View original postIs it just me or was the timing slightly off? Maybe it only felt like this for someone who knew what was supposed to happen throughout the episode and that the show lingered on some scenes a little too long before getting to more important ones.
View original postFor example: we knew we had to get back to Tyrion's killing spree and escape but when there were only 15 minutes left to the show we suddenly cut to Jaime opening his door. That was a bit underwhelming and could have used some set-up earlier in this episode, like the noose already tightening around Tyrion's proverbial throat. The killings were pretty much how I imagined them in the books, though.
View original postBran. After stumbling through the set of a Ray Harryhausen film he pretty much reached the end of his story line of ADWD already, hasn't he? Maybe I am forgetting some details about his life underneath the tree.
No, not at all. They still meet more of the Children and Bran "plugs in" to a tree as well after which he understands what the faces on the trees are and what the old gods are. He also sees some of Ned Starks past as well as watches Theon and helps (if I remember correctly) Theon gain some semblance of sanity, enough to want to escape.
View original postJojen gets killed before he even dies in the books. I guess something like that had to happen sooner or later (already did with Jon's buddys, after all). Still, an odd feeling. The skeleton warriors were pretty neat, the show does wander off into classic fantasy territory more and more.
It's been along time since I read the books but were those skeleton things in book? I don't remember them.
View original postBrienne vs. The Hound. Actually, not a bad idea to tie up those two storylines together. The fight was pretty damn ugly. Arya leaving the Hound was perfectly executed as well, albeit maybe a bit long. One has to wonder what Brienne will get to do before meeting Lady Stoneheart, which did not end up being used as the major shocker for the season finale after all. A lot of unknown ground to cover next season already, I think.
I wasn't sure what I thought of that at first, since it didn't happen in the books, but in the end, I kind of liked it. The fight scene was good and I also liked that even until he fell, I thought the Hound could have won if it had kept going. Good choreography.
It will be interesting to see if they even continue the Lady Stoneheart plot in the show, she pretty much doesn't do anything in the books so far. If they cut it then it will be another one of those things that tells us about the future or lack thereof of a character in the books.
View original postStannis arriving at the wall was pretty well done but could have used a nod to why exactly that happened. Watching the show with someone who doesn't know the books and has other things to memorize all week or year long than show details from months ago often makes me realize that the show requires a lot of attention. A simple "We got your letters, Jon Snow" would already have worked.
Again, it's been a really long time since I read the books, but I seem to remember the battle between Stannis' troops and Mance's army being a lot more drawn out and not so one-sided. I thought some of it took place at night or something too. shrugs
For what they did though it worked well. The battle was some really nice filming.
View original postSo maybe a bit underwhelming as a season finale after two excellent episodes before that, but with a lot of interesting set ups for next season.
But wine was the great assassin of both tradition and propriety...
-Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings
