Welcome to round 2 of the Watchers on the Wall Awards!
The preliminaries have been completed, and the finalists have been chosen. Thank you to everyone who nominated and voted in the awards so far! Over the next couple weeks, we’ll be revealing the finalists, so fans can choose the top winners from five finalists in each category.
The notable exception is Best Episode. We didn’t narrow it down, because we at WotW decided to allow every episode to contend for the prize. All ten episodes are available on the poll beneath the episode summaries for voting.
This is the final round, and so you have ONE vote. The poll will be open for 48 hours, until 9/19/14, at 10AM.
The nominees are:
Two Swords– Tywin has Ned’s sword Ice melted down into two Valyrian steel swords. Jaime rejects his father’s offer and is disinherited. Prince Oberyn Martell and his paramour Ellaria arrive in King’s Landing. Sansa grieves the loss of her mother and brother, and is approached by the ex-knight Dontos Hollard whose life she once saved. Brienne reminds Jaime of his vows. Daenerys faces a harsh welcome from the Masters of Meereen on the road. The wildling threat grows worse with the arrival of the Thenns. Arya and the Hound brawl with Lannister soldiers at an inn and Arya marks another name off her list.
The Lion and the Rose– Tyrion sends Shae away from King’s Landing, believing her to be in danger. Melisandre burns non-believers at Dragonstone, much to Davos’ disgust. Theon Greyjoy, living as Reek and fully under Ramsay’s thrall, admits that he didn’t kill the Stark boys, and Roose sends Locke to the Wall. Bran experiences a series of visions that will guide him north. Jaime trains with his new golden hand and Bronn. The long-planned Royal Wedding between Joffrey and Margaery takes place, but weddings once again prove to be unlucky in Westeros when Joffrey dies at the reception.
Breaker of Chains– Chaos breaks out after the Royal Wedding, and Sansa escapes King’s Landing with Dontos, and his unmasked employer- Littlefinger. Tywin recruits Oberyn for the Small Council and as a judge for Tyrion’s trial. Imprisoned Tyrion realizes he has few friends left and sends Pod away for his own safety. Daario faces the Meereenese Champion, and Daenerys offers the slaves of Meereen a choice. The wildlings massacre a village near the Wall, and Jon realizes the Night’s Watch is vulnerable with the mutineers still out there. The Hound and Arya travel the Riverlands, spending the night with a farmer, his daughter and their silver.
Oathkeeper– Jaime gifts Brienne with his Valyrian steel sword, and sends her on a quest to find Sansa. Grey Worm rallies the slaves of Meereen to rise against the masters. Jon decides to take a group of men beyond the Wall to hunt down the mutineers. Lady Olenna reveals herself as Joffrey’s killer, much to granddaughter Margaery’s shock. Littlefinger educates Sansa in his manipulative ways. Bran and his friends are taken captive by the mutineers, and the White Walkers claim Craster’s last son.
First of His Name– Tommen is crowned the new king. Cersei and Oberyn discuss their daughters in the garden. Lysa welcomes Sansa to the Eyrie and rushes Littlefinger into a wedding. Daenerys is disheartened by the news that Yunkai has been re-enslaved by the masters but resolves to stay in Meereen and rule. On the road, Brienne discovers Pod’s shortcomings as a squire, and Arya and the Hound argue over the merits of armor versus water dancing. Jon leads the Night’s Watch in an attack on Craster’s Keep. Bran kills Locke while warging Hodor, and decides to continue on northward without speaking to his brother.
The Laws of Gods and Men– Tyrion faces the court of King’s Landing, and goes on trial for his life. Yara’s assault on the Dreadfort ends with the realization that her brother is lost. Stannis pleads for funds from the Iron Bank of Braavos. Daenerys welcomes petitioners in Meereen, repaying herders for what her dragons have killed, and meets Hizdahr zo Loraq, whose father she had crucified.
Mockingbird – Littlefinger pushes Lysa out the Moon Door after she witnesses him kissing Sansa and threatens her life. Tyrion seeks a champion, and is denied twice before finding a volunteer: Oberyn Martell. Daenerys takes Daario as a lover, and accepts Jorah’s advice to show mercy to the masters of Yunkai. Brienne learns Arya is still alive courtesy of a talkative Hot Pie. The Hound gives the gift of mercy to a farmer, and tells the story of his burns after he is attacked.
The Mountain and The Viper – Hoping for the vengeance he’s been long-denied, Oberyn duels with Ser Gregor Clegane. Ygritte spares Gilly’s life in a wildling raid. Grey Worm and Missandei grow closer, after he sees her bathing in the river. Jorah’s old betrayal is revealed, and Daenerys banishes him from her city. Reek pretends to be Theon Greyjoy once again in order to take Moat Cailin from the Ironborn. Littlefinger is questioned by the nobles of the Vale about Lysa’s death, and is saved by Sansa’s lies. Arya arrives in the Vale to find her aunt dead, and laughs at the ill-timed misfortune.
The Watchers on the Wall – The Night’s Watch prepares for a battle they seemingly cannot win, against the overwhelming numbers of Mance Rayder’s wildling army. Samwell discovers Gilly survived the Mole’s Town raid. Jon’s friends Pyp and Grenn lose their lives in the battle for the Wall, and Ygritte dies in Jon’s arms after being shot through the heart by Olly. The Wall withstands the assault, and Jon resolves by the next morning to assassinate the King Beyond the Wall, to end the wildlings’ unifying force.
The Children– Jon and the Night’s Watch are saved by the arrival of Stannis, Mance surrenders, and Jon mourns Ygritte. Bran finds the Three-Eyed Raven at last, though Jojen loses his life in the last steps of the journey. Confronted with the deadliness of her untamed dragons, Daenerys places the two remaining with her in chains. After being freed by his brother, Tyrion murders Shae and Tywin and escapes the city. Brienne and the Hound duel, and Arya gets on a boat to Braavos.
