It was rumored that Irri's character was murdered because the actress Amrita Acharia could not extend her EU work visa, and thus had to leave the TV series. However, Acharia herself denied the rumor later, stating that her work visa was in order, and that it was a conscious choice by the writers to kill her character off. A deleted scene shows that Doreah (Roxanne McKee) was the one who strangled Irri to death, as part of her betrayal of Danaerys (which, due to the omission, isn't revealed until Valar Morghulis (2012)).
The episode won an Emmy Award for outstanding makeup for a single-camera series (non-prosthetic).
While it has never been confirmed if Littlefinger recognizes Arya when he meets with Tywin in Harrenhal, Aidan Gillen stated in an 2017 interview with Entertainment Weekly, "It was unclear if he recognized her or not, but I have my own thoughts on that: yes, I did recognize her - I just didn't say anything or do anything about it." Littlefinger's motivations for not telling Tywin are possibly revealed in The Climb (2013), where he shares his idea that creating chaos is a means to attain power.
When Luwin is stalling to carry out Theon's orders, Theon reminds him that he is a Maester of the Citadel, sworn to serve the Lord of Winterfell. This emphasizes that the Order of Maesters has no political allegiances, and that its members are assigned to castles, not families or houses. They are vowed to serve whomever holds the castle, even if ownership changes through conquest, although they are not required to aid in any transfer of power.
In the novel, none of Daenerys' people were murdered in Qarth, nor were her dragons stolen. Irri is still alive in the fifth book, the last one published before the end of the show.