How would you rate episode 306?

[gordonah]

7 from me. First time I've dipped below 8 this series. There were some good scenes (especially the Queen of Thorns and Tywin) and some nice touches, but nothing that jumped out at me.

I'm not a book purist (i.e. series must match books), but I found myself thrown by the turn in the Gendry storyline, never having previously been bothered by variances large and small.

It could be a sign I've spent too much time reading the forums here, but I think may be I'm trying to link it back to the impact on the book, and had formed the idea he was somehow important to the plot (assuming here the GRRM has some comment on story deviations to make sure it doesn't contradict with his end game).

[Marillon]

5.

I'm just not feeling the relationship between Jon and Yggrite. It's just blah to me.

I think they're just doing that so when she dies it will be overly dramatic.

Pretty much all scenes besides Tywin/QoT and LF/Varys scenes were boring.

Agree with everything. Especially the Jon-Ygritterelationship, though I've always found it tedious and annoying in the books too, so I wasn't expecting much to change for me and that mountaintop kissing scene :stillsick:

[Definitely Mayhaps]

6/10

A big solid MEH this one. I sometimes don't know why I bother watching the show anymore, when episodes like this come along. I'm sum up the good and the bad ugly

Good

- Olenna/Tywin; I enjoyed this exchange a lot, mostly due to the performances of Dance and Rigg, two of the UK's best actors. Certainly loved how Olenna spoke to Tywin that way, it seemed tense due to how casually she hinted at things to a man you would do best not to get on the bad side of.

- The first Jon/Ygritte scene - It was actually well acted on the Jon side for once and it struck fairly true to the books in delivering the flawed relationship they share. I really liked it.

- Robb's scene - Apart from the BF acting a right goon, pretty good indeed. Also Cat got a line! I cheered when she spoke; never thought I would say that this season but that was before the enormous cock-up that is the TV Cat.

The rest

- Osha/Meera - I don't have to explain this one. Awful. Completely detracting from the Bran story (and by what Bran said in this scene, he literally knows it). Not even a befuddled 'Hodor?' from Hodor could save this one.

- The Wall Climb - First sign of the Jon/Ygritte love story being overplayed. Decent effects of the Wall 'defending itself' but otherwise another resounding meh.

- Tyrion - Every damn scene with him in over the last couple of episodes has been boring, boring and more boring. I don't care about book changes, a few new Bronn/Pod scenes would not go amiss for pure popcorn entertainment value! Why aren't they furthering the development of Bronn? Also, Tyrion telling Sansa (and even worse off-screen) was a huge NOPE from me. As was Sansa's reaction. She has supposedly toughened up at this stage, why is she bloody bawling as if Ned has just been beheaded??

- 'The Arya One' - Oh boy. Do not even get me started on this. First time I cringed at the acting from the Arya actress. The 'you are a witch' made me facepalm, Mel playing a poor Ghost of High Heart was plain weird and strangely OOC, and the whole fact about the brotherhood exchanging Gendry for gold. I mean, if you had a bloody brain cell between yourselves, you would find that a SMITH can generate GOLD through his CRAFT so you can fund your purpose. Easily one of the worst scenes to date, up there with Dany from Season 2. I'm serious.

- Ros dying - I actually liked Ros as a character and she was becoming a lot more established in the story. But working for both Varys and Baelish is bound to get you killed one way and another, they are ruthless individuals after all. Also, Joff killed her? That's a vital part of his character thrown out the window there! And stop making him even more of dick than he is, please!

- Ramsay - Loving him (creepy I know) and Theon is fantastic as always, but I don't really want to see the torture happen IMHO. What happened in the books was left more to the imagination of the reader and that in a way was a hell of a lot more disturbing.

- The ending scene - It was just as bad as the Aragorn/Arwen kiss at the end of ROTK. And just as painful to watch.

Edited May 7, 2013 by Definitely Mayhaps

[greensleeves]

7 from me.

It was just a bit off for me. I don't like how they're handling Sansa and Tyrion. I'm not a big fan of the Gendry stuff so far, but we'll see where it goes. I didn't understand how Tywin could force Loras into the king's guard. I liked the end scene with Jon and Ygritte on the Wall, but I'm cheesy like that...

