Summary: Selyse commits suicide and half of Stannis' army leaves. Melisandre returns to Castle Black. Stannis attacks Winterfell anyways and is destroyed. Brienne arrives to kill him. Sansa escapes her cell and Myranda threatens to maim her. Theon kills Myranda. He jumps off Winterfell's walls with Sansa. Arya violently murders Meryn. Jaqen punishes her by blinding her. Jaime leaves Dorne with Myrcella but Ellaria poisoned her and she dies. Tyrion reunites with Varys and is tasked to keep Meereen safe. Dany lands far away and Drogon is tired. She ventures out and is confronted by a khalasar. Cersei confesses to her crimes and is forced to walk naked through the streets of King's Landing to get to the Red Keep. Sam goes to Oldtown to become a Maester. Jon is betrayed and killed by the Night's Watch.
The Good: Cersei's walk of atonement was fantastic, one of the show's finest moments. To make us feel so much sympathy for such a despicable character is undoubtedly brilliant, providing a ton of conflicting emotions from within yourself as you are left trying to figure out how to feel about this character. It's great, deep storytelling which adds an extra layer to Cersei's character. Furthermore, Lena Headey delivered her best performance so far as she begs to the High Sparrow and portrays Cersei's pain during the humiliating walk. This wouldn't have worked without a tremendous performance, and Lena Headey knocked it out of the park. I thought Jon's scenes were very good. Sam's departure was a nice moment and I really appreciate the idea of him going to Oldtown to become a Maester. It's also a good storyline to show us more of the world of Westeros and has potential to provide us with a lot of history which I'm always excited for. The final sequence was dampened a little by the rest of the episode (see: The Bad), but it was impactful for the most part. After this season had failed at combining surprise and storytelling in almost every way, it finally succeeded here. This scene was Jon's red wedding as he pays for the mistakes he made as Lord Commander by dying a brutal and painful death, fitting of what has been presented in this show. Jon kept Alliser at The Wall, he didn't do enough to ensure the loyalty of his men while accommodating the wildlings and practically walked straight into his terrible fate. Of course there are some questions to be asked (see: The Unknown), but even if this isn't Jon's true death, it's powerful. It's hard to watch Jon gutted by his own brothers, and is a sad culmination of all of Jon's efforts to save Westeros from the White Walkers. The Bad: Unfortunately everything else has to be in The Bad because this episode did not deliver. There were so many climaxes in this episode, and almost all of them (barring Cersei) felt rushed and squeezed into an already busy episode. Because of that, the writers once more played these scenes for surprise over emotion, and that meant that all of these scenes fell flat and didn't feel like a climax worthy of the stories being told. The Stannis storyline was a colossal failure. With him dying so anticlimactically without accomplishing much, it makes his entire storyline pointless. And to clarify, I don't mean his story this season, I'm referring to his entire storyline since the Battle of the Blackwater. Think about it, had Stannis died at Blackwater Bay, would any of these characters be in a different place emotionally? Would the plot be any different? The answer is a resounding no, which is really poor. If we are getting an entire story for Stannis, there needs to be a purpose to it, and sadly there wasn't here. Now I just feel like the past three seasons of Stannis were a waste of time with absolutely no pay off from a lot of interesting story building. But the fact that the Stannis storyline is meaningless isn't even the worst part here. The biggest offense was this "climax" of his story. Everything was so rushed. It was almost comical how swiftly Stannis kept getting bad news before he was staring death in the face. The pacing was so rushed that it didn't allow any of these moments to stick. Stannis loses his wife and his men and we hardly get any time to see how he feels about this. Without moments showing us how a character reacts to a big event, that event means nothing to us. Everything that happened to Stannis ended up meaning nothing, which is astoundingly disappointing. All we needed were some moments for Stannis to reflect and realize the destruction of everything he held dear and to show some actual emotion. Just putting on a frowny face and telling Brienne to "do her duty" is not how to make us feel emotion for this character. It's all done wrong, and it causes me to feel nothing even though I just watch a character lose absolutely everything. So many other great TV shows have understood that its not the event which causes the emotion, it's the character's reaction, so why can't this one figure that out this season? Also, Brienne's kill of Stannis is really bad. Again, I have to ask where is the emotion and drama? Brienne did nothing to earn her reward of killing Stannis which makes his death just feel like another moment and not like the culmination of an entire revenge arc for Brienne. All we needed was for Brienne to overcome some obstacles to earn her reward, it's basic storytelling. But just like how the show failed to understand that reactions cause emotion, it also failed to understand that characters need to earn their rewards just like how they deserve their deaths. Because of these fundamental failures at writing, Stannis' storyline, character, and death are all ruined in this episode, continuing the downwards spiral that "Game of Thrones" has been experiencing this season. Theon finally abandoning his Reek persona failed because of similar reasons. This storyline was three whole seasons in the making, yet the big moment where Theon finally acts against Ramsay is rushed into a two minute scene. Once more, the drama is lacking and I never feel anything for Theon which is awful considering how much his storyline has done. The stupidity of this show has led to Theon's return to form to be played for surprise instead of emotion, ruining any impact the moment could have had. Where was Theon wrestling with the decision of what to do before he killed Myranda? He just killed her for the sake of surprise, creating another unintentionally funny moment when Myranda died. We really needed to get a "Darth Vader saves Luke" moment here. And I'm not talking about Darth Vader killing the Emperor, I'm talking about Vader looking between the Emperor and Luke as he makes his decision. That scene was dramatic and emotional because we got to see Darth Vader wrestling with a decision. Had he just killed the Emperor out of nowhere, it would have been flat and disappointing, just like how Theon's sudden choice was flat and disappointing. An how about that final moment? We are left with a cliff-hanger that Theon and Sansa jumped out and we don't see their fate. What? Are we supposed to believe that they died? Because that is an awful cliff-hanger to manipulate our emotions like that. Even if we weren't supposed to think that, it's an awful ending. Those walls are huge and snow will never soften a 40 foot fall like that. Sansa and Theon are fatally injured at the very least, so an escape can't be possible. Something like this is a perfect example of how bad this show's writing has gotten. Even Arya's story was wasted, this time by the show's tone-deaf will to just provide the viewers with horrific experiences. Where is the restraint? Did we need to see Meryn torture and beat minors? No, but it was shown anyways because... just because! Hell, even Meryn's death was robbed of any satisfaction as it was also painfully brutal to an extent that it was uncomfortable. If only this show would make these moments of brutality few and far between, it would mean something when it actually happens. Instead, the show opts for providing us with endless misery and brutality instead of telling us an actual story. Furthermore, it's this endless misery which took away from Jon's death as well, making that scene just feel like another empty piece of despair in a show which seems to have forgotten that brutal moments have to be presented for a reason just like any other moment in an episode. Thankfully, Jon's death had the appropriate storytelling to make it overcome this flaw. It's clear that his death, along with Cersei's walk, was taken straight out of the books since it wasn't butchered badly on the show. I'm sure that the fall of this show has been brought on by the departure from the books. Speaking of a departure from the books, Dorne was awful once more. The story ended in such an underwhelming and disappointing way. So Myrcella died. Who cares? We hardly know her and the writers once again opted for torture porn as Myrcella gets to have a sweet moment with Jaime before dying in his hands? Why was this necessary? Because misery and pain! It hurts me so much to see what was once one of my favourite show's stoop down to bad television like this. The entire existence of Dorne seemingly served no purpose. Jaime and Bronn didn't go through any kind of story this season and I learned nothing new about their characters. No new characters from Dorne made an impression either, so I really am not interested in seeing more from them. Some of the dialogue between Bronn and Tyene was absolutely atrocious.\ Even the scenes in Meereen were poor despite nothing particularly bad happening story-wise. The writing of the characters was just ridiculous. Tyrion doesn't even sound like himself anymore due to some weak dialogue. Apparently Tyrion wants to fight now, which is nothing like the character we knew before. Tyrion never liked fighting, so what value would he see in going to bring Dany back? The fact that Daario had to take the wise guy role to convince him to stay behind was out of character for him. Furthermore, what was with the verbal sparring between Tyrion and Jorah? It was petty which is insulting to their intelligence, calm demeanour and wisdom. Lastly, I think I found the one moment that perfectly encapsulated the failure of this season finale. That moment is Davos learning about Stannis and Shireen's deaths. He was given maybe 5 seconds to react to this. Then he was gone. Where was the emotion behind this? The sadness? This man just lost everything he was fighting for and yet we didn't get to spend a single minute to see how he processed this. The pacing is all wrong and the emotion just isn't there, just like the rest of the episode. Awful. The Unknown: Did Sansa and Theon survive the fall? I hope they did and I would be surprised if they didn't. Don't put it past this show to "surprise" us by having them die though. If they do survive, where do they go? Who can they go to for help? Stannis is dead and so is Jon. Where would they find help? Arya's blinding is a really odd moment. I know it's meant to be that way, and I think the scene was nicely put together. But what does it all mean? Why was Arya blinded? Did Jaqen do it or was it actually the faces? Also, who was it that actually died? Was it the Waif? Was it all just an illusion? I'm not sure what to make of this. What happens to Dany now that she has been found by a khalasar? I presume she will recruit them to her army. Is Cersei's new bodyguard the reincarnated Mountain? What did Qyburn do to him? How has he been changed by this? Is Jon actually dead? I know it seems like an odd question, but hear me out. I get the sense that Jon is too important of a character to die. Will he be brought back to life? Melisandre just arrived at Castle Black, so would she bring him back to life? Beric's resurrection was an important plot point that hasn't paid off since it has been introduced. Is this the moment it pays off? Best Moment: Cersei's walk of atonement was fantastic, a rare scene that I actually enjoyed in this episode. Character of the Episode: Cersei. Conclusion: This was a pile of garbage with one shining jewel inside of there. Cersei's fantastic moment prevents this from being one of the worst episodes of television I have ever seen, and coupled with Jon's death brings this episode to a slightly more respectable score. But this still wasn't good. It hurts to see this great show derail in quality and the fact that I love this show makes this episode even more painful than it already is. This episode had so many fundamental flaws. A lack of emotion, rushed pacing, no drama and senseless brutality should be avoided by any good TV show. The fact that this episode was a victim to all of these makes it excessively bad. The season as a whole has to be looked at as a massive disappointment. It's a sharp drop-off in quality following the fantastic season 4, and I'm left scratching my head and wondering what happened to this show. It started off fine with some good set-up but then the middle of the season started to lose focus. I was expecting this to just be some stumbles on the way to a great conclusion, but that wasn't the case. The story worsened to an extreme amount afterwards and it all culminated in a season finale which failed in pretty much every possible way of providing a fitting climax to the season. It was genuinely painful watching some stories get built up really nicely only for the pay off to fall flat, character arcs to be ruined, and twists to be meaningless. But, I will give credit where credit is due. "Hardhome" was awesome and is this season's sole saving grace. I shudder to think about how terrible this season would look in hindsight without that episode. I am extremely disappointed by where this season went and I desperately hope that season 6 can put this show back together. Score: 41
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Summary: Rachel invites Joshua to a fake party and so she has the group stage a fake surprise going-away party for Emily. Ross is upset that his plans for his last night with Emily didn't go as planned. Rachel tries and fails at seducing Joshua. Phoebe develops a craving for meat.
The Good: As a whole, this was really creative and really funny. The laughs in the episode were consistent and they managed to get funnier as the episode went on. Rachel was terrific again as she humiliated herself in hilarious fashion over and over again. Rachel is always funniest when she is humiliating herself due to her being in love, and that remained true here. This was her episode and she shone brightly. I really liked the conclusion to the story where Rachel ended up getting the guy despite humiliating herself, providing a good and funny feel-good moment. I particularly like the irony that Rachel really didn't need to seduce Joshua since he already liked her, making the whole party pointless. Furthermore, I enjoyed the scenes in the hallway a lot. The scene with Ross was excellent as both characters were genuine with how they understood each other without being over-the-top angry with each other again. I thought the writers showed tremendous restraint by not playing this scene for too many laughs. Instead, they saved the best laughs for Chandler's arrival which was a smart decision. The other stories were enjoyable too. Joey and Phoebe were really funny in this episode and I thought that most of their dialogue was brilliantly witty. The Bad: This episode was inconsistent though and that prevents it from being a series' best. While a lot of jokes were awesome, some of the other ones were painfully awkward and unfunny. The teaser sequence especially suffered from this and it did nothing to make me excited for the episode. Thankfully, things recovered afterwards, but I'm left feeling like this was 4/5ths of a fantastic episode and that prevents it from being special. Best Moment: I really loved Chandler fact-correcting Joey when he tried to reference a movie. Joey's response of "were you in the movie or something" was hilarious. Character of the Episode: Rachel. Conclusion: While this had some awkwardly unfunny moments, the rest of the episode was terrific, "Friends" at its best. Season 4 has been a welcome improvement over season 3, and this is another awesome episode to add on to this season's accomplishments. Score: 74 Summary: Jon returns to Castle Black with the wildlings. Stannis' camp is sabotaged by Ramsay. Stannis gives in to Melisandre's suggestion and burns Shireen despite his wife objecting. In Dorne, Jaime and Bronn are allowed to leave with Myrcella and Trystane if Trystane is allowed a place on the small council. In Braavos, Arya doesn't kill the gambler after having her focus distracted by the arrival of Meryn Trant with Mace Tyrell. Arya follows Meryn and plots to kill him. In Meereen, Dany watches the fighting pits. Jorah wins his melee. Suddenly the Harpies attack and murder Hizdahr. Drogon arrives to save Dany and burns the rebels. Dany rides Drogon away to escape.
