[SPOILER:de81e7c11b]DRAGONSSSSS DRAGONSDRAGONSDRAGONS

Daenerys really stole this episode. It's so cool how she's become a kahlissi in her own right, instead of just being married to a kahl. I wasn't surprised that she lived through her firewalk, but the baby dragons were a huge shock.

(Also, maybe it was just me, but my first thought was that she was nursing the one in her arms when Jorah found her...?)

Let's see... Poor Robb must feel so frustrated and helpless. He went to war to save his father and he failed... not by any fault of his, though. They had a good plan: trade Jamie back to the Lannisters for Ned and then fight from there. Joffrey fucked all that up, though. Still, King of The North, huh? Is this to become also a war of independence then?

Man, speaking of Joffrey... beating his betrothed vicariously through one of his guards? You are making no friends, little king. I predict he wont last too long. Someone close will kill him or have him poisoned, like Jon Arryn. My money is on Cersei, who's frustration will bubble over when she realizes she doesn't get to rule through her son because he doesn't give a shit what she wants him to do.

Arya... I'm glad she has someone to take care of her... pretty genius plan on smuggling her out of the city as a boy, but wont people start wondering what happened to Arya Stark? It's not like people just routinely misplace one of the daughters of a so-called traitor. :\

I can't believe Jamie just outright admitted to Catelyn that he tried to kill her son. I figured if he was going to admit to that he might as well admit why... I'm surprised Catelyn didn't pressure him more for an explanation.

Also, did everyone catch the relationship between Sir Jorah Mormont, in Daenerys' service, and Lord Commander of the Night's Watch Mormont?

Speaking of the Night's Watch, the way Jon's friends managed to convince him to come back was /cheesy/ as hell. "Let's all stand around him and recite our oath and he'll see the errors of his ways!!" ugh lol. I'm glad they got him to go back, regardless.

All in all I think this was actually a good stopping point. It wasn't such a severe cliffhanger that I can't wait to see what happens next. It felt like a good meaty show that stopped at a logical place: everyone's taken their places now and the real "game" should begin next season. Hopefully we'll finally meet Stannis now, and maybe see some new locations.[/SPOILER:de81e7c11b]

Will it really be a whole year til we get new episodes? That's brutal. D:

GPFontaine wrote:

[SPOILER:8d155dd630]Who cares about Stannis? He has no claim to the throne at this point. Even if he wanted to, he can't take on the Lannisters and the Starks. Where the hell has he been for months? The King dying seems like a good reason to march your ass back immediately. All hail the dragon queen? I saw that coming the day she held the eggs without burning. I can't tell if she will ultimately become the heroin or the villain of this story. I can see her taking a turn like Morgana. Right now she has just been empowered. We have a lot to see from her. Time to cross the sea. Snow was an idiot to join the Watch, but he did, and now he is going to stay up there through the attacks. It is for the best. He is so conflicted that he could cause more issues in the rest of the realm than he could ever fix. What I feel worst about is that he might not ever know who is mother was. Were Robert and Ned the only ones who knew? Not killing Jaime was the smartest move that Catelyn could make. By keeping him alive she can keep the rest of the Lannister army at bay while rescuing her daughter. I personally think that Cersei cares more for Jaime than she does for her son. If she thought that Joffrey might sacrifice Jaime, I think she would kill her own kin. I agree the episode setup a new season well without a stupid cliffhanger. I am pissed that Ned is dead. Mostly because Sean Bean felt like he was the fucking main character of the damn story. I don't feel as strongly about the success of any one character as I did about Ned. I guess at this point I can watch with less angst. [/SPOILER:8d155dd630]

[SPOILER:8d155dd630] I disagree about Stannis. He's actually the one with the /legitimate/ claim to the throne, the /only/ one. The problem isn't the legitimacy of his claim... it's who will actually follow him.

There's an interesting theory about Jon's mother/heritage floating around online, but the supporting information for that theory hasn't been mentioned/revealed yet in the show. Hmm. I hope they get to it soon. :O

I agree about Cersei caring for Jamie over her son, but did you /see/ who she was boning?! That was Lancel Lannister... Robert's forner squire and, uh, her cousin. God. Way to just totally keep it in the family, Cersei. Ewww.

Yeah, Ned dying was a huge surprise. It makes you realize no one has Plot Immunity, which means I guess we should expect lots of important characters to bite it here and there. Hell, Drogo outlasted Ned (though not by much). I am /sorry/ to see Drogo go, but we'll see more of the actor who played him: the guy is starring in a Conan remake. Yesss.[/SPOILER:8d155dd630]

GPFontaine wrote:

[SPOILER:78d66861fa]Stannis might be the person with the best claim, but he has no ability to take it at this point. I actually think that Rob Stark has a fighting chance to become an independent king... until the White Walkers stir everything up.[/SPOILER:78d66861fa]

[SPOILER:78d66861fa]Do we know that? For all we know he's in the exact same arrangement as Robb Stark was, with followers sworn to him. He's apparently a fantastic soldier, so I'm sure he's made some friends with other soldiers like him. Also, we know that Ned sent off a letter to Stannis before being accused of treason and executed... what was in that letter? My best guess was it was an explanation of why Robert has no true legitimate heir and that Stannis is now the rightful king. Stannis could take that information, spread the word about Cersei's adultry and incest, and raise support for himself.

However, it was mentioned that Renly is much more popular than Stannis , so I imagine Renly's grab for the throne that is probably coming will be more successful.[/SPOILER:78d66861fa]