The Ghost of Harrenhal: A Review

This week's Game of Thrones is one of the best episodes overall. There are several factors that contribute to that, but the most important one is... no Ros! That's right, Ros is out for one episode, and it immediately becomes one of the best, if not the best this season. Many have already said it, but I repeat: what is the purpose of Ros (besides needless nudity and sexposition)? Well, I guess she'll turn out to be Azor Ahai (Awhore Ahai).
Renly's death makes for a strong opening, even if it was a bit rushed. Loras's grief over his boyfriend is somewhat toned down from the book, but it doesn't matter. One of the best lines of the episode goes to Margaery, "I don't want to be a queen. I want to be the queen." -- Awesome.
Tyrion: awesome as always, especially his scenes with Lancel. Also to Tyrion is related the absolute crowning moment: the scene with Hallyne the alchemist. Roy Dotrice is perfect for this role, and Hallyne's character is a lot quirkier here than it is in the books; he's on the road to becoming a mad scientist with his obsession over "the substance".
Another thing that deserves to be mentioned are Arya's scenes with Tywin and Jaqen. I'm generally a book purist, and I dislike almost every little change the series has made, but in this instance, I find myself almost wishing the show would go the totally other way. And the reason for that is simply curiosity. What would happen if Arya told Jaqen to kill Joffrey or Cersei? Would the Red Wedding be prevented? Would Tyrion still kill his father? These are interesting questions, but I have a feeling the show is not going to stray so much from the books, at least not yet.
There are probably other things I should mention, but it was two days since I watched the episode, and old people like me forget things very fast. Bottom line, I'd give this episode 9.8, just because I reserve the right to give some episode in the future a 10.
Totally unrelated, but today is May 2nd, the Harry Potter Day, so congrats to all my fellow Potterheads all over the world! May the For... oh wait, that's two days from now, sorry.