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How would you rate episode 209?


Ran
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How would you rate episode 209?  

783 members have voted

  1. 1. What's your rating from 1-10, with 10 being the highest/best

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The super violent action was rather inadvertantly comical a bunch of times. I was reminded of Conan the Librarian from UHF where he chops a guy in half down the middle. The Bronn/Dog scene felt off even not taking into consideration the eye-rolling nudity (every time I think they phased it out of the show it comes back). Ser Ilyan...yeah, more inadvertant laughs every time they show him. Once again I lamented not seeing what was going on beyond the wall--I realize time considerations and all that but for whatever reason that storyline really carries the show for me.

Pretty good other than that, though. 8/10. Close to as good as epic fantasy can probably get on TV, but still not quite speaking to me in the manner that a series like Deadwood managed. Last three mintues plus the end credits were amazing, however.

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OMG, i jizzed in my pants when the wildfire banged. :D

2 little dislikes: the sudden cuts when tyrion freed the mud gate - it was totally out of blue to me. The other minor dislike: too much of Cersei, i love him playing but a lot of her lines didn't add anything new to her character imo, those screentimes could've been spent on other things - maybe an explenation why is Loras there. I'm pretty sure it will be included in the final episode anyway.

ps: sorry for double post.

Edited by Iszlai Ádám
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doubtless the best episode of the season and one of the best episode of the series so far. That wildfire explosion surpassed my wildest expectations Awesome and terrifying. Actually I think it was better than it would have been with the chain, I don´t miss that at all. Loved the Rains of Castamere in the credits.

This is how you write an episode.

I have been saving the 10/10 rating all season for this episode, so here it is:

10/10

YES. I think it was actually MUCH BETTER without the chain.

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My first 10, in two seasons of this show. Every element was pitch-perfect, and no character was written against character. (It helps that the writer was, well, the Author.)

This is how you adapt a show for television, departures and all, while remaining faithful to the text. Would that all the episodes had this same fidelity.

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Ok, I have not seen it mentioned enough. Props to Jack Gleeson. The guy has done a hell of a job with Joffrey. He needs some sort of award.

Gods! ALL OF THEM DO! The casting of this series, for me, is mindblowingly PERFECT.
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10/10

Best episode of this season by far, perhaps of both seasons.

I loved Tyrion and Stannis is this episode and the wildfire was awesome.

The deviations from the book didn't bother me because I actually liked them, with the possible change of the nudity in the Bronn&Sandor scene which i otherwise liked.

But then the nudity and sex scenes in this show always make me roll my eyes.

I loved the inclusion of The Rains of Castamere with Bronn and in the credits.

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I loved Stannis on the front lines, I know it's far different from the book where he leads from behind, but I think this is more fitting of his character.

I loved the wildfire, Tyrion, The Rains of Castamere, wow it was just perfect.

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Although it was a perfectly written episode, I'm not that fond of endless battle sequences. I did miss some non-King's Landing action. The finale should be epic. Too bad Martin is only writing a single episode per season. I'd give him at least the last two episodes of each season to write.

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Someone has to counter the "Awesome Awesome 10, 10 ,10 comments, with some reality.

The reality is, the Battle of the Blackwater, is UNFILMABLE as written. Period. Wildfire doesn't exist, and it's only an hour episode. Wildfire keeps burning - for days. The budget for The Hobbit wouldn't cover the amount of ships, sets along the river/in the river, trained extras, stunt actors/coordinators, CGI, and TIME needed to film it AS WRITTEN. You cannot do everything CGI. You have to have a foundation to base it on, otherwise it looks terribad.

Overall an excellent episode, and I gave it a 10. Some minor quibbles: - The Tyrion-leading-the-charge scene did feel rushed as others noticed.

I don't get this. How much longer should it have been? Did you want horses? To see them mount up? That would take longer, getting them saddled and all, but they really were going around the corner and out the gate. Tywin riding in would have been diminished and confused if there were horses elsewhere. Besides, we only have 60min. I'd love someone explaining the "rushed" thing so I understand why you feel that way.

- The wildfire special effects were awesome, though as others noted the book left the impression the fire filled the entire river and was more critical to Stannis' defeat.

