This is brilliant acting. I was really worried the long, sad stare into the camera could be awkward as hell, but he nailed it. Imagine the modern day equivalent - kristen "cockfiend" stewart for example - doing this!? *gag*

Caution: Spoilers galore.

I found the House of the Undying scene to have a fittingly creepy mood, even though it was changed a lot. The scene with Drogo seemed to me to be stolen directly from the Accepted tests that Aes Sedai novices go through in The Wheel of Time, but it was a powerful scene nonetheless. I think they missed an opportunity when Dany exited north of the wall to show her a glimpse of the dangers coming from the north. What I missed most compared to the book was the vision Dany has of Rhaegar playing the harp and talking to some woman about his son, which is an important scene for a certain popular fan theory.

What annoyed me most in this season was how the story of Jon Snow and Qhorin Halfhand played out. You didn't really get to see how Qhorin became an important mentor to Jon Snow. Even worse: It was not pointed out clear enough that Qhorin practically ordered Jon to kill him in order to be able to infiltrate the wildlings. Instead it looked like Jon just killed him out of self-defense.

But there were more things I liked than disliked. Theon's battle speech scene was hilarious, and they pulled off Jaqen's face-changing really well. I also liked Luwin's demise; it shocked me how he was just stabbed out of hand, even though I knew he would die. I fear it might be a bit cryptic to non-book readers why Winterfell was suddenly burned down, though. There was also some brilliant acting from Sophie Turner as Sansa when she learns she doesn't have to marry Joffrey after all.

All in all, I liked most of the changes in this season. Some of them even made the story better than in the book, at least for the TV medium.

I was reminded of this great story about Barbra Streisand:

Barbra walked into the audition for "I Can Get It For You Wholesale" at the St James Theater on Nov 16, 1961, wearing a tattered fur-trimmed coat, tennis shoes and a knit cap. The production staff knew they were in for something the moment they saw her, but didn't know what. He hair was a mess and was loaded down with a case full of sheet music and another with sandwiches. As she walked across the stage, she dropped the case and sheet music floated everywhere. She went to pick it up, her bag tangling in her coat sleeve. While this would have been a disastrous situation for any other performer, it worked in Barbra's favour. She had her audience in stitches already; they were unsure whether she was a comedic genius or a freak, and she had barely uttered a single word.

After introducing herself in a manner which drew a few more laughs, she began her audition. She plopped down on chair, removing a wad of gum from her mouth and sticking it under the chair, then careening across the stage while singing her audition song. She was dazzling. They asked her back for another audition for David Merrick, the famed Broadway producer. After she had left and the magic had worn off, the director asked the assistant to check under the chair. There was no gum; her whole demeanour had been a brilliant act.

Wow I never realized Nicolas Cage didn't have the H. The point of this video isn't to showcase the new Wicker Man but merely to sum up a hilarious performance by Cage.

My favorite part is with the bees at the end. Brilliant acting.