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The soundtrack has been released by accident on itunes. I already listened to it and almost half of it is from the upcoming two episodes and these tracks were recorded with a real orchestra in prague.

In my opinion Djawadi improved and delivered some really nice tracks in the last two episodes

(especially

House of the Undying, Wildfire, Mother of Dragons, The Rains of Castamere and Stand and Fight

)

Tracklist (SPOILERS!!!)

1. Main Title (1:46)

2. The Throne Is Mine (3:15)

3. What Is Dead May Never Die (2:06)

4. Warrior Of Light (3:03)

5. Valar Morghulis (2:59)

6. Winterfell (2:42)

7. Qarth (2:11)

8. Wildfire (3:39)

9. I Am Hers, She Is Mine (2:17)

10. Pyat Pree (2:12)

11. Don’t Die With A Clean Sword (3:22)

12. We Are The Watchers On The Wall (2:37)

13. Pay The Iron Price (2:32)

14. One More Drink Before The War (2:05)

15. House Of The Undying (5:02)

16. Stand And Fight (2:04)

17. The Old Gods And The New (2:38)

18. Mother Of Dragons (2:34)

19. I Will Keep You Safe (2:17)

20. The Rains Of Castamere† Performed by The National (2:23)

21. Three Blasts (2:40)

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I am trying to be positive but I have very little good to say about Djawadi's music. He is RCP composer through and through, a Zimmer clone who basically repeats what his master has taught him. And since I am heavily allergic to Zimmer the mere sound of this music makes me slightly sick with few exceptions. I know Djawadi tries but alas he doesn't nail the spirit of this world in my ears.

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Well...what can I say?! I don't know if I should make such a bold statement, but that just might have been the best episode in the series so far (or at least one of the best). Definitely the most kick-ass episode they've done yet! I don't know what micro-criticisms that BloodBoal will pull out of the hat for this one, but I look forward to them.

First thing that really catches your eye is the sheer scope of it all, especially for a TV series. There were no random cuts to any post-battle scenes, this is full out action with exploding boats, flaming arrows and clashing swords. And I bow my head in shame as I stand corrected, this battle in essence takes much after the Battle of the Hornburg, NOT the Siege of Gondor as I previously said. Its funny because I've read that the guys initially decided to cut out the entire battle sequence and only tell it from the perspective of Sansa and Cersei thanks to budgetary reasons. But luckily with a budget increase they managed to pull this off because the dramatic effect is quite potent.

Next, the character scenes are brilliant. Hats off to Lena Headey for her gripping performance of Cersei in this episode. Sansa was great too and Dinklage as the heroic captain was quite the role. Everyone was superb. And I especially liked the depth they went into for the characters. The Hound's storyline was also executed well. I was also fond of Varys' eerie foreboding tones that warmed us up for the battle at hand.

What I loved most in the ending was that bad-ass ending. Cersei's voice gave me the chills over the montage of doom and gloom, and then -BAM!-, Tywin walks in like a real badass. What a great way to end off the episode.

Ultimately the only real flaw with this episode is the music. God dammit, if any episode begged for some real, big, epic battle music, its this one. Someone should have just cut and paste "The Breach of the Deeping Wall" or "The Battle of the Hornburg". THATS the kind of music the scenes were crying out for. Instead we got the same old ostinato playing over and over again at varying tempos and the occasional key change over rambling percussion....it was ridiculous and really diminished the scope that the sequence was trying to emulate. I mean come on! For those who have been trying to defend Djawadi with the whole "subtlety is what this show needs" argument, THESE kind of scenes require much more than "subtle action music"....

Other than that, a great episode! Loved it! Can't wait for the season finale.

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I agree wholeheartedly. A gripping episode on all accounts. Minor quibble is that I found that the Hound, despite a great performance, was perhaps not menacing enough in the final few scenes. His demeanor has been mellowed down in the show. I remember him being a lot more threatening in the novel during these events, half-mad with fire and tired of it all. But other than that I loved it. Well played and Martin's writing has to be commended since he wrote the script for this episode, succeeding in capturing the intensity of the original novel and the outline of the plot so well in the series.

