That "snow falling on graves" remark was a joke, sort of: a pedantic observation that the true END of all stories is there.

Martin doesn't want to subvert all tropes and reader expectations. Like every storyteller, he wants to raise reader expectations, then frustrate them, then extend them, and ultimately surprise and reward them. Martin has more sophisticated expectations than most fantasy writers, so he doesn't opt for the simpler…

I found FFC a slog, but I also felt while reading it that I was missing important allusions, esp in Brienne's story.

That's the big lesson Jon spent the 2nd half of DWD learning.

"No gold" is the situation on the show. Is it in the books? I thought the no-gold thing was show only, a departure from the books.

But Arya is a "valonqar" too.

Tywin Lannister was pretty competent.
Was he any MORE ruthless than Stannis? About the same, I'd say.

But something does come out of it: it permanently changes Jon's relationship with the Nights Watch. Before, he was too stubbornly attached to his vow, to accept Stannis' offer to become Lord of Winterfell. After, he's free to accept Robb's naming him the heir to Winterfell.

Did Martin have to walk it back when Arya died, when the axe took her in the back of the head at the Red Wedding?

Littlefinger's old sigil was the Titan of Braavos, right? A giant.

Not to be all fanboy, but I have to quibble with "not written that well". Seriously?

It's a little presumptuous or disingenuous or something, to say "Jon Snow TOTALLY dies … He PROBABLY isn't going to be in corporeal form." It automatically sells your own favorite fan theory.

The mantra I've been repeating to myself for a while is that books 2 & 3 came out with two year gaps. Maybe now that GRRM has worked his way thru the Meereenese knot / 5 year jump issues, the next two books would come out in similarly rapid-fire pace, since he presumably has known pretty much where he's going for ~15…

And then she used that same endearment, when Tyrion walked in and she thought it was Tywin. One last straw.

It wasn't self defense!

I wrote this elsewhere in these comments, but Shae's going for the knife doesn't serve a "Greedo shoots first" interpretation — it doesn't make Tyrion's actions self-defense. She grabbed a knife in self defense, when he was on top of her attacking.

Simplest explanation is that Shae always was exactly what she was: a whore. Tyrion had a serious case of "that stripper really liked me," but that doesn't make her into someone who is loyal and true, who's not looking out for the main chance.

I don't like Lady Stoneheart in the books, don't miss her absence on the show. Getting thru this season without her was a relief.

Ok, I get your point. I'll just quibble with one bit: seriously conflicted, insecure individuals with misfortunate upbringings often behave like huge assholes. Theon was an asshole before he re-met his dad at home. It's not that D&D did any disservice to the character: BOOK Theon got what he deserved.

The Tyrion/Tywin confrontation was excellent, I don't agree with all the bitching about it.