Now that all the anger has had a chance to seep through you, what would you rate the episode?
Honestly, I really liked it. In spite of all the criticisms, I really liked it.
Davos and Theon were really good, even if the sequences were not canonical. And some of the insanity (Sansa's plot) is actually a relief, as it only proves that the show is going in a different direction than the books.
"I can see it. You have more of the north in you than your brothers."
Thanks for the welcome! lurked for a while, and this seems like a pretty constructive forum so i signed up.
loved the Mel reveal at the end, pretty much everything in the north was good (Ghost/Davos/Edd, sansa/theon/Bri&Pod, roose ramsay. Kit's best acting to date (j/k...)). KL, Cersei and Jamie were both good, but i don't like how they are getting closer in the show, ruins his redemption arc imo. Liked the Margary scene, but that is more due to my huge crush on Natalie Dormer than anything really...
Dorne continued to be an excrementshow, mereen is still boring, Dario and Jorah are mindnumbing, did get a kick out of the Dothraki Dany interplay but that doesn't mean it was good... Arya is one of my favorites, but i didn't get overly excited about that scene, although i wonder if those beatings are going to help her warging as a way to get her sight back?
loved the Mel reveal at the end, pretty much everything in the north was good (Ghost/Davos/Edd, sansa/theon/Bri&Pod, roose ramsay. Kit's best acting to date (j/k...)).
LOL on Kit! Quite true, even if a joke.
You bring up an interesting point though. For once... perhaps the only time ever... pretty much everything in the north was good. It was also new. And I dig new.
Beggars can't be choosers, and until we get Winds of Winter, this is better than nothing.
KL, Cersei and Jamie were both good, but i don't like how they are getting closer in the show, ruins his redemption arc imo.
Completely agree.
One of my biggest issues with the show is they have made Cersei far too motherly. Yes, she was a mother in the books too, but in the show she looks like a strong mother more than the powerhungry psychopath she really is. Far too easy to empathize with, imo.
Dorne continued to be an excrementshow, mereen is still boring, Dario and Jorah are mindnumbing, did get a kick out of the Dothraki Dany interplay but that doesn't mean it was good... Arya is one of my favorites, but i didn't get overly excited about that scene, although i wonder if those beatings are going to help her warging as a way to get her sight back?
Yup yup yup. Perfect summation of my feelings as well.
Hopefully Arya's ass-kicking will amount to some warging sooner than later... It would be awesome to see her tear that girl's eyes out with a few cats.
"I can see it. You have more of the north in you than your brothers."
Also, people keep talking about this Redemption Arc for Jaime, as though it were some linear upward trajectory, and I must admit that wasn't entirely the impression I got from the books, especially in AFFC. If anything, the moment between him and Edmure Tully suggested that he'll have to take on a more "Tywin-esque" role in actually protecting the interests of the Crown. He didn't suddenly wake up and discover that he's a good guy, he's struggling.
Also, people keep talking about this Redemption Arc for Jaime, as though it were some linear upward trajectory, and I must admit that wasn't entirely the impression I got from the books, especially in AFFC. If anything, the moment between him and Edmure Tully suggested that he'll have to take on a more "Tywin-esque" role in actually protecting the interests of the Crown. He didn't suddenly wake up and discover that he's a good guy, he's struggling.
Yeah, when we pick up with him again in ADWD, Jaime, while having made his decision about Cersei, is still quaffing about what it means in the greater scheme of things.
Wow! You all are being quite tough on this episode. It might not have been the best thing since sliced bread, but it was entertaining for the most part. If you look for a replication of the books, you'll always be disappointed. They're not the same thing, not even close. For what it was, I enjoyed it.
Why must I always be the isle of crazy alone in an ocean of sensibility? The should to everybody else’s shouldn’t? The I-will to their better-nots?
Wow! You all are being quite tough on this episode. It might not have been the best thing since sliced bread, but it was entertaining for the most part. If you look for a replication of the books, you'll always be disappointed. They're not the same thing, not even close. For what it was, I enjoyed it.
I found it mostly enjoyable too, though the episode on the whole strikes me as a little...inessential?
For a non-hyperbolic take, my biggest problem with the episode - besides outright bizarre choices, like them pretty obviously just saying "fuck it" with the Dorne plot - is that a lot of the scenes felt more like stuff that should have been in Episode 10 of the previous season. Quite a bit of the episode seems to be asking "What next?" which, with the exception of the stuff going on at the Wall, is a question that probably should have been answered before the season started so they could hit the ground running.
All of that said, I think the strongest scene was the one at the end with Melisandre, and I'd go as far as to say it's one of my favorite scenes in the entire run of the show. It's relatively short, there's no dialogue, and yet it communicates a great deal--it's legitimately good visual storytelling.