 The episode received great acclaim among the critics . From the reviewers of The A.V. Club , where it was rated with an A , Todd VanDerWerff called it " unquestionably the finest episode of Game Of Thrones yet , " and David Sims found it " terrific " and with a conclusion that would be " sure to blow the minds ( and break the hearts ) " of the watchers Matt Fowler of IGN TV gave the episode a perfect " 10 " saying that it was a " clean and epic entry with a daring , tragic finish " that had " an admirable undercurrent of audience contempt . " 