The Good: The most I enjoyed from this were short scenes. I thought Jon's scenes were very good. I liked the tension presented between Jon and Alliser at the gates. I appreciated that Alliser didn't openly rebel by leaving Jon beyond The Wall, but you have to get the feeling that there is more to this conflict. I also liked the Night's Watch gawking at the giant as it walked through Castle Black. Arya's storyline was the only complete story that I entirely enjoyed. I thought that Meryn's arrival was a terrific moment to get us some inner conflict for Arya who hasn't done all that much this season. She is unable to leave the past behind and is still herself despite all of her training so far. I thought the sequence of her following Meryn was really tense, and I was especially nervous when I saw Meryn notice her several times over. I think Arya has figured out how to kill him (see: The Unknown) but I don't imagine it will be easy for her. Things are set up really nicely for the season finale in Arya's story. Some other odd scenes were really good. Davos and Shireen had a touching scene, made sadder by what happened later in the episode. It should be impactful to see Davos' reaction when he learns that Stannis burned Shireen. I thought Mace Tyrell's singing was really funny and a good bit of continuity with his character. Bronn's punishment being that he gets smacked hard in the face was pretty funny and fitting of what we know of Dorne. The spectacle of the ending scene was really well done. Dany riding Drogon was a fantastic moment and an exciting ending. The Bad: Unfortunately, "Game of Thrones" couldn't keep the momentum from "Hardhome" and this was another poor instalment that did very little to get me excited for what happens in the next episode. Ramsay conveniently being able to quickly burn Stannis' supplies didn't work for me. I was annoyed that we didn't see how he pulled it off as it left me with too many questions. How did Ramsay locate Stannis so easily? If the answer is that he was just on the Kingsroad, surely it would have been harder for Ramsay to sneak up on his camp. I can't buy that Ramsay and his men not only slipped past the guards somehow, but also lit fires at the exact same time before escaping the camp without being detected. It's an impossible feat which only happened because the plot needed it to happen. The excuse that "Ramsay is a northerner so he has the advantage" is so stupid. It has been summer for 10 years, so how on Earth does Ramsay have more experience in winter combat? As such, I can hardly buy that as a credible excuse. The rest of Stannis' story didn't deliver either as it was unfocused and downright lazy. Stannis chose to burn Shireen and the scene happened, yet I hardly felt anything. Sure I was horrified by the fact that Shireen was being burned, but that was it. Surely I should be feeling more from a dramatic moment like that but I really didn't. I'm not sure how Stannis felt about this, so I'm not sure how I'm supposed to be feeling about this. Plus, the whole story has been horribly rushed and there haven't been enough scenes to give Stannis time to make this decision. And unfortunately we didn't get enough time to see how Stannis felt about this decision either. Is he heartbroken because of this? Is he conflicted? Is he scared? Confident that it will work? I have no idea, and that is preventing me from getting emotionally invested with what is going on. The scenes are fine on paper, but in execution they are sorely lacking. I've already complained enough about the show being too focused on horrifying us without much substance, and this continued to do that. There were no other emotions being offered other than "wow that was messed up", and that is far too simple for such a disturbing scene. This show used to expertly make scenes like these feel impactful and earned, but this season hasn't done that. What has happened? And to make it worse, immediately afterwards a man get decapitated and it's played for laughs. The show has gotten completely tone-deaf and, like I claimed in "The Gift", is just trying to play up shock value at the sacrifice of storytelling. Unfortunately, Dany's story wasn't any good either aside from the final moment. First of all, Jorah should be dead right now. It's amazing how convenient his survival was, as his opponents were vicious and merciless until they just inexplicably let him recover in time to kill them in a "surprising" way. Ugh. Then we have another "surprising" reveal as the Harpies reveal themselves and attack. Yet for some reason they do not swarm Dany and waste time murdering innocent civilians, which seems completely at odds with what I know of them so far. The whole scene felt over-dramatized to make it more exciting. Furthermore, why didn't Dany have more guards? She is the queen and there is an obvious threat from the Harpies in the city. The Dorne scenes feel utterly pointless and dull. I'm not sure what they are going to accomplish and I honestly don't care at all because they are boring. I have no reason to care about any of these new characters, so this storyline has failed in an extremely basic way. I swear, if Myrcella or Trystane "surprisingly" die in the season finale as the big pay-off for this story, I won't be pleased. The Unknown: Where will Dany go now? What will happen with the Harpies? Will they be defeated next episode? What will happen now that Shireen has been burned? Will the Lord of Light save Stannis' army somehow? Or will Roose and Ramsay die somehow? Perhaps Theon will regain his identity and kill Ramsay? Does Arya plan to pose as one of the girls to please Meryn in order to kill him? I imagine she will. Will Meryn remember that he saw her before? I think he will and that it will lead to a much more intense confrontation for Arya to extract her revenge? Best Moment: Nothing really stands out. Probably Davos and Shireen's final scene. Character of the Episode: Arya. Conclusion: Sadly, the outstanding work done in "Hardhome" was undone this week. This was a big disappointment of an episode. This had several similarities with "The Gift" as both episodes didn't do anything particularly awful, as the main issue was just a weaker, unfocused execution of the story. This season has fallen apart after a strong start and it is disappointing to see a great show make some boneheaded decisions to ruin what could have been another awesome and engaging season. Hopefully the season finale can provide a fitting conclusion, but after the show has presented its two weakest episodes thus far, I'm not getting my hopes up. Score: 54 Summary: Dany dismisses Jorah again but he is undeterred. Dany and Tyrion become allies. Arya is adopting a new identity and is sent on a mission to assassinate a gambler. Cersei struggles while locked in her cell. Sansa pressures Theon who reveals that he didn't kill Bran and Rickon. Jon successfully makes an alliance with the wildlings. They start heading to Castle Black but White Walkers suddenly arrive with the army of the dead and kill many of the wildlings. Jon is able to kill one of them. The survivors, including Tormund and Jon escape.
The Good: Leave it to "Game of Thrones" to bounce back immediately after the show's worst episode with an epic, intense, consistent and dramatic episode which is easily amongst the series' very best. I can't possibly start this review without talking about that final attack on Hardhome. The show has always delivered its biggest climaxes in episode 9 of every season ("Baelor", "Blackwater", "The Rains of Castamere" and "The Watchers on the Wall"), so the switch-up to episode 8 caught me completely off-guard. I was taken completely by surprise when the White Walkers arrived at Hardhome and I hadn't even suspected that something would happen until we started to spend an unusual amount of time showing the boats leaving Hardhome. Then I slowly became sick with tension as I suspected that something was about to happen. The way this all built up was downright incredible, the music, the sound effects and the visuals of the cold descending upon Hardhome immediately had my attention. I especially loved the moment where the wildlings behind the gate just suddenly went quiet as a sudden wave of cold fog appeared behind the gates. It was quite possibly the most tense moment in the entire show, and did a terrific job of making me excited for the inevitable massacre that was about to happen. Then the actual battle happened and it was fantastic, certainly the best one of the show thus far. The production was movie-tier and looked incredible with terrific CGI and snow effects. I actually felt cold while watching the scene which is a real feat, especially for a TV show. Even "The Terror", a show which took place in the Arctic never made me feel cold, but this show managed it with ease. But the production wasn't the only thing fantastic in this battle. The whole thing was 15 minutes of pure chaos and adrenaline; I was engaged and excited the entire time enjoying the pure action. This was helped by the way that the wights were portrayed. Zombies can be tricky, just look at how "The Walking Dead" doesn't really have a scary threat from zombies. They are slow and are portrayed as relatively easy to defeat. But the wights here aren't treated in the same way. They are fast, vicious, and seemingly invincible as the wildlings struggle to defeat all of them. Furthermore, there are tons of them, and the flood never stops which is a terrifying concept to imagine. Nothing exemplifies this better than that final attack sequence when the wights all flood over the cliff and charge at Jon and Edd who both desperately escape. The wights are a fearsome threat, and this episode demands that we must take them seriously now. The battle sequence also had a terrific section where Jon fights the White Walker. This scene felt so significant as it was the very first time we have actually seen how White Walkers fight. To start things off, I thought the "video game boss" entrance that the White Walker made was surprisingly perfect, as the silent walk through the fire strikes horror into the characters. It was fittingly scary and put Jon in a truly deadly position. The fight itself was extremely tense and I thought it built up brilliantly for the moment when Jon is actually able to defend against the White Walker with Longclaw before killing him in a dramatic slice with his sword. I thought it was smart to have Jon kill a White Walker as it raises some important questions (see: The Unknown) and also builds up Jon as a significant threat to the White Walkers. Perhaps the Night King (the spiky head White Walker) will view Jon as a genuine threat. Jon's scenes before the battle were really great too. Jon convincing the wildlings to join him went surprisingly well, but I don't think that's a bad thing. Jon was a great leader in these scenes and came off as very convincing in his arguments to get the wildlings to come south of The Wall. It was a great scene to highlight Jon's transformation to a strong Lord Commander. What sends this episode over the top in my opinion is the fact that everything else in this episode was really good too. Dany and Tyrion's conversation was great and was the best conversation we have gotten in a while. Seeing these two interact is just great, and the writing for the scene held up as they both befriended each other in logical ways while still trying to establish a confident and dominant presence. I thought that using Jorah's situation to get Dany to start to believe that Tyrion could be valuable to her was really good, as I suspect that she started to believe in him as an advisor as he convinced her to spare Jorah with good reasons. The other odd scenes were really good too. I enjoyed Arya's scene as we get the reveal that she is now doing official work for the Faceless Men, actually getting to portray somebody else's identity. I look forward to seeing how her story ends this season. Cersei's scenes were strong too. I loved seeing her be so defiant and angry in her cell as she refused to believe that she is actually helpless for once with nobody to go to to help her. I despise Cersei, yet I felt a smidge of sympathy for her as she drank the water off of the floor which is pretty impressive. The show continues to do a good job of making these gray characters. Theon revealing the truth to Sansa about Bran and Rickon was pretty good. It felt like a significant moment and it continues Theon on the road to potentially accepting his true identity once more. Alfie Allen has played the role really well, and I feel like that detail gets lost in how poor the storyline has been this season. The Bad: Nothing in particular. I suppose the Hardhome battle didn't get me to worry about the characters in the same way that the Battle of Castle Black or the Battle of Blackwater did since Jon was pretty much the only character I cared about in that scene. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but I think the battle would have been even more intense with more important characters present. The Unknown: What does Ramsay plan to do with his 20 good men? Does Valyrian steel kill White Walkers too? Or is there just something special about Longclaw? Best Moment: The entire Hardhome battle. It was stellar and dramatic from beginning to end. Character of the Episode: Jon. Conclusion: This was a fantastic episode. The stories were really strong for the first 45 minutes, a big improvement on the previous episode. But the final 15 minutes were some of the best television you will ever see, providing what was probably the biggest spectacle possible, a feat which shouldn't even be possible for a television show. This delivered on every level. Score: 82 Summary: Jon goes beyond The Wall to Hardhome, leaving Ser Alliser in charge. Aemon passes away naturally. Some men try to rape Gilly but Sam defends her. They kiss afterwards. Olenna tries to find a way to get Margaery and Loras out of their cells. She isn't able to do that, but she gets Cersei imprisoned along with them. The conditions of the North take their effect on Stannis' army and Melisandre suggests burning Shireen. Jorah and Tyrion are sold to fight at the fighting pits. Jorah notices Dany is watching and so he makes his presence known. He gifts her Tyrion.
The Good: I liked a few scenes in this episode, but not the episode as a whole. I appreciated that we got to spend some more time with Aemon in his final moments, and they were effective for the most part. It was nice for the show to pay some attention to the death of one of its better side characters, especially considering the pace of this season. If the slow pace has to happen, at least spend time focusing on something with some emotional relevance. Olenna was fantastic as always. Her conversations with the High Sparrow and Littlefinger were great and really fun to watch. I really enjoyed her attempts to convince the High Sparrow to just let her family go, but the High Sparrow did a great job of rebutting her respectfully while sticking to his motivations. Undeterred, Olenna goes to Littlefinger, not to help Margaery or Loras, but rather to exact her vengeance upon Cersei, getting her imprisoned for all of her sins. I enjoyed Tommen's anger at how he can't do anything to stop Margaery's imprisonment and I particularly enjoyed how the portrayal was similar to Joffrey (I am the king!), reminding us that they are still brothers despite their differing personalities. Margaery and Cersei's scene was really good. Cersei taunting Margaery fit in with what we know of her character and her feigned innocence was infuriating in all the right ways. I really liked seeing Margaery properly snap at Cersei due to her helpless situation. Cersei got what she wanted so then she finally left her alone. I liked some moments in the Dany storyline, though most of it was pretty flat and uninspired. The owner of the fighting pit reacting to Dany's sudden appearance was fantastic and I really liked how he swiftly told everyone to recite a line to respect Dany's arrival. It was a nice bit of world-building. I also liked that we finally got to see Dany interact with another main character as she meets Tyrion. It was a good moment that feels important. The Bad: A lot of storylines in this episode weren't good sadly. Sansa and Ramsay's storyline remains a big problem and a total disappointment. Puzzlingly, Sansa's story arc has been stunted and actually reversed as nothing has changed for her. She is still in a place where she wants out and is left with a man who treats her barbarically. I expected her to at least fight her way out, but instead she is left begging for help from Theon. Then Theon fails her, and she is helpless again, showing that nothing has changed from her time with Littlefinger. Well actually she has changed in one way. She becomes stupid as she taunts the man who has total dominance over her, which can only make her life worse. At least she was smart enough to mostly keep her mouth shut with Joffrey, but she has gotten worse here as she openly mocks Ramsay. Speaking of Ramsay, he is not a great villain. Iwan Rheon puts in a good performance, but Ramsay is lacking in a lot of ways. Joffrey was great because we didn't have to suffer his brutality too often and because he was a weak sociopath who found himself in a position of power. Joffrey was easy to hate because he never deserved to be in his position and was terrible at his job as king. Ramsay is just a cookie cutter villainous character who is getting way more focus than he should be getting. We see him flaying and torturing over and over, and it has happened so much now that it actually bores me. Such unnerving brutality should exist for a purpose, but Ramsay's antics really have no purpose which makes them bad scenes of television. Ramsay just isn't deep enough of a character to justify the amount of time spent on him. The scenes at The Wall were sadly disappointing. While Aemon got some screentime, he disappointingly didn't say much of importance making the scenes somewhat meaningless. Then we had the threat of rape used again to make us scared for Gilly. After what happened in the last episode, this was insufferable and the writers prove to once more be tone-deaf by using rape to manipulate our emotions once again. It was necessary and I feel like there was a Bette way to make the same point in the story. Also, being threatened by rape is just the thing to make Gilly want to have sex with Sam isn't it. Ridiculous writing. I wasn't happy with Stannis' story either. Apparently things haven't been going well for him, but we never saw any of it. And Melisandre is already suggesting he burns Shireen to ensure his victory. I can hardly buy that Stannis' conditions are that bad since I haven't actually seen anything bad happen. Furthermore, Stannis seems like a fool, not the best commander in Westeros, for blindly following visions and getting himself into a position where victory is nowhere near as likely as it could have otherwise been. The scenes in Dorne were pretty bad. Jaime and Myrcella's conversation had no resonance with me because I don't care much about their relationship. The scene with Bronn and the Sand Snakes was awful. It just felt like cheap fanservice with no purpose. Also why include the detail of Bronn being poisoned if it would just be cured mere minutes later? It was inconsistent for Cersei to not get a proper trial before being thrown in a cell. Olyvar had evidence on Loras so why didn't the High Sparrow just throw him in a cell for that without a trial if he did the same for Cersei? Also, this confirmed my suspicions that Cersei is stupid as she seems shocked that she is being arrested. This episode suffered from trying to meaninglessly shock us over and over in small ways. It has been a pattern this season but it's never been as bad as it was in this episode. The earlier seasons used surprise sparingly and got by with tension, story and strong dialogue. This episode tried to get by on meaningless surprises. So many scenes had this slapped in there in ways that were pointless. Here comes a lengthy list of all of these moments which were played for surprise not emotion. Oh my god, Tyrion is going to get killed by a man who sees him escaping! Surprise, the man set him free. Oh my god Bronn is so cool! Surprise, he is poisoned. Oh my god Gilly is going to get raped! Surprise, Ghost Ex Machina is here to save the day. Oh my god Theon is going to help Sansa! Surprise, he is telling Ramsay instead. Oh my god Cersei has total control over everything! Surprise, the High Sparrow is going to arrest her. These moments happened over and over again and they detracted more and more from my viewing experience every time as I was left wondering why these scenes were played for shock value rather than for actual emotion. The Unknown: Is Hizdahr actually in charge of the Harpies? I presume so, because I can't think of anyone else who could be in charge. Does Cersei have a plan to get herself out of her cell? Does she have any other allies? How about Olenna? Does she have a plan to get Margaery and Loras out? Best Moment: Olenna speaking with the High Sparrow was the best written scene. Character of the Episode: Olenna. Conclusion: This was a disappointing episode with a lot of weak moments. The show seems more focused on surprising its audience rather than telling stories which is really hurting the show. Hopefully this doesn't become a trend going forwards and this episode can just be a blip in the radar. However, there have been signs of this trend in earlier episodes this season, which makes me a little worried. Let's hope that the season can at least end on a stronger note. Score: 52 Summary: The walkers descend upon the farm. Everyone fights to save the farm but it is overrun and they all leave in groups. Jimmy and Patricia are killed. Andrea is thought to be dead and ends up left behind. She encounters a woman with a sword. The group meets up at the highway and go off together. Rick starts hunting for a new place and the group starts doubting him. Rick snaps and reveals that he killed Shane. Lori is horrified. Rick also reveals that they are all infected. Rick makes it clear that he is in charge and everyone will have to listen to him.
