matilda76

Burning Shireen. So the show actually went there. Just heartrending to watch. But I don't want Stannis to lose against the Boltons. I'd like him to have that one triumph, only then to die at Brienne's hands. Which would also redeem the season for Gwendolyn Christie, whose talents were wasted for pretty much the entire season. Loved it when Ser Jorah threw that spear from the pit and killed the harpy behind Dany. The whole end scene was masterfully done. Wondering what Davos will do when he finds out Stannis burned poor Shireen. If one event can make Davos doubt that Stannis is the one true king, this would be it.

Never mind! Looked at the Wiki. Durn acronyms.

Loved it! The last 60 seconds were excruciating, in a good way. Winnief: For the record I think the Night King recognized Jon as AA. Sorry, what's AA?

Very apropos clip, BrendasChoppers! Ha.

Didn't know they filmed multiple endings, but considering how non sequitur Bill's offing was, that makes total sense. And then the not knowing who the father of Sookie's baby was, and we're obviously supposed to conclude that it doesn't really matter, all that matters is that she got what Bill wanted for her. But it simply doesn't fit with the whole context of this series. Such BAD storytelling! I did enjoy Eric and Pam's happy ending. And Eric jamming in the car. But that's about it. Everything else was pretty damn sloppy.

UGH!!!! What was the point of Sookie suddenly being able to read his mind? I was thinking this was the preamble before he reverted to a human state, but no. Sookie stakes him and that's it. As has been said - SO ANTICLIMACTIC!

I was afraid Jared was going to get the crap beaten out of him. I didn't understand why he would sneak into Hanna's room. So what do people here think? Did Daniel really, actually kill her? Or was he just completely done putting up a fight against Foulkes? But Sheriff Carl sending stuff off for testing, Teddy moving to press charges (god, I hate Teddy)...when's Season 3 starting already?!?

I was doing a master's in the UK when the show debuted. I didn't start watching it then, only hearing about it when the hype started washing up on UK shores. I watched the pilot online when I should've been studying. To date, the pilot is the absolute best episode of TWD -- in my opinion anyway. I found that parts of seasons 2 and 3 dragged and I'm pretty sure that I've missed a few episodes here and there across those two seasons. I get frustrated with it, but not so disgusted that I stop watching. This past season (season 5?) was pretty good TV in my opinion -- and I love The Talking Dead as well. I'm definitely looking forward to October.

I think they also need to remind Deborah Ann Woll. Jessica seems to have misplaced her accent.

I think his motivation is quite well established during his trial scenes, especially just prior to him demanding trial by combat. I do agree, for cinematic value, that there should've been a bit more dialogue between Jaime and Tyrion before he leaves Tyrion at the foot of the secret stairs, even if it didn't strictly follow the book. But as viewers we can remember Tywin and Tyrion's exchanges this season and in prior seasons and also the fact that Tyrion has had a LOT of time to brood over the matter in his cell. I'm assuming the only reason is costs, but this is one show that would definitely benefit from a 12-episode season rather than just 10. Aren't other hour-long HBO series usually 12 episodes (True Blood, Six Feet Under? I'll have to look them up)? Edit: Looked them up and the answer is yes, they did have longer seasons -- TB gets 12 episodes, SFU got 13, and Big Love got 12 -- although they're all much lower budget than GoT. But even Rome, which was canceled not because it was unpopular, but because it was too expensive, got a 12-episode first season.

But to me it seemed that he just told Tyrion that to buy himself some time, calm Tyrion down. I think Tywin had every intention of executing Tyrion the next day. It was very Fish Called Wanda: "you don't have the guts! . . . okay, okay, you have the guts!" I sort of see your point, as I think Tywin certainly knew that Tyrion was very intelligent, certainly moreso than Cersei, anyway. But not for a minute did he ever think him worthy. He is so angry at Tyrion just for being born that he is never a viable option for Tywin as far as the family legacy is concerned. Tywin was always just concerned with using Tyrion as a pawn (demoting him from Hand to Master of Coin, forcing him to marry Sansa, etc.). Let Tyrion defy him or become a nuisance in any way, and Tywin needs no excuse to try to destroy him completely.

Not to distract from the GoT discussion, but I'm a Mad Men fan too and I haven't heard this angle -- Weiner changing things to suit the audience. In regard to which character? Don?? PM me if possible (I haven't explored all the Previously functions thus far, so I don't know if we actually have that option...)

