Press/Review

Review Round-up: Game of Thrones season 5 going strong in critics’ eyes

Posted on by Sue the Fury

Arya

With screeners watched and the premiere just three days away, the reviews are pouring in now. Though a few journalists have their criticisms of season 5, in general the reviews of Game of Thrones so far are very encouraging and exciting.

Time‘s James Poniewozik says the show is still “a magnificent beast: bold, confident and venturing off in new directions” and that “Game of Thrones is flying, full tilt, toward a destination off the edge of our map of the known world. I can’t wait to see what it finds there.”

Alan Sepinwall at Hitfix says of the season’s opening episodes, “This isn’t the best four-episode stretch the series has ever had — as with most cable dramas, the ends of “GoT” seasons tend to be stronger than the starts — but there’s a sense of real forward momentum to the proceedings that hasn’t always been there in the past. Again and again, my pulse quickened as I watched these four hours, at times thrilling to an event or character intersection that I’d been waiting years to see (my notes are riddled with the phrase “it’s about damn time”), at others cheering things that I didn’t even know  I wanted to see until they happened.”

Variety particularly notes some of the actors in their review. “There are so many fine performances here it’s difficult to single out just a few, but in the early going the season offers especially good and illuminating moments for Aidan Gillen as the scheming Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish; Gwendoline Christie as the towering warrior Brienne; and Stephen Dillane as Stannis Baratheon, whose last-minute season-four heroics represent part of a larger plan designed to advance his quest to rule Westeros.”

The Hollywood Reporter says, “The sprawling story in HBO’s Game of Thrones is a large part of what makes the brilliant series so special,” But also notes that “Entering its fifth season, that sprawl is also part of what can make it so frustrating to watch.”

Grantland‘s Andy Greenwald says, “The reality is that the crumbling of old orders, onscreen and off, has invigorated Game of Thrones in the best possible way. Whereas past season premieres have served as extended throat-clearings for the tightly choreographed bedlam to come, Sunday’s hour crackles with nervy possibility. Old friends are thrust into new scenarios.3 Yesterday’s enemies look far more appealing than tomorrow’s threats. Everything feels fluid and untethered. Yes, it’s good — Thrones is always good. But now it’s teetering on the edge of something different and possibly even better.”

Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly rates the season a B+ so far, but dismisses the Sand Snakes as “closer to B-movie bad girls than warriors” and compares the Sparrows to “cult figures from a Kevin Williamson drama.”

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“Winter may be coming, but the new season of HBO’s Game of Thrones has a distinct air of rejuvenation, of spring,” declares Vanity Fair in their review. “Big and propulsive as Game of Thrones has always been, I hope it continues to find the time to pause and consider all of this mad clash and swirl.”

“Sacrifices had to be made (Arianne Martell’s absence stings this particular fan), but the result is a story that runs smoother than ever, with no trace of middle-aged stumbling that can plague book series and TV series alike,” says Sonia Saraiya of Salon. “Most importantly, in the fifth season’s bold, nimble storytelling, it’s made the hype around “Game Of Thrones” seem reasonable again. This is a show worth championing, because it is a show that does incredible things.”

The New York Daily News says, “Many shows are starting to run out of gas by Season 5. “Game of Thrones,” partly because it’s as cold-blooded as its characters in treating personnel turnover as the natural order, seems to have little trouble keeping its pedal to the metal.”

Flavorwire applauds Game of Thrones for fixing some of the problems inherent in the splitting involved in A Dance with Dragons and A Feast for Crows. Critic Alison Herman says, “Rather, it’s to point out that while Game of Thrones has always been a masterful translation of Martin’s work, the early episodes of season five show a work that’s more than prepared to keep going, with or without the next installment. Confident and self-assured, this is a series that feels just at home in Westeros, and with the deeply flawed people who live in it, as Martin himself.”

