Episode Recap/Random Thoughts: Game of Thrones Season 7, Episode 4: "The Spoils of War"

HBO

"I'm tougher than you, Jaime. I still have both my hands."

•The show opens with a marching Lannister army, fresh from the sacking of Highgarden, and a visual testament to how expensive this show's budget is for extras. As the scene unfolds, some of you may start to wonder, "What the hell is Bronn still doing here? How in the name of the old gods is he still alive?" The answer to that is plain and simple, but some might find it difficult to accept: Bronn is the best player of the game of thrones. No, really. A lowborn, with no great House to protect him, yet always on the front lines of the action – how the hell is he still alive?

•I thought Bran Stark's powers include the ability to read the memories of an object. Like those people who can touch a coin and see where it has been, or those who can touch a key and see which lock it opens. But apparently not, because as soon as his fingers touched the Valyrian steel dagger, he should have known that Littlefinger lied about who he lost the dagger to (it wasn't Tyrion).

•Hooray for Arya's homecoming! Now the Stark siblings – at least those still alive – are back in Winterfell, and that's all that matters. After all, there must always be a Stark in Winterfell, and now there are three. Arya has become a formidable warrior, Sansa has become a cunning politician, and Bran has become the most powerful character in this series so far. If only the writers knew how to maximise his potential.

•I just love the sexual tension between the Mother of Dragons and the King in the North. Jon Snow should have made his move in the cave. The Dothraki guards have already been told to stay back, so I'm sure they could have done a quickie in there. Oh, but Jon Snow's fully armoured. Yeah, I forgot. Undressing would eat up precious time.

•Hello, Podrick. You've gotten fat. Maybe that's why you can't seem to win any sparring matches with Brienne? It's okay, though. You're a nice guy and a loyal squire, and I hope you don't die in this series.

•Hello, Arya. You show-off. Why don't you just take your Valyrian steel dagger and point it at Littlefinger's throat, the way he pointed a blade at Ned Stark's throat? In fact, while Littlefinger's in Winterfell, why don't you disguise yourself as Sansa and seduce him? Then when he has his guard down, rip your mask off and catch him off guard, then slash his throat? Either way, Littlefinger must die.

HBO

"Obi-Wan has taught you well."

•I really think Ser Davos has a thing for Missandei. Who wouldn't? Davos isn't married, as far as I know. Although Missandei has a boyfriend, but he's stuck in Casterly Rock. So there. Go, Ser Davos! Use the father figure thing you got going to your advantage!

•Come on, Ser Jaime. Cut Dickon Tarly some slack. His family switched allegiance just for you. Don't be a dick about it. If you're gonna piss on Dickon Tarly, it should be for stealing screen time from his brother Sam. That's because when Sam is onscreen, so will Archmaester Ebrose. But now I have to wait until next episode to find out if Jim Broadbent will make an appearance.

•Here come the Dothraki! Those horse-lords must really love Daenerys to have followed her across their continent of Essos, to fight in a war that doesn't concern them. But thanks to the Targaryen megalomania, we get to see the Dothraki fight on horseback, which is literally a sight to behold. I'm guessing this was how the Mongols rode into battle during the time of Genghis Khan.

•Yay Drogon! Fry those Lannister soldiers! Go and burn as much as you can! Set as many wagons on fire! Wreak as much havoc as possible! We only have a few more episodes left in this series, and honestly, we haven't had a lot of dragon action! It's time Messrs. Benioff and Weiss made up for all the previous seasons without dragons. Also, are we going to have a battle with all three dragons? Drogon is just one dragon. Where are the other two? Get to work on it, showrunners.

•Let us all applaud Ser Bronn of the Blackwater. Not only is he a pretty good shot with the scorpion, but he also saved Ser Jaime from ending up as some burned body. Although I'm not sure if this is a case of "out of the frying pan and into the fire", since the last shot we see is Jaime sinking into the depths in full battle armour. Who's gonna save him from that?

HBO

How many people does Jaime Lannister owe his life to?