ITA. Not only is it being set up for Jaime to figure it out for himself, but it will also surely come to light for Cersei that it was Jaime who set Tyrion free. That confrontation should be interesting whenever it happens. Thoughts on the finale overall? I liked it a lot, but thought it got pretty soapy in places. Thought Jon/Mance/Stannis and his army was done very well and I'm looking forward to more Mance next season. Finally, things at Castle Black will be a little more interesting. I thought Cersei telling Tywin about her and Jaime was very soapy and the way Headey played it, it makes Cersei more unlikeable than ever, even though she's supposed to be actually coming from a good place when she refuses to marry Loras because she doesn't want to leave her son. Lena Headey is certainly very good at oozing maliciousness and bitterness -- like any good villainess on Days of Our Lives or General Hospital!. The fight between Brienne and Sandor was very well done and the acting was terrific. It was hard for me to watch, it was so brutal and raw. I thought Tyrion's killing of Shae was both self-defense AND vengeance. You could tell it was more than just kill or be killed for Tyrion. The Tywin death scene was almost everything I imagined it to be, and like most people here I'm very glad that we'll be spared the "wherever whores go" refrain next season. I also like that Tyrion and Jaime keep their bond intact and the change with Varys accompanying Tyrion -- the two actors have good chemistry and I always enjoy their scenes together. I hope Jaqen H'gar shows up again next season or at some point further along. Or more specifically, getting the same actor back who originally played him. I need more pretty on GoT!

But she doesn't does she? In the books, doesn't he basically ask her to put him out of his misery, and she just walks away? In ADWD, what I recall is that people are SAYING he's dead, but GRRM doesn't make that explicit. As my friend Carin always says, and I find to be more or less true, "no one is ever really dead on GoT until you cut off their head." * *Exception: Joffrey, and probably a few more I'm forgetting

Well, yeah, but I'm willing to give it a pass because, really, how young can you expect to look after a lifetime of heavy drinking after getting half your face burned off? And we all know the Mountain bathes in the blood of little children....

I didn't really pick that up just from looking at her; I can pick that up knowing the context in which she finds herself there. I'll have to watch it again and really look at her face. If her job this time was to sit there and look inscrutable, then job done -- at least IMO. :-)

I agree with others here that Peter Dinklage really brought it this episode. Even his funny accent seemed to be behaving a bit more! The looks between him and Shae were so heartbreaking. Her bed's made now. This must've been Natalie Dormer's easiest paycheck ever. "Now Natalie, you just sit there and look nonplussed -- all day." They panned to her so much I was wondering if we were supposed to be inferring something from her reaction shots (like, "I know who did it"), but it was just distracting. Ser Davos gets the job done again. The only thing missing was Shireen. Dany's scenes bored me once again. Although I look forward to seeing a little more of Hizdahr, just for variety's sake. All of her stuff just seems very one-note to me lately; she's almost uniformly haughty and imperious. Dany is a much more interesting character when she shows her vulnerability...

I love how none of us is talking about Dany, despite her dominating the first 10-15 minutes of the episode. It's taken me longer than a lot of other ASOIAF/GoT fans, but at last I am completely bored with her storyline. I've been at about 50-60% saturation for a while now, but last night it reached 100%. The character has gone from three-dimensional to nearly one-dimensional. I started out this series (the TV series) really loving the character, and I think the actress is quite talented (though the more she stares off into the distance with a haughty look on her face, the harder it is to remember this), but this Meereen stuff is really tedious. The Grey Worm/Missandei scene held my attention, but the static turned up as soon as Dany broke up the scene. Anything they can do to hasten this storyline toward Westeros is fiiiiine by me, because I do want to root for Dany.

