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How would you rate episode 306?


Ran
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How would you rate episode 306?  

762 members have voted

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

    • 1
      8
    • 2
      11
    • 3
      9
    • 4
      22
    • 5
      42
    • 6
      89
    • 7
      185
    • 8
      230
    • 9
      104
    • 10
      62


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Well the butterfly effect will make it to hard for them to make future seasons.Definitely no fake Arya at the wall then.

Well, Mel in the books was wrong about Arya, so maybe this is just her being wrong in the show as well... I bloody well hope so. Ugh. I just want to forget all about this episode for so many reasons.

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I didn't like the ice climbing scene either. Terribly fake looking ice and of course they had to include the indispensable dramatic scene with the ice sheet breaking off ... seriously if you have seen one such scene you have seen all of them. So predictable it gets boring you realize what is going on.

How did it look fake? It looked pretty much like ice does, except for dirtier, which is appropriate.

Also what were they supposed to do instead? Have them climb the Wall with no hitches at all for an episode?

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A few minor plot twists however were jarring to me:

  • Loras being made out to be Margaery's only brother. What the hell! That makes no sense. He's not acting like an only son, at all. His character is conceived as the typical reckless younger son, not the guy to whom Mace Tyrell looks as his heir.
  • Tywin threatening to "summon" Loras Tyrell to the Kingsguard. A real WTH x 2 moment, to me. You don't ORDER people to join the KG. How is that even supposed to work out!! Do you really want to have a bodyguard who loathes his job?? What were they thinking! Very weak plot twist.
  • Gendry being taken by Melisandre: I don't object to the slight smirching of the BWB's purity of motives, compared to the books, since it's just realistic that even the most kind-hearted guerilla movements have to make compromises and dirty their hands in order to keep their fight going. And I loved seeing Mel and Thoros talk to each other - ever since reading ASOS actually where they never got to do that. BUT. In the context of the story, it's a bit silly that Stannis' riders can traverse through the Riverlands with a Stanis flag and a red cloaked priestess in tow. Also, I don't see at all where this story arc is going. And if they are going to have Gendry sacrificed at Dragonstone then I am so going to hate D&D for it.

For the first two points I'd just answer with: Jaime Lannister.

Loras is pretty much a younger Jaime. Both are extremely talented warriors, they are handsome and they are rich. Both join the King's Guard for love (Jaime for Aerys, Loras for Renly). Why is it so impossible for Loras to do that as the only heir when Jaime already has done it in the books? And no, Tyrion does not count as a secondary heir.

When it comes to having a KG loathing his job, what do you call having Jaime Lannister being a guard for king Robert? Not only did Robert actively make him loathe it, Jaime had killed the previous king.

As for the purity of the motives for the BWB, I don't think that's changed. The real reason was pretty obviously conveyed to me, which is that the Lord of Light needed Gendry and that goes above all. That they could get some gold out of it is just a bonus and it's perfectly in line with their normal behavior, which we see with Arya.

Really a 6/10 but bumped it up one because of dead Roz. Melisandre in the Riverlands ... they just sell Gendry to her? Wtf ... highly unbelivable. I didn't like the ice climbing scene either. Terribly fake looking ice and of course they had to include the indispensable dramatic scene with the ice sheet breaking off ... seriously if you have seen one such scene you have seen all of them. So predictable it gets boring you realize what is going on.

Why is selling Gendry highly unbelievable? The show made it very clear that the will of R'hllor was the most important for both parties and we already know that they get gold when they can (selling Arya back to Robb and taking Sandor's money). I don't see how that complaint makes any sense.

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Why is selling Gendry highly unbelievable? The show made it very clear that the will of R'hllor was the most important for both parties and we already know that they get gold when they can (selling Arya back to Robb and taking Sandor's money). I don't see how that complaint makes any sense.

Gendry was never their hostage like Arya. He had volunteered to become one of them and was a member of the brotherhood. Was Beric did is exactly like selling gendry into slavery and slavery is absolutley despised in Westeros. It would have been much more credible if Melisandre had talked to the BwB leaders and they had ordered to just go with her and do as he is told.

No way an honorable lord like Beric would turn into a slaver.

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I gave it a 7, it was the probably the worst episode this season. I hated Mel scenes. Valar Morghulis? This is a FM saying, not a Red Priest saying. Red Priests do not worship death. The worst thing about this episode, however, is that it made me hate The Brotherhood. The book Brotherhood would never sell one of their members. They were selling hostages, sure, but Gendry was their member, not a hostage. Book Beric is probably the most noble character in the books, in the show he looks just greedy. I liked the rest but these scenes really destroyed it for me. Now that I think about it, I should've given it a 6. It's a shame because KL scenes were amazing as always and the ending was really well done.

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Also what were they supposed to do instead? Have them climb the Wall with no hitches at all for an episode?