Hodor?
The Laws of Gods and Men is the best for me, in overall storyline and acting (dat speech!). And was I the only one who liked the Yara-storyline? Sure, it was short, but what we got was great.
Nodor…
Got to go with the Mountain and The Viper… it is the climax of Theon’s arc, Sansa’s arc and I loved the Oberyn fight. Also the look on my wife’s face at the end of the episode was priceless… Always watch GoT with an unsullied.
I went with Mockingbird, simply for the Vale and Oberyn/Tyrion in the black cells. No episode really stood out for me this season though, each one has great scenes and lesser parts.
Had to vote for The Children. Best finale since the first season.
The Mountain and the Viper.
This is pretty tough actually, but I went with Two Swords. Mainly because the Hound scenes in the premiere and the finale were my favorite parts of the season, and I couldn’t pick The Children because I have other issues with it. I also really like Oberyn’s introduction and the sword-melting-down scene.
Season 1 best episode: Baelor
Season 1 weakest episode: Winter is Coming
Season 2 best episode: Blackwater
Season 2 weakest episode: The Night Lands
Season 3 best episode: Kissed By Fire
Season 3 weakest episode: The Bear and the Maiden Fair
Season 4 best episode: The Mountain and the Viper
Season 4 weakest episode: First of his Name
I’ll go with “The Watchers on the Wall“. I try to judge them as whole episodes and not just for this scene or that scene and this one just has no weak spots IMO. Ep. 8 had Oberyn vs The Mountain, one of the greatest scenes in all 4 seasons, but it had also Orson’s beetles and Missandei&Greyworm. And those were weak and boring to me. Ep. 6 had the trial, but it had also Asha’s failed rescue mission. Ep. 10 was overall great, except for the “draugr” attack. And Ep. 9 to me is the best because it feels complete, well written and well directed.
Has to be Watchers on the Wall for me. It was the best episode as a whole IMO not to mention i really enjoy Jon snow/ Nights watch arc. It also featured my favorite fight scene,Tormund and Thorne. The visual effects were also great as well as featuring possibly the best shot scene in the series to date 360 degree shot. Not to mention Giants and Mammoths. I even didn’t mind the Hollywood-isation of Ygrites death too much.
Honorable mention goes to Laws of Gods and Men that may have been top IMO if it wasn’t for the Asha/Yara scene and a few other minor things.
What surprises me the most is that going into the season i would have sworn blindly that the episode featuring the Trial by combat or Tyrions escape would have been my favorite but I’ll forever dream of what could have been.
Gravemaster,
I have to agree! Maybe because it was an episode dedicated to one sole location, everything felt complete and flowed quite well. For me, it is the best directed episode so far and it has a little bit of all: comedy (Sam and the loop holes of the NW’s vows), action, romance (Sam’s first kiss), drama (Ygritte’s death) and of course giants & mammoths!
But mostly I chose this episode, because when the credits came up, I simply stood up and applauded.
The Children. 408 and 409 were also excellent and also (at least very nearly) ten out of ten episodes as well but 410 cuts ahead of them just slightly by having EVEN MORE great game-changing moments in it. It does get some flak from certain sectors of the fandom but none of that is substantive enough to my mind to make it anything less than the best episode since 309.
Went for the Mountain and the Viper but it was a very close call between this one, The Laws of God and Men, Mockingbird, The Watchers on the Wall and the Children.
The latter half of this season really was epic.
(and the first half was not too shabby either ^^)
I really appreciate the little episode summaries, I don’t remeber tgem from.last year so if it’s new it’s much appreciated. It’s easy to forget which scenes, goid or bad, appeared in what episode, and that can really affect my vote, at least.
In a season where I thought a lot of the big events from the book disappointed (e.g., the Purple Wedding, the snow castle/moon door, and especially the finale to Tyrion’s story), “The Mountain and the Viper” was an episode that delivered one some of the big moments from the novels (the climactic duel, especially), and also delivered some interesting surprises (I have reservations about where the show will take Sansa, but as they finally decided to let her have her own story instead of demoting her to supporting character to Tyrion and co., this is at least a start).
A bit of casting news btw.
The Children is the best.
Voted for the one with the same name as this site. 🙂 Kudos to you folks.
Even though I preferred that the ending of the “short” 49-minute episode had extended into Stannis’s arrival and ended there, the episode has most everything I had hoped for as a worthy adaptation.
I wonder whose idea it was for the Wall Scythe? D&D or NM?
Yup, here’s his Spotlight CV. It doesn’t say which role he was cast, though. Need to keep an eye on this one. Maybe later it will be modified.
http://www.spotlight.com/interactive/cv/1/M174274
Every episode had its good moments (some more than others), but also its bad moments. The only episode that did not have a scene that made me cringe (I have an overactive skeptic mind that makes me cringe easily) was Watchers On the Wall. So on a hole, I’ll have to go with that, even though it has none of my fevourite scenes in it. (I’d have voted for Tyrion’s trial episode, or the Oberyn-Mountain episode, or The Children, but those all had one or more scenes I didn’t like at all)
All hail Watchers on the Wall! And Always Support the Bottom!
I was really torn between several but I voted for The Laws of Gods and Men simply because I thought the scenes around Tyrion’s trial were some of the best ever. My second choice was Mockingbird. I just though Laws of Gods and Men had some amazing acting, between Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Charles Dance, and Lena Headey, with dialogue but also silently interacting during the trial scenes was impeccable. Tyrion’s breakdown was powerful, and of course… “I demand a trial by combat!” was just epic 🙂
The last four episodes were like a prolonged “episode 9 & 10” climax, so those are my favorites. Narrowing it down is tricky.