Episode Recap/Random Thoughts: Game of Thrones Season 7, Episode 1: "Dragonstone"

HBO

Red Wedding avenged: Check.

•Arya Stark is fast becoming the most fearsome character in this series. First, she's got skills with her sword. Yes, she got beat up last season, but she was blind then. And she was a student of Syrio Forel, so her training is of a higher level than the courtyard steel training of the Winterfell boys. Second, she's small, which makes her quicker and more slippery in close combat. She can probably defeat The Mountain, as long as she stays close. Third, she's a girl, which gives her the ability to slip in and out unnoticed, since Westeros, like the real world, values women less than men. Fourth, she can do face-changing now, although she needs to wear it Mission Impossible-style, unlike Jaqen H'ghar who can change faces in the blink of an eye. And finally, she also has a lot of rage and anger pent up inside her, and all this negative energy is basically her will to live.

•The White Walkers have at least three giants. Three. That's three times the number of giants Jon Snow had in the Battle of the Bastards. Plus, they're undead giants.

•Bran Stark has found sanctuary now at Castle Black, although due to some really bad timing, his sister and half-brother are at Winterfell. Tough luck. And also, Dolorous Edd can totally rock it as Lord Commander.

•Meanwhile, at Winterfell, Jon Snow, the King in the North, shows the Northern Houses his leadership skills, putting all doubts of a bastard ruling over them to rest. He and Sansa need to work on their teamwork, though, as the eldest legitimate heir of Ned Stark has a habit of undermining her bastard brother.

•Meanwhile, in King's Landing, the Kingslayer shatters his twin sister's delusions of grandeur by snapping her back to reality, reminding her that she is queen of three out of seven kingdoms, at best. Cersei, ever the sly bitch, reveals that she has a plan that could give the Lannisters dominion over the waters of Westeros: the Iron Fleet.

•Euron Greyjoy may have command of the biggest naval armada in Westeros, but his character is a douchebag. His mere presence onscreen makes me want to plunge a sword through his chest. I think he is the most despicable character on the series right now. The series needs at least one despicable character at any given time, and that vacancy was filled by Euron following the death of Ramsay Bolton.

HBO

"Come at me, bro."

•Samwell Tarly discovers that life in the Citadel isn't all knowledge and books. There's also chores involved, such as cleaning chamberpots, washing dishes, cleaning chamberpots, cooking, cleaning chamberpots, arranging books, and cleaning chamberpots. He also makes two amazing discoveries in this episode: 1) the fact that dragonglass is found under Dragonstone; and 2) the scaly-skinned Ser Jorah Mormont.

•Jim Broadbent is great as Archmaester Ebrose. He's like that brilliant professor of higher learning who always answers questions in a cocky manner, as if he's annoyed that you even have to ask the question in the first place, but deep inside he's glad that his student's curiosity isn't stifled in the least.

•Littlefinger's moves on Sansa Stark are becoming a bit predatorily creepy, and I'm afraid he might pull a stunt from out of nowhere in latter episodes that would compromise the war in the north. Please, Messrs. Benioff and Weiss. Please don't.

•That sounds like Ed Sheeran singing. It is Ed Sheeran. Oh, and there are actually nice Lannister soldiers? Who would've thought? Also, the guy who made the blackberry wine looks like a younger Stephen Fry.

•I thought they'd already be showing Beric Dondarrion in action, but I guess it's too early in the season for that. I think it's a good thing for the Hound to have joined his group, though. It seems to have activated the Hound's guilty conscience, as he finally makes amends to that farmer and his daughter that he murdered in a previous episode by giving them a proper burial. See, I've always known the Hound's a good guy underneath all that toughness.

•And finally, Queen Daenerys makes her homecoming. She finally lands on Dragonstone, and she looks about her ancestral castle as though it was in bad need of interior decorating. It made me wonder, though, how she had time to get her hair styled and her nails French-tipped while her ship was crossing the waters of the Narrow Sea. The answer: an extremely dedicated entourage.

HBO

Lord Varys obviously got a good tan.

