Yeah, that Stannis/Davos conversation was really confusing. Davos doesn't really "believe in" the priestess, yet reacts with horror and says "There must be a cleaner way!"? There's some missing information there.

In a way, I think it's good that they aren't showing the battle scenes. There's so much story to squeeze in as it is, and knowing the outcome of the battle is more important right now than showing some random dudes swinging at each other at the expense of actual story that would then be cut for time.

DCP- The thing is, except for Cersei and Joffrey, the Lannisters seem like pretty reasonable people, albeit ones who like to be on top and not have to answer for anything.  If Tyrion and Tywinn are the rule rather than the exception, it's just bad luck that the two nutcases in the family happen to be sitting where…

If women could still throw themselves at Liberace, there's no accounting for "knowing".

Something I found interesting: Qarth has to be incredibly remote if it's a city that magnificent and she clearly hadn't even heard of it before, yet they knew who the Targyreans were.  

Careful making "Luck" jokes. What happens if three horses get killed filming a GOT battle scene? They going to can the whole thing?  Seems only fair.  Hope HBO headquarters is fortified against nerds with pitchforks.

Yeah you could do a hell of a lot worse than the kid actors on this show. I'd argue that some of them are better than most of the adults. 
Whoever did the casting for this show deserves whatever trophy they give for casting.

Based on the quick glimpse we get, it doesn't seem like they're messing around with the "greatest city ever" talk.  If I were Dany, I'd be setting my sights on Qarth instead of soon-to-be-frozen Westeros.

I think it's meant to signify that Harenhal is "dead"- nobody lives there. There's no hustle and bustle.

Another question for experts: at this point in the books, do you have a better idea of where the priestess is from and what her deal is? Like, was she hanging out talking smoke monsters with Sannis back before Robert died? Or did she show up after?

Hopefully he's playing Bluto in the inevitable Popeye re-boot.

Another area where some explanation from experts (assuming it's not a future-spoiler) would come in handy:  Was Tywinn noticing that Arya was a girl just a random thing to show that he's smarter, or was there a reason why he noticed this that we don't really see in the TV adaptation of the story? It seemed a little…

Having not read the books, I agree that the timing on some of this stuff is really hard to follow. It would be great if HBO could incorporate some sort of device to give us an idea.  I'm assuming Ned Stark leaving Winterfell to his death was supposed to be about a year, but it felt more like a few weeks.  Now, I just…

I think Sims underestimates the value of scene in King Bitchface's chamber.  Yes, we knew he was a violent asshole, but, and this isn't meant to be a joke, a teenaged boy presented with sex turns it down in favor of horrific beatings? That's Jeffrey Dahmer-level twisted.

Tyrion really does trust Varys the most, ironically because Varys has made it clear to him that he can't be trusted.  So moreso than anyone else, he knows where he stands with Varys.  The real mystery is what Vary's goals truly are, but that's less dangerous than thinking you have an ally who is really an enemy.

"I think we're giving Cersei too much much credit. She seems to be in a
whole lot deeper than she planned and is well out of her league. "

Good point about Varys. I don't understand why he's kept around.  Sure, he provides intel…and there's at least a 50% chance that he's telling the truth. Of course, the other 50% is that he's setting you up to die.  Seems totally worth it to keep him on the Small Council. 

And didn't the people who founded Dorne flee Essos from the Valyrians already? Do they have some sort of secret knowledge about dragon defense?

Mexican villagers in the Three Amigos:

What's with the talk about Syrio being alive? He ended up weaponless and trapped with 5(?) armed and armored men who wanted to kill him, and dozens more just like them outside the door.  Syrio died protecting Arya.