Yeah I'm a book reader so I knew it was gonna happen but they changed slightly the circumstances of that death. Books Shae is more of a spoiled bitch who only wants money and fine clothes. Tyrion deluded himself, and repeatedly berated himself in his inner monologues that she is a whore who only wants his money. The show actually has her be in love with him and he her, but he made her a spurned lover. So to have her attack him with no dialogue was great. In the books it was her using her pet name that made him snap. I think him just finding her there in his father's bed was all he needed.

I like some of Bran's stuff but not because of him. Book Bran is a little whiny brat like your girlfriend describes. All he wants to do is be Summer, his wolf and that is it. But in his chapters the Reeds offer really good side things. Plus it is through them that we get the story of their father and how he met Ned Stark and his siblings when they were alive, Lianna the sister, Brandon the oldest and Benjen the youngest. It was at the tournament at Harrenhal where Jaime was made into a knight of the Kingsguard, where Rhaegar (Daenerys brother that Robert killed) met and fell head over heals for Lianna, even though he was married to Oberyn's sister Elia. From there the war Ned and Robert fought that sort of set the stage was there.....and they didn't tell that story. So either they aren't gonna tell it or they are waiting for some other setting to do it.

Also I agree with you that Syiro Forel has to be alive for the same reason with the Hound. Granted there is less chance of his survival simple because his wooden sword in the book is cut in half. That was the last thing Arya saw before she ran, she never saw what happened next but unless he has some weird Matrix moves he held back with, possibility of his survival or at least him coming back into the narrative anytime soon is small. Then again they didn't go too far with Arya's adventures in Braavos in the books to see if she might run into him there if he lived long enough to go home. Fingers crossed there.

She had a damn breakdown when the Aryans killed Hank, he was her favorite character.

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2DNaHSD68A [/video]