The Laws of Gods and Men had the most chilling scene for me, Tyrion’s speech. It also included many season favorite scenes of mine. The best Small Council scene yet, with a variety of very different characters (I’m afraid we will never again have a Council this diverse.) Stannis and Davos at the Iron Bank was a beautifully made scene, and I loved Mark Gatiss as Tycho Nestoris. Drogon in his most impressive scene yet. After playing at war for a season and a half, we see Daenerys finally starting to get a sense of how difficult ruling actually is. Episode six is a big contender.
Mockingbird had a variety of moments that may not be as flashy as those from other episodes but they matter nonetheless. Tyrion’s scene with Oberyn comes to mind, but it is preceded by two other great scenes with Jaime and Bronn, without which Oberyn’s scene wouldn’t have been so powerful. Hot Pie returns. The Hound teaches Arya how to kill people. I’m just telling you now —I’m not voting for this episode, but it’s still a great one.
The Mountain and The Viper. Oberyn’s duel is the obvious choice, and it was more than well realized, but if I vote for this one it won’t be because of it. I would do it for Reek taking Moat Cailin, Arya arriving at the Vale and laughing at her aunt’s death and, most of all, Littlefinger being saved by Sansa, who at last has the opportunity to use all of what she has learnt at King’s Landing.
The Watchers on the Wall. I may not be voting for this one, but it IS good. That’s what you get when you stay in one place: a cohesive piece, an hour of well-structured drama. The highlights for me are Jon’s vs Styg, Tormund vs Thorne, Grenn’s defense of the gate and Sam’s newly found courage. The music is wonderful, the best of the season, particularly when the “biggest fire the North has ever seen” is lit. I understood why they delayed the Stannis scene until next week, as this was all about the Night’s Watch and Jon.
The Children. The arrival of Stannis was great, as were all subsequent scenes at the Wall. Bran FINALLY finding the Three-eyed raven was great, and I liked that action scene, contrary to popular opinion. But… many scenes felt kinda rushed, particularly the Tyrion escape. No, I don’t care about Tysha, I just would have liked to see Jaime wrestle with the decision after bedding Cersei again. Still, that problem made me not feel that much for scenes that I thought should have had a greater effect on me. Best scene of the episode, the one that makes this a big contender? Undoubtedly, Brienne vs the Hound, and the aftermath, with Arya talking with the Hound and then sailing away to Braavos.
Now that I have summarized my feelings for my favorite episodes, I realize it’s gotta be The Laws of Gods and Men. It is very closely followed by Episode 8, and then either 7 or 10, and then 9.
Watchers on the Wall
It’s a no-brainer for me, really. There were some excellent episodes and even more excellent scenes, but ultimately a beautiful violin solo and a thrilling organ piece played one after the other still aren’t as satisfying as a symphony, where all the parts are made to fit.
I went for The Children but that was tough, I could easily have chosen episodes 2, 6, 8 or 9 as well; sign of a great season.
There were so many great episodes this year, but ultimately I picked Watchers on the Walls. I was actually not looking forward to that episode initially (when I say not looking forward to it, obviously I was, I just mean in comparison to other episodes), but it blew me away. I thought it was a stunning piece of television.
The Lion and the Rose
Cunt Punt FTW
Watchers on the Wall, no contest. For me it was the best episode we’ve had from start to finish since Blackwater. It was obviously helped by the fact that it stays in one place and allows the tension and excitement to build up over the entire episode, and it had some of the most amazing effects and fighting I have seen ever on tv.
This was a tough one. Just about all the episodes had really great moments. Ultimately I had to go with Mountain and the Viper because it had so many great moments. I loved the trial by combat which had me squirming and yelling at the TV. Darth Sansa was just great. The banishment of Jorah was more impactful for me than it was in the books. Maybe because it happened later. Alfie Allen’s performance as Theon – turned into Reek – pretending to still be Theon was fantastic and probably the most underrated scene in the season. The Arya/Hound scene wasn’t a big and epic one but Maisie and Rory killed it. Unlike most fans I liked the Missandei and Grey Worm scenes. The beetle scene was the only flaw for me and it was a minor one. I had no problem with its existence it just went on a little too long.
Tough choice. I’d have to rewatch if it weren’t for the summaries (thanks for writing them, Sue).
Ultimately I go with “The Mountain and The Viper”. Pretty much every scene in it was great and together it was even better (only the ‘smashing beetles’ scene keeps seeming very weird to me). Sansa, Theon, Oberyn, Littlefinger. Great!
“Oathkeeper” (Tyrell women + Tommen, Pod, Littlefinger + Sansa, White Walkers) also wasn’t a bad episode, same as “Mockingbird” (Lysa + Littlefinger + Sansa, Tyrion prison talks -> Oberyn, Hot Pie, The Hound). The last couple I considered were “First of His Name” (Lannisters overall, water dancing, Kraster’s Keep, Lysa + Littlefinger + Sansa) and “Two Swords” (Oberyn + Ellaria, Thenns arrival, Jaime, The Hound’s little tavern exercise).
If I were to order them: The Mountain and The Viper -> Mockingbird -> Two Swords -> Oathkeeper -> First of His name. Then somehow the rest with EPs 9, 10, 2, …
Greenjones,
I’m guessing he’s either one of Stannis’ men or a knight of the Vale.
Gravemaster,
Thanks. I’m sure they’ll update it within the next few months.
I wonder what officer he’s playing? Another NW one? One of Stannis’s?
I loved every episode this year, which isn’t surprising seeing as I thought that Season 4 was the best season of Game of Thrones so far. My original pick was going to be The Children, and I could easily make a case for that episode, as well as for The Lion and the Rose, The Mountain and the Viper, Mockingbird, or The Laws of Gods and Men as the best of the year thanks to the epic events and great character moments that they contain. Even the relatively quieter episodes from the first half of the season – Two Swords, Breaker of Chains, Oathkeeper, and First of His Name – have many, many worthy moments to their credit (in particular, I had forgotten just how funny Two Swords was until I was considering nominees for Funniest Scene and Funniest Line). But as I re-watched the season and thought more about it, one episode in particular stood out for me as a resounding achievement and a personal highlight not only of the season, but of the series as a whole.
