[Fuzzy]

Can someone explain to me what has happened on winterfell did I blink and miss something?

You didn't miss anything. The show didn't say what happened.

[Chuck Norris]

Can someone explain to me what has happened on winterfell did I blink and miss something?

It got destroyed. Stay tuned to next season to find out why!

[Vyer]

IIRC, THOTU stuff.

That maybe should be spoilered, but I'm not sure.

In any case, I didn't interpret that that way at all. I may have to re read but, CoK i remember it being that Drogon saves her from the Undying for real, and Pree was trying to finish her when she made it through alive.

[FStop7]

I was worried they weren't going to have time to jam in some pointless Ros scenes. Glad I was wrong.

[Gila]

Alright fuck this, I'm getting on the books ASAP

What a damn episode!

So should I start with book 1 even though I've seen Season 1? Or Just start with A Storm Of Swords?

[Dan]

Sounds like some of you book readers are almost willfully hating everything about the show.

- Jon and Quorin. Yeah, despite what Halfhand whispered to him last episode, I would have liked a clearer "You have to pretend to be one of them, even if it means you need to kill me". I would have liked that message more delivered. Because if someone looks away a second or isn't paying attention, they're going to see Jon murder Halfhand in cold blood. I know I'm going to have to explain this to my wife after he does it. Also, after disarming Quorin, there's a split second, then Jon ruthlessly and angrily runs him through in a very painful looking way. It looks very real, so I can see even the Lord of Bones accepting his Wildling orientation as the Real McCoy, but too real...Jon really seemed to have wanted to murder Quorin for calling his mother a whore. Maybe Ros is your mom, Jon, and it's a justifiable fact.....

I read it as Jon being unable to do what was necessary, so Halfhand took things into his own hands and really needled at Jon's psyche, forcing him to get angry and kill him. It could have used a tad more setup, but it wasn't very confusing.

[i_am_not_jon_ames]

Alright fuck this, I'm getting on the books ASAP What a damn episode! So should I start with book 1 even though I've seen Season 1? Or Just start with A Storm Of Swords?

Read them all in order, trust me. It'll be like a directors cut for season one, and youll get so much more out of book 2 what with all the stuff that got changed for season 2.

[Fuzzy]

Alright fuck this, I'm getting on the books ASAP What a damn episode! So should I start with book 1 even though I've seen Season 1? Or Just start with A Storm Of Swords?

DO NOT start with ASoS. Start at the first one.

[Tiktaalik]

In the book was the Robb wedding a New Gods (The Seven) ceremony instead of some Old Gods one? I'm not even sure they discussed it, since Robb isn't a viewpoint character.

Considering that Robb is a northerner and Talisa isn't even from Westeros it struck me as odd, though I don't recall if maybe Robb was raised both religions since his Mother follows the New Gods being from the Riverlands.

I guess another explanation would be that they're so far south that there is no Old Gods wedding ceremony practitioners around.

This is extreme nitpicking. I don't actually care about these sort of deviations at all. Just something I noticed.

[Bebpo]

Alright fuck this, I'm getting on the books ASAP What a damn episode! So should I start with book 1 even though I've seen Season 1? Or Just start with A Storm Of Swords?

You can start with book 2. You CANNOT start with book 3 or it won't make any sense since book 2 was so different than TV season 2.

You could read book 1 if you want. It's about 95% similar and the changes won't confuse you in later books. They were minimal. I started with Book 1 after watching TV S1 and it was still nice to go through it again and get a proper grasp on all the characters.

[Arment]

Alright fuck this, I'm getting on the books ASAP What a damn episode! So should I start with book 1 even though I've seen Season 1? Or Just start with A Storm Of Swords?

Another vote for read from the beginning. The explanations of the history of Westeros and insight from what the characters say in their inner monologue will be like a whole new level for you.

[lacinius]

Overall, enjoyed the second season, although for me the first season left a much bigger impact. I was disappointed they spent too much time during some critical late episodes repeating the... "you are the mother of dragons", "I am the mother of dragons" thing, when that time could have been put to better use like the adult Starks learning of what has happened at Winterfell... but oh well.

The burning of Winterfell while not anti-climatic, it did seem kind of confusing as to what went down. Hopefully they tidy that up with a few lines of dialogue next season.

The House of the Undying was a bit of a letdown, especially when they seemed to keep pushing the sequence back until the last episode... at least the dragon's have leveled up and the "flamethrower achievement" has been unlocked.

Stannis showing up all the way back home when it very much looked like he was at least captured in the previous episode was a tad jarring. Looking forward to rewatching that sequence when the blu-ray is released. Might spot it better with the armour or whatever.