I like to think it was because she felt secure in the knowledge that the Lannisters' suspicions were directed the opposite way, toward Tyrion and Sansa. She knows Margaery would never give her away of course. I was paying attention to Aidan Gillan's voice, and he still sounds Irish. I've been watching Season 3 again with a friend who's still catching up to the series, and his accent has definitely changed. Not that I mind the actor's real accent, but after all this time, why? I agree with posts above about the hierarchy of the white walkers. Looks to me that what we were seeing is their "priesthood" and that others we've seen up till now are the soldiers, and those who turn after being killed are sort of like drones (Osha's husband, the walkers who try to kill Jeor Mormont, etc). I do like being spoiled, but I can live with being unsullied again as this is hopefully a good departure from the books. Having read on this site that GRRM was writing himself out of it (cavernous) corner, he can use the show to reflect what he wishes was in the books. And it's probably informing the writing of the remainder of the book series as well. Anything that keeps Bran from becoming a tree is fine by me. But I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Agree with others here about the now-gratuitous rape scenes/violence against women on the show. I get that this is basically set during a medieval period during a time of war, and there was raping and pillaging to an extent we probably have trouble imagining. But the showrunners could be a little more selective in how they choose to portray it. I'm just hoping that they've been shoving our faces in it only to turn the tables and have the women take over everything in the end.

Same here. I'm all for being kept on my toes as a viewer. It's a little disconcerting but now I'm just dying for next week! Very good point about the White Walkers, Mya Stone. I'm all a-flutter over these new developments!

Don't hurt Hodor! Well, that was interesting. Looks like Bran's storyline is changing considerably. I'm still reeling a bit...this strikes me as the biggest departure the show has taken so far from the books. And really...almost this entire episode was a departure.

The death of Ros was very sad. Just that image of her at the end, shot through with arrows. There's something about deaths on this show of people of low birth, how within the context of the machinations of the show, they're nothing, but for the viewers, these deaths are perhaps the most cruel and brutal of all: the two farm boys burned to a crisp by Theon, villagers tortured to death by the Tickler and Polliver. And then there are the deaths that we don't actually see, but are as good as done, case in point this past Sunday with the Hound predicting the death of the farmer and his daughter. They had five minutes of screen time, and yet I won't soon forget them. You want them to be okay, but it very effectively drives home how dangerous and sinister a place Westeros has become while those who have no say in the matter are trying to cling on to their meager lives as best they can. But really, they are living on a knife's edge.

Everyone's an asshole....except for Pod! He's a dear. Anyway, the rape scene didn't really bother me when viewed in context with the rest of the series and where it's going alongside the books. Jaime is a morally ambiguous character, simple as that. But portraying a morally ambiguous character is not simple. Throughout most of the first two seasons, he is portrayed as mostly villainous, but the actor is skilled enough to have imbued it with a sense of something else below the surface. It was a good set-up to losing his hand and forming a relationship with Brienne in Season 3 and starting him on another phase of his life where he starts to question everything he's ever known. But that doesn't mean he's now solidly on a righteous path. It's not that straightforward. Whereas before he was dead certain about Cersei, upon returning he's thrown into conflict and confusion about his relationship with her, which has always been tinged with violence and deceit (mostly deceiving others, but now she has deceived him). In the show, I've always seen their relationship as love/hate, even more so than the books. I don't think it's character assassination at all, not when viewed in context. In fact, it's all of a piece with setting up what looks to be a permanent alienation from Cersei (as of ADWD). Yes, I agree it was a particularly unpleasant scene. But so was the scene in the book. And Davos. Like a lot of people here, I love that Onion Knight. Yes, he's from Flea Bottom, but he's long proved to have a subtle mind...now it's just got an improved outlet because of his burgeoning literacy. I loved his talk of distinctions and finer points of bad behavior...more Davos, please.

Just a general comment that, apart from the Tywin/Cersei/Tommen scene and the Cersei/Jaime scene, I actually enjoyed this episode quite a bit -- there was a good balance of lighthearted and somber moments. The Hound/Arya scenes were excellent as usual and made me laugh, as did the scenes with Davos and Shireen. The wilding/Thenn raid was deeply disturbing, and, once Dany FINALLY picked her champion, I enjoyed Daario's quick victory and the exploding barrels of slave collars. I also thought Sam was very touching in his scenes with Gilly, even if things did drag on a bit. IMO, not the best episode of GoT, but definitely not one of the weakest as someone said above.

Agree -- he's obviously still licking his wounds and is short on supplies too, as evidenced by Selyse's mention of near-empty larders and talk of book soup and grilled seagull. I didn't mention it previously, but I appreciated the brief view of another side of Stannis -- the side that has a soft spot for his daughter: "you will not strike her." I also thought the scene Shireen appeared in was far too short . . . I really liked how she verbally sparred with Melisandre . . . here's hoping she eventually contributes to Mel's undoing down the line.