SPOILER ALERT! So am I the only one excited about a new round of GoT?

[Dr. Zombie]

It was ok. But the costume department really have to up their game the Tyrell soldiers armour was horrible!

[Captain Blood]

Found it a bit slow and boring to be honest. Another ending with Emilia Clarke ranting 'I'm going to rule the world' gibberish from her dragon. Seen it several times before. Still at least Arya is back, that's something. Let's hope this rather flat episode is just a springboard to a much more satisfying and dramatic run of episodes to round off the season...

[Silent Invader]

"That was a bit flat"

.....Was my immediate reaction at the end of episode 6. With a tad of further reflection I'd go on to say that some of it was quite boring. As a non-Book-reader the Benjin (?) character was a mystery to me. I quite like that Margery is (I hope) manipulating both High Sparrow and Tommin but the scene on the steps was comical in appearance .... I very much agree that the costume department failed on that one.  As Dany gave her closing speech, which I also agree was more than a bit samey, I was distracted by thoughts that (1) the character has a lot more presence when speaking strong/calm while naked and (2) the Dothkari won't be quite so enthusiastic when they get to The North and experience the cold. Best scenes go to Arya (great line: "you want to watch that one ....") and to Gilly (whose inability to walk decorously in dress/shoes combo was both apt and amusing).

[Malebolgia]

Thought it was quite boring...
A couple of good parts, but most was slow, predictable and same old, same old.

[Hupp n at em]

My initial reaction was a general feeling of "bolas azulas" as the expected showdown at the Great Sept was a no-go.    However, given some time to reflect they did set up an awful lot of interesting stuff this episode.  I'd have preferred the ending to be Arya blowing out her candle vs. another Dany speechifyin' moment.  I didn't really have a problem with that speech in and of itself, as it accomplished two things:
1) showed Daario (he of suspect loyalty, at least in the books) looking very concerned, which stuck out especially against the background of euphoric Dothraki
2) Dany's sounding a little more like the Mad King: a destroyer and not a ruler.

But its timing and setup were what hurt it for me:
1) For her to dip off screen and have Drogon suddenly be totally cool with her, I don't know about that.    I've read some argue that seeing her leading a 100,000 strong horde earned his respect, and I guess dragons are supposed to be pretty intelligent, but at least at time of viewing, it felt cheap to me.
2) I don't think the fact that it seemed so similar to the speech 2 episodes back was in and of itself the problem.  I think it was the fact that point #1 has already primed us in eyeroll-mode and the fact that it was SO soon after the other speech that took all the impact out of it. If this speech had occurred, say, at the end of the season, there might have been enough of a time lapse between them that it didn't feel like such an obvious retread.

[Charlie_]

I think the Dany and Mereen story arcs are getting really quite dull and predictable.

And I gotta wonder... if she makes it to Westeros with a horde of Dothraki, mercenaries and dragons..... that's not gonna end well, for anyone. What's she expecting the Dothraki to do??? Their culture essentially revolves around war, rape and destruction. Unleashing her horde on Westeros is not gonna endear her to the people.... But yes, I do quite like the idea (in both book and show) that she's turning out not be quite the heroine everyone was rooting for in season 1. Perhaps a lot of viewers haven't realised it yet and are like "yeahhhhh, Daenerys is gonna be queen!!! Go dragons!!!!!!"... I think that's missing the point....

Elsewhere...... what the hell is Sam gonna do with his father's sword? What does he think that's gonna achieve?? Is he still going to the Citadel to be a Maester? I can just imagine how that will go....
"Hello, I've come to study to be a Maester."
"Great, come on in young man! Wait, what's that?"
"It's a Valyrian steel longsword."
"Why have you got that? ...Did you steal that?"
"It's mine."
"Ok, well you're gonna be a maester, so.... you can't bring that with you."