WeGotThisCovered says, “Coupled with its more tastefully balanced treatment of nudity and gore, and some inspired new character dynamics, Game of Thrones is often a smarter, more thought-provoking show than it ever has been. The actual execution of the ideas it wants to play with isn’t always so sharp. The erratic pace of some plotlines means days or weeks can pass between episodes and cuts, so keeping track of the exact chronology of events is a fool’s errand.”

Inkoo Kang of the Village Voice says, “The genius of Thrones is that it makes it difficult to root against someone so emotionally damaged […]. And whoever ends up the winner in Cersei and Margaery’s war for Tommen’s heart, there’s hope that female ambition will be rewarded.”

Indiewire‘s review says, “It’s a weird show, laced with mysteries exotic beyond conventional understanding. Occasionally, there are dragons and zombies and giants. But in the long run it’s about its characters, both the powerful and the powerless. And that equation continues to be compelling. ”

“The unforeseeable effects and ostensible curse of murdering have always proved key to the show’s tension,” says Slant magazine in their 3 and 1/2 star (out of 4 stars) review, “And as the story continues to build a kinetic rhythm and streamline the drama, the thunderous chaos stirred up by each life taken resonates all the more loudly.”

Screencrush highlights some of the best parts of the new season: “Season 5 of Game of Thrones boasts some of the series’ best surprises, particularly as storylines converge and start to wrap inward toward a seventh season ending. Just what kind of surprises, you ask? Why, a wayward Arrow star! Someone you thought dead still (literally) kicking! Kidnappings! Butts! Plus all the usual trimmings; the gravy on top seems to be that the women have all the power this year, cementing Game of Thrones at its most dazzling and important peak yet.”

Deadline‘s Dominic Patten says that, “More than anything, this season is the season of queens and governments, and that’s “what makes this one of the best seasons of game of thrones yet, because drawing from Martin’s A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons books, the roads walked, seas traveled, cities taken, and walls protected in previous seasons, they start to come together here in a rather interesting direction.”

Slate‘s book-reading reviewer says, “Season 5 of Game of Thrones pulls even further away from the novels (the Sansa plot will drive some fans crazier than King Aerys) and I’m fairly sure it’s better for it. With each episode, I have less of an idea where the story is going, which means I might soon be enjoying it the way I did the first season, before I’d read the books.”

The New York Times says, “‘Game of Thrones’ is still remarkable for both the scrupulousness and the lavishness of its production, beautiful to look at and mostly engaging to follow, though there is something of the accountant’s method in Mr. Martin’s fantasy- progress through constant addition- that transfers into the television show.”

,
Sue the Fury
Susan Miller, Editor in Chief of WatchersOnTheWall.com

116 Comments

  1. Great reviews 🙂 Happy to hear that the new season is so great, despite (and apparently often because) of the departures from the source material.

  3. Luka Nieto,

    Yeah, they always gets their hands on some stills, but uh you really don’t want to bring those to HBO’s attention by linking them here so I’m going to edit out your link.

    The reason some websites get shut down periodically is by linking to sites where they come to networks attention. So please be careful about linking to them publicly.

  5. These reviews barely mention Arya’s storyline and I am officially worried. She’ll probably get less time this season than she did last year. And apparently nothing much happens with her for the first four episodes, so this is such a disappointment.

  7. days,

    The episodes she’s in, she’s in quite a lot. The reason you don’t see a lot of Arya mentions may partly be because you can’t discuss her at all without big spoilers.

  15. It appears that it is becoming a creature of its own and less that of the books as the show runners become more confident. It’s similar to the Harry Potter series in that regard, with the notable difference being that the first season of GOT is still much more imminently watchable than the plodding messes that are the first two Harry Potter movies.

  18. Wow…
    The reviews are stellar.
    Who would’ve thought AFFC/ADWD could make better TV than the latter half of ASOS, lol.

    Can’t wait to see NYTimes + Elio now (westeros.org must be fuming @ these reviews, lol)

  19. Someone we thought

    dead, but is still alive and kicking, who could that be? Please don’t say LS.