Episode Recap: Game of Thrones Season 6 Finale: "The Winds of Winter"

HBO

"Aray... ipantay mo ha!"

Q: Ano ang tawag sa akusadong hindi um-attend ng kanyang paglilitis?
A: Slippery bitch.

HBO

"I know, right?"

Ang lupit mo, Mareng Cersei. Slow clap. Ikaw nga talaga ang the son Tywin Lannister never had. Pero sige, nanalo ka ngayon. Napatay mo ang marami sa mga kalaban mo sa King’s Landing. Deads na si Margaery Tyrell. Si High Sparrow. Si Kevan Lannister. At iba pa. Hindi lang 7 in one blow; more like 700 in one blow. Galing.

HBO

Kaboom.

Wala sa konsepto mo, Queen Cersei, ang salitang “trabaho lang”. Namemersonal ka e. Pero anong kapalit naman nito? Patay na rin si Tommen. Dahil sa’yo. Yes, nakuha mo ang Iron Throne. Pero masakit sa puwit, ‘di ba? Buti nga sa’yo, punyeta ka.

HBO

"Maester, pakilagyan nga ng unan. Thanks."

Speaking of Lannisters, parang si Ser Jaime nalang ang natitirang honourable Lannister. Oo, mayroon siyang history ng kingslaying, pero mukhang gusto naman niyang ma-redeem. Of course, si Tyrion din naman ay may honour, pero mayroon din siyang pagka-slippery, kasi magaling siyang pulitiko. Kaya rin niya deserve ang pin ng Hand of the King.

HBO

"Alam mo bang may mga fan theory na magkamag-anak daw tayo?"

Ano ba ang problema sa honourable men? Si Ser Davos Seaworth ay isang honourable man. Si Jon Snow ay isang honourable man. Ang mga honourable men, hindi tumatanaw ng utang na loob. Kahit pa malaki ang naitulong ni Melisandre sa labanan noong Episode 9, kahit pa si Melisandre ang may kagagawan ng muling pagkabuhay ni Jon Snow, tinabla pa rin siya nina Snow at Seaworth dahil siya ay masamang aswang. Ang honourable men sa Westeros ay bihira, at madalas sila’y namamatay din.

HBO

"Mas matangkad na pala ako sa'yo, Kuya Jon."

Kahit sandali lang ang screen time ng pamilyang Tarly, interesting ito kasi ito ang unang beses na pinakita ang the Citadel. Ang tanong lang ay kung may mas malaking part pa ba si Samwell Tarly at ang kanyang pagiging maester sa hinaharap? Sana naman, dahil sayang ang vast stores of knowledge sa library ng Citadel.

HBO

Muntik nang malimutan ni Sam na naghihintay sa labas ang mag-ina niya.

Hindi lang isa ang bitch throne sa Westeros. May iba pang mga bitch bukod kay Cersei. Si Lady Olenna Tyrell, simple lang siya, pero bitch din ‘yan. Parang lola na bitch. ‘Yung Sand Snakes, mga annoying bitches lahat ‘yan.

HBO

"Sino pinaka-bitch sa aming lahat?"

Si Arya Stark din pala ay isang bitch. Bitch na marunong mag-disguise at magaling pumatay. Deadly combination ito. So I guess patay na talaga ang sweet little girl na si Arya Stark, dahil ang lumaslas sa leeg ni Walder Frey ay hindi na si Arya Stark. Siya ay isang cold-hearted killer.

HBO

"Nagaaral lang ako mag-caregiver, hold still!"

Si Sansa Stark, kahit Stark ‘yan, may pagka-bitch din ‘yan. Sa lahat ng mga anak ni Eddard Stark, siya ang pinakamagaling maglaro ng Game of Thrones. Alam niya ang pamumulitika. Alam niya ang galawan ng mga iba pang players. Actually, pwede naman siya ang susunod sa line of succession ng King in the North, pero mas gusto ko talaga si Lyanna Mormont. Small but terrible e.

HBO

"Lahat ng miyembro ng fan club ko, please stand up."

