Pete Martell

The only time the show really suggested Tywin was not good at what he was doing was that Iron Bank convo with Cersei, which I think some fans felt was OOC, but when you think about Tywin's decisions, it sort of makes sense. He's good at micromanaging, not good at the big picture. His main failing has been obsession with appearances. He likely wished Tyrion dead but would not ever admit to that family weakness until the opportunity fell into his lap. And he pays the price as a result. Preview talk (not sure if this needs a spoiler, but...)

I'm sure everyone has heard of Diana Rigg's starmaking role as Emma Peel, or her role as the love of James Bond's life ), but you may also want to check her out in the 2013 Doctor Who episode, "The Crimson Horror." She plays the villain of the story, in a campy, bellicose performance. She's a lot of fun. (her real-life daughter plays her character's abused daughter in the episode). I also have to recommend Natalie Dormer's work in Elementary, which was, in the first season anyway, a fantastic role for her, and one of her strongest performances.

I think it was a reason to do what they often do with the Wall story and Jon story - stall, stall, stall. They could have still had more buildup to the big battle episode. Instead they cut the story to the bone, along with Sansa's story, so that we could get things like that placefiller with The Hound assaulting the farmer to remind us that he was an asshole, Tyrion and Jaime talking about beetles, and Oberyn repeatedly reminding people that his dick was hard. I didn't even mind the Tyrion and Jaime scene, but when I think about what they could have done, it's a waste. I do think a lot of this is about the show being wary of giving "unpopular" characters too much focus. I get it, I do, but sometimes having too much of "fan favorites" damages the character. Arya's bizarre naivete and general silliness in "Breaker of Chains" did her no favors and is an example of a character being onscreen solely to be onscreen.

Pretty sure the preview strongly hints at I have a feeling the last shot will be or

Hunted -- Hollywood Babylon ++ Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things -- 25 - All Hell Breaks Loose Pt 2 25 - What Is and Never Should Be 23 - In My Time of Dying 21 - Born Under a Bad Sign 21 -Hollywood Babylon 19 - Nightshifter 19 - Tall Tales 19 - Crossroad Blues 17 - Everybody Loves a Clown 15 - Hunted 15 - Bloodlust 15 - Simon Said 15 - The Usual Suspects 15 - Croatoan 15 - Playthings 15 - Houses of the Holy 15 - Folsom Prison Blues 15 - All Hell Breaks Loose Pt 1 13- Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things 11 -Roadkill 09 - Heart 07 - No Exit

I know. I was still angry though. Not really a rational reaction on my part. In terms of supporting cast at The Wall, I feel like pretty much everyone but Sam has barely been seen anyway. They stopped trying to develop the group after the first season. I guess they may feel that we shouldn't care about any of the Watch but Sam and Jon. Or perhaps the boy who killed Ygritte is going to take over more of that role. Or Stannis' group. Or Jon having no allies is to set up the later violent attack he faces from within the ranks. It's tough to say. For some reason the show, as you mentioned, isn't interested in a supporting cast, aside from a few at King's Landing.

The odd part is it seems like we may be going back to more sympathetic Wildlings, with Mance back. Perhaps they changed things this season so we'd know who to root for in the battle. I felt like season 2 and early season 3 had somewhat sympathetic Wildling portrayals, then they became this dirty group who had Jon/Ygritte as their NOTP, and so much attention went to the skeevy warg guy. I wonder if any material was trimmed down because of Kit's ankle injury.

I thought there would be a negative reaction, as Jon really isn't a big fan favorite, so I've been surprised at the mixed response (pleasantly surprised, as I don't think it deserves a negative reaction). I do wonder if it will become more negative as the week passes. What gets me with, "If Dany/Tyrion/Arya had been here this episode would have been good" is that if Ygritte had been in more of the episodes this season, then I think the story would have had more impact, at least if we saw more POV beyond her being angry and killing people. They really cut this story to the bone for other stories this season, until this episode.