And Benjen.... In the books, there's not a great deal to it. He was Ned Stark's brother, and a member of the Night's Watch - the head ranger. Jon Snow looked up to him, and wanted to follow him and join the Watch, which he did. Then Benjen went missing whilst ranging beyond the wall.
That's it. He's probably dead.
Fans are always wondering, will he come back, what's he doing, blah blah blah... But I like to think the truth is simply that he is dead. Not EVERYTHING is a conspiracy, and not every character who supposedly dies without us seeing the body is actually alive, and not every mysterious character is gonna be someone else in disguise.
The show seems to have merged Benjen with Coldhands, a VERY mysterious character who first appeared a book 2 or 3 I think. He assisted Sam and Gilly when they were fleeing south to the wall, and also helped Bran, Meera, Jojen and Hodor on their way north. He is described as fitting the decription of the wights (ie zombies), doesn't eat, keeps his face covered, but still seems 'alive'.
Oh, and he rides a giant elk!
Lots of fans wonder if it's actually Benjen, but apparently GRRM has denied this.

Anyway, seems like the show has decided to please these fans with the Coldhands = Benjen theory.

I wonder how many viewers are thinking - "wait... who? Uncle Benjen? I don't know this guy." He hasn't been seen since season 1.... the first few episodes.

[Silent Invader]

Thanks for those insights.  

TBH I don't remember Benjen from Season 1..... It was years ago and Show-viewing is so much more casual than Book-reading. As my brother recently remarked to me: "When I first started watching there wasn't a warning that there'd be exams later!"

[Charlie_]

Uncle Benjen!

[Hupp n at em]

Yeah, the bit with Heartsbane being stolen by Sam was sorta puzzling. But I take that as a show-only situation as both the sword and its current user are up in the crownlands/riverlands near King's Landing in the books.

[Timbor]

I always figured Coldhands was Benjen Stark... just because it was denied does not mean it is true.  They swore up and down that Jon Snow was dead - in fact he was, but then he was resurrected.  You could imagine similarly that Coldhands is no longer Benjen Stark, as he is no longer a living person... either way, the Coldhands character was not identified in the books so far.

As for the disappointment many feel about the showdown at the Sept, IMO that is basically how things happen in the books.  There is a big buildup in tension for chapters upon chapters, and you feel like some climax is coming, and then it is delayed by a new intrigue  Frustrating, but addicting at the same time. I found the books to have wayyy more focus on intrigue and politics than fighting, and I found the battle scenes in general to be somewhat sparsely detailed compared to all of the politicking...

[Hupp n at em]

I always figured Coldhands was Benjen Stark... just because it was denied does not mean it is true.  They swore up and down that Jon Snow was dead - in fact he was, but then he was resurrected.  You could imagine similarly that Coldhands is no longer Benjen Stark, as he is no longer a living person... either way, the Coldhands character was not identified in the books so far.

As for the disappointment many feel about the showdown at the Sept, IMO that is basically how things happen in the books.  There is a big buildup in tension for chapters upon chapters, and you feel like some climax is coming, and then it is delayed by a new intrigue  Frustrating, but addicting at the same time. I found the books to have wayyy more focus on intrigue and politics than fighting, and I found the battle scenes in general to be somewhat sparsely detailed compared to all of the politicking...

Yeah, I think that as an impatient person I find it easier to deal with in a book, where I can keep up a furious pace and continue reading to satisfy my curiosity vs. a weekly TV show.    I am actually glad he doesn't spend a lot of time detailing the battles, it plays to his strengths and doesn't paint an unrealistic picture of medieval warfare as seems to happen so often in fantasy literature.  I did find his writing in The Battle of The Green Fork, one of the few that gets a POV description in the books, to be pretty good.

[Charlie_]

Yeah, I think that as an impatient person I find it easier to deal with in a book, where I can keep up a furious pace and continue reading to satisfy my curiosity vs. a weekly TV show.    I am actually glad he doesn't spend a lot of time detailing the battles, it plays to his strengths and doesn't paint an unrealistic picture of medieval warfare as seems to happen so often in fantasy literature.  I did find his writing in The Battle of The Green Fork, one of the few that gets a POV description in the books, to be pretty good.

Yes, I'm glad there isn't lots of detailed accounts of battles. That could easily bog the narrative down.

One of my favourite parts of the books has been all the 'on campaign' accounts of the war in the riverlands. Most of the which you see through the eyes of Catelyn, and later when the war is wrapping up through Jaime's eyes. We don't really see any battles, but we hear accounts of battles, skirmishes, raids and sieges from all sorts of characters... We get to see lots of war councils, which are great fun, especially with all the heads of the different houses involved.

