Let's give the "Game of Thrones" producers a hand for this episode.

Oh what, too soon? Too much? What can you expect though, there's never a dull moment in the Seven Kingdoms and beyond!!!

It still amazes this reviewer just how much information each episode packs in an hour's span of time. So, let's break it down.

The episode opens in a new location (which has just been added into the "Game of Thrones" opening animation too). Riverrun, the seat of Catelyn Stark's family, has lost its leader, Cat's father. The funeral is an appropriately somber affair compounded by the fact that war is still going on all around them.

The ongoing conflict comes to a head in the forms of Cat's brother and uncle, respectively, Edmure Tully and Brynden "Blackfish" Tully.

Edmure is hot-headed, brash, and arrogant, the kind of man who boasts of his military victory even if it undercuts his commander's—in this case, his nephew's—wishes. Seriously Edmure, what's your deal; can't even shoot a burning arrow into your father's funeral boat, eh.

On the flip side, there's the Blackfish, who's comforting, pragmatic, and wise. That scene between him and Cat was absolutely heartbreaking; she's become a difficult character to empathize with (as portrayed in the show), but in the end, she's a daughter and a mother who both misses her father and yearns to see the children that she believes are dead or in captivity.

What about those daughters though? There's no Sansa in this week's episode, but there's a beautiful scene with Arya, Gendry, and Hot Pie. After the Hound's revelation from last week, the Brotherhood Without Banners has taken a marked interest in Arry, and she's being taken along with them.

But Hot Pie's staying put, and the exchange of wolf bread between them was one of the most innocent things that's ever been portrayed on a show with very, very few innocent moments. (That said, Winterhell? Really, Hot Pie?)

Beyond the Wall, there's plenty of things to keep everybody up at night. The Wildlings + poor, permanantly sad-faced Jon Snow stumble upon a seriously disturbing array of horse corpses, and as everybody knows, when you find meticulously organized frozen corpses, oh shit, Others must've been around.

Mance Rayder proves his leadership material by not immediately pissing his pants at the sight of that "Godfather"-inspired (okay, not really, but surely you thought it) setup. Sure, those 300 dead Crows are now ice zombies, but look on the bright side: that means less living Crows who can defend the Wall, right? He almost gleefully tells Tormund to take some men, and oh, that pouty-looking bastard traitor too, to scale the Wall and take Castle Black while the Night's Watch is nursing its wounds. (Oh Mance Rayder, you just look so adorably purpose-filled at the prospect of destroying one of the only forces defending the Seven Kingdoms from the White Walkers. God[s] bless.)

Speaking of the Night's Watch, the boys are baaaack at none other than big pimpin' Crastor's Keep. The man is as creepy and terrible as ever, making fun of poor Sam, because apparently no one on this show can get enough of picking on Sam. But Sam sees a familiar face—hey, it's Gilly!, and oh my god she's giving birth and it sounds so incredibly painful. But then, it's out, but what's the sex of the child? Because we know that Crastor doesn't take kindly to boy babies... 

In the eternally sunny King's Landing, a Small Council meeting takes place and serves as a hilarious reminder of all the politicking that goes on behind closed doors. Petyr Baelish and Varys fight each other for the role of "supreme lord spy," Maester Pycelle continues to be old and sad (and probably terrible too), while Cersei pretends she's ~*just one of the guys*~ and Tyrion continues to DGAF while actually GAFing a lot.

Boy, does his bravado backfire on him. Sure, he continues to be an integral part of the King's Landing political atmosphere, but come on, Master of Coin? That's basically like being the head accountant of the realm, and while a nifty guy like Baelish can fit the bill, Tyrion has better, bolder things to be doing than counting coins! But Littlefinger's out to win himself a nice wife (not looking forward to watching Lysa Arryn on the show again...), and as such, Tyrion's hitting the books... and learning that the throne owns literally millions of coins (?) (they're certainly not dollars) to not only Tywin Lannister, but also the Iron Bank of Braavos.