I was surprised at the end of the battle, surprised that they'd won. This was partially because I was expecting Stannis. I do wonder how non-spoiled people felt about the end of the battle.

I got angry at Sam when he released Ghost. I was so scared. I'm glad nothing happened to him. Seeing him ripping throats out was very satisfying. I wish he'd paid Janos Slynt a visit.

I haven't gotten to that point in the books yet, but I feel like on the show, they mostly sympathize the Wildlings who are allies to the main characters and don't interact with other Wildlings (Osha, Gilly). As a result the WIldlings who are together are more dangerous and less easy to relate to. I guess with the red-bearded guy still around, and the shot of Mance in the previews, we will see more sympathetic Wildling material to come. The group we saw was mostly shown marauding, and Ygritte's story was about vengeance more than losing her home. I guess that's why they had the scene of Ygritte sparing Gilly and her baby in the last episode. I don't really know how to feel about the Wildlings. I do think the Night's Watch group are more heroic, overall, but then, every non-asshole in the NW other than Jon, Edd, Sam, Aemon, and that archer kid died tonight :(

Yeah, I don't think Ygritte wanted to be there. She talked about vengeance, but she was extremely low-key during the battle. I think she would have killed him if she'd had the chance, but I think she would have killed a lot of herself in the process, which she knew. I think that's also why Jon likely would have never killed her (maybe if she was threatening Sam or Ghost). In many ways Ygritte was a stereotypical trope, the feisty lass, mostly defined by her relationship with Jon, and by his manpain. Yet Rose Leslie always made a meal of the character and gave her so many shades. She added such an undercurrent of sorrow as the role went along. Ygritte was one of the most complex characters on the show. I will miss her, even though we've barely seen her this season.

For me the King's Landing story this season has never really had momentum. It's been a lot of things happening, then Tyrion sitting in jail pondering life, then a lot of things happening. I don't know if they did that deliberately so that the cuts away from the Lannister group would have less impact, or if it's just that that Cersei/Jaime scene derailed much of what I was feeling in the first two episodes, but it's not one of those stories where I mind lengthy scenes (or even entire episodes) which focus elsewhere. I liked the break from the other stories (if I had to see another week of Arya and The Hound marching in a circle I may have thrown a shoe at the TV), but I wish they'd cut down a little on the earlier love life scenes in the episode, so we could see more of the battle aftermath.

Blackwater had more emotional stuff and less battle. The Cersei/Sansa and Cersei suicide scenes are among my favorites of any season. I preferred the battle scenes in this episode to the ones in Blackwater, as I cared more, but the other scenes weren't quite as strong.

I was surprised at no Stannis. I hope we still get to see him in battle again, as I enjoyed that in Blackwater. Did Alliser being carried away remind anyone of Stannis in Blackwater? The early stuff with all the talk about Sam's love life didn't do a lot for me (although it was nice to see so much of Aemon, and I'm glad he didn't die), but the action was first-rate. I knew Ygritte was going to die, but as someone who has loved Rose Leslie's work from her first scene, it bummed me out. I wish the show hadn't had that stuff with the boy early this season as it gave the whole thing away somewhat. I don't think her heart was really in it anyway (the battle, I mean). The guy who plays Alliser gave one hell of a performance tonight. I will give him praise. Janos sucks. Was he this much of a coward in the books? I was afraid he was going to attack Gilly when they were alone together. I had a feeling Grenn and Pyp were going to die, and that's why we'd seen more of them lately, but it still hurt, especially Grenn, who was one of the hottest guys on the show. I was kind of glad for a break from the other characters, although I just hope this doesn't mean we're going to get less of Stannis at the Wall next week (if that happens) since there are going to be 20 other stories.

I don't think they've done a great job with the Wall story in recent seasons, but I am looking forward to it, and I'm somewhat thrilled to have a break from Tyrion jail scenes. I think the actors have it in them to do a brilliant job if the writing and directing are there. Hopefully the pacing will be on and it will be a good episode. I'm glad the show is taking the risk, and I hope it pays off. As a fan who sometimes feels that all my favorite characters are hated by other fans, I share your pain.

