How would you rate episode 201?

[mmp]

The Littlefinger/Cersei scene was a bit clownish on Cersei's part. Just didn't feel natural. (I was expecting her to command her guards to square dance.)

Ros is... well, "just a dumb slut, but a letter for every part."

I didn't like Robb/Cat's writing. Everything felt awkward, forced.

Music was cued in the middle of conversations (Tyrion + Cersei, Joff + Dontos), awkwardly. "Ease into it..."

Hopefully things will slow down and chill out through the rest of the season.

7.5/10

[Dr. Pepper]

...wig is worse than the ones Dany and Cersei wear.

You know, considering the budget for the show, you think they could've gotten better wigs.

Considering the budget, why the hell do they refuse to dye Cersei's eyebrows? I can deal with the crappy wig if only I wasn't constantly jarred by the contrast of her eyebrows. Her eyebrows make her wig bad and it would cost just a tiny amount of money to lighten them.

[Lord Belmore]

I ended up giving it a 7.

The Good:

-Tyrion and Joffrey are at least as great as they were last season. Sansa and Dantos were also good.

-The CGI dragons/wolves look wonderful.

-They're doing a great job fleshing out Robb.

-I had no problems with Craster's Keep, and it fit with how I had imagined it.

-The ending bastard montage was absolutely perfect.

-Stannis approving the letter denouncing the Lannisters and their incest was excellent.

-The Cersei-Joffrey scene was superb.

-I haven't seen many people mentioning it, but I really liked Bran's lone sequence this episode. How Bran is learning to rule is a nice foil to how Joffrey is learning to rule, and Luwin is a very likable character. It also gives a glimpse of some of the negative sentiments stirred even from a war the Starks, and the viewer as identifying with them, view as necessary and just.

-They didn't have much to work with in this episode, but I think all of the new actors will be fine.

-I actually liked the Ros scene well enough; however...

The Bad:

-My problem with Ros isn't that her scene was bad but that we're losing other scenes to stick her in. Without her lead-in to the bastard-killing, we could have had a decent scene with some actual dialogue re: Arya, Yoren, Gendry, et. al going North.

-While I liked Robb's scenes, I am a little sad they took out the "send Umber" dialogue. It would've been a quick way to add some development, it would have pleased book fans quite a bit, and it would have been more clever and only equally time-consuming as what they instead went with.

-The Cersei-Littlefinger scene. It just doesn't fit with my conception of Littlefinger's character, though I understand why they're doing it. On the bright side, Cersei's response was comical, and it clearly displayed her philosophy on power. Maybe I'm just a book-Littlefinger fanboy.

-Without a doubt my biggest problem was moving the Cressen/Stannis scenes from the beginning to the middle. I don't think the actors were bad, but I think the adaptation essentially sucked all of the atmosphere and mystery out of the scene. I think that scene would have really benefited from being more like the book, coming at the beginning as an introduction to the new characters right off the bat (after which they could have been ignored the rest of the episode to please the crowd in seeing the Season 1 characters for the remainder, rather than randomly sticking them somewhere in the middle of this as was done). It was such a great season-opening scene, and I was really looking forward to it in advance. Unfortunately, I was left disappointed.

-The Daenerys-Rakharo scene was just weird. I'd take that entire scene out and give screentime to something more worthy.

-I'm sad Riverrun appears to have been removed thus far, but at the same time, I don't know what I would have taken out that would have yielded sufficient time to show it an a worthwhile manner. Maybe the Cersei-Littlefinger scene and the Ros scene would have been better replaced with a decent Riverrun, but I suppose there could also be budget issues with adding Riverrun to the mix. We'll see if they add it in the future, I suppose.

All-in-all, it was solid given what they needed to do. Most things left unmentioned (costumes, setting, camera work, the general feel of the world, the shifting intro, etc.) all remain very high-quality.

Edited April 2, 2012 by Lord Belmore

[Stallion That Mounts Texas]

I ended up giving it a 7.

The Good:

-Tyrion and Joffrey are at least as great as they were last season. Sansa and Dantos were also good.

-The CGI dragons/wolves look wonderful.

-They're doing a great job fleshing out Robb.

-I had no problems with Craster's Keep, and it fit with how I had imagined it.

-The ending bastard montage was absolutely perfect.

-Stannis approving the letter denouncing the Lannisters and their incest was excellent.

-The Cersei-Joffrey scene was superb.

-I haven't seen many people mentioning it, but I really liked Bran's lone sequence this episode. How Bran is learning to rule is a nice foil to how Joffrey is learning to rule, and Luwin is a very likable character. It also gives a glimpse of some of the negative sentiments stirred even from a war the Starks, and the viewer as identifying with them, view as necessary and just.

-They didn't have much to work with in this episode, but I think all of the new actors will be fine.

-I actually liked the Ros scene well enough; however...

The Bad:

-My problem with Ros isn't that her scene was bad but that we're losing other scenes to stick her in. Without her lead-in to the bastard-killing, we could have had a decent scene with some actual dialogue or Arya, Yoren, Gendry, et. al going North.

