In a show with so many characters, one of the most emotional deaths was the guy with one word of dialogue. That's why Game of Thrones is so great.
Great episode, things are moving a nice pace. Wish they stop killing off the Direwovles though , that was hard to watch and especially to listen too.
Thumbs up if you said "What the fuck..." to your TV before the opening credits.
Now we know why Hodor says Hodor.
HODOR = Hold The Door!
I dunno what they've put in the writer's waters these last few episodes...but long may it continue!
HOLY FUCK. IT HAPPENED. IT FUCKING HAPPENED. I CAN'T CALM DOWN RIGHT NOW. JON FUCKING SNOW PEOPLE
Most of us knew he was gonna come back but to actually see it happen. OH MY.
Ramsey Vs John. One bastard to rule the North XD
The rest of the episode was great too but that ending just outshines the rest :P
Did not see Bolton getting killed there. Deserves it for what he did to Robb. Karma's a bitch.
I loved that scene with Ned stark, Benjin and his sister as kids. That was nice :D
Tyrion with those dragons was pretty cool too :D
The scene with Theon was sad :(
Overall great fucking episode. 5/5 . 10/10. Can't wait for next week
One of the greatest Game of Thrones episodes EVER, from the start to the finish. May this season be the best one so far!
Great Season opener. I was so excited seeing Brienne kept her oath with the sword OathKeeper. Of all men and women who hold a sword, Brienne deserves the title Knight most.
This episode was an ode to female strength. Loved to see Carol and Maggie fighting to get back for the ones them love #girlpower
A strong season beginning. For many characters the hopes get up. I am very optimistic about Team Sansa-Brienne. But the most interesting plot-location for me is King's Landing, where Cersei is back in the game, with Jamie on her side. Key-quote: "Fuck prophecy, fuck fate, fuck everyone except us" This should be the new motto of house Lannister. The Dorn-Location had an interesting development. Furthermore i liked how Danni made a proverbial full circle and is now back with the Dothrakis, i thought she gotten too powerfull over the last seasons. Over all i am on my edge for the developments this season awaits us. I just fear they will make the same mistakes, like last season (rape-sences without further meaning etc.). But i think, from what i saw this episode, the writers and creators listend to the critics and are now back on track.
Very predictable, but a great episode anyway.
It felt so frustrated at the end of this episode. All I want is more. Why is it that the shows I love most have the shortest season? 23 episode of The Flash but GOT is like gone in the blink of an eye.
This is the best episode of The Walking Dead.
Everything just went so abrupt and rushed in this episode.
This episode shows up the determination of two most weak (combat abilities speaking) characters in Walking Dead, trying to prove themselves that they are able fighters like their comrades are. As the usual cliche, this went into disaster. I usually would "pardon" such attempt on cliche plot (weak people trying to prove themselves), but this episode is really difficult to find excuse for. Especially in the case with the person Daryl and Rosita is guarding: Denise. They know Denise is far from an able combatant--so why do they seem so reluctant to, in Rosita's words, "babysit" her? Not to mention how Denise is such an important asset to Alexandria for her actual skill: medic and surgery.
Another one, the very rushed and abrupt decision of Carol to leave Alexandria. We've seen her psychological dilemma of killing people in previous episode, questioning if her ruthlessness and pragmatism is right. We've seen the dilemma through her action, her emotion. It was one of a great episode. But in this episode? We see almost nothing of Carol and suddenly she left Alexandria! We only get to see her kissing Tobin for a few seconds, sitting on a bench lamenting of something, regretting something after Denise was killed, and then BAM! "Sorry guys I can't kill people anymore, I'm leaving Alexandria." This makes the usual calm, calculating Carol look like a teenager in emotional mood-swing. Even worse, we don't even get to see her mood-swing.
Credits where its due though: the part where Eugene bites the Survivor's dick is so unexpectedly hilarious. Eugene really got into the next level with that move. Still--that doesn't save this episode of its clumsiness.
After last week's great episode, this episode is really a disappointment.
Don't rate this before the episode releases!!
...unless you are rating it a 10/10. Then, by all means, rate away because we all know that this is gonna f'n rock ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
And after seeing it, 10/10 confirmed because... F*CK YOU, OLLY!!
Hold the door. Hold the door. Hold the door.
