Jump to content

How would you rate episode 307?  

764 members have voted

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

    • 1
      16
    • 2
      12
    • 3
      14
    • 4
      20
    • 5
      55
    • 6
      93
    • 7
      173
    • 8
      228
    • 9
      105
    • 10
      48


Recommended Posts

I gave it a five. Maybe it was just me, but something about this episode felt very off. Despite really liking Theon as a character, they really need to stop with the torture scenes. Everyone gets it, now stop. At least reveal the place and identity of the torturer (has anyone reader or not either not figured it out yet or still care)? It's also a shame because the actors are doing a tremendous job in the scenes (Iwan Rheon killing it IMO), but the writing just hasn't been on par.

Also, it breaks my heart that the episode had that looonnggg scene with Robb/Talisa, while Cat got about two lines. Michelle Fairely is a fantastic actress and I just wish they would give her more to do. Please, please more Catelyn

On the plus side, after one and a half seasons of battering the storyline, they seem to be picking up what's left of Jon's story and trying to salvage it. I was finally sold on the Jon/Ygritte relationship, something that never really clicked with me in the books. And of course, while the bear pit scene itself was a little underwhelming, the continuation of the Jaime/Brienne relationship continues to be one of the highlights of the show. I think my heart shattered a little when they said their goodbyes, and when Jaime was bargaining for her release with Locke, it got to me.

So overall, some good scenes, but the ones that were bad (Robb/Jeyne and Theon) really bought the episode down for me.

Also:- Best use of "Hodor" EVER in this episode.

- Tyrion: "What am I supposed to do over there? Juggle?" LoL :drunk:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought that this was an excellent episode. I gave it a 9.

I really enjoyed the Jon Snow storyline. It is nice to see the story developing. I could maybe have done without Orell's crush on Ygritte, but it was nice to give the character some motivation. I am beginning to subscribe to the Iceland theory. Let's hope they don't go back there next year!

I also liked Osha's expanding backstory, though I can't help but feel it would...

have a better fit in next weeks episode, with Sam the Slayer

.

Some excellent scenes! Michelle MacLaren did a great job. I loved the closing shot of the bear pit and Mel's boat from above.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On re-watch, still sticking with 7/10. The direction was fantastic, but was anyone expecting anything less with MacLaren?

Liked

- Juhn Snuh and the wildlings. Loved it all. So cute, so funny. raht fuht left fuht raht fuht left fuht

- Bran and co. It's interesting for someone to finally call out the travel itenerary for the ridiculousness that it is, and I enjoyed Osha's story.

- Jaime/Brienne. "I've left something behind," "Sorry about the sapphires," woo woo. Thought the bear pit could've been a little more intense/brutal but it was still directed fantastically well and very very very good.

- Instrumental Rains of Castamere. Sounded fantastic.

- Dany and the dragons, rollin' like a boss. Loved that dress.

- Melisandre and Gendry talkin'.

Didn't Like

- King's Landing stuff again, with the exception of the Joffrey/Tywin scene. I love the hell out of Bronn but IDK, I think I have Tyrion/Bronn fatigue 'cause their material this episode just wasn't doing it for me like Bronn failing to understand the fiscal system a couple of episodes ago.

- Catelyn bein' sidelined and interrupted all the time. It's downright criminal.

Ambivalent

- Robb and Talisa. They weren't too bad this ep, though, and some potentially interesting things were implied.

- Theon. I understand the necessity and they're not supposed to be enjoyable but it doesn't make it good TV. It provoked a really strong reaction of pity/revulsion for his circumstances, so I guess the scene counts as a success? Still can't really count it as "Like" though.

Edited by Hunt
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Man, tough crowd. I enjoyed the character moments and someone mentioned it was beautifully shot. I agree. Also am a non book reader really just enjoying the show on its own merits. Loved Tywin and Joffrey, and loved the bit of Blackwater aftermath during the Gendry/Mel scene. And Hound sighting!! I'm happy - solid 8.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Good, The Bad, and Ugly

The Good:

1. Jon finally got something to do and say. Finally!

2. Jamie and Brienne - Pretty solid, although thumbs down on the location scout for scene with Jamie and Qyburn, they looked they were just over the hill from Bran and his gang.

