Home » Game of Thrones Season 3, Episode 7: “The Bear and the Maiden Fair”

Game of Thrones Season 3, Episode 7: “The Bear and the Maiden Fair”

by Charlie Harwood
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It pains me to say this, but I expected more from George R.R. Martin. The man behind the book series Game of Thrones is based upon had amazed audiences with his script for “Blackwater” in Season Two. Unfortunately, GRRM’s writing for this week’s episode fell way short of last season’s climactic battle. Episode Seven titled, “The Bear and the Maiden Fair”, seemed to be everything that “Blackwater” wasn’t: slow, monotonous, and utterly uninteresting. Worst of all, this comes at a time when Season Three was just starting to fire on all cylinders. Beginning with Episode Four, the show really picked up as we saw a nice bit of action and some quality plot building. The pieces on the game board were all set up and it was time to start knocking them down, or so I thought. While I last week’s episode was off the pace in my opinion, I was fine with it. I mean, they can’t all be zingers right? However, the thing that really gripes me is that the show took another turn in the wrong direction this week. “The Bear and the Maiden Fair” had me confused right from the start. The story seemed to jump around so much that I literally reached for my remote control to change the channel about 30 minutes in. It wasn’t all bad though, so let’s start breaking down the episode with the positives.

Game-of-Thrones-S3E7-05-300x149The transformation of Jaime Lannister came full circle this week and I really have to take my hat off to Nikolaj Coster-Waldau for his amazing portrayal of The Kingslayer. Think about it: Jaimie started out as worst kind of piece of shit there is. You know, the kind of guy that pushes a child out of a window after being caught having sex with his sister. He’s not exactly someone you want to take home to meet mom and it’s easy to see why Jaime is one person that everybody loved to hate. After all, he does have the worst reputation in all the Seven Kingdoms after literally stabbing his king in the back. Fortunately for him, this season has showed a different side of the man. He’s not as cold and malicious as everyone makes him out to be. Jaime actually has a heart; and a rather big one at that.

This episode further cemented the fact Jaime has truly changed. Since being captured by Robb Stark in Season One, Jaime’s malevolent and diabolical nature has slowly been chipped away. If there’s one thing that a posh, rich-kid like Jaime Lannister could use, it was a lesson in humility. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth – good-looking, high-born, and heir to the richest House in all of Westeros – and Ser Jaime has never had to endure any hardships. Until now. These hardships have changed character into someone who is now actually likeable.

I mention all this because it takes a very strong actor to make it happen. I mean, just imagine you’re a relatively unknown actor and a producer hands you a script for a promising new role. Then imagine that same producer telling your character starts out as one of the most hated people in the entire series, but will end up being one of the most revered by Season Three. Would you believe him? Much more, would you even be able to pull it off? It seems like a monumental task for even the best actor, and Nikolaj has been nailed it every step along the way.

Jaime-Brienne__1367872387_80.111.36.221-300x168Even though there’s plenty I didn’t like about “The Bear and the Maiden Fair”, the character dynamics between Jaime and Brienne has been a joy to watch all season. The episode obviously surrounds this particularly story and ended up being the only real high point. We’ve seen the tremendous bonds being forged between these two, which came to a climax when they say goodbye to each other. Due to his reputation, Jaime obviously isn’t the most trusted person in the Seven Kingdoms. But Brienne trusted him to return the Stark children to their mother and that trust carried a heavy weight with The Kingslayer. As we found out in the previous episode, the one act that Jaime is most hated for is also his most admirable moment. We all know that the snickering and cursing behind his back has affected him over the years and receiving trust from Brienne, a person whom he deeply respects, was the breaking point for Jaime. Brienne trusted him to honor his word, which is something I’m sure Jaime has wanted for a very long time, and I think he finally realized what type of man he has to be in order to keep that trust.

Game-of-Thrones-Season-3-Episode-7-The-Bear-and-Maiden-Fair-Portable10-300x166The other high point of “The Bear and the Maiden Fair” was Dany’s scene in Yunkai. Daenerys’s stor has been carrying this season so far, but unfortunately we only get a short plotline with her this week. The Mother of Dragons is now on a mission to set free all slaves she comes across, and will destroy anyone who stands in her way. She’s knows she won’t win over people just by having a large army. Instead, Dany is set to conquer all of Slaver’s Bay, one city at a time, and freeing the men who will fight beside her. This was the first time that I thought Daenerys truly looked like the queen she is destined to become. She has a giant army, a tent with servants,  two loyal advisors, and three ever-growing dragons. The pace of Dany’s plot is rapidly picking up and her scene was one of the few bright spots in this episode. It’s almost a certainty that Dany will end up sacking Yunkai in glorious fashion and I can’t wait to see that.

