He said he went with Elia, although that was the only real mention of her.

The cold smile Sansa gave Littlefinger was the first time I thought Sansa has finally come into her own and could, someday, for better or probably worse, be his wife. All her suffering has brought her here, in a different way from Arya, and I think she could, depending on the circumstances, end up being far colder and more dangerous. I know Carl thinks Arya cold but I don't think she's really like that at all - Arya wants to be armored up but she still has so much feeling and sympathy for the smallfolk she and the Hound come across, still works to humanize the Hound - wonderful stuff with Rory McCann and Maisie Williams this week, BTW, that beautiful, melancholy scene with the dying man as well as the scene with the two of them alone. I didn't mind her killing the !@#$%^&*] who'd harassed her in the past. I think Arya is walking a tightrope in her own character, but she is learning, slowly, the difference between killing because you can or killing for the right reasons (as with the dying man). I think the Hound is deeply traumatized as a human being, always has been, has contempt for himself and his weakness that he projects onto everything else - but he's still a human being, and this episode made that clear.

I thought they rushed the Lysa stuff along a bit - I got accidentally spoiled for her fate a few weeks back - but it was still very well-done, as was that brilliant scene with Sansa and Littlefinger alone beforehand. I hope crazy Robin doesn't cack it too, at least not too soon. But the stuff with Sophie Turner and Aiden Gillen is fascinating.

I liked that Melisandre finally acknowledged what I've suspected all along - at least half of what she does is simple tricks and mischief for the benefit of the easily-swayed, and she is a practiced con woman as well as, surely, based on what she's said in the past, a courtesan or whore before taking up her current calling. All those street skills of manipulation contribute to the work she does; that's how so many "messiahs" start out, doing quick cons on the pavement. I think there was a hint of attraction between her and Selyse, but I also think Selyse is just plain unbalanced and has forced herself to fall for Melisandre and the Red God to keep her keel mentally; she has forced herself to desire Melisandre and fallen completely under her spell because she's just that desperate for something to cling to in her lonely life. You could see her willing herself to accept and embrace Melisandre [!@#$%^&*] her husband, and for the first time it looked like a strain on her part. It's Cults 101, as was Melisandre telling Selyse that she didn't need any tricks, she could 'make' herself see 'the truth.' Is she just brainwashing her further or can Selyse actually see it? I think it's both. But it is a fascinating interplay, and an incredible scene - I find that whole group fascinating. And I'm glad Shireen is becoming more a part of the plot.

I think Arya is dead or close to being dead inside. Her main emotional outlet is The Hound, and as she learns over and over, he's not someone who can give her the support she needs. Her behavior with the old man (where she struggled to respond to most of what he was saying) and the casual way she killed that guy from the cage (I don't think she was wrong to kill him, but she handled it so offhandedly, like putting up a front) make me wary. She essentially had the same non-reaction to both very different deaths. I also kept wondering if they'd intentionally had an actor in that role who looked like a depraved Ned Stark. Arya was essentially killing her father to move forward.

The guy who played the old man has been in a lot of stuff, including Waiting for Godot (which is fitting for this show...).

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0569547/?ref_=tt_cl_t1

I've heard some people say those Dragonstone scenes were redundant and only existed to show some T&A, but they were so rich, for the reasons you mention. Great insights in your post.

Book spoilers about Lysa and Petyr.

I wish they'd talked some about her being forced by her father to abort Petyr's baby, which likely led to her mental destruction and difficulties in having children. She wasn't just some crazy bitch jealous of her sister.

I do hope someone asks Bronn what he did with Shae.

I can't say enough how much more engaged i am with Tyrion now that the wall (he's so funny, he's so much smarter than everyone else, etc.) has been torn down and we're seeing all those years of pent up emotions and helplessness. Peter Dinklage is playing the hell out of them.

Edited May 19, 201411 yr by DRW50

I think Arya is dead or close to being dead inside. Her main emotional outlet is The Hound, and as she learns over and over, he's not someone who can give her the support she needs. Her behavior with the old man (where she struggled to respond to most of what he was saying) and the casual way she killed that guy from the cage (I don't think she was wrong to kill him, but she handled it so offhandedly, like putting up a front) make me wary. She essentially had the same non-reaction to both very different deaths. I also kept wondering if they'd intentionally had an actor in that role who looked like a depraved Ned Stark. Arya was essentially killing her father to move forward.

I didn't see a Ned thing. And I don't think she struggled to respond to the dying man, but she was very matter of fact. While she has learned to kill, and come to enjoy her revenge, she's also spent much of this year and last year fighting the Hound on pointless cruelty. So her character, to me, remains on a tightrope. I hardly see a sociopath when I look at Arya.