And boy were there some brilliant character moments. I loved them all. Especially Tywin (for the win!) marching in at the end like he owned the place and annoucing the battle won. :P

And yes the music was string ostinati and drums. This is turning out like Battlestar Galactica and those damn taiko drums. Gets boring after 2 episodes.

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I agree wholeheartedly. A gripping episode on all accounts. Minor quibble is that I found that the Hound, despite a great performance, was perhaps not menacing enough in the final few scenes. His demeanor has been mellowed down in the show. I remember him being a lot more threatening in the novel during these events, half-mad with fire and tired of it all. But other than that I loved it. Well played and Martin's writing has to be commended since he wrote the script for this episode, succeeding in capturing the intensity of the original novel and the outline of the plot so well in the series.

Aye, I did notice the lack of intensity in the Hound's demeanour. But I let it slip. And I did not know Martin wrote this episode, thanks for the heads up. That explains the great writing behind it all.

And boy were there some brilliant character moments. I loved them all. Especially Tywin (for the win!) marching in at the end like he owned the place and annoucing the battle won. :P

Easily my favourite scene :D

And yes the music was string ostinati and drums. This is turning out like Battlestar Galactica and those damn taiko drums. Gets boring after 2 episodes.

It makes me sick really...I think overall, the quality of the music has dropped since the 1st season. Either that, or its quality and effectiveness in context has seriously diminished. I'll have to listen to the album to determine that.

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The episode also shows how the focus on single location with a limited set of characters is naturally more effective from the point of view of the drama. It is a luxury in a series with so many main characters do linger in one location or point of view this long. :)

Oh and my second favourite moment after Tywin comes marching home is when Tyrion takes out the battering ram. I love how baffled he looks, "Was this really all? Was this really so easy?" written all over his face when he suddenly spots the main body of Stannis' army charging at them. Brilliant! :D

And in honor of his victory I proudly present my near prophetic poem (for the plot deviates a bit from the novel which I did not know beforehand) composed for Bronn before I saw the 9th episode. And now I added a few touches to it to make it more accurately reflect the events in the series:

An Ode to Bronn

There is an inn, a brothel but inn,

beneath Aegon's High Hill.

And there they brew a swill so brown,

that Bronn the sellsword himself came down,

one night to eat his fill.

And oh the row of merry lasses,

and the throng of whores with pox.

For when brave Bronn arrived,

nearly half swooned or died,

'cause he's hung like a giant plow ox.

Inside now strides the Hound and tries,

to mock brave Bronn who has whore on his side.

Their words are cold, if truth be told,

and men look on as these warriors bold

now toss insults about, without a doubt

to end in blood, a red mighty flood.

But alas for brave Bronn

his chance for whores and fight gone,

for lord Tyrion called after him quick.

City's defenders were scarce, a cowardly farce,

and needing a strong motivational kick.

King Stannis was near, with his fleet of fear,

and he threatened the harbours and walls.

In the night so clear, it was easy to hear,

sounds of synth drums and Djawadi's ostino calls.

So our heroic Bronn to the Black Water springs,

An arrow he knocks to the bow that he strings.

He lights it with fire and lets it fly,

it sails through the air in an arc so high

and zig zaggs the ships, like demons's whips,

and sets them alight in the cool clear night.

So battle was ended with an arrow so small,

the wicked barb blasting through masts and sails tall.

Soon in fiery ruin was Stannis' fleet,

and sunk under waves beside Red Keep's tall feet.

And Bronn our sellsword, whose arrow it was,

would grunt and his weapons to ground he would toss.

So badass, so cynical, clad in ring mail,

back walked to the inn, to his whores and his ale.

And there he then stayed through his days without a care,

after shot that made even Legolas enviously despair.