Now onto the bad…

First off, I thought the episode jumped around a lot and there was no real sense of where it was going. The first thirty minutes seemed wildly out of control as we jumped from one story to another to another, with each one getting more ridiculous than the last. Let’s start with Theon and his mysterious tormentor.

The whole torture scenario has gone a bit over-the-top and I feel as though this show is always trying to throw some shock factor into the equation. Last season it was the graphic brothel scenes, while this season it’s the endless torture of Theon Greyjoy. Don’t get me wrong, I am really enjoying watching Theon get what he deserves, but I feel as though the show is trying too hard to make it believable. At this point, I’m sure viewers realize that the mystery man intends to make Theon’s like a living hell. After all the things he’s done so far, we get it. This guy is one bad dude. We don’t need endless shots of whores prancing around the screen doing nothing more than appearing as eye candy for male viewers.

Talisa-1024x555

On that note, did we really need the drawn out sex scene between Robb and Talisa? Granted, it was a decent way to lead up to revelation that she’s pregnant with King in the North, Jr., but a lot of the dialogue was cheesy and poorly acted. Not to mention the endless ass shots filling up the screen. Is it just me, or have we seen way too much full-rear nudity this season? I don’t need cheeks on my screen every episode, okay? Especially when it’s merely used as filler. Seems to me that this scene could’ve been trimmed way down. The whole thing isn’t very believable. No one has sex like that, and the strategically positioned body parts makes it all too obvious that Ms. Chaplin is camera shy. Just say you’re pregnant and be done with it. We didn’t need all the lovey-dovey banter between the two. Especially when it’s delivered as poorly as Robb’s “Oh, I love you” line.

Game_Of_Thrones_-_The_Bear_And_The_Maiden_Fair_-_Jon__Ygritte-300x167Jon and Ygritte’s story is another one that could’ve been trimmed down. For example, it took three scenes of exactly the same thing before we get the emotional make-out moment. Bad news is that this story really hasn’t developed from last week at all: Ygritte sees Jon for what he really is, Jon tries to save her from an inevitable defeat, and they end up kissing ferociously. It’s the same story that played out last week. I get that the writer’s want to fully develop the relationship between these two, but it’s starting to become overemphasized. Rose Leslie has killed it all season, but it’s as though we are running in circles here.

This was one of those plot building episodes that we see from time to time on this show. Unfortunately, I have to say it’s one of the worst ones yet. Probably within the Top 3 worst episodes yet in my opinion. Even though I liked the dynamics between Jaime and Brienne, I still felt like I need more, much like every other plot from this episode. The show was trying to do too much in such a short amount of time and there were too many small scenes that only served the purpose of conveying a small amount of information to the audience. One of my biggest complaints about the whole series is that too much time is spent on useless material that could be used on more interesting characters. Take Podrick Payne for example. Whatever happened between him and the whores? That was weeks ago and we still don’t know. In fact, we haven’t heard a breath about since Episode 3. I’m starting to think we will never know and it was simply a waste of precious airtime. The same thing goes for the character of Ros. Her presence in King’s Landing was never a part of Martin’s book series and served no real purpose within the show itself. All these little thing can add up to a big chunk of time. Time that should be used developing Martin’s immense story better. I could be wrong here, but that’s just my opinion. Let us know what you think in the comments below.

PREVIEW: Episode 8: Second Sons

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70 comments

Rebecca Mozingo May 29, 2013 - 6:39 pm

why you can’t show all the shows unstead of parts. It gets agnored when you cut it off at or when its something interested. then when u end your season there nothing on tv to watch .every body isn’t gone on acation or not watching Tv.Its A good show so that why i am complaint of the time .

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Cian Gaffney May 30, 2013 - 4:15 am

The pre-production, production, casting, filming, convention appearances…everything to do with Game of Thrones makes it a year long job, and the producers are under immense pressure to schedule everything appropriately.