Loved the ending "cliffhanger", which makes me eager for next season, now less than one year away!!

The best line of the second season, "There's no cure for being a cunt."

[Fuzzy]

Another vote for read from the beginning. The explanations of the history of Westeros and insight from what the characters say in their inner monologue will be like a whole new level for you.

I thought I liked some of the characters after watching the first season but I liked them even more after reading the first book. Getting into their heads and understanding what they were thinking made them so much better.

[theignoramus]

I wish they'd actually shown something when Stannis looked in the fire. If he's having an epiphany let us see it.

[FStop7]

If only David Carradine were still alive, he would have made a perfect Mance.

[Speevy]

I wish they'd actually shown something when Stannis looked in the fire. If he's having an epiphany let us see it.

It showed Tywin's horse, the stallion who shits on the iron throne.

[PsychoSoldier]

I wish they'd actually shown something when Stannis looked in the fire. If he's having an epiphany let us see it.

I think the problem with that as well as some of the stuff they cut from THOTU was simply they don't want to accidentally give away (or hint at) anything that they see.

Could just be budget issues, too.

[Speevy]

Are we to believe from this episode that Tywin Lannister has bought the lies of his daughter and grandson?

He's a more gullible character than I thought if true.

Or maybe he knows what Tyrion did during the battle and doesn't care?

[Plywood]

edit: nvm

[Tiktaalik]

I wish they'd actually shown something when Stannis looked in the fire. If he's having an epiphany let us see it.

There's nothing there. He's convincing himself he's seeing something in order to justify keeping on going.

[Fuzzy]

I think the problem with that as well as some of the stuff they cut from THOTU was simply they don't want to accidentally give away (or hint at) anything that they see. Could just be budget issues, too.

Or he doesn't actually see anything and just convinces himself that he does.

[EleventhDoctor]

I wish they'd actually shown something when Stannis looked in the fire. If he's having an epiphany let us see it.

I smell a meme coming!

[theignoramus]

(SoS spoiler)
I thought Stannis and Melisandre saw the deaths of Robb, Balon, and Joffrey in the flames?

[Chuck Norris]

You can start with book 2. You CANNOT start with book 3 or it won't make any sense since book 2 was so different than TV season 2. You could read book 1 if you want. It's about 95% similar and the changes won't confuse you in later books. They were minimal. I started with Book 1 after watching TV S1 and it was still nice to go through it again and get a proper grasp on all the characters.

It wasn't that different.

[Jibbajabbawockky]

Love the TV depiction of the Others. They look like Nordic gods shining white with bristly white whiskers covering their bodies. I think the artists nailed the look which has been so hard to picture through the books.

I wished they had a little more ice armor or something to better differentiate them from the Wights.

They totally remind of the Draugr in Skyrim though.

[Dan]

Stannis showing up all the way back home when it very much looked like he was at least captured in the previous episode was a tad jarring. Looking forward to rewatching that sequence when the blu-ray is released. Might spot it better with the armour or whatever.

Oh yeah, this was odd. I wasn't entirely sure whether those were his troops or not holding him back at the end of episode 9. Somehow he gets off the ramparts and back on a boat? That threw me a bit. It seemed pretty easy for him.

[Dot50Cal]

It was definitely messily done, but it's not the case that Jon actually murdered Qhorin for no reason. It was to infiltrate the wildlings. They just didn't do a great job of showing it.

Yes they did, in episode 9 he clearly explains to Jon what must be done.

[PhoenixPause]

Eh, I'll have to watch it again. It started strong and just got ridiculous. Didn't like the Others, House Of the Undying, Jon's stuff (outside of the final shot)..

Everything in King's Landing continues to be strong, even the Ros stuff thanks to Varys. Maybe Varys is sending her to Dany after all

They completely ruined Arya and Jon's storylines, I'm sorry. Not going to be a book purist asshole, but that was just shameful shit

[Bebpo]

It wasn't that different.

It's enough that ASOS will not make any sense if you went from TV S2 -> ASOS. The books are all about tying events, conversations, characters, subplots from one scene to other much later down the line. So much of ASOS pulls from events, characters, dialogues that just did not happen in TV S2.

[methodman]

I loved the episode, and overall I really enjoyed this season. I'm not too upset at any of the changes from book ---> to show because it's following along well enough to convey the story. Never really cared to see every single scene play out similarly like many here do, but I do have very high expectations for next season and one scene in particular.

[Speevy]

If I had been Tywin, I would have made it my first priority to ensure that Stanis Baratheon was dead.

This guy nearly destroyed King's Landing. Let's have a celebration while he escapes!