Oh my. That scene. Hit me right in the feels button a thousand times. That was so heartbreaking. I really couldn't hold that in. We love you Wylis. We always do :'( My Dad walks in during that scene. Awkward moment xD
It was nice to Danny and Jorah reconciling.
Sansa has matured a lot since the previous seasons. She's really learned to take care of herself. Good for her. She's been through a lot already.
We finally get some answers on the white walkers. That was really interesting.
Amazing episode. Really emotional. 10/10
Is Abraham having a midlife crisis? And damn that Gregory bitch deserved to get stabbed. But either way it would have been worth it, because Rick went full badass mode.
Was there even a child in that picture? It kinda looked like one of those ink pictures shrinks show to their patients. Overall a great engaging episode that promises some good shit in the future.
The Hodor thing fucked me up. Sad he died. Also never expected to see a time paradox on GoT. And another direwolf bites the dust.
TWD has done it. They ruined the concept of cliffhangers for me. So someone died and I don't even fucking care any more who it is.
I'm so glad the porch dick family is gone. Completely useless. The body count in that episode must have been higher than in some full seasons.
There were so many amazing and unexpected moments, like the rocket launcher vs. the motorcycle gang, Glen being saved from sure death for the 10th time, Carl with his "Dad?" line and others. I have to rewatch it 3-4 times now.
What was pretty interesting to me was that as much as Morgan is annoying, his act of saving Alpha Wolf put a series of events in place that led to Carl's life being saved. So Morgan's "All life is precious" mantra is still alive.
I also really liked that Father Gabriel redeemed himself and even Eugene stepped up.
"HOLD THE DOOR?!?!?!"
https://i.imgur.com/PCEKxwF.jpg
You're god damn right, brothah. You're god damn right... ಥ_ಥ
Jeffrey Dean Morgan was awesome. The cliffhanger was horrible, disrespectful and cheap. They could erase this whole episode and we would be almost in the same spot that in s06e15. That's HOW BAD this season finale was. Extending those ratings to the max! Maybe it's time to look for other shows. This one, apparently, is now using a formula.
I was kinda hoping Maggie's baby is dead (and a walker) and began to eat her from the inside. Then I realize that 1) That's biologically impossible, 2 month-fetuses (or 3 o 4 months, IDK) doesn't have a mouth, less alike teeth and 2) I was craving a really dark, cruel violent stuff.
But well, maybe they're killing the baby so Negan can kill Maggie without shark-gory-jumping.
Also, what a weak "we need to force a cliffhanger" ending. That blood-splatter thing look like something right outta syfy channel.
episode synopsis: two stooges on a run to get food
how did they survive so long while being so stupid? get the truck and head back home, easy as that, don't chase some asshole around a field in a car that is so valuable to you!
Maaaan, this episode was a mess, in both the best and the worst ways. Gonna start with what bugged me. This ep disregarded how the midseason finale had ended, and I like my continuity. I know Carl lost an eye in the comics, but how the fuck has he survived a shot to the head? Also it was a bit weird how walkers got that whiny little shit Sam just because he took a step to the side, and then they attacked Jessie for screaming like they could follow the sound to her vocal cords, instead of just attacking the general source which would be the whole group. Not gonna lie, I kept waiting for that whole nightmarish (and slightly ridiculous) sequence to end up being a figment of someone's imagination. Wolf having a sudden change of heart was a bit farfetched. But fuck that shit, I don't really care. Rick going berserk and everyone following him to clear up the streets was awesome. Daryl, Abraham and Sasha coming back at the right moment and saving the day by gunning down the dead fuckers and blowing shit up was... convenient, but also awesome, yeah. Fuck the nit-picking, this episode was the shit, definitely worth waiting and yawning during some of the previous ones. Keep it up.
Game of Thrones might be too familiar, too expansive, to have the same force it once did. When a show's been on the air for five years, it's harder for it to surprise you; you know many more of its tricks, and you've seen much of what it's good and bad at. And Game of Thrones is good at a lot of things--humorous asides, daring rescues, and striking character moments--so that even when it's simply chugging along, it's still a very enjoyable show.
But for a season premiere, "The Red Woman" was underwhelming. It wasn't bad, mind you--there were plenty of exciting moments and interesting developments--but little to make you stand up and take notice of a series at the height of its powers moving toward the end game, save for perhaps one scene.