And so my vote has to go to The Watchers on the Wall.
I’ve seen all of the critiques that were lobbied at this episode in the days after in at aired by both critics and fans, and have continued to be directed against it since. It downplays the political maneuverings and interpersonal interactions that have formed the heart of the series in favor of pure action and spectacle. Tyrion doesn’t appear at all after his fate was left as a cliffhanger at the end of the previous head-busting episode. Jon Snow and his fellow Night’s Watch brothers aren’t interesting enough to build an entire episode around. The Wildlings are mostly presented as a faceless force to be stopped, so a certain degree of complexity is lost. It doesn’t live up to the expectations set by Game of Thrones’ previous full-episode battle in Blackwater, or the shock and horror factor induced by previous Episode 9’s that gave us Ned’s execution and the Red Wedding. It ends before the big moment (“STANNIS! STANNIS! STANNIS!”) that many book readers were anticipating would serve as its conclusion.
I don’t agree with most of those criticisms, but they have their merits, and I understand the reasoning behind all of them. All I can say is that none of them detracted from my viewing experience of The Watchers on the Wall. Seven Hells, I love this episode. I’ve revisited it more times than any other episode from this most recent season, and while I’m never averse to watching a full season of Game of Thrones over again, this episode’s easier to watch in isolation precisely because it’s so self-contained. Cinematic in both its ambitious scope and in its narrower focus, it really feels like a 50 minute short film, one that was brilliantly directed by Neil Marshall (who got a well-deserved Emmy nomination for it after being unjustly snubbed for his work on Blackwater). The camera work and epic visual effects have gotten the lion’s share of the credit, and deservingly so – 360 degree tracking shot! Mammoths! Giants (with giant arrows)! And the music was fantastic – “The Biggest Fire the North Has Ever Seen”, “Let’s Kill Some Crows”, and “Watchers on the Wall” stand out as three of my favorite pieces from Ramin Djawadi’s unfailingly excellent score.
Yet it’s the smaller character moments that really make this episode such a resounding achievement in my book. Sam’s arc in this episode is the best that his character has had to date. His conversation with Maester Aemon on the eve of the battle is my favorite, but his separate interactions with Jon, Gilly, and Pyp are all excellent as well. Our brief peek behind enemy lines to the Wildling camp provides both humor and pathos in the form of Tormund’s story and Ygritte channeling her pain into a single-minded purpose. The once-villainous Alliser Thorne earns sympathy and cheers through his willing introspection, the strong leadership he exhibits in the face of impossible odds, and a great performance from Owen Teale. Long-time supporting player Grenn dutifully makes the ultimate sacrifice with a courageous and memorable final stand. And the central player, Jon Snow exhibits strength of will, all-around badassery and ultimately heartbreak, culminating in a final goodbye between him and Ygritte that I found to be extremely touching – beautifully shot and well-acted by both Kit Harington and Rose Leslie.
The Wall storyline, and the characters involved in it, have always existed on the margins to a certain extent. That’s partially due its relative lack of internal intrigue, and partially by design – after all, it’s a key theme in the story that these characters stranded at the far end of the world are being willfully overlooked by those playing the titular Game of Thrones. As such, I can understand the larger structural concerns about making the Battle of the Wall the centerpiece of the season’s penultimate episode. As a piece of Season 4 as a whole, the Wall unquestionably took a backseat to the drama in King’s Landing, Arya’s adventures with the Hound, and perhaps even Daenerys’s conquest of Meereen. The Night’s Watch and the Wildlings had to bide their time this year waiting for their moment in the spotlight to arrive. While I personally enjoyed their intervening adventures (mark me down as someone who liked the expedition to Craster’s Keep), I acknowledge that sentiment is far from universal.
But this category isn’t for Best Storyline. It’s for Best Episode. And as an individual episode, I thought that “The Watchers on the Wall” was damn near perfect. It was ambitious. It was visually spectacular. It was funny and insightful. It was dramatically compelling. It was sentimental. And above all, it was well worth the wait. At least as far as I’m concerned, Game of Thrones’ much-lauded tradition of the “Epic Nines” lives on.
Fuck the haters, The Children was awesome.
“Oh my sweet wife…”
Here’s another casting tidbit. Folks on AFOIAF have been finding these.
Greenjones,
Greenjones,
Upon inspection it turns out that both of these were discovered on the previous thread. And here I thought I was bringing new stuff to the table…
I couldn’t choose between Watchers and The Children, but then I remembered both of those have shit endings and lack any real climax/cliffhanger. Still don’t know how they managed to f*ck that up so bad. I’ll never understand why they didn’t end episode 9 on Stannis’ arrival and ep10 on AsoS’ epilogue. Like, never. No matter how many people say otherwise. Who knows, maybe one day they’ll tell us.
Episode 8 is good, but the “beetle talk” was a waste of screentime, and the duel, while still decent, wasn’t that great. Oh, and 4 and 5 are weighed down by the Craster stuff, which is shit.
So I voted for the Lion and the Rose. At least the PW was flawless.
This came down to ‘Two Swords’,’Mockingbird’,’The Laws Of Gods And Men’,’The Watchers On The Wall’, ‘and ‘The Children’ for me. All of them were great episodes, but I can only choose 1. So I have to eliminate based on 1 or 2 missteps. So I tossed out ‘The Children’ for the fireballs & rushed Tyrion scene,’The Watchers On The Wall’ for having a non-ending, and ‘The Laws Of Gods And Men’ for Yara’s attack on the Dreadfort. That brings me to two flawless episodes, IMO, with ‘Two Swords’ and ‘Mockingbird’. These were the two episodes that I re-watched more than any this season, and they got better each time. It came down to the Inn scene with The Hound and Arya vs Oberyn and Tyrion’s dungeon conversation. Both are 2 of my favorite scenes in the show’s history, but one is the best, and that was the Inn scene, so ‘Two Swords’ gets my vote.
