It seems to me that Stannis in the show is a much more conflicated character than he was in the books. Written Stannis is a pure black/white kind of guy, and Show Stannis makes the same hard headed decisions, but he seeems to carry the weight of those decisions with him.

I may be wrong, but in any respect, I agree with you.

I've been disappointed by the lack of The Mountain in the last couple of episodes. I thought for sure that he'd be front and center once they got to Harrenhal.

I think Dillane is perfect for that part. His performance is reminiscent of his portrayal of Thomas Jefferson in the John Adams miniseries. Both were aloof, secretive and uncharismatic, and he really nails that.

Me too. Said so to my wife while watching last Sunday.

"Our order doesn't deal in pigshit!"

Easily my favorite line in Ep5.

His isn't exactly a speaking role is it? A Soon-to-be-living-the-rest-of-his-short-ass-life-in-agonizing-pain role sure, but a speaking role?

Well he did pick out the prisoners that were going to be tortured just like in the book. I liked the guy they had playing Gregor last season better, this one is tall enough, but is too skinny.

Exactly! Mountains are wide, not just tall. This guy is too toothpicky to be intimidating. Gregor's diet plan has gone wrong. Time to visit the Manderly dining hall for awhile I think...

Catelyn has never been my favorite character, but I just read the part where she gets a raven saying Bran and Rickon were killed by Theon and their heads mounted on spikes at Winterfell. Heartbreaking chapter. Ned is dead, Bran and Rickon killed and mutilated in their home by a punk kid she practically raised, Robb at war and in constant danger, Sansa being held by her enemies, and Arya missing and feared dead, and her dad is dying before her eyes. I felt really sorry for her. Brutal. No wonder she turns into Lady Stoneheart.

No, he's not exactly talkative in the book, but you do get a feel for what a vicious, sick, brutal person he is. Other than chopping off his horse's head, there really hasn't been any character development for Gregor in the show.

His duel with the Red Viper is one of my favorite passages in all the books.

At least she has Robb.

Heh.

On book 4. After watching the ghost of Harrenhal episode, I realized that Jaqen was saying "this man..." referring to himself. And now realized the Faceless Men concept. At that time he was living the life of a man named Jaqen, since they are "no one" then they can't take ownership of a persona/life. Thought that was pretty cool.

That episode is gonna piss some people off. Huge departure from the books.