That scene is Brienne saving Sansa, and pledging fealty to her, while Podrick feeds his master's new lord the appropriate reciprocal words and Theon nods in approval. There's several things that make that moment stand out. There are real stakes to Sansa and Theon's attempt to escape from Winterfell, both from the hounds barking in the distance and their clear fatigue and stress from traipsing through the snow. There's genuine character development, in the cold giving the two of them reason to embrace, and Theon's attempt to sacrifice himself in order to save his near-sister. Brienne's daring rescue is a thrill, giving solid moments to Brienne, Podrick, and Theon, and having the action feel anything but gratuitous given what's at stake. The aftermath is triumphant, with Brienne finally fulfilling her oath, the poor, constantly embattled Sansa finally having a true protector, and their seconds each having a hand in the result.
But it also stands out because it's one of the few parts of "The Red Woman" where the story is moving inward rather than continuing to expand or running in place. While I'm sure there's much more to come in each of their stories, this is a major landmark in Brienne's quest to fulfill her promise to Catelyn Stark, to Sansa's endeavor to be safe and in charge of her own destiny, to Podrick's desire to help his master rather than hold her back, and to Theon's quest for redemption. Each of these story threads is tied together in one tremendous scene.
That stands out in comparison to the rest of the episode, which has some moments and scenes that are better than others, but for the most part, feels scattershot. A season premiere for a show like Game of Thrones is difficult, because as the series's plot has telescoped out to encompass so many different stories and characters, there's a sense that at the start of a new chapter, it has to check in with each of them (give or take a warg).
The result is something of a hodgepodge of tones and atmospheres and settings, most of them glancing, many of them pretty good, but few of them truly cohesive in any way. There's not necessarily anything wrong with that. Game of Thrones is a series known for its scope, and by definition that's going to require some jumping around, especially as a reintroduction to all of the ongoing conflicts. It just makes it hard to judge an individual episode like "The Red Woman" as anything other than the sum of its parts.
Three of those parts all stem from the aftermath of last season's adventure in Mereen. The best and most promising of them is Tyrion and Varys's journey through the streets of their new home. I could watch an episode of just the two of them bantering back and forth for an hour and be entertained, but "The Red Woman" uses Tyrion's attempt to get to know the place he intends to govern both to illustrate how he, unlike Varys, is not a man of the people however much he may try and care, and that a civil war is brewing in the contentious land they're trying to keep in order. The worst is Jora and Daario's little horse ride to find their queen, which does little other than repeat character beats we're already familiar with, remind the audience of Jora's cheesy stone infection, and move the rescue plot a few spaces forward.
Somewhere in the middle is Daenerys's encounter with another group of Dothraki. The journey to meet the new Khal is a bit silly and crude, but generally amusing, as Dany's captors appear to be the Dothraki answer to a pair of leads in Kevin Smith movie, and Dany's look of palpable discussion when listening to a conversation they don't think she can understand is perfect. That scene, and the ensuing one where the Khal declares his intentions to lie with her regardless of her wishes will no doubt launch a thousand thinkpieces, but each of them lean into a venerable idea when it comes to the mother of dragons -- the way she is at once attempting to project strength and power, but still quite vulnerable, uncertain, and even frightened at what fate might await her. Emilia Clark does a superb job of showing the many shades of her character as her fortunes wax and wane during her conversation with this new Khal. The promise to transport her to what sounds like the Dothraki homeland is a foreboding one, that threatens to add yet another spot on the map for the show's intro.
The least interesting of the stories in "The Red Woman" centered around the events of Dorne. There's something of a shock to the Sand Snakes' coup at the Dornish palace, but we barely know most of these people, so the impact is blunted. Admittedly, there's intrigue Dorne being ruled by someone who's directly antagonistic to the Lannisters, and to the idea that the people of Dorne resented their leaders and yearn to stand against those who hold sway over King's Landing, but there's more promise in the concept than in the execution thus far. (No pun intended.) Similarly, the hokiest two Sand Snakes taking out the Dornish Prince on the boat only served as a reminder of how pointless he was as a character and how annoying, dare I say Poochie-esque his assassins are.