It’s simply not possible to have longer seasons or show it multiple times per year.

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Sarbay May 19, 2013 - 5:15 am

Watch Game of Thrones Season 3, Episode 8 – Second Sons @ http://tiny.cc/Se3Ep8SecondSons

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Owenc May 18, 2013 - 2:55 am

I agree with the author. For the poster going on about the author not reading the books is completely rediculous. I have read the books and i felt the same as the author. This episode was a filler episode, nothing really satisfying happened in it

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MJ Snow May 18, 2013 - 10:37 am

I’m with you on this, Owen.

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Greg Is Right May 16, 2013 - 7:56 pm

I cant stand all these comments on the Theon scenes. What people who have PROPERLY read the books will realise is that you never actuallly ever see much of RBs evil played out in front of a viewpoint character, its all through someone mentioning it or in the later Theon chapters, through Theons thoughts memories fears etc. He (RB) is one of the most wonderfully written characters in the whole series because of this, and it would of been very hard to portray his evil on screen without these graphic torture scenes.

HOWEVER HBO would have made this a whole lot easier and better if they had introduced RB when he was meant to have been introduced. They have left out such a huge section of his role and character and i just cant see why they did that as they spent an aweful lot of time with the Winterfell sacking anyway, just doing it wrong..

Overall however i agree with most of all the other stuff you’ve said. Execpt the Theon scenes, i think its needed and the fact that my heart literally starts beating everytime RB steps on the screen (Iwan Rheon doing an amazing job btw!) is EXACTLY what i was hoping for after reading the books.

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Bill Anderson May 16, 2013 - 8:30 pm

What does “PROPERLY read the books” even mean? Are you suggesting people are reading the books improperly?

Regardless of how this character–and his motivations for torturing Theon–play out in the novels, this has become an irritating, drawn out plot point that they need to spend less time on. He (Theon) is one of the least interesting characters in a novel that has a multitude of others much more worthy of film time.

Move along, nothing to see here.

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Greg Is Right May 17, 2013 - 5:48 am

yes i am suggesting people are reading it ‘improperly’, by skimming through it and not appreciating the skill it takes to build a character without having the character ‘in view’ for much of the novel.

“irritating”? what does this even mean? Why is it irritating? this is such a stupid trollish thing to say… please explain.

“Theon is is one of the least interesting characters” … wow. Its like your trying to prove that people can actually read a book improperly. The way Martin builds the readers utter hate toward Theon, and then slowly turns you round into pitying him, is genius. The huge impact Theon has on most of the plot lines indirectly is also genius. Can i just ask have you even read the books?

“need to spend less time on” ok now im starting to think you dont even watch the show. IN the last three episodes Theon has had about 10 minutes screen time (one episode he wasnt even in it at all). If you think that Yigrette dancing around mocking Jon (near enough the majority of last episode, episode before) is more important than the Theon plot then i just cant help you im afraid sir.

“Move along nothing to see here” Well this is like the icing on a troll cake. Someone escort this man back under his bridge.

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Greg Is Right May 16, 2013 - 7:44 pm

I have

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James Wind May 16, 2013 - 6:45 pm

There’s never too much hot naked ass. That’s like saying there’s too much happiness or too much money. Can’t happen.

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A Disappointed Not-Fan of HBO May 16, 2013 - 6:35 pm

This is the dumbest review of anything ever that I have ever read. Who wrote this swill? Where is the cretin that hacked HBO’s website? SHOW YOURSELF

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Trigg May 16, 2013 - 6:29 pm

“I don’t need cheeks on my screen every episode, okay?”

YOU ARE NO MAN!
The son of a Bastard!

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Ranieri Castelar May 16, 2013 - 6:02 pm

And that was the authors fault . yeah… in the books it was so much better. U can’t blame the autor for this.

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Bill Anderson May 16, 2013 - 5:48 pm

Sorry Mr. Harwood, but I’m going to have to disagree with you on this review. While I’m in agreement that the Theon/Torturefest/Whore O Rama is getting a bit played out–to say the least–I think much of your criticism of this episode is unfounded. This episode deals with 11 plot points (no shit! I counted) starting with Jon Snow, to Robb, to Sansa and Margaery, to Tyrion, to Joffrey and Tywin, to Daenerys, to Gendry and Melisandre, to Arya and the Brotherhood, to Jaimie and Brienne, to Theon and the Torturing Whorefest, to Brann. Whew! That’s a helluva lot of character and plot development to be stuffed into sixty minutes.