I would have vastly preferred that to the pseudodrama in this episode. Show them tackling the wall at the beginning of the episode, then at the end show them crawling over the top edge with their last strength and Ygritte crying about how she was able to feel the wall trying to shake her off, just like in the book.

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Only gave it a 7. Not too impressed but not too upset. Im trying to accept that there will be changes to the book. Im not a purist of the books, i just think that the books tell a better story, and that the tv writers have missed the mark ove rand over again.

So we have "Sam the Singer"!! Forget Sam the Slayer.

I dont like the banter between LF and Varys, but i see the point in it. Non bookies need to know what is going on and this would seem the best way to concisely develop the 'game of thrones' positions/motivations of these two characters.

Stupid scene with Osha and Meera. All that just to tell us that Jojen has visions and makes him sick. And tension/competition between them? oh please. It is so unnecessary.

Bye bye Ros. Sad that it had to be at the hands of that little shit. As a human being it saddened me to see her dead and in that way, even though i really disliked her character. I was a little bit shocked.

I expected more from Arya+Mel scene. It was just ... flat.

It was just an ok episode.

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I gave it a 6 because too many things bothered me, but I'm just going to skip them altogether and mention the good ones:

- Jon Snow: I'm a massive Jon's fan who has been not very pleased with his depiction so far, but as cheesy as his interaction with Ygritte was, I think it worked and it finally did the character justice. We saw his respect for Tormund grow, and by making the love story more romantic-us-against-the-world they set up a more poignant situation when it all goes tits up. I still don't know how is it gonna work from a narrative standpoint, since they're like 4 wildlings doing the deed? :dunno:

- Bolton/Jaime/Brienne: the actor who plays Bolton is so good - subtly threatening, and while the scene should have been longer it was good nonetheless. I also loved Brienne/Jaime and their new "in tune" interaction; he struggles with his dinner/she offers a steady hand, she grabs a knife/he stops her and insists she's coming with him. And all of it it's done without them acknowledging it or even looking at each other.

- Tywin/Olenna was funny, and as unfair as it is so was the Continuous Unfortunate Adventures of Sansa Stark (I mean the date with Loras, not the last bit).

It was the worst episode so far though.

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Gendry was never their hostage like Arya. He had volunteered to become one of them and was a member of the brotherhood. Was Beric did is exactly like selling gendry into slavery and slavery is absolutley despised in Westeros. It would have been much more credible if Melisandre had talked to the BwB leaders and they had ordered to just go with her and do as he is told.

No way an honorable lord like Beric would turn into a slaver.

No, it's not like slavery at all. Slavery is just about profit and that was very obviously not the case. They found out that Gendry was someone special, just like they did with Arya, and they hand him over to someone that needs him, again just like they plan to do with Arya. They are religious zealots so obviously the need of the one true god goes above everything. They serve their god by helping Melisandre and Mel does the same by giving them money.

And no, it would not have been more credible if they hadn't gotten any money. It's been established by two different events that the BwB will take money when they can. There's no honor in demanding ransom for Arya, nor taking Sandor's money, so anyone that thinks they are purely about that is plain wrong.

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I would have vastly preferred that to the pseudodrama in this episode. Show them tackling the wall at the beginning of the episode, then at the end show them crawling over the top edge with their last strength and Ygritte crying about how she was able to feel the wall trying to shake her off, just like in the book.

The problem with the climb is in the book as well, just that it doesn't affect Jon. I'd also disagree with your previous comment on that every such scene is the same because this one actively played on the stereotypical layout and turned it around. In the standard execution Jon would have failed to grab Ygritte when they stretched their hands out towards each other, especially since they had already avoided disaster once.

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Liked:

— The change from the books re: Melisandre. I thought it was a cunning way to sneak in more info about and reinforce the workings of R'hllor, and the Red God's connection with and significance to Beric and Thoros. Also makes Mel more politically active. Grass roots movement baby yeah!

— The change to Gendry's story. I didn't like the scene with Selyse and her "foetus jars" in the previous episode, but it makes sense they'd use Gendry now to simplify things for the viewership. Also, it gives Stannis a nice background context to his cold/hard nature. He lost all his children "to the gods" except the strange and facially scarred Shireen, and since clearly they're skipping out Patchface they can make Shireen more creepy, while using her to educate Davos instead of his sons (also all dead).

— No Podrick and his "talents".

— No more whatsherfacewhocarestheonethatJoffkills.

— The "chaos" scene with Littlefinger. Scary shit. Thrives in chaos; nice book nod. Nicely edited sequence.

— Ramsey and Theon. So, so good. Had to hide behind a pillow for THAT scene I knew was coming...

— Beric looked more scarred and generally messed up as per booky wooky.

