A lot of teleporting going on tonight.

A mostly good episode but, increasingly, the show runners are trying to cram too much in.

The Winterfell scenes are largely tedious - Arya is so much more fun when out and about on her own and Sansa is as dreary as ever. Littlefinger needs to be silenced for good, although I fear he has one or two twists still to come.

Always great to see an episode where Davos has a lot of screen time. Liam Cunningham is surely the best actor in the show and he killed it tonight.

Filler episode, worst episode of the season so far.

I did feel the increased narrative pace. They used to take their time. But the upside is lots of cool things in each episode so it's a trade off.

Laughed a little at how Jamie and Bronn managed to avoid capture at the beginning. Apparently Dany and company didn't even think to look for them as they swam away.

Loved the Jon/Dragon scene. Been waiting on that a while. Would have liked to have seen a little more questioning from Dany about why that happened though. In other seasons they probably draw that out more.

Glad Little Finger isn't getting outsmarted by Arya too easily. That would be out of character for him.

The reveal that Jon is not a bastard!

I liked the episode. Glad to see Gendry back and I hope he gets some recognition later on (doesn't die) and that he and Arya find each other again (young love?) The best part was the unlikely expedition party in the end, with those camp fire conversations, that hike could easily be published separately as a short story.

Good news for Jon, bad news for Jaime because I think Cersei is full of shit. She's scared now that he met with Tyrion that he's going to falter so she used the oldest trick in the book, she knew that would tighten her hold on him. A miscarriage can be faked too.

I thought it was a good episode overall. I understand they are rushing things a bit in order to wrap everything up. However, Bronn and Jamie escaping like they did was simply unbelievable to me. There is no way that should have happened.

I agree with @Harpospoke... I would have liked to see Dany question more than just give inquisitive looks during the Jon and Dragon scene.

Davos was great. He admitted to not being a fighter in this episode and definitely showed his strength in charisma and wit while dealing with the Lannister guards.

I think Cersei is lying. She sees Jaime beginning to drift apart and pulled the pregnancy act to reel him back in.

I'm glad Jorah is back on the scene. I've always liked him. I'm not sure that he will survive too long though.

I wonder what Gendry's role will be. It seems a bit weird to bring him back at this point for him to be just another soldier. I laughed at Davos' joke about him still rowing. It seemed to echo some jokes viewers have made.

The group marching beyond the wall is quite interesting. A mix-match group of people that ordinarily shouldn't trust each other and should disrupt into fighting and murder. A bit reminiscent of the fellowship of the ring?

Ultimately, I wonder why the show-runners decided to shorten the last 2 seasons so much. I have read they know the story they want to tell and how many episodes to do it in. I wonder if they decided to spend their budget on big battle scenes and CGI instead of more episodes. I am beginning to wonder if this was a good decision. I might have preferred a less rushed story.

More musings:

Where is Theon? What was Dany's response to his question regarding help with rescuing his sister? Surely she wouldn't put many resources into what seems like a lost cause.

What about Grey Work and the Unsullied? Are they just chilling at Casterly Rock?

Ghost! We need more Ghost! I know it's expensive to CGI the direwolf but why isn't Ghost following Jon north of the wall?

I realize that Arya is still young and has been just about buried in violence and revenge for her recent past, but is she really so naïve as to suggest beheading simply because people disagree?

We probably will not see much of Melisandre this season. She was traveling to Essos last I remember. I can't help but wonder what she is up to.

Just watched it. It was good.

I've noticed it has been being rushed a few episodes ago. That leads to more implausibilities in the script, like Jaime and Bronn getting away, etc.

Oh well. I think they have made lots of mistakes with the writing and story direction, but still overall it's not that bad and I guess they got to do what they got to do with their budget and the fact that Martin doesn't write for them anymore and hasn't completed the story himself to contribute.

My final opinion will all come down to how they end this whole thing. If they take the easy way out and it lacks any depth or purpose or if it only appeals to a 15 year old mindset, then I won't think highly of it, but if they somehow come up with a clever and truthful ending then that would lift my overall opinion of the entirety. Too many shows go off the rails in the end when it counts the most. I hope this isn't one of them.

But the show has such good graphics and cinematography- that's always been its undeniable greatest strength- that it's usually good even when the writing is weak. That shouldn't make the writers lazy though.

I always said and stick by I like Dany's stories and interactions more in the earlier seasons. I think she should have invaded King's Landing long ago based on her original character...but I suppose that's why Tyrion was inserted as her advisor to prevent her from rushing in, and making her decision not to believable and credible. I've had a difficult time buying her attraction to Jon Snow and some of her moves. It's become a little convoluted at times in the sense that I'm not totally buying some of the other developments between characters either.

For example, it seems like all of a sudden Sansa's power and respect in Winterfell is solid, but at the same time, I'm like, "but where did this come from? She's not THAT strong of a character and displays fragility and weakness. What made her so commanding?" But it's like the script and storytellers just HAD to put her there because they wanted to, sort of like as a plot device. So I don't fully buy a lot of the interactions that are occuring on that side of the story. This is just one example.

At the same time, I love Arya, Dany, and for the most part Tyrion's storylines so that makes it worth watching and enjoyable for me.

