Gendry's approximately the same age as Jon (about 16 back in season one), not that age necessarily correlates with running ability.

Brilliant analogy! I love that. They both have the White House and the president in them, but beyond that, I'd be hard-pressed to think what else they have in common…

Dragons versus zombies is really not what I ever expected this show to be about, and I really hope the endgame next season is about something more relevant, interesting, and *human* than CGI-filled battles against a bunch of undead cannon-fodder. I always figured the purpose of the White Walkers would be to throw a…

I didn't actually notice Tormund lampshading the stupidity of the mission. What dialogue are you thinking of?

Don't think you're gonna get many takers on the other side of that one.

Battlestar Galactica in its final season fell much, much further and harder than this.

If we had a clue about the nature of the Night King's powers are, and what the constraints on them might be, then sure, it would be reasonable to grant the benefit of the doubt. But if those powers boil down to "whatever the plot requires," that's an insult to viewers' intelligence.

A little too neat… Brienne would never kill Arya. As this very episode points out, she's sworn to protect *both* of Catelyn's daughters.

Can't entirely agree with you here. Yes, Jon is an idiot. But I would say Arya has a far more finely honed strategic mind (and sense of self-preservation) than Sansa has ever shown a hint of developing.

I feel you. I am similarly critical of much of the current season (and the last one), but not all of it… which allows me to remain cautiously optimistic. I feel like this season has been a very uneven ride… an okay start, a terrible second episode (Euron: the less the better), a better third one, a genuinely good…

Davos isn't at Castle Black, he's at Eastwatch. Nobody else there to chat with except whatever Wildlings were left behind when Tormund set off with Jon.

Right on the money except for one nuance: I don't think the Dothraki's remark that "your people can't fight" was meant to suggest that he still thought of Tyrion as one of the opposition, i.e., a Lannister. I read it as him just thinking of all Westerosi as undifferentiated from one another — any other army not from…

What you describe (knocking each other around and raiding) is exactly what the real-world Mongols were doing right up until Genghis Khan united them… and then, within a generation, they conquered a continent.

My pet theory is that Euron somehow managed to pirate away all or most of the Redwyne fleet from the Arbor (which is significant in the books, but has gone unmentioned in the show), thus simultaneously explaining his quick abundance of ships *and* the absence of a major navy that would otherwise have been loyal to the…

I tended to picture it that way for a long time myself. Probably influenced to some extent by the fact that every time we saw it when Stannis was there, it was nighttime and looked dark and cold and wet. It's being depicted rather differently now that Dany is there.

I'm not on board with (and frankly slightly disturbed by) the people who think cranking the ultra-violence in this episode up to 11 was an entertaining thing. YMMV, obviously. Other than that, though, cool episode.

FWIW, I always liked Harmon's meta-ness on Community (it's part of what made the show so distinctive!), and the world is sadly chock-full of people who *need* reminded that being a superior prick is a bad way to live life.

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree here. I think the show is handling these reunions with a fair amount of emotional authenticity, based on what we've seen of the characters. I do really look forward to seeing Arya reunited with Jon — because they *did* have a clear sentimental bond, way back in the pilot.…

Believe it or not (it's frankly astonishing to read about), Mongol horse archers really could do that sort of thing. They could steer the horse with their legs while standing upright in the stirrups and firing accurately at a full gallop. Their skills were legendary — which is to say, okay, they may have been…

This is a valid and yet tricky question. The army was a combination of however many Lannister soldiers were recalled from Casterly Rock, and however many Tarly brought to the battle. We don't have a number for either, but the image of the combined forces arrayed in front of Highgarden in the previous episode didn't…