But there was a rumor of one Red Keep boat,

that full of wildfire did lord Stannis smote.

Of course this is slander of lowest repute,

and let me this slander for Bronn now refute.

For arrow it was not the wildfire's might,

that on grim Blackwater set matters to right.

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Anyone listened yet to the Season 2 soundtrack? I hated this score to begin with, but it's growing on me slightly. Some decent tracks on this release. Winterfell and Pay the Iron Price are good.

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Just read my posts tannhauser, i already listened and posted about it and i agree with you. I especially liked (in addition to those two you posted) Wildfire, House of the Undying and Mother of Dragons

I respectfully disagree with Incanus and K.K.. The scoring of the brilliant Blackwater episode worked well in context and was much more than drums and string ostinatos...

look at the prominent brass for example

Djawadi improved to an average level but that doesn't mean he is a good composer. At least he developed his themes,

recorded with real orchestra for the last two episodes and amped up the orchestrations.

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Hey at least the Black Water music had drums in the right scene. ;)

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That was a REAL orchestra?! :o

If that's so, then the score had a terrible mixing job...

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Yes, but in the past RC did at the very least a decent job of mixing their synths...but Game of Thrones the synths are just so bloody awful...

I think on just the level of sound and mixing, RCP is really getting progressively worse.

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I just saw four episodes straight of this thing.

Great cast. I still like the locations (and the fake backgrounds somehow look cool to me anyway, it's like part of the style.) Margarey's dress thing is horrible to look at. A bit too many of different threads at the same time, I would have reorganized some parts differently.

Edit: I saw the fifth episode and I'm seeing the sixth right now.

I think it's not that I disliked Dany. I think it's that her storyline is the most painfully uninteresting of the whole lot. Her motivations are also a bit incomprehensible to me.

Despite his actions, I'm not sure Theon is completely sure of the side he had to choose.

I look forward to the scenes with Arya an Tywin. I think the whole "Tywin surrounded by idiots + Arya" is somewhat funny.

This seriously needs something awesome beyond the Wall. So much buildup.

After some of the fun plotting that characterized the story Renly's manner of death feels like a cheat to me. Also I'm not sure of it yet but it's as if they had a wanna-be-king too many that was getting in the way of where they wanted to go so they took the easy route and killed him randomly.

Edit again: shit, Jorah Mormont is loosing his cool.

Edit again: only two episodes left!

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Neither Hormburg nor Gondor had flaming arrows. But flaming arrows are reminiscent of Grond. And Hornburg never had an attack by sea. And you can see a bunch of people freaking out in the city, like the innocents of Mina's Tirith.

Yes that was one of Denethor's more brilliant ideas, leaving the city full of civilians. They make a good human shield in time of siege don't they and buy time for the troops when black trolls slaughter them before going after the soldiers.

In the film perhaps. But his descent into madness was handled poorly there, unfortunately (in other words: not at all). In the book, women and children are evacuated from the city in time before the siege.

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In the film Gondor sucks. They should have had the beacons working (as Gandalf and Pippin arrive at the city) and get the civilians out of there. One thing is going mad, other thing is condemning everybody to die for no reason without doing anything and without any expert military mind there doing anything about it. Plus, they would have one stupid scene left out (Pippin lighting the beacon), the film is already long.

Now I'm seeing episode 2.9. Fuck! Stannis has balls!!

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In the film Gondor sucks. They should have had the beacons working (as Gandalf and Pippin arrive at the city) and get the civilians out of there. One thing is going mad, other thing is condemning everybody to die for no reason without doing anything and without any expert military mind there doing anything about it. Plus, they would have one stupid scene left out (Pippin lighting the beacon), the film is already long.

The lighting of the beacons is one of the most magical moments in the trilogy though!

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Neither Hormburg nor Gondor had flaming arrows. But flaming arrows are reminiscent of Grond. And Hornburg never had an attack by sea. And you can see a bunch of people freaking out in the city, like the innocents of Mina's Tirith.

