S04.E10: The Children

[Meredith Quill]

Episode 10 Synopsis:

Circumstances change after an unexpected arrival from north of the Wall. Dany must face harsh realities. Bran learns more about his destiny. Tyrion sees the truth about his situation.

(Runtime = 66mins)

 

Reminder: There is open air book talk here. If you are just watching the TV show and you don't want to stumble into a potential spoiler you should leave now. Book Talk assumes you have read all the books to date. Any information from unpublished books, such as preview chapters should be in spoiler tags.

[MichaelaRae]

I knew it was coming and still Dany chaining up the dragons made me cry. It upset me in the book and it was worse watching it happen.

 

And I didn't actually think they'd go there with Tyrion killing Shae. I'm impressed.

Edited June 16, 2014 by MichaelaRae

[Rhondinella]

Totally expected the reveal of Lady Stoneheart to be the last scene of the ep.  Interesting choice to leave it to next season (I assume).  I did wonder when I didn't see Michelle Fairley's name in the credits, but I thought maybe they were wanting to keep it a surprise and so would put her name at the end instead.

 

I'm not normally someone who appreciates a good battle scene, but the battle with the ice skeleton . . . things was pretty cool!

 

I admit, I squealed when Brienne spotted Arya.  And their scene was epic!  It was great to see Brienne fight again, and to more than hold her own with the Hound.  So wish Brienne could be Arya's mentor.

 

Tryion's murder of Tywin didn't have as much impact as I expected for some reason.  But Dinklage's reactions after strangling Shae were wonderful.

[Mya Stone]

No UnCat...again. But by and far the best finale they've done. Enjoyed it all.

The Hound and Brienne fight was AMAZING. I kept saying to my fiancée, man, I wish George had written this instead of the other fight. Would have made Brienne's chapters more tolerable.

[Scarlett45]

1. Disappointed in- how the murdering of Shae was handled. No dialogue? It looks like she attacked him first( reaching for the knife)- what was the point of that??? No Sansa, no Theon. No lady stone heart.

2. I did like how bad ass Tyrion was with the crossbow- just shot him like he said he would. Jaime and Tryion hug- AWWWWWWWWWWWW. Varys hearing the bells and turning right around and getting on the ship. That man always has a plan.

Wtf is going on with Cersei's characterization. Book!Cersei would have NEVER admited the incest to Tywin. Not ever. Now she doesn't care about him? So his death won't take her entirely off her rocker?

So much more today I need time to process!

[Skeeter22]

They seriously overestimated the appeal of Arya if they thought watching her sail away from the main action was the best way to cap off what they claimed was the Best GOT Episode Ever! Very anticlimactic, even Tywin's death was kind of drab.

[Izzyboy]

Loved the season finale.  The fight with the skeletons was more intense than I thought it would be when it first started.  Now that Stannis is at the Wall that makes both of their stories so much more interesting which is obviously a good thing.  Just knowing we're going to get interactions between characters that haven't spoken before is something I'm looking forward to.

 

Speaking of new interactions, I love how they handled the Brienne/Pod and Arya/Hound encounter.  That whole scene was the highlight of the episode for me.

 

Kinda surprised we didn't get the line from Tyrion to Jamie about how Cersei has been treating him like shit and sleeping around behind his back.  Although they never really showed much of that except for Lancel so I guess it would've came out of nowhere.

 

And now our watch begins to season 5.  On the bright side...we'll never be as far away from next season as we are right now!  :)

[MichaelaRae]

Yeah, I'm curious to see how they're going to take this, considering there is now not a rift between Jaime and Tyrion or between Jaime and Cersei. All of which leads to some pretty important developments - an important one being the Cersei punishment, which I will be very annoyed if I am deprived of.

[Rhondinella]

They seriously overestimated the appeal of Arya if they thought watching her sail away from the main action was the best way to cap off what they claimed was the Best GOT Episode Ever! Very anticlimactic

 

 

 

Especially when I think a lot of us were primed for the reveal of Lady Stoneheart to be the final scene.  I'm honestly flabbergasted that didn't happen.

[Mya Stone]

I am more convinced now than ever that LS will be a plot line next season. All the mentions of her, and stating she was dead...

Sigh.

Alas. I know book purists are going to be pissed at how Tyrion and Jaime parted ways, how Jaime and Cersei are still into each other, and how "whitewashed" Tyrion is. I, for one, welcome this - he was downright unbearable for most of ADWD and I appreciate having at least one character to still be likable.