3. Danny's scene, although I would kill for a single more personal scene with any combination of Dany, Jorah or Barristan Selmy, they are delivering on Bad Ass Danny this season. And having a couple of scenes earlier in the season of where Danny was exposed to some of the horrors of slavery, would have done wonders to demonstrate her new found role as the Great Emancipator of Slaver's Bay.

The Bad and Ugly

1. Theon, theon, theon. The most ill conceived storyline addition to this season just slogs on and on. I don't care about actors, contracts or any of that. This just isn't good at all. In fact, this scene might have been the worst of the season so far. So Ramsey Snow, the bastard of Bolton, a known psychopath who hunts and starves women now has a small harem of hotties at his beck and call to help in his torture games? I call bullshit! There might have been an interesting way to show Theon breaking down to "Reek", but this is not it.

2. Osha's long monologue. I was bored.

The Meh:

1. Robb and Talisa. Two talented actors with little to no interesting material.

2. Arya - How did she escape and entire Band of Outlaws again? That was one of the most poorly edited sequences I've seen.

3. Catelyn - I miss u. I wish they had given you some decent material this season. Sigh...

4. King's Landing - Filler and more filler.

Edited by pleonasm
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I gave it a 7.

It is too bad that this is what they gave Martin to work with. It really seems like he spends this episode doing damage control - he was given the unenviable task of toiling through a lot of plot set up, and he seems to make a focus of showing that his characters are, indeed, interesting and nuanced. He is forced to deal with various decisions he most likely did not make and he does his best at making them as easy to watch and understand as he can.

I do like that where possible, this episode stayed close to the books. Where this isn't possible, such as with Gendry and Melisandre, Martin made a decent effort at giving these scenes some gravity and nuance. You can tell the difference between how he handles these deviations, and the clumsy way in which they were originally conceived by B&W.

I liked the Theon scenes before, but they have gone on far too long without moving anywhere. I am still waiting for Ramsay to tell Theon his new name and bring some kind of purpose to his programming.

This episode was pretty weak in terms of action and plot advancement; it really feels like the duty of biding time. However, given that, it also has some of the strongest character interactions to date and reverses the trend of last week's (horrible) episode, in which everyone was made to seem more one-dimensional and less interesting. You definitely have to credit Martin for really going for substance and characterization in spite of the tatters he was handed to repair. This is especially true for Jon and Ygritte, who have been totally neglected.

Overall, a very slow and plain episode, but one that delivers on the little details of characterization that matter most in this whole franchise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8/10 pretty good episode loved Brienne n jaime, Jon story line but again theon's Lil torture scene could have done without. it's only two episodes to go till "the rains of castamere" was hoping for a Lil more from Robb's camp but they just used his scene to put a Lil more sex scene for this episode.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Solid episode, about on par with last weeks and the premiere. Still not as good as episode 3, 4, or 5.

Liked

--Jaime and Brienne. Pretty good scene of Jaime departing, and I thoght they did an excellent job with the bear scene. I also like Locke more than Vargo; he's certainly more sinister and nasty, whereas Vargo just came off as a buffoon in the novels.

--Jaime and Qyburn. Good dialog there, though I do wish they had kept Jaime's dream, which for some reason the show is dead set against showing.

--Jon Snow. Finally Jon has some interesting material, and I do think he works well with Ygritte. I thought Jon had one of the better storylines in season one, and then one of the worst in season two. He was getting short shrift this season, but finally the past two episodes he's had something interesting to do. Also nice to see funny Tormund for once.

Meh

--Osha's story. Not bad, but not particualry good or interesting either.

--Sansa and Margaery--same as above

Can it please be over already?

