The week off was totally worth the wait!  “The Mountain and the Viper” was the most exciting episode in the season so far, and battle for which the episode received its namesake was absolutely riveting!

I was on the edge of my seat for the entire show down between the Red Viper of Dorne, and The Mountain.  I loved the way they chose to show us Tyrion and Jaime talking all night as they waited for the dawn to come.  Then the way the camera followed Tyrion as he was lead to arena so that we were seeing the battle ground for the first time along with him.  The fight certainly lived up to my expectations.  Oberyn was a master with his spear, and The Mountain was just as terrifying as you would expect.  I couldn’t tell if Gregor Clegane was still alive after he crushed Oberyn’s skull in his hands.  The way he just rolled onto his back and laid there motionless would make it seem that he was dead, but I also thought he was dead before he grabbed Oberyn.  Hearing him finally confess to all of his atrocities against Oberyn’s sister as he crushed the Red Viper’s skull in his massive hands was haunting.  I would have to imagine it was the last thing Oberyn ever heard, and I can’t help but wonder if that made him feel better, or worse.  Even though it sure looked like The Mountain was dead, he killed Oberyn right before he died from his wounds, therefore Tyrion’s fate is sealed.  His trial is complete and his execution awaits.  We lost Oberyn in the same season he was introduced, and now it looks like this will be the final season for Tyrion as well.

I can’t believe that Daenerys could be so cold to Jorah after everything the two of them had been through together.  It’s hard to remember that far back, but in the first season when Vary’s tells Robert Baratheon about Daenerys’ pregnancy he mentions that he’s receiving the information from Ser Jorah.  A lot of time has passed since Khal Drogo died, but Jorah stopped sending messages to Kings Landing from that moment on.  Watching Daenerys kick him to the curb was hard to watch.  I don’t know which side I agree with in all of this.  I don’t want Jorah to leave her side, but I understand why she had to banish him.  I hope this wasn’t the last time we see Jorah Mormont, and who knows, with his pardon maybe he’ll return to Westeros.

For a moment there, we saw the old Theon Greyjoy.  The moment didn’t last long though, and leader of few Iron Born left in Moat Calin saw right through the act.  He could tell that Theon was, as he put it, a whipped dog.  Unfortunately, the remaining Iron Born who believed in Theon’s words were met with an even worse fate than their former commander.  As a reward for Moat Calin, Roose Bolton made Ramsay Snow, Ramsay Bolton.  He is no longer a bastard (at least not in name anyway) and he is the proper son of the Warden of the North.  Maybe he will start treating Theon better now, but probably not.

The situation at the Vale keeps getting more and more interesting.  Sansa decided to tell the Lords who she really was, but then told an extremely convincing lie that matched up with Peter Baelish’s suicide story.  It seems like the two of them are in it together now, and I can’t wait to see what Little Finger’s next move will be.  I still can’t believe that it was him all along who brought the Starks to King’s Landing in the first place.  It sounds like whatever his plan is going forward Robyn is involved, and that’s disappointing to say the least.