The Lion and the Rose
My ranking of every episode
1. ‘Two Swords’
2. ‘Mockingbird’
3. ‘The Watchers On The Wall’
4. ‘The Children’
5. ‘The Laws Of Gods And Men’
6. ‘The Lion And The Rose’
7. ‘Oathkeeper’
8. ‘ The Mountain And The Viper’
9. ‘First Of His Name’
10. ‘Breaker Of Chains’
I thought this season was the most consistently good out of the 4. Season 1 is still my favorite because of how it rolled from episode 4 or 5 through to the end, but season 4 was steady from start to finish.
It’s really hard to pick a favorite in this season. Usually it’s a bit easier to pick a standout episode, but this season had so many of them.
Ultimately, I went with Mountain and the Viper. Changes made to Sansa’s story are some of the best deviations from the books the show has done. And the ending… I still can’t articulate my thoughts about that endings.
I have to go with “Two Swords.” After much debate, the excellent opening with the swords melting down to the final scene in the inn with the Hound and all the chickens… It was excellent.
The Laws of Gods and Men, because it’s nearly perfect in term of acting and writing – there’s only this nonsensical Yara-thing, but every episode had more or less a bullshit scene so… There is the two best arcs of the season, KL and the Boltons, the best directing, very gloomy and sober, with this fantastic idea to shoot all the Tyrion scenes at Tyrion’s height. The dialogues are very good, and even Stannis scene was pretty good, with the Titan.
Of course, the Mountain and the Viper is very very good, but I can’t buy the Missandei/Grey Worm thing, and Jon Snow annoyed me so much this season. And there was too much blood in the end, and a useless, unnatural head cracking that was fun but bigger-than-nature, which is my best definition of this season.
So I stick with the trial, the slow destruction of Tyrion’s respect for his family and for the hypocrisy of the court rules which he had accepted to live with, and, in parallel, the reversal of Theon’s identity : Theon played Reek, now Reek plays Theon.
D’Arcy,
Thank you! ‘Two Swords’,’Two Swords’,’Two Swords’!!!
I had to throw my vote to “Mockingbird” simply because it contained the majority of my favorites scenes for the season and was the one episode I rewatched more than any other.
The Children
the other guy,
Putting Stannis’ arrival at the end of episode 9 would have meant either cutting Jon’s scene with Mance, or putting it all at the end and therefore making Ygritte’s death less climactic.
I also think that Stannis’ arrival would have been seen as more of a conveniently timed resolution if it was at the end of 9. I think the arrival is more interesting as the beginning of a new dynamic/obstacle at the Wall, rather than the convenient return to the status quo that it would have come off as in Episode 9.
I ended up loving the cliffhanger in Ep 9. The defeat of the southern wildling band and Ygritte’s death I think privided enough of a conclusion, the episode ended on a Jon Snow moment, and it actually left me excited to see Mance again. I was surprised but I think it was kind of brilliant of them to end it the way they did.
Mockingbird
It wasn’t as obvious as last year for me: Kissed by Fire. Oh, “Rains of Castamere” had the Red Wedding, but that was a *sequence*, not the episode as a whole. I loved Kissed by Fire because it managed to juggle ALL of the storylines and give each set of characters something to do (Robb Stark & Co., the Lannisters, the Tyrells, the BWB and Arya, Stannis Baratheon & Co. plus introducing his family, Jon Snow (the only people not in it were Bran and Theon, whose storylines were light at the time anyway, and the other Small Council members besides Tywin and Tyrion, plus Joffrey – but the rest of the King’s Landings arcs are still heavily present).
I think it is generally agreed (and bears out in opinion polls) that the first two episodes were very strong, and the second half of episodes 6 through 10 were all strong, but episodes 3, 4, and 5 had a few problems. They all had some great scenes in them, “Oathkeeper” was very nice with the extra Grey Worm and Missandei material to round them out as characters, Daenerys crucifying the slavers…..but the filler arc material with Bran and Jon at Craster’s Keep wasn’t executed very well (though I can see how it worked on paper). The ironborn stuff in episode 6 – all three minutes of it! – I also lump into that, as it could easily have been shifted into episode 5; was this just due to budget limitations or something? Wouldn’t it have been more effective for Yara Greyjoy to *go to King’s Landing* as Balon’s ambassador, and have Tywin just utterly take her apart, reject an alliance, and point out what Theon said earlier: why the hell would he reward the ironborn with independence for attacking the North…when that’s what they *should* have done had they stayed loyal to the crown anyway?
Right, you reminded me now of the ending to WotW (should have read Sue’s summaries), which I really didn’t like. It’s too late now to change, but if I could I’d vote instead for The Laws of Gods and Men.
Very difficult choice since i liked 4 episodes equally:
– The Lion and the Rose
– The Laws of Gods and Men
– The Mountain and The Viper
– The Children
I decided for The Children, because it felt as upgrade from previous two finales and because it have probably my favorite scene of season 4 – Brienne meet Arya.
1. The Mountain and the Viper
2. The Laws of Gods and Men
3. The Watchers on the Wall
4. Two Swords
5. The Children
6. The Lion and the Rose
7. Mockingbird
8. Oathkeeper
9. First of His Name
10. Breaker of Chains
I love how many contenders there are this year for best episode and how unpredictable it is who will win. Usually there’s a pretty small group of episodew that are discussed heavily, but one that will obviously win. I voted for Watchers on the Wall, but Two Swords, Lion and the Rose, Laws of Gods and Men, Mockingbird and the Children would all be deserving winners.
