Well, this is different. I don't usually talk about TV on here, but then again I haven't talked about much on here for a while now. What better to end that hibernation than Game of Thrones, the epic, sprawling fantasy show produced by HBO and shown on Sky Atlantic here in the UK. You know what it is, everyone knows what it is. From the offset spoilers within, for all 8 seasons (and, weirdly enough, for The Walking Dead season 7 if you care about that). If you haven't seen the show, don't read this; go watch it and then come back because I will preface everything I'm about to say you should absolutely watch it from beginning to end. It is a marvel of television, and, quite frankly, should stand as an example to all other TV series in the realms of character and storytelling, or at least the early seasons do. With all that said, this particular season as you've probably seen has been divisive to say the least and there's certainly plenty to talk about. It's probably a good idea, given I've never talked about this before, to talk about the last 7 seasons of the show and what makes Game of Thrones stand out from the crowd. I'm not going to waste time explaining the story of the show up to this point or who the characters are (not only because I've spoiler warned already, but because this would end up the length of a university dissertation), but there's some key points to pick up on. The entire series is based on author George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire book series, which seasons 1-4 follow incredibly faithfully. These 4 seasons are absolutely phenomenal, and embody the best days of the show. The world building, characters, visuals, everything is on point. But what set the show apart from other fantasy serials or movies was the dark tone. This was fantasy grounded, to an extent, in reality, with violence and sex not only running rampant in the world, but the storylines placing a greater focus on the political rivalries and dealings of the Great Houses of Westeros to maintain power. The dealings in dark rooms, interesting and fun character dynamics, with smart political power plays from all sides, paired with a sprinkling of action, that right there is Game of Thrones. Season 5 follows the books less faithfully and adds in some new elements, and this is where we start to see some shaking in the foundations, largely in the writing which sees some atrocious dialogue and character introductions (the best example being the infamous Sand Snakes of Dorne and the "you want a good girl" line spoken to Bronn). Season 6 picks up again even though it is entirely made up and, while the writing still isn't what it once was, makes up for it with incredible scale and spectacle, for which you need look no further than the Battle of the Bastards and the finale "The Winds of Winter" (my personal favourite episode of the show). Season 7 falters a bit more, with a reduced 7 episodes which, although there are still some wonderful moments and episodes (the meeting of Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen, as well as the loot train battle spring to mind), does suffer from some horrendous pacing, plot armour, or characters travelling long distances in extremely short amounts of time. That said, it's still not a disaster and continues to be enjoyable as the show. Now, we come to season 8, the grand finale to this epic tale and, while the same great elements of Game of Thrones remain (assume that the technical aspects and effects of the show are on point, and I'll only mention them if they are really phenomenal or actually poor), issues do remain with the final chapter. So let's explore this, episode by episode, to consider what those problems are but also relive the great moments of this conclusion.
Episode 1 - Winterfell
Episode 1 of the season gets us off to an entertaining, if unremarkable start. This is very much the table-setting episode of the series as the writers scrambled to place all of the characters in their necessary positions from where they were left at the end of season 7. As you might guess from the title, the majority of the action takes place at Winterfell, where we get a number of satisfying interactions and reunions. Some characters do unfortunately get the short shrift until the later days of the season, the most notable examples being Varys, Davos, and Tyrion (although the latter does get an admittedly excellent scene with Sansa), but this could be shrugged off as these characters not being especially helpful assets in the war against the dead where trickery and political tactics are less effective. Speaking of Sansa, Sophie Turner was excellent this entire season. I really enjoy this performance and character given the development she has undergone, with her conflicts this season feeling genuine and realistic, redeeming her from the strange out of place fake drama with Arya last season. Maisie William's Arya gets probably the most emotionally satisfying reunions of the episode, not only in the highly entertaining scene with the Hound and Gendry (although this is of course where future issues would transpire), but more notably with Kit Harington's Jon. The two shine in the sequence and, with a few small lines, manage to recreate the same chemistry and sibling bond they haven't been able to demonstrate since season 1. Emilia Clarke's Dany is granted little to do this episode outside of ride a dragon with Jon (an example of appropriate fan service and spectacle given the revelation of Jon's heritage, also revealed to him this episode in a tense and dramatic sequence) and spout possibly the worst line of the entire season ("Now, keep your queen warm", queue vomit). Elsewhere, in King's Landing, there's also shenanigans afoot, as sassy and endlessly vicious pirate Euron Greyjoy sets about...um..."courting" Queen Cersei Lannister, starting their relationship and looking to impregnate her. These are two interesting characters and to see them interact with each other in an