The Good: I enjoyed this. I thought it was an exciting finale which thankfully allowed the characters to leave the farm in exciting fashion. While I don't think it makes up for the extended time we spent at the farm, it was at least a fun climax to the story. I thought the teaser sequence was well-done and provided a cool origin for the walker herd which descended upon the farm. I like the irony that the helicopter, a symbol of hope for the survivors, ended up bringing death and disaster to the farm, forcing the survivors on the dangerous road once more. The action scenes at the farm were tense and exciting with a greater sense of urgency than any other scene this season. I was at the edge of my seat, enjoying the focused pacing and tension on screen which is a feeling that I hadn't really felt since the season premiere's walker herd. If it weren't for a lot of little inconsistencies which detracted from my experience (see: The Bad), this would have likely been my favourite walker set-piece in the show. The best parts of the episode in my opinion were the moments following the big action scene. The storytelling was really good in these moments. I really liked the idea that somebody would be left behind in all the chaos, so seeing Andrea alone and struggling to escape was a joy for me to watch. It was scary to see her left all alone, running away from walkers. I'm intrigued by this new character with her swords and walkers chained to her (see: The Unknown). Glenn and Maggie had a good moment in the car as Maggie was shell-shocked, driving away from the farm without any idea what to do. I really liked how Glenn took control of the situation and also helped Maggie calm down, finally showing us that Glenn is a strong-willed guy. The story of Glenn has been botched this season as he has been described and portrayed in different ways, but here his storyline came together nicely. Rick's speeches towards the end of the episode were really great. His anger towards the group felt warranted and had some great layers of storytelling. Rick just killed Shane, and expected that maybe now he can lead without having to worry about somebody pitting the group against him. However he sees everyone questioning his decisions anyways, nobody trusts him and everyone seems to be treating him as Shane does. This causes Rick to snap, angry that killing Shane has achieved nothing, and he unleashes his anger, declaring that the group is not a democracy anymore and he will be entirely in charge (a Ricktatorship?). These discussions also led to the big reveal that everyone is infected, which is a very good development. Not only is it a dramatic reveal, but it also helps explain why walkers would be such a threat as anybody who dies will turn into a walker, bite or not. Furthermore, I think the reveal served as a great catalyst for Rick's transformation at the end of the episode, bringing up conflict with everyone is the group, and further increasing the doubt surrounding Rick's leadership. I am beyond happy that the group is back on the road again. The desperation and fear that everyone exhibited while on the road, scared that walkers could attack again was really good. There is a certain vulnerability surrounding the group now that they don't live in a safe haven, and I think it adds a lot of drama and momentum to the show. I hope that we get to see the group on the road for several episodes in season 3. Lastly, I thought that the lingering shot on the message for Sophia was really effective, accentuating the emotion of the group losing the farm. The Bad: I was annoyed that nobody important died in the walker assault. The "big" deaths were Patricia and Jimmy, characters who have said maybe 20 lines between them both. For this to have been a more memorable spectacle fitting of "The Walking Dead", there really should have been more significant character deaths. The actual action had a ton of inconsistencies in it which I am going to list out now. Glenn was in a moving car with a shotgun, yet he somehow gets headshots from quite a distance away with perfect accuracy which is completely unbelievable. Apparently everyone became professional gunslingers off-screen. While on the topic of shotguns, Hershel appeared to have activated the infinite ammo cheat to fire 20-30 rounds from his shotgun without reloading once. Jimmy pulled up to pick up Rick and he apparently left the door unlocked so that walkers could come in and kill him easily. Rick fires a gun right next to Hershel's head to kill a walker, something that should be deafening, yet Hershel hardly reacts to it. Rick, Carl and Hershel leave the farm on foot and somehow reach the highway long before the others who had vehicles, which is ridiculous. Also, Rick's group can outrun the walkers but Andrea is somehow unable to get away safely despite leaving mere minutes after them. These moments detracted from the action and stacked up in annoying ways. One specific moment I want to single out is T-Dog's random idea to go to the coastline. He is so determined to do this, yet I can't recall him mentioning a desire to go east a single time prior to this. Furthermore, T-Dog has had nothing to do this entire season, so this just feels like a failed way to give him something to do. I wish he had an actual story to justify his role in the show a little more. Furthermore, I found T-Dog's sudden decision to go east and declare that they are all alone even though they saw nobody actually die to be unintentionally hysterical. I was laughing when T-Dog declared this which I'm sure wasn't the intended effect of the scene. The most annoying moment in this episode was Lori's reaction to Rick revealing he killed Shane. She seems supportive at first but then Rick reveals that Carl put down walker Shane which horrifies Lori. Then she inexplicably refuses to talk with him for some unknown reason. Oh man. First of all, why is she mad? Is it because he killed Shane? A few episodes ago, Lori was actively telling Rick that Shane was dangerous and insinuated that he had to do something about it, yet she acts like he is evil for killing Shane. This makes no sense. Was it because Carl killed Shane? No chance because that is all Lori's fault for not watching her own son ever. So I'm left puzzled as to why she reacted like this, and I continue to despise Lori's character for not making any sense and being downright unlikable in every scene she is in. The Unknown: So there is definitely a helicopter going around. Where is it going? Whose helicopter is it? Is there a civilized community somewhere? Who is this mysterious woman that Andrea found? Why does she have walkers chained to her? Were they people she once knew? Where do the group go now? What's next for all of them? Best Moment: Rick revealing that they are all infected before he explodes in an angry speech. A great moment of pay-off after Rick's leadership had been questioned for a full season. Character of the Episode: Rick. Conclusion: This was a very exciting and enjoyable season finale with some really powerful and memorable moments. But some action inconsistencies and a continued weakness in Lori's character brings down the score, and prevents this episode from being as good as it could have been. Every way to look at it, season 2 was a step down from season 1. The pacing slowed down to a crawl in the first half of the season, and while the back half was better, it still didn't hit the highs of season 1. The slower pace, lowered budget, poor character development and writing inconsistencies didn't help the season at all. However, I still believe it was a good season, and the back half did deliver in a lot of ways. While the first half only really offered two or three good moments, the second half had something memorable happen in every episode. I thought the Randall story and Rick/Shane story provided more momentum and flow than the Sophia story and the farm conflict story did in the first half of the season. In the end, this was a step down, but the show remains enjoyable and I have high hopes for season 3. Score: 68 Summary: Ross plays rugby with Emily's friends to impress her. Chandler runs into Janice and she is infatuated with him but he doesn't care for her. He tells her he is moving to Yemen to try to get her away from him. Monica gets obsessed with figuring out what a light switch in her new apartment does.
The Good: The jokes here were really funny in all storylines. There were plenty of laughs all the way through and all six characters got stand-out moments to overact to squeeze out tons of laughs. The stories were all fun and memorable, and the sheer amount of laughs made this one of the easiest episodes of "Friends" to enjoy. The entire episode was carried by the terrific interactions between the six friends. Ross and Chandler were especially funny in their roles. The Bad: Unfortunately, there was a huge degree of suspension of disbelief to take into consideration here. All three storylines were quite silly and there was overacting present in nearly every scene to produce the laughs. Ross playing rugby was unnecessary, as his character never pretended to be tough yet here he decides to act tough for Emily for some reason. Monica and the light switch was funny at times but she did seem to go a little too far with it. Some of the jokes were a bit dumb too. While Chandler and Janice are always funny, this episode's plot made no sense. Surely there are tons of holes with Chandler telling Janice he is going to Yemen. Disappointingly, this wasn't followed up on in the next episode, making it feel quite pointless. Everything was completely over-the-top in these storylines and the episode was only saved by the amount of jokes present in each storyline. Best Moment: I really enjoyed Chandler trying to buy a fake ticket to Yemen. A ridiculous yet funny scene. Character of the Episode: Ross. Conclusion: This episode was a ton of fun and was consistently enjoyable, but it had incredibly silly plotting and over-acting which prevents this from being a series highlight. This ends up being good but nothing more. Score: 69 Summary: Arya's training continues and she gets better at pretending to be somebody else. Jaqen shows her the Hall of Faces and tells her she will become somebody else. Jorah and Tyrion are captured by slavers. Littlefinger meets with Cersei and turns her against Roose. Olenna tries to get Cersei to release Loras. Loras is tried and found guilty and Margaery is condemned with him. Jaime and Bronn try to get Myrcella out of Dorne. They are noticed by the Sand Snakes who fight them. Both parties are arrested. Ramsay weds Sansa and rapes her on their wedding night, forcing Theon to watch.
The Good: Arya's training continued in enjoyable fashion. I was pleased by the logical progression of Arya's training. By serving, Arya gets to learn how the House of Black and White operates while also getting better at lying and being somebody else. Now she seemingly actually gets to become somebody else before she can be considered no one which makes a lot of sense. This training has been enjoyable to watch and I'm enjoying the thorough details of this process. Now I would like to know more about the Faceless Men in general (see: The Unknown). Littlefinger was great in this episode as he proves to be many steps ahead of everyone. He seems to have primed himself in a position to become Warden of the North which is a huge development. It appears that he never actually did care about Sansa and faked his affection in order to get her to trust him more and so he could use her for his own gain. Littlefinger is much more despicable and selfish than I imagined and I really love that. Something crazy is going to need to happen if Littlefinger is to be stopped. Olenna is still awesome. I love her character so much as she is tremendously fun and charismatic. The entire scene with Cersei was just wonderfully put together (see: Best Moment). I also loved her saying she could "smell the shit from 5 miles away" which is not only in-line with her character, but also historically accurate. I really love little things like these. I liked the trial of Loras. I appreciate how subtly the set-up with Olyvar was included earlier in the season. It was unpredictable and Olyvar's appearance at the trial was surprising but very logical. I also love the use of a birth mark to condemn Loras, a fantastic little detail. There were some good moments in Jorah and Tyrion's story. Jorah learning of his father's death was a great moment which I never realized we needed to see. It was a long-time coming. I also liked Tyrion using his mouth to save himself once more. The Bad: Unfortunately a lot of this episode didn't work for me. All of the Dorne scenes were bad. It made no sense for Jaime and Bronn to infiltrate the Water Gardens during the day, and their attempt to kidnap Myrcella was ridiculously thoughtless and unbelievable. I have no idea what they were thinking by doing that, especially Jaime who you would think would be more fearful about being in captivity after he lost his hand last time he was a captive. Worse yet were the Sand Snakes who are impossible to care about. The fight scene was messy but also bored me to tears because I am not at all invested in Ellaria and the Sand Snakes. Cersei is presented to be a total idiot which is a problem for me. She has absolutely no leverage with her father dead, Jaime gone, a rebellion in the North and no friends, yet she is attacking her only allies in the Tyrells. I can't imagine what she hopes to accomplish, especially with Olenna's threat to cut off supply of food to King's Landing right before winter. I can't imagine why Cersei thinks this is a good idea and she needs to face consequences for stupidity like this. It feels so inconsistent with the Cersei from before who wasn't this dumb. She wasn't particularly smart but she also wasn't downright stupid. The final scenes at Winterfell were simply unpleasant and gratuitous. What purpose does Sansa's rape serve? To tell us Ramsay is psychotic? We know! Is it to horrify Theon? He should already be horrified by Sansa simply seeing him, so that can't be the main purpose. Is it for Sansa's character? God no. This is a massive backslide for her character arc as she was just learning how to take control of situations which she doesn't do at all here. The only answer I can come up with is that it exists simply to horrify us which is a poor excuse to have rape in the show. If brutality has a purpose, I don't mind it so much, but something like this is created exclusively to get a reaction out of us, making it feel meaningless and cheap. The Unknown: What happens to the bodies in the House of Black and White? What are the faces for? Are they the only faces that the Faceless Men can use? Also, what does that water do? Is it poison? Does Littlefinger actually care for Sansa or is he just using her like everybody else? How will Olenna bite back at Cersei for imprisoning both Margaery and Loras? Best Moment: Olenna goes to talk with Cersei. Cersei is hilariously trying to be like Tywin, writing while ignoring the people in her presence, asserting his dominance. But Cersei is no Tywin and against Olenna she stands no chance as Olenna insults her viciously, playing off of the opening Cersei gave her by speaking to her. It's fantastic to watch, further cementing Olenna as one of my favourite characters. Character of the Episode: Olenna. Conclusion: This episode was a mixed bag in the end. Some really good scenes, but some really bad ones as well. This season has been worryingly weak in these middle episodes, so hopefully the season's climax delivers like all the previous seasons to make up for these weaker episodes. Score: 60 Summary: Joey goes on a fishing trip and comes back smelling awful. He has to perform with Charlton Heston while smelling awful. Chandler is in sweat pants and without motivation after Kathy cheated on him. The girls try to make him feel better. Rachel wants to meet Josh but has responsibilities as her boss has entrusted her to take care of her niece. Rachel turns to Ross to help her out.