I hope Mountain and the Viper doesn’t win though. I lijed a lot of the scenes, but that was one of the more badly paced episodes of the year. That beetle speech was not only boring on its own, but stopped the momentum of the whole episode dead right before the most climactic scene of the hour. It’s not bad, and has a couple of Season 4’s best scenes, but as a whole it easily falls.short of most of the other episodes for me.
Hodor Targaryen,
To be honest I kind of get your point, although I don’t feel like it would have diminished Ygritte’s death, but that’s probably because I didn’t like Ygritte in the first place. I’m an absolute fan of the Stannis scene they added with Mance and Jon though.
Stannis’ arrival is just so epic in the book, with Mel burning the eagle, soldiers screaming “Stannis !” while charging… and it’s the good old “Reinforcements come in to save the day at the very end, when the battle is almost over and all hope is lost” kind of resolution, Helm’s Deep style. D&D probably didn’t feel like repeating Blackwater’s ending was good. I just felt so disappointed watching it end like that when I expected a massive jawdrop ending. Even more so after The Children.
Hodor Targaryen,
I agree about being surprised at all of the votes for ‘The Mountain And The Viper’. I thought the Roose/Ramsay scene was the best in that episode. I wasn’t blown away by the rest of it, which is why I ranked it so low(8th).
I’m in the midst of re-watching the entire season – just the last 3 to go – and so far all I’ll say is just how surprised I am in terms of the overall quality of every episode. I had thought I was going with Mockingbird, but the re-introduction of Gregor Clegane was a bit ridiculous and the argument about sealing the gate in retrospect makes little sense (Alliser Thorne comes across as entirely too pig-headed…why not just start the process of sealing the gate and having the oil inevitably knock that out as a bad consequence of taking the mammoth out of the equation?).
Either way, though, there’s not one “bad” episode this year. “Breaker of Chains” is 10th place for me, and that’s the result of one very bad misstep, the only real misstep the showrunners have made that really matters (all the others, Qhorin Halfhand, blah blah, are so minor they’re just quibbles). I’d rank First of His Name 9th and probably Oathkeeper 8th, and both are fine episodes marred by just a couple of small things – Burn Gorman’s hamminess and the needlessly graphic rape stuff. Either of them easily outdo almost all of the episodes of Season 2 and the early episodes of Season 3.
But after that? I’m torn between Episodes 1, 2, 6, and 7, and haven’t even watched the next three through to make this choice, and so I’m going on memory in knowing all three are just excellent. On re-watch, The Laws of Gods and Men is currently running in first place. The Yara thing is a very minor downgrade, and it’s almost so minor as to be pointless. The Stannis stuff is excellent, everything with the trial is awesome, the Theon/Ramsay stuff is, good lord, my goodness, Dany is terrific with Hizdhar zo Loraq, and you get Salladhor Saan! Plus, it all ties very well thematically – the laws of gods (Hizdhar’s request to bury his father, Stannis’s right by birth) with those of men (the trial, Dany’s prosecution of slavers, the Iron Bank). It’s excellent.
I think this is going to be the first year the Episode 9 does not win. (And even if it does, it’s a well deserved win too.)
Luka Nieto,
I agree about Tyrion’s escape- it left me wishing they had given a little more time (Tysha aside) to the Jaime/Tyrion aspect (but I am biased..) 😉
Tar Kidho,
Agree with you completely about Watchers on the Wall. Really solid episode from beginning to end. Great pacing, lots of diverse action shots, major character death(Ygritte) as well as some sentimental supporting like Grenn, Pip, Styr (one season wonder), get to see Jon Snow be a hero. Oh and those scenes with the giants gave me goosebumps, amazing CGI throughout the episode, and my favorite shot when the giant takes out a Night’s watchman with the arrow.
and also the fact that Sunday was my first day of vacation in Myrtle Beach, had literally just arrived and checked into the hotel 30 mins prior to the episode starting, and just having to look forward to it all day and then next week of being on the beach, layin out…just a phenomenal feeling. Ep # 9 gets my vote!
I love SEASON 4.. My vote, The Watchers on the Wall
Goosebumps, EPIC EPISODE, AMAZING PERFOMANCES!
Oathkeeper.
Best pacing, loads of plot development, Craster’s Keep before it got shitty (which IMO happened in episode 5), Dany taking Meereen, some powerful King’s Landing scenes and of course that epic and entirely surprising final scene.
I always end up preferring the less flashy episodes (except for Blackwater which is my all time favorite bar none).
The Mountain and the Viper for me. I’m actually a big fan of the beetle speech – the whole episode was basically perfect from beginning to end.
Gosh it was hard to choose – each episode had at least one memorable scene that just knocked it out of the park. For me it was a choice between The Wall and The Children. I ultimately picked the latter – perhaps because I liked how the different story archs ended, and had enough loose ends to speculate over for the next several months. Tho honestly I would not be disappointed if the wall won.
Tonight I will re-watch The Children and Watchers on the Wall. Of course, that may make it even more difficult to choose.
What Jared said. Sums it up perfectly. Taken on it’s own the best hour of a series I have watched bar none.
Watchers on the Wall for me.
Easy: The Mountain and the Viper. I actually hated most of that episode (mainly because I wasn’t a fan of what they did with Jorah’s betrayal) but those last 5 minutes of the episode is enough to make it my favorite. Epic.
Greatjon of Slumber,
Yes!! I agree completely. People seem to have issues with this season, but I honestly think they knocked it out of the park with both the huge, game-changing scenes, as well as the small and quiet ones.
Breaker of Chains is also my last place currently, probably just because of the Jaime scene; but I’ve learned to accept what the director claimed he was trying to portray, and I’m fine with the scene now; although it is without a doubt an unfortunate smudge on a great season. But on a recent rewatch of ep.3, I really was stunned by how much I liked it. I really agree with you about your comments on the quality of this season; the worst episode, (3 or 4?) is still pretty spectacular, and better than a lot of eps from previous seasons, especially 2.