--Theon. In the past I kept thinking they had to work Theon into this season, as it wouldn't work having Alfie Allen absent for possibly two whole seasons. Audience would forget about him, he could get work in another series etc. But enough is enough, these Theon torture scenes are beyond tiresome at this point. There's a good reason why George didn't give Theon a POV chapter in ASOS; because there's nothing interesting about an arc that only involves one character being tortured over and over. Also, I'm not sure why they haven't revealed who Ramsay is yet. It's not like it's a big twist or anything; he's the bastard of a so far pretty minor character--big whoop.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just rewatched the episode, changing my rating from a 6 to a 5. Most of the conversational scenes that fill this episode are just so utterly banal. Without really anything to move the plot forward, the dialogue needed to carry the ep, and it failed miserably.

Edited by Sun
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I agree there was mainly plot building. I hope they didnt spend too much on the CGI bear. I was VERY intrigued by Talisa's pregnancy. It was inevitable unless she wanted to prevent it but she had no reason to. I wonder if this means she is going to accompany Robb to the RW. They cant let an heir live.

Another thing I REALLY liked was Jon Snow finally smiling! He looked much more endearing. Maybe he could smile in the books once in a while.

I thought everything that was done was well done. It was no Blackwater so I will probably have to watch that again <G>.

PS Margaery you hussy!

Edited by rmholt
Link to comment
Share on other sites

--Theon. In the past I kept thinking they had to work Theon into this season, as it wouldn't work having Alfie Allen absent for possibly two whole seasons. Audience would forget about him, he could get work in another series etc. But enough is enough, these Theon torture scenes are beyond tiresome at this point. There's a good reason why George didn't give Theon a POV chapter in ASOS; because there's nothing interesting about an arc that only involves one character being tortured over and over. Also, I'm not sure why they haven't revealed who Ramsay is yet. It's not like it's a big twist or anything; he's the bastard of a so far pretty minor character--big whoop.

I gave it a seven. I don't know how else they could have had Theon go from a prince to a disgusting creature like Reek, without showing us the torture. Television is a visual medium, Theon can't just give us an aside in future seasons explaining what happened to him, they would have had to use flashbacks, and that wouldn't work either. I am hoping it is over, now that he has lost some fingers and that ... other thing.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I gave it 2. Worst episode of this season.

Some of the Jamie/Brienne scenes were nice, but even then it was just so obvious it was a trained bear and not really a threat. Remaining parts of the episode were pure trash.

The best part was the end credits. Instrumental Rains of Castamere? Loved it.

Oh and they really need to fire Catelyn and hire a desk lamp instead. Much cheaper and actually serves a purpose.

Edited by zaphodbrx
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't know how else they could have had Theon go from a prince to a disgusting creature like Reek, without showing us the torture. Television is a visual medium, Theon can't just give us an aside in future seasons explaining what happened to him, they would have had to use flashbacks, and that wouldn't work either. I am hoping it is over, now that he has lost some fingers and that ... other thing.

It wouldn't have been difficult. Acting, makeup, some well written scenes where you get some slow reveals in what Ramsey did to him.

Part of the problem with the torture is how repetitive the scenes are. They have tried to mix it up, but essentially it boils down to some version of Ramsey mind fucking and then physically doing something to Theon. Given how many television series and movies have had some version of torture scenes in the last decade (the list is so long... 24, Zero Dark 30, all the Saw/torture porn films, Casino Royale, etc...), it becomes more tiring and exhausting than normal. You would have to get incredibly creative with the writing to make that compelling over 5 or 6 episodes. It didn't help that have saddled the audience with the mystery of who the torturer is either. It won't really resonate with either audience (book readers or non book readers) because Roose is so undeveloped as a character. It would probably been far more interesting to have presented the torturer as Ramsey Snow on Day 1. And that Roose has no love or affection for his bastard. It also could have been used by Catelyn to underscore her fear of what a bastard son might do to a heir.

Theon's storyline is a just blight on this season. A lot of Non Book readers just don't get the point of spending so much time on it, and a lot of Book Readers are unhappy that its getting so much time in lieu of other story lines or characters that could be showcased.

Edited by pleonasm
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...