Yep, Sean Bean and Michelle Fairley were awesome - couldn't stand Cat in the books but on the show? She's fantastic. I cried at the end of the Red Wedding because Fairley's acting was so amazingly good. Still can't watch her speech without crying my eyes out.
Agree on Tywin and Olenna, they are wonderful
I also adored Oberyn. And I basically like all the Lannisters because they're so wonderfully messed up *g*
Steinbeck: Yep. The characters are boring, the story is boring, the setting is boring. The only scene that managed to really touch me was when one of the guys told an older guy that he no longer needed his old dog, that the dog was useless and should be shot. I really felt for the guy and his dog but that was about it. I don't really care what happens to the other characters; I'm pretty certain that the story won't end well for Lennie. As for the oh-so-wonderful friendship between Lennie and George: I fail to see it. All I see is a guy who's mentally handicapped and another guy who'd like to be rid of him but takes care of him as long as he can because he's not that a person. But deep down, I think, George doesn't want to take care of Lennie. I also don't believe for a second that he really wants to spend the rest of his life with Lennie. The worst part is that I can actually see what Steinbeck is getting at with both the story and it's title. I can see what he wants to accomplish. I just don't like it. Not one bit.