Also, I loved Jon and Mance's scene.

And oh my god, Bloodraven. That was perfect. Exactly as I pictured it.

[screamin]

So, if that wasn't the actual canonization of St. Tyrion, to me it looks so close as makes no matter, IMO. He didn't kill Shae because he was explicitly pissed off at her humiliation of him - he killed her, like, in self-defense, which makes it totally okay! As for omitting Jaime's confession about Tysha and Tyrion's disgusted rejection of his brother, they carefully sanded away all the offensive rough edges of Tyrion's vengefulness against his surviving family members - and with that they totally removed all his motivations for ever returning to Westeros to wreak bloody vengeance on them all (thus screwing up the future plot) - because God forbid Tyrion should ever be unlikeable, ever. Damn....

Edited June 16, 2014 by screamin

[mac123x]

I thought the whole thing was anticlimatic.  Stannis's arrival at the Wall, Bran meeting those weirdos at the tree, Tyrion killing Shae and Tywin, all of it.  It didn't help that they spoiled Stannis's arrival at the wall by showing a "previously on" from last season with Mel saying "head north".

 

I enjoyed Brienne vs. the Hound, that was good but ultimately pointless.  Ice Zombie fight was good too, but if the Children of the Forest can through fire grenades like that, why didn't she KEEP DOING IT.

 

Disappointed in- how the murdering of Shae was handled. No dialogue? It looks like she attacked him first( reaching for the knife)- what was the point of that???

That way Tyrion killed her in self-defence instead of vengeful murder, to keep his show!character's hands clean.  At least we won't have to deal with "where ever whores go" fugue states next season.

[Izzyboy]

Alas. I know book purists are going to be pissed at how Tyrion and Jaime parted ways, how Jaime and Cersei are still into each other, and how "whitewashed" Tyrion is. I, for one, welcome this - he was downright unbearable for most of ADWD and I appreciate having at least one character to still be likable.

 

Seriously!  I couldn't stand having to hear Tyrion drone on and on with "wherever whores go...".  I'm so glad we don't have to sit through that in the show because it really soured me on his chapters in the book.

Edited June 16, 2014 by Izzyboy

[Macbeth]

I am very happy that the show did not skimp on the arrival of Stannis and his army.  That was a great visual of his army surrounding the Wildings.

 

Also was glad to see the skeleton attack on Bran's crew.  That went far above my expectation on what I thought they could accomplish on their budget. 

 

The visuals were great.  Brienne's fight with the Hound on actual cliffs - amazing.  I am also glad that the show ended on Arya's ride out of Westeros.

 

But really show.  Cersei and Jaime are a couple again?  Really? 

 

 

[jjjmoss]

F.

 

No Sansa.

No Tysha stuff. So I guess on the show she was a whore all along?

No Stoneheart. 

Killing Jojen senselessly.

 

The only noteworthy part was killing Tywin. Which, yeah, great, but there were many other minutes devoted to other crap.

[MarquisDeCarabas]

Actually the lack of Lady Stoneheart makes sense.  if they end with that then it has to be picked up next season, and that pretty much means they'd have to go into Winds of Winter territory on that plotline.  They are getting pretty close with Sansa on that front.  They can have her no decide maybe the wall is the next step and not get to Stoneheart until middle to late next season.  Who knows maybe WoW will be released by next year.

 

(Yeah I couldn't keep a straight face) 

 

I kinda feel like the Death of Shae and Tywin was pretty underwhelming.  I wonder why they cut that down.

[elzin]

I have so many feels. I can accept some of the changes for the sake of tv. That we don't have endless of chapters of "where do whores go?" to examine the Lannister sibling dynamics, for Brienne to spot a limping man on the Quiet Isle and not recognize him, for Coldhands, Val, Dalla, Balon Greyjoy's death. But no Lady Stoneheart?  Ugh, I thought they should have ended LAST season with it, so to not have this season makes me want to scream.

[Ripley68]

Ugh, I hated the "where do whores go..." in the book. I hope it doesn't come up in the show!

[benteen]

Really, really good episode.

 

First off....Book Tyrion is officially dead.  Long live St. Tyrion.  Killing Shae in self-defense gave him an out.  But I will say that scene was appropriately brutal and well-acted by Dinklage.  This might sound creepy but the actress who played Shae (I can never remember the spelling) looked absolutely beautiful.