Edited May 7, 2013 by greensleeves

[SpringIsComing]

First timer here, but I thought I'd weigh in on this. I liked this episode because it effectively served it's purpose in teeing up the final events of S3. Exposition is a necessary evil and the developments we've seen here should flow nicely to the final few episodes. I'm a bit of a book purist and don't like "change for change sake" (i.e. Yara/Asha) but I also have liked what they're doing here on many fronts:

- Building the Ygritte/Jon relationship and topping it with the "top of the world" shot: Readers know what will happen, but viewers will be truly unsure of which way this will play out. Will Jon honor his duty or his feelings for Ygritte?

-Torture: Everything that we're seeing on screen happened in the book story. The only difference is that we didn't get any POV on it and only saw a post-transition "Rheon". By the time we get his POV's in ADWD he's already been flayed and amputated. Showing this happen should give viewers (and readers) an even better perspective on the character arc.

- Tyrion: They're continuing to give him motive for killing Joffrey. Sir Meryn is one piece, but Tyrion has a soft spot for whores. I wonder if we'll see him get angry about the way Ros was "dismissed"

- Sam: I liked how he's being portrayed. I find him (lovably) infuriating in the books and his TV scenes give me the same feeling. I thought we see a Slayer moment with the way they shot it and that added some nice suspense to me. I'm' sure we'll see more of that obsidian dagger in the next episode or two.

- BwB: This seems perfectly consistent story-telling to me. Gendry has not been knighted yet, and as such is not officially part of the BwB. Arya is being ransomed because she's worth something. Gendry wasn't worth a ransom until Mel showed up. Add in the Red God aspect and it makes 100% perfect sense that they'd cash in on Gendry.

- Arya: I really liked that Arya had a sort of instinctive distrust of Mel. The Lord of Light seems to represent "life" and Arya said her only god is "death" (nice foreshadowing).

- Dinner: The subtle growth of the relationship between Brienne and Jaime was well executed. Brienne with the knife and then with the fork were both really nicely done. Roose Bolton is sufficiently creepy and isn't tipping his hand on the Lannister alliance in the conversation.

-Bran: GRRM has stated that Bran is the hardest character for him to write and we don't see many chapters telling his story. I like the creation of tension between Meera/Osha as a starting point for a parting of ways. I'm guessing we'll see a split either based on a Jojen green dream or after a night at Queenscrown (Osha simply won't agree to going over the wall).

Overall: 8/10 for me. Every episode can't (and shouldn't) be an explosion of action. Need to climb the rollercoaster before you can hit the big twists and turns.

PS. Is this the first episode to be nudity-free? If so, there might be some 4th-wall symbolism with Ros's method of death (e.g. we only had her on to add an excuse for T&A and now we don't need that gratuity any more)

[JohnFlint1985]

It was not the best episode. I didn't like the fact that Loras was made the only son. Kind of changes a lot in the plot I think.

[Serr Parker]

Gave it an 8, more build than I would have liked and too much from characters I couldn't care less about. I understand why we need to catch up with Sam and Bran but why haven't we caught up with Davos and Bronn. Enjoyed it though, and as I've said for the last 5 episodes, bring on the next

[Hornblowa]

It was not the best episode. I didn't like the fact that Loras was made the only son. Kind of changes a lot in the plot I think.

I understand why they made this change from a television perspective, but I was still looking forward to Tyrion's interactions with Garlan. Ah well, maybe some other character will be given a few of Garlan's bits.

[drm7]

I gave it a "high 6." I went with the flow of "hey this is a setup episode" until the WAY overdone Wall scenes. The special effects were very good, but the whole "catching Ygritte with my free arm while holding my entire bodyweight with an ice pick," started it all downhill. The climax on top of the Wall had promise, but was SO melodramatic! Ugh!

I liked the exchange between Mel and Thoros and Mel and Arya. The High Valarian (sp?) was a nice touch - helps the non-book readers make a connection between Westeros and Essos.

I imagined the showrunners thinking "we have to get Tywin and Olenna in a room together!" Diana Rigg makes everything look so easy.

I saw mixed reviews of the Roose/Jaime/Brienne scene, but I liked it. A nice blend of physical comedy and psychological dueling.

The two Frey stooges at Riverrun reminded me of Monty Python characters.

Sam/Gilly was OK, but it introduced the dragonglass well.