[dead souls]

sigh, this show is such a hot mess.

It really is. I wanted to love it, but it's coming in a distant third place out of the three Sunday night dramas I'm currently watching. Of course Mad Men is better (even though I have my issues with that show), but in a rather shocking turn of events The Borgias is kicking its ass as well.

[Pkaz01]

I don't get the complaints for Jon's storyline other than they really cut down on Qhorin and his badassness. He tells Jon that he has to do it when the time comes in episode 7 so the time came this episode and jon knew what to do. Isn't that what happens in the books?

Other than that Varys was awesome, Brienne was badass, and that Luwin scene was depressing as hell.

[Kuroyume]

The episode was a mixed bag of good and bad. Theon yet again stole the show. They've done really incredible stuff with that character and the crazy part is the his best stuff is yet to come. They pulled off the castle turnover well considering Reek's absence. Will be sweeter when we find out next season that Ramsay skinned Theon's men anyway. Really would have preferred that they stuck closely to the book regarding the fall of Winterfall as it has a fucked up twist later on with the story of all the Reeks but they went through with the story their own way. Weeker story overall but not that bad. They were able to pull it off by strong performances from Theon and Luwin.

I also enjoyed the scenes with Tyrion, Varys, Littlefinger, Stannis/Melissandre, Arya and Jaqen. I love when Jaqen and Arya talk with each other, and the way they handled the face change is okay with me. The last shot with Sam and the Whitewalkers/Dead was also done pretty well although I don't understand why the Whitewalker didn't kill him then. They kill everyone and anyone they can. It's what they do. They don't discriminate. I don't get it.

On the bad side of things I would have to point out the Jaimie/Brienne scene. The fight looked terrible and during that scene you could tell it's missing George's snappier dialogue. Feels like watered down Jaime vs Brienne. They also totally butchered Jon's story from the books. A very bad adaptation of his story. A couple of shots of Ghosts early on but no body jacking? Ghost doesn't find the dragonglass. Oh, the others just happen to stumble upon it in this vast bleak white wasteland. Really? Rattleshirt being the one who cut Jon loose too? Really? Wtf? I liked seeing Ygritte smack Jon outside the head with Longclaw while teasing him but that's about it for Jon's scenes in this episode. They casted a pretty damn good Ygritte... That's at least one bright spot on the season regarding Jon's story.

Daenerys' HOU scene had both it's good and bad. Not seeing Rhaegar was a serious bummer but it was cool to see Drogo again. I can't recall if he was in that scene in the books. I also liked the imagery for the most part. Nice transition from the ash covered throne, to the wall, to the hut. That shot of the dragons burning Pyat was cheesey looking though. Also, what's with them killing Xaros? Not an important character in the books going forward but that was unusually cruel. Especially killing her handmaid for sleeping with some guy? She's USUALLY the merciful one.

The season was okay overall. It disappointed me because it didn't live up to the hype I had going into it and it didn't do the books justice in the way the first season did but I suppose I expected too much. Should have reminded myself that they had to compress all that material into a 10 episode run. There's just no way they could do justice to the book given how much stuff went on in there compared to GOT. Still, despite being somewhat disappointed I really enjoyed the season.

[Hellcrow]

Really enjoyed the look of the wights/other ending scene. Thought it was going to end with the third blast, and then cut.

[Vyer]

Also, what's with them killing Xaros? Not an important character in the books going forward but that was unusually cruel. Especially killing her handmaid for sleeping with some guy? She's USUALLY the merciful one. .

They sold her out to Pree. She wasn't supposed to make it out of THOTU.

[apana]

I don't get the complaints for Jon's storyline other than they really cut down on Qhorin and his badassness. He tells Jon that he has to do it when the time comes in episode 7 so the time came this episode and jon knew what to do. Isn't that what happens in the books? Other than that Varys was awesome, Brienne was badass, and that Luwin scene was depressing as hell.

With Jon, it's not this episode's scene so much as it is Jon's story this whole season. It started off great and reached an incredible peak when he was about to behead Ygritte, and totally fucking cratered down hill from there. You can construct a whole ruined and icy throne room for house of undying scene, dragon flame throwers, giant vaults with nothing in them, and an army of wights but you can't [ACOK] replicate the sound of a motherfucking eagle and have Jon and Qhorin run around in the snow?

[Speevy]

Maybe next season Xaro Xhoan Daxos will become the richest man in Vault.

[Massa]

Maybe next season Xaro Xhoan Daxos will become the richest man in Vault.

He's going to be fucking Doreah until the end of days. Not a bad vault to be in if you ask me.