Si Queen Daenerys, bitch din ‘yan. At finally, dadalhin na niya ang buong khalasar niya sa Westeros, kasama ang dragons niya. Kasama rin niya rito si Yarra Greyjoy, na alam naman natin na isa ring bitch. So I guess we can expect na ang Season 7 ay magiging season of bitch fighting.

HBO

At saka dragons.

At finally, salamat kina George R.R. Martin, David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, at sa warging ni Bran Stark, nasagot na rin ang ating matagal na nating gustong malaman. Si Jon Snow nga ay anak ni Lyanna Stark. Pero hindi pa rin explicitly sinasabi na si Rhaegar Targaryen ang tatay. Well, hindi rin naman explicitly sinabing si Jon Snow ang baby na kinuha ni Ned Stark. Pero magkasunod ang shot ng baby at mukha ni Jon Snow; hindi lang ito random shot placement ng direktor. Sa language ng cinema, may ibig sabihin ito, at parang may idea na tayo kung kanino nga ba ang “song of ice and fire”.

HBO

"Walang'ya, Lyanna... hindi ako marunong magpalit ng lampin."

Episode Recap: Game of Thrones Season 6, Episode 9: "Battle of the Bastards"

HBO

"I still know nothing."

War, war, war. Ang tema ng episode na ito ay digmaan.

May digmaan sa Meereen, kung saan pinagbo-bomba ng mga Masters ang malaking pyramid. Pero mabilis din napuksa itong threat na ito, dahil siyempre: dragons. At of course, ang bagong khalasar ni Daenerys. Pero dragons.

HBO

How to train your dragon... na pumatay.

May isa pang naval battle na napipinto, pero nasa planning stage pa lang. Ito ang pag-reclaim sa Salt Throne ng mga taga-Iron Isles. Ang alyansang Targaryen-Greyjoy ay mukhang may promise, at sana magtagumpay sila sa pagtalo sa usurper na si Euron Greyjoy. At saka sana matuloy din ang Daenerys-Yarra lesbian sex romp.

HBO

"O, baka maglaplapan kayo sa harap ko ha."

Pero ang pinaka-highlight na giyera rito ay ang Battle of Winterfell. Bastard kontra bastard. Ay mali, legitimised na pala si Ramsay Bolton, na dating Ramsay Snow. Anyway, ang lumabas pala na pinaka-bida sa digmaang ito ay hindi si Jon Snow. Hindi rin si Ser Davos Seaworth, hindi si Tormund Giantsbane, at hindi rin si Giant (hindi ko alam ang pangalan niya e, so Giant nalang siya). Ang bida rito ay isang babae. Nope, hindi si Lyanna Mormont, kasi hindi naman talaga siya lumaban. Ang tinutukoy ko ay si Sansa Stark. Tama ang lahat ng sinabi ni Sansa tungkol sa kalaban. Huwag daw umatake sa Winterfell hanggang may mas malaking puwersa. Pigilin daw ang sarili na bumigay sa mga taunt ni Ramsay Bolton. Kung sinunod lang sana ang kanyang mga suggestion, baka hindi gaano kalaki ang nawala sa pwersa ng mga Stark.

HBO

At kung sinunod sana ni Rickon Stark ang "serpentine"...

Anyway, naka-quota na yata sina Messrs. Benioff, Weiss, (at Martin) dito sa episode na ito. Rest in peace, Rickon Stark. Rest in peace, Giant. At rest in peace, Ramsay Bolton. Masunog sana ang kaluluwa mo sa impyerno.

HBO

Ramsay Bolton: Bagong model ng Pedigree dog food.

Episode Recap: Game of Thrones Season 6, Episode 8: "No One"

HBO

"Hmmm... magpakalbo na rin kaya ako?"

