I wonder - did spending so much time with Robb this season take away the impact of his death?

I really appreciated that scene with Cat and Robb deciding together to go take Casterly Rock, because I knew they would never get to and it was nice to have that promise dangled in front of me. At that point I thought to myself "They're doing the make us love them just before they get killed, just like Tim"

I'm still in shock that the Red Wedding was the penultimate episode of this season and not the season finale...there's nothing that can trump that in sheer emotional horror. Except, perhaps, the reactions of everyone else and the immediate fallout.

I wouldn't be at all surprised at losing viewers at this point...I know it's when I threw the book across the room, then put in the freezer and refused to open it again for weeks. (good thing I wasn't reading on my nook or that would have been costly!)

Le nubian, I'm a 911 calltaker but also got my BA in English Lit. I've been really enjoying analyzing these books, especially compared to actual War of the Roses-era English history, the political aspects are entirely historically pertinent but with DRAGONS and MAGIC added in kinda make you pull back just a little from the local politics. Which, at this point, the Lannisters are clearly winning. But British history shows us that even when a family thinks they have firm control of the throne and the crown...that can be tumbled quite easily. My current perceptions might be slightly flavoured by the fact that i'm re-reading Wolf Hall in preparation for Bring Up The Bodies so I'm seeing major political parallels btwn the Lannisters and the Howards/Boleyns right now.

I'm still in shock that the Red Wedding was the penultimate episode of this season and not the season finale...

Last season, the big battle was the penultimate episode, too.

Good point, there's gotta be denouement. Dang. Have I mentioned that I almost retched last night? I knew exactly what was coming, and it was still a gut punch. I can't imagine what that was like for folks who didn't know what was coming. The wolf was the worst. And seeing Arya so darned close to being able to free him...and failing. Plus the look on her face...Maisy Williams has a brilliant acting career in her future. *deep breath* I was watching with a friend who hasn't read the books and asked to not be spoiled...we tried to prepare her as much as possible without spoilers but afterwards she turned in fury and demanded "WHY DIDN'T YOU WARN ME!?!?!?!" and then threw us out of her home.

Speaking of reactions, here's a collection of fan reactions to the Red Wedding. Many of the reactions are NSFW, as I'm sure you can imagine.

[link]

Last season, the big battle was the penultimate episode, too.

(nod) and Ned's beheading in season 1.

Yeah, I screamed and threw the book across the room. The book had to spend a couple of days sitting in the corner and thinking about what it had done.

I think by having this as the penultimate episode - the story gets to move forward a bit so that people want to come back.

The wolf was the worst. And seeing Arya so darned close to being able to free him...and failing.

On the heels of that knife to Talisa's belly, I was actually stunned. It was a lot to process at once.

I was too busy being horrified to even considering filming the folks I was watching with! One reader got heavily drunk in preparation. Perhaps I should have mentioned that the non-reader in my previous comment was our very own SA? Yeah, she was highly displeased. We told her so many times not to get attached to any characters (including the animal ones...) and started (jokingly) referring to EVERY character in the past tense, just to piss her off and try to avoid accidental spoilers. (e.g. "Dang, this Jamie and Brienne shows is delightful. They were both such great characters." or "I loved Arya so much.")

That was kinda fascinating seeing how others watch.