Again, I agree that for whatever reason they’ve chosen to spend too much time with the whole Theon storyline, but my only criticism is that the show is only one hour long, there are only three episodes left in Season 3, and we have to wait til next f****ing March to get to Season 4!

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Dazz May 16, 2013 - 5:38 pm

What you’ve got to remember is that everything in the show happens for a reason. That and the fact that seasons 3 and 4 will explore book number 3 so if things seem a little drawn out or slow then it’s because there’s too much material in the book to play out in a single season but not enough to stretch out into several so we have to have scenes that appear longer than they need to be and additional exposition to appease that.

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George R.R Martin May 16, 2013 - 5:33 pm

you know nothing Charlie Howard

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Slayer May 16, 2013 - 5:25 pm

Yeah Im going to have to say this review is pretty poorly thought out. A bit contradicting also. I respect your opinion but you are way off point on alot of it.

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Slayer May 16, 2013 - 5:28 pm

I forgot to mention a good proof-read is always a good thing before publishing a review. It sounds like you have a serious problem with the nudity in this show. Read the books so you dont have to look at “arses”.

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Person Anongratta May 16, 2013 - 5:22 pm

It is possible that some of this is not Martin’s fault but the chop block editing of the episode. It very much seems that is what happened more than Martin’s scripting being trash.
Also, not every episode should be expected to be some roller coaster of action to satisfy a single reviewers quick fix. The reviewer admits as well this is a plot developing episode meaning their malignment of the episode is just for the sake of having something to write this week.

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Cleo May 16, 2013 - 5:20 pm

I literally stopped reading this about 30 lines in

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Chung Lee May 16, 2013 - 5:16 pm

Coldhands!

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Sean King May 16, 2013 - 5:04 pm

Since she gave such a crappy review I am just gonna go ahead and wreck the whole season for her.

ROB DIES.

There. Quit watching. You suck.

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C. Allen May 16, 2013 - 5:10 pm

*he *him. also, thanks for the spoiler, you ninny.

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Brwnidgrl May 16, 2013 - 4:54 pm

I agree, READ THE BOOKS! Do you realize how hard it is to pack so much detail in a 1 hr. episode and cover an entire book or even 1/2 a book in 10 episodes?? Yes, there are slow spots in the books, but it’s all relevant. Shit’s about to go down in an epic manner.

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Sir Maron May 16, 2013 - 4:47 pm

“The whole thing isn’t very believable.” Do you think this is a documentary? I couldn’t disagree more. I thought that this was one of the keystone episodes in the whole HBO series. Brilliantly crafted, spectacularly acted, and captivating to the very last minute. D.B Weiss and David Benioff have done a incredible job adapting the books to screen. There are undoubtedly going to be things in the HBO series that are not in the books and vice versa. The things that they have added, in my opinion, have not taken away from the books. In fact I think they’ve added nicely to the story as a whole. Bronn still in Kings Landing with Tyrion? Such great comic relief. Also, this was a character driven episode. It was so nice to sit back and watch these characters develop during this episode. To see the dynamic between them mature. One of my favorite scenes in the whole series in fact was the torture scene of Theon. Not because of the salacious sex with those beautiful ladies, although that didn’t hurt, but because of how well done it was. You are put in the mind of Theon. You know this is a trick and that HE will be coming soon. But after awhile I found myself forgetting, like Theon did, and not wanting the girls to stop. Just a little longer…..just a little longer… than BOOM. My hand was over my mouth in horror at the end of that scene. They fooled me just like HE fooled Theon. Amazing.

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Greg Is Right May 17, 2013 - 5:55 am

agree.

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Kiva May 16, 2013 - 4:29 pm

I was really, really looking forward to Brienne asking why Jaime came back and him telling her he had a dream about her.

Unfortunately, they cut the dream sequence. Maybe to make room for Robb and Some Character Who Isn’t Actually In The Books Why Is This Character Here to have an awkward and stupid conversation with their clothes off.

I’m not totally sure why we’re getting all these Theon torture scenes now. I felt in the books the torture was more shocking and grisly because it wasn’t overtly shown, you were simply re-introduced to a man now broken. Some things are described, but you don’t really, REALLY understand how awful his situation is until, you know, he has to get his master’s lady ready. That’s an overly sexual scene that manages to be terrifying and degrading for all parties involved. Why not just wait for that?

