It was unfair of me to make it sound like everyone who loved the episode was part of a demographic. It's possible to love this episode for any number of reasons. I mentioned the IGN demographic not because everyone who liked this episode or who reads IGN is not entitled to that opinion. I am going by the reactions…

And I loved the Battle of Castle Black in the book as well. As a set piece, it was captured well, but I thought that it was lacking in other areas.

Is it condescending to point out that certain websites attract a different demographic and that the level of discourse can vary. I respect all opinions, but when the substance of someone's comment is "badass! 1/10!!!!!" (and I'm not exaggerating) I don't take it as seriously as a thoughtful, in-depth look at an…

Did anyone else think of a video game when Jon abruptly released Ghost in the middle of the battle. Like he'd gotten his special power meter up high enough to summon his direwolf for a few seconds.

Figured. Wouldn't make much dramatic sense to leave the battle hanging until next season. Just wish Stannis, one of my favorite characters, got his moment in the son after being massacred for 3 seasons.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy good battle scenes. But I expect more than that from a show like Game of Thrones, which managed to be amazing in seasons 1 and 3 without battle scenes.

Why does everyone think Thorne is dead? Looked like a flesh wound to me, but what do I know?

I don't think so; there are scenes in the preview of Jon's meeting with Mance and I seem to recall the arrival of Stannis came after that? Honestly, they've already diluted the impact of his arrival, so they might as well do the sequence justice in season 5 instead of a half-assed footnote in the next episode. But…

He promised the former Lord Commander, Jeor Mormont, that he'd never lose the sword again.

It's a Game of Thrones episode so I can never be truly board, but relatively speaking I'm with you 100% I can see a Hollywood Blockbuster with more impressive battle scenes. That's not why I watch Game of Thrones.

A show can never beat a high-budget movie when it comes to big battles scenes. Game of Thrones succeeded with Blackwater b/c the action was interwoven with brilliant character moments among characters we cared about. "Watchers on the Wall" was an attempt to please the IGN demographic and the casual fans that have…

Indeed. I don't think it's just this episode though, I've seen a lot of clumsy plotting in season 4, although the highlights have been just as great. I'm not optimistic about future seasons when it's necessary for showrunners to make up even more new material and pull off some difficult narrative acrobatics to get the…

Exactly. Just look at how many of the admiring comment actually said "badass." I'm all for badass, but I expect more from a show like Game of Thrones. In a way, this episode shows why having a big budget can actually be a bad thing in that it removes pressure on the writers to deliver on other, more important aspects…

There was no way this episode could be fully satisfying given that they've neglected and/or butchered the Wall storyline for the entire season. Instead of setting up the battle and developing characters, they inserted a pointless Craster's Keep excursion. How could the this episode an emotional impact commensurate…

Because production value is obviously a sure sign of quality.

If you want to know the demographic this episode was aiming for, check out IGN. 10/10. Yup. And lots of excited fanboys.

Roose Bolton doesn't get enough love on the show or in this comment section :)

Imagine if instead of doing nothing for all of season 2, Dany encountered Strong Belwas and Whitebeard (wouldn't have even needed to cast a new actor for the latter). Not riveting television to be sure, but better than what we got.

GoT could have had Strong Belwas AND Whitebeard AND Coldhands for less money than it took to film nonsense like the Craster's Keep rescue and almost all of Dany's season 2 storyline.

What you're saying makes sense, but for whatever reason it seems to be common knowledge that next week is just the Wall. Maybe based on casting, preview etc.