[BOOK SPOILERS] Cheers without Jeers, Tears, or Fears

[Marjie Eilie Myatt]

Varys' expression when Littlefinger was awarded Harrenhal. If anyone could be said to "look daggers" at someone....

I still say the Other looked like something out of the Jim Henson workshop

[Dolorous Nick]

Tywin's grand entrance into the throne room, horse shit and all! Seriously, who is going to tell Lord Tywin where his horse can relieve himself? For somebody who admittedly hadn't read the books, Charles Dance seems to know Lord Tywin inside and out.

Stannis/Melisandre interaction. Much like Robb/Jeyne(Talisa) and Renly/Margary, these characters largely interact "off screen" in the novels. Therefore, it's up to the reader to fill in the blanks as to what went on behind the scenes. This felt right to me. Stannis clearly gets irritated with Melisandre several times in the books...I could see him choking her in a fit of anger, especially after the Blackwater debacle.

The White Walker looked awesome, distinct, and very unique. With all of the sci-fi/fantasy movies out there, it must be difficult to design a creature that appears completely original. The special effects team pulled it off...much better than the original design seen briefly in Season 1. Still curious as to whether it actually saw Sam (sure looked like it did) and if so, why did it not kill him on the spot? Some people are jumping all over this, but I say wait and see where the writers go with it first.

At this point, they could show Joffrey making a sandwich and I still would want to throw something at the screen when he appears. Jack Gleeson just exudes nastiness in everything he says and does and is a completely irredeemable villain. Whoever HBO casts as Ramsay is going to have some pretty big shoes to fill.

Maester Luwin's death was appropriately tragic...just the way Dagmer casually stabs him in the gut and then twists the spear got a wince out of me (and an "Oh no!" from my fiance, whose comments are generally along the lines of "Do they show the dragons in this one?") Anybody else catch a muffled "Hodor" as Hodor gently leads Rickon and Bran away?

Pycelle's shit-eating grin during his entire scene with Tyrion was hilarious! You could tell he savored every minute being the bearer of bad news.

HOTU was fantastic! Pyat Pree(s) was such a creepy presence, a huge improvement over his book counterpart. I think the writers made a correct choice in having Dany's story arc for the season end on a positive note. I think Jorah actually cracked a smile as he was looting Xaro's palace. Tyrion, Luwin, Bran, Rickon, Shae, and Jon Snow provided enough tear-jerking moments for one episode!

I thought the Season as a whole was pretty damn good, but the last two episodes were just great.

[HyacinthGirl]

Brienne and Jaime. These guys just stole the whole episode, I love NCW so bloody much. Win! So Brienne got a bit angsty - but it was still perfectly in character for her, because the trigger was cruelty to women/rape which is the exact kind of thing Brienne would not be down with.

Sansa's little giggle - Sophie Turner has really upped her game this season. She's a fantastic little actress. And the whole throneroom scene was excellent.

Tyrion and Shae - what's this, I like Shae? The german actress is incredible and Dinklage is just... well, going down in TV history. I really like what the writers have done with their relationship, giving Shae more of a personality just makes the whole thing more convincing and it'll have much more impact.

Arya & Jaqen - oh, Tom Wlaschiha, yours is a pretty face and will be missed. Also Maisie Williams continues to be outstanding.

Theon, Bran - Luwin's death was just a real tearjerker and Alfie Allen just knocked it out of the park this season! Also, that wheelbarrow = good idea. I wish Luwin had mentioned that the Ironborn weren't the ones who burnt Winterfell or something, though.

The Ending! Oh my goodness that was the ending I had hoped for and then some! asjdfkasfh;adioa. That is all.

House of the Undying - ok, at first, I was like wtf?! Why would you change THIS? I want prophecies! BUT...

...then I thought about it a little, and seeing those things on screen would have been downright spoilerific. The trippiness that the scene had in the books probably wouldn't have come across well on screen, too. So yeah, I prefer it in the books, but that Throneroom bit was absolutely beautiful and it was awesome to see Khal Drogo again. If you think about it, the whole sequence was in keeping with the show's version of the Warlocks of Qarth so I don't really see the point in getting up in arms over it. It was a great piece of television.