed him, but what difference would it make after all. Not only did he burn his daughter alive, and lost his BFF witch, but the show also turned him into a miserable battle commander.

Sansa - Theon saves her from Myrandha. I thought it was Sansa's story? Where was the empowered Sansa, acting as an agent to save herself when actually Theon was the one who killed M. Theon was the one who guided her to the parapet to jump. Yes, she did put the candle up but of course, it being tv, Brienne looked away at just the right moment. I am assuming Sansa and Theon joined hands (Yay, Theon redemption cuz who cares about Sansa), jumped into the one remaining snowbank and it saved their lives, or one or both of them are dead. Whatever. And didn't we just see the hand-taking act of redemption between Dany and Jorah last week????

Dany - Ok, she flies to some field, can no longer get her tired dragon to take her anywhere, and starts exploring. Ok, it looks like the Dothraki encircle her. Isn't she just going to speak to them in their native tongue, show them the dragon, and they are going to accept her? Where is the cliff hanger? I cannot remember exactly what happens in the book to Dany so I will have to check later today.

Arya - She kills the bad guy, but it was the bad guy from her own list, and not from the official bad guy list. This is a crime to the many-faced god so Arya loses her sight. Ok. But the kill of Trant was also overlong, it just took her sooooo long to kill the guy that I was bored. Between Arya's kill and Cersei's WoS, both were overlong, telegraphed the endings, and just took time from other stories, except Dorne, where there never was a story.

FTW - Sorry, but I CANNOT get behind 'Olly" being Jon's last word. CANNOT. Why did the show bother to make Alliser more complex, if only to make him actually simple?

At this moment, I would utter the dire words ...this show has lost me...but I realize that maybe, just maybe the book may come out before the show resumes. A person can hope.

Edited to add - I completely forgot about St. Tyrion and his new sidekicks, GW/MS running Mereen, and Dario and Jorah leaving for an adventure. And then I realized I had nothing to say.

Edited June 15, 2015 by lakin1013

[i_am_no_one]

4 and that was really being generous.

Seasons 1-3 I was unsullied. After the Red Wedding I read the books. Ever since then the show's "big" moments have just been "meh" for me. That's not to say there haven't been great moments that I really did like. But these "GASP! For the watch!" moments, for me anyway, have lost their impact. (Relatedly, this season's deviations from the book plot lines have been KIND OF interesting to me just for the simple fact of I didn't know what was gonna happen. But still fuck a bunch of lukewarm Dorne and Sansa's pointless rape).

When I READ Dany's dragon-back escape from the pits for instance (and I know that was last episode but it's instilling my point of disappointment) I SERIOUSLY PUT THE BOOK DOWN AND JUMPED FOR JOY. When I WATCHED Dany's dragon-back escape from the pits, I was like "okay." And that sucks. Because I was really looking forward to seeing that play out on screen. But it was lukewarm.

Now is this because I am no longer unsullied? Or because the writing for the show has taken a nosedive? If I had read the RW before seeing it, I would have thrown the book across the room. Watching it, I was absolutely shocked. Terrified. Mortified.

Has anyone else had this issue of being so impressed with the books as a former unsullied and then the show losing its luster?

I guess either way, there's nothing I can really do about it except accept I have two versions of the "same" story. I'm done setting high expectations for the show bc I just don't think they will deliver. I truly hope R + L = J plays out and does so extremely well.

I hope I am not too far off topic w this post. It's more a review on the whole season than just this episode.

[aaron30]

Worst epsiode of the worst season 1/10. I have been waiting for cersei to get what she deserves since season 1 and they took it away from me. The walk of shame scene was embarrassingly long. Ok, we get it, she's a whore. Move on. Amazingly, I actually want to see her kill all those cultist d-bags and get her revenge. The Stannis scene was ridiculous. All of his horses gone and half his host deserted and he still attacked...and where did the bastard of bolton suddenly get 10000000000 soldiers from? Then brienne shows up to finish him off? sorry she doesn't roll that way. she would have taken him somewhere to heal up, then challenged him to single combat when he was healthy or something. The dorne scene? Give me a break. They would have turned that shi[p around straight away, unless they'rwe trying to play it like the lannisters are going to declare war because of it or something idiotic like that. Mereen/dany was a waste of time> And to cap it all off, jon snow is dead, so who is left that i care to tune in a watch for? The imp and arya stark. That scene was the worst of all. Instead of keeping the gate cl;osed and locking them all out, you let all the wildlings through andf then kill jon...There wasn't one watchmen who would have told everyone else about the battle and the dead walking and killing everyone? They didn't notice jon's injuries and wonder where they all came from? The arya scene was the only good one in the episode but then in ended with her going blind or whatever, yay, who cares. Total garbage. Sorry HBO, you had a nice run, but its over now, if not for you, then me. I'm done. Like a lot of other people. I hope they call off anymore seasons because they messed it up.