So did he not want to kill Dany?

I don't know if this is the right thread to ask this in, but did Varys never want to use Viserys and Dany to take back the throne? Did he always have this new Aegon in mind instead?

Looks like another case of Jensen Ackles being used to sell products. This time it's a piece of fanart someone drew a few years ago. http://maichan808.tumblr.com/post/88061094197/yall-mothafuckas-need-misha-idontlikeyourcat

I have a feeling they are going to play up "who is really in charge?" with Sansa and Littlefinger, rather than tell us definitively. I just hope this won't lead to any sexual relationship (or sexual assault). I also have a sad feeling they cut the "only Cat" line because they thought some viewers wouldn't know who he meant.

Definitely. I guess in season 2 I bought it a little more because you had moments like Tyrion finding the blackwater, and they were trying to show the danger in place. This season, I haven't really felt a sense of danger or stakes. I don't think it helps when there's always the fandom joke about how this is all because Jon has a pissed off girlfriend. I know the show hasn't made it about that, but since Ygritte is really the only one of the group we know very well, it sometimes comes across that way.

I've been a fan of Sansa's for most of the show's run, even when she's been silly or shallow. I think there's such a huge emphasis on the value of "bad-ass" moments in entertainment, especially for female characters, that they come to define opinion. It was Sansa who had to watch her father being executed, even as Arya's eyes were covered. It was Sansa who was beaten and assaulted for the "crimes" of her father and brother at the same time as a man was giving his life to help prevent the same from happening to Arya. There's this idea that Sansa has done nothing but stroll the gardens of King's Landing until this season, while Arya has been suffering and fighting back, but I think the reality is far more complex. The sad thing is that while a lot of Sansa fans are unhappy with some of the changes from the books, I think if the show had had some of that (like The Hound's infatuation with her [which was mostly hinted on the show] or her telling Cersei that Ned was planning to flee the city), she would have been so hated they could have done nothing with her. I can already hear people saying why is she such a bitch to poor Sandor, and so on. I understand how important it is for Sansa's character to finally have her doing something, anything, beyond reacting, but I'm sorry that some of Sophie Turner's work in reacting and playing up Sansa's loss and stillness has not been noticed. I thought her work throughout The Lion and the Rose, where she mostly just had to keep calm as she was being humiliated in the crassest ways, was superb. Some of her best work thus far. I love when we get to see Sophie act through facial expressions and eyes.

I would agree, but the reaction that some in the "press" had to this snub, and Ron responding to it (and previously having a fit when DAYS beat them for a WGA) tells me they're still viewed as important in the ever-decreasing cult that is the daytime drama industry. I think the people making those nominations wanted to send a message, and the hysteria from some quarters guaranteed that the message was heard. I thought someone did make them an offer and they turned it down. If so, their mistake.

To me being professional would be not responding to Logan's tweet. He said nothing against her. He said he wanted Franco out, so that would affect her storyline, but it's not as if he has any power over the show. Jumping in that way seems very reactionary to me.

I don't find Carlos entertaining or funny. I don't really care that much about Julian/Alexis as a couple. I feel like Alexis has had this story so many times. I don't like Sonny and I won't be sorry if he ever is written off, but I don't think the show would really improve that much, nor do I think he's the biggest problem with the show now. I think Morgan is a whiny baby. I can't root for a character just because they sometimes yell at Sonny. I didn't care for Jonathan Jackson as Lucky. Ever. Other than Bobbie and Aunt Ruby (RIP), I've never cared about any Spencer, and I wouldn't mind if they were all shipped out of Port Charles for good. I will always love Lucy even if she histrionics and whines and cries for the rest of eternity. I have a huge soft spot for Kristina Wagner and will put up with a lot of shit from Felicia as a result. I generally like Sam. I just happen to hate nearly every story she has ever had.