That finale was just one amazing treat after another, start to finish.
I was worried the House of the Undying was going to be handled poorly, then they got my hopes up when it started looking they juuuuust miiiight show them to us and then the hut past the wall killed me.
! And then that ending was masterful. There were so many times they could have just faded to black and left us guessing. So. Many. Times. But they didn't, and it was just incredible. What a way to go out.
Let it be known that Clash of Kings is one of my least favorite books in the series. The book doesn't pick up until the last couple hundred pages and even then, it's almost too little too late, with the House of the Undying, Renly vs. Stannis, the Ghost in Harrenhal, and Blackwater being the only real events and arcs I particularly enjoyed.
But this second season of Game of Thrones absolutely crushed the first. To those of you who thought this show'd be nothing without Sean Bean, well,,, there you have it.