Pontoon

It all felt kind of weightless but I liked it anyway. I'm glad we got to see Thorne earning his stripes as (substitute?) Lord Commander, even belatedly. Hell, giving that speech and fighting Tormund, he seemed straight-up heroic... and I liked his little semi-apologetic scene with Jon. Some really well choreographed fight scenes as well. Not sure what any of this changes in the long term, but I thought it was a lot of fun as a kind of stand-alone episode. Just because previous Episode 9's have been big fulcrum movements in the Stark/Lannister/Baratheon struggle doesn't mean they all have to be.

Damn. I don't even know where to start. How about that beetle monologue? Also, I couldn't help but smile a little (involuntarily) when Ramsey got his promotion to official Bolton. I just love the actor who plays Roose so much. I know they're both completely evil, but I'm glad the two of them are still kicking around in the North.

Oh, wow, @WhiteStumbler. I hadn't caught that... I wonder if that means that prior to Elia and her children being killed by Gregor, the Cleganes were just lowly (if enormous) soldiers in the service of the Lannisters... but that atrocity caused Tywin to raise them up to the level of a House after the Rebellion. If that's the case, no wonder Oberyn doesn't seem to buy Tywin's protestations that he didn't give the order. EDIT: Even Aemon seems to think it was especially enraging/over-the-top, during his scene with Jon in S1. Maybe there was even a quid pro quo between one of the Cleganes and Tywin... we'll take on this especially unsavory job for you, but only if you raise us up to nobility. I could see Tywin paying his debt in that way...

Also, if memory serves, The Hound didn't quite tell Sansa that Ned was "a bad man"... just that he was "a killer" (like just about every other male in that society, including Sansa's future hypothetical sons.) I thought it was a caring, almost lovely moment in a way (although of course very bleak and probably terrifying for poor Sansa.)