 

Tywin got what he deserved but damn, I'm going to miss Charles Dance.  He was ****ing BRILLIANT tonight.  His acting when Cersei told him the truth was impressive...he literally comes off as a man who refuses to see the truth when it's laid out before him.  His acting with Peter Dinklage at the end was impressive as hell too.  It was Emmy-quality good although unless you're named Peter Dinklage, you are not getting a Supporting Actor nomination on Thrones.  But Dinklage was the MVP of this season and did terrific work.

 

No Tysha reveal although the departure between Jaime and Tyrion was touching.  I'm just going to have to accept that Book Tyrion and Show Tyrion are two different characters.  Hopefully this finale will allow Peter Dinklage to play dark more next season.  Kudos to whomever predicted that Varys would be going across The Narrow Sea with Tyrion.  I approve of the change and should make things interesting next season.  I suspect he will part company with Tyrion at some point though.  He's not leaving his precious Realm alone.

 

Now, for the change I loved...ARYA AND BRIENNE TOGETHER!  Always wanted to see these two interact and it did not disappoint.  Too bad this one true pairing didn't last long.  That led to another awesome change...Brienne vs The Hound!  That was an awesome, sick fight.  Just brutal.  Great work done by Rory McCann tonight (he will also be missed) and of course Gwendoline Christie.  I am even more excited for her upcoming Star Wars Episode VII role...give that woman a lightsaber!

 

Liked Arya with the captain at the end too.

 

Stop trying to make Cersei sympathetic show.  She's not sympathetic!

 

Speaking of "changes" I guess we got our official confirmation that Jojen is dead.  Very exciting sequence with the wights.  I'm glad that scene was kept as it was an exciting one in the book.

 

Loved the meeting between Jon and Mance.  Cieran Hands has been gone too long but thought he was terrific.  Very impressive CGI work on the big battle between Stannis's forces and the Wildlings.  They still give Stannis a sinister edge but props for him listening to Jon on what to do with Mance.  Hopefully this leads to more of the great Stannis we see in the books.  Very creepy scene with Melisandre staring at Jon.  Also, Davos and Jon interacted too!

 

Not perfect but still really good.  I enjoyed Season 4 and am curious how things will go from here.  I only hope to hell that GRRM can somehow get The Winds of Winter published before next year (I'm not holing my breath).  Because there's no way in hell this show isn't going into spoiler territory for the books next year.

 

Oh, and I can't resist...Happy Father's Day, Tywin!  It's ironic how these things work out.

Edited June 16, 2014 by benteen

[Jodithgrace]

But they left out Tyrion's best line, when he looks into the privy and says something like,"well it turns out that Lannisters don't shit gold after all." I was waiting for that. But I thought it was a terrific finale anyway. Certainly better than last week's battle in the dark.

[Morrigan2575]

And oh my god, Bloodraven. That was perfect. Exactly as I pictured it.

I haven't read the books so I don't understand the reference, would you mind explaining?

I liked this finale a lot, might have been the best one to date. I've read the Wikipedia links on my favorite characters so I was interested in how the Tyrion/Shae stuff went down since the couple played differently on screen. I'm also curious as to the change regarding Tyrion's first wife. I thought finding her, was a big motivation for the next book(s)?

I guess I didn't pay that much attention to the wiki bc I didn't expect Varys to leave with Tyrion.

The Brianne/Hound fight dcene was awesome but I was kind of surprised and saddened by Arya's unwillingness to kill the Hound. I'm afraid Arya Stark is really dead at this point, I don't think she can ever come back from the darkness.

Bran's storyline got interesting, pity they had to kill the brother, I liked him.

Edited June 16, 2014 by Morrigan2575

[Winnief]

I think the reason they didn't have Tyrion disabuse Jaime about his romantic notions of Cersei, NOW is because the writers are saving it for next season, and want it to be about Jaime finally figuring out for himself what his lover/sister truly is.  Perhaps by seeing how horribly she rules as Regent.  Frankly, that would be far more interesting than Jaime being all hurt that Cersei wasn't faithful to him.

 

And yeah, I know you can argue they're whitewashing Tyrion and his relationship with Jaime but I have to say, I prefer not to have all the show's main characters be completely horrible and unsympathetic people.  It's a depressing enough series-can we occasionally have some glints of light in the darkness like the two Lannister brothers however screwed up they are, also truly love one another?!?

[benteen]

Like I said, I accept that Tyrion is St. Tyrion on this show.  I will say that thank God that Peter Dinklage manages to make his character rise about the one-dimensional character D and D have turned him into.  The success of the Tyrion Lannister character can be attributed to two people.  GRRM for creating him and Peter Dinklage for portraying him.  D and D deserve no credit for the one-dimensional character they have turned him into.