Please see my unfilmable explantion above. It is mentioned several times in the episode that the entire river is on fire.

- At some point the series should have established how Sandor came by his own burn scars; the scene where he turns tail would have been more comprehensible to those who haven't read the books.

Did you miss the Hand's Tounrey from season one, where Littlefinger explains it to Sansa?

- Yes, we have to have a naked whore. Good grief, will the gratuitous T&A never end?

Nope. It's HBO. My only quibble with last night's scene is where is the Brazillian Wax shop in Fleabottom? I mean, COME ON.

Some quibbles with other comments: - Yes, a single "ghost ship" coming out of the mist is suspicious-- but what are Davos et al supposed to do? Stannis' fleet does not consist of hydroplanes. There's no "Reverse engines!" possible. - Ancient and medieval leaders often did lead at the vanguard in the pre-firearms days. Armor and skill were to protect them. Yes, sometimes they came to grief but them were the breaks. Leading from the rear was very poorly thought of. But Stannis does need a helmet. Why not give him a very obvious one, something stag-like with some hint of the Lord of Light? - The Cersei scenes, IMO, were quite properly balanced with the battle scenes. It brought home the creeping fear women would endure shut up in a castle with no idea how things were going-- and knowing what their own fate would be if the city fell. - Yes, Cersei is mean to Sansa-- she genuinely does think the girl is stupid. But (IMO) she's not just being a sadist, unlike Joffrey. On some level she's also trying to toughen Sansa up, knowing all too well what the girl is heading for if she marries Joff. There's a touch-- just a touch-- of womanly comraderie in her bitchiness. A couple more comments: - Lena Headley deserves an Emmy for this season. She has created a believable human Cersei, with all her nastiness intact, yet a woman we can also understand, something Martin in the books has badly failed to do. Even knowing that she would not poison Tommen at the end, I believed she might do it. And note where she goes to die: to the Iron Throne she could not actually make her own. There's also a creepy note of unconscious prohecy in her drunken words and the parable she tells Tommen: has she in fact written Joffrey off bit can't admit it to herself? - I had a fleeting flash of sympathy for Joffrey during his indecision whether to obey his mother's summons or stay at the battle. it lasted about .8 seconds, but it was real while it was there. - Uh-oh. Cersei smells something fishy about Shae. - Good grief, even Lancel was good tonight instead of being a total simpering idiot! Yes, he ran back to Cersei after getting a flesh wound, but then stood up to her. - Go Podrick!

Mostly agree, and really great points!

I totally get why none of the leads have helmets - non-book readers would be lost, and it certainly didn't help the guy next to Stannis. As it is, my non-book friends are wondering who the hell tried to kill Tyrion - because he was wearing a helmet. Even The Hound didn't have his, and right now, his is the only recognizable one aside from Gendry's who never wore his.

I thought the Shea scene was awesome. Didn't see that coming, and added a LOT to already heightened tension.

Cersei getting a head start on getting her drink on will make more sense going forward for the TV series.

Brilliant episode. Brilliant series!

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To quote Spinal Tap, this goes to 11. Or 100 if I could. Blackwater was the single greatest thing I've seen done on TV that was non-sports related. I loved the back-and-forth between the action sequences and Cersei. All the similarities and contrasts between Cersei and Sansa. Sansa acting like the adult in the situation and trying to stay calm while Cersei gets her drunk on. Her very careful sarcastic reply to Joffery about being stupid (bring out your inner direwolf!). I started tearing up when the Hound freaked out at the fire and turned craven. Touching scene between him and Sansa (no, I'm not a SanSan shipper) and adds complexity to his character. Cersei at the end with Tommen and the vial of nightshade, choked me up even though I have read the books but there was still that part of me that wondered. Tyrion was awesome as always and the camera angle of Tywin and Loras at the end was cool.

This was the first time my husband and I have done an immediate re-watch of the episode. We'll definetly be re-watching it a few more times this week.

My only minor gripe, is we didn't get a scene with Tyrion bitch-slapping Joffery and he really needed that. :-)

Overall, I've enjoyed most of the added stuff this season. Having read all the books, I know what is going to happen so to keep me as a TV viewer interested, I want those added scenes as long as the integrity of the characters and story stay in place.