Also, Jon and Ygritte don’t need someone else to want Ygritte for them to experience tension. HBO, they experienced plenty of tension without a love triangle in the books. Ygritte has more going on for her character other than “WHO DO I WANT TO BE WITH?” She and Jon have real tension because they come from different worlds. You should focus on that, not on Ygritte’s dating choices in order to create tension.

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Frank Overland May 16, 2013 - 4:25 pm

Considering I know what happens cause I read the book, s**t is about to go down. You’re going to regret everything you just complained about. Take my word for it.

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shewolf52002 May 16, 2013 - 4:25 pm

I agree with many of your points, of course I figured I was just impatient for the wedding at the Twins. Not that I am looking forward to… well no spoilers lol. I kind of see why GRRM is spending so much time on the Theon torture, but I also think it could be done better. Perhaps more intense torture in shorter bites would do the trick.. I was thoroughly disappointed with last seasons departure from the books and prayed they would get more on track and that at least I think they have done. (Still gripes me that the chain did not make an appearance in Blackwater Bay!) That being said this fickle fan hopes they do not follow plot lines for Brienne and Ygritte, but I bet they do.

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Amanda Hovenga May 16, 2013 - 4:22 pm

Thank goodness some one said it, I was so dissapointed in this episode I actually was in shock!

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Proof Read May 16, 2013 - 4:21 pm

Learn to edit before pressing the publish button.

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C. Allen May 16, 2013 - 3:50 pm

does anyone proof read or edit these articles before they are posted to the site?
quite a few errors you might want to look over.

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Matt May 16, 2013 - 3:49 pm

I don’t understand all the people complaining about the ‘gratuitous’ sex and nudity. The books carry the same tone as the show does in this regard. It can hardly be considered gratuitous if it’s part of the overall theme of the story. Maybe it’s just more shocking to see it than to read about it?

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gusten May 16, 2013 - 3:45 pm

Regarding the whole Podrick and the whores thing, I agree it was a waste of time but didn’t we learn that he just had a big, big dick?

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Michal Zimny May 16, 2013 - 3:44 pm

Are you retarded? And you say that you want to know what happened between Podrick and the whores? Is he a main character now? Well, I don;t think he is… Go read the books… This show is based on them and you cannot just create some new characters so someone like you is more interested in it. You compare this episode to Blackwater. Blackwater was one of main turning points in the story. If you want something more interesting wait for the red wedding episode or Joffrey’s wedding as these are the most important parts of next few chapters…

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Tweeg May 16, 2013 - 3:44 pm

This ep was amazing, entertaining, and the ending was suburb.

Charlie, be aware of what time of the month it is next time so you don’t write such a godawful review.

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C. Allen May 16, 2013 - 3:58 pm

you know, the review could just be objectively unappealing to you, without implying it has something to do with the point the author is at in their menstrual cycle (which i find to be a bizarre assertion anyway, as the author is clearly male)
also, “the ending was suburb”?
be aware of how far up your ass your head is the next time you try to write a critique, because you obviously can’t see the keyboard very well.

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Tweeg May 20, 2013 - 8:07 am

Next time I shall ensure I double check with you since you clearly are the expert on putting ones head up their ass.

The anger in your post is as entertaining as it is poorly worded. Is it seriously too hard to hold down the shift key before you start a sentence. Seriously, if you’re going to insult someones ability to use a keyboard at the very least use it correctly.

Sorry for confusing that tiny little mind of yours with a time of the month joke. I was being facetious. But that fact that you had to point out it was bizarre was amusing.

“Durr author male, boy no have period, joke stupid. Me point out, look the hero. DURRR”

After reading your reply I’m getting the impression that you identity with Hodor more than any other character in the show/books.

Ahh thats so cute :)

Thanks for the laugh.