Yes that was one of Denethor's more brilliant ideas, leaving the city full of civilians. They make a good human shield in time of siege don't they and buy time for the troops when black trolls slaughter them before going after the soldiers.

In the film perhaps. But his descent into madness was handled poorly there, unfortunately (in other words: not at all). In the book, women and children are evacuated from the city in time before the siege.

Of course. I was refering purely to the film there.
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I bet that sells like hot cakes (or Hot Pie) in Westeros and HBO watching countries. Joffrey is someone everyone likes to hate.

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Finally Tywin (for the win!) Lannister will receive a worthy adeversary, the Lightning Lord Beric Dondarrion!

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I was just watching Doctor Who and what do you know, 3 GoT actors appear in the same episode, Ron Donachie (Rodrick Cassel), Jamie Sives (Jory Cassel) and Ian Hanmore (Pyat Pree himself). :lol:

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If you look creepy you get only creepy roles. I wonder if he has that on his resume "I look naturally evil/creepy, it's one of my biggest strengths." And yes he was a creepy dude in that episode as well, but of course that is obvious from the picture.

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Hey, he doesn't look THAT creepy if you don't look at his face...

Or if you have a paper bag over your head or if you are in a dark room with him. Face it he is creepy from head to toe. The dude looks like a walking skeleton! But that's cool. Creepy is the new cool.
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The 10th and last episode of season 2, Valar Morghulis: A pretty engrossing episode all in all but had a strong feeling of paving the way for the next season, having a lot of set up scenes between various characters that enable for future plot twists. Some major events passed rather quickly in storytelling but that also has to do with the different path they took compared to the plot of the novel but on the whole the episode had strong pacing and wonderful performances. Peter Dinklage is still one of the most relatable of all characters, Tyrion earning perhaps the most poignant moment of the episode, coming from death's door to find all that he was taken from him in the aftermath of the battle of Blackwater. Alfie Allen as Theon rose to the occasion with excellent mix of desperation, truculence and defiance and has one of the best moments of the episode all to himself. It'll knock you out!

In the end this is not as gripping as the season 1 finale but with a series that has to have all of its myriad plots in some kind of transitional moment by the end of the season the writers have done a good job. And no sexposition again, 4th episode in a row! The drama does indeed speak for itself without unnecessary show of mammaries every few minutes.

Some notions, about the good and the bad in the episode:

The destruction of Winterfell was quite sudden and done differently since the build-up and betrayal of Bolton's forces was not written into the story. Not bad but I am really interested to find out how they intend to play this whole Bolton-takes-over scenario now. In the book it was doubly effective because of the sudden turning of the tide at the direst of moments to even direr. Oh well, at least it will be interesting to see in the third season.

Maester Luwin's death was heartbreaking and poignant and Djawadi's music for once superbly accented the sadness of the moment. I am sad to see Donald Sumpter as Maester Luwin, who has been one of the most humane and endearing actors and characters in the series, go as he brought such compassion and quiet wisdom to his role. The death of Winterfell with the Maester was equally somber affair.

Arya's encounter with the Faceless Man Jaquen played out well and I liked how they remained quite faithful to the novel. Sorry to see that actor leave though, he was mesmerizing in that role. But there will be Beric Dondarrion next season to wow us into awed silence!

Tywin (for the win!) got only one if spectacular scene which puts even Aragorn's badass arrival at Helm's Keep to shame, riding to the throne room with a white horse looking like he owns the place.

The House of the Undying was rather underwhelming apart from the dream sequence and I would have wanted to see more warlocks who suck out Daenery's life to that floating gigantic heart like the in the book but alas we only got Pyat Pree with his illusionary brothers chaining her to the walls to hang around for all eternity to fuel their (his?) magic with dragons. That "Dracarys" moment also lacked true dramatic punch, it sort of just came and went without any tension at all which I think was really needed at that moment.

