There is very little rising action this season, which blows since rising action is the most important aspect of plot, and one of the reasons Breaking Bad and Boardwalk Empire are so good is a steady focus on it. You can have shitty exposition, shitty resolution, and a merely adequate climax as long as the rising action is stellar. Season 1 had superb rising action and that's one of the reasons its among the best seasons of any show. In season 3, Danaerys' story appears to be the only one with somewhat steady rising action. The Jon Snow storyline would be #2, but it's severely lacking a few facets that would make it more directional, and thus feel like a steady incline.

The Theon stuff, Bran stuff, Arya/Gendry/Melisandre/Stannis stuff has no semblance of rising action whatsoever. I guess this was bound to happen when adapting novels