Bolin and Mako were useless this ep, but what, exactly, could they do without a way to launch themselves onto that dirigible. I'm fine with them being sidelined so we could get some character development and mega-badassery from Lin, who was clearly the MVP of the episode.

SERIOUS Korra badassery in this one:

Well, that officially sinks the Tokka ship, since I don't think a Nick show is going to go in for cousin-banging.

Amon is a fucking boss, and he has the best music cues in the whole show.

That is a really excellent question. And yes, clearly the key to Jon's arc this season is his hidebound values system clashing with the realpolitik of the Night's Watch/life north of the Wall. It was established last week that Qhorin Halfhand survived an entire winter (which, if you recall, lasts years) north of the…

LoK is passing the Bechdel Test (which isn't a perfect litmus test for feminism in any art form, but is worth looking at) on a technicality thanks to scenes with Katara, Jinora, Lin, and Ikki, but then again, TLA was pretty much the same until Toph and the Dangerous Ladies showed up. I do think it's about time we get…

I thought it was pretty clear that Halfhand knows EXACTLY what he's doing. He's less interested in Ygritte's fate than in seeing what Jon is made of, and the best way to test that is to make sure that Jon faces his dilemma without an audience.

Exactly @avclub-bcb7c13ff9746a60fa8c3e748acd054d:disqus  , and I've always thought that Jon was pretty literal-minded about the rules. None of this "spirit of the law" bullshit for him.

@avclub-e14267dedd4e1d0cc0093bc13643fd59:disqus  I agree completely. I rewatched Season 1 before this started and realized that I was already feeling a lot more sympathy for Jaime than I did the first time around and a lot less for Ned. You have to remember that Jaime was a kid when he saw Ned's father and brother…

I was going to tell you to go fuck yourself, but then I saw your name and wished I'd thought of that gimmick first.

@avclub-d6d5abb0f32fcdc07c1bf487ec5ce10a:disqus I was saying that Theon's failure makes that arc emotionally devastating, not an example of poor writing. I can admire what GRRM does there while shaking my fists at the sky.

I'd wager we'll get Jaime and Brienne adventures by the end of this season, though I doubt they'll get all the way to Harrenhal. I just can't imagine them sidelining Nikolaj Coster-Waldau all season after having him show up in the premiere.

I'm fairly certain Tywin is around for part of Arya's storyline in COK, but she's working for Weese in the kitchen, not as his cupbearer. Even in the book, Arya picks targets of little long term consequence because 1) She's fixated on the people she perceives as directly responsible for her suffering, 2) It doesn't…

I was afraid she was going to be too pretty, but she's selling the character's gritty intelligence well.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm all for avoiding animal endangerment when it doesn't impact the story very much.

That's a good point. I just kind of accepted the Tyrell alliance in the book because why the Hell not…all of these alliances seem to turn on a dime. Showing Littlefinger moving the pieces into place keeps it from feeling like an asspull.

Indeed, space pope.

I was referring to the heads on the wall. I think Roose Bolton is already putting out sketchy vibes, so I doubt anyone will be too surprised that his family's intervention doesn't turn out well. Sims on the newbie review is already wise to it.

I get the sense that Sandor, like Tyrion, has a great deal of sympathy for underdogs (not an intentional pun on his moniker).

Oh yeah! Thanks!