Jojen's "vision" was way overdone.

[alexislalas]

Definitely the worst episode so far. Didn't like that some key plot scenes from the book were completely changed.

[Zar Lannister]

Hated it. Hated hated hated.

Once again they weaken Cersei (who is a true bada** in the book) by giving credit to idiot Joffrey for trying to kill Tyrion.

:dunno: to me, this was a sensible change; the orchestration of sending a KG to kill the HotK is not exactly cunning. An impulsive attack. It sets Cersei up for confirmation bias against Tyrion, which may play off better with her upcoming lunacy.

And it is clear Mel is going to fry poor Gendry, who is in the running as one of the dragon riders in my book.

Not really? I feel Gendry inherited book Edric and is being shipped to Dragonstone for similar reasons Edric was there. Setup to possibly interact with Davos.

Edited May 8, 2013 by Zar Lannister

[Nictarion]

Definitely the worst episode so far. Didn't like that some key plot scenes from the book were completely changed.

I have seen several people say this. I couldn't disagree more. This episode was better than every episode of season two, with the exception of "What is dead may never die" and "Blackwater".

[The hairy bear]

I have seen several people say this. I couldn't disagree more. This episode was better than every episode of season two, with the exception of "What is dead may never die" and "Blackwater".

I think that most people that "The Climb" is the worst episode are referring only to season 3.

IMO, The Climb was stronger than 3x01, and on par with 3x02. But some steps down from the last three episodes. And still, as you say, stronger than some of S2 that remains the lowest point of the series.

[Sun]

I have seen several people say this. I couldn't disagree more. This episode was better than every episode of season two, with the exception of "What is dead may never die" and "Blackwater".

You're right that S2 was dismal, but I think people are taking in relation to S3 here.

[jotabe1789]

I thought i had noticed some serious deviation between the opinion of the posters and the people who voted on the poll. Turns out i was wrong...

For the mathematically minded:

There is a bias of around half a point, but seeing how the standard deviation is over 1, the bias is quite small.

Though i have to say that many of the 7s in the posters data are actually 6s with +1 due to Ross' death :frown5: (correcting this would have had almost no effect on the gaussian, though, the mean would from 7.21 to 7.16 and the standard deviation from 1.13 to 1.23).

OT: For me this was the best episode of the season. 9 out of 10.

Ross fan here, i definitely felt bad for her. But it was a powerful image to remind me that Joffrey isn't tamed at all, as the later episodes might have lulled us into believing. Olena finds a worthy adversary. LF being LF. Jon Snow being Jon Snow. And what was for me the best scene, Arya and Mel. Now that's foreshadowing.

I like the dynamic they are building between the Blackfish and the little fish (can't help it, that's how he will be in my mind forever, after seeing him in the show... he didn't look like such a goof in the novels).

Edited May 8, 2013 by jotabe1789

[Ran]

Westeros.org ratings as of May 8, 2013:

Season 1

Episode 1: 8.31 (of 229 votes) | ((1*0)+(2*0)+(3*0)+(4*1)+(5*4)+(6*15)+(7*38)+(8*60)+(9*68)+(10*43))/229

Episode 2: 8.17 (of 269 votes) | ((1*0)+(2*0)+(3*0)+(4*2)+(5*3)+(6*17)+(7*39)+(8*98)+(9*84)+(10*26))/269

Episode 3: 7.87 (of 235 votes) | ((1*1)+(2*0)+(3*1)+(4*6)+(5*4)+(6*15)+(7*52)+(8*76)+(9*61)+(10*19))/235

Episode 4: 7.99 (of 278 votes) | ((1*1)+(2*2)+(3*6)+(4*3)+(5*9)+(6*24)+(7*37)+(8*67)+(9*89)+(10*40))/278

Episode 5: 8.64 (of 264 votes) | ((1*0)+(2*2)+(3*4)+(4*3)+(5*1)+(6*6)+(7*23)+(8*48)+(9*103)+(10*74))/264

Episode 6: 8.80 (of 234 votes) | ((1*0)+(2*0)+(3*3)+(4*3)+(5*2)+(6*6)+(7*12)+(8*37)+(9*98)+(10*73))/234

