[BOOK SPOILERS] Nitpick without repercussion?

[lannistergold]

- Stannis is the big one. Nothing more can be said, it was just bad.

- Jaime/Cersei.

- Mhysa turning into a crowd-surf.

- GreyRobb. Ugh. That bit was told rather than shown in the books, which made me hope we'd be spared seeing it in the show.

[Mendoza]

I'm tired of Cersei in general. It feels like the same song and dance about her children over and over and over again.

[Mark Antony]

I'm tired of Cersei in general. It feels like the same song and dance about her children over and over and over again.

The Purple Wedding can't come soon enough.

[Sniraga]

This was probably the most disappointing episode in this season.

-the ending scene with Dany was a total cheesefest

-Stannis is turned into a weak-willed, immoral puppet (and it was way too clear that he's going to the Wall)

-Jaime returning to KL too soon

-Jaime/Cersei reunion, talk about underwhelming

-Cersei/Tyrion heart to heart... so they're like BFF now?

-Tyrion being a (boring) hero in general, and refusing to rape Sansa (so, the idea of marital rape apparently exists in Westeros)

-no mention of Catelyn's body. I didn't expect to see Lady Stoneheart, but I was hoping for a some kind of affirmation or wink that she's going to be included

[six]

I'm tired of Cersei in general. It feels like the same song and dance about her children over and over and over again.

And it makes me laugh that so many complain of how whitewashed Tyrion is, but completely overlook that Cersei this season has been turned into a misunderstood snarky woobie. She's the worst in the show.

Oh dear, where to start? I'm a big fan of the show and I'm not in the nitpicking thread very often, but this episode was such a letdown, worst of the season.

- It felt like a soap opera in parts: Jon/Ygritte, Shae/Varys, Jaime/Cersei.

- Did we really swap the Jaime/Cersei f-ed up reunion in the books for this?!

- Mhysa was bad, and a bad ending to Dany's storyline this season that has been amazing.

- Jaime/Brienne in another storyline, like Dany, that has been a major highlight this season and ended with what exactly? A look? An episode in which Shae has more screen time than POVs like Jaime, Brienne and Sansa is an episode where clearly there's something wrong.

- Cersei: The Snarky Woobie having another bonding moment with Tyrion. Ugh. How are we expected to believe she'll accuse him of murdering Joff now? Makes me wonder if they're even going there. Also, the relationship between Tyrion and Cersei this season feels like the showrunners' wish fulfillment, like they like the dynamic between the actors so they're reshaping the relationship between the siblings into what they think it should be. Ugh.

[Ravi Seaworth]

When Gendry gets to KL, he will be Arnold Schwarzenegger.

[The BlackBear]

How did Ygirtte keep up with a horse? And where were the other Wildlings? Jon took two arrows in the back, that's a really serious injury.

Robb-wind wasn't as good/gruesome as expected, I was hoping during the Walder Breakfast scene, it'd pan round to see RobbWind seated in pride of place.

How the hell did those guys not see Sandor when they were talking to Arya, he wasn't very far away, and it's pretty hard to hide an armoured guy built like a brick shit-house.

[maria underfoot]

I loved the episode overall. Many beautiful scenes, and they managed to put together so many stories without making then incoherent.

I had nitpicks throughout the episode (Ygritte?? Riding on her own, just like that?), but I forgot about most of them, because I enjoyed it so much.

But: I don't like how they're making Dany the main character. Last scene was beautifully filmed, but it shouldn't have been the last scene. There should have been something more exciting, more of a cliffhanger, like Lady Stoneheart, or Jon reaching the Wall and saying "they're coming", or something like that. Giving Dany her second finale, a scene which doesn't leave us hanging for the next season, makes me worried that they're making her out to be that perfect heroine. And I think that that changes the policy of Martin (no main characters, no black/white characters).

[The Drunkard]

Stannis. I don't think we're ever going to get book Stannis, which is a shame.

Tywin and Cersei. They harp on way about the same thing each episode. Can't help but feel this is time they could be better spent advancing other storylines (partly due to my desire to have Stannis's story make chronological sense).

Asha Greyjoy... takes 50 men... and a single ship... and wants to storm the Dreadfort?

Myhsa was pretty lame.

Don't see why Shae is getting so much screentime.

[boojam]

I don't know why some many obsess about Coldhnads that can be saved for next season!

I really get tired of saying this, but with only 10 episodes per season D and D are presented with the same problem over and over , too much material in too limited a time.

Seems George said a million years ago that he never expected anyone to even try an adaptation.

So that said , I am still entertained by the show, it's my favorite on HBO, actors and production value continue to amaze me.

Some puzzlers.

The Shae - Varys encounter, zero sum, I know they are trying to shadow something that happens next season, but what a useless scene.

I don't mind if they want a Yara/Asha and Balon scene, but the story line is strange , that would really torque things, I am guessing Baylon dies and she has to turn back.