The Good: This was really fun for the most part. Rachel is at her best whenever she is infatuated with somebody and remains a highlight with her storyline with Joshua continuing on. I particularly liked the storyline with Ross as it felt like a more logical and funny continuation of their relationship. I also quite like the irony that Rachel wanted Ross' help so she could get a date but she ended up getting nothing and gave Ross a date instead. Rachel's moment of realization was very funny. Chandler's story is pretty good too and I think the girls trying to help him led to some genuinely funny moments. The final dream sequence was a pretty funny moment. The Bad: I thought Joey's story wasn't very good sadly. The reactions to his smell were initially somewhat funny (particularly Chandler's), but then the joke got overused so much. The Charlton Heston scene was weak too as the entire "I stink" joke wasn't funny at all and was a waste of a celebrity appearance. At least previous celebrity appearances led to funny moments, but this one didn't. Lastly, I was really annoyed by the "Pheebs" joke. Phoebe looks foolish for not knowing that it's what they call her. The joke isn't funny and it just devalues a character for no apparent reason. Best Moment: Rachel's "nooooooo" when she learned that she gave Ross a date was really funny. Character of the Episode: Rachel. Conclusion: This was a really fun story for the most part, but Joey's part of the episode was pretty weak and some jokes fell woefully flat which drags the score down a lot. Score: 65 Summary: Barristan is dead and Grey Worm is injured. Dany is angered and kills a family leader to send a message. Eventuallys he decides to show mercy to Hizdahr who she suspected was behind the attack and decides to marry him. Jon makes a deal with Tormund, allowing the wildlings to go south of The Wall. Tormund demands Jon goes beyond The Wall with him to give the message. Stannis leaves Castle Black to attack Winterfell. Sansa finds Theon in Winterfell. She has dinner with the Boltons. Roose reveals he is expecting another son which unnerves Ramsay. Tyrion and Jorah go through Old Valyria. They are attacked by stone men and barely make it out alive. Jorah contracts greyscale.
The Good: This season has a slower, more patient pace than the previous ones. While some may complain about it, I am appreciating it in these early episodes. It feels like the season is building up to something really big. This episode had some good moments too. I liked Dany's story. Her actions seem to be bordering on the insane as she took an uneasy pleasure in feeding the master to her dragons, continuing to fuel my theory that she may end up becoming like the Mad King. Having banished Jorah and lost Barristan, her two most trusted advisors, she is making her decisions on her own now which could certainly lead to disaster for her. Jon's storyline was really great once more. I appreciate him acknowledging the threat that the wildlings pose in the North as they will become wights if the Night's Watch continues to fight them. I like his decision to help them, but what I like more is that his logic hasn't made the Night's Watch accept the decision. This feels very real as all of the Night's Watch have their own reasons to despise the wildlings, reasons which they aren't willing to abandon so easily. I get the sense that this will lead into some important conflict in the future and I look forward to it. The scenes at Winterfell were nicely put together. While I had my issues with Sansa's behaviour (see: The Bad), I liked the overall developments with Roose and Ramsay. Ramsay tries to charm Sansa while also humiliating Theon, continuing to be in character as a total psychopath. Roose revealing the story of Ramsay's conception was a great scene as well and I like that Roose seems to be acknowledging that Ramsay is a danger to him as well. I loved the final scenes with Jorah and Tyrion. I thought that Old Valyria looked fantastic and mysterious. I loved the little detail of Tyrion and Jorah reciting a poem about Valyria, just two people enamoured by the beauty of the place. Then Drogon came flying in to create a wonderful moment as Tyrion gets his first look at a dragon (see: Best Moment). This led into the stone men attack which I thought was very good. It was different, tense and creative and I was genuinely on the edge of my seat as the situation made me buy into the fact that Jorah and Tyrion were in danger. Apparently I was rightly tense as we got the terrific reveal at the end with Jorah's greyscale, letting us know why there had been so much talk of greyscale in previous episodes. The Bad: There were some flaws in this episode however. The Winterfell storyline was the most problematic for me because of how Sansa was treated. She is behaving exactly like she did around Joffrey with the Boltons which is strange because her character had developed so much from her time with Littlefinger. To go back to her timid self feels like a step back in her development. I've already seen her suffer enough at Joffrey's hands, I don't need anymore. Furthermore, her decision to trust Myranda enough to go into the dark cell to find Theon was stupid on every level, especially since she had just learned from Littlefinger to not trust anybody. While I liked that Roose seems to have identified Ramsay as a threat, I didn't like that he revealed that he had a kid on the way. Surely Ramsay would try to kill this unborn child, and Roose looks stupid for not considering this. He should have just sent his wife away with no word of a child being born so that his child can not only be safe, but also be a surprise so Ramsay wouldn't be able to do anything about it. I thought that Stannis' decision to leave now seemed odd. Apparently every single day he waits is a risk, so then I have to ask why Stannis even stayed at Castle Black as long as he did. Did he desperately want the Night's Watch's 50 men? Really? That seems like poor strategy from the best commander in Westeros. The Unknown: What will Ramsay do about Roose's next son? What will come of Dany marrying Hizdahr? I suspect that Hizdahr was behind the attack, so may he do something similarly rebellious? How will the Night's Watch react to Jon leaving with Tormund to go to Hardhome? Who will be in charge when he leaves? What will they do? Best Moment: Tyrion seeing Drogon was a fascinating moment. Peter Dinklage did a great job of conveying the shock and disbelief that Tyrion would feel and the decision for him and Jorah to just watch in silence was a really good one. Character of the Episode: Tyrion. Conclusion: This was another strong episode of set-up. While flawed, there was nothing big that I didn't like, making this another solid episode. Score: 66 Summary: Cersei reinstates the Faith Militant and they punish sinners. Loras is thrown in jail, angering Margaery. Tommen tries to get him out but is too kind to properly utilize his authority as king. Jaime and Bronn arrive in Dorne. They kill a group that discovers their presence. Jon continues to adjust to life as Lord Commander. Littlefinger tells Sansa he has to go back to King's Landing. He tells her to use her new ability to manipulate to stay in control of Ramsay. The Sons of the Harpy attack Grey Worm's group of Unsullied. Barristan comes in to help. Both men are grievously injured or killed in the battle.
The Good: There remains a lot of solid build-up in this episode. There are more good moments that we have come to expect from this show. I liked Jaime expressing his anger towards Tyrion for what he did. Jaime feels guilty about what happened and disappointed that his brother would betray him like that after he set him free. It's good storytelling to show Jaime's emotions after everything that has happened in the last season. I thought the action set piece was pretty good, and it was my favourite in the episode. Bronn was consistent to his character, being sneaky in combat and smart as he lies seamlessly to the Dornish people. Jaime was very good too as we got to see the results of him training his left hand. One of my favourite moments in this episode was Jaime using his metal hand to save his life, showing him use his disadvantage to his advantage in a good way. I was pleased by the continued development of Cersei and Margaery's cold war. Last episode Margaery took the advantage, but now it's Cersei in control as she reinstates the Faith Militant to give herself some power. Margaery may have Tommen on her side, but his inability to use his power as king doesn't help her cause very much. I love how Tommen is unfamiliar with how to be king in this world, as he wasn't raised for royalty like Joffrey and is still passive, having not seen the horrors of Westeros yet. It also makes me hate Cersei more as she cruelly exploits Tommen's innocence to her advantage just to get back at Margaery for taking Tommen from her. It makes me feel satisfied to know that the Faith Militant will likely turn against her in the future but she is too driven in her revenge to see it coming like we can. The scenes at The Wall were fine. I liked Jon fulfilling responsibilities of Lord Commander and I appreciated that he signed off a request for men from the Boltons, showing his change in character. The scene with Melisandre was interesting (see: The Unknown) and I liked that she used Ygritte's line (you know nothing) as a last-ditch effort to get Jon to join her cause. Stannis' story to Shireen was sweet and a good showcase to Stephen Dillane though I had reservations (see: The Bad). I was pleased to hear Littlefinger's plan for Sansa to keep control in her wedding, though it did come a little late. I would really like to see Sansa manipulate Ramsay and get this psychopath to somehow listen to her, just like Margaery did to Joffrey back in season 3. The Bad: Sadly, I thought a lot of this was sloppy and rushed. The Faith Militant were reinstated shockingly quickly and I don't think I have enough information about them to truly understand their significance. The High Sparrow came off as kind and genuine, but the Militant are violent and brutal, which was an extremely odd inconsistency. I appreciated the embarrassing naked walk that the High Septon was forced to do as it was a fitting punishment from religious zealots. So to see the Faith Militant murder and castrate people for their sins was tonally inconsistent and didn't feel like a religious group at all. Furthermore, I'm confused as to why the City Watch doesn't do anything about this group. The Kingsguard seemed eager to kill all of them, so why don't the City Watch? The Sons of the Harpy attack at the end was disappointing too. This episode had three action set-pieces, and with this one being the final one, it tried to feel more epic than the previous two. But the grander scale ended up making this action scene feel forced and out-of-place in the story as it just happened without any real reason. The problem is that I understand the Sans of the Harpy even less than the Faith Militant. Why are they attacking? What are their goals? Without knowing important things like these, it makes a grand battle fall completely flat. Furthermore, the actual battle was really badly put together. The Unsullied are supposed to be professionals, yet they don't form ranks and just engage in a random melee with these untrained soldiers who somehow seem to be on equal footing with the Unsullied. Furthermore, if Barristan and Grey Worm were killed here, and it does seem that way, this is a really disappointing way for them to die. Especially Barristan, who had been hyped up as the greatest fighter of all time. Yet he is beaten after like 30 seconds of fighting against some untrained fighters in an alleyway? Talk about disappointing. I had issues with Stannis' story because it didn't serve much of a purpose. I predict that Melisandre will attempt to burn Shireen and I feel like this scene is just there to make us feel bad when she inevitably dies. It just doesn't serve much purpose despite it being a good scene. The other lengthy story in this episode was with Ellaria and the Sand Snakes who just aren't interesting at all so far. A story like the one Obara told can be a good way to introduce a character (see: Karl Tanner in season 4), but it didn't work here as the actress was dull and I didn't get any sense of how I'm supposed to feel about the character. The Tyrion and Jorah scene felt like a waste of time. I like Tyrion recognizing him so quickly, but I didn't like that the scene was played entirely to sum up Jorah's story. We know what happened, so it was quite dull. I also don't know what Jorah expects will come of him sending Tyrion to Dany, and I don't know why he thinks that this will prove his loyalty to her when she banished him. The Unknown: Will Margaery help Tommen learn how to be a king? Will the Faith Militant be taken care of? I was interested by the information given about Rhaegar and Lyanna. I'm still happy to get more history on Westeros and this is an interesting development to get. I wonder if that will lead to something? Are Barristan and Grey Worm dead? Best Moment: Honestly it was probably the Bronn and Jaime action scene as it was the best written. Character of the Episode: Jaime. Conclusion: This episode had more solid developments, but some story aspects were rushed which takes away from the experience. Score: 59 Summary: Margaery continues to befriend Tommen after they are married. She manipulates him and turns him against Cersei. Cersei subtly threatens Margaery after Tommen suggests for her to go to Casterly Rock. Cersei allies herself with the High Sparrow. Littlefinger has organized with Roose Bolton to wed Sansa and Ramsay. Roose and Littlefinger explain to Sansa and Ramsay why they must wed and they both end up complying. Stannis and Davos try to get Jon to help their cause but Jon declines. Janos questions Jon's orders, so Jon has him executed. Arya is doing chores at the House of Black and White. Jaqen tells her to get rid of her belongings to become no one. Arya does so but can't bring herself to throw away Needle. Tyrion and Varys arrive in Volantis. Tyrion is kidnapped by Jorah.