[screamin]

And yeah, I know you can argue they're whitewashing Tyrion and his relationship with Jaime but I have to say, I prefer not to have all the show's main characters be completely horrible and unsympathetic people.  It's a depressing enough series-can we occasionally have some glints of light in the darkness like the two Lannister brothers however screwed up they are, also truly love one another?!?

 

 

But if Tyrion leaves, all reconciled to Jaime, what is his motivation for ever coming back to Westeros at all - much less come back determined to wage war on Jaime's children?

[Pete Martell]

They seriously overestimated the appeal of Arya if they thought watching her sail away from the main action was the best way to cap off what they claimed was the Best GOT Episode Ever! Very anticlimactic, even Tywin's death was kind of drab.

 

I have mixed feelings about Arya (and her material this season was all over the place), but I think we underestimate just how popular she is. Arya is one of the main faces of the show - I'd say she and Tyrion are the show's most popular characters.

 

I don't think ending the season with her sailing to a new future was a bad idea, especially as Maisie Williams played that scene beautifully (it reminded me of Queen Christina). It's just that I think a lot of us were sort of expecting...another final scene.

[Scarlett45]

I did like Dany's interaction with the tutor. Yes Dani freed the slaves, but seems to have no idea on how to restructure the society and economy. "For those of us that are too old to change...." Her suggestion to allow for contracts was probably the best on the spot decision she could've made. But yes her buttocks needs to start to RULE.

[Notwisconsin]

I LIKED the Jamie/Tyrion parting. Besides they didn't have time for the whole thing.....

[Black Knight]

Totally expected the reveal of Lady Stoneheart to be the last scene of the ep.  Interesting choice to leave it to next season (I assume).  I did wonder when I didn't see Michelle Fairley's name in the credits, but I thought maybe they were wanting to keep it a surprise and so would put her name at the end instead.

Yeah, I'd been thinking that by just having Lady Stoneheart not speak, they wouldn't need to put Fairley's name in the opening credits. Years and years ago, the show Angel famously concealed the surprise appearance of a character by not having her speak, so that they didn't have to have the actress's name showing up spoiling viewers. I thought Stoneheart should have been in last year's finale, so I'm really disappointed that she's not in this finale either. Dammit! I was so excited for Stoneheart in this finale that I spent half of today watching Red Wedding reaction videos.

[Izzyboy]

I have mixed feelings about Arya (and her material this season was all over the place), but I think we underestimate just how popular she is. Arya is one of the main faces of the show - I'd say she and Tyrion are the show's most popular characters.

 

Totally agree...she's immensely popular and especially with my friends are aren't book walkers.  Even with my friends that are she's pretty popular, two of my friends named their daughter after her...

 

I didn't mind them not bringing Lady Stoneheart into this season.  I had no expectations of what "should've" been shown though.  I don't mind waiting!

[lucindabelle]

I too totally hated that wherever whores go stuff. Tom me it was so pain fully obvious it didn't mean anything, just something to say, and groin weirdly took it literally.

I don't think area not killing Sandro when he begged made much sense, watching it, there seemed to be a bond between him and I believed him when he told brienne he was looking after her.

Similarly the reveal with shar was awfully quick.

[benteen]

I was okay with Lady Stoneheart not appearing either.  There wasn't time and next year they'll be able to do the storyline justice.  I expect after she is revealed, we'll get "Special Guest Star Michelle Fairley" in the credits.

[Ripley68]

I thought for sure the last scene would be Tyrion walking away after killing his father.

[Skeeter22]

I was disappointed with the way they unceremoniously dispatched Jojen. I know he didn't have much left in the books any way, but it was a little harsh to end him that way. I think both he and Shae got lost in the shuffle.

My problem with ending on Arya really has to do with how the whole season was paced. This season had tons of major character moments and shocks to work with, and it seems a lot of them were rushed or poorly placed. With all of the things they could have emphasized, they chose Arya going to Braavos. I wasn't even expecting Stoneheart by then, because they seem to have a knack for stepping all over moments that should be shocking. I just think Arya deciding to become a faceless man isn't the triumphant note they seemed to think it was. Particularly when that storyline increasingly feels like a time waster keeping Arya away from all the real action.

Edited June 16, 2014 by Skeeter22

[Winnief]

 

But if Tyrion leaves, all reconciled to Jaime, what is his motivation for ever coming back to Westeros at all - much less come back determined to wage war on Jaime's children?

