Game of Thrones

[geonuc]

Apparently Williams said this to Entertainment Weekly (not that I read EW - it was referenced elsewhere):

"I got to the read-through and I’m reading the scene and thought, ‘Oh, we’re actually going to do this. When do I shoot this? I need to go to the gym!’"

[pumpkinpi]

Huh. That reminds me. I haven't seen my EW magazine come in a while. Maybe the subscription ran out.

Anyway, my previous post was nothing but a feeling about Arya's body.

Oh wait, that sounds bad again......

[Rommie]

Got a bit of a cold from visiting my niece (ah, two year olds), so wasn't up to watch it Sunday. Then bf was a trooper and watched it again with me yesterday!

Honestly the episode is way too slow for something that should be wrapping up in a few episodes, though I guess next episode is going to be a nonstop battle. And yeah, re: Arya, I feel like a large population of those watching looked up really quickly how old she's supposed to be now!

[geonuc]

Absolutely epic. Best battle scene(s) I've ever watched. When I grow up, I want to be like Arya.

[Rommie]

It was so dark- you could see what was going on?

No really, that was intense (and not always in my favorite way, because I figure if I want zombie fighting fantasy I'd be more into Walking Dead than I am). I was like well ok I need to watch a few cute kitten videos now before I considered going to bed. On the other hand, my sister complained that "nothing happened because only two people I cared about died!" which I thought was an interesting take.

Other random stuff:

- Re: Arya, I figured she was going to do it once the Red Lady (who is called "the Dutch lady" in our place as the actress is Dutch) said Arya has and was going to kill many people with brown, and green, and blue eyes. Then she disappeared for a good long while.

- Also speaking of disappearing people, I thought it was pretty hilarious that #wheresghost was trending on Twitter. Like yeah, all these people are dying, but what about the direwolf?!

- I thought one of the best scenes was when not much of anything was happening so to speak, when Sansa and Tyrion were hiding from the zombies in the crypt, particularly when Sansa says earlier he was the best one. Like obviously no romantic love there, but definitely some of the fraternal kind, and it's interesting how Tyrion always made flippant jokes about his death but when facing it he finds a connection.

- Finally, man the north is screwed against Cersei now. Winterfell is utterly destroyed, and most of the soldiers are too. Curious to see how this plays out.

[geonuc]

The north still has a dragon. Maybe two dragons.

[geonuc]

It was so dark- you could see what was going on?

At first it annoyed me a bit then I got into the moment: dark is exactly how it would be, and chaotic. You could still tell mostly what was going on, particularly with the key characters.

[SciFiFisher]

It was so dark- you could see what was going on?

At first it annoyed me a bit then I got into the moment: dark is exactly how it would be, and chaotic. You could still tell mostly what was going on, particularly with the key characters.

Those were the moments when they added just a tiny bit more light. You could almost see then.

[SciFiFisher]

Am I the only one that thought the Dothraki charge was rather... anti-climatic? I really thought they would last longer than about 15 seconds.

[geonuc]

Am I the only one that thought the Dothraki charge was rather... anti-climatic? I really thought they would last longer than about 15 seconds.

It was a waste of warriors but they lasted longer than that. Maybe a minute.

As much as I enjoyed the episode, the entire battle plan was ridiculous. For one thing, how do you not send out recon to determine the enemy's advance? They learned that the Night King would be there before dawn from several guys who happened to show up. In fact, any decent general would have sent the dragons out to crispify some white walkers as soon as they knew they breached the Wall. Why wait until they're on your doorstep?

Sending the Dothraki into the night rather than having them hold down some section of the perimeter was stupid. But then, as it played out, it seemed not to be something planned. Melisandre set their weapons on fire and off they went.

[pumpkinpi]

I enjoyed it, but some little things bugged me.

My thoughts during it and immediately afterward is that there has been so much development of the stories over the past 7 years, any possible "ending" or at least conclusion to this storyline would seem trite or obvious, or trying so hard to not be obvious that it makes no sense at all.

But then I read up on how it's been hinted that Arya will kill the Night King, and perhaps she'll kill Cersie with the "green eyes" and fulfill Melisandre's prophecy.

I still don't completely understand Bran's part in this. He knew that the Night King would come to him, so he lured him to the Godswood. But what was he doing when he flew to the Night King as the ravens? Did he bring back any information? And what was the motivation for NK to kill Bran specifically?

Of course, how convenient that most of the main characters survived. Even Jorah survived the first round, when seemingly ever Dothraki perished. Did he turn back and run before it the fighting began?

And seeing our heroes surrounded by hundreds of enemies and slaying almost every one is so unrealistic. But then again, it's zombies.

[Rommie]

And what was the motivation for NK to kill Bran specifically?

They addressed this in the last episode prior, at least. He wanted to kill Bran because Bran is no longer Bran, but is the three eyed raven that remembers all of the past and present. And as such, the night king wanted to kill him because death includes the lack of any history. Or something.

[SciFiFisher]

And what was the motivation for NK to kill Bran specifically?

They addressed this in the last episode prior, at least. He wanted to kill Bran because Bran is no longer Bran, but is the three eyed raven that remembers all of the past and present. And as such, the night king wanted to kill him because death includes the lack of any history. Or something.

Yes, they sort of intimated that the NK wants to erase human history and/or memory. The Three Eyed Raven acts as a continuity and knowledge source that the NK wants to eliminate.

[geonuc]

And what was the motivation for NK to kill Bran specifically?

