Dorne sucked in the books too, especially the one-dimensional Sand Snakes. It's too bad that they couldn't cut that storyline from the show. The Jaime / Bronn plot doesn't make much sense as presented and makes an already bad storyline worse. Hopefully there's a payoff.

Right. People are acting like Sansa was randomly raped by some guy at an inn just for shock.

I think that this scene was a preview of Sansa's wedding night with Harry the Heir. D&D are feeling the brunt of that storyline now because they're actually advancing it.

It's a long march for an army.

The Arya scenes imply that several weeks have passed since the last episode. Regardless, Littlefinger must have his own personal version of the Pony Express that allows him to ride at a breakneck pace throughout Westeros, swapping out fresh horses at strategic stops. It's the only way he could travel as quickly as…

GRRM has had almost two decades to finish this story. He sold the rights off before he was even half way finished. GRRM wanted to money more than he wanted to tell the story.

Remember, Jaime set up Bronn's recruitment by having Lollys married off to some other lord. In one fell swoop, Bronn lost his bride and his potential castle. Jamie basically gave him an offer he couldn't refuse.

Agreed. I thought that the episode, while not perfect, was riveting. I need to see how the Sansa situation plays out before condemning it as pointless or only for shock value. My bet is that this is a turning point for her, and that she loses all trust in Littlefinger as a result of it. I also suspect that GRRM…

Maybe LF doesn't care the Ramsay's a psycho. He had to have known what would happen if Sansa married Ramsay.

Definitely. Hopefully Bronn can pull through.

Maybe Littlefinger didn't know all of the specifics, but he knew enough about the Boltons to know exactly what would happen to Sansa. They even obliquely acknowledge it in the crypt scene. But I don't think Littlefinger has anticipated how this will change Sansa. He's just made a new enemy, one who could unravel…

Random Thoughts-

She did it to try to save her son, right?

I wonder how many of those threads would have been introduced if D&D knew from the outset that not only would they finish the show before GRRM finished the series, they would likely finish the show before GRRM finishes the next installment of the series.

Agreed. Not to sound like too much of a creep, but her breasts look like female breasts with male nipples. GRRM would not approve. He prefers his nipples large and "dusky". Just read the Arienne chapters in AFFC.

Was Barristan ever established (in the book or the show) to be a quality battlefield commander? He was established as a superb fighter / swordsman, but he mainly spent his life serving as the King's body guard. The only thing I can remember from the books is that he had some involvement in clearing bandits from the…

Good summary. The Ironborn, Aegon, and Oldtown / Maester conspiracy stories are almost certainly cut. There's just not enough time to show them.

Repetition was a major problem, especially in ADWD. "Words are wind", "nipples on a breast plate", everyone suddenly saying "nuncle", etc. Plus, every character got a catch phrase- "where do whores go", "If I look back I am lost", "Lancel, the Kettleblacks, and Moonboy for all I know." The last 2 books weren't only…

It's funny. Robert Jordan's series made me essentially stop reading fantasy books for a decade. I stopped in the middle of Winter's Heart because I couldn't take anymore. The first series I picked up after my hiatus was ASOIAF. It's distressing to see the same Jordanesque tendencies manifest in GRRM. I've read…

To me, Victarion is an interesting character because while he's a "bad ass", he's also somewhat of a sad sack. It's like crossing a psychopathic magical Viking with a William H. Macy character. Plus, his stupidity combined with his visciousness made for some of the funnier and more entertaining sections of ADWD- a…