  22. Sue the Fury,

    Thanks for your discretion, lucky furious one! I am looking forward to the interior of a certain HoB&W! Hope they do it justice and not HotU 2.0.

    But I did like those amazing HD pics though..hope we see them again.

  24. ‘On the other hand, there is a proposed marriage that seems even worse than death.’

    I remember me saying – after the first trailer appeared and people were speculating about

    Sansa going to Winterfell due to the stone structure of the background walls

    and I was convinced because I thought the

    bathtub looked like the one Ramsay was bathing Theon in

    – 1% in me fears for that marriage to happen.

    #NightmaresWillComeTrue

  28. Jeb,
    Is it the same guy who did the great season 1 review….

    Now lets wait for Elio…….. (unless he already posted it)

  29. HelloThere,

    Certainly not a bad review ~ a little tongue-in-cheek in part (Dany wandering around for 40 episodes), but big compliment to Peter D. and the beautiful sets and overall about-to-begin season 5 excitement. I just wish one thing ~ GoT used to use some really awesme songs in their promo trailers like MsMr’s “Bones” and Florence+the Machine’s “Seven Devils”. Wish they had used Hozier’s “Take Me to Church” in one of their trailers ~ I was sure they were going to use that song.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEGpLtYJDHM

  31. According to IMDb (I know it’s not an official source) Lollys Stokeworth is being played by an actress named Elizabeth Cadwallader http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5502252/

    Was this ever reported on here?

    Also do we know anything about the

    Waif casting in the House of Black and White?

    Also what are the last 3 episode called? Have we normally waited this long for a full season Ep list? IM SO CURIOUS TODAY

  32. Colty,

    Her CV was linked here and says the same. I dunno if WOTW ever officially reported it but it’s been on GoT wiki for a week almost, I’d say.

  34. Colty,

    I know, I don’t remember when we got the full list last season but I believe it was before the first episode aired. I wonder why they are holding back so much?

  39. HelloThere:
    Jeb,
    Now lets wait for Elio…….. (unless he already posted it)

    What’s the point? They’ve already made it well known their minds are made up that the season will be total shit. Lindaaaaaaa already posted how, and, yeah, I’m paraphrasing, but the season premiere was basically a waste of her time, and made another comment about what a horrible job D&D have done and continue to do (of course throwing in lil gems like completely fucking it up, blah, blah). Elio’s thoughts may be slightly more measured, since he seems to have at least some degree of decency/diplomacy/whatever you want to call it his counterpart does not appear to have.

  40. I saw Cadwallader as Lollys in the screeners. I assume that’s how her role finally leaked, from people seeing screeners. We’re not reporting castings because the show is premiering this week. It’s too late in the game for that sort of thing (unless a major casting surfaced for some reason). Lollys is pretty much much a one-scene role, very minor.

  41. HelloThere,

    Nimble Dick? You complain about the lack of Nimble Fucking Dick and yet you say nothing about Shitmouth? Shit no m’lord, bugger me bloody with a spear.

  42. Nymeria Warrior Queen,

    I know….
    Its just fun to see actual TV critics heaping the show w/ golden praises, and then see the purists with their endless tirade of disappointments and pre-determined hate.

    One of Roose Bolton’s leeches,

    I only remembered that character while wikipedia-ing Brienne’s aimless book 4 plot cuz I remembered done of it, lol.

  44. Maisie “Anarchist-in-Chief” Youtube video, vote for Prime Minister, kill everyone else.
    She gets my vote along with a Molotov cocktail, if I were a UK voter that is.

  45. HelloThere,

    You’re right, and what I said didn’t need to be said, since it’s been said many times. I’d just had someone send me a link to her tumbler, or reddit, or whatever the hell it was and I was so appalled by the vitriol I saw. It isn’t like I didn’t expect it, but it really is pretty jarring, especially when you consider she actually makes money directly off the show (by translating episodes).

