AY: It was really a waste of a plotline.

GL: It could have been good. “Game of Thrones” has proven that it can write emotional turmoil well. Take Tyrion’s conversation with Cersei as an example. The Lannister family dynamics are probably the most interesting ones of the show. Peter Dinklage and Lena Headey are incredible actors, and they handled the collision of anger and desperation of that scene flawlessly.

AY: I think the really brilliant part about it was the interplay between Cersei’s desire to do the set of actions that will preserve her family, versus doing what she actually wanted to do—which is murder Tyrion. But she knew she needed Dany’s hand to believe that she was going to move her armies.

GL: Tyrion probably believes that there’s still a little bit of soul left in her.

AY: But there’s no soul. That was all acting on both Lena Headey and Cersei’s parts, which is absolutely brilliant.

GL: And also Peter Dinklage. Tyrion is normally the image of calm, of rational thinking, despite having murdered his father and Shae.

AY: Although he has kind of messed up this season. Every piece of major advice he has given has been bad advice this season.

GL: But he’s given it calmly! He’s managed to dole out the condolences for his poor advice calmly! He can keep his cool in the worst of situations—think about how his family has bullied him. Tyrion killing his father was so stunning because no one took him for the violent type. And then in this scene, he puts himself in danger by literally asking Cersei to kill him if she wants to. All of that hurt from being rejected by his own family comes pouring out in these few minutes, and Dinklage doesn’t hold back in this conversation.

AY: What about Jon and Theon’s conversation? What did you think of that?

GL: I did not enjoy Theon’s conversation with Jon. I just thought it wasn’t in Theon’s place to ask for forgiveness. It also wasn’t Jon’s place to grant forgiveness, and he acknowledges that.

AY: It’s the power of love!

GL: Mistakes like Theon’s cannot be erased by a single conversation, but the show writes it like they can—like it’s that easy. He did save Sansa, but he also killed two farm boys, took over Winterfell, and betrayed Robb, who was like a brother to him. His past trauma with Ramsay does not cancel out what he did at Winterfell.

AY: Ramsay’s torture does not invalidate what Theon did.

GL: You can feel sympathy for his past with Ramsay, but you can’t use that as a reason to forgive him for Winterfell. I do like that they’re trying to have Theon redeem himself by saving his sister though, because he hasn’t done much otherwise this season. And his character deserves better writing than that.

AY: The writers are sitting down and deciding that they are not going to let Theon’s past trauma define him, and they’re kind of doing the same with Sansa. But the way that they’re doing that with Theon is not exactly great. He killed some guy who didn’t want to go on a suicide mission to save his sister. You don’t just ask someone to jump off a bridge for you.