i was riveted to the tv the whole episode. loved the opening scene with davos and jon, and everything at castle black was good.
didn't care for the KL stuff, but it wasn't boring. although when Jamie was insulting Gregor and the head turns, the look on Jamie's face and how he jerks back was hilarious...
Liked the Mereen and Vaes Dothrak scenes, haven't liked those in quite some time. Liked the Arya training montage, but i've got the feeling that the HoBaW is using her to get a weapon to point at the Lannister regime for defaulting on the Iron Bank loans...
i think the end scene with Jon is akin to the conversation Jamie and Cat have back in season 2... so many vows that are contradictory. watch shall not end until my death... yet it is still for all nights to come... was a cool ending and makes me wonder what the reborn wonder is going to do now...
ToJ - i'm glad they didn't lift the dialog straight from the fever dream, but i thought they kept the essence of it well. i was very impressed with the quality of this scene, particularly the fact that ned is able to kill Whent 1 v 1 before Dayne is able to get more than Howland and another northman down. i do think they should have gone with the kingsguard armor from seasons 1 and 2 instead of the Targaryan symbol on the chestplate, but that is a minor critique of an overall great scene.
perhaps i should have given this episode a 9, as i liked it as much as episode 2, but i think i was just overly generous last week after the gawdawfulness that was the season premier...
I'm torn. I liked last weeks episode better, but I'm not sure that this one deserves a lower rating, so for now, they both get 8s. It might be that this one was more set up and clean up than the last. It really did have some good scenes and writing. Mereen was slightly better but still not nearly as good as it could have been. I wish we had learned more at the toj, and it went by too quickly, but the scene was set up well. Kings Landing was OK. I really enjoyed the scenes at Winterfell and The Wall.
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?
8 best episode of the season in my opinion. For the first time this season I was left wanting more and I am not just talking about the TOJ. Excellent and believable fight scene though. Really curious to see how the house of cards collapses in King's Landing. The High Sparrow was excellent in this episode. Liked the attitude of the new Lord Umber, dislike that he gave up Osha and Rickon, still praying its a con but time will tell. Thorne died well, Olly not so much (I know the internet is abuzz with Olly hate but do remember the poor guy's village was killed and partially eaten by Wildlings). Varys has his best performance this season, very smooth player of the game. I have no suspense when it comes to Dany we all know Drogon will swoop in and save the day but the head of the Dosh Khaleen seemed an interesting and realistic character.
Darkstar will be the next Vulture King.
Craster has 19 daughters and there are 19 castles on the Wall, coincidence I think not!
Post by regular jon umber on May 10, 2016 7:49:19 GMT
I have only seen the ToJ scene so far (damn 3rd world problems) but that scene is fantastic; despite the changes (No Hightower, no Dawn), it worked. It was well shot, well lit (lights are good things D&D), well acted, and it had gravitas.
Why can't it all be like that?
Edit: wait, I know why: because it's book material.
8 best episode of the season in my opinion. For the first time this season I was left wanting more and I am not just talking about the TOJ. Excellent and believable fight scene though. Really curious to see how the house of cards collapses in King's Landing. The High Sparrow was excellent in this episode. Liked the attitude of the new Lord Umber, dislike that he gave up Osha and Rickon, still praying its a con but time will tell. Thorne died well, Olly not so much (I know the internet is abuzz with Olly hate but do remember the poor guy's village was killed and partially eaten by Wildlings). Varys has his best performance this season, very smooth player of the game. I have no suspense when it comes to Dany we all know Drogon will swoop in and save the day but the head of the Dosh Khaleen seemed an interesting and realistic character.
Pretty much my opinion Wraith. This was the first episode this season I felt I could watch and get caught up in the action of the story and put aside a critical eye. Episodes 1 & 2 needed to be a better edited "Episode 1", this was the first episode where I felt: now we're getting somewhere, even if I don't like all the plot developments. Hence why I also gave it an 8.
BTW, I'm thinking of compiling all the ratings we're giving these episodes and posting averages for each episode at the end of the season to see how they all average out.
I liked this episode a lot, for all of the reasons upthread. Plus, no Murderous Pixies. However, it gets a 7 from me. I dislike getting zero resolution within an episode. It felt unsatisfying, like a 1970's/1980's "to be continued" tv show episode. I hate yelling, "No,no, you mother fuckers!" as the credits roll.
If I ignore the books, Arya's montage is a bit more enjoyable.
If I ignore Meereen and KL and Vaes Dothrak, there was some cool stuff at the Wall and Beyond.
But mostly, I gave it high marks for once again furthering the story (which GRRM has yet to do unless you count the Arianne II chapter), and for featuring one Ser Arthur Dayne.
You guys have no idea how bummed I was when they squashed the Arthur Dayne rumors with the Alfred Hunrith pseudonym. I actually must've blocked it out because I forgot all about it until markg171 started bringing it up in the Episode 2 As We Watch thread, even though we had talked about it before. LOL
So yup. High marks from me. I was thoroughly entertained, and it was all new. If I incorporate book-knowledge, it gets about a 4, but I'll save those criticisms for other threads. Taken as an episode in and of itself, it was pretty good. There were no technical difficulties at all, so that makes two episodes in a row now where they have not accidentally aired the cartoon. The first episode set the bar pretty low, but mistakes happen. Since then, it has been rather fun to watch, and I have had zero impulses to throw my remote through the TV.
"I can see it. You have more of the north in you than your brothers."