  48. Nymeria Warrior Queen,

    both of them have a video up called season 5 changes…. haven’t watched it because i know it’ll make my head explode, lol.

    I used to love their youtube channel. They had great videos up about the books. I particularly enjoyed their video about the HOTU and other prophecies.

  49. I hope D&D stop giving Linda and Elio access. She in particular doesn’t deserve it.

    I love these reviews!

  51. Who would’ve thought AFFC/ADWD could make better TV than the latter half of ASOS, lol.

    Correction – who would have thought fan fiction could make better TV than the latter half of ASOS. Jam it, D&D haters.

  52. minty:
    ‘On the other hand, there is a proposed marriage that seems even worse than death.’

    #NightmaresWillComeTrue

    I reckon there will be a season long engagement and merely the spectre of a marriage but have to say merely teasing everyone with the possibility for the whole season will actually make for good television and put TV only viewers and book readers on edge but for different reasons because it’s so ‘terrible’ a possibility to contemplate

  56. JamesL,

    You misremember. That was a casting call looking for an Asian actress; no one had been cast. I guess they found another actress who wasn’t Asian yet they liked more for the role than the other ones.

  58. tyjon:
    Maisie “Anarchist-in-Chief” Youtube video, vote for Prime Minister, kill everyone else.
    She gets my vote along with a Molotov cocktail, if I were a UK voter that is.

    Something about that makes me feel like a bad boy who needs to be discliplined, mistress… :blush:

  62. Dutch maester,

    I didn’t expect Cersei’s hunt for Tyrion to be featured at all.

    —

    Completely off-topic, but I’m on a rushed rewatch of the whole show —currently I’m in the middle of season three. And… bloody hell, is Kissed by Fire an amazing episode or what? Pretty much each and every scene has the “fire” theme to begin with, so it flows beautifully, in large part due to Graves’s direction, but not only that —there’s just so many amazing moments in this episode (the trial by combat, the bath scene, Kastark’s execution), and even those that aren’t amazing are fascinating in some way (Jorah and Barristan discussing the past and the future, Shireen’s introduction with Stannis and Davos, and the first real attempt at humanizing Stannis, which will apparently follow through in season five after being put in stand by for a whole season.) Also, this episode comes just after And Now His Watch is Ended, so season three had a particularly impressive run of middle-episodes, maybe the best.

  64. JamesL: What happened to the Asian actress who was cast as the Waif?

    I guess that did not work out.
    Finally confirmed that the Waif is played by Faye Marsay …
    Knew about Marsay a few weeks ago, but it was unconfirmed.
    Sure kept that a secret a long time.
    There may be some other speaking role FMs for the HoBaW but those would be only one episode, if that even happens.

  65. Luka Nieto,

    Yes, I remember everyone going crazy on the old site when these two episodes (and to an extent “Walk of Punishment”) aired. The visual of Daenerys marching her army out of Astapor. The amazing fight with Beric and the Hound. The cave scene. The introduction of Selyse and Shireen. And so on, and so on. Just incredible. Will probably remain the strongest batch of middle episodes in the series for a while.

  66. Dutch maester,

    You may be right. Still, I have some hopes for the latter half of season five to be particularly amazing. And the latter half of season four got close, too. Anyway, I think I changed my mind and season three may surpass season four. So, for me the best would be season three, followed by the fourth, then the first and finally the second —though the rewatch also made me reconsider season two; it’s still my least favorite, but it’s much better than I thought. It even surpasses season one in some respects (cohesiveness, for one.)

    Daenerys was great in season three, too. I’m not just talking about plot —it’s got my favorite acting by Clarke. Season one was great for her too, and in season four she was not bad, though too “Ice Queen” for my taste. Her storyline in season two was as superfluous as in the books, so I can’t blame her for not elevating the material to excellence when the material was so bland and directionless.