Jon's duel with Qhorin was poorly staged without much motivation at all, the whole notion of the older ranger making Jon to swear he will try to spy for the Night's Watch in Mance Rayder's camp and escape to warn his Brothers left out when that was the most important aspect of the scene and an important character moment at this point, setting up inner conflict in him. Rather half-handed, pardon the pun, way of presenting this scene from the novel.

Oh and I did not like the design of the Others/White Walkers now that we finally see them clearly up close for the first time. Underwhelming is the word that comes to mind. The wights on the other hand were quite chilling, horse and all and the scene was a really excellent way to end the season with a huge cliffhanger.

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Spot on Incanus. I largely agree with everything you said. The episode was great, but a bit underwhelming as a season finale. The last season ended off with a far greater bam. But this episode does an excellent job of setting us up for the next season. And I'm sure you can't deny that the character scenes were really mesmerizing, perhaps more so than previous episodes. Tyrion's scene was done quite well, and Arya's scene with Ja'qeun was executed well too. And while Daenerys' time at the House of the Undying wasn't done quite as well as I hoped it would, it was still engrossing to see her being so badass at the end, like the Queen she is meant to be. I would have preferred that this episode ended off with Daenerys scene in the book.

Where was the ship and Ser Barristan? I would have liked that scene.

Maester Luwin's scene was really touching and as you said, its a shame we won't see him anymore. Finally, the Others scene was exactly as you said, underwhelming. And the particular last shot looked kind of cheap. The wight was done well, but the rest didn't give the chills needed for that scene. They all just looked like a bunch of mindless zombies. Yes, I know...thats what the Others ARE, but they should look cooler!

Overall it wasn't perfect, but this still remains to be a great finale to a great season.

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One aspect of the show they handle with varying success is the supernatural and magic. It is almost like they have now set up this very real and ordinary world of politics and intrigue but are a bit careful when they should show the deeper more spiritual and magical side of this world. Martin keeps the mysteries of magic and gods somewhat hidden but he at certain moments unveils them to full effect. In the series it is usually down played visually with some exceptions like the excellent scene with the assassin shadow and Melisandre, which was made all the more powerful by the sudden intrusion of magic into this everday struggle of war. But more often they almost always try to find ways of not showing anything, hence the rather skimpy effects in the House of the Undying (I admit the floating heart would have been cool but still very weird for most viewers not matter how much the events took place in the house of magic) which can be the best option at times. And then they suddenly reveal almost too much as with the details of the "realistic" features of the White Walkers which I think would have been better left obscured or designed to be a bit less ordinary and human (which they were). Martin himself gives, I think, deliberately so scant desciptions of them to make them unknown and thus more terrifying but of course films are a visual media so they have to work with its limitations, possibilities and demands when it comes to story telling. Also I know that special effects are costly and take time and effort so I understand that they cut e.g. a lot of the vision material for Bran from the series but this way part of the supernatural element is lost, which is equally important yet subtle part of this story.

Oh and the dead people, the zombies (or wights which is the proper term) were much more gruesome and horrifying than their masters to me. As I said above I would have left the Others still shrouded in mystery or made them even more alien. Perhaps this appearance is something that just takes a bit of time to get used to.

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Looking at your discussion, and glancing at the avatar pictures, I can't help but think of this quote: "No! For I was talking aloud to myself. A habit of the old: they choose the wisest person present to speak to; the long explanations needed by the young are wearying." ;)

The episode was indeed a worthy finale for an overall great season. I concur with the impression that the White Walkers appeared too "physical" -- when reading, I pictured them having a more crystalline, icy appearance, like something that moves despite looking like it should be immobile, adding to the creepiness. These Others looked more like they came back to life after having been dehydrated and conserved under the ice for ages...