[Pkaz01]

With Jon, it's not this episode's scene so much as it is Jon's story this whole season. It started off great and reached an incredible peak when he was about to behead Ygritte, and totally fucking cratered down hill from there. You can construct a whole ruined and icy throne room for house of undying scene, dragon flame throwers, giant vaults with nothing in them, and an army of wights but you can't [ACOK] replicate the sound of a motherfucking eagle and have Jon and Qhorin run around in the snow?

Series spoilers thats what happens when they rush the love stories like talisa and robb and jon and ygritte (who is awesome so I don't mind as much) it takes away from the the actual important stuff that happened in book 2. It seems like they are doing their best to make the season 3 and 4 deaths even more devastating even if its at the cost of season 2 being crappier storyline wise. Only downside is that its not just the characters like Robb and Jon that the love interests are cutting away from they are effecting Arya's storyline too

He's going to be fucking Doreah until the end of days. Not a bad vault to be in if you ask me.

more like for two days until he starts starving and eats her alive.

[Chuck Norris]

My opinion on the "made up" content. It has been a mix of good and bad, I really think they need to be careful with how they adapt some of these characters, and make sure what they are doing is true to the character. I think they'll need to do quite a bit of it in later seasons so its good they get the practice now.

I get the feeling the pre-production / production was a bit rushed, there was a lot of high quality stuff but it felt like a lot of the visual language was lost or didn't make sense because of poor planning. Like in Blackwater, Stannis rushes up a ladder and then he kinda stands around on a balcony fighting people I guess? That made no sense to me. Its like they wanted him in the battle, but they needed to get him out of the way. Then he gets dragged away by unrecognizable guards, making it look like he has been captured. Very confusing stuff.

This season had quite a bit of that and really smacks of a bit of poor planning. Again in this episode, Sam trips over and his friends run off, so he hides behind a rock? I mean it's a much easier scene to compose than having him running away from a horde, but it also makes little sense, especially for him to survive that.

It's these little 1%ers that the show is missing at the moment.

[Nlroh]

I should re-read the book. Everyone keeps talking about Arya's storyline and I don't even remember it. The only things I remember are the most important bits of the story, and those were kind of translated to the screen. I only missed the (aCoK)weasel soup, but that's it.

[wenis]

Holy shit, that was a satisfying ending to a great season. I had goosebumps at the end there. It's always going to be an incredible feeling seeing one favorite medium being transferred to another so well.

[Pkaz01]

An omission no one has mentioned (that I know of)

why did no one find out the stark boys are dead? How is Arya going to find out, Why didn't Robb and Cat find out before he married Talisa? Are they going to assume they burned in winterfell? I don't get it.

[pulga]

Random stuff off of tumblr:

SERIES SPOILER Think we'll ever see new-Jaqen as the Alchemist in Oldtown? :O

[Anbokr]

Some of the changes were admittedly pointless. - Like, why is Ros still a character?

Definitely hookin up with Dan Weiss, I see no other explanation!

[RamzaIsCool]

They totally remind of the Draugr in Skyrim though.

Actually I was like `hey look, it´s Kain from Sould Reaver`.

[Speevy]

I would've redone the episode with a few changes.

For one, cut out the Stannis bit. No one needs to know whether Stanis Baratheon is still alive, or that he's still allied with Melisandre. Could've waited until next season.

Second, Ros or whoever. Cut that out.

Third, I want to hear Tywin's rationale for why his son is sleeping in a room that isn't fit for a prisoner.

Where is Bronn? "Relieved of his command." Someone might assume he is dead with the way Cersei does things.

Also, why not have Sansa do...anything? Just have her get on a horse or something. The Hound offered to help her in the last episode, and now she's receiving help from the guy who backstabs everyone? People automatically assume that the king is going to torture and eventually kill any ex-queen/fiancee. That's a heck of a place to leave that.

Tywin left Harrenhal in the hands of The Mountain. Jaquen killed a bunch of guards to help Arya escape. So where is The Mountain now? I know he's not dead, but what is he doing now?

I'm sure this is explained in the book, but Bran and Rickon are awfully casual about their entire city being burned to the ground. They know Theon's men didn't do it. They have to know. So why not leave this part until next season? They could begin with a burnt Winterfell, and show who did it and why.

[GavinGT]

Are we to believe from this episode that Tywin Lannister has bought the lies of his daughter and grandson? He's a more gullible character than I thought if true. Or maybe he knows what Tyrion did during the battle and doesn't care?

Tyrion is wearing the proof of his courage across his face now. I'm sure Tywin will acknowledge his actions at some point.

[Gunloc]

What was the last thing that Littlefinger said to Sansa?

"We're all better than you"?