intimate setting was great, even if the relationship itself, throughout the season, is somewhat underserved in terms of screen time. The other two King's Landing plots are considerably worse. The first of these involves Bronn being given Joffrey's crossbow (the same one that Tyrion used to kill Tywin in season 4) and commanded by Cersei (by way of Qyburn due to some behind the scenes tensions between Lena Headey and Jerome Flynn) to kill Jaime and Tyrion should they survive the war against the dead. It's blatantly obvious that the writers had no clue what to do with Bronn this season hence why these scenes feel so strange and out of character. Bronn's always been out for himself I suppose though, so the course of action the writers took seems somewhat reasonable. I mean, if you really had nothing to do with him he could have just followed Jaime north. Then we come to Theon. He essentially breaches the entire Iron Fleet with a handful of men and rescues Yara from under Euron's nose with little to no consequences for his actions. The problem with this plot is that it is paced far too quickly and ultimately was only included as a means to quickly end Theon's mission from the end of season 7 before being able to send him to Winterfell for the Great War. This easily could have been broken down across a few episodes, like much of this season. This is the first major example of a victim of the shortened episode count that plagues much of this season, foreshadowing the more notable damages at the tail end of the season. With that said, it's still enjoyable as an episode on its own. It's very much table-setting, and the arrival of Jaime at Winterfell at the episodes conclusion sets up a tense and dramatic second part.
Episode 2 - A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Episode 2 of the season is a great improvement, although there are still some issues. Prior to release, the episode was described as "play-like" and this definitely rings true. Entirely set in the single location of Winterfell, this is an episode centred around character relationships and dynamics, as tension is slowly built through the episode up until the climactic arrival of the dead. There are so many great interactions, such as Sam presenting Jorah with his family sword in their first proper conversation of the season (even though you can cringe for days once you realise Jorah Mormont, eternally stuck in the friend zone, is then using a sword called "Heartsbane"). Jaime's trial is a wonderful scene, with Dany's quiet resentment as to her father's death at Jaime's hands feeling earned, while Brienne defending him also felt true to the characters. The best scene of course was the knighting of Brienne by Jaime as all of the other characters watch on. Her achieving her dream, and this demonstration of how far Jaime has come as a character, is the most emotionally effective moment of the entire season, and is the most genuine the show has felt in quite a while frankly. Arya and Gendry also have a moment...oh God, this scene. Right, so, Arya and Gendry get together and have sex in possibly the most awkward moment of the entire season, without any development or build in their relationship having not seen each other in literally years. I suppose she is now a badass, and is able to throw dragonglass spear tips into a wall without the appropriate force or trajectory to do so, and that makes him attracted to her. And she is...I don't know. Okay, so my basic point boils down to one simple question: without any sort of build-up or chemistry between the actors, baring in mind also if you wish the lack of relevance this relationship has in the rest of the season, what is the point of this? Let me tell you: fan service. This is fan service through and through, and there is no other purpose to this plot. It feels as though the writers looked at fan theories and "wish lists" online and adopted this particular point but, once again, hindered by a brutal reduction in episodes, this falls completely and utterly flat. In an episode with so many great interactions and dynamics, this feels like a black spot unfortunately. Where the episode also struggles is where it is not focused on character and instead aims to push the plot forward, which, thankfully, it does not do a lot. The plan to defeat the Night King, we've got to talk about that first. The plan which is proposed, by all of these smart characters, is merely to leave Bran in the Godswood to lure out the Night King while the rest of the forces of the living merely hold off the undead hordes and, then, when he reveals himself, they'll kill him. This is an utterly horrendous plan, first and foremost. Remember the days of seasons 2-3 of Game of Thrones, where characters such as Robb Stark spent the majority of their scenes gathered round a map table with figures to work out clever strategies to outwit their opponents. This, comparatively, has far too many variables. What about Viserion, the undead dragon thanks to Tormund they now know exists? How do you know the Night King will bother to come out if he has legions of undead minions who can kill people as well? Did Jon just forget the Night King can RAISE THE DEAD before he put the innocents in a CRYPT? How do you even kill the Night King? Even Bran, the Three-Eyed Raven himself, admits he has no idea if even dragon fire will work on him so presumably the only way would be to get really close, which carries complications in itself. There are simply far too many variables for this plan to be regarded as sensible. Jon also steps up at the end to reveal his heritage to Dany...just before the battle begins which is wonderful timing. Look, I'm not being cruel or anything but they are about to fight in a battle where she or you could potentially die, Jon. Maybe save this bombshell for only if you absolutely have to? Again, these are examples of logic haps present throughout the entire season, and indicative only of how the standards of writing have slipped.
