It still amazes me how faithful the show has remained to the book. They deviate on some details but the same story is there. One way the show-runners are able to keep the readers and the viewers happy is by including book scenes with TV-made scenes that readers wish were in the book. The scene where Tywin was a total boss and sends Joffrey to bed without his dinner while Joffrey proclaims “I’m not tired!” was hilarious, very well acted all around, and I wish it was in the books. Another scene like that is when Arya (my favorite character) first sees her brother with his head replaced by his direwolf’s and then shanks that Frey soldier in the neck with the Hound’s knife. In the book, she never has to see her brother like that and she never flips on the cold-blooded switch and kills a Frey, although she still is cold-blooded in the books. One scene I know readers were happy with was the birth of Reek. It rhymes with meek. Theon has been through a lot but he still has more to go. That’s right, more torture scenes! Another notable scene was when Jon got nailed with a few of Ygritte’s arrows and then rides his way to The Wall to be reunited with his brothers of the Night’s Watch. In the books, Jon gets shot in the leg by Ygritte as he makes his first escape but I liked the way they did it in the show. It was much more dramatic and emotional. Speaking of the Night’s Watch (why is there a ‘g’ in night?), it was really cool to see Samwell and Bran cross paths. That was a great scene in the books and I’m happy they included it in the show.
As most could tell from the finale, this episode was more of a preview for what’s to come in season four. The Wildlings and Mance Rayder are marching on a poorly manned Castle Black which Stannis has a lot of interest in, Tywin is now the most powerful man in Westeros, the Tyrell rose bushes are spreading like wildfire in King’s Landing, Daenerys will continue to earn more nicknames and Sandarya (Sandor + Arya) will continue to kick ass on their journey to somewhere.
Next season will have many twists and turns. As a reader, there are a lot of scenes I’m looking forward to which I know the viewers will absolutely love. This season was a rough one but just remember one phrase going into Season 4. Valar Morghulis: “All men must die.”
