Because the scene was guest-directed by Gaspar Noé.

I completely agree.


I feel like anyone who watched the series thus far should be hooked after this episode.

GRRM has confirmed I believe in the past that Loras and Renly are gay. And we haven't seen anything involving those two because .

I mean it was subtle, but I think if we looked hard enough, we could see some of the signs

Go to the spoiler thread for more discussion on this, there are some more comments there.

Yes, I'm obviously not man enough to handle the sex, that's exactly the point I was making. Jesus Christ.

http://tvrecaps.ew.com/recap/game-of-thrones-5/

Works for me.

Ratings continue to Rise for Game of Thrones:

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/05/17/ga...ratings-climb/

Booya!

GoT had a ratings increase even though it went up against Survivor Season Finale and the highest rated NBA game on Cable TV of all Time.

Well done!

Brothels... for all our progress in this country they really dropped the ball on this one.

That pic above of The Mountain pounding Loras is awesome. What is especially impressive is how all of the extras really seemed to be giving 100%, with some looking on intently, one grinning, others hiding faces or covering mouths, etc. It's that sort of attention to detail (loved the horse toy on Ned's desk, for instance) that make this a special show.

And I liked the idea of Tyrion using a shield although I didn't know it was changed from the book. Shields often were used as offensive weapons, and it seemed to underscore how resourceful Tyrion can be...along with being brave. It also makes for a more brutal killing than getting bashed with an axe, IMO.


Great news about the ratings boost!

Best ep yet, great action for the most part. Jamie kill of the Captain of Ned's guard was awesome but I'm sorry to see the character go

That gif is awesome.

Oh, someone asked why Kat took Tyrion to the Eyrie.

Because it was closest, and she wanted a place to hole up and await an official Royal delegation to come and hear the charges...she didn't realize that Lyza was FUCKING NUTS

If you look at the Game of Thrones title, it's surrounded by a wolf, a stag, a lion and a dragon too.

Dragon = Targaryen
Stag = Baratheon

Another great episode. They are cutting some interesting details for time (like how the Eyrie is set up) but they are definitely hitting the major beats well.

Conan Stevens (Gregor) has signed on to star in the Hobbit! as a Large Orc, Agoz!

Those are the most boring animated gifs ever.

Not me. HBO Go covers a total of 8 cable companies. Leaves an awful lot of us out in the cold.

So, when Jamie and his minions ambushed Ned:

- They came to take him "alive" yet after he got lanced in the leg, they rode off and left him. I didn't get that. Why didn't they take him?

- What was the whole story line of where they were? Littlefinger took Ned there (was it a brothel?) to show him what I gathered was Robert's bastard son? What was the significance? I got really lost in the Littlefinger/Ned/Varys plotting.

I absolutely love that the imp is being held prisoner in that scary cell. I really dislike that character a lot. Also, in an earlier post it was mentioned that Robert and the Queen hate each other. I never got that impression. And how long has Robert been King? He mentioned something about 17 years they were married. Is that how long he has been king too?

All of your questions will be answered in future episodes. To answer them now would be spoilerish.

So, just keep watching.

I think I mentioned this in the book thread but I'm really jealous of everyone who's experiencing this story for the first time. I can remember how completely lost in the story I was when I first read them. I've never gone through books faster than I did this series.