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  ===Critical reception===
  "The Climb" was met with positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes surveyed 21 reviews of the episode and judged 90% of them to be positive with an average score of 7.9 out of 10. The website's critical consensus reads "Tywin Lannister and Olenna Tyrell steal the show with their exquisite negotiation as 'The Climb' builds towards the Wildlings' death-defying scaling of The Wall." Writing for IGN, Matt Fowler gave the episode an 8.8/10, writing "This week's Game of Thrones started off slow, but then built to a roaring crescendo." Two reviews were published by The A.V. Club. David Sims gave the episode a "B" rating for people new to the series, while Emily VanDerWerff rated the episode a "B+" for people who have read the novels.