I have a similar inkling re: Stannis attack but just a bit at odds: Stannis shows up at the Wall at the bleakest moment next episode (just as the Tyrells came to the rescue of the Lannisters at Blackwater). Remember, Davos got the letter from the Wall at the end of last season, and Melisandre unexpectedly backed him…

Nobody is safe… except for the characters who are very clearly safe.

And the Lannisters consist of Cersei, Tywin, Jaime, Tyrion, Joffrey, and Tommen. Even within families, we see quite a bit of distinction.

Doesn't seem like the Hound is in a great state, either.

We don't really know what Dorne wants. We know what Oberyn wanted, but it's probably a mistake to extrapolate from Oberyn to the rest of the Martells.

His death also propels a lot of future narrative, presumably: Tyrion's death/exile (clearly, he and Cersei can no longer co-exist in King's Landing) and the emergence of Dorne as a major player. Maybe the loss of the Mountain affects how the skirmishes between Lannister forces and the Brotherhood Without Banners play…

He's a jovial libertine rake with a sardonic sense of humor, some semblance of a moral code, and a righteous crusade, and he stands up for one of the unequivocally adored characters when everyone else refuses. Is that not enough?

Right. Which I used to indicate, like Cersei, that I am skeptical that Dorne is too different. The North is home to the Starks AND the Boltons. The Riverlands are home to the Tullys AND the Freys. Geography is not a good indicator of the existence of a moral code, despite whatever the late Oberyn says.

"Everywhere in the world, they hurt little girls."

Exactly. Martin's story is great, but he's a pretty poor writer, dialogue aside.

Pretty sure that Pyrrhic victory is the best we can hope for.

Interesting! Just replace "schemers" with "killers."

The Red Wedding had little to no negative consequences for the brutish characters who realized it…

I had Xaro in the top five initially. Hard to choose between Cassel, Talisa, and him.

I knew something shocking was going to happen and figured someone else was going down. Just guessed wrongly.

Also, did anybody else think that, after taking down the Mountain, Oberyn was gonna throw a second spear through Tywin's chest?

Whoa, something that just occurred to me. Cersei’s defining good quality has been that she is a caring mother, but by unfairly subjecting Tyrion to this trial, she has unwittingly placed her daughter in peril or at least turned her into something that can further compromise Lannister control of the throne (if Dorne…

Plus Lysa Arryn.

Arya's wonderful, Sansa's wonderful, Tyrion's wonderful, Brienne's wonderful, Davos is wonderful, Stannis is a great character, Jaime and the Hound's humanizing arcs are compelling, I could watch Littlefinger, Varys, Tywin, Cersei and the Tyrells scheme for hours.

Well, it's not as though Edmure Tully got away clean.