It's an awkward part of the adaptation.  It's pretty clear what Bran eventually does is pretty important (though I'll be damned if I know how), so they have to show him getting up there.  But story time with Jojen and Meera for an hour wouldn't exactly make riveting TV.

Wonder where they're going with this then?  Just a big red herring?

He still jumped into a bear pit unarmed, pretty badass.

[Jaime]: Hey Qyburn, you aren't still filming bum fights are you?
[Qyburn]: No, I'm into something much, darker now.

Yeah, kind of surprised he wrote this episode, which while good, was fairly nondescript with respect to major plot moments.

I really wonder what they're going to do with Theon for the rest of the season and all of next.  We've pretty much established everything that needs to be established with his torture.  The next season's just supposed to be the rest of book 3, and he doesn't really have much to do until book 5.  I don't think we…

I doubt it.  I think the writers included that scene last year in case they decided to go that route, but later decided get rid of the whole Dontos/Florian plot to streamline things. That's understandable, but I think the characterization of LF suffers a bit for it.  LF is risking a lot in trusting Sansa not to let…

But with the way Margaery's becoming Sansa's new BFF he has to be concerned the Tyrells might find out.

She's only supposed to be about 12 in the books, so yeah, super creepy

Doesn't it make Littlefinger seem much more reckless than in the books by having him plotting with Sansa directly rather than working through Dontos?  If Sansa (who after all, did tell Cersei all about Ned's plans) slips to either the Lannisters or the Tyrells what Littlefinger's been up it, I imagine it would not go…

Green Russians!

-What year is this?