    Boojam,

    That was a casting call. No Asian actor was cast; they were just looking for one. Apparently, they chose to go another way in the end. But no actress was left aside.

  67. Dutch maester: Yes, I remember everyone going crazy on the old site when these two episodes (and to an extent “Walk of Punishment”) aired. The visual of Daenerys marching her army out of Astapor. The amazing fight with Beric and the Hound. The cave scene. The introduction of Selyse and Shireen. And so on, and so on. Just incredible. Will probably remain the strongest batch of middle episodes in the series for a while.

    Yeah season 3 is remembered for the Red Wedding.
    While for me the biggest impression was made by Dracarys.
    This was a big surprise sequence on the page and then the show set it up better and trumped the prose version. The High Valyrian reveal was a clever zinger , had not thought that.

  68. I wonder why everyone is loathe to provide Arya spoilers. The other plots have been spoiled to hell and back (at least for episodes 1 to 4). Surely there couldn’t be something so explosive about that plot to put reviewers in fear of providing spoilers.

  69. One of Roose Bolton’s leeches,

    This year a opposed to the last 3 years . They did no tv special previewing the next season . Like they’ve done every year past. A forshadowing …etc this year most of the previews for the show we’re all things that wed know about, from news in in the life .. Dazniks,hard home ,dorne . And I know that mostly everything from the previews and trailors is on the first four episodes or dazniks and hard home so there’s a lot of scenes that weren’t shown at all
    In these trailors. Plus this year the show got extra strict about leaks and I have a buddy out west who swears Gary old man
    Could play euron like 8 months ago . It’s clear the show runners are hiding a lot
    Of plot points, so all are trailors have the same scenes in it . Why would they do that ? What’s the purpose of that way to showcase the hottest show
    On tv

  72. Luka Nieto,

    Season 3 is the only season so far that has a stronger first half than its second half I’d say. It builds perfectly, and Walk of Punishment to Kissed by Fire may be the strongest run of episodes the show’s put together.

    I’d still say Season 4 is stronger over all though

  74. mau,

    You may be right. Though I’ve revisited season four many times since it aired, which I haven’t done for previous seasons. I’ll tell you in a few days 😛

  75. days: I wonder why everyone is loathe to provide Arya spoilers. The other plots have been spoiled to hell and back (at least for episodes 1 to 4). Surely there couldn’t be something so explosive about that plot to put reviewers in fear of providing spoilers.

    I don’t know. Look at had they blacked out Tom Wlaschiha until the cat got out of the bag. It looked like they were trying to save that as a surprise , tho many had the hunch that they would not make any new casting for the Kindly Man more than a year ago.

  76. Luka Nieto,

    I just finished a rewatch too, and I was surprised to be reminded how consistent season 3 was, so much so it’s my highest rated season so far. OK ‘The Climb’ was one of the weakest of the entire run but there are so many great moments, not just the biggies like the Red Wedding, and for me the Arya scenes even outshine S4.

  77. Arya havin’ a larf?,

    I think “The Climb” is pretty great. I’m watching it right now!

    Too many book deviations for the taste of some book readers, but the eponymous literal climb was great, as well as Littlefinger’s figurative ‘climb’ speech in the end. I loved the scenes between Melisandre and the Brotherhood and Arya, too. Swapping Edric for Gendry was such an inspired decision. And then there’s Tywin and Olenna in an epic verbal sparring! And of course there’s some great stuff directly from the books too, such as Jaime and Brienne saying goodbye, and Robb and company arranging their ultimate demise with the Freys. True, there’s some fluff with Bran and Theon, the two weak links of this season. These characters have some great scenes, but they should’ve featured in fewer episodes, only as many as their storyline warranted —a lesson they learnt for season four. But overall, I’d say it’s a great episode. In such a great season, maybe one of the weakest, but not a bad episode at all.

  78. Luka Nieto:
    Arya havin’ a larf?,

    I think “The Climb” is pretty great.