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:lol:

Your description of the Others hits the nail on the head and also perhaps says succintly what I was trying to convey. They chose a very realistic way of portraying them, choosing a visual style that is rooted to the "normal" world and its explanations. Like a human body dehydrated and conserved under the ice for ages. I was expecting perhaps something more supernatural, shrouded and mysterious but chilling.

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I don't know what these things are supposed to be, but I prefer to think of them as an alternate group of sentient beings just like the humans, or the children of the forest, or whatever.

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I don't know what these things are supposed to be, but I prefer to think of them as an alternate group of sentient beings just like the humans, or the children of the forest, or whatever.

Except these seem inimical to all life and want to see it destroyed. We do not know much about them of course, not in the novels nor in the series. But they are certainly nothing as normal or everyday as humans. Children of the Forest were of course another more "advanced" race closer to the world and nature. Maybe the Others are the opposite.

I seem to remember that there was another series with mysterious Others as well. ;)

As Melisandre once told they serve the Great Other who is the enemy of the Lord of Light and life, reflecting these two eternal principles of light and darkness, good and evil, life and death. These two primordial powers seem to have representatives on earth and the Others are the ones serving the Darkness and the red priests one group serving the Light.

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Well there's the more cosmological view and the more down to Earth view. I would just think they're weird to the humans as the humans are weird to them. I have no idea where the story goes later, whether proving Melisandre right or wrong. Of course it would be cool if neither was entirely correct.

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Well there's the more cosmological view and the more down to Earth view. I would just think they're weird to the humans as the humans are weird to them. I have no idea where the story goes later, whether proving Melisandre right or wrong. Of course it would be cool if neither was entirely correct.

That remains to be seen. However the way they go about their "business" at this moment in the story says they certainly are not up to a good start with public relations with mankind. ;)
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A great end to a great season but not without small things to criticize.

What finale character arcs i liked:

- Arya: What a fine scene with Jaqen. I totally loved the face change. This is the perfect way for "magic" to be depicted. It seems real and somehow you would think that he could have put something on his face while turning back that could explain the facechange... love that

- King's Landing (Joffrey, Sansa, Tywin, Tyrion, Varys)

Especially the Throne room scene perfectly set the stage for next season with the Tyrell storyline. Tyrion's poignant scene with Shae was a highlight too.

- Winterfell:

In my opinion this was solved rather well. For non book readers it might have been confusing to not know Theon's fate for certain. I especially liked visuals like the perfect Direwolves or Winterfell in flames. A very good and sad scene with Luwin took place in the ethereal Godswood which is one of my favorite sets.

- The Others/White Walkers:

In this case the whole issue is very subjective. The CGI other was in my opinion a natural progression from the pilot Other. The better CGI studio made an improved Other possible. The more humanoid form looked creepy as hell and has probably been chosen to not have too much difference to the humanoid walkers.

Did you spot the fine detail of icy chill floating from the arms, body and weapon of the Other on the horse. This is a level of detail normally not done on TV shows and makes the CGI all the more believable.

- Jaime/ Brienne:

I liked the dynamic here and the foreshadowing of next seasons Riverrun location. The humor and Jamies insults were like in the book. This scene also provided another look onto the standard soldier perspective.

- Stannis and Melisandre:

Creepy and mysterious scenes which were well acted. The characters are exactly as i pictured them while reading the book (ok i pictured Stannis with beard and bald head but no harm done...)

Neutral character arc:

- Daenerys: This is probably the biggest dissapointement of the finale. Why the hell didn't they show some of the hugely important prophecies. This is such a missed opportunity but they still can redeem themselves. They could add to the fantastic atmospheric walk through the throne room and wall in form of Daenerys dreaming next season. For example instead entering the wall passage she could enter the Rhaegar scene, etc....

Still the dragons rocked and the final scene with Xhao and Dorea was perfectly executed and scored.