They really don't get Cersei at all. Hence why they can't seem to decide if she's totally a cold hearted b*tch or some weak sad person who deserves pity 24/7 for all the wrongs done to her by Tywin and dead King Robert. Its quite sad how utterly one note they portray her. Despite it all Lena Headley makes it work most of the time.

They get her just fine, this is Cersei. I am not sure what wrongs her dead husband did to her outside of your typical loveless marriage one sees in stories. The show doesn't address this but that loveless marriage was a two way street and Robert wasn't the only one having kids out of wedlock.

My problem with Cersei characterization is when they have things like the sept scene and we get no reaction from her. I also wish we got into her head more often. In this last episode we heard that she abused Tyrion as a child and she wants him dead, and I do think they've set up the basics (oppressed and oppressive, feels alienated and lost, is sadistic but still yearning for something, etc.), but I just want more from her directly. Her relationship with Jaime in particular makes no real sense to me this season. Is she over him? We haven't heard anything from her about that since the start of the season.

Baby names. 15 babies named Theon. I actually think Theon is a cool name, but putting that name on a baby is just sort of tempting fate...

http://io9.com/popular-new-baby-names-of-2013-vanellope-kaptain-tuf-1577132388

http://time.com/103388/recap-game-of-thrones-mockingbird/

She hasn’t had to kill with her hands, but what Sansa must do emotionally is damn hard work, work that Sophie Turner conveys remarkably (in a performance that, I think, has gotten underappreciated because her character isn’t the crowd-pleaser that others are). Whether it’s enduring the cruelty of the Lannisters while keeping her composure, reassuring her crazy aunt that she has no designs on her now-uncle, or resisting said uncle’s advances in the Eyrie courtyard–Sansa can never let up, can never stop keeping up her guard and her appearances for one damn second. Which is why it’s so sweetly sad to see her have a moment of play in the snow (even if she’s building a monument to the dead) and even to get into a fight with her cousin/fiance Robin–because it’s a child’s fight, over a ruined snow castle, and for a few moments she has the opportunity to simply be the girl she is, not a wary target, a prisoner, a prize.

The more I watch Game of Thrones, really, the more I feel that it’s Sansa–not Dany, Jon, Stannis, or any other claimant–that I want to see end up in power (although a life sitting on the Iron Throne may be the last thing she wants). Toughened by her experience but tough enough to retain some measure of kindness, she’s one queen I could imagine sculpting Westeros’s rubble into something worthwhile–one person who could look at the plans for a castle without first asking where is it you hold the executions.

Edited May 20, 201411 yr by DRW50

They get her just fine, this is Cersei. I am not sure what wrongs her dead husband did to her outside of your typical loveless marriage one sees in stories. The show doesn't address this but that loveless marriage was a two way street and Robert wasn't the only one having kids out of wedlock.

I'll just have to disagree with you on that part. Rarely have they shown shades of grey for the character IMO. Aside from the things regarding Joffrey she's either psychotic or cold blooded. Just very one note.

I honestly have fallen in love with a lot of the names in the show. Like I really want to name a son "Bran" or "Rickon" or most tempting....JAIME but I know its silly. "Sansa" and "Cersei" also strike me as cute. If by some miracle I have twins I don't know how I'm gonna resist Jaime and Cerse (may they forgive me one day haha).

Cersei has had endless, countless monologues about her lot in life for four seasons, all of them excellent and all of them nuanced and not reducing her to a caricature. They've shown us as much as they're going to of her inner life. The rest she intentionally leaves opaque. That's how she is.

Edited May 20, 201411 yr by Vee

She's had a lot of great monologues. I just hope we get one this season, instead of other characters describing her. We got her scenes with Margaery/Oberyn/Tywin, which was partially her, but also her performing for them.

Carice van Houten interview. She talks a little about upcoming events, vaguely. This is in line with some of what Vee has talked about with the Dragonstone group, so I'm happy about that.

http://www.gq.com/blogs/the-feed/2014/05/red-priestess-game-of-thrones-interview.html

NCW interview. I should warn this talks a little about the sept scene.

http://www.gq.com/blogs/the-feed/2014/05/game-of-thrones-nikolaj-coster-waldau.html

The feeling begins

These next three episodes will be unbelievable (assuming they'll do the things I think they will)! I seriously can't wait. If you are unspoiled/non-book readers, prepare yourselves. Boy must you ever.

Edited June 1, 201411 yr by YRBB

I'm really looking forward to the part where Jorah and Barristan finally hook up.

The feeling begins

This has made my day.

I'm really looking forward to the part where Jorah and Barristan finally hook up.

The ending was satisfying but I'm just WTF at the Sansa/littlefinger storyline