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C. Allen May 26, 2013 - 6:01 pm

gosh, you really pinned me there. i don’t know if the misuse of capital/under-case letters qualifies as “poor wording” but i’ll let you have that one. as for the second point in your deconstruction of my intelligence, sorry your wacky gender bending period joke didn’t throw me into gales of laughter… i guess the very base concept of you insulting a man by comparing him to a woman is too highbrow for my soft little brain. i mean, i don’t even know how to use the shift key! i really have disappointed you, haven’t i. clearly you are correct, i am easily likened to an enormous mentally challenged man. good call, ace.

oh ps i think you meant “identify” ;}

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dsv May 16, 2013 - 3:41 pm

always nice to see grammatically correct articles where critical review is provided, shame that is not the case today. lucky we have all read the books and enjoy the show for what it is regardless.

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Wes May 16, 2013 - 3:40 pm

I’m with Ryan Garcia. All those comments about Jamie don’t make sense if you’ve read the books. I found the episode completely intelligible. If my memory serves me correct… the whole torture of Theon is insinuated in the book and you don’t hear anything from Theon until Reek and then you have to figure out that it’s actually Theon. I started reading the books after the first 2 seasons and have since read all of them. Now that i’ve read the books the series isn’t as good as I remember. The books rule.

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sunone1 May 16, 2013 - 3:29 pm

I agree with most of the criticisms. Instead of spending so long on Robb and Talissa they could have showed us Sam and Gilly instead. And the conversation between Margaery and Sansa was pretty useless.

I also think the show needs more Dany overall. Her story arc is just as important as the Lannisters’ but it gets much less screen time.

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Michal Zimny May 16, 2013 - 3:48 pm

There’s not as much Danny in the books as you might think there is

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Angel Smith May 16, 2013 - 3:27 pm

I think they they are trying to draw out the series as much as possible. There is an immense fan base, and theyre finishing seasons before George R.R. Martin is finishing books. For people who have not read the books, I think this was a very well done episode. I, personally, have read them and still have no arguements.

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Chris Vendelin May 16, 2013 - 3:14 pm

The Podrick scene was a set-up by Ros to pique Varys’ curiosity and bring him to her so she could try working with him and get away from Littlefinger. It backfired, obviously.

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mike May 16, 2013 - 1:57 pm

Leave JRRM alone to work on the next book. At the rate this series is progressing, they will be caught up to him by the end of next season. lol As for this episode, I enjoyed it but I can’t stop thinking about what’s coming probably in the season finally and I dread it. Perhaps reading the books first wasn’t a good idea.

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Lana Kerr May 16, 2013 - 12:49 pm

If you read the books it would make sense the writers D&D seem to be following the character chapters in the books ie start with Jamie then go to Dany then are catapulted back to the wall then to Theon etc. .What Theon is going through is a terrible thing with his “mysterious” evil torture man but if you paid attention when he was taken from Winterfell you’d know who was torturing him, he been there a long time.

As for Robb and Talisa keep watching you’ll know why there are many pointless and screen wasting time between these two. Valar morgulis

Though wish they would jump to Arya (one of my fave’s from the books) more and get her story moving cus damn I can’t wait for her to get where she going and I know that Maisie Williams will do an awesome job of what she’s got coming.

.

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dwinn10055 May 16, 2013 - 10:20 am

yes, I think the Theon Greyjoy storyline is totally useless. Love the Jamie Brienne storyline.

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Esmeralda Simpson May 16, 2013 - 10:02 am

I pretty much agree with this critique though my absolute favorite scene was Tywin & Joffrey. Watching Joffrey squirm & shrink into his throne while grand daddy towered over him was priceless. Enough with the torture of Theon, Jon & company need to arrive to where they are going already, more of what’s happening to Arrya, and let’s get this Frey wedding started!!

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Katie Durham May 16, 2013 - 9:14 am

I agree with you. I think that the Theon torturing scene was way too drawn out. Perhaps this episode was trying to tie all the things together that prelude to some of the larger things such as the two weddings… Once those begin I think there won’t be as much time for any other plot stuff..

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Michael Johnson May 16, 2013 - 8:50 am

Can we please just let GRRM keep writing his BOOKS!!! For those of you who can’t read I”M excited about where Daenereys lands after her wild Dragon ride… And where the fuck Tyrion is!?!? And Arya!?!? Jon?!?! Bran!?!?

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Ryan Garcia May 16, 2013 - 8:47 am

May I recommend you actually read the books in more detail author? Your issues with the episode show less about the episodes issues, but more your own inability to focus on anything for more than 30 mins at a time.

