They can't ditch the elk.  You can't have crazy-elk-man-zombie without an elk.  He'd just be crazy-standing-in-snow-man-zombie, no where near weird enough.

@avclub-9bd5eb56846904f649391a1669b7b45f:disqus  I demand Tommen + Kittenguard webisodes.

That was my experience too.  I'd been so looking forward to this, but as the minutes ticked down I started thinking "Wait, why am I looking forward to this.  This is going to be painful all over again, even if you are braced for it."

Last one's for the Stranger.

I don't know if I'd put him quite that high, but he does seem to get shorted when people list the great performers on this series.  Love how he plays the Hound.

I had a similar experience with Master Luwin in season 2.  In fact, ever since formulating that hope, I still find myself thinking he's alive, book and show.

The North Remembers … a la mode

The Westeros version of a toaster is Hot Pie.

I was a little disappointed we didn't get a Gatehouse Ami namedrop.  One of my favorite throwaway characters.

BOOK SPOILERS OF WHAT YOU JUST SAW, AND ONLY BECAUSE YOU EXPLICITLY ASKED SPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILERS.

Yeah, the whole Queenscrown sequence was done pretty well.  I had pictured that as coming across more muddled and confusing on screen, what with all the warging and everyone simultaneously having partial information, but they seemed to convey it clearly.

This is why we have YouTube.

That was my one minor quibble with the whole sequence.  Cat clearly recognized the song, but then she just shrugged it off.

Do you suppose he really went outside for a tree though?  The Twins must have some kind of indoor facilities, otherwise they'd be pretty easy to lay seige to.

Stoneheart sock puppet, duh.

This is the way the internet ends
This is the way the internet ends
This is the way the internet ends
Not with a bang
But a HODOR

Still the best wedding of the night.

"bouts of cluelessness from Pete"

I didn't catch the 'just a dream' aspect either, but like you, I was slightly distracted at that point (dribbling kimchi down my shirt).

My favorite was the later shot of D'Argo playing RPS with himself - and getting frustrated when he loses.