-While I liked Robb's scenes, I am a little sad they took out the "send Umber" dialogue. It would've been a quick way to add some development, it would have pleased book fans quite a bit, and it would have been more clever and only equally time-consuming as what they instead went with.

-The Cersei-Littlefinger scene. It just doesn't fit with my conception of Littlefinger's character, though I understand why they're doing it. On the bright side, Cersei's response was comical, and it clearly displayed her philosophy on power. Maybe I'm just at book-Littlefinger fanboy.

-Without a doubt my biggest problem was moving the Cressen/Stannis scenes from the beginning to the middle. I don't think the actors were bad, but I think the adaptation essentially sucked all of the atmosphere and mystery out of the scene. I think that scene would have really benefited from being more like the book, coming at the beginning as an introduction to the new characters right off the bat (after which they could have been ignored the rest of the episode to please the crowd in seeing the Season 1 characters for the remainder, rather than randomly sticking them somewhere in the middle of this as was done). It was such a great season-opening scene, and I was really looking forward to it in advance. Unfortunately, I was left disappointed.

-The Daenerys-Rakharo scene was just weird. I'd take that entire scene out and give screentime to something more worthy.

-I'm sad Riverrun appears to have been removed thus far, but at the same time, I don't know what I would have taken out that would have yielded sufficient time to show it an a worthwhile manner. Maybe the Cersei-Littlefinger scene and the Ros scene would have been better replaced with a decent Riverrun, but I suppose there could also be budget issues with adding Riverrun to the mix. We'll see if they add it in the future, I suppose.

All-in-all, it was solid given what they needed to do. Most things left unmentioned (costumes, setting, camera work, the general feel of the world, the shifting intro, etc.) all remain very high-quality.

Dany flirting w/ her bloodrider was just ludicrous. If the show puts them together romantically, I'm done.

[7V3N]

Am I the only one who hated it? I loved the music, the direwolves, KL and all. BUT that Littlefinger/Cersei scene killed it for me. Littlefinger would never let Cersei know that he had information on her. He plays in the shadows and the scene was too far out of character for him.

I also hated the portrayal of the Dragonstone scene. Stannis' character seemed like he is overdoing the hardness of Stannis to the point that it seems unnatural. Davos was good, and I don't know why Cressen bled from the mouth. The Tears of Lys leave no signs, just appear to be from choking.

Overall the episode seemed more like a "here we are" which I think could have been better accomplished with the recap intro. I wanted more of a "here we go" episode.

Edited April 2, 2012 by The Shadow Fox

[camradio]

Gave it an 8. Joffrey, Stannis and Tyrion were awesome. Not sold on Melisandre but we'll see how it goes. As far as Crastor's Keep I didnt think it was that bad, Yes it was supposed to be uber creepy but what can you do.

[Giskard Reventlov]

I liked the episode. Gave it an 9.

Melisandre looked terribly miscast.

Stanis was OK, if he was not what I imagined they made it up with letter writing scene.

[ipsuel]

I doubt it will go down as one of my favorite episodes, and I was worried about all the changes that had been mentioned--but they didn't bother me as much as I thought they would. The Roz thing, though... lol... it's just a head-shaker for me.

I will say this: I think it set up the season quite nicely. That's no small task. Although book readers may not have needed over simplified (as I felt much of it was), TV viewers who didn't read the books may appreciate the set up. Everyone is where they need to be, who they need to be, etc in order to get the season rolling. I'm OK with it and figure the season can only get better.

And I loved the direwolves :-)

A solid 6 or 7.

[TyrionsFlagon]

I gave it a 5. I hated the opening scene at the tournament. I wanted more. Tyrion was awesome, as were Cersei and Joffrey. I actually don't hate Cersei and Joff as much as I did while reading. What was that about killing the babies. That wasn't in the book. I felt that that was uncalled for.

[Anduin Lothar]

I'm sorry but as compasionate person for kids/babies, I thought the scene with killing Barra was uncalled for as well. Its just human nature to react that way. I understand their goals in trying to potray the monstrosity of Cersie/Joffrey but I still felt the baby killing scene went too far. I'm glad they atleast didn't literaly show the gory details. I had to rate it a 5 because of that scene and the sex scene that really didn't seem to really need to be in there.

Edited April 2, 2012 by Anduin Lothar

[7V3N]

I gave it a 5. I hated the opening scene at the tournament. I wanted more. Tyrion was awesome, as were Cersei and Joffrey. I actually don't hate Cersei and Joff as much as I did while reading. What was that about killing the babies. That wasn't in the book. I felt that that was uncalled for.

The bastard killing was in the books, just not as explicitly shown like the show (they spent far too much time with that).

[kissdbyfire]

I gave it a 7. Excellent acting (Jack Gleeson was brilliant!), pretty decent prop and background. It's difficult to see how some of the changes they've made are going to tie in with the main plots in the books. I was disappointed that it didn't start with the Maester and Melisandre poison wine scene, but I think what they did help set up how mysterious and strange Melisandre is.