As for the Theon issue, you just commented on how amazing a three season story arc that involves the kingslayer was. There is a point to what Theon is going through, and enduring. And it makes sense on a larger scale, much like the kingslayer.

Have patience, read the book, or take some Adderall. Not every scene can be bashing heads with spears and fiery dragons. You have to build these chars up. And Theons scenes are not just about his char, but also the other person involved in the torture – and how twisted and sick he is.

So chill, it’s an amazing show.

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MJ Snow May 16, 2013 - 9:40 am

Are you saying that they’re actually building up the characters, though? I don’t see it at all. I’ve read the books a minimum of 5 times each and I love Theon’s chapters above all. The way they handled that scene this week was campy and stupid. We know that the torturer in Theon’s scenes is sick and twisted. In the books he was even more so, and he never needed the addition of HBO’s gratuitous naked whores to show us that. If anything, the show does too much bouncing around from dragons to head bashing and hardly any character development at all.

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Joe Collins May 16, 2013 - 2:40 pm

I agree, the graphical torture scenes are not needed to convey what is being done to Reek (oops, Theon). Also the nudity, whilst she does have a nice arse, is not needed for that scene between Robb and Talisa.

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Joe May 16, 2013 - 3:51 pm

All of the torture is just to shed some light on who Theon’s captor’s father really is. I mean his real intentions. Sure, HBO is overdoing the scenes, whereas the books more hinted what happened, but it has a point and it gets young male viewers tuning in week after week. Two things I’m really upset about: 1. The Leech Lord hasn’t had a scene with leeches. 2. No Strong Belwas . I’m assuming Daario will fill his roll.

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Ryan Garcia May 16, 2013 - 11:02 pm

Don’t get me wrong. There are tons of holes. But, and this is my personal opinion on his “torturer”, is that he is truly one sick and twisted person.

Could have done without the pointless nudity. But they tortured him for days/weeks/months etc. The show probably doesn’t have the ability to convey that adequately. So instead, they up the intensity of the scenes to get that across?

My two cents. Looking forward to the evolution of all the characters.

I’m personally looking forward to the Arya parts later on in the books…. yay!

Hop June 18, 2013 - 8:27 am

I totally agree. HBO seems obsessed with adding even more nudity then the books actually have.

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My name is Christian Aamillom May 24, 2013 - 3:10 pm

I agree with you on all, but I’d sooner want this author face the wrath of the Frey’s comming up next episode…

Him likeing the Simpsons still and enjoyed it’s parody intro of GoT is just showing even more that he is an utter fool…

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Desiree Byrd May 16, 2013 - 8:13 am

At first I had my hackles up about this article. I have a hard time criticizing my favorite show, but I do have to agree with you. I have felt since season 2, they were starting to take on too much content, too much of the storylines at once, thus making all of the scenes shorter, and the progress really slow. It’s left me wondering how they are going to end up at a satisfying season finale in three more episodes. If they’re going to make me WAIT an ENTIRE YEAR to see the next season, this season finale better be good. Like Season 1’s finale was. I did not like season 2’s finale. It felt anticlimactic and weak.

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MJ Snow May 15, 2013 - 6:49 pm

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! I was so crused to see that GRRM wrote such a poor episode. I actually disliked even more than you did, I think, but I’m in agreement with you on so many things! I really hated the Sansa scene, but most of the show was just boring. Too much attention paid to things that I don’t care about, not enough attention given to important things. I was ready for Ygritte to go a couple of weeks ago. I was bored to tears watching her & Jon “banter.” Hugely disappointed in the Theon/RB, as there is just no need for yet more superfluous whores. Theon’s chapters in the book were my favorites and I’m so bummed to see that kind of frat boy crap added in, when we know for sure that RB would never need whores to do that work for him, nor would there actually be any live whores hanging round the castle. Just so unbelievable. Robb & Talisa is just sad at this point. I’m so ready to see the last of that storyline, I cant wait for the RW!

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Tamara Winfrey May 15, 2013 - 2:37 pm

I feel like this whole season has been spent briefly checking in with characters rather than giving us time to get immersed with anyone. I agree that too much time is spent on Theon. It’s very frustrating with so few episodes left!

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Hannah May 15, 2013 - 2:02 pm

Except for the Theon storyline which is utterly pointless, I absolutely LOVED this episode !

For me it set right almost everything that had gone wrong in the previous two episodes.

