Him being changed doesn't mean that it all goes out the window. Personally I'd be rather bored if he's still totally the same guy, because then half the point of him dying and coming back is gone (at least to me).

I think it subverts some tropes (taking Ned's head when most readers/viewers probably thought he had plot armor due to being our protagonist, for example).

For some reason Yara concludes that somebody killed Balon.

Who'd have thunk that would be so amusing!

As long as they keep their latex gloves to themselves.

I know, but back in the big battle the wildling party who'd climbed the wall with Jon did attack from the south and had a bit of a difficult time (if I remember right, apologies if not). Of course, then the Watch was expecting that, and had more men.

It's kinda sad. By the time Dany and her dragons arrive, Tommen might actually be a pretty decent king (assuming he lives that long). Only for things to turn to shit all over again. Ah well…

I do. Not every episode or plot arc is the best thing ever, but overall it's been a great ride IMHO.

The fear acting from whoever is playing Renfield was extraordinary. The vampires creeping and closing in, seemingly about to go to town on him, and then Dracula's entrance when they and the rats scurry away - fantastic!

My imagination, or is there some sexual tension between Victor and Jekyll?

Does Davos even know Shireen is dead? And/or how she died?

I don't think we knew Melisandre had the power of resurrection. She witnessed Thoros of Myr do it (or at least is aware of his ability), but I don't think she'd ever brought back somebody from the dead unless I've forgotten about that.

Obviously every once in a while somebody applied a good amount of WD-40 to those bolts.

How precisely would a contingency plan against a dragon look though?

That moment was never, ever going to be "OMG!" Or at least I see no way in which it could have been. Everyone had already made up their mind that Snow was coming back, so it was always a question of "Come on guys, let's get this over with so that we can get to the interesting bit!"

Don't wights have blue eyes? He didn't when he opened them.

Funny thing happened during this hour: The scene between Tommen and Cersei was actually the first time I had something approaching interest in our current holder of the Iron Throne. Not sure why, but that scene really worked for me.

+1 on the Tyrion's and Varys' Hour of Insults show. And yeah, I had the exact same thought on the Jon Snow resurrection scene. You could basically predict it shot by shot if you applied your knowledge of tropes a bit. I was hoping for a sec that Roose had stabbed Ramsay as well, but alas, no such luck.

This 8 episode season is an epilogue.

At this point I'm thinking of it more in a sense of an epilogue for the mayhem of the first three seasons. I don't like everything about this season, but I think I can see what they're going for, and while it's not what I expected, I'm most still enjoying it.