And then in A Clash of Kings, when we finally get a detailed account of a huge battle through the eyes of a POV character who is there.... the Battle of the Blackwater as seen by Tyrion... WOW. It is absolutely breathtaking.

Battles side, when there are 'fight scenes' they are dealt with really well. A sudden outburst of violence that has you on the edge of your seat and leaves various people dead or dying. Not treated lightly. I think the most effective 'fight scene' for me was with Brienne, when she ran into Shagwell, Timeon and Pyg in a spooky overgrown ruin. Particularly effective as at that point you realise, despite all her training and skill with the sword and desire to be a knight... she's never actually fought someone for real before! She's never killed a man, and you suddenly realise she's just a young woman with a sword (who luckily does know how to use it). Makes the scene really tense and powerful, especially as she has history with these guys.

[Hupp n at em]

Battles side, when there are 'fight scenes' they are dealt with really well. A sudden outburst of violence that has you on the edge of your seat and leaves various people dead or dying. Not treated lightly. I think the most effective 'fight scene' for me was with Brienne, when she ran into Shagwell, Timeon and Pyg in a spooky overgrown ruin. Particularly effective as at that point you realise, despite all her training and skill with the sword and desire to be a knight... she's never actually fought someone for real before! She's never killed a man, and you suddenly realise she's just a young woman with a sword (who luckily does know how to use it). Makes the scene really tense and powerful, especially as she has history with these guys.

Absolutely!    That might be one of the best scenes in the entire series, and I really hope they find a way to put it in the show in some fashion, maybe merging it into her upcoming jaunt down to the Riverlands.

[Charlie_]

Absolutely!    That might be one of the best scenes in the entire series, and I really hope they find a way to put it in the show in some fashion, maybe merging it into her upcoming jaunt down to the Riverlands.

Unfortunately I don't think that'll happen - they've made her into a killing machine from day one apparently. And there isn't anyone is the show she has 'history' with.

I've recently been re-reading Feast For Crows and Dance With Dragons just through certain characters... Going back to the characters I enjoyed the most and reading all their chapters in sequence. I've done Jaime, Victarion, Asha and I'm now on Brienne. It's a great way to re-read the books I think, you don't have to commit to re-reading the whole series again, and reading each character's chapters one after another helps give a fresh look on the character and their story. All sorts of little details you missed the first time round...

Anyway, when Brienne travels out to Crackclaw Point, ending in her little showdown, I was really struck at how eerie the surroundings were. Pine forests, bogs and coastline, isolated from everywhere else, very lonely... And a growing sense of unease and danger. And the unfortunate end of poor Dick Crabb!

[Hupp n at em]

Unfortunately I don't think that'll happen - they've made her into a killing machine from day one apparently. And there isn't anyone is the show she has 'history' with.

Very true on that count.

I've recently been re-reading Feast For Crows and Dance With Dragons just through certain characters... Going back to the characters I enjoyed the most and reading all their chapters in sequence. I've done Jaime, Victarion, Asha and I'm now on Brienne. It's a great way to re-read the books I think, you don't have to commit to re-reading the whole series again, and reading each character's chapters one after another helps give a fresh look on the character and their story. All sorts of little details you missed the first time round...

I'm surprised I've never heard this suggestion before but I think I'm going to take you up on that... I had just started A Game of Thrones again, got about 1/2-2/3 through and stalled out. I may start with Davos as he might be my favorite characters.

Anyway, when Brienne travels out to Crackclaw Point, ending in her little showdown, I was really struck at how eerie the surroundings were. Pine forests, bogs and coastline, isolated from everywhere else, very lonely... And a growing sense of unease and danger. And the unfortunate end of poor Dick Crabb!

That whole Maidenpool-> Crackclaw Point -> The Whispers sequence was one of my favorites and has stuck in my memory quite vividly.  I actually would like to do some House Crabb, Celtigar, and Mooten men in miniature form because of it.  They're pretty useful actually, because they were staunch Targ loyalists and so would be usable in the many Targaryen civil wars and rebellions.