What i didnt like:

Jon Snow: I felt that they watered down the whole Halfhand Snow dynamic and even made it rather confusing for non book readers as the important scene to understand the duel happened in episode 8. This should have been moved to episode 10 instead. The book's version is better and more dramatic but at least the conlusion is the same. Halfhand died and Jon enters the Wildling main camp to meet Mance.

(another appropriately epic CGI backdrop)

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Well there's the more cosmological view and the more down to Earth view. I would just think they're weird to the humans as the humans are weird to them. I have no idea where the story goes later, whether proving Melisandre right or wrong. Of course it would be cool if neither was entirely correct.

That remains to be seen. However the way they go about their "business" at this moment in the story says they certainly are not up to a good start with public relations with mankind. ;)

Well they're scary, the humans are superstitious, and they seem to survive in a different environment, and they have a history of invading each other... good relations can't work :lol:

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After watching the ending again and pausing the image to take a closer look at the White Rider (:P), I'm starting to warm to this depiction of them (how paradoxical!). The "skin" looks like a kind of rugged miniature glacier landscape, even glistening in the light a bit. Perhaps the initial overly negative impressions stems from the fact that I imagined it very differently...

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Finally just watched the last two episodes back-to-back. In all I have mixed feelings about both episodes and the climax of the season in general. A lot fell flat, I thought. The whole Quarth subplot came off as filler, which is disappointing; the battle at King's Landing was admirably staged, but tv quaint (they need MOAR money); North of the Wall felt rushed and unfocused (a problem which affected the finale episode throughout), I'm losing interest in the once brilliant Jon Snow character, his stupidity is beginning to irritate rather than endear; Winterfell and Greyjoy was laughably small scale (good slapstick moment though) and I was annoyed by what has become of Tyrion. But at least his scenes had emotional clout (unlike his flat as a pancake rallying speech the night before).

So anyway, the White Walker looked fantastic, but again, the effect of their presence was lessened somewhat by an unfortunate absense of momentum and suspense in the closing fifteen minutes. It was a decent season (the first half was frequently superb), but I hope they find a renewed focus for season three, because I'm starting to see the thing buckle under the considerable pressure.

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Sounds like a year isn't enough for the creative team to write, prep, shoot, edit, and finalize 10 episodes a year. Maybe HBO should let them have each new season start a year and a half after the previous, instead of a year

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Just watched Season 2 finale... So, was it good? Let's see that!

- The sack of Winterfell. If I hadn't read spoilers on that other forum I talked about, I would have never understand that it's supposed to be Bolton's bastard's men who did that. I first thought these were Theon's men who burned the whole place to the ground. I'm sure most none-readers thought that too. Seriously, we don't even see Bolton's bastard's army (yet again, another large army we hear about, but never see!). So, Winterfell has been burned, but we don't know by who, how or why. And where the fuck is the much talked about Bolton's bastard's army? It come and went, just like that? Biggest 'WTF?' moment in this episode, in this season, and probably the entire series! Very badly handled business.

I think they saved the revelation of how Winterfell came to its fate to the next season. But it was not clearly shown what had happened.

All in all the expansive nature of the story might certainly benefit from more episodes per season and they could definitely always use more money on the show if they had it. You can see that, when story lines multiply and there is more story to tell (meaning the novel's length), the 10 episodes become just too little time to develop all characters to their novel level of completeness. I think it is wise to split the book Three into 2 seasons so they can focus without the rather ungainly lapses in story telling like with Jon Snow this season where his journey and final dramatic decision was robbed of all its meaning.

As I have read the novels I sometimes forget that some transitions and sudden events might come as puzzlement to the viewers who only know the show. The series should be consistent with itself and its own world and I agree that sometimes the storytelling devices leave viewers wondering what just happened as they are so abrupt. Clunky pacing and writing do show here and there as if the panic of not finishing the season with all the needed details and characters and set ups had descended on the writers and they start to cut corners to make it all fit in on time. And as we know it is not about how many story points you can succesfully communicate in the time given but rather how well they are executed on film and complete the story and drama.

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