The only thing I'm actively looking forward to is the reanimated Gregor Clegane's duel against... a character to be announced later. 

A hint: Get Hype

Feck me, the ending to this week's episode is surprisingly moving

Spoiler as some people may not be aware that the latest episode was leaked a day earlier than usual:

Hodor

The very apparent future trajectory of the show is a multi-faction bloodbath to make Westeros ripe for the White Walkers.

They were walking a tightrope with that final scene where it could have come off awfully cheesy but they pulled it off and it ended up being a moving tribute to Hodor.

What I liked the most about this episode is they are finally trying to clue us in about the aftermath of the war of the five kings. I have been re-watching some season 2 lately and they were doing a much better job of this back then, constantly bringing the news of Robb's battles with the Lannisters up in conversation. Some big places of contention were brought back into play last night, namely Riverrun and White Harbor. Both places you would think have a part to play in the series, as they have in the books.

hold the door

plus my gf's german shepherd passed away last week so seeing that direwolf get merked also had me 

i guess this also confirms that brans flashbacks have impacted the future. not too happy about that, it opens the door to a lot of potential nonsense

Loved that ending. As Jens said it could have been awful but they managed to make it moving. Helps that we know and like Hodor. Thats not something I think they understand much. That attempted fake out on the Iron islands with a guy we have seen about 5 minutes of being a prime example. I neither believed that guy was dead nor did I care if he was because he's only just turned up and he seems like another Ramsey.

They havent given the viewers any reason to care about the Crow's Eye and I thought the actor didn't do anything to make a name for himself this episode either, but the character is a fan favourite among readers and should be great.

Jens wrote:

What I liked the most about this episode is they are finally trying to clue us in about the aftermath of the war of the five kings. I have been re-watching some season 2 lately and they were doing a much better job of this back then, constantly bringing the news of Robb's battles with the Lannisters up in conversation.

I think the show is pretty awful at this stuff in general. Consider Gregor's fight with Oberyn Martell, for instance. Gregor's confession during the fight that he killed and raped Aegon Targaryen and Alia Martell had big political ramifications in the books. It's why Dorne threaten to join Stannis in the war of the kings. It's also why Tywin commands the maester to reanimate Gregor (or just keep him alive? I can't remember)... so he can execute him for political reasons.

I'm not sure anyone who watched the show last season understood that this was the reason Jaime went to Dorne to retrieve Cersei's daughter. I'm not even sure that it was the intended reason from the writers, because they never mentioned it. It was more, "Oh shit, Oberyn died in a fight he himself willingly accepted, we better sneak into a foreign land and retrieve the kid, because reasons." Which of course made no sense.

... And what has happened after the daugher got poisoned and died? Nothing! We've seen a two-second coup in Dorne this season where Ellaria siezed power (which also didn't happen in the books, because again, it makes no sense). No one in Westeros even mentioned the fact that Ellaria just killed one of their princesses. That's fucking ridiculous.

There's often a sense when I watch the show that the bigger purpose gets completely lost among the gritty action scenes and the constant cutting back and forth between storylines that really should have been skipped. They reintroduced Rickon Stark three episodes ago and he has still only been on the screen for two seconds with a mouth gag. He hasn't even been given a spoken line yet. And we're supposed to worry about him and keep in mind that he's some massive bargaining chip for the Boltons. Maybe if we had seen Rickon in the past few seasons we would have cared a bit more. He doesn't even look like he did last time we saw him. It's just a stranger with a Stark name now who (we're told) sits in a dungeon.

I really love the scenes between Jon and Sansa this season, by the way. They are among the better things that have come out of Game of Thrones recently. The way Sansa handed Jon that wolf pelt with the Stark house symbol punched into the leather felt symbolic too. She was literally telling him that he's a Stark.

Loved this episode for so many reasons. The Hodor scene was very touching. beyond that, the action was quite gripping. some questions i had coming out of this:

• that scene also left a question about what it was about Meera? what did she do to kill the white walker?
• the Jon-Sansa scenes are also great. particularly because they are building up this relationship. how does that evolve if/when they learn that they are not related?
• what happens to Theon's navy? do they join forces with the Starks? or is the next Iron Island development a civil war with their comedian uncle?
• finally, what will Dany make of all of Tyrion's maneuvering when she gets back?

finally an episode this season that reminded me why i love this show. some savage shit to go back in time and fuck up a man's life just so that he can save you in the future. hold the door ... savage ... i like though.

Just watched it, well, that was quite terrific. Big payoffs on more than one character arc and it also advanced the story quickly and confidently. Theon-Reek's speech in support of Yara was a quality moment that hasn't been mentioned.

I'd love to know now if Martin planned Hodor's backstory from the outset. I hope that's revealed at some point. If they can somehow convert another half a dozen or so narrative threads into moments as powerful as that, all the interminable dallying around will have been somewhat worth it.

Claud, "- finally, what will Dany make of all of Tyrion's maneuvering when she gets back?" If she doesn't just say "well done" and move on it'll be annoying as shit. Last thing I want is to see her have the same argument with Tyrion that he has just had with Grey Worm and yer one.

My big question is where the fuck and Bran and Meera going to go now? They can't survive on their own north of the wall, who's going to save them? They don't even have Hodor or a wolf to warg into now.

@qs: They'll try to head to Winterfell I reckon. Bran will probably want to find another weirwood.

Bran, Sansa and Jon all being together at Winterfell would be pretty great too. UNITE THE CLANS!

Re: how are they going to survive north of the wall... book spoiler/speculation: could this time for Benjen Stark or Coldhands to show up?

@ Claudius, Meera threw a dragon glass tipped spear at freezy mcfreezeface.

So the White Walkers were originally robotic drone weapons that somehow slipped their leashes.

And it was Bran who fried Hodors brains.
Heh heh that's what Wenger will do to us -We'll be left gibbering idiots only able to say Winlea Winlea!

No way on earth they make it to the wall on their own, nevermind Winterfell. The writers are in a pickle here, no way does Bran die at this point and they need to make him surviving atleast somewhat believeable. I think Pep is right with his speculation. Which would please many readers.