Wait, who is Locke then?

 

He is Vargo Hoat, but not.

 

Locke is also explicitly Bolton's guy. Makes things easier to just put him in that camp than to constantly re-explain where The Brave Companions's allegiance lies at one time or another. Sorta like making Alton Lannister last year instead of using Cleos Frey. None of this "But I thought all the Freys were on Robb's side!" stuff. It works.

 

The Riverlands' politics is already complicated enough. They basically bullshitted their way through it. The riverlords never swore allegiance to Robb iirc (you could ofc claim that they were there but it's never talked about) and we haven't seen any of them. All of a sudden Edmure pops up as a vassal. And a vassal involved in war plans and all. If I was a TV viewer I'd be lost.

The shortcomings of TV...

 

Mostly unrelated to the latest, but from a faithfulness-to-the-books perspective, Peter Dinklage is all wrong for Tyrion. Tyrion in the books is a tragic figure, and as ugly as he is short. Tyrion in the series has way too much charisma and wit and zest for life to be seen as especially tragic until you sit down and really think about it, and as for ugly, I think anyone that's seen the series or even a photo of the man will see where Dinklage's portrayal is lacking in that regard.

Plus the fleshing out of his relationship with Bronn. In the books, Bronn was Tyrion's extremely competent and somewhat trustworthy hireling. In the series, they're like the best buddy comedy ever.

That said, I am enjoying show-Tyrion a lot more than book-Tyrion, he just lacks a lot of the tragedy of the original.

 

Well, it's kinda like Ciarian Hinds for Mance Rayder. Terrible for Book!Mance, no doubt good for the Mance they want for thr show.

 

Spoiler

Figures Ramsay would show himself as a serving boy and then butcher his own men as part of his little hunting trip, not overly fond of Locke and his men replacing the mercs but I guess that'll make Harranhal all the more interesting and explain the later antagonists.

Pod proving to be as loyal as expected, though the whole scene with Littlefinger seemed early to me, I'm sure that happened later on into the book, I guess we do have a lot to cram into this series.

 

Quite frankly I'm more disgusted by Tyrion and Shae's pathetic relationship. It's just...ugh.

 

I would argue that book!Tyrion is at least as witty as show!Tyrion, and he retains the same zest for life, if perhaps with a bit more of a cynical twist. I do agree that show!Tyrion is less of a tragic figure though - due, at least in part, to not being nearly as ugly as he is described in the books.

I'm feeling the need for a re-read though - it's getting to the point where show canon, book canon, and The North Remembers are starting to blend together in my head.

 

Yeah, for the things that the writers and actors can control Tyrion is very similar. He's as funny and snarky. But when it comes to the sheer tragedy of being a monster that stands out everywhere the image in the show is not as strong.
And on Bronn: He's probably going to end up like book!Bronn, the thing is, they can't show Tyrion reminding himself that Bronn and Shae are untrustworthy, no matter how funny or loyal they seem.

Which is really bad for the Shae plot, I'm pretty sure that they're gonna switch up her entire plot because as it stands now it's far too conventional. It avoids all the ugly shit in their relationship that Martin put in and Tyrion's self-awareness so it's just True Romance (With DRAGONS!!) for now. They may go the way of the books but I doubt it.

 

Part of the whole "Tyrion is ugly" thing is the shortcomings of text. The dude's a dwarf, he's gonna be considered abominably ugly by literally everyone regardless of facial features.

It's a good point, though; a friend of mine actually thinks Tyrion is rather cute "for a little person". She's never read the books. I've been trying to get everyone I know who watches the show to read 'em, but...yeah. Mixed results. It's America. :|

 

@Aurion: Personally, I prefer the TV show over the books. I like a lot of the changes (even if I don't know the end result), and I'm more likely to get answers more quickly in tv form. Not to mention that there are so many POVs and characters in the books (moreso than even the TV show), that I've gotten burnt out on more than one occaison.

 

I saw this on io9 today and thought it was pretty funny. Plus, Daenerys and Ygritte were damn fine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ypvCv3Tl_g

 

"What happens when the non-existent bumps against the decrepit? A question for the philosophers."

Olenna is fucking :awesome

 

Best episode of the season so far and it didn't even have Jon or Robb. The last fifteen minutes or so had me pretty pumped up.

 

I can't wait until tomorrow when the real quality gifs come out on tumblr.

Also, I noticed Cheese Boy in the background of the Varys-Olenna scene. CHEESE BOY!

Also, secret sex god Podrick continues to be my favorite Game of Thrones joke of all time.

 

"I am Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, of the blood of Old Valyria. Valyrian is my mother tongue."

Go girl. Go beat that fuckers ass.

Daenerys is so awesome.

Olenna was awesome too. Best episode by far.

 

Spoiler

Too bad her chapters are unbearable to read. Every time I have to slog through her mooning over Daario Naharis I die a little inside.

 

Great episode with a superb ending.

Olenna Tyrell is fantastic! That line about the nonexistent bumping against the decrepit had me rolling in laughter.

Charles Dance as TywinLannister is literally perfect, the way he just put Cersei down was marvelous. I cannot wait to see how he is going to treat Joffrey.

The Brave Companions might be missing but Locke and his gang still bring the heinous actions and brutality associated with them.

Just as the books, Bran continues to be boring and unnecessary.

Whoever directed this episode deserves an Emmy nom just for the last scene. Seen it about three times and I'm still marvelling.

My only gripe - What the hell happened to Willas? He is the heir to Highgarden, he is probably going to be important. Plus, Loras is a member of the Kingsguard and he cannot marry!

 

The scene with Olenna had me smiling. She's like a breath of fresh air. Great actress with a great character. Perfect match.

And the last scene with Daenerys had me shivering, it was that good. Definitely Emmy-worthy.