How would you rate episode 305?

[Fez]

8, I guess? It had a lot of really good scenes, but they felt rather disjointed; moreso than usual. Two larger complaints would be that

1) I didn't think the Jon-Ygritte cave scene was "earned." Having the scene was fine, but the whole bit about 'staying there forever' just felt wildly out of place since, unlike the books, there wasn't already a developed relationship. I'd have cut those couple lines and kept the rest, which was otherwise a fine scene.

2) I thought the final few scenes, starting with Loras sparring, were really rushed. I almost got whiplash, how fast things were jumping around.

But otherwise it was a really good episode. I give particularly props to the Jamie monologue in the bath.

[JonCon's Red Beard]

Loved the episode except for Ygritte/Jon scenes. 8, just because I didn't like how they handle their relationship.

[Tom son of Tom]

They've made Arya a little soft and Maise had a little trouble with the material. Beric was awesome. Jaime and Brienne was great. I even liked Selyse, but where's the stache.

And, that Patchface song at the end sung by Shereen was erie.

Totally disagree. The kid has nailed it so far. Great acting imo.

[Zman1863]

Another very strong episode. The Jaime scene in the bath was probably the best scene. I liked how they framed the machinations that go into the plots regarding Sansa. I liked the Stannis storyline- I thought it was interesting to see him in a more human context. Wasn't thrilled about the weird babies in brine thing though. I wasn't really thrilled with how the Jon/Ygritte thing was framed. Beric's resurrection drew an eye roll from my non book reader sister (although that was sort of my reaction when I read that development in the books too).

[Er Rn]

9/10.

Best episode of this season so far.

[Yago]

Better than last week's in my opinion.

[Blaer Dayle]

Sandor/Beric was great, loved Rory acting based on the fire, Arya's realisation that she will be alone without Gendry was quite sad, Beric was charismatic as he should be, Olenna was great as usual, The bathhouse was good, but Jaime's speech wasn't as powerful as I imagined it would be, however his asking to be called Jaime is great, and an indication that his character is evolving into less of a villain, glad to see they are showing that Robb is slowly letting his army fall apart while holding hope that they'll support him regardless, nice touch with the music during Karstark's execution to parallell with Theon's greatest mistake when he beheaded Cassel, Jon and Ygritte was good, but it had no buildup, and felt tacked in for the sake of consistency with the books, Nice to see Grey Worm for the first time, Barristan and Jorah was great, I love when the characters discuss the past, and their mistakes, Shireen was great, I love the makeup, Selyse was okay as well, So Shireen will now take on the role of Davos teacher then that's fine with me, it was interesting to finally see a more human side of Stannis, I guess Patchface has been cut, that's too bad, could have done without the sex scene with Loras, but Littlefinger again being the master manipulator, love it, poor Sansa just a pawn in everyone else's game, the closing credits were nice and creepy, but the gem of the episode was Tywin's scene with his kids. Tywin is the true leader of the realm and he knows it.

9/10 for me pretty good, but not flawless.

Edited April 29, 2013 by Blair Dale

[Randyll Tarly]

Gave a ten since Cersei's face when Tywin addressed her on the same issue as Tyrion was worth the 10 on its own. Beric vs Hound duel was unique and made even the Blackwater battle scene look like a rock, scissors and paper game. Jon first encounter felt like he was a pro. And the Kingslayer confession to Brienne was truly a very emotional one. Thus, earning a ten IMO.

[Aegnor]

They've made Arya a little soft and Maise had a little trouble with the material.

I disagree completely. That line about bringing someone back who'd had their head cut off was even more heartbreaking than in the books. As was the line about Gendry being her family.

[Ran]

The line about bringing back someone from the dead was basically exactly as what was in the books. It's nice to see it rendered by actors, but in this, Bryan was wisely just following George's roadmap.

[Jabronius Maximus]

Gave it a 9, good stuff. Like Ran said, it was more consistently good than last week, but still didn't have the climactic events that last week had.