Across the sea, Dany takes a stroll down the titular Walk of Punishment, and the images of those bloody bodies are still haunting her as she goes to negotiate for the Unsullied army. While Ser Selmy and Ser Mormont hold different ideas as to what an army should be to a ruler (loyal, loving followers vs. emotionless fighters), Dany has the Unsullied in her sights, but she has a stronger empathetic bent than either of those men, though she is still ruthless in her pursuit of the Iron Throne and the memory of her family.

In case anyone was still underestimating her, look at the way she handles the slavetrader's assessment of her holdings. She's coming to the table with pretty much nothing, except oh wait, only the only three living dragons in the land. And she's willing to bargain with her precious babies, against the wishes of both of her counselors. Because in the end, whether or not they as guardians or we as viewers might disagree with her, Daenerys Stormborn will find a way to get what she wants. "Valar morghulis"? Not for me, she says.

But oh man, how the episode ends. Jaime Lannister and Brienne on the road is one of the best pairings of the show because of the ways in which they contrast and mirror each other. And, besides for Cersei, Brienne's the only woman who stirs Jaime's feelings of compassion.

That dynamic is set up brilliantly early on in the episode as the Bolton bannermen, led by the creepily-bearded Locke, sing "The Bear and the Maiden Fair." Jaime and Brienne are literally bound together, but instead of bickering, Jaime actually tries to advise and prepare Brienne for what's about to come. Her stubbornness in the face of danger is a quality that's endearing, but it made this writer's heart sink watching Brienne realize that out of all the dangers she's faced, it is the basest vices of men that are her greatest enemy.

When Brienne's taken away to be taken advantage of, Jaime does the amazing thing of looking out for someone other than himself as he pulls a story out of his ass about Brienne's worth in pure sapphires (something that's never been mentioned by anyone, and which is patently untrue) in order to save her from being raped. But his arrogance in one argument takes ahold of him, and he tries to talk his way into an uneasy alliance with Locke. Look at Brienne's face during the exchanges between Jaime and Locke; the nicer Locke is to Jaime, the greater the fear expressed in the knowing Brienne's eyes.

And boy, does the episode end with a shock, and not just a verbal one. The ending scene of the episode veers from the generally straightforward, cut-and-dry (sorry) gory scenes so typical of the series (e.g. the pilot's beheading, the season premiere's nipple shearing).

But this one ends with a cover of the aforementioned "The Bear and the Maiden Fair" by the contemporary band The Hold Steady, which starts playing right after Locke's knife slices through Jaime Lannister's sword hand.

This writer has known that this scene was coming for a while, but she's still grappling with the idea of whether or not the musical choice was effective or not. While The Hold Steady is a great band, the cutting into (sorry) of that music after watching such a medievally-stylized show like "Game of Thrones" was a little bit too much? There are ways to utilize modern music in a fantasy realm—hell, "GoT" itself has done it before, and to stunning effect.

Some closing thoughts:

- Stannis Baratheon, keep it in your pants. He's not really portrayed as having the actual hots for Melisandre in the books, but here, he's practically begging her to stay and give it to him. She, being the fabulous sorceress that she is, brushes him off like it ain't no thang. But before embarking on a mystical magical mission, she does give him some foreboding advice. No more shadow babies for Stannis, but what is the sacrifice that she speaks of...?

- Podrick Payne, you stud! Sure, it was a bit of a random scene, but HBO's got to fulfill its female nudity quota in some way, right? Really though, this show would be too heavy without some moments of pure humor... even when that humor comes in the form of commoditizing women's bodies in order to honor a young man. Some humor. 

- Queen Talisa, who knew you were the type to make up freaky werewolf husband stories. Though I bet that Robb Stark is a wolf at night... if you know what I mean.

- Theon just can't get it together, can he. He gets freed by Simon from "Misfits," gets chased down and hunted by Bolton men, then gets rescued by Simon again... but to what end? How sad, though, that he seriously believed Asha Yara would somehow be looking out for him.

Read more of NT's "Game of Thrones" recaps here.

Reach Music Editor Lilian Min here; follow her on Twitter here and on Google+ here.