At first I was a little disappointed when I realised it wouldn’t start on Dragonstone but my disappointment only lasted a second.

And then it occurred to me that part of the problem with starting the episode on Dragonstone is that they would be introducing a new plot and quite a few very important characters to viewers who may not have read the books. That can be quite tricky as people who aren’t as familiar with this universe might have felt a bit lost. So I think it was wise to reacquaint these viewers with the characters they already know – and refresh their memory as to what was happening at the end of the first series.

I couldn’t wait to see that scene myself as Stannis and Davos are among my very favourite characters, and I absolutely love Stephen Dillane and Liam Cunningham. And now I can say it: I loved it! And as I was absolutely sure I would, I LOVE Dillane and Cunningham’s Stannis & Davos, respectively.

[Chelly]

I gave it an 8. It was pretty good, but I know there will be much more better episodes to come. Its good enough for a season premiere. I liked many of the added scenes, except Whore Academy II: Lessons in Moaning. THAT was not necessary and just a repeat of LF scene last year. Ros doesn't bother me as much as other people and I think the actress is both beautiful and works her scenes well. At least they are giving her something else to do. Other than that one minute, I love everything else!

[Strider]

Honestly they should've have gone with a two hour premeire so they could really get somewhere. I honestly don't see why some of you get upset when it varies from the book I think it's refreshing to change things up a bit.

Little Finger Cersei scene was great foreshadowing if you read all the books and it was a welcome change in my opinion.

Robb Stark scaring the crap out of Jamie with the Grey Wind was an awesome addition, and I love how he confronted Jamie directly about his incest something he did not do in the book.

I pretty much agree with this assessment. I agree that these were welcome and acceptable changes.

The strength of this episode is that it brings the charge of incest to the fore. The sin, or at least the allegation of the sin, has been published. The great secret is no longer a secret. Everything now flows from and revolves around this sin. This is a change from the book, but I think it will be a strength in the television show. Cercei, Jaimie, and Joffrey now find themselves rendered even more vulnerable because of the allegation. It has empowered their enemies. It is driving Cersei to further acts of desperation. As I watched the episode, two literary allusions came to mind: Herod and the massacre of the innocents and Lady MacBeth. It's all very Shakespearean.

I give the episode 7/10. The episode was a bit too episodic for my tastes--and I was very disappointed with Craster and his keep--but I trust that subsequent episodes will build on and develop the themes of this episode.

Edited April 2, 2012 by Strider

[Abaddon]

I don't know why Cressen bled from the mouth. The Tears of Lys leave no signs, just appear to be from choking.

If you're going to nerd-rage, you should get it right. The Tears of Lys were (allegedly) used on Jon Arryn and result in a terrible fever. The "Strangler" was used on Cressen; you are correct in that poison does result in asphyxiation and not bleeding from the mouth/nose (which was a little silly IMHO).

[Crown]

I'm giving it a 9. I freaking loved it. However, I'm a little bit biased, since I find it difficult to hate on something I love.

[The GreatRon]

8

Stannis and Davos were both awesome

Jack Gleeson is incredible, definitely best performance of the episode

Seems like their making Robb into an ultimate badass.

Grey Wind was awesome.

Wasnt thrilled with Craster, but seeing Dolorous Edd was cool.

The whole Shae / Tyrion Pretty woman moment sucked

Ros scene sucked, I don't like the unnecessary sex stuff

Dany-Bloodrider, please dont!!!

[Aegnor]

If I had never read the book, I'd say it was great, but there were so many little changes that didn't seem like they needed to be made. A partial list:

1.) Changing the nameday tourney to a melee instead of a joust.

I think this was totally due to cost. I've noticed a lot of places where having horses would have been more appropriate, but they didn't have them. It was mentioned in the commentary to episode 8 on the Blu-ray that they were originally going to have Tyrion and the hill tribes arrive at camp Lannister on horseback, but that they must have used up their horse budget. I am sure that not only having horses, but having them jousting would have been quite expensive, and not worth the cost.

2.) Having The Hound fight in the tourney, when in the book he didn't, referring to it as a "tournament of gnats."

I think they did this because they wanted more scenes establishing him as a fighter.

3.) Ser Dontos' acts which cause Joffrey to call for his execution were far less farcical than in the books-and it was on HBO, so there is no excuse not to show him flopping around, trying to get on a horse.

I agree with this. I think he should have been more obviously drunk and comical.

5.) Having Janos Slynt kill the suckling bastard instead of Allar Deem.

They can't really just introduce an unknown character like that in the series. It totally makes sense that they would merge the two roles and I think it was the right choice.

[scurvy]

Didn't like Shae in the Tower of the Hand. Didn't like it at all.

Also didn't like Craster's Keep. I always thought of it a a scene out of the Odyssey, very surreal and absurd. I think Terry Gilliam would be the perfect director for Craster's scenes, including those in SoS, which take the absurdity to a much more surreal level.

[Caro99]

out of 100, i'll give it a 89