The Good: This was a great episode which continued to set up the story in exciting ways with really strong developments. Everything surrounding the Margaery/Cersei/Tommen storyline was wonderful. Margaery's manipulations of Tommen were terrific and I loved the subtle way that she began to turn him against Cersei. She is really good, and the drama is heightened by the fact that we know she will potentially be the one to overthrow Cersei. I love how she provoked Cersei too because Cersei has no leverage. With Tywin gone, she is essentially powerless, just a Queen Mother, so what can she do? All she can do is try to turn Tommen against Margaery, but that isn't going to happen because Margaery has already ensured that Tommen is on her side. It's great manipulation and puts all the eggs in the Tyrells' basket for the moment. I particularly loved the moment as Cersei walked away with all of the girls' laughter in her head, showing that Margaery's attempts to get in her head are working. But Cersei makes an unpredictable move to try to get somebody on her side. She befriends the High Sparrow, desperate to get anybody on her side. This is a really interesting development because the sparrows seem genuinely threatening. The humiliation of the High Septon was pretty intense and is a significant moment. You would think that Cersei wants to get something like that to happen to Margaery, but this has serious potential to backfire. I wonder what the sparrows would think about incest? I think the development of Sansa and Ramsay's potential wedding is an interesting development. I have reservations (see: The Bad), but I can understand why it is taking place and I hope it allows us to see another side of Ramsay and not more torture of Sansa. The move is really strategic and it opens up the story, for a big conclusion as there are now three major forces in The North all searching for their own gain (the Boltons, Stannis and The Vale). Also, I once more loved Roose Bolton's scenes. His character is dynamic and continues to be a backstabber as he tries to get The North on his side through the most devious means. Brienne and Pod had a terrific scene too. I loved that we got more backstory on both characters so we can understand why they tick. The origins of Pod's position and loyalty are suitably dark for a "Game of Thrones" character, but it's Brienne's story which is the highlight. Brienne reveals that she was always laughed at and abused in a heartbreaking story and her affection for Renly stemmed from how kind he was to her when nobody else was. It's a powerful moment and makes me appreciate Brienne's character even more. The Jon/Davos/Stannis scene was really good. Stannis's argument is strong, especially with Davos' help and it's easy to see why Jon may be swayed to putting the Night's Watch onto Stannis' side. But Jon proves that he is ready for his new job as Lord Commander, keeping his conviction strong. That's not the only scene where Jon gets to show how well he has matured either. He rewards Ser Alliser for hard work instead of punishing him for being a cruel man which was a surprise, but more significantly, he executes Janos for disobeying orders in a terrific scene (see: Best Moment), sending the right message and showing that he understands the responsibilities that come with his new role. Arya's brief scenes were really good. The House of Black and White is fittingly eerie and I love the set design and atmosphere in the location. The stand-out was when she had to get rid of all of her stuff to truly become no one. Her tears at the thought of getting rid of Needle was really sad and powerful and I'm overjoyed that she kept it. If Arya was to lose her personality and become no one, that would make her character pretty dull. So to tell us that she isn't entirely committed to being no one is meaningful because it tells me that Arya won't lose herself and her motives in whatever happens next. The final scenes with Tyrion were really good too and provided a solid cliff-hanger. I liked seeing that Tyrion couldn't get enjoyment out of whores anymore after all that happened, a nice character detail to show us how he has changed after the monumental events in "The Children". His sadness is logical and it makes it more believable that Tyrion would get captured by Jorah. That final moment is a great cliff-hanger as Jorah will presumably take Tyrion to Dany to get back in good graces. The Bad: I found it hard to believe that Sansa would willingly be forced into another deadly marriage without trying to find any other way out of it. Surely she would have fought harder to get into a better position. Furthermore, if this wedding will only feature Ramsay being Ramsay to Sansa, I would rather not be subjected to that. We have seen Sansa suffer enough, she needs to keep moving forwards. The Unknown: What will Arya's training be? What goes on in the House of Black and White? Who was the other girl with her? What is the game of faces? Sansa and Ramsay's wedding is a big question mark. Will Ramsay be different towards her? Does Littlefigner have a plan to protect Sansa? Will Littlefigner or Roose betray the other first? Will Myranda take issue with Sansa and do something? How will Theon react to seeing Sansa again? Why was the red priestess staring at Tyrion? Does he have a significant role to play? Does Jorah just plan to take Tyrion to Dany or is there more to it? Best Moment: Jon is forced to execute Janos who presumes it's just a threat. But when Janos realizes the truth about what is happening, he is crying and begging. Jon hesitates and I thought he would spare Janos, having scared him. Jon hesitated to kill Ygritte and let her go and I thought he would make the same mistake here. But to my surprise, Jon showed his growth by ruthlessly killing Janos in what was a stellar moment. Character of the Episode: Jon again. That's three in a row for him. Conclusion: This was a really great episode. The build-up was effective and there was great focus on emotion throughout, making this high-class television. This is a great way to build up storylines for the future. Score: 70 Summary: Rachel is moved to another department at work and wants to quit but she can't when she meets a really cute guy and gets a crush on him. Monica is upset because she isn't the hostess anymore now that everyone hangs out at Joey and Chandler's place. Chandler gets suspicious of Kathy when he realizes she gets hot and steamy with an actor on stage.
The Good: This was another really strong episode. The characters behaved really consistently with what we have seen before, and each storyline used them smartly and in funny ways. Rachel's story is the funniest as she gets a crush on a guy and is given tons of funny lines and moments as she grapples with the fact that she has never asked a guy out before. The dialogue is great and there are a ton of smart jokes throughout. I particularly love that this storyline did a tremendous job of calling back to funny moments prior to make an even funnier moment. The best example of this was Rachel's final scene which pays off of her wanting to have dolls of her and Joshua kiss, Joey's "how you doin" line, and Rachel calling Joshua about his wallet. The other storylines were pretty good too. Chandler messing things up with Kathy was pretty good and Chandler behaves exactly as we would expect him to. I thought the final joke of Chandler trying to make up with Kathy only to realize that she in now messing around with Nick was a funny ending. I also loved Ross' callback to the "we were on a break" moment. Monica's story is a fine C-story with the odd laugh, but I like that it follows up on the big apartment switch from last episode. The Bad: I expected Rachel to be more upset about her new apartment, but instead it's Monica who feels that way which is a bit inconsistent. Best Moment: Joey's first "how you doin" is a fantastic moment. Character of the Episode: Rachel. Conclusion: This was another really funny, and really fun episode as "Friends" gets its quality back to the normal level. Score: 76 Summary: Brienne finds Sansa with Littlefinger but she rejects her offer. Brienne and Pod follow them anyways. Jaime offers to go to Dorne with Bronn to bring Myrcella back to Cersei. Cersei agrees to it. Daario and Grey Worm catch a boy who is in contact with the Sons of the Harpy. Dany wants to put him on trial but a former slave Mossador kills him. In return Dany executes him, angering the people of Meereen. Stannis offers to make Jon a Stark if he fights for him but Jon refuses. The Night's Watch hold an election and Jon is elected as the new Lord Commander. Arya arrives in Braavos and is taken in by Jaqen.
The Good: This was a strong episode. The stories are still building, but I still really enjoyed this as there was much more content to latch onto than the previous episode. Brienne finding Sansa was a significant moment. I enjoyed the scene and I thought that the way Pod was able to get a look of Sansa was filmed pretty creatively. The scene did good to make us root for Brienne to notice that Sansa is in the same building. Brienne offering her loyalties and Littlefinger subsequently destroying her credibility was well done. The conversation was engaging and it was a logical roadblock for Brienne who now has to prove her worth to get what she wants. I also like how Brienne trying to force her service to Sansa mirrors how Pod forced his service to Brienne, which does bring things full circle. I liked the follow-up with Dorne after Oberyn's death. The displeasure from Ellaria made sense and her anger towards the Lannisters felt sensible. Doran is interesting as he seems like a pacifist who has no desire for war, and I'm interested to see where this character goes. Jaime's mission to go to Dorne is worth getting excited for as he is going to be going with Bronn which should lead to good dialogue and character development for both. The expansion of the universe with Dorne has been done well so far, and I hope that there are more new characters to meet in Dorne to make the storyline even better. Cersei's attempt to gain power in King's Landing isn't working out as she would have hoped which I really like. Jaime and her always relied on their father's reputation to be threatening, and now with him gone Cersei isn't worth fearing. I enjoyed Kevan putting her in her place and letting her know that she is the kind of person who can easily be overthrown. While she does have her loyalists on the small council, it's hard to see her desperate grasp for power ending well for her. I really enjoyed the content in Meereen this time because it seems to be promising real change. The sequence of Daario and Grey Worm hunting down the Sons of the Harpy was really fun and led into a very interesting storyline. Dany debates on what to do with this kid and ultimately decides to do a fair trial, only for her plans to be ruined when the kid is killed by Mossador. Dany has to be just and executed Mossador only to make the people hate her. This story is really good and is a natural way to put Dany in a position to lose the lvoe of her people. I like that it mirrors Robb murdering Lord Karstark and losing half of his army as a consequence. I wonder if they are setting Dany up for a fall from grace here. Barristan's conversation with her about the Mad King adds on to this as it opens up the possibility of Dany becoming somebody who is no better than any of the other leaders in the past. No fate for her character feels more "Game of Thrones" than that one so it feels like a real possibility to see it come to fruition. The scenes at The Wall were the highlights once more. There was a lot of genuine emotion in all of the scenes that took place there. Shireen teaching Gilly how to read was sweet, and Selyse trying to discourage her was pretty telling of their hostile relationship. It was a short but good scene. I also liked the little add-ons to Sam's character by having him try to get Gilly to practice more. Additionally, I thought that Stannis' offer to Jon was a powerful moment. We know how much being a Stark means to Jon, so to see him get the offer and decline it because of his dedications is really good as it proves Jon's loyalty, furthering his character development into becoming the ideal leader. Then it all caps off with a wonderful scene as Jon is elected as the next Lord Commander. It's a great scene with genuine joy to be felt as Jon unseats Ser Alliser. Sam's speech for Jon was a lovely moment too, very well-performed. I also got some genuine laughs as Sam trashed Janos, showing how much more confident the character has become in a funny way. Overall, the story at The Wall has been extremely good this season and I look forward to seeing what happens now that Jon is in charge. There were a few other moments which stood out. Tyrion and Varys had another great conversation in this episode unsurprisingly. I would be more than happy to get more of their interactions in the next few episodes. Arya standing up to the people on the street was really good as well. To see her threaten them with this chilling confidence she has developed is pretty unsettling and dramatic. Her character is getting a lot darker. The Bad: Nothing I would call bad. The Unknown: Will Dany become a Mad Queen? Is that a possible direction to take her character in? We got a lengthy conversation about Greyscale in this episode. Did that happen for a reason? Will somebody come down with Greyscale in the future? What does Jaqen mean by saying he is no one? And why does he say that Arya has to become no one? Also, I'm going to keep calling him Jaqen to avoid confusion. Also, why did he make Arya wait before bringing her in? Was he testing her somehow? What is Drogon doing now? Where has he been going? Will he be a threat in the future? Best Moment: Jon winning the election was the most satisfying moment. Character of the Episode: Jon again. Conclusion: This was a strong episode of set-up with some really good moments added on as well. Score: 68 Summary: Flashbacks show Cersei getting a prophecy from a witch. In the present, King's Landing deals with the fallout of Tywin's death. Lancel returns, having joined a new religious group called the sparrows who arrive following Tywin's death. Dany learns of a group calling themselves Sons of the Harpy causing an uprising. Tyrion arrives in Essos with Varys. Varys takes him to meet Dany. Stannis wants Mance to kneel to him and give him his men. He enlists Jon to help. Mance refuses so Stannis plans to have him burned. Before Mance is burned, Jon mercy kills him.
The Good: This was a quiet, but solid season premiere. I liked the first scene due to what it uncovers for the story. Through this prophecy we are given some more information about what will happen to Cersei, and thankfully it adds to the plot. Cersei's fate to be unseated by a younger, more beautiful queen and to lose her children are very interesting reveals (see: The Unknown). I really liked the fallout of Tywin's death. Cersei is as insufferable as ever as she torments Jaime for his role in Tywin's death and further condemns Tyrion for murdering Tywin. What's more interesting is that Cersei is likely in charge now that Tywin is gone, so it should be intriguing to see what she does to King's Landing. The best development of the episode in my opinion was Lancel's return. He has become part of a religious group called the sparrows who have only now arrived because Tywin is gone. This is an exciting development because it implies that there are organizations waiting in the shadows for a time to rise, and the sparrows could be setting up for the formation of a new faction, or even a new set of factions within King's Landing. With Tywin gone, it appears that there is nobody left to stop them. I was pleased with Tyrion's story. His drinking habits continuing after everything that has happened made sense and I enjoyed his interactions with Varys. Their pairing is excellent and I think it will lead to good television to see them together in Essos. I also like that we got the reveal of who Varys is actually supporting, as he is clearly trying to get Dany back in charge of Westeros. Finally, we get to the story at The Wall which I thought was the strongest. The conflict of Stannis wanting Mance's men but Mance not wanting to kneel was well fleshed-out. Mance's motives for not wanting to kneel to Stannis made sense and I appreciated his scene with Jon, who tried to save Mance's life. Of course it just wasn't meant to be and Mance ended up being burned anyways. The stand-out moment however was Jon showing his heart and shooting Mance with an arrow, giving him a merciful death. The Bad: Dany's story is feeling pretty repetitive. It feels like largely stalling to keep her away from Westeros until it is time for her to invade. I enjoyed the developments in her story in the past few seasons, but the big moments were all setting up for something big which never came. Dany keeps learning lessons but she isn't really applying them, making everything feel like a waste of time. Because of that, it's hard to invest in this new storyline which is being introduced because I fear that it won't lead to anything particularly enjoyable. This episode suffers from being extraordinarily slow. That in itself isn't a problem, after all "Better Call Saul" is one of my favourite shows and it is extremely slow. But "Better Call Saul" is put together with more innovation and care than "Game of Thrones" and because of that, the slow pace isn't an issue. For "Game of Thrones", a show driven by a sprawling narrative rather than a condensed character story, this slow pace feels dull and doesn't make for a particularly enjoyable episode. I'm not saying this episode was bad, but it is certainly weaker than the exciting episodes last season. The Unknown: Who is the beautiful queen that was referred to in Cersei's prophecy? Is it Dany? Margaery? Or perhaps somebody else altogether? Apparently Tommen and Myrcella are both doomed according tot he prophecy. Who is going to kill Tommen now that he is king? Does Stannis successfully attack and take over King's Landing? Is Tommen assassinated like Joffrey? A lot of questions. And what about Myrcella? Is she a casualty of Dorne going to war against the Lannisters? That seems likely, especially after Oberyn's death. We still haven't seen how Dorne has responded to that. Who are the Sons of the Harpy? Will they provide an actual threat to Dany? Or are they just another force that will be easily taken care of? Who are the sparrows? Why did Lancel join them? What did they do to him? Will the sparrows make any moves in King's Landing? Or are there other organizations to worry about in King's Landing? Best Moment: Jon killing Mance. Character of the Episode: Jon. Conclusion: This was a slow, but solid season premiere. While this episode doesn't do much to stand out on its own, it does nicely set up for the rest of the season. Score: 62 Summary: Rick decides to cut Randall loose. He and Daryl are supposed to go out but Rick chooses to stay when Shane tells him that Carl needs somebody to talk to. Shane takes this opportunity to smuggle Randall into the woods and kill him. When the group discovers Randall is gone, Shane claims that Randall got his gun and escaped. The group go hunting for Randall. Rick pairs up with Shane. Shane plans to kill Rick but struggles to go through with it. Rick waits for an opening and then kills Shane. Carl sees this. Shane comes back as a walker so Carl shoots and kills him. A nearby herd hears the gunshot and head towards the farm.