They addressed this in the last episode prior, at least. He wanted to kill Bran because Bran is no longer Bran, but is the three eyed raven that remembers all of the past and present. And as such, the night king wanted to kill him because death includes the lack of any history. Or something.

Yes. Sam asked why the NK wanted to kill Bran and this was essentially Bran's answer.

[geonuc]

While I liked the battle episode - even with its flaws - I feel we're left wanting in regard to the arc of the show's history. All along, we've been told that the White Walkers were the real threat to Westeros. Jon Snow has made it his mission to make everyone believe this. And he was right; if the Night King hadn't been stopped, the Seven Kingdoms were doomed. But now that he's dead, we're left with a raft of questions unanswered. Such as, what the hell was up with the White Walkers arranging dead bodies in a spiral pattern? We were sure made to believe that was super-significant. Not so much, I guess. I fear by the end of the show, we're going to be left unsatisfied with a lot of unanswered questions.

Still, Game of Thrones is awesome.

[Rommie]

While I liked the battle episode - even with its flaws - I feel we're left wanting in regard to the arc of the show's history. All along, we've been told that the White Walkers were the real threat to Westeros. Jon Snow has made it his mission to make everyone believe this. And he was right; if the Night King hadn't been stopped, the Seven Kingdoms were doomed. But now that he's dead, we're left with a raft of questions unanswered. Such as, what the hell was up with the White Walkers arranging dead bodies in a spiral pattern? We were sure made to believe that was super-significant. Not so much, I guess. I fear by the end of the show, we're going to be left unsatisfied with a lot of unanswered questions.

Still, Game of Thrones is awesome.

Yeah, I feel like ultimately they're answering more questions than Lost ever did, which is my gold standard for shows with unresolved questions.

[SciFiFisher]

Yes, the spiral thing with the dead kid in the center is sort of a loose thread that seems like it may stay loose.

[geonuc]

Now that the first big dust-up is in the books, what can we expect from this next episode? I doubt we'll see much large-scale action - probably more a re-ordering of forces and allegiances before the showdown with Cersei. And, of course, we'll need to sort who will sit on the Iron Throne should said showdown be successful.

Not many episodes left so they do need to move along.

[SciFiFisher]

It will be interesting to see how they wrap things up. The forces in the north are pretty battered and very obviously outnumbered at this point. Of course, they still have dragons. I wouldn't mind seeing Theon's uncle get his. Who gets to kill Cerci? That is the real question. Will it be Jaime? And what about Bronn? Will he actually kill Jaime or Tyrion?

[geonuc]

That girl sure is reckless with her dragons.

[pumpkinpi]

While I liked the battle episode - even with its flaws - I feel we're left wanting in regard to the arc of the show's history. All along, we've been told that the White Walkers were the real threat to Westeros. Jon Snow has made it his mission to make everyone believe this. And he was right; if the Night King hadn't been stopped, the Seven Kingdoms were doomed. But now that he's dead, we're left with a raft of questions unanswered. Such as, what the hell was up with the White Walkers arranging dead bodies in a spiral pattern? We were sure made to believe that was super-significant. Not so much, I guess. I fear by the end of the show, we're going to be left unsatisfied with a lot of unanswered questions.

Still, Game of Thrones is awesome.

Yeah, I feel like ultimately they're answering more questions than Lost ever did, which is my gold standard for shows with unresolved questions.

Spinoff!
Actually, I think I remember hearing that there is a prequel in the works. They didn't have time to cram all those answers into a few more episodes so they are making a new series? Or was it a book? Just going off memory here. I suppose I could google it.

[SciFiFisher]

The prequel book is out. There is also aprequel show in production. It will supposedly go back and explain how Westeros fell into darkness and the origins of the White Walkers.

[geonuc]

And that, boys and girls, is how you use a dragon as a weapon of war. Unlike previous efforts.

Not that I'm condoning mass slaughter of innocent civilians, mind you.

[SciFiFisher]

And that, boys and girls, is how you use a dragon as a weapon of war. Unlike previous efforts.

Not that I'm condoning mass slaughter of innocent civilians, mind you.

Well, no one condones that. But, I think she didn't have any good choices. Even her own spy master was working to undermine her. Her own hand conspired to let her mortal enemies live. And she really needed to have HUGE win at this point. I think she might have been able to stick to just destroying the Red Keep with Cerci in it but it certainly would not have been as dramatic.

[pumpkinpi]

I have read a lot of hate on the internet for the character development choices the writers made in this episode, regarding Daeneyrs and Arya.

"Why would Daenerys slaughter millions of innocents, when she has said she wouldn't?"
Well no, she has said things like "I will take what is mine in fire and blood."
Plus, Cersei had just killed her child and her number one. That turned the Mad Queen loose!

For Arya, "Why would she abandon her quest to kill Cersei?"
Has her goal been to kill Cersei, even if it meant sacrificing her own life, no matter what? Or was it enough for her to know that Cersei would die even if not by her own hand? In the midst of battle, she chose her own life.

The writers didn't do what the audiences expected. I had wanted to come away from this episode surprised, and indeed I was. I was surprised that no one killed Cersei in person. I thought it was a fitting way to go, though.

I was also surprised that she died in this episode. But then I realized, this is "A Song of Ice and Fire." She is neither, so she is irrelevant to the denouement.

The only storyline this season I have not been happy with so far is with Jamie and Brienne. I really think that was out of character for Jamie to do that.