AND WHEN THE HELL WILL WE HEAR A GOOD OLE 'HAR!' FROM TORMUND? LIKE SERIOUSLY MAN COME ON DUDE LOOKS MAD AF

Other than that I have no problem with where the show runners are taking this. The changes really make sense.

[DarkAndFullOfTurnips]

The line about bringing back someone from the dead was basically exactly as what was in the books. It's nice to see it rendered by actors, but in this, Bryan was wisely just following George's roadmap.

Yes, that was a nice exchange. Although Beric seems a bit less unhappy about it than he seemed in the books.

[teej6]

"And Now His Watch is Ended" had a really terrific finale, and the Old Bear's death, but if you look at what came before closely, it wasn't that far above an average episode. It was elevated by the finish. This episode is good through and through (except for the character assassination of Loras Tyrell, grr), and in my opinion it's the best episode of the season to date, so I've given it a 9.

Yes, this has been the best episode this season to date. Episode 4 was definitely elevated by the last Dany scene. In this episode all the scenes had a nice flow and continuity to it. Although I wasn't too impressed with Nikolaj's performance in the bath. Edited April 29, 2013 by teej6

[MyLittleDirewolf]

That was fucking awesome. My only quibble was Loras bedding the squire so quickly. He was still in love with Renly. Other than that, everything was great. Shireen is adorable. Beric and Sandor fight was as awesome as it was in the books. Davos/Shireen almost made me cry. That was a great episode. Love you, Bryan Cogman!

[cybobbie]

Loved the episode, great surprises in it, specially Jaime and Brienne scene and his monologue about the mad king. They are so brilliant in their roles that I can't get enough of them. Another surprise was the way that they handle the Tyrell plot discovery, a good way IMO. Didn't expect the talk between Ser Barrister and Jorah too, but again found it good to show why he doesn't know that Jorah was sending info on Dany to Robert. One cute and touching surprise was Shireen and Davos scene.

As for the parts that I was expecting, I mean from the preview, I loved the Hound and Beric's fight, the best so far in the show. I disagree with some posts here about Arya, I mean I think she was very good in this episode and her talk with Gendry was really touching. Finally Cersey and Tyrion's face in the end of the episode, priceless. Tywin is really daddy from hell!!

Edited April 29, 2013 by cybobbie

[Aegnor]

The line about bringing back someone from the dead was basically exactly as what was in the books. It's nice to see it rendered by actors, but in this, Bryan was wisely just following George's roadmap.

True, I just meant that Maisie did a great job of bringing that moment out.

Also, I don't know if it's been mentioned above, but I really loved the musical tieback between Robb cutting off Karstark's head and Theon cutting off Rodricks.

[The Scabbard Of the Morning]

Arya's scenes were great, but they needed to be longer, Arya's story needs to be given some time to breathe. I think her arc is the one most underserved this season.

[greywindsrage]

First ten of the season. Didn't have a huge "Dracarys" like moment, but it flowed great and scenes just feel so much stronger when they are verbatim from the book. The Jon/Ygritte scene was good, although I feel it would have been much stronger if they'd spent more time on them in the first four episodes. And to be honest, I wasn't totally absorbed by the Kingslayer's acting nor the directing in the bath scene.

I agree. Although I liked NCW performance I didn't like how the scene ended.

[King Kev.]

True, I just meant that Maisie did a great job of bringing that moment out.

Also, I don't know if it's been mentioned above, but I really loved the musical tieback between Robb cutting off Karstark's head and Theon cutting off Rodricks.

Yeah, loved the parallels between the two execution scenes. Instantly thought of Theon executing Rodrik.

[Hound Dog]

Great episode, loved all of it. My only minor moment of disappointment was that the Hound didn't sob "like a little baby" at the end of the fight, and instead seemed amused (at Arya's angry rage). That was one moment in the books where I felt terribly sorry for him, something like pity, and I'm sorry it wasn't conveyed in the show. But that was in the beginning--- the rest of the episode was so well done that I forgot about that until now!