S04E08 (show spoilers)

[Phoenix]

Oh man... I'm a book reader and knew it was coming but I'm still left in shock! They don't hold back on the graphic nature of death, do they. I'm re-watching it this evening with a bunch of show-only fans; this will be fun...

Also, Arya's cracking up when they hear Lysa is dead was awesome. The Hound's face. That scene was just perfect.

[jom]

"Wow" was the only thing I can think of.

Next week seems to be the big war and that ain't gonna compare to the season finale...which will be a real zinger.

jom

[GeekFurious]

I was cringing through the whole "Oh here comes Arya and the Hound to only discover their plan won't work yet again" bit and then Arya laughed and I thought... PERFECT! That's the only way to do that. Well, the other way was to not do this stupid story line but, if you're going to mash that ridiculous button yet again, mock it in some way. And it's a great scene for the actor.

As for the rest, it was a great episode. Changes and all.

[LarsPenry]

Knew it was coming... But this was the single most visceral and emotional scene yet for me. God, that really went right through me.
As an aside, why has Sansa suddenly morphed into Maleficent? I miss the slow burn from the books sometimes, the show rushes characterisation when it suits them.

[Steppricon]

Overall a decent episode, things I liked, things I didn't.

Positives- jorah's banishment, loved how dany didn't look him in the eyes after his confession
Sansa, while it's not book accurate, it's still being played out very we, Sophie turner is nailing it
Moles town, I might be in the minority, but I like having gilly in harms way, it gives the viewer a sense of
dread with her arc
The trial, great fight pacing, great tension, great acting, great climax, even without the vomit
Ramsay, roose, and theon, solid performance by alfie, great moment between Ramsay and roose

Negatives- Tyrion and Jaime, this scene just fell short for me, I get they were trying to keep spirits up, but honestly I think this could've been handled with a little better dialogue
Sandor and arya, why are they at the bloody gate, ok show writers, we get it, they're a nice pair on screen, we get it, arya has no place to go, but this has been fleshed out for far too long

[McDougal]

Anyone else incredibly gutted and surprised that they left out the Dorinshman's wife? As the last two seasons had a song each (kinda) and it would've been a break from Rains...but oh well, I guess the songs are usually showcased in the show before we hear them in the credits but still it surprised me, as it would have been a bittersweet goodbye to Oberyn in my opinion:(

Other than that obscure complaint a great episode! A real heart pounding tension builder, full marks to the writing and directing.

[Evilton]

that fight was amazing.when I read the book it was one of the most shocking things I had ever read. I watch the show with my girlfriend who has not read the books, and her reaction was pure shock she scream louder than anyone in the show. I love the show and im a huge fan of the books, maybe it's just because I read comic books but I view the show as an alternate version of the book.

[Steppricon]

[Vaxis]

[DarrenT]

Another awesome episode with some great moments. I loved Sansa's "confession" to the lords of the Vale. This scene shows that A) Sansa is officially a player in the Game of Thrones and B) Sophie Turner has evolved from a good child actor to a full on fantastic actor. I get the feeling that Sansa is even playing the long game with Petyr. She's just taking the safest road now but waiting for her chance to rid herself of him?

A couple of complaints about the episode however:

Sending Gilly to Molestown was the height of stupidity in my opinion, and a decision that Sam and Jon would not have made. Sam is afraid that Gilly may be raped by Nights Watch brothers at the Wall where she is under protection so he sends her to a freakin brothel where Nights Watch and others go for debauchery. And Jon is on board with this even though he knows there's a Wildling raiding party south of the Wall causing shit? This is a show invention and one I think they did to cause a bit more tension, which is fine, but it comes at the expense of character's doing something extremely stupid which I don't think they'd do.

I never thought the Hound and Arya would make it to the Vale but when they did and Sandor announces that this is Arya Stark the captain of the Bloody Gate doesn't even balk at that? A potential high-born hostage to trade with the Lannisters or a chance to save a member of their Lord's (Robert Arryn) family? If they are allowed to leave (which I assume they will be) this makes no sense to me. The Hound did grimace at his shoulder wound so that is going to play out very soon but still, this story has been stretched to its limits.

The scene with Tyrion and Jaime talking about their simple cousin with the beetles I just don't understand that point. The show is usually very good at relating seemingly unrelated stories to current topical situations and thats what I was expecting but there was nothing for me. Honestly what was the point of it? Was it supposed to be one last moment between Jaime and Tyrion? If so why not draw on something from the books? Tysha, Jaime's relationship with Cersei, etc. This was one of the few misses by the show, in these type of scenes.

Lastly was the battle. From when Joffrey is murdered through Tyrion's trial, the trial by combat, and Tyrion's escape is my favourite part of the entire book series thus far. While it was done very well and fairly accurate to the books, I feel like it was slightly rushed. Oberyn's moves were sweet but the fight choreography wasn't spectacular. Also, Oberyn is extremely stupid for taunting Gregor before he's dead, even in the book, but in the book I feel GRRM portrayed Oberyn's anger a bit better than they did in the episode. He got a bit fired up and stared some daggers at Tywin but I just think something was missing. I also think Oberyn kind of dominated the Mountain where as in the books it was a much closer thing. On a positive note I loved the shot of the Red Keep above the battle area and Ellaria's reaction to Oberyn was phenomenal. I kind of missed Tyrion throwing up though.

Not to sound too negative because I liked the episode but those are my nitpicks.