1. Wait. What?

Well. We really are all in unknown territory now, aren’t we? And it’s funny — I was literally just thinking how strange it was we hadn’t seen the White Walkers in the show in a while.

As of yet we know very little about the White Walkers, their hierarchy or how they operate. However, it’s beyond clear they’re not mindless and have some kind of system set-up. The pedestal here, surrounded by 10 ice crystals, and in the distance we saw 12 figures, not including what I’m calling the King Walker who approached the child (his horns certainly looked like a crown — is he perhaps the Night’s King? (Update: The Night’s King was confirmed on HBO’s Viewer Guide, though quickly edited away)) — they’re clearly working with some kind of operation.

But with what the show has done, I think we have to ask us: is this “canon”? Is this a sneak peek at what is to come, or simply their way of In the “Inside Look” clip available on HBO Go, the show runners mention that this was “a moment that is not in the books but is suggested by the books,” and to that extent I think I disagree; I can’t really remember any scene in the book talking about any Walker councils or baby-corrupting magic. So is this… a spoiler?

This is potentially the first instance of the show spoiling the book. Obviously we can’t confirm that in any logical way, but for all of GRRM’s fears about the book catching up to him this is logically the instance where that has happened. I mean, certainly we’d heard mention of the White Walkers being Craster’s sons, but this sort of situation was unseen. I guess they meant Craster’s sons literally.

I imagine GRRM will comment on this on his blog. I’d be interested to see what he has to say.

2. Locke in the North

One of the things that very quickly threw me in this episode was Locke (ie not-Vargo Hoat) appearing at Castle Black. Obviously in the book, the character of Vargo Hoat has his own little misadventure after the Mountain’s men take Harrenhal, but Locke is a “different character” — and last we saw of him, he was with the Bolton’s at the Dreadfort. I’d very quickly forgotten that Roose sent him to find Bran and Rickon, but man, can you blame me?

So now he’s up in Castle Black, and considering that where we last left Ramsay in the book he was leading an army against Jon Snow, I can’t help but wonder what Locke being there early could in fact do to effect the story. Ramsay is rather unknown in the grand scheme of things, as most people don’t really know to be wary of him. I mean, he’s not really there until “A Dance with Dragons,” so why would they? But now the Bolton’s have a man inside the Night’s Watch, so will this change things further from the book? Or is the show planning to take out Locke?

3. Oathkeeper

Of all the things that this episode got “right” from the books, this was certainly it. There was a lot of new stuff in the episode, but the way it handled Brienne getting Oathkeeper and going off to find Sansa was very well done.

It’s a bit hard to watch the scene as it was in the book after last week’s rape-tastic events. I actually wasn’t quite sure how to process it, since it is impossible not to see Jamie in a different light now. They certainly put in efforts to redeem Jamie (and I like the mention of Tyrion originally calling him as his champion as well as Jamie visiting Tyrion; I’d forgotten Tyrion did that, and their dialogue was a nice bit of foreshadowing) But I do appreciate that the show stays faithful to their relationship and gives them some nice final moments together.

Plus, now Brienne is already with Pod, so I guess we’ll probably skip a whole bunch of stuff now, right? Great.

Continued below

4. The New Queen of Thorns

Margaery Tyrell in the books, as I’ve often said in these reviews, is incredibly hard to pin down. You never get her perspective, only seeing her through other character’s eyes — and on top of that, there are some nasty rumors about her! Or at least nasty rumors of what she likes to watch.

But in the show, they’ve really used her in an interesting fashion. She’s much more devious, and she gets it all from her grandmother (who is incredibly unsubtle here, but that’s par for course with the show). Her scene with Tommen — which pretty much confirmed exactly why he had to be aged — adds many new shades of just how manipulative she actually is, and gets a nice jumpstart on the cold war between her and Cersei, which is extremely exacerbated by the death of Joffrey in the books. Plus, Natalie Dormer is pretty much perfect on the show and transforms the character from a background figure into someone fully deserving of the spotlight. If anything, her performance makes me really hope for some Margaery-centric chapters in “Winds of Winter,” just so we can finally get a real peek inside.

Oh! And a nice cameo by Ser Pounce. But what about Lady Whiskers and Boots? THIS CHANGE IS UNACCEPTABLE!

Also of note: how do you think she got past the King’s Watch guard? Because if the rumors of her in the book are true, then… well.

5. Weekend at Craster’s, Part II

So, uh, Karl has become terrifying, huh? After the massacre at Craster’s that’s pretty much it for what goes on there until Karl comes back to die in the beginning of “Dance.” Now he’s just a psychopath, and jeez, was that whole second half of the episode focusing on him uncomfortable to watch. Props to Burn Gorman, though, who has very much turned an entirely forgettabel character into someone beyond memorable — albeit for horrible reasons. I like Gorman in other things, certainly, such as Pacific Rim, The Hour and Torchwood, but he is clearly an actor that refuses to be pinned down, and it’s not like this show is wanting for little shits!

Although, I will note: when Bran got kidnapped, I got very intrigued once again at the thought that Coldhands might show up. After all, it’s good ol’ Coldhands that kills Karl and his cronies in the books; perhaps there was room for his appearance yet? Granted, the preview for next week’s episode shows Jon arriving at Craster’s, which should make Bran being there very interesting, but… well, you never know. A guy can dream.

Also, what is up with all the rape? I mean, damn. We get it.