    I’m watching it right now. Too many book deviations for the taste of some book readers, but the eponymous literal climb was great, as well as Littlefinger’s figurative ‘climb’ speech in the end. I loved the scenes between Melisandre and Thoros, too. Swapping Edric for Gendry was such an inspired decision by D&D.

    Just goes to show that put 10 GoT fans in one room and you’ll get 10 different opinions 🙂 I was a bit bemused by the Gendry/Edric switch at first but yes it makes so much more sense now even if the poor lad is still sculling on the Narrow Sea somewhere.

    I agree that the Melisandre scenes in the climb were very enjoyable and seeing Arya square up to her was fun, plus that little bit of prophecy speak is a chiller!

  79. Luka Nieto,

    “The Climb” is mostly a very good episode. You’re right, there’s some.unnecessary Theon and Bran scenes, and there’s also that scene with Loras and Sansa that most fans hated.

    For me it goes down a couple notches because of how the show ended Ros’ storyline. She just kind of disappeared for a few episodes, Littlefinger discovers her as a Varys spy off camera (somehow?), and the shot of her dead body at the end of this episode felt like a tacked on conclusion for a character I was actually kind of invested in. So for me it’s one of the weaker episodes of S3, but like you say, that has more to do with how great the other episodes are.

  80. For those who like Andy Greenwald’s reviews and enjoy listening to podcasts, the first episode of his new weekly podcast devoted exclusively to Game of Thrones has been posted on Grantland. http://espn.go.com/espnradio/grantland/player?id=12659744

    The podcast is called Watch The Thrones. Greenwald co-hosts it with his friend and colleague Chris Ryan. Each week they’ll discuss the previous week’s episode, preview the next one, and talk to a special guest or two. This week is devoted to a Season 5 preview, and the guests are their fellow Grantland writers Jason Concepcion (a.k.a. the Maester) and Mallory Rubin (both of whom have read the books – Greenwald and Ryan are Unsullied).

    The flow and style of the conversation is very similar to flow and style of Greenwald’s writing. Greenwald and Ryan are extremely enthusiastic and have a great rapport with one another, although occasionally they will interrupt one another. Nevertheless, their observations are quite insightful, both about the show itself and its larger place in the cultural landscape. And while humor is obviously a subjective thing, I think that it’s funny as hell.

    Thus my (unpaid) shilling for Greenwald’s work concludes. 😉

  82. Episode 8 has been added to the HBO schedule. No title, but the runtime is 57 minutes. This season has many really long episodes!

  83. Luka Nieto:
    Dutch maester,

    —

    Completely off-topic, but I’m on a rushed rewatch of the whole show —currently I’m in the middle of season three. And… bloody hell, is Kissed by Fire an amazing episode or what? Pretty much each and every scene has the “fire” theme to begin with, so it flows beautifully, in large part due to Graves’s direction, but not only that —there’s just so many amazing moments in this episode (the trial by combat, the bath scene, Kastark’s execution), and even those that aren’t amazing are fascinating in some way (Jorah and Barristan discussing the past and the future, Shireen’s introduction with Stannis and Davos, and the first real attempt at humanizing Stannis, which will apparently follow through in season five after being put in stand by for a whole season.) Also, this episode comes just after And Now His Watch is Ended, so season three had a particularly impressive run of middle-episodes, maybe the best.

    Definitely the best middle episodes. “Walk of Punishment” is pretty good too, and episodes 4 and 5 are two of the best ever.

    Reminds me, here’s a fan ranking of GoT. Spoiler alert: “Kissed By Fire” ends up being number 1.

    https://brendantbewley.wordpress.com/2015/04/07/ranking-every-episode-of-game-of-thrones-part-4-the-top-ten/

  85. Absolutely loved those Melisandre scenes in “The Climb”, especially in the cave talking to Beric and Thoros, which had such a mystical ambiance to it. Those places seem to be her natural habitat. Apparently there was a much longer scene shot where Melisandre explains to them how she was chosen by the Lord. Such a shame it wasn’t included.