Episode 7: 8.12 (of 228 votes) | ((1*1)+(2*1)+(3*1)+(4*7)+(5*7)+(6*13)+(7*33)+(8*55)+(9*66)+(10*44))/228

Episode 8: 9.04 (of 269 votes) | ((1*0)+(2*0)+(3*0)+(4*1)+(5*4)+(6*5)+(7*13)+(8*47)+(9*80)+(10*119))/269

Episode 9: 8.77 (of 352 votes) | ((1*2)+(2*4)+(3*2)+(4*4)+(5*11)+(6*13)+(7*18)+(8*45)+(9*93)+(10*160))/352

Episode 10: 9.32 (of 382 votes) | ((1*1)+(2*0)+(3*2)+(4*24)+(5*2)+(6*6)+(7*11)+(8*51)+(9*135)+(10*171))/382

Average: 8.50

Season 2

Episode 1: 7.57 (of 565 votes) | ((1*2)+(2*0)+(3*8)+(4*7)+(5*30)+(6*43)+(7*146)+(8*193)+(9*92)+(10*42))/565

Episode 2: 7.07 (of 391 votes) | ((1*7)+(2*5)+(3*10)+(4*12)+(5*27)+(6*50)+(7*97)+(8*101)+(9*61)+(10*20))/391

Episode 3: 8.55 (of 431 votes) | ((1*1)+(2*2)+(3*3)+(4*1)+(5*5)+(6*17)+(7*33)+(8*102)+(9*176)+(10*91))/431

Episode 4: 7.7 (of 418 votes) | ((1*5)+(2*3)+(3*10)+(4*8)+(5*19)+(6*34)+(7*68)+(8*119)+(9*101)+(10*51))/418

Episode 5: 8.25 (of 409 votes) | ((1*2)+(2*1)+(3*3)+(4*5)+(5*12)+(6*17)+(7*50)+(8*109)+(9*142)+(10*68))/409

Episode 6: 8.11 (of 435 votes)| ((1*2)+(2*7)+(3*9)+(4*11)+(5*16)+(6*21)+(7*42)+(8*84)+(9*140)+(10*101))/435

Episode 7: 7.87 (of 399 votes) | ((1*5)+(2*8)+(3*9)+(4*7)+(5*13)+(6*22)+(7*52)+(8*107)+(9*113)+(10*63))/399

Episode 8: 7.3 (of 390 votes) | ((1*5)+(2*5)+(3*10)+(4*15)+(5*18)+(6*45)+(7*87)+(8*104)+(9*69)+(10*32))/390

Episode 9: 9.5 (of 714 votes) | ((1*2)+(2*0)+(3*5)+(4*3)+(5*2)+(6*8)+(7*15)+(8*28)+(9*122)+(10*527))/714

Episode 10: 7.6 (of 899 votes) | ((1*18)+(2*14)+(3*23)+(4*32)+(5*46)+(6*72)+(7*111)+(8*192)+(9*231)+(10*155))/899

Average: 7.95

Season 3

Episode 1: 7.58 (of 753 votes) | ((1*2)+(2*3)+(3*3)+(4*17)+(5*26)+(6*67)+(7*182)+(8*286)+(9*123)+(10*42))/753

Episode 2: 7.64 (of 637 votes) | ((1*6)+(2*8)+(3*7)+(4*13)+(5*20)+(6*50)+(7*144)+(8*191)+(9*141)+(10*57))/637

Episode 3: 8.41 (of 668 votes) | ((1*4)+(2*1)+(3*4)+(4*6)+(5*16)+(6*10)+(7*69)+(8*178)+(9*270)+(10*110))/668

Episode 4: 9.22 (of 797 votes) | ((1*0)+(2*1)+(3*0)+(4*2)+(5*2)+(6*12)+(7*25)+(8*102)+(9*264)+(10*389))/797

Episode 5: 8.81 (of 642 votes) | ((1*2)+(2*0)+(3*2)+(4*1)+(5*7)+(6*13)+(7*32)+(8*133)+(9*274)+(10*178))/642

Episode 6: 7.32 (of 661 votes)| ((1*6)+(2*9)+(3*8)+(4*19)+(5*35)+(6*78)+(7*163)+(8*205)+(9*89)+(10*49))/661