More thoughts.

Kit Harington's acting in that scene with the dragon is just amazing.

The dragon blinking like a contented cat....kinda cute.

Loved the "thought you were still rowing" line.

Loved how Gendry just ignored Davos' invented story and just blurted out who he was to Jon. Pretty endearing.

Loved Tyrion just ignoring Varys' story about the message. "What did it say?" lol...

That dragon on the hill when Dany was speaking? Awesome shot.

Tormund asking about "the big woman"

Tormund asking which queen Jon was talking about....got straight to the point.

The Night King suddenly looking at the crows and kicking Bran out.

@Heisenberg12 said:

Oh well. I think they have made lots of mistakes with the writing and story direction, but still overall it's not that bad and I guess they got to do what they got to do with their budget and the fact that Martin doesn't write for them anymore and hasn't completed the story himself to contribute.

For example, it seems like all of a sudden Sansa's power and respect in Winterfell is solid, but at the same time, I'm like, "but where did this come from? She's not THAT strong of a character and displays fragility and weakness. What made her so commanding?" But it's like the script and storytellers just HAD to put her there because they wanted to, sort of like as a plot device. So I don't fully buy a lot of the interactions that are occuring on that side of the story. This is just one example.

The quality of the writing since the end of S5 is not a direct consequence of Martin not being there to help, it is the result of a conscious decision to favour effect and reach plot goals at the cost of logic or plausibility. Everything you see since then had these two motives way above character development or consistency. They had Davos risk his life for a man he barely knew and an atheist ask for a resurrection he never knew was possible only because they needed something to bring Jon back, no matter how stupid it looked. They had Jon's friends "deduct" they were under a life threat after his murder only to conjure up drama. There is a very long list of such examples.

Ask yourself why Rhaegar had to annul his marriage with Elia Martell, making his firstborn son illegitimate and you'll find no proper answer from his point of view. It got loads of fools to jump around in joy that their beloved Jon was not a bastard after all and that's all it was for. The show will keep thrilling, shocking, pleasing and hurting them for some more episodes but it will never bother making sense again,

.

Loved Tyrion just ignoring Varys' story about the message. "What did it say?" lol...

I loved that part too. Vary was something like, "It's to the Queen. I didn't read it". And Tyrion stares straight ahead taking a drink and says "What did it say?" and Varys responds lol.

@Leo of Red Keep said: Ask yourself why Rhaegar had to annul his marriage with Elia Martell, making his firstborn son illegitimate and you'll find no proper answer from his point of view. It got loads of fools to jump around in joy that their beloved Jon was not a bastard after all and that's all it was for. The show will keep thrilling, shocking, pleasing and hurting them for some more episodes but it will never bother making sense again,

I thought it was to fulfill the prophecy that Rhaegar was so obsessed with. He needed another child to do that, and Elia of Dorne couldn't have any more. Besides, annulments don't necessarily make children of the marriage illegitimate (at least Catholic ones don't). So maybe it works the same way in Westeros.

Wait till you get a load of episode 6. For the web is dark and full of leaked episodes

@Mirabel said:

@Leo of Red Keep said: Ask yourself why Rhaegar had to annul his marriage with Elia Martell, making his firstborn son illegitimate and you'll find no proper answer from his point of view. It got loads of fools to jump around in joy that their beloved Jon was not a bastard after all and that's all it was for. The show will keep thrilling, shocking, pleasing and hurting them for some more episodes but it will never bother making sense again,

I thought it was to fulfill the prophecy that Rhaegar was so obsessed with. He needed another child to do that, and Elia of Dorne couldn't have any more. Besides, annulments don't necessarily make children of the marriage illegitimate (at least Catholic ones don't). So maybe it works the same way in Westeros.

How it works in Westeros hasn't been exposed in the show. Annulment did make children illegitimate in 15th century England. The "Princes in the Tower", sons and heirs of the previous king, were declared so by Parliament under Richard III after he had taken the crown and had the union from which they were issued annulled for some reason.

If a prophecy of "three heads of the dragon" was to be fulfilled, you'd think the legitimacy of Rhaegar's three children was either irrelevant or required for all of them. I think all it does is making viewing fools happy for Jon not being a bastard before they question the sense of it all.

I cannot believe the season is half over and hardly anything has happened. I always love when the dragons are in the episodes although I'm worried that the White Walkers turned one of the dragons. I wonder if it will breath fire or ice? How will the White Walkers be stopped? Will Bran be the one to stop them? We hardly see any of Bran. Seems like Dany and Jon are getting closer. They definitely have chemistry. I hope they get romantically involved. Little finger planned to pit Arya and Sansa against each other. But overall this season is the weakest one of all others.

@rarebreed said:

I'm worried that the White Walkers turned one of the dragons. I wonder if it will breath fire or ice? How will the White Walkers be stopped? Will Bran be the one to stop them? We hardly see any of Bran.

I hope it spits ice cubes. In S3E10, Jojen said "The Night's Watch can't stop them. Kings of Westeros and all their armies can't stop them." It was never repeated so I assume the whole "Great War" business is just doomed to fail and the solution will be another.