Na-miss ko si Sandor Clegane. Siya kasi ang isa sa mga characters sa Game of Thrones na mayroong moral ambiguity, o 'yung hindi mo malaman kung masama o mabuti. Noong una, siyempre, masama siya, pero mayroon naman palang siyang soft side. Noong last episode, tumutulong na nga siya mag-karpintero e. Ano pa ba mas soft pa roon? Pero binitay nila si Ian McShane e, kaya ayun, ginalit nila. Ngayon pinagpapatay niya sila. On one hand, parang bumalik na ang dating The Hound. Pero on the other hand, pinaghihiganti niya ang mga kaibigan niya. Yes, The Hound has friends. Cute, 'no?

Sayang maghihiwalay na sina Varys at Tyrion "the most famous dwarf in the world" Lannister. Ganda pa naman ng chemistry nila, pero hindi ito gaanong na-utilise noong previous episodes. Pero in fairness, magaling ang chemistry ni Tyrion at kahit sino man itambal sa kanya. Kaya parang ang sarap siguro sumali sa inuman nila Tyrion, Greyworm, at Missandei. Tsaka sarap siguro lasingin ni Missandei. Joke lang.

HBO

"Taasan ang tagay niyan."

Naiintindihan ko na napakagaling na aktres ni Lena Headey bilang Cersei Lannister, at mukhang maraming manonood ng Game of Thrones ang mahilig sa kanya. Pero nakakabwisit talaga siya. Bitch na bitch e. Ngayong kasama niya ang zombie-fied na si Ser Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane, parang mas naging bitch pa lalo. Buti nalang bawal na ang trial by combat, kasi kung hindi, Cersei Lannister walks free dahil champion niya si The Mountain. Si Cersei talaga pinakanararapat mamatay, pero mukhang hindi pa siya papatayin nina Messrs. Martin, Benioff, at Weiss.

HBO

Magic sa kaliwa, muscle sa kanan. Bitch talaga.

Punta naman tayo sa isa pang magandang chemistry sa mga characters ng GoT na medyo naudlot lang: ang tambalang Brienne of Tarth at Ser Jaime Lannister. Wholesome ang chemistry nila; strictly platonic. Walang sexual tension, kahit anong pilit ng imahinasyon ni Bronn na mag-sex sila. Ang ganda lang ng huling paalam nila sa isa't isa habang papaalis na sina Brienne at ang squire niyang si Pod. Nagtaasan lang sila ng kamay, simpleng kaway na may halong mutual respect. Sobrang "aaaaw" moment.

HBO

"Sa tangkad mong 'yan, mahihirapan tayo mag-69."

Hindi ba nakikita ng mga tao na sobrang loser ni Edmure Tully at sobrang astig ni Blackfish? Hindi ba ang natural tendency ng tao ay umiwas sa loser at sumama sa badass? Pero bakit ganoon? Bakit sinunod ng mga sundalo ng Riverrun si Edmure at hindi si Blackfish? Dahil sa honour? Kalokohan. Well, marami namang kalokohan sa show na ito, pero pinagbibigyan nalang natin.

HBO

"Wala na raw ako next episode? Anak ng... "

Pinakamalaking kalokohan talaga rito si Arya Stark. Andami nang namamatay dahil sa kanya, kasama na si Lady Crane. Tapos hindi pa siya maka-decide kung ano ba talaga siya. Stark ba siya o no name? Tsaka bakit parang hindi nagalit si Jaqen H'ghar na nakasabit na sa collection niya 'yung mukha ni Waif? Hindi siya nagalit na namatay si Waif, at hindi rin siya nagalit na hindi malinis ang pagkakagupit ng mukha. At hindi rin siya nagalit na pinagpalit na ni Arya ang pagiging "no one" at bumalik na siya sa pagiging Arya Stark of Winterfell.

HBO

"N'labo mo, girl."

Kung nasayangan kayo sa episode na ito dahil wala si Jon Snow, hayaan niyo – next week, magsasawa kayo sa bastards of the north.

Episode Recap: Game of Thrones Season 6, Episode 5: "The Door"

HBO

"Ugh."