The Good: I liked a lot of the set-up scenes. I particularly liked the group planning scenes as everyone came together to discuss the future of the group living on the farm and addressing the difficulties that winter will create. While I'm not sure that the budget will allow the show to do so, I would love to see a zombie apocalypse story in the winter as a fresh change-up. There were some nice character moments too. Glenn and Andrea reminiscing about Dale was solid, if a bit cheesy, and I really liked Hershel kindly giving Lori his bed. His character has went through a very good transformation. Shane's plan to take out Rick was tense and dramatic and it gave the episode some good momentum. I really liked his scene in the barn with Randall as he got to show the extent of his unhinged nature, debating what to do with Randall before coming up with the idea to kill Rick as well. I liked the way he planned to trick Randall into telling him the location of the camp before killing him, but the scene wasn't executed very well (see: The Bad). I also loved that Daryl immediately seemed to figure out that Shane's plan made very little sense, which is consistent since Daryl also figured out that Shane killed Otis. The ending of the episode was pretty good. I thought Rick and Shane's confrontation delivered a strong climax for not only the episode, but also for their entire storyline. Shane committing to killing Rick with his plan was a huge development and I could believe that he's so far gone that he would do this. But better yet was his inability to pull the trigger on the hill, being unable to put away his best friend for good. That made Rick's decision to kill Shane all the more significant and powerful, as he did something that even Shane couldn't do to keep the group safe. Andrew Lincoln's acting was tremendous in this scene and I thought his performance certainly sent it over the edge into greatness for me. The final cliff-hanger was excellent. After spending a whole season on the farm, it looks like there will finally be some hell coming in the season finale. I look forward to seeing what will likely be a huge fight to save the farm. The Bad: This episode had a crazy amount of inconsistencies and weak moments though and that really damages it. First of all, Shane's plan to kill Rick is pretty bad in all honesty and isn't executed well. He decides to trick Randall into believing that he's joining him before killing him. I presumed that he faked this to get Randall to tell him his camp's real location. But this failed because Randall said the camp's location before Shane even expressed a desire to join him! So if he can spill the beans so easily, why didn't he say anything when he was being beaten bloody by Daryl? It's a huge oversight which annoyed me. Furthermore, if it wasn't Shane's intention to get information out of Randall (it's possible), then he should have just killed him in the woods. Additionally, there are so many inconsistencies with the search for Randall. For one, Rick needed to go with Shane alone for Shane's plan to work which is already taking a big gamble. Furthermore, Shane needed to hope that nobody discovered Randall's body, and he clearly didn't bother to hide the body. Hell, he didn't even hide the ties which were binding Randall! Shane does a really poor job of sticking to his plan. One really bad scene was when Lori came to Shane to apologize to him. First of all, why on Earth did she feel the need to do this? It made no sense that she would wait this long to say something to him. Furthermore, a few episodes ago she thought Shane was dangerous. So why would she think it's a good idea to send mixed signals to a dangerous man who tried to kill her husband? It's a shockingly dumb decision for her to talk to him and I can't find any reason for her to do it. It was just a poor scene. There were a lot of weakly executed moments too. Carl killing Rick felt like a comic book moment put to the screen. Carl hasn't shot a bullet before, yet he can shoot Shane perfectly in the head? Plus, Carl just had to make it look like he was going to kill Rick because there needs to be more drama. And apparently Carl can just sneak out whenever he wants even after Dale's death. Is Lori just the worst mom ever? It's a massive plot device. Additionally, how did Carl catch up with Rick and Shane after they left. They left in the evening and it was night by the time Carl found them. And we know that Shane was walking Rick in a random direction, so they weren't really combing the land to find Randall. Furthermore, why wouldn't Shane just take Rick to where he killed Randall and kill him there? Then it would be easy for him to come up with the story that Randall killed Rick before Shane killed him. There are more inconsistencies too, but I can't be bothered to list all of them out. A few inconsistencies can be overlooked, but when they stack up like this it becomes a real problem. T-Dog hardly has any lines this season, yet the writers still couldn't resist the fact to give their token black character an "oh hell no". Seriously? The Unknown: How did Shane and Randall come back as walkers without getting bitten? Were they infected somehow? Best Moment: Rick killing Shane was the stand-out moment here and was pretty powerful. Character of the Episode: Shane. Conclusion: This episode was a powerful and exciting climax, but it was executed extremely poorly. A lot of the hard work was undone by bad writing and inconsistent storytelling. While the story has picked up nicely for the season finale, I can't help but feel that this episode was a disappointment. Score: 62 Summary: Monica and Rachel get frustrated with Chandler and Joey when their chick wakes them up in the night. The four of them end up having a contest to see which group knows each other better with high stakes. Phoebe gets the embryos put inside her but she learns that the odds of her actually conceiving are really low.
The Good: This is exactly what I want from TV comedies. These were 20 hilarious minutes featuring a fantastic storyline which kept me thoroughly entertained. It was a great experience. The idea of this quiz game is fantastic and I loved the execution. First, Ross is a terrific choice as the orchestrator of the quiz game and he gets tons of laughs. But the contestants are the highlights as they all excitedly try to win the bet by showing their knowledge of each other. It's fast-paced and consistent comedy, making for what I think is the best storyline that "Friends" has done so far. I also like that the guys actually get to move into the girls' apartment which likely makes way for some fresh jokes and stories down the road. Meanwhile, Phoebe has a very strong story as she faces her pregnancy and we got a solid story as her initial excitement wears off when she hears about the odds only to be excited again when she becomes pregnant. Phoebe's character is used very smartly and helps make this story even better. The Bad: Nothing really. Best Moment: So hard to choose from all of the fantastic moments in the quiz game. I'll go with "Miss Chanandler Bong" for being so unexpectedly hilarious. Character of the Episode: Chandler. Conclusion: A truly spectacular episode of comedy. Episodes like this make me glad that I watch TV. This is the best episode of "Friends" so far and is something truly memorable. Score: 90 Summary: Jon meets with Mance who offers him peace. Jon prepares to kill Mance but it unsure. Stannis suddenly arrives with his troops and defeats the wildling army. Mance is taken prisoner. Dany has to lock away her dragons after Drogon kills an innocent child. Cersei tells Tywin about her relationship with Jaime. Bran reaches the three-eyed raven. Jojen is killed by wights on the way there. Brienne encounters Arya and The Hound. Brienne battles The Hound for custody of Arya and defeats him. Arya evades her sight and leaves The Hound for dead. She takes a ship to Braavos. Tyrion is released by Jaime. He goes to Tywin's chambers and kills Shae who is with Tywin now. He then kills Tywin and leaves King's Landing, across the Narrow Sea.
The Good: This was an explosive finale with a number of great scenes. I really enjoyed Stannis' arrival in The North. Before that, Jon's confrontation with Mance was tense and I was interested to see where things would go. I had expected the wildling story to be stretched into next season which I wasn't looking forward to as this has been happening for 2 seasons already. However, we had a surprise arrival as Stannis makes his presence known and becomes a major factor again after being dormant for two entire seasons. The moment felt significant and I'm excited to see Stannis attempt to gain his rightful crown. The attack on Mance's army was a welcome surprise and shakes up both Jon and Stannis' storylines in a good way, making me excited to see where each storyline goes next season. Dany's story was good too. I was extremely happy to see her face the cold reality that slavery will never be fully erased as her showing kindness to slaves who want to remain slaves will lead into masters growing in power once more. It's a hard lesson for her which I'm sure will leave her somewhat shaken at least. But also, she will certainly be shook by having to lock up her dragons, her children, in a cell because they are dangerous. She received two huge wake up calls in this episode which will hopefully lead to some major changes in her morals and views. I thought the Cersei/Tywin scene was outstanding. Cersei is so vile and petty, so having her reveal her secret just to make Tywin feel awful was really fitting of the character we have come to know for four seasons. The reveal was a big moment for Tywin and let us know that Tywin truly doesn't want to believe that his family is as foul as people say. But in this scene he is forced to face a cold, hard truth which made for impactful storytelling. Tyrion's murders of Shae and Tywin were extremely powerful and effective. While I had issues with how we got there (see: The Bad), the actual moments were some of the show's best emotional moments so far, and Peter Dinklage knocked it out of the park again with terrific acting. His murder of Shae felt tragic as it was spurred on by what was likely a number of misunderstandings between two lovers, and both of them paid the price for it in heartbreaking fashion. And then Tyrion extracts his vengeance on Tywin, finally gaining some control over him and repaying him for a life full of hell. The moment delivered on shock, satisfaction and emotion as Tyrion kills his father without hesitation and the show made yet another massive change to its structure with the single most powerful man in Westeros dying. Also, I enjoy the irony of the most powerful man in Westeros dying on a toilet. But despite all of the good stuff in other stories, the best storyline was Arya's. Her confrontation with Brienne was stellar and it featured some fantastic dialogue. I thought that Arya's lack of trust for Brienne was fitting, and Brienne's inability to convince Arya that she was her ally was well executed with The Hound exposing her Lannister-made armour. It was an organic way to get two characters who have no quarrel in each other to duel in a deathmatch. This is one of my favourite fights in "Game of Thrones" so far because it features two characters who I deeply care about, and I don't want either of them to die. I was properly conflicted throughout as the fight went on and became even more intense. I really love how by the end both fighters were just slugging it out until one of them overpowered the other. It was brutal, dramatic and vicious, a perfect climax to a crazy fight. I know some will have problems with Brienne outfighting The Hound, but I think it makes sense considering that The Hound had been weakened by his time on the road. Furthermore, the poor guy was interrupted before he could take a shit, so I can't imagine it was easy for him to fight like that. This all leads to a fantastic final scene with Arya and The Hound. The Hound is dying, and he looks to Arya to kill him, calling back to the dying man from "The Mountain and the Viper" that The Hound mercy kills. But Arya doesn't go for the kill. She is conflicted. The Hound is on her kill list, but he has done so much for her that she no longer wants to kill him. So this leads to Arya ultimately leaving The Hound, begging for death, in her own twisted way of showing gratitude for the man that took care of her. This is tragic and affecting, as if The Hound hadn't been so kind to her, she wouldn't have hesitated to put him out of his misery. This was just wonderful storytelling and it featured a fantastic set of callbacks to their previous interactions, showing how far Arya has come. Then Arya decided to go to Braavos in what I thought was an exciting and fresh development. Arya has been on the road for what feels like forever, under the care of somebody else. Now she is finally taking her fate into her own hands and I'm excited to see where it takes her character. The Bad: Not everything was great unfortunately and there were some really bad moments. Bran's story was really weak in this episode. While I's intrigued by the ending (see: The Unknown), the road to get there was shaky at best. The group runs into a bunch of wights (perhaps they were something else, but I'm not sure) in what is very clearly just a pointless action scene to provide an obstacle for Bran. Furthermore, the presence of these wights is ridiculous as they are apparently just hanging out under the snow for some reason. That's just dumb and nonsensical. Furthermore, Jojen dies and I felt nothing because I couldn't care less for his character. It's bad that a character who has been around for two seasons can just die and it has no impact. Furthermore, his death scene is incredibly poor as the scene comes off as awkward and poorly shot. Tyrion's escape was ridiculously easy and I couldn't believe that he somehow managed to not only escape his confinement, but also go all the way to Tywin's chambers without any trouble. Are there no guards anymore? It's a blatant oversight and I was confused to see such a weak bit of writing in a show which is usually very well put together. Furthermore, if this was so easy, why didn't Jaime just free Tyrion earlier? Did he have to wait until his execution day? It all feels like way too convenient of a way for Tyrion to get out of his predicament. Shae's arc confuses me and takes away from the drama of her death. I'm really confused by why she is with Tywin and why she is working against Tyrion. Are we supposed to believe that she actually just wanted to get vengeance on Tyrion for telling her to go? That is not consistent with the character of Shae that we had come to know. Or are we supposed to believe that Shae never loved him? I really hope that isn't the case because it makes no sense, and removes all of the actual impact that the scene had. I wish that Shae's motives were clearer so the drama and tragedy could have been understood better. All I can do is speculate, which is problematic for such a major catharsis. The Unknown: What will Qyburn do to The Mountain? Will he survive it? I presume he will, so I guess the bigger question is how will it change him? He hardly has a character anyways, so how will this change him in a big way? Melisandre took an uncanny interest in Jon. What does she see for him? Does she have a desire to burn him? What does the raven mean when he says Bran will fly? What significance do the children hold? What is the cave they live in? Why can't the wights come inside? What will Arya find in Braavos? Will she reconnect with Jaqen? Also, what does the coin mean? Why do people just accept anyone who has that coin? Whose coin is it? How is it well known by everyone? With Tywin dead, what comes next? Who will replace him as Hand of the King? Will Cersei be able to maintain Lannister control? Will Olenna seize this opening and return to control King's Landing? What does Tyrion do in Essos? Where does his story go now that he's been removed from all of the characters that he has formed a bond with? Best Moment: The Hound and Arya's final scene. Outstanding storytelling. Character of the Episode: Arya. Conclusion: This was a strong, eventful and exciting finale which capped off the show's best season in dramatic fashion. There were some major flaws which took away from this but as a whole I loved it. Bring on season 5. As mentioned above, I think this is easily the show's best season. There were certainly flaws, but for every flaw there were two or three outstanding scenes or moments which more than make up for it. I thought there wasn't a single weak episode this season and there were a number of great ones which provided genuinely powerful and exhilarating moments including Tyrion's speech, Joffrey's death, Littlefinger's reveal, the Battle of Castle Black and more. This season felt like a major climax for the entire series and every episode had important developments to offer to the story. The show has never been so effective and so consistent and I think the sheer quality of this season is a terrific sign for the show to come. I always thought this show was great from the first season, but this fourth season has shown us that "Game of Thrones" is must-watch television. Score: 70 Summary: Flashbacks show Jimmy partying after becoming a lawyer. Jimmy and Chuck's relationship is healthy and loving at this point. In the present, Jimmy tries to be seen in public caring for Chuck. He slowly loses himself in the process. Eventually he is asked for his testimony and unleashes an emotional speech about Chuck to con the judges into making him a lawyer again. He is successful but unintentionally and unknowingly makes Kim believe his words as well. Jimmy chooses to practice under the name Saul Goodman. Mike tries to locate Werner to bring him back before anything happens. Lalo, who was watching Gus' operation, follows Mike and is able to track down Werner and come in contact with him on the phone before Mike. Mike reports this to Gus, who tells Mike to kill Werner. Mike does so.