I could honestly vote for eps 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 and not feel too bad about my choice… but I would probably go with 10 as my favorite, while I think 9 was maybe the most well done.
Man, my reaction to Oathkeeper is almost the exact opposite of yours. I thought it was a good episode but probably the worst of the season because of its pacing. Spending the last twenty minutes or so of an episode in one location can be great when you’re focusing on an event (Purple Wedding, Tyrion’s trial) but all we got at the end of Oathkeeper was a bunch of setup scenes, so it slowed the episode way down for what felt like the last half of the episode (although the very last scene was pretty cool, I agree).
I also thought that, even though I liked the Craster’s Keep storyline, the most legitimate criticisms aimed at it dealt with how it was set up, which pretty much happened in this episode. Risking the lives of the Watch’s precious few fighters to make sure Mance doesn’t find out something he’s bound to discover pretty darn soon anyway, Alliser somewhat uncharacteristically sending Jon out hoping he’ll be killed, Jon and Sam concluding somehow that Bran must have decided to go to Craster’s Keep (why?), and, of course, that conversation occurs right when Locke is sent to get Jon.
It was the buildup to Craster’s in Oathkeeper that was kind of shitty, but in episode 5 we got the great fight with Jon and Karl, Bran’s best moment in a couple years when he decides to leave Jon behind, and the powerful final moments with Craster’s wives. Besides Locke’s death, which I can see some people criticising, I don’t really see what was shitty about Craster’s in First of His Name, really its most problematic moments are in Oathkeeper.
Hodor Targaryen,
100% right there with you. I really, really enjoyed first of his name, including the coasters keep stuff; I don’t get the complaints. I actually don’t remember a single scene that episode that I thought was weak… Definitely an underrated ep IMO
Jared,
Agree completely.
Went with Mockingbird, quite impulsively as this season had so many good episodes….
…but the Children had the silly fireballs, and I couldn’t help waiting for Tysha to make an appearance, so out. Even if it did contain Dany chaining up her dragons, and the Jon/Mance/Stannis scene.
The laws of gods and men had the rushed-feeling Yara/Dreadfort scene, so out. N damn the showrunners for it, because it had that beautiful Stannis not quite being able to beg-scene, and Tyrions trial.
The Big Fighting Scene of The Mountain and the Viper felt a bit too short, as did the scene where Dany sends away Jorah. It’s supposed to make me feel she’s torn apart by doing this, n so is he. It’s kind of a huge moment in Danys storyline, and it didn’t really get the time to sink in. So out.
Loved the Purple Wedding, but I suppose knowing what would happen made Joffrey being worse then ever almost too much to watch. I just wanted it to be over with.
Loved Two Swords for it’s opening sequence alone already, n then it set up the season so well. Not enough other memorable, outstanding stuff, though. So out.
The Watchers on the Wall … it has beautiful fighting scenes, people dying dramatically, Sam showing backbone (kinda) and it conveys the sense of hopelessness at the Wall perfectly.
Why didn’t I pick that one again? Ah. Tyrion trying to find a champion. That one slightly trumped the Wall dramas, I suppose. That, and Dany trying to find a way to rule. And Arya and the Hound. And because I cannot think of anything that pulled me up short/took me really out of the story, this episode.
I voted for The Children, because it is the only episode of Season 4 I can constantly re-watch.
Brienne vs The Hound
The three-eyed raven
Jon and Mance
The only down-side is that the end with Tyrion’s escape felt a bit rushed. They didn’t need that scene with Cersei and Tywin, and Cersei and Jamie. Obviously they included it because Lena Heady had to be in the finale somewhere. But that time could’ve been used instead for some more exposition between Jamie and Tyrion, and finally Tyrion and Tywin, RE Tysha.
I’ll go with The Watchers on the Wall, as I wink at this site at the same time 😉 *pun*
This one was really, really hard to narrow down! I finally went with “The Lion and the Rose”… waiting 4 seasons to watch that little shit bite the dust was awesome! (no offense to Jack Gleeson, who is awesome, btw!!).
ARGH.
I went with The Mountain and the Viper because I loved the duel…
But I kind of wish I’d voted for Watchers on the Wall, or perhaps The Children. Maybe even Laws of Gods and Men. Such a good season.
I voted “The Mountain and The Viper” mostly because the Sansa stuff was so brilliant, but also the culmination of the Red viper arc, of course. Also while I thought the execution was off for The Dany – Jorah thing it was still dramatically satisfying.
First and last. “Two Swords” had it all for me. Political intrigue, the cold open with the melting down of Ice, introduction of new characters and an epic final 8 minutes.
“The Children” was just an amazing end. Some of the seasons filler was okay but all this pent up fan frustration came to an epic halt once Sandor and Brienne pulled out their swords. It may have been utter fan-fiction compliments of D&D but the whole interaction between Arya and Brienne, followed up classic Hound doling out “no safety, you dumb bitch!”, to swords flying, it was fantastic. It was the most epic one-on-one fist-a-cuffs this show has had thus far. Cap it off with a scene that took an amazing moment from the books, Arya leaving The Hound behind, that was absolutely beautifully acted.
It’s hard to pick a favorite, but “The Children” would have to be it for me.
Ok, after a full rewatch, I went with The Children.
It was an incredibly tough choice, but the finale this year, while still short of the best-ever finale (Fire and Blood), is a great series of achingly beautiful scenes, tied thematically by the various actions of the children of various characters, be they the surviving members of Ned Stark’s family, or the pivotal decisions made by the children of Tywin Lannister, and of course the decision made by the Mother of Dragons to lock up her own children. It closes the storyline for just about every character and points forward for so many, and ends on an uplifting moment that feels earned (rather than Myhsa’s odd close), with Arya getting on the boat in one of the best “Atta girl” moments there is. This episode got a lot of flack for what it didn’t contain when it was first aired, but with some distance it’s better to see it for what it did include. And count me among the fans of the skeletal wights (I can understand those who believe the concept to be strange; I don’t get those who think the FX themselves look cheesy, please watch it again).