There is only one free Stark left in Westeros. Ned and Catelyn and first-born Robb are dead, Rickon is in the Bolton’s custody, Arya has no name, and Bran is beyond the Wall (if we consider north of the Wall as outside of Westerosi jurisdiction). And that one Stark is Sansa. Jon Snow is of course a biological Stark, but legally a bastard, and cannot exercise any claim over Winterfell. And that one Stark has just stood up to the devious Littlefinger, although she still seems to have trust issues with her half-brother.

Arya’s training doesn’t seem to be going well. She still has a lot of questions; not the mark of good soldier. And clearly she hasn’t completely relinquished her name, because memories of her Stark life still stir up emotions in her. I think we can cut her some slack. Witnessing your father's beheading can be quite traumatic, and anyone who can come out of that unscarred is either an emotionless rock or a White Walker.

Elections in the Iron Isles aren’t all that impressive. Ascension to the Salt Throne isn’t determined by blood. It’s determined by cheering and applause. And the winning candidate is inaugurated by surviving an attempted murder by drowning. No wonder the Greyjoy siblings fled after their uncle Euron was crowned. They’re probably off to another land with a better system of succession of leadership.

HBO

And better crowns.

The drama between Jorah Mormont and Daenerys Targaryen is quite touching. Twice banished, twice returned. I feel for Ser Jorah, of course. His loyalty is unwavering, his love unrequited, and his disease unpleasant.

Who is this new face in Meereen? Another red woman? But her hair’s not red. Another witch of the Lord of Light? Too bad she didn’t show us any magic yet. I’m curious as to whether all Lord of Light magic is as powerful as Melisandre’s. And I am doubly curious as to what the mysterious voice said to Varys when his cock was cut off.

HBO

"I look like Rachel Weisz, but not as pretty. And no relation to DB Weiss."

Things are actually more interesting now north of the Wall. The biggest surprise isn’t really finding out how the first White Walker looked like before he became the Night King, neither was it how he was turned in the first place, nor the fact that the Night King can interact with Bran’s warg state. Second only to the origin of Hodor’s hodor, the biggest surprise here is that Game of Thrones, this television show that millions love, has just added another genre to its multi-genre classification: time travel. And yes, I would like to see more of this please. Make it happen, Messrs. Benioff and Weiss.

HBO

And less of this, please.

Episode Recap: Game of Thrones Season 6 Episode 1: "The Red Woman"

HBO

He still knows nothing.

Those wondering whether or not Jon Snow lives have their answer in this episode's opening scene. It appears that Kit Harrington was part of Season 6's filming because he plays a cadaver. But we're all secretly wishing there's more to it than just that.

So for those who actually feel sorry for Theon Greyjoy and his mutilation at the hands of the Boltons, rejoice. Brienne and Podrick Payne have come to the rescue. Pod, as always, is the best squire ever.

Meanwhile, in King's Landing, the Kingslayer has landed — without his daughter from Dorne. There seems to be a lot of deaths in Dorne in this episode. Those Dornish women can never be trusted.

HBO

Insert backstabbing jokes here.

There also isn't enough Tyrion Lannister wit here to satisfy the Peter Dinklage fans. And there aren't enough dragons for the Daenerys fans. When will we get to see more dragons? And when will we get to see Arya Stark kick ass? She's not going to be blind forever, right? She still has some face-changing, right?

And finally, to every guy who jacked off to that fake redhead Melisandre, Messrs. Benioff and Weiss leave you with a sight you'd find really hard to unsee. You're welcome.

HBO

Cannot... unsee...

Game of Thrones. Season 3, Episode 7: "The Bear and the Maiden Fair"

HBO via DCT

Despite this episode not being penned by showrunners Bennioff and Weiss, it actually is the most Game of Thrones-y episode this season, because it's written by none other than…

HBO

Yes. The bearded one himself.

Game of Thrones. Season 3, Episode 6: "The Climb"

HBO via DCT

I mentioned in a previous review about season arcs, where I said that the climax would either be in episode 6 (this one) or episode 7. Let's assume it's this one, because this was written by the showrunners Benioff and Weiss.

HBO

These two seen here wanting to "climax" inside Melisandre.