[The Bald Man Cries]

Headly did nude scenes in 300. That's not the case. She announced her pregnancy in February, whilst the production took place from August to December. She wouldn't be more than 2 months pregnant in this scene. It's all her.

Look at the post directly above yours....there are links to 2 articles describing how Lena vetoed any nudity and that they filmed her doing the walk from the shoulders up and CG'ed in a body double

[GilletteMace]

10 lots of death and tension in this one. even though theon taking sidewith sansa came a bit too late. i hope for cersei somewhat getting back to old strength and wipe out these religious fanatics and with them make the people of kings landing suffer. i was very much entertained.

i for my part can distinguish between the books and the show and have no problems with conflicts arising in any way.

Edited June 15, 2015 by GilletteMace

[Lord Freypie]

Now is this because I am no longer unsullied? Or because the writing for the show has taken a nosedive? If I had read the RW before seeing it, I would have thrown the book across the room. Watching it, I was absolutely shocked. Terrified. Mortified.

Has anyone else had this issue of being so impressed with the books as a former unsullied and then the show losing its luster?

I guess either way, there's nothing I can really do about it except accept I have two versions of the "same" story. I'm done setting high expectations for the show bc I just don't think they will deliver. I truly hope R + L = J plays out and does so extremely well.

I hope I am not too far off topic w this post. It's more a review on the whole season than just this episode.

A friend who was a big GOT fan I convinced to read the books around mid season 2 was then so disgusted by the adaptation he stopped to watch the show somewhere in season 3, and he now hides in some cavern far from the internet every year when GOT is aired (just don't understand how he can find so much willpower) while he regularly reread the books.

So don't worry you're not alone.

[The Anti-Targ]

Everything was mostly fine except Dorne, and Dorne has just become white noise now so I don't count it for anything.

8/10

[chasing the dragons]

2 weeks in a row where they show a boat scene only to have the overhead shot show the boat has gone about 100 feet. Very weak. In the hardhome scene, the walkers could've waded to Jon's boat and Jamie could've been back on land in 30 seconds to confront the Dornish. Otherwise, I don't have high expectations for television so I rarely get disappointed.

[i_am_no_one]

A friend who was a big GOT fan I convinced to read the books around mid season 2 was then so disgusted by the adaptation he stopped to watch the show somewhere in season 3, and he now hides in some cavern far from the internet every year when GOT is aired (just don't understand how he can find so much willpower) while he regularly reread the books.

So don't worry you're not alone.

I'm glad (but also sad) that I'm not alone in this. I don't think I would have his willpower to stay away. At this point it's the whole "can't look away from a crash" mentality.

I am also doing a reread, however, and that is keeping me sane. I've only read the series once, and not as a member of this forum (which blissfully sparked the reread to begin with...I missed so. much.)

[JSPR_G]

4/10. The WoS was decently done. I thought this episode was supposed to break the internet but it was just more of the same illogical plotlines, inconsistent characterisation and plot holes. So I guess the burning of Shireen ultimately proved to be pointless and Reek morphs into Theon out of the blue and decides to kill Myranda and rescue Sansa (actually there is no Sansa, only Jeyne Poole). The entire WF plotline has been a joke and the same goes for Dorne. The finale was in keeping with the rest of this season - thoroughly mediocre.

Why is everyone saying that the burning of Shireen was pointless? This is how Mel comes to realise how wrong she's been all this time about Stannis being AA. I think that's huge and it'll prove to be more than important for the rest of the show.

[Consigliere]

Why is everyone saying that the burning of Shireen was pointless? This is how Mel comes to realise how wrong she's been all this time about Stannis being AA. I think that's huge and it'll prove to be more than important for the rest of the show.

Because it was poorly handled. The events leading up to the burning and rationale were completely illogical and those who felt that it was done for nothing more than shock value were absolutely correct.

[Les Météores D]

7

I actually liked the scene between Myrcella and her dad. In S6 they have to explain that Thorne & Boltons had a deal: NW kills Jon and in exchange the Boltons wipe out the wildlings, or that'd the biggest plot hole ever regarding Ser ***

[Peter George Stewart]

9/10 a pretty satisfying conclusion. Highly compressed, but great events.

The show definitely isn't as good now that B&W have only the skeleton of GRRM's story to work from, and no actual text to adapt, but it's still a great show, still sad that the season's ended, still looking forward to next season.

I have a feeling they're going to wrap it up pretty quickly in one season next season though, so everything will probably be as compressed as this episode was.