Disliked:

— That they used Tyrion to speak to Sansa rather than Cersei's cruel surprise in the books.

— Mel meeting Arya. I totally get WHY they did it. Simplification, too good a chance to pass up. But still... it's like everyone's meeting everyone. Again, maybe I'm too harsh. I did like the subtle many-faced-god reference I suppose.

— The Wall scenes. Why can't they have some non-important extras walking/climbing about in the distance. THey did the whole perfectly predictable Star Trek thing, where the non-introduced new guys in the yellow shirts die...

8/10 coming from a book "purist". Great episode. Great show.

Edited by mrlukeduke
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Im going 7, would have been a 6 but they killed Ros, thereby earning a full bonus point.

I loathe the wall, Sam Tarly scenes (again with zero sense of urgency), the tyrion and cersei whining, and the sansa/loras. Im ok with the gendry/edric merging but i sti dont like the completely non-grey portrayal of Mel.

Maisie's scenes, tywin, boltons, varys and lf were enough to make it a good episode imo and ros' manner of death put it around 7.5. Half a point lower than the last 2 episodes.

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710. A solid episode, but definitely not as exciting as the last two. I'm sure that was deliberate but it was still one of my least favourite episodes as a consequence. And it felt kind of short.

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5/10 - and that's me being generous.

Problems:

  • Once again Loras' sexuality is turned into a joke. Boring and offensive.
  • Ros, whose entire story has been a vehicle to enhance the story of male characters, dies an over-sexualised death to enhance the characterisation of 3 male characters. Boring, offensive, and probably won't even have a long-term impact on the plot.
  • Sansa is over-sexualised. Why does the show need to over-sexualise a 16 year old girl? And why would Tyrion just barge his way into her room?
  • And the leads me onto another problem - the whitewashing of Tyrion. Honestly, by this point his scenes are just tiring (and fairly cringeworthy) to watch. There's no inner conflict there; he's a bland version of Ned Stark.
  • Once again, Catelyn was sidelined to provide more screentime to male characters.
  • What happened to all the wildlings? It looked like half of them fell off the Wall, so what's their plan now? Sending a raiding party of 20 was risky enough, but now that half of them are dead it's even worse.
  • The Ramsay/Theon scene was just gratuitous and a complete waste of time.
  • The Osha/Meera rivalry is boring and quite insulting to viewers IMO.
  • No Daenerys. I understand that having every story in an episode is not a good idea, but more than 5 minutes were wasted on Theon this episode... 5 minutes that could have been a scene between Dany and Missandei to show the softer side of Dany that's been missing since season 1.

I have no problems whatsoever with the Melisandre/Gendry plot, although I think the writing was a bit off in places. But generally across the episode the acting was okay, the Brienne/Jaime story is good, the CGI was impressive, and the episode didn't feel too disjointed. The writing and story-telling is really letting this show down. And I really don't understand how it's possible... A Storm of Swords is full of non-stop action and plot-twists. How can they have made it feel so boring?

I think the decision to hold the Purple Wedding off till next season is proving to be a mistake.

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This was my least favorite episode of the season, but wasn't awful by any means. 8/10 and still better in my opinion than episodes 7 and 8 of last season.

Liked:

- The entire Wall climbing sequence, start to finish. Some very convincing tension on the way up, and those end shots were magnificent.

- Varys/LF round (???). These scenes never fail to deliver and this one might have been my favorite yet.

- Tywin/Olenna. A fun exchange between two power players.

- Theon/Ramsay. Not for the squeamish (obviously) but Iwan Rheon is nailing this psychotic character dead-on. And the revelation that he was in all probability "that fucking horn-blower" from S2e10 shouldn't surprise anyone!

- Three words for Roose Bolton: cold fucking blooded. McElhatton doesn't need leeches and all that crap to come off creepy as book Roose - he's got it down pat with expressions and voice inflection.

- Freys, Robb & Tullys. Lame Lothar sighting! Edmure and the Blackfish were great. This season has needed more of them and I hope they're more prominent in the next few episodes.

- Handling Sansa's discovery of the wedding plans offscreen was a smart move, IMO. The LF voiceover was great (poor Ros though, just as I was starting to warm up to her...).

Didn't like:

- Pacing in this episode was all over the place, in contrast to the past three where it was near-perfect. Several scenes felt either rushed or too long.

- Nothing particularly wrong with the Sam/Gilly scene or the Bran/Reeds scene, but starting the episode off with these two quiet (and let's face it, somewhat forgettable) scenes was a mistake in terms of hooking the viewer.

- BWB handing over Gendry was sloppy in execution. I had assumed Thoros and/or Beric would talk him into going with Mel rather than allowing him to be taken by force. As it was, they come across as little more than greedy thugs. I did like Arya's confrontation with Mel, especially Mel's slightly freaked out reaction.

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