 

Determined to wage war on Jaime's children...no.  Determined to make life miserable for Cersei and tear down his father's legacy, hell yes.  Also, now that Tyrion is traveling with Varys, it's possible our favorite eunuch might also be pushing the idea of working with Dany on the grounds the Lannister dynasty is completely rotten.

 

We do know that Tyrion still feels very, VERY bitter about King's Landing after all.

[kieyra]

I think the "St Tyrion" epithet is a bit melodramatic. He just murdered two people. I don't call that whitewashed. They've got plenty of show material for him to go even darker and more nihilistic after this, and the endless "where do the whores go" litany wasn't exactly my idea of nuanced character-building.

[wallflower75]

I'm coming out or lurker status--hi, glad to be here!--because I'm torn. On the one hand, I really, really, REALLY wanted to see Lady Stoneheart. I was convinced that would be the ending for this season. On the other, as someone who was, shall we say, underwhelmed with AFFC and ADWD, it never hurts the show runners to hold something back for us to look forward to next year.

Loved the meeting between Arya and Brienne!! Early on, I thought that Brienne was what Arya would've liked to be one day--before everything went to hell for her. Now it's too late and Arya's on her way to Braavos.

My heart broke for Jon, having to burn Ygritte's body. I guess his election as Lord Commander is another thing pushed off into next season.

As for Tyrion, Tywin, and Shae, I'm torn again. While I certainly won't miss Tyrion's "where do whores go" dirge, part of what I've looked forward to in the future of the books (presuming they're ever finished) is the inevitable showdown between Jaime and Tyrion. I suppose they can still have that--I'm sure Jaime's going to have plenty of issues with Tyrion over Tywin's death--but would show-Tyrion do anything to defend himself after what he's done?

[Scarlett45]

Thinking about it some more I am thinking that Shae was Tywin's for a long time- maybe not initially, but for a while. When she hears someone coming and says "my lion".....that seems to have been an inside joke between her and Tywin, more likely than not she was calling him that for a while.

[venturestar]

 

But if Tyrion leaves, all reconciled to Jaime, what is his motivation for ever coming back to Westeros at all - much less come back determined to wage war on Jaime's children?

 

All they have to do is let Tyrion actually find Tysha next season. Tysha can tell him that she was no whore and voila, Tyrion figures out what Jaime did and has his motivation.

 

[Growsonwalls]

I don't think there's that much of a difference between book Tyrion and show Tyrion. Yes they take away some of his edges, but Tyrion in the books is also a likable character. 

 

One of the most compelling part of the Lannister drama on GoT is that in both the show and the book, you see the dark side and the human side of each Lannister. Cersei is horrible, ruthless, but heartrending in her attempts to protect her children. Jaime threw Bran out of a window, but he also really loves his brother. Tywin is also a ruthless ruler and a horrible father to Jaime, but Kings Landing will fall to shit without his iron will and disposition. I think the show did an absolutely fantastic job in casting all of the Lannisters -- they all deserve Emmy's. 

[Winnief]

 

I'm coming out or lurker status--hi, glad to be here!--because I'm torn. On the one hand, I really, really, REALLY wanted to see Lady Stoneheart. I was convinced that would be the ending for this season. On the other, as someone who was, shall we say, underwhelmed with AFFC and ADWD, it never hurts the show runners to hold something back for us to look forward to next year.

 

I am thinking that's one major reason they decided to hold off on that as well as Jon's being chosen as LC.  After all in between the Purple Wedding, the Moon Door, Tyrion's trial, the Mountain vs. The Viper, Ygritte's death, and Tyrion's farewell to Tywin and Shae, Dany's rule in Mereen and the Dragons being locked up, Bran meeting the CoTF and Bloodraven, etc.  they had plenty of great dramatic developments and turns this season....but AFFC and ADWD are a little light on all that except of course for the climactic moments they were working up to but never quite got around to showing and those wouldn't come until the season's ending anyway.  They needed some good stuff for earlier in the season too, and LSH, and the Night's Watch choosing will help with that.  

[benteen]

All they have to do is let Tyrion actually find Tysha next season. Tysha can tell him that she was no whore and voila, Tyrion figures out what Jaime did and has his motivation.

 

Oh, dude, this would be an AWESOME scene.  Please let it happen!

 

You see, D and D, knowing that Jaime lied to Tyrion would be a way to add shades of gray into his character instead of, you know...raping Cersei!

 

I want it to be known on the show that Tysha wasn't a whore.  It was wrong in the books and should be wrong on the show.