  86. Another review from a book reader:

    http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/game-of-thrones-season-5-review-subtle-build-up-of-anticipation-1.10224720

    “The fifth season is superb, judging from the first four episodes provided for review. Everything works. Everything presupposes more greatness in episodes (and seasons) to come. Everyone, too. We think we know all of these characters, with their various quirks, shades and colors — from Arya to Brienne, from Petyr Baelish to Sansa. The new season piles on more quirks and shades. These people feel so real you can almost hear their hearts, or see into them.”

  91. Dragonslayer,

    This season, all episodes have thus far been added with the correct runtime right away. Also, the HBO Latino schedule lists a similar runtime. So it’s 57.

  92. Luka Nieto,

    Oh, yes, the night is dark and full of terrors. But fear no evil, good admins at WotW are protecting us from evil. Not from evil solely, they protect us from ourselves ‘n our deeds as well. You see, the webmistress had edited out your link in your benefit, to protect you. Cos you were careless. She’s trying to tell you furiously that the freedom of expression in the golden age of mass surveillance is limited. Both governments and corporations (HBO-like) survey us all the time. And if you jeopardize their secrets, planes or interests (by speaking freely) then ofc you are in trouble. The censoring of your post by the webmistress had been for the most part carried out in accordance with the alleged wishes of HBO, but, as she put it out, it had been implemented in accordance with your interests too. According to her, the censorship at the site is good for all. You are free to ramp up the hype for S05 for free ‘n to thankfully praise admins at the site, while the admins are rewarded for their service with few GoT screeners. Got it? Fans (like you) are hyping up, HBO’s vassals at the site are rewarded. Remember Craster, the guy who sacrificed his own newborn sons to the ‘real gods’ in return for his safety? Admins at the site act similar to Craster: they sacrifice our freedom of speech to the ‘gods’ in return for few screeners that ofc they can’t/don’t want to share with us.

  93. Uknow0,

    Oh please shut the fuck up, don’t patronize me and learn the definition of censorship and free speech. This is a website run privately by a group of fans; just as a homeowner, a site owner can refuse anyone entrance to their home and have their own house rules. The Watchers on the Wall isn’t a state, Sue the Fury isn’t the government agent and none of my speech has been repressed, as I can find —and in fact have found— other avenues to express it. Tumblr, for example, where these pictures have been widely circulated.

    So please, quit it with your paranoid whining. If you don’t get why the press and fansites get screeners, you really need a lesson in how things work.

  99. Books 4&5 are divisive but I truly liked them. In reality they should have been one book with a few less Brienne wandering , Cersei getting paranoid, Jon counting inventory, Tyrion acting mopey and Dany acting pompous chapters.

    George was too big and the editors couldn’t do their job properly. Still when viewed as one book they’re actually pretty good. Maybe we need an edit like Attack of the Clones minus Jar Jar.

    I really loved some of Briennes chapters that dealt with the aftermath of the war and its effect on the commoners. A true feast for crows.

  100. Also the editor should have let George know you can’t introduce three pretty cool characters and then have them locked up off stage for 2000 pages before they do anything. Looks like the show will be focusing on the sand snakes. I Liked them in the books but am afraid of the one reviewer who said they were b movie Amazon rejects. We will see.

    I like what the show has done so far so I’m hopeful I’m wrong

  101. Hodor Targaryen,

    There’s a lot of good material in “The Climb” (Jon’s plot finally starts to pick up, the scenes with Mel and the Brotherhood are good, even if I really don’t care for the change of having them sell Gendry), but a lot of bad stuff as well — most of the KL stuff, concluding with the gigantic cop-out of not even showing the scene where Sansa learns about the marriage, when that was one of the best scenes in her book 3 story; the pointless Bran scene; and I’m pretty sure this is the episode where the notion of Theon’s season 3 story as repetitive torture scenes set in (if you cut his scenes from episodes 6 and 7 I think it would hold up much better).

