Game of Thrones' earlier seasons on HBO were excellent at dragging out emotional payoffs. The delicate dance of political intrigue and personal affections never slowed tempo, creating hour-long experiences that were tense, warm, and in many ways anxiety inducing. The drama of the series is what draws that emotional reaction from its audience, the way dozens of characters all trying to stay alive and protect their own interests clash with one another, frequently resulting in some being knocked out of the game altogether.

I've been very critical of ; Telltale doesn't shy away from gore, nor are they precious about whom they kill off. This mentality married to Game of Thrones just guarantees some really harrowing stuff, but Episode Five manages to first build up your hopes for victory and success, only to quickly and mercilessly wreck everything you've been working towards. It's a sadistic episode.

But more importantly, many of these scenes make you think harder about those dialogue choices. There is no way to tell which choice will placate someone and which will anger them, which will save you and which will damn you. This push to think harder--and sometimes panic and choose quick choices in the limited time you have--does an excellent job of building tension, creating situations that don't just pluck at the nerves but sometimes genuinely make you feel sick.

I'm still not sold on the depictions of some characters from the Game of Thrones television show. Daenerys is still weirdly out of character, snarky, mean, and generally worlds away from the benevolent despot we've come to know her as. She's hard and cold, and the behavior breaks the immersion. Cersei and Tyrion both make appearances in this episode as well, and while they're not as out of sync as Daenerys, I can't help but feel for them as boiled-down hyperboles of their show characters. It's a bit distracting, but the way they are written is passable enough to get the point across to players. The standout addition continues to be Ramsay Bolton, who feels like he was meant to be creeping around Ironrath and calling the shots. He feels organic, his performance engaging, and it's an utter and terrible delight to have him on screen.

A Nest of Vipers ends on a heart-shattering note and the promise of an explosive finale. Thing are getting lively, and with quickened pacing to match the action, it's hard not to end this episode without your brain spinning in anticipation. With most prominent character arcs at their highest peaks, it's a perfect penultimate episode.