Average to date: 8.16 | (7.58+7.64+7.32+8.41+9.22+8.81)/6

Series average to date (26 episodes): 8.21 (8.31+8.17+7.87+7.99+8.64+8.8+8.12+9.04+8.77+9.32+7.57+7.07+8.55+7.7+8.25+8.11+7.87+7.3+9.5+7.6+7.58+7.64+8.41+9.22+8.81+7.32)/26

[Scruff]

First time Irish poster here, keen to become active in the community. Without commenting on the overall episode, I've written my own analysis of the closing monologue and Chaos Theory within the Seven Kingdoms and beyond. You can check it out here if you wish. Hope to get to know you all from here =D

http://thedailyshift.com/2013/05/08/the-climb-an-interpretation/

We also posted an entire review of the show Monday evening if you enjoy our articles

Edited May 8, 2013 by Scruff

[Hound Dog]

- The Wall Climb - First sign of the Jon/Ygritte love story being overplayed. Decent effects of the Wall 'defending itself' but otherwise another resounding meh.

Also, Joff killed her? That's a vital part of his character thrown out the window there! And stop making him even more of dick than he is, please!

- Ramsay - Loving him (creepy I know) and Theon is fantastic as always, but I don't really want to see the torture happen IMHO. What happened in the books was left more to the imagination of the reader and that in a way was a hell of a lot more disturbing.

I agreed with pretty much all of your post, just didn't want to quote it all or comment on everything.

The Jon/Ygritte climb scene: When he shouted "Take my hand!!!" (shudder) all I could think about was Rocky in that terrible movie Cliffhanger. I don't even know if that was a line in that movie, but gods was it awful, and so was that cheesy moment.

Joffrey killing Ros: exactly. Everyone knows he's a little asshole. Everyone knows he's evil. You don't need to remind people by having him casually murdering whores. Reaching.

The torture scenes: Agree that leaving it to the imagination is much scarier than actually seeing it. Enough is enough. That scene was way too long. And I do not like it how playful and cute Ramsay is acting. In the books I despised him every time he was even mentioned... hated him way more than I ever hated Joffrey... When Theon was trying to escape I was so bloody nervous for him in the books because Ramsay is so cruel and no-nonsense evil. This guy's like a little toy doll who likes playing games and hurting you for getting the wrong answer. Still mean, but I'm not scared of him. I wish they kept true to the books on this and just let Theon appear as Reek, a broken soul. People would've been like "WTF!" Ah well.

Sometimes I don't know why I watch the show because it drives me so nuts, but then I remember that it's still GoT and it's something "new" while waiting for the next book.

[Dove]

Rated 7/10, thought it was a decent episode with some really standout scenes (Thoros, Arya and Mel, "Boy" showing his true colors, dinner with ~Roose~) and some that fell flat for me. (i.e. most of King's Landing, although I enjoyed the Varys/LF scene.)

Sam/Gilly and Jon/Ygritte stuff was pretty cute, liked Bran and co., and I really enjoyed the wildlings. My highlight of the Jon story wasn't even the climbing, it was seeing Tormund get some characterization besides GRUMPY FACE >:[

As mentioned, didn't like the King's Landing stuff except for the parting monologue/montage for the same reasons others have stated. A lot of it just felt oddly off-kilter, even the much-awaited QoT/Tywin convo. The Ros reveal was powerful and affecting as hell, though, and I'm glad they did it the way they did instead of a scene of her actually getting shot up or something.

I guess I can see the complaints of the Theon scene being overlong but I enjoyed it - well, as much as you can enjoy this kind of stuff. The flaying was really hard to watch if you're a weenie like me, but it's supposed to be. It was absolutely brutal without necessarily being too excessive on the gore front, and it was at least a little necessary to make certain connections in peoples' eyes. "Boy" was great/horrible/weirdly funny and instantly memorable.

Wish they'd better utilize Cat in general during the Robb scenes.

Edited May 8, 2013 by chareth cutestory

[miguel sanchez]

Hmm, thanks for posting those stats, Ran!

I voted for eps 1-6 this season: 7, 8, 8, 9, 9, 7, which corresponds pretty well with the averages the forum got. Last season I dished out 3 6's though, haven't given a 6 yet in season 3, and probably won't.

The last 4 episodes should all be awesome, so much great material there to get through.

...Then there's next season (!!)