Edited June 16, 2014 by benteen

[kieyra]

Thinking about it some more I am thinking that Shae was Tywin's for a long time- maybe not initially, but for a while. When she hears someone coming and says "my lion".....that seems to have been an inside joke between her and Tywin, more likely than not she was calling him that for a while.

Maybe I need to rewatch, or check the unsullied thread, but I wonder if non-book-readers immediately picked up on the fact that Shae was in Tywin's chambers and the implications thereof. I know they did an establishing shot of the Hand emblem, but some people don't catch that kind of small detail.

Just thinking aloud.

Edited June 16, 2014 by kieyra

[magdalene]

The skeletons fighting reminded me of THE MUMMY movies.

 

The final Tyrion/Jaime hugs made me all verklempt. Oh, Jaime you are so complex...

[screamin]

Determined to wage war on Jaime's children...no.  Determined to make life miserable for Cersei and tear down his father's legacy, hell yes.  Also, now that Tyrion is traveling with Varys, it's possible our favorite eunuch might also be pushing the idea of working with Dany on the grounds the Lannister dynasty is completely rotten.

 

We do know that Tyrion still feels very, VERY bitter about King's Landing after all.

 

Tommen is the king of King's Landing. And Cersei is his mother, and Jaime is his father, and Cersei is the mother of Jaime's children. Tyrion couldn't harm KL OR Cersei without going through them as well and risking their death as well.

 

As for merely making life 'miserable for Cersei' (presumably stopping short of actually killing her), Cersei quite sincerely believes him guilty of Joffrey's death - and the gods agreed with her in Tyrion's trial by combat. Tyrion's wanted for murder, and Cersei would do her best to have his head if he ever came back. For Tyrion to risk that merely to prank Cersei doesn't seem like sufficient motivation....

[Growsonwalls]

How long Shae was with Tywin was a mystery in the books too, but I agree, a long time. Probably a lot of overlap between her time with Tyrion and her time with Tywin. The thing is, I can understand Tyrion's sense of betrayal but I can understand Shae's motivations too. She is a working girl, she has to look out for herself, and if Tywin came onto her, is she even in a position to say no? 

[mac123x]

I did like Dany's interaction with the tutor. Yes Dani freed the slaves, but seems to have no idea on how to restructure the society and economy. "For those of us that are too old to change...." Her suggestion to allow for contracts was probably the best on the spot decision she could've made. But yes her buttocks needs to start to RULE.

 

The whole time I was thinking "hire out his services for a fee, you know, like gainful employment". 

 

I was really annoyed that they didn't have al the Wall scenes, including the unnecessarily long and tedious "Jon talks to Tormund then burns Ygritte" scene, in last week's episode.  They could have fleshed out some of the more pivotal scenes with the extra time in this episode, like maybe SOME explanation of why Shae was in Tywin's bed.

[areca]

Also, now that Tyrion is traveling with Varys, it's possible our favorite eunuch might also be pushing the idea of working with Dany on the grounds the Lannister dynasty is completely rotten.

 

I thought Varys was off in search of wee Aegon who was spirited away? I don't remember him getting on the boat, but I recall him being very much involved in attempting to bring back Aegon.  I'm assuming because he's all out of options unless he wants Melisande for a queen, but I don't think he's into that as being good for the realm...

[Scarlett45]

How long Shae was with Tywin was a mystery in the books too, but I agree, a long time. Probably a lot of overlap between her time with Tyrion and her time with Tywin. The thing is, I can understand Tyrion's sense of betrayal but I can understand Shae's motivations too. She is a working girl, she has to look out for herself, and if Tywin came onto her, is she even in a position to say no?

Yeah totally. I just wish the actress had some dialogue rather than reaching straight for the knife so that it was self defense on Tyrion's part. I mean some sweet words, Tyrion "snapping" and THEN her reaching for the knife would've been more effective.

[Notwisconsin]

Two words: Ray Harryhousen. Jason and the Argonauts (1966) has a great skeleton fighting scene which they obviously stole here.

[Winnief]

 

I thought Varys was off in search of wee Aegon who was spirited away? I don't remember him getting on the boat, but I recall him being very much involved in attempting to bring back Aegon.  I'm assuming because he's all out of options unless he wants Melisande for a queen, but I don't think he's into that as being good for the realm...

 

He didn't get on the boat.  That's one change they've already made to the books.  I really believe they'll scrap the whole fAegon storyline,  and have Varys's play concentrate on Dany.