The Good: This was an excellent season finale. The story was powerful and it managed to bring season 4 to a close in an effective way, tying together all of the stories that were told in the last 10 episodes. The flashback was extremely powerful and emotional, and it wasn't because of Ernie's singing (what a singing voice!). After we have seen Chuck and Jimmy at each other's throats for so long, it feels strange to see them so friendly in this opening scene. Strange, yet powerful as it highlights what could have been between those two. A brotherhood between two brothers who help each other and help bring out the best in each other, keeping each other in line. Instead, we have to face the reality of what really happened, adding to the tragedy of Jimmy's character, a tragedy which was explored thoroughly in this episode. The early stages of the episode see Jimmy pulling another scam, this time he is strategically placing himself in positions to make him seem remorseful about Chuck to important people in the law community. I enjoyed seeing Jimmy's complete disinterest in doing this, proving to us that he truly doesn't care about Chuck now that he's dead, which paid off by the end of the episode (see: Best Moment). The pressure that pulling this con has on Jimmy is immense, as he is annoyed that he has to go to such tedious lengths to prove himself to the bar association. Jimmy has no interest in re-opening his feeling about Chuck, which have been sealed away since "Smoke". The tragedy of this episode is how the pressure gets to Jimmy and causes him to completely lose himself. After seeing himself in a hopeful scholar, Christy Esposito, Jimmy realizes the world is against him and always will be. After everything that happened to him, he has finally lost hope about finding his place in this world without cutting corners and scamming. He delivers an awkward and imposing speech to Christy, letting her know of the horrors that he experienced in his attempt to be a lawyer, and it's this speech which he delivered to an innocent kid that makes Jimmy realize how far gone he is. He goes back to his car, and for one of the first times in this show, he cries and it's not a con. It's real tears, tears to mourn for himself. Jimmy McGill is almost gone, burned away by the nightmare of a life he has been trying to live. After four seasons with this character, seeing him slowly die on the inside is painful and immensely powerful. And it prepares him for the ultimate con, as he lies through his teeth to everyone in his testimony with such a convincing nature that even Kim starts to believe what is coming out of his mouth. But it's all a lie. Jimmy has no sincerity, just a motivation to win, to hell with any sense of morals and honour. And he doesn't care anymore. He doesn't spare a thought about how Kim may feel and quickly heads forward to pursue his future under his new name. While some people may say that season 4 was boring and nothing happened, I disagree. This season is about transitioning Jimmy to Saul, an important story which I'm beyond glad the writers chose to tell. The other half of the episode saw Mike chasing down Werner in a tense and exciting sequence made better by the presence of the ruthless, reckless and unpredictable Lalo. Tensions were really high throughout and I was extremely happy to see "Better Call Saul" make an episode hinged on a storyline with a sense of urgency and excitement to it. There were many sequences in this storyline which were tense and exciting. Mike getting away from Lalo was exciting to watch, and I love the touch of Mike refusing to go for the gun, instead using some chewing gum to remove Lalo. The scenes at TravelWire were great too as both Lalo and Mike work on Fred to get him to reveal information. It's also a great contrast between Mike and Lalo, who both manage to get what they want but through very different means. In the end both manage to come in contact with Werner, but it's Lalo who makes contact first, condemning Werner to his fate in heartbreaking fashion. This leads to the scene where Mike is forced to execute Werner in cold blood after failing to convince Gus to save his life. The sad thing is that it looked like Gus may give in, but it's Lalo's involvement which prevents Gus from being willing to take the risk. In the end Gus is left in his half-finished lab, angry and unimpressed, demonstrating his disappointment with what happened. To make up for this disappointment, Mike knows he has to fix his mistake and kill Werner. The scene is heartbreaking and beautifully shot as Mike has to slowly let Werner realize what is happening. Werner is so good-hearted, so seeing him meet this fate is devastating, and his final phone call with his wife makes it even more painful and sad. Better yet is the focus on Mike who is pained when he realizes that he has to murder a friend who doesn't deserve to die for what he has done. It's a big change for Mike's character which pushes him even further into his work with Gus. The scene was masterful and it certainly makes up for some slow moments in the episodes prior. I was glad to see Gale again and his interactions with Gus and Mike were pretty funny and entertaining. The Bad: But Gale's interactions with Gus were sadly inconsistent with Gus' character which we see in "Breaking Bad". I understand that he's angry about the halt in superlab construction, but Gus has always treated Gale with kindness and it feels awkward to give him the cold shoulder here. I feel like this season hasn't shown enough of the charming and friendly Gus, and it may have even somewhat forgotten what the true essence of the character is. Lalo's stunt at TravelWire was a little hard to believe. I understand what they were going for and it was somewhat funny, but it was far too cartoonish for this show. I can't buy that Lalo would manage to sneak into the ceiling so quickly and silently, plus how would he get up there anyways? Is he Spider-man? I was disappointed that Nacho wasn't in this episode. He has hardly had anything to do in the back half of this season which is poor considering how important he was early in the season. Furthermore, I thought that Howard could have had a more important role as well. I was interested to see what Howard and Jimmy's relationship was like, especially after their last conversation but we never got to see any of that which feels disappointing. The Unknown: Did Lalo cover up his murder of Fred appropriately or could that come back to haunt him? Did he also appropriately deal with the man in the parking lot who may have gotten his license plate? How will the superlab be completed now? Who finishes it? Will that be Gale's job now? How will Kim and Jimmy's relationship change after that last scene? Best Moment: Jimmy's testimony is poignant and it's meant to be. For a little while we even think that he may be honest here since everything he says could very well be true. But of course it's not. The scene even parallels Jimmy meeting with the bar association in the last episode to show that he is still conning the judges. But Kim doesn't realize and thinks that Jimmy finally got his sadness surrounding Chuck's death off his chest. But Jimmy quickly and ruthlessly reveals it was all fake and even laughs at the "asshole who was actually crying". Rhea Seehorn is terrific as she shows Kim's shock at learning this, and it finally begins to clue in to her that Jimmy isn't hiding anything. He isn't the same man anymore, he's Saul Goodman now. It's another powerful scene in an episode full of them. Character of the Episode: Jimmy. Conclusion: This was a great season finale, capping off the season with a bang, concluding several stories and all but completing Jimmy's transformation into Saul. This show rarely disappoints and this was no exception. As for the season as a whole, it was outstanding. Unsurprisingly, the acting, cinematography, editing, storytelling, writing, pacing, etc. were all near-perfect and combined to make this slow-burn show deliver some of the best television this year. Jimmy's story and transformation was tremendously strong and I think it brought out the very best acting from Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn to date. The big question going into this season was if it could still be great without Chuck. Thankfully the answer was a resounding yes as the story moved in a new and fulfilling direction without Chuck, organically continuing the story. The Nacho and Mike stories were very strong too with engaging moments and a good overall story which combined together nicely in the finale. I would put this season between season 3 and season 2 in terms of ranking and I think it was very strong but not as good as season 3. I think as a whole this was the most consistent season of the show, but it didn't ever reach the highs that seasons 1-3 reached. But that shouldn't take away from just how good this season was. Score: 79 Summary: Gilly returns to Castle Black and Sam promises to help her. The wildling attack is signalled and Sam takes Gilly to safety. They kiss. The attack begins. Alliser goes down to the south side to fight, leaving Jon in charge of The Wall. Sam fights with Pyp until Pyp is killed by Ygritte. Giants start smashing down the gates so Jon sends Grenn to stop them. Grenn dies but is successful. Jon eventually goes down to join the battle. Tormund defeats Alliser but isn't able to kill him. Ygritte finds Jon but before she can kill him, Olly kills her. The battle is won as the wildlings retreat. Jon knows that they can never win as they will attack again the next night. Jon goes north in an attempt to assassinate Mance.
The Good: This episode was a total spectacle and it was brilliant because of it. The battles in the show are fantastic to watch, and I thought this was a definite improvement over the Battle of Blackwater in terms of action and spectacle. The set-up wasn't as engaging as the extreme tension and foreboding from "Blackwater" isn't present here, but we did get some solid storytelling. I liked Jon and Sam's brief conversation as Sam is desperate to get an idea of what love is like before he dies. Then there's his nice conversation with Aemon about love which I thought was effective at making us understand what Gilly means to Sam. Then, Gilly returns and Sam's desperation to have her back feels earned and I thought the kiss was a nice moment. There isn't anything fantastic here, but everything is solid and I enjoyed it. I really like that Sam's arc continued in the battle too. Now that he has something to fight for he is more confident in himself and his abilities as he gets in battle, leading to several great moment for his character as he is finally able to shake off his cowardice and "become nothing" as he puts it. I really liked Pyp's death as it was handled in the best possible way. He wasn't a significant character, but the scene was effective due to him finally gaining some confidence in himself after getting a kill, only to die moments later. It was a great moment to show the horrors of battle. Jon had good moments too as he got to become a proper leader here. He took charge of the Night's Watch and he helped them defend The Wall before joining the battle afterwards. The stand-out for him was certainly his final moments with Ygritte which were suitably sad and gave the battle a proper sense of consequence (see: Best Moment). The rest of the battle was spectacular to behold. I am a massive fan of "The Lord of the Rings", so I love battles like this one. The action here was relentless and exciting, and the state of the battle was much clearer than in "Blackwater". I particularly loved the one sequence where a single shot covered all of the carnage which was happening in Castle Black, a spectacular feat of cinematography. The effects and sound editing were perfect as well, adding to the immersion and effect of the battle. It's stunning to see something like this in a TV show. I also really liked Grenn's final stand, as it was a touching moment to see him rally his five men to stand guard and prevent the giant from entering. It was a fitting death for him, adding to the body count coming from this battle. The Bad: There was one particularly weak moment in the battle. Jon had his head bashed hard against an anvil, but it leaves no mark and hardly fazes him. The very thought of that is ridiculous and it was a surprisingly weak moment for an episode with such good action. This battle also didn't feel as significant as "Blackwater" as the characters involved weren't as important or engaging. In this battle, the notable characters are Jon, Sam and Ygritte but that's it. It's a far cry from the amount of important characters whose lives were at stake in "Blackwater". The ending hurts the episode overall. It feels like the episode is incomplete as we have had a massive battle, yet the story is still more or less in the same place as before the battle, just several characters have died. I would have liked a proper ending to this battle, especially since an entire episode was dedicated to it. The Unknown: What will come of Jon going to kill Mance? Will he succeed? Will he make a deal? What is going to happen? Best Moment: Olly kills Ygritte, avenging his parents, but sadly it isn't a moment to cheer as Jon has to say goodbye to his lover. Ygritte's wishes that they could go back to the cave were very sad, capping off this love story in tragic fashion. Character of the Episode: Sam. Conclusion: This was a spectacular episode. A massive action spectacle with enough human drama to remain engaging and riveting. This was executed better than the last battle, and while it doesn't have the same impact on the story and characters, I enjoyed it more. Another great episode in a season which has been full of them. Score: 75 Summary: Joey gets a job as a tour guide at Ross' museum and discovers an odd segregation system. Frank comes to Phoebe to be a surrogate mother for his children, and she is unsure about what to decide. Chandler goes to Monica and Rachel for help to please Kathy in the bedroom.
The Good: There were some good stories and moments in this episode, making it a marked improvement over the last two. The museum storyline was something different from what we usually get from "Friends" and I think it worked very well. The character of Rhonda was unique and funny and I really enjoyed all of her dialogue as she let Joey know what museum life is like. I like the idea of the museum being segregated and it made for a good story when Ross decided to change the rules for his friend Joey. It was a solid, different story with a few funny moments too. I enjoyed Chandler's story too, and being unaware of how to appropriately please a woman in bed fits perfectly with what we know of his character. Him going to Monica and Rachel for help led to what was easily the funniest moment in the episode (see: Best Moment). I thought Phoebe's story was fine as well and it was a good examination of her character. The Bad: Phoebe's story just isn't very funny sadly and it feels unimportant because it was extremely clear that Phoebe would ultimately agree to be a surrogate mother. Best Moment: Chandler talks with Monica and Rachel about the seven erogenous zones, and Monica begins to describe what to do before hilariously giving herself an orgasm screaming "SEVEN". One of the show's best jokes so far. Character of the Episode: Monica. Conclusion: This was a really good episode with good laughs and moments. Score: 70 Summary: The wildlings attack Molestown. Grey Worm and Missandei grow closer. Dany discovers Jorah was spying on her when he first entered her service and she exiles him. Ramsay sends Theon to Moat Cailin and convinces the Ironborn to leave. Roose legitimizes Ramsay. Arya and The Hound reach the Eyrie, only to discover Lysa is dead. The Lords of the Vale investigate into Lysa's death. Sansa sides with Littlefinger to prove him to be innocent. Oberyn and The Mountain fight. Oberyn almost wins but gets overconfident and is brutally killed.
The Good: Man, this is a weird episode. Somehow this has me even more conflicted than "The Rains of Castamere" and I remain unsure about how I feel about the ending of the episode and by extension about the episode as a whole. After collecting my thoughts for a while, I think the good outweighs the bad here and I feel like I did enjoy what I watched. There were a lot of terrific scenes too. I enjoyed everything in Meereen and I thought that there were a number of powerful moments. First and foremost, I like this new Missandei and Grey Worm romance story. The show has so much misery going on, and a simple yet sweet romantic story feels like a much needed emotional break for us, giving us something to be happy about. It was especially needed in this episode. Then of course there was what may have been a big turning point for Dany's story as she exiles Jorah, her most trusted advisor, from her presence. This felt like a huge moment, and was emotionally powerful as we have seen these two together from the beginning of the series and care about their relationship. Jorah has nowhere to go now, and nowhere to turn which is a sad, but unpredictable direction for his character to go (see: The Unknown). I really liked all of the scenes with Ramsay, Roose and Theon. Alfie Allen has been terrific at portraying Theon/Reek and the horrific, tormented state that the character is in. Seeing Theon struggle to keep his composure at Moat Cailin was shockingly affecting, and was a great scene. Then of course there was the glorious and gruesome cut from the man being promised freedom to his flayed corpse. This is the way to establish Ramsay's character, not by subjecting us to needless torture for so long. I also liked the brief scene with Roose legitimizing Ramsay to reward him for his work. The two of them have an interesting dynamic and are probably the two most despicable villains in the series right now. Arya and The Hound arriving at the Eyrie was a great moment as Arya just laughed as she once more discovered that she didn't have anywhere to go and The Hound just isn't able to get rid of her. It's a sad moment, but an earned one, highlighting the change in Arya's character. I also enjoyed that Sansa is now starting to take control of her life with the help of Littlefinger, but the path to get there wasn't as good as Arya's (see: The Bad). Tyrion's beetle speech was outstanding. I've always praised this show for its scenes of dialogue, and this must be one of the best ones so far. Tyrion is staring at his own death in the near future, so it makes sense that he would just talk about whatever he wants to Jaime, who likely just wants to be with his brother while he is still alive. The scene is brilliant as we see Tyrion just talking to Jaime about something he never had a chance to before, getting to enjoy his voice a little longer. But the speech also does a great job of highlighting Tyrion's innocence and thoughtfulness. A man who cares so much about a moron killing beetles proves to be a good man who won't go for meaningless bloodshed like so many other characters in this show would go for. It's a great metaphor for the show as a whole. This finally takes us to the ending fight. I will give credit where it is due, as the fight was fantastic. The choreography was great and the fight itself was tense as any possibility felt likely from the fight. This show's unpredictability paid off very well here to make the fight tense and exciting. I do think the result is interesting and I'm curious to see where the story will go from here, and if Tyrion can somehow find a way out of certain death. The Bad: The ending scene was horrific. Seeing Oberyn's head popped like a pimple was a terrible sight and it wasn't one that I appreciated. The red wedding was bad enough, but this was worse, so much worse that I don't think I like it. I understand that the point is for me to be grossed out and hopeless, but I don't understand why the show feels it is necessary for me to feel this way all the time. This time it feels like the show is embracing a repetitive cycle of just making the worst possible thing happen to its characters, instead of it aiding the story. Oberyn was interesting and had a lot of story potential, so his death came right out of left field which is a big difference from Ned, Robb, and Catelyn's deaths which felt like a punishment for their many mistakes. With Oberyn's death being so sudden, it was just deflating and it was too much for me. I need some hope to keep enjoying the show, and scenes like this take me one step closer to just dropping the show because of its relentlessness. I wasn't happy with Littlefinger's plan once more. I understand the idea behind him killing Lysa and it does make sense to me, but his story still feels too convenient even with Sansa on his side. If I were a Lord of the Vale, I still wouldn't trust Littlefinger, so the story doesn't work overall. Furthermore, I was annoyed by the fact that Littlefinger's plan hinged on Sansa lying for him. What if she had just told the truth? Littlefinger would be screwed! Not a great plan for such a mastermind. Furthermore, couldn't he have just explained to Sansa to lie for him? Seems like a better plan than to tell her nothing and leave the decision up to her. One small thing that annoyed me was Tywin waving off Pycelle's speech. Surely a trial by combat would appreciate the gods more than any other event. The Unknown: Where does Jorah go now? Who does he follow? What is his next role in the story? Is Tyrion going to die? Will somebody save him somehow? How can they? What will The Hound do with Arya now? Where will they go? Best Moment: Tyrion's beetle speech is great. Character of the Episode: Tyrion. Conclusion: This episode has left me conflicted because of its ending scene. However, just about everything else before the final two minutes was terrific so I think this episode deserves a very good score. But it doesn't remove the fact that I feel uneasy after this episode and I'm now feeling a little unsure about this show's future. Score: 69 Summary: Tyrion tries to find somebody to fight for him in his trial by combat but both Jaime and Bronn refuse because Cersei has chosen The Mountain as her representative. Eventually he is approached by Oberyn who wants his shot at The Mountain. Arya and The Hound continue on their journey. The Hound is attacked by men who want to kill him for the bounty on his head but he survives. Dany enjoys Daario's company before making a crucial decision about what to do with Yunkai and Astapor. The Night's Watch debate on whether it is necessary to seal off the tunnel for the wildling attack. Littlefinger kisses Sansa and Lysa sees. Lysa confronts Sansa and threatens to kill her but Littlefinger arrives and shoves Lysa out the moon door.