That said, there was more meat on the bone in Cersei and Jamie's reunion. The excitement in Cersei's voice when she heard of a ship on the horizon and said her daughter's name, and the attendant way her expression slowly but surely fell when she saw the floating shroud heading toward her, and the grave look on her lover's face was devastating. The death of Joffrey brought Cersei to anger, to her most bitter and vindictive, but Marcella's death has a much different effect. She is, instead, simply crestfallen, brought as low as she imagined she could be, slowly but surely losing the most important things in her life. The idea that Marcella perishing is particularly devastating to Cersei because she saw her daughter as pure and good, and it made her feel better about herself and all she's wrought, is one that adds yet more depth to one of the show's most complex characters. Jamie's response that they are neither cursed nor bound by fate, but should respond to this horror by lashing out at those who brought it to their doorstep does more to warrant interest and excitement as to where the conflict with Dorne will lead than all the bloody coups and painful attempts at bon mots that preceded it.
The episode takes time to check in with the rest of those across Westeros and beyond. Arya's still blind and begging on the streets, being tested by Jaqen H'ghar in a bow-fight that seems headed toward a Karate Kid montage. Margaery Tyrell is still in prison, thoroughly cowed and shell shocked after her repeated encounters with her captors. The High Sparrow plays good cop/bad cop with her as she asks how her brother is, with little more than an ominous assurance for her to go on. And even Ramses has a brief moment of humanity, couched though it may be in his usual sadism, as he mourns the loss of the only lover who shared his deranged sensibilities, and feels the blowback from his father for how his extracurricular activities led to the loss of both Sansa and Theon, threatening both the Boltons' hold on Winterfell and Ramses' claim as his father's heir.
But the other major fireworks of "The Red Woman" take place at Castle Black. Ser Davos proves himself both for his kindness, his cunning, and his wits when he collects Jon Snow's dead body, brings in Ghost, and holes up with everyone in a storeroom before sending Edd to rally support among The Wildlings. Davos's dry wit carries the day in these scenes, that still take care to sweep across the desolate environment of The Watch and its guests.
At the same time, Thorne has an impressive moment defending himself in front of his fellow brothers after confessing to the murder of their Lord Commander. As I wrote in my discussion of the Season 5 finale, what makes Thorne's actions and his speech her interesting is that you believe he truly means what he says, that there's a certain noble impulse behind his choice even if it seems foolish or wrongheaded to the audience. Thorne's disdain for Jon Snow has been clear from the beginning, and he admits to the assembled that he had no love lost for the man. But there's something genuine when he says that he never disobeyed an order, that as harsh or self-important as he could be, his assassination, joined in with the other commanders, was about something bigger than him, a tradition and a brotherhood that he saw posed to be destroyed under Jon's care. I don't exactly admire the man, but I admire the show for making him more than the one-dimensional villain he occasionally devolved into in previous episodes.
Finally, there is the titular Red Woman. She sees Jon's dead body and has a moment of questioning. She saw him fighting and Winterfell in her vision, and yet there he lies, white as a stone. She promised Stannis that sacrificing his daughter would lead his side to victory against the Boltons. It becomes much more of a question, smoke monster or not, how much she has or had real power, and how much of her prophecies and persuasions are simply more of her admitted parlor tricks. Then, she undresses and reveals a much older, more withered woman, and the nature of her abilities is at once both more and less a question. It's a revelation, meant to be one of those trademark big moments in Game of Thrones, but for the time being, it just seems strange with little immediately obvious point at this juncture.
Perhaps it simply fits into what appears to be the animating principle for the rest of "The Red Woman" -- giving the audience just enough of a taste to rekindle their interest in the spiderwebbed plots that stretch across Westeros, while pointing us in the direction the balance of the season will follow. The episode feels more like a grand reintroduction, a preview almost, for what's to come than a unified story all it's own, and familiarity with the shape of the series' arcs takes some of the thrill away from events like that closing twist. But it's enough to keep us talking, and wondering, and tuning in next week, so I suppose it'll do just fine.
There's nothing better than coming home on a Monday, turning on your computer and hearing the Game of Thrones theme song for the first time that season. Damn, I missed this show.
that's the kind of intense TWD we need
Been the best episode this season and possibly the whole series
Quite possibly one of the best episodes of the season--scratch that--show.
I like it when they have long, uninterrupted segments in one location. It really works and lets us settle-in on particular storylines, motivations and characters.
...and yes, the ending was incredibly touching!