Game of Thrones. Season 3, Episode 3: "Walk of Punishment"

HBO via DCT

Does anyone know why Tobias Menzies is suddenly making a comeback? He was also in the most recent Doctor Who episode. Good job, Tobias Menzies's agent!

HBO

"I play bumbling idiots quite well."

Game of Thrones. Season 2, Episode 10: "Valar Morghulis"

So this is how a game of thrones ends. With much drama, and shouts of "What the hell?"

Of course, the game of thrones isn't over yet. Season 2 may be over, but not the game. The game of thrones is a long game. Daenerys hasn't even crossed the sea yet.

Let's do that first line again:

So this is how season 2 ends. With much drama, and shouts of "What the hell?"

MUCH DRAMA

1. Joffrey renounces Sansa Stark and engages himself to Margaery Tyrell

HBO

All it takes to sway Joffrey's mind is to show him some cleavage.

Let us not forget that another strategy to the game of thrones is to turn it into a game of hearts. That means it should be a game of marriages, of unions of houses. But of course, in Westeros, only the common folk marry for love. The highborn marry for alliances.

Joffrey makes major changes not just to his love life, but to his council as well. His uncle Tyrion is out. And his grandfather Tywin is in. As the proper Hand of the King this time.

HBO

This is what Lord Tywin thinks of your fancy
Hand of the King brooch thingy.

Game of Thrones. Season 2, Episode 8: "The Prince of Winterfell"

What do you get when you bring in the show's creators to write this episode?

Like the episode before this, which was also penned by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, this one is filled with talk and drama. Pfffttt. I don't want that. I want great storytelling, like you guys did in Season 1. Seems like you've gone soft in this episode. At least the previous episode had just a teensy hint of violence. The only sign of violence in this episode was those two guards at the gate that Arya, Gendry, and Hot Pie had to pass through─and the guards were already like that when they got there.

HBO

How does Jaqen H'ghar kill? Really?

Game of Thrones. Season 2, Episode 7: "A Man Without Honor"

When you have a saga with a huge universe, either of these two problems will crop up. One, you will tend to concentrate all your characterization into the lead character, then tend to ignore developing the other major characters. Or two, you tend to characterize everyone equally, making it seem like there is no single main character at all.

In the case of Game of Thrones, it's the first problem. Everyone was too busy thinking about what would be the best way to kill the bastard Joffrey Baratheon that they forgot there's an even bigger sociopath in the Seven Kingdoms─his father uncle father-uncle, Jaime Lannister.

HBO

Now he totally looks like an incestuous redneck.

Game of Thrones. Season 2, Episode 6: "The Old Gods and the New"

By this time, fans of the book should've already accepted that the TV series is a different ball game. Creators David Benioff and DB Weiss have done such a great job so far with the adaptation that sooner or later, the time must come when the movie parts ways with the manuscript. Book fans might be especially displeased with the changes in the names, but wasn't it Shakespeare who said, "that which we call a rose / by any other name would smell as sweet"¹? Some fans would disagree though, especially the ones who've already conditioned themselves to believe that in this series, Oona Chaplin stars as Jeyne Westerling and not as Talisa Maegyr.

HBO

If you force it, "Talisa Maegyr" is an anagram of "Jeyne Westerling".

Game of Thrones. Season 2, Episode 4: "Garden of Bones"

I mentioned in the review for the previous episode that George R. R. Martin loves to have his name appear between horse dicks. Apparently, that's a falsehood. With the introduction of new locations, of course the opening credits animated sequence will change.

HBO

"Oh well. So much for horse dicks." -G.R.R.M.

Game of Thrones. Episode 1: "Winter is Coming"

If it looks like Middle-Earth, it's definitely fantasy.

I never thought HBO would risk airing something like this. I mean, this is like a TV series for nerds and geeks who grew up playing Dungeons & Dragons (complete with the 20-sided die). This series has been described by the screenwriter David Benioff as "The Sopranos in Middle-Earth". Well, it will definitely look like Middle-Earth, because Boromir himself, Mr. Sean Bean, is one of this series' lead stars.

*some info from New York Magazine
pic from VLC