No Tyrells... odd... could have substituted them for the Varys-Shae scene.

I don't mind how they redid the Ygritte - Jon deal, tho , in the book, it seems she was not out to kill him , so the arrow in the leg, which he got, but all those others, man! pin cushioned , he must have been wearing boiled leather underneath cause most of those arrows did not go very deep! I guess Tormund broke out search parties instead of following Jon as a group. I guess if Tormund had of been there Jon would not have gotten away.

D and D still horse shy!

Jamie and Brienne show up on foot!

As I remember Dany was on horse in the Mhysa scene... it aways seems when Dave and Dan are finished with a good Dany sequence E1-E4 they just concentrate on something else. I did not find the final scene cheesy , just rushed, it was not very long, and if the book reader viewers could not figure out that would be last scene this season , you were not paying attention.

The hell with Coldhands, thats fine material for next season.

A puzzler, will Michelle Fairley be back next season or not? Hard to see them disposing of her thread, even tho LS has , except for resurrection little story time till the end of Crows.

Also , like Coldhands, not going bonkers because they left LS out.

[Dervisss]

So we can't see how The Blackfish escapes but we do get a Shea scene.

[boojam]

So we can't see how The Blackfish escapes but we do get a Shea scene.

There you go!

That's a 'like what the hell were they thinking'.

[The Drunkard]

So we can't see how The Blackfish escapes but we do get a Shea scene.

I was expecting him to take the place of that guy that freed Grey Wind and then jumped off the Twins.

[ladyinblack]

Varys/Shae...wtf? why?! :bang:

The fact that Shae had more screen time than Hodor. And more dialogue.

AND LESS INTELLIGENCE

The entire final scene.

The fact that they've ended with Dany...White Walkers...(and now again with) Dany :spank:

Arya not just cutting the guy's throat from behind.

No wildling army/cat...all this ep need was one

Stannis. Doesn't. LAUGH! :bang:

Barristan Selmy still hasn't killed anyone

[The Boar of Gore]

More and more things are not making sense. I want to grab a non-book reader and ask them if they feel the same way.

E.g.: Yara is going to storm the Dreadfort with 50 guys? Or is she supposed to be taking the whole Ironfleet *without* her father's approval?? Oh, and 3 guys taking a whole city? Daario switching sides just for 'beauty'? Sex with Gendry because that's the only way to put him off his guard, as if you couldn't just hold him down and apply leeches anyway?? Gendry escapes in a rowboat and there's no way King Stannis can send another boat after him to catch him?? Ygritte managed to catch Jon on foot, but none of the other Wildlings did?? And apparently the Wall is full of large gates that anyone can walk through and no Wildling (in thousands of years of raiding) has ever found them?? Varys wants to help Tyrion because he knows Tyrion could be a good ruler, so now Varys really is acting all for the good of the realm? How's that going to square with him assassinating Kevan precisely because Kevan was being a good ruler, further on down the road?

More and more scenes seem unnecessary or clumsy. It feels as if we're rushing from one scene to another, so they can tell us 'Oh yes, these guys are over here now', 'Oh, by the way, this is why I did this thing earlier, in case it wasn't clear'. The dialogue is good - and of course the acting is good - but somehow the writing is still bad?

E.g.: We have to see Jon in a contrived scene telling us via dialogue with Ygritte why he ran off without her, because there was no other way to show us his motivation. Sam can show up with Gilly and that's fine, but Jon couldn't have shown up with Ygritte.

There's still a lot of very well-crafted and clever writing, but sometimes...

[boojam]

Here is a puzzler.

Months ago there was report that Kate Dickie (Lysa Arryn ) would be on set for a couple of days?

That go on the cutting room floor?

Or were they talking about her contracting for next year?

[The Boar of Gore]

No wolf dreams, no Nymeria, no UnCat, no Brotherhood. :(

[Queen Daenerys]

Bran not telling Sam to keep quiet about their meeting. The viewers won't understand why he doesn't tell Jon.

No Lady Stoneheart: I was sure it would be the season final.

Cercei being way too kind to Tyrion; and Sansa seems to be ok with their wedding?!

Stannis. Everything they did with him this season was wrong anyway.

Jojen implying Bran is going North to fight the Others.

[Ran]

The scene was even previewed in an early trailer. IT has been cut from the season as -- apparently -- quite a few other scenes that were filmed and never used (Tywin fishing in the Blackwater and having a chat with Pycelle being another one we know of specifically).

It seems that with each season, more and more scenes get written and even filmed that are never actually used. The first season, other than the Aerys flashback, they basically had none. It feels a bit wasteful, and you kind of wish they did a better job of actually writing necessary scenes rather than writing what are, apparently, superfluous scenes that can seamlessly be dropped.

[The Boar of Gore]

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