Perhaps. Surely that would depend on where GRRM wants to take Thorne in the books (didn't we last leave him on a scouting mission North of the Wall as far as ASOIAF goes?) As a political bod I rather liked the whole election story with Thorne backing Slynt to go up against Jon, and Jon's concern that Thorne is even…

But Slynt was sent to the Wall as punishment by Tyrion with respect to his treatment of Ned. In view of the vows he is required to take I don't see why Slynt would voluntarily choose to go the Wall even with the promise of some minor power. The Nightswatch is made up of criminals, vagrants, utter rejects and a few…

The new female presenter in particular seems to know what she's talking about and the interview with John Bradley was rather insightful, with Bradley showing a real understanding of the book's underlying themes and sub-texts, the parent-child dynamics, and how, to quote Philip Larkin, "they fuck you up, your mum and…

I think you're slightly overstressing Dontos' impact as a character in the book, or the shock of his eventual fate. Bearing in mind all the other shocking events and revelations occurring in respect to the Purple Wedding conspiracy I think Dontos being killed-off whilst ascending a getaway boat is hardly that…

I thought he was posing for a painting for a moment.

Ah, I see what you mean now. I am a bit disappointed that we didn't get a longer set-up of the Sansa-Dontos subterfuge. It should have established towards the end of the last season. Perhaps there will be an early scene in next week's episode, prior to the wedding, in which she is filled-in on the plan beforehand,…

But at least we've got the Brienne and Pod, the dumb and dumber of Westeros, double-act to look forward to.

Oh sure, I certainly wouldn't begrudge the rest of my fellow misfits if this was to become a regular thing, although I don't think I'd personally be able to resist the temptation of staying up to 3am every Sunday.

Does Sansa really have that much agency in the books? She's as much a pawn with respect to her own eventual escape from Kings Landing as she is in everything else that happens up to that point.

How did Janos Slynt get to be such a big cheese in the Nights Watch again? I remember him colluding with Thorne in the books to become the new commander prior to the 'election' but I don't remember him assuming any official power beforehand.

I hope we get her running commentary on 'The Rains of Castamere' next week. In view of the ending, the episode could benefit from a bit of light-relief to offset the tension.

I was disappointed we didn't get the blue beard and the little bells. It seemed like a missed opportunity bearing in mind the recast.

Well, I may not be normal but I still have to get up for work most Monday mornings. I wouldn't be able to get away with getting up this early/staying awake this late most Sunday evenings/Monday mornings.

Yes, the first one was so pretty and unlikeable he could have been part of a boy-band. I don't know whether this new guy could make the 'most beautiful woman in the world's' heart go aflutter.

Haha. You're right. We're not normal.

"The dwarf, the cripple and the mother of madness." Great line. Also, love the title: 'The Lion and the Rose'.

I was concerned beforehand that Jamie's presence in Kings Landing would detract from the poignancy of his post-Purple Wedding return in the books. I'm still not sure whether the show has explained Cersei's coldness towards her lover/brother, which was understandable in the book when he approached her at Joff's tomb.

An uninterrupted episode! I bet we're not going to get that from now on.

I thought the new one wasn't unlikeable enough, which the first one certainly was with his mockney accent and hair-swishing swagger. I really didn't like the first one, but in retrospect, I think that was the point; he's meant to be an arrogant, slightly untrustworthy pretty-boy. The new one is almost too relatable.

Yes, clearly he's 'pandering' to us Brits. Because we're all a bunch of half-wits you know and we really need an American actor to overdo his accent to convince us he's American…*rolls eyes*