FINALLY we get some believable Ygritte and Jon interactions and not the gooey baby love from the previous episodes (Ygritte’s line “if you touch my pretty silk dress I’ll blacken your eye !” was a personal favorite !)
FINALLY we know why Bran & co are going to the Wall (it made no sense knowing that Osha was trying to get away from it when we first met her.. sure it was necessary because the Reeds weren’t there in the show yet but still..)

Dany’s scene was magnificent, Jaime and Brienne were brilliant as usual and Tyrion regained some bite and stopped being portrayed as a boring little saint.

I loved seeing Joffrey trying to use his “I’m the King you should all bow to me” kind of lines on his grandfather and failing miserably as Tywin Lannister puts him back into place without even raising an eyebrow.
I also liked the Margeary-Sansa scene which clarifies events from the book (seeing as GRRM wrote the episode this is also reliable info :) ).

The Robb and Talisa storyline wasn’t so great (Talisa is just meh plus too much lovey-dovey nonsense) but it still really well introduced what’s going to happen next with Catelyn being the only one conscious about how critical their situation is and extremely worried about her son’s carelessness (Michelle Fairley is such a great actress.. With a single look when she got out of the tent she expressed everything there is to know about her fear for the future).
Plus it also confirmed the fact that there is going to be a new little Stark and heir to Winterfell (was not clear in the book) and that’s good :)

I’m not sure Gendry’s scene with Melisandre brought a lot to the plot because I can’t remember if the serie already told us Gendry is Robert’s bastard or if I only knew it from the books.. But I thought it started to make Melisandre more likeable which is an upside..

In my opinion this is the second best episode in the third season, right after episode 4 !

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Cian Gaffney May 16, 2013 - 8:44 am

I loved it too, but I can see that it might not be for everyone. I would probably rank this as my third favorite episode this season, behind 5 and 4. Hopefully D&D have what it takes to make 9 the best.

The Jaime/Brienne dynamic and arc is flawless as always, and reached its climax for the season in this episode. It’s unfortunate that this could potentially be the last we see of Noah Taylor’s Locke, I thought he gave an amazing performance all season. I’m also pretty sure he’ll be more remembered than Mance Rayder…which really shouldn’t be the case. However, between Taylor’s Locke and Dan Hildebrand’s Kraznys, this season we have had some great and quite memorable minor characters.

I really haven’t been a fan of the Robb and Talisa arc at all, and there was certainly too much screentime given to them in this episode at the expense of Catelyn (giving Michelle Fairley so little material to work with this season is unjustifiable, she is without a doubt one of the most impressive actors in the show).

I accepted and even appreciated the portrayal of Theon’s descent into “Reekness” (Allen and Rheon have been great) right up until this episode, which was one step too far. I’m not sure how much input George himself had into this soft porno, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it came to fruition on the recommendation of the producer who represents the “pervert side of the audience”. See here for what I mean: http://www.vulture.com/2012/06/game-of-thrones-nudity-nude-scenes.html

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MJ Snow May 16, 2013 - 9:34 am

I’d forgotten about that article! Bookmarked it now for sharing with people who insist that Benioff/Weiss are trying to produce a quality series.

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Hannah May 16, 2013 - 12:33 pm

Reminds me of the video from SNL where they “explain” why there’s so much nudity in Game of Thrones: the 13 years old special consultant.. (http://www.blastr.com/2012/04/snl-reveals-the-real-reas.php)

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Stephen Linus Jensen May 15, 2013 - 11:01 am

This have got to be the best part from the epiosde, HODOR IS KING
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG7fTrT29E8

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Nick Williams May 16, 2013 - 3:46 pm

Hodar is king. Why’s he get to sit and talk while we do all the work? Hodar

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Enamoured fan of Stephen Linus May 16, 2013 - 6:37 pm

Truest post on here

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KamikazeKiel May 15, 2013 - 11:01 am

Couldn’t agree more about the negatives and positives you pointed out. With how deep the story lines are in the books, I absolutely hate when the show throws in garbage (such as the excessive ass and titties) that do nothing to really help develop those wonderful story-lines. This episode could have been trimmed down to almost a 30 minute time slot instead of the 55 minute allotted time. Each time Theon shows up on the screen, I just want to fast forward. It really is the weakest part of the show and one that isn’t even supposed to be happening yet.

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