Martin's dialogue was fine in AFfC and ADwD and still certainly superior to D&Ds' whenever they've veered off the books(a few scenes in the early seasons notwithstanding). It's his plotting that really dragged those last two books down, for reasons that are well-known to longtime fans.

The Bolton's were the Oathbreakers. The guy that caught Rickon and Osha pretty much called Ramsey out on how useless the word of a Bolton was.

Some oath breakers shown tonight:
Qyburn for breaking the oath of the Citadel and getting kicked out. Jaimie for killing the mad King. Cersei for breaking her marriage vow. Maybe Daenerys for not going to the widow city. Ser Allister and Ollie and Bowen Marsh for killing Jon. Lord Umber for not protecting Rickon. Maybe Harlan Reed for stabbing Ser Arthur Dayne in the back. Maybe Arya for leaving her kill list behind. Basically everyone in the show.

Edit: I am actually hoping that the Umbers are with team Stark and that was not Shaggydog and this is some plan to get back into Winterfell when Jon comes back with the Wildlings.

This isn't Westeros.org.

Good riddance to that Scott Farkus wanna-be.

Are non-book readers supposed to know who Harlan Reed was?

Yes. It showed that Tyrion, for all his good will, has a very different set of life experiences/comes from a very different class of person. Not that Tyrion hasn't been through some tough times, but it's been nowhere near as unrelenting/awful as Missandei and the Unsullied.

While true, that's not really news/a surprise is it?

The father of the 2 kids that went off with Bren and Rickon.

Going to nip this in the bud before everyone starts saying Harlan...his name is Howland.


The 3 eyed raven told Bran that Howland is Meera's father (and also Jojen), so yes, everyone should know now. He's the head of House Reed, a house loyal to the Starks. They are located in the southern most part of the North.

Well, the legend has always been that his dad killed him fair and square, not that someone else stabbed him in the back. That exclamation was his genuine surprise at the newly revealed truth. I don't see how that constitutes "bad writing".

6/10 episode, IMO.

Liked:
Varys. Varys is always good.
Sword fight with the Dayne, Sword of the Morning. Great choreography.
Cersei and Jaime trying to strong arm the small council. Given the seriousness of the couple, it was offbeat but kind of funny to see them slightly humiliated.
The scene with the High Sparrow and Tommen. The High Sparrow knows just what to do with that sweet kid.
Umber (sp?). Hilarious dialogue with Ramsey.
Grey Worm talking about "patrol".
Thorne's goodbye speech. Well delivered and captures the character's motivations well. He was an interesting dude.

Meh:
Cliched kung fu training montage with Arya. This plot line just drags.
Jon being all cute, humble and insecure. Man up.
Daenerys in the house of widows. Whatever, don't care.
Sam on the boat. Ha! See, he's all pukey but honorable. Gilly's all tough and excited!

Oh, okay. I forgot Meera's name (but not Jojen's) and the whole thing left me very confused.
Is stabbing somebody in the back after he has mortally wounded you and is about to kill your disarmed comrade considered poor form or shameful? Also how did Rhaegar die?

Rhaegar was killed by Robert Baratheon at the Battle of the Trident during Robert's Rebellion. Not a spoiler, pretty sure that's been mentioned in the show. Also Howland is still alive, both in the books and show. We haven't seen him though, outside of this flashback.

And I don't think it was shameful or dishonorable, I think Bran was just surprised to learn that's how it happened. He had believed all his life that Ned defeated Arthur Dayne straight up.

Does young Ned remind anyone of Neil Patrick Harris?

Maybe more than he reminds me of Sean Bean anyway.

I'm alittle bummed about the Umbers turning their backs on the Starks. I get the Karstarks siding with Ramsay since Rickard Karstark was executed by Robb...but the Umbers have always been loyal to the Starks. In the show Greatjon Umber was shown to be extremely loyal to him, believe he died at the Red Wedding (he's taken prisoner in the books). Also in the books, Smalljon Umber (the guy we saw this episode) died trying to defend Robb at the Red Wedding, but here he appears to be another traitor, unless he's got some plan up his sleeve.

I'd love it if it were a twist. I just don't know how you pull that off with a direwolf head.

I'd say the odds are pretty good that he does. It's a pretty nefarious plot, however, since he has to know that he put Rickon's life at risk by delivering him into the hands of Ramsey. Not something that someone who is secretly still loyal to the Starks would chance doing. For all he knows, Ramsey would execute Rickon on the spot.

Since Smalljon he died in the books, I doubt his role will be all that great in the show. This could conceivably be the last we see of him, most especially if he does not have some plan up his sleeve. On the other hand, someone had to become lord of House Umber. It doesn't really matter if it is Smalljon (in the show) or some other Umber sibling (in the books, perhaps) as far as TV viewers are concerned.

How were we supposed to know of Arthur Dayne from within the context of the TV series? I don't remember him being mentioned before. Not to say he wasn't, likely he just floated in/out of my mind as another faceless name heard once of twice in the 53 hours of the series. But having no clue who he was (or where they were) made the moment far less impactful than it probably was supposed to be. I get the whole "reality was far less grand than the legend" take on it, but the others soldiers were virtually red shirts fighting with/against the young Eddard. It didn't feel as though there was any particular historical significance in the moment we witnessed. Just another of many dozens of battles he probably fought over the years. Again, I'm sure I'm wrong, but what did I miss? (from a TV series perspective only, not what may/may not have been in the books)

Nathalie "Missandei" Emmanuel's hair takes me out of the moment everytime she's onscreen.

Just seems too "modern". She is very attractive, so that gets me back in a different moment...

Not that it matters, but Arthur Dayne was briefly mentioned in the show before. Here:



It has to do with what happened after that, Ned going into the Tower of Joy to rescue his sister Lyanna. What happens in there is one of the most critical moments of the entire story, which I'm sure will be revealed soon enough.

Here's a 6 minute background on Arthur Dayne for those interested