That said, here’s my best-to-worst order, and I would be happy if any of the top 6 ended up winning.
1. The Children
2. The Watchers on the Wall – Excellent episode upon rewatch and Kit ably carries the whole thing on his back. People say they don’t care about the Wall story – but this episode makes you care.
3. The Laws of Gods and Men – Nearly flawless, with the great trial to end things.
4. Mockingbird – Also impeccable, with some of the strongest scenes on the show yet, including the dying farmer, the great Hound/Arya talk, and Oberyn/Tyrion in the jail cell.
5. The Lion and the Rose – Another great episode that re-introduces us to a couple of characters and then gets on with the fantastic set piece in the Purple Wedding. Also, fuck Joffrey.
6. Two Swords – The show’s best premiere, with one of the best fight scenes in its history, and the great Oberyn Martell character introduction.
7. Oathkeeper – Some of the strongest editing and transition skills in the show’s history.
8. The Mountain and the Viper – Best Sophie Turner yet.
9. First of His Name
10. Breaker of Chains
I decided to be a rebel and vote The First of His Name as my favorite episode. Yes, it is a quieter episode (for most of it anyways) and many people consider the Craster’s keep story-arch as pointless filler. But I thought it was some amazing filler, and the scenes prior to that end third had some great power plays, like Cersei trying to cuddle up to the different judges and trying to act the innocent mother to Oberyn. I honestly just didn’t see this episode coming. And although the previous episode had that shocker as well as many great written scenes (all hail the great and powerful Cogman!) and the episode after also had great writing (all praise the CogMan) as well as Dinkelage’s acting chops on full display, I felt the one in between was the best acted, written and directed.
Also Oathkeeper had that unnecessary Craster’s rapefest–We already know they’re evil D&D! We saw them murder Mormont for criminy!– and the The Laws of Gods and Men had that lovely Asha scene, complete with Asha’s speech (which would have been more epic without the random sex scene oddly spliced in with her speaking), as well as the nonsensical way the siege goes down and, in hindsight, the pointlessness of that story-arch, all together. Also, I was expecting the trial scene to be epic (and was not disappointed), so it wasn’t as impactful as the previous episode, in which I went into it not knowing what to expect from it.
The Children was almost my first choice, because that was just a masterfully crafted episode with only just that shoddy skeleton CGI marring the perfection for me– I still love that scene, but the skeletons looked a little silly and I couldn’t take it too seriously. Though, once again, I was expecting this episode to be perfect and, also, choosing that episode for best almost feels like cheating, like choosing The Rains Castamere or Blackwater, it just feels a bit too obvious of a choice. So that is why The First of His Name is my personal favorite episode of this season.
The others I didn’t mention: The Lion and The Rose which, although was awesome and very well directed, doesn’t standout as much as the others; The Mountain and The Viper is up there on my favorites, my heart was beating pretty heavily during the buildup to the end scene; Two Swords is my favorite premiere since Winter is Coming and has what is now my favorite cold-open ever, and of course it had the infamous Arya/Hound skirmish against the King’s men (Team F*ck the KIng!); Mockingbird which had a great ending and well-crafted prison scenes Tyrion and company; And, finally, The Watchers on the Wall which had great action, intense moments and sad deaths (…Grenn *sob*…..Pyp *another sob*….why?! *breaks down and cries in a fetal position), though Blackwater is still the superior battle, in my opinion;…………oh, and I guess there was Breaker of Chains….well….I didn’t get riled up by the “rape”, but the episode doesn’t really standout , regardless.
My rankings:
1. The First of his name
2. The Children
3. The Mountain and The Viper
4. The Watchers on the Wall
5. The Laws of Gods and Men
6. Two Swords
7. Mockingbird
8. Oathkeeper
9. The Lion and The Rose
10. Breaker of Chains
Had to go with The Mountain and the Viper, it was, along with The Rains of Castamere, the episode that delivered everything from the books and more, in my opinion. It was a tough decision, all episodes had great parts in them.
Decided to go with The Lion and the Rose – loved pretty much every episode this series but thought the PW was absolute perfection.
This was probably the category I found the hardest to decide. I think this season had the highest percentage of really strong episodes – only Breaker of Chains was a bad episode, and First of His Name an OK one that didn’t leave me with strong feelings; every other episode was really above average and would blow most of season 2 episodes out of the water. But on the other hand, none of them were flawless or clearly stood out the way Blackwater did, or Baelor and Fire and Blood in season 1. I had some issue or other with most episodes, though that usually did not hinder my enjoyment of them.
In the end, I was in two minds between The Mountain and the Viper and Watchers on the Wall; even though The Children was stronger and more epic than both for about 4/5 in – Bran’s scenes ended up being somewhat underwhelming, but that still wouldn’t have hurt it that much, but when it finally came to Tyrion’s scenes, which should have been the climax of the episode, they turned out pretty disappointing and removed The Children from competition. I finally picked Watchers on the Wall, because it was the only episode that really felt like a cohesive whole, rather than a nice collection of good but unrelated scenes, even though I was disappointed by the lack of resolution (if the Jon/Mance/Stannis etc. scenes from The Children were in WOTW, it would have clearly been one of the show’s best episodes ever; WOTW and the first 10 or so minutes of The Children feel like one episode, and that part of The Children was its best part, IMO).
1. Watchers on the Wall
2. The Mountain and the Viper
3. The Children
4. Two Swords
5. Mockingbird / Laws of Gods and Men / The Lion and the Rose
8. Oathkeeper
……………….
9. First of His Name
……….
10. Breaker of Chains
I liked the entire season, so I didn’t vote on this one…to me all the episodes are good…they are like parts of a puzzle that is being put together as the show unfolds. I can’t just pick one and say that this one is better than the others…