This is a far more polite version of my review of the episode. I don't even want to review it, just let it sink in. Honestly, this show is the best I've ever watched imo. The characters, plots, setting, acting, special effects, background. Everything makes me love the show more. The moment that sword stopped the spear will stick in my head years after I've forgotten every other film I've watched this year.
I've been so busy that I never got time to reply or to type up my views on the last episode.
Agree with most of what you've said. My bit is below.
------
That episode started off really well. That opening scene with Dany, Jorah and Tyrion was really good. Jorah, without speaking a word, conveyed a lot in that scene. A great actor, imo!
The King's Landing scene was ok, as was the 2nd Dany and Tyrion scene. I'll be honest, I wasn't a big fan of the whole 'My dad is bad' 'Well, so is mine!' 'Well, my dad did this...' 'Well, mine did this!'. It wasn't the sharp, witty dialogue we're used to.
The Arya storyline is slowly becoming better, as well. Considering Ja'qan Hagar was so enigmatic and mysterious (from S2) and Arya has this big sense of adventure (at the end of S4), I hope they deliver on her transition in the remaining episodes of this season.
Theon/Sansa - that snippet was good. I think admitting that he killed 2 innocent farmboys, and not Bran and Rikon will be quite cathartic for both Theon and Sansa.
And now.........
Those last 20 minutes.
Wow. Just wow.
That has arguably got to be one of the best pieces of TV I've seen. The way the show went from a tense 'let's get these folks on boats' to a quiet, eerie, wispy outlook in a moment was masterfully done. You really felt the characters on screen were alone at that point, even though they were surrounded by thousands. The cinematography/filming/CGI was seamless, and it worked to perfection. The eerieness, creepiness and power of the WWs/Wights/whatever has only really been briefly touched upon before, but this was a real demonstration of their power.
The shot of Jon looking up at the mountain and seeing the 4 horsemen was incredible.
There's so much I want to say about it this part of the show. The fact that there was no dialogue for the last 8-10 minutes, was brilliant, and added to the intensity. The fact that Jon had a Valyrian sword this whole time, and his battle with that WW, was pretty awesome too, as a viewer.
And the stare/stand off between Jon and that WW who walked to the pier was the cherry on top.
Jon is a really good actor. Considering that might all have been green screened, you really felt the pain/fear in his eyes.
But like I said, the way that Wight Walker walked silently, slowly, and deliberately to the edge of the pier, and just stared out across the water to Jon. Then slowly lifted his arms, reanimating the dead. That was bloody incredible. Considering we already
know they can do that, the way it was filmed was fantastic. And the desolate, snowy, cold, and wispy landscape with these 100s of wildlings standing up from being killed and staring out with their cold, dead blue eyes....brilliant TV.
I've been critical of this season so far, but the last 20-30 min of this episode have got to be up there as one of the best moments on the show.