The Good: I liked most of this. The set-up was pretty strong and I'm definitely excited to see what comes next. The main focus was of course the follow-up on Tyrion's huge declaration in the last episode. Logically, Cersei has assigned The Mountain as Tyrion's opponent which is a big threat and I love that this decision has cost Tyrion the chance of his two main options fighting for him. Jaime is still weak with his left hand and stands no chance. Bronn doesn't see enough value in risking his life in such a bug way for Tyrion. These developments did lead to two terrific conversations as well, providing quality dialogue and a great description of the bonds that Tyrion has formed with these men. The scenes were good and they also did a good job of showing that Tyrion is grappling with the fact that he may not have much time left. Then we got the big reveal that Oberyn will step in for Tyrion and fight The Mountain. While this was pretty predictable (see: The Bad), it does set up a really exciting duel, likely for next episode. While it seems likely that Oberyn kills The Mountain and frees Tyrion, this is one show I'm not confident on predicting, and I feel like there has to be at least one twist that happens, but I'm not sure what. Either way, I'm excited to watch this as I think there is a ton of potential for great drama. I also want to mention the conversation between Oberyn and Tyrion because I thought it was stellar. I loved the backstory we got from Oberyn about the Lannisters as children and how the rumours were about Tyrion's birth. The story was sad as Oberyn mentions that Tyrion clearly wasn't anything bad but he has paid the price throughout his entire life for something which really isn't a big deal. This show excels because of conversation scenes like this and I continue to enjoy them. Arya and The Hound were given a great story in this episode as well. I liked seeing them come across the dying man, giving him some peace and mercy. The scene was sad and it was a good moment which allowed the characters to breathe and show who they really are. This pairing with Arya and The Hound has worked surprisingly well and I really enjoy their dynamic. I thought the later scene with The Hound nursing his wounds and Arya trying to help him to be pretty poignant. I enjoyed hearing The Hound open up a little bit as he is forced to face the fact that he is alone and may not have much longer to live with a bounty on his head. Hearing him open up to Arya, the only other person who can understand the loneliness he feels was powerful and sad, another terrific moment of interaction. I liked the other scenes with the outlier plotlines. Dany enjoying Daario's company made sense, after all why wouldn't she indulge herself a little? I also enjoyed Dany having to take a look at how she rules when Jorah tries to convince her to not kill every master in Yunkai and Astapor. The scene had good drama and it was nice to see Dany learning a little about showing pure hate for her enemies. At Castle Black, I liked that the Night's Watch grappled with the idea of sealing the tunnel, further highlighting their preparation for an impending attack. I am enjoying the story a fair amount and I look forward to the actual battle which is coming. The Bad: This show's gratuitous nudity has always annoyed me. Did we really need Melisandre to be naked throughout majority of her scene? What does that accomplish? We are invested in the show so we don't need to see nudity to maintain our interests. While I like the development of Oberyn vs The Mountain, there are issues with it. For one, I immediately connected the dots to Oberyn fighting for Tyrion, and that did detract from the thought of Tyrion being helpless because I had a sense that Oberyn would come in to save him. But the biggest issue for me is the fact that Oberyn stepped in at all. Just a few episodes ago Tywin promised Oberyn that he would get justice, and Tywin even offered The Mountain specifically. Yet Oberyn somehow feels that fighting for Tyrion and risking his life is the best way to get this justice, which felt odd. The fight scene with Arya and The Hound was lacking. It felt awkward that the man just bit The Hound instead of just killing him with one blow. Did the man have a death wish? Furthermore, it seemed mighty convenient that Arya encountered the criminal from before, and while I did enjoy her quick and ruthless kill, it felt like too convenient of a moment to be believable. The Eyrie scenes were unfortunately quite bad and made Littlefinger look like a fool. I imagine him kissing Sansa was intentional to piss off Lysa, but it still felt quite dumb. I thought Littlefinger's end-game was to get Sansa's affections and just kissing her is way too creepy and awkward to help him accomplish his goal. Furthermore, he left Sansa's life in the hands of the unhinged Lysa. What if she just tossed Sansa out the moon door immediately? What would Littlefinger do then? I like the idea that Littlefinger would kill Lysa to gain power, but the way it was executed was really stupid. There were no witnesses, so Littlefigner should obviously be the prime suspect. How is he supposed to ascend when the Lords of the Vale would immediately suspect him and not trust him? It felt like far too foolish of a move from a man who has been so careful in his plotting thus far. Additionally, I hated Sansa snapping at Robin. She can put up with Joffrey but some little child is enough to piss her off instantly and even make her hit him? That was bad. The Unknown: Does Melisandre plan to burn Shireen too? That would be unpleasant. What will happen in Tyrion's trial by combat? Who will die and what will happen as a result? This event is set up as such a pivotal moment int his season, so I'm really excited to see what will happen as a result. If Oeryn wins, Tywin will likely be angry and it could lead to some hot blood. But if Oberyn were to die, I don't imagine Dorne would be pleased, and I imagine that they could become major players. And what happens to Tyrion? I don't know. So many questions, and so much intrigue. Best Moment: The scene between Arya and The Hound where The Hound opened up was the most touching moment and it resonated the most with me. Character of the Episode: Oberyn. Conclusion: This was a solid episode overall. The set-up was extremely strong and the episode was looking like it could hit a high level, but the ending Eyrie scenes were downright poor and were some of my least favourite scenes in the show so far. They drag down the overall score a fair amount, but I'm still left with an overall positive outlook. Score: 66 Summary: Davos convinces the Iron Bank to support Stannis. Dany is confronted by a man who wants to bury his father, a master who was crucified. The small council discusses Dany's impending threat. Varys sends his little birds to Meereen. Yara assaults the Dreadfort and tries to break Theon out, but he refuses and Yara leaves. Tyrion's trial occurs and it is heavily biased against him. Jaime bargains with Tywin and the come to a deal where Tyrion will be allowed to live in the Night's Watch if Jaime resigns from the Kingsguard to further the Lannister line. Shae is brought into the trial and Jaime's deal isn't fulfillef when Tyrion angrily calls for a trial by combat.
The Good: Another episode goes by, and "Game of Thrones" continues to over-deliver in what has easily been its best season so far. This episode had a number of solid plot lines and also a few pleasingly powerful moments. Davos remains one of the best overall people in Westeros. He is genuine in his loyalty to Stannis, so much so that he singlehandedly makes everything involving Stannis a lot more interesting. Thankfully, this episode had a good story as well to aid this. The Iron Bank's introduction was really great, complemented by characetrs who feel out of place from everything going on in Westeros, making them feel more special. Furthermore, the visuals of Braavos were brilliant and I was breathless seeing the beauty of the special effects. But things like this enhance stories, they don't make them good. What does make them good is providing genuine conflict for main characters who are forced to find a way out of it, which is exactly what we get here with Davos. The Iron Bank puts down Stannis' cause entirely, proving to only be interested in numbers, not caring at all about honour. But Davos uses his wit to play into their game and defeat them, managing to give Stannis a huge bonus, making him a threat once again. It has been a season and a half since Stannis was defeated, and now it looks like he is finally ready to get back into things, and I am pretty excited as I care much more about Stannis' cause than I did back in "Blackwater". Dany's story has expanded in a nice way too. It seems like she will be in Meereen for the next while, and so far I am enjoying it. I liked that we were shown somebody who wasn't pleased by what Dany did to the masters, which is both realistic and compelling. It was good to see Dany forced to look through the eyes of the non-slaves living in Meereen, teaching her a little more. Furthermore, I also love the scenes when Dany is discussed back in Westeros, as it is nice to get the reminder that she is still a threat for all of the characters in King's Landing. The small council scene was really well done (as usual), and I like the development that Varys will be sending his spies across the Narrow Sea. Presumably this will mean that Dany will be discussed more often in Westeros, and perhaps her story can start blending more into the main plot of the show. Also, I have to take a moment to mention the electric Oberyn/Varys scene. I love seeing this show create these interaction scenes carried by charisma and character. It's fascinating to watch and gives us so many fascinating little details about these characters who remain mostly a mystery to us. Then this takes us to Tyrion's trial, which delivered for the most part. The most fascinating part of this all was Tywin's involvement. He and Jaime had an important discussion (long overdue Jaime) about Tyrion's fate and there were a lot of great surprises. First and foremost was the heavy implication that Tywin manipulated the entire situation to get what he wants. The moment when Tywin rapidly accepts Jaime's offer was a fantastic moment because it was when everything about this situation made sense. Tywin never wanted to kill Tyrion, rather he was using him as leverage to get Jaime to do his bidding to continue the family line. Not only was this a great moment, but it also made the biased nature of the trial much more clear as it was intentional on Tywin's part to oust Tyrion as a villain. Tyrion was outstanding in this episode. It was extremely easy to sympathize with him as he is essentially attacked for every little thing he has done with everyone despising him for it instead of sympathizing with the fact that he was trying to just help Westeros as a whole. However the emotion was lacking at first (see: The Bad), and I was worried that the trial would be a boring dud. But then, Shae was introduced and as she lies through her teeth about Tyrion, the trial becomes much more tense and emotional. Then this leads to an explosive final scene where Tyrion erupts and unleashes all of his anger upon the ungrateful swine who are attempting to sentence him to death for no reason. The final speech is a massive moment which is not only satisfying, but powerful and understandable. Then we get hit with the huge twist at the end as Tyrion refuses to take Tywin's deal and demands a trial by combat, shaking things up once more, and adding a ton of possibilities (see: The Unknown). The Bad: Yara's assault on the Dreadfort didn't work. I find it tough to buy into the fact that Yara got inside a fortified castle so easily and managed to make it all the way to Theon without any difficulty at all. Then Ramsay comes in to fight shirtless to make him even more psychotic. Ramsay doesn't interest me at all because his character is receiving every single cliché in the book to make him seem evil. But then it suddenly awkwardly cuts to Yara outside of the Dreadfort having escaped off-screen. It felt awkward and I find it difficult to believe that she got away after being cornered by Ramsay and his men. The first part of the trial was pretty flawed. It was biased and I was aware that Tyrion had no chance to prove his innocence. But then the scene kept going on with many, many characters coming up on the stand to make their points. It felt aimless and the scene was lacking in drama as Tyrion was unable to defend himself. Because of the time period, and the style, this never had the chance to be one of the classic courtroom scenes, and that's a bit of a shame as I am a sucker for some quality courtroom drama. Shae testifying against Tyrion is intriguing (see: The Unknown), but it could have some terrible effects on her character if she just wanted to get back at Tyrion as her only motive. Shae was introduced as an intelligent character, and there is nothing dumber than what Shae did if she wasn't paid off or something by Tywin. The Unknown: What does Ramsay have in plan for Theon? Is he going to try to fulfill his father's wishes by using Theon for a trade? Who steps in to fight for Tyrion? I don't imagine it will be Jaime. Will Bronn be back once more to help Tyrion? Also who will fight for Tywin? The Mountain? What were Shae's motives? Was she paid or something else by Tywin to testify? What happens to her now? Best Moment: Tyrion's speech was an outstanding moment. Character of the Episode: Tyrion. Conclusion: This was another great episode with some stellar moments. There were flaws for sure, but the good absolutely outweighs the bad and it made for another impactful and memorable episode. Score: 73 Summary: Chandler attempts to set Rachel up with a guy from his work, but he makes a lot of mistakes. Monica enlists Joey to help demonstrate to the other workers that she means business. Ross debates between dating a girl who lives nearby or dating a prettier and funner girl who lives far away. Phoebe writes a Christmas song for her friends.
The Good: Some of the stories here were pretty fun. I liked Chandler once more failing to understand women as he tries to set up Rachel with somebody from work and fails miserably. Ross and Phoebe's stories were decent as C-stories and offered up the odd laugh. I liked the idea behind the Monica/Joey story and it led to an enjoyable and fitting ending. The Bad: The Monica and Joey story was a little awkward and tough to buy into which hurt its credibility. The main problem with this episode is that it just wasn't very funny. There wasn't anything that feels memorable or special. Chandler is stuck carrying all of the laughs in this episode. Best Moment: Rachel getting angry at Chandler, who is scared and sorry, for scaring her new boyfriends away was the funniest part of the episode. Character of the Episode: Chandler. Conclusion: This was a fine episode, but it was lacking in memorable humour. An unusually ordinary episode of "Friends". Score: 57 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
February 2024
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