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My first 10, in two seasons of this show. Every element was pitch-perfect, and no character was written against character. (It helps that the writer was, well, the Author.)

This is how you adapt a show for television, departures and all, while remaining faithful to the text. Would that all the episodes had this same fidelity.

They all do.

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Stannis going up the ladder first. Really?

Never a big fan of rah rah speeches to the troops, even if it was as sardonic as the one delivered by Tyrion.

Other than that, an excellent episode.

I particularly liked the maturity that Sansa displayed. The implicit barbs in her nuanced conversations displays how far she has travelled from her early naivete at beginning of the series. She also looks better with her hair down.

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Great episode and they really showed that they had a bigger budget here. A great payoff to what's been built up this far.

Still, I don't think that if you have had criticism against previous episodes you can find things to complain about here as well. I think the knowledge of that GRRM wrote the episode will make some negative people ignore the flaws more though.

The thing that set this episode out from the rest (apart from that it actually had a huge battle, of course) was that it was allowed to follow a single location the entire time. That makes it so much easier to make things flow together.

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It's funny how a lot of people giving this one a 10 or even an 11 if it were possible, still find 'quibbles', some things they didn't completely agree with. And when someone points those very same things, they get picked out, accused of looking for fights. I'm new here and don't know this place much, but still, 8 or 9 is a VERY GOOD grade in my book. This isn't perfect, but it's a very good hour of television, with highlights, and with weaknesses too.

Or maybe this is just a place to rejoice and say this is the best thing that ever graced television, in this case I'm gonna sound like a fun killer. But it's not what I want. Everyone is entitled to his opinion, and I'd rather take the positive approach, and think that all this enthusiasm is positive energy and a good thing.

But still, can't we critic what we don't like? GRRM is NOT an infaillible god.

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One of the best episodes of the series. I think everybody would love for GRRM to have the time to write the script. It is the only episode of the second season that is up to the standards of the book. Even the Stannis scene could not overshadow the excellence of the work. Also I think the director did excellent job. The only spot was that anyone who hasn't read the books cannot understand at once the scene with Loras pretending to be Renly.

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As many people that are rating this Ten, They are ALL saying, basically, that the episode could not be better or improved upon.

No, what we're saying is that "Blackwater" met and greatly exceeded any reasonable expectations we could have for a budget-constrained adaption of an unfilmable story. And we are saying that, while each individual part may not be perfect, the whole is greater than the parts.

Taken within the context of the show (and especially within what is an otherwise lackluster season), GRRM and Neil Marshall delivered an episode that riveted me from the first sweeping shot of Blackwater Bay, all the way through the last note of the closing credits. Did I wish there were more extras? Yes. Did I wish Stannis wore a helmet? Yes. Did I wish Sansa sang a song for the Hound? Yes. But none of it mattered because even if all those things had been true, "Blackwater" could not have been more epic than it already is. A pitch-perfect roller coaster of suspense, terror, awe, exultation, and catharsis.

This was a tremendous episode. GOT's finest hour.

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I loved this episode, but of course I love the series anyway. What's a bit annoying to me is..ok I might be entering troll territory here ..but: I am so sure if we were told this episode was written by someone who isn't GRRM, A LOT of people, -including Elio and Linda - would find so many things to bash. So many DOWNS and not so many TOPS. I can see how this board would be filled with "Cersei would NEVER say that!" "Varys giving a map to Tyrion lol, why do they think they are better writers than GRRM!" "Sandor and Bronn scene was SO WRONG!"...

My point is..all these people who are now saying "this is how you adapt" are annoying the seven hells out of me. All episodes have this much diversions from the books, or had managed to keep the spirit of books to this degree overall. This episode was not so different than others in terns of adaptation or diversion from books.

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My first post here :cool4:

I don't want to repeat what was already mentioned a hundred times over...

Just wondering how could 3 steps in a throne room and single line steal the whole show away from Tyrion and Cersei (both performed exceptionally well in this episode)....

9/10, I'm saving my 10 for the next time we hear about lions and rain :bowdown:

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