  102. Luka Nieto,

    Exactly, u had to find other ways to dig up some detailed infos about S05, cos WotW introduced a self-imposed ban on detailed talking about GoT spoilers. I’m not the only one who noticed that the ban is self-imposed, not really HBO-imposed. But admins at WotW deny that, telling us a story about the big bad scary all-present big-brotherish almighty HBO that they’re supposedly afraid of. The ‘beast’ will shut down sites (not just this one), if you draw its attention by posting detailed GoT infos. It seems HBO don’t really care about GoT piracy, why should it care about few detailed spoilers then? Spoilers are meant to generate ‘much-needed cultural buzz around the show’. More detailed are, more buzz is generated. That’s the point.

    Btw, you’re right, you’re being patronized, but I’m not the one who is patronizing you, silly.

  103. Theons repetitive torture scenes were neccessary in the television medium. E can’t just disappear for two seasons and show up as Reek. Flashbacks worked in the book but they couldn’t on tv. Those scenes were needed and we also got confirmation that he got his wiener cut off.

    I personally love what George did. Readers hated theon so much that he’s like oh really watch what I do to him. You won’t want your revenge so badly after what I do to him. The on was known for three things Archery, sexual prowess and his constant arrogant smile. Ramsey took away his fingers, his cock and his teeth. Now there’s only reek.

  104. Zeus:
    Theons repetitive torture scenes were neccessary in the television medium. E can’t just disappear for two seasons and show up as Reek. Flashbacks worked in the book but they couldn’t on tv.Those scenes were needed and we also got confirmation that he got his wiener cut off.

    If it’s necessary for us to know he’s been castrated, the Balon/Yara scene tells us that.

    Theon can indeed show up as Reek. Audiences will understand what’s happened to him if he looks and acts sufficiently messed up (one of the things the show fell down on, incidentally; he looks pretty much the same). What you don’t see is almost always more disturbing than what you do.

    I agree that having him disappear for two seasons was never going to happen, but I wasn’t suggesting that.

  105. You’re treated to it all in reeks flashbacks. It’s even more horrific in the books as he describes trying to gnaw off his fingers after they’ve been flayed. Honestly the book version is so much worse. I’ve never understood why book readers would find the tv version worse.

  106. Zeus,

    I think it was absolutely necessary. But he didn’t have to appear for 6 episodes. In season four he only appeared in 3, and there was much more actual plot and story to cover.

  107. Luka Nieto,

    I kind of see your point but the change is so dramatic that the six episodes were neccessary. Perhaps reek and Ramsey should have had more episodes the next season as welll. I want the show viewers to hate Ramsey as much as the book readers do.

  109. Sean C.,

    Completely agreed on the Sansa point. It’s not even so much that they cut a good book scene, even my Unsullied parents were like “That was weird to change scenes then, I wanted to see her reaction!” Also, don’t forget that Loras/Sansa scene is also in “The Climb.” So yeah, very uneven episode.

  111. Al Swearengen,

    I still don’t know why people take this guy seriously. I mean come on guys he thinks Black Sails is really good LOL. I bet he also enjoys japanese cartoons.

  114. Al Swearengen,

    I couldn’t get passed the first two episodes of Black Sails after the pirates started talking like they are from treasure island.

    Avatar the last airbender and Young Justice >>>>> Any cartoon from Japan

  115. Stark Fan,

    Never watched them but I hear Airbender and Korra are really good shows.

    Anime isn’t really my thing, I just grew up watching DBZ. I would race home from school each day to watch Goku & Vegeta kick ass 😀

  116. Al Swearengen,

    I’ve only seen DBZ, Naruto, and Cowboy Bebop when it comes to japanese animated series. A live action Cowboy Bebop series would be pretty cool.

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