Episode 3 - The Long Night
Here we are, ladies and gentlemen, the war of the living and the dead. The Great War. The Long Night. The climax of 8 seasons worth of build-up. Characters will die. Answers may finally be given. Or at least that was what was promised on paper. That's what I wanted. What we got, on the other hand, was a decidedly more mixed bag. As has been the case with this entire season, the absolute death here is the script which makes some shocking choices to say the least. The entire episode is just a battle but, compared to other episodes which are the same (season 4 episode 9, "The Watchers on the Wall", which was the Battle of Castle Black between the Night's Watch and Mance Rayder's Wildling army, springs to mind), each of the character moments and decisions made feel decidedly less smart and engaging. Carice Van Houten's Melisandre makes a grand return in this episode (as well as a swift exit) only to infuse the Dothraki with enough confidence to be sent to their bewildering obliteration (before, of course, their subsequent resurrection in the final episodes of the season). Much of the action here is entertaining when you can see it (I'm getting to that, don't worry), but the length of the entire episode means this can become rather much at times. Arya has a strange stealth moment which feels as though it is lifted from another show, particularly considering you can see nothing, even smoke, at the windows even though it looks like the gates of hell have opened outside. It's a strange diversion that ultimately probably could have been removed. Lady Lyanna Mormont once again cements herself as the greatest non-character the show has ever produced, deceiving the audience into believing she is actually a fully fleshed out character with her tough demeanour, before she gets the quite frankly underserved honour of killing the wight giant (after a hilarious swatting to the side as the gate is breached). There's a few deaths of note this episode which are quite effective: Dolorous Edd perishes defending his Night's Watch brother Sam (who should not have been in this battle under any circumstances); Beric Dondarrion, who has been on borrowed time for a while, went out like a champ; Theon redeems himself wholly before dying; and Jorah Mormont got a fitting send off defending his love and his Queen. Other characters are wrapped in plot armour, especially Jaime and Brienne who are literally against a wall and screaming their lungs off for more than half the episode yet somehow survive. The same can be said for Sam towards the end. Let's face it though, we want to talk about the big bad himself, the Night King who, even though it was absolutely unnecessary, did enter the fray. After surviving dragon fire and avoiding a brawl with Jon, the King makes his way to the Godswood and, now deciding the time is to be dramatic and slow, is swiftly murdered by Arya after she does a comically bad leap through the air. And thus the army of the dead is obliterated in a single episode. This could be described as anti-climactic to say the least after such build-up and I agree to an extent, with a longer series length and a few smaller conflicts before the main fight. Honestly, though, I do not have a massive issue with the Night King falling this episode. He always felt like the less interesting villain and more of a force of nature than anything else. Arya being the one to end him, however, is slightly more problematic. She has absolutely no connection to this character and therefore there is no satisfaction when he is taken down, no fist pump moment as it were. Benioff and Weiss, the writers, have claimed they knew Arya would be the one to do it three seasons ago, and yet have not built up to this appropriately at all. Training to be an assassin on its own does not justify this. It simply, again, feels there was more that could have been done to prepare audiences for this moment.
Surprisingly, the biggest issue I have with the episode as a whole is an aspect on the technical side. The cinematography in the episode is shockingly poor in comparison to the standard we come to expect from the show, with it being incredibly difficult to even see what is happening most of the time. The episode is virtually shrouded in darkness entirely, and I understand the intent was to build dread, but there are better ways to do this rather than making the episode extremely difficult to see. This certainly improves towards the end of the episode when there is a lot of fire in the fortress, but parts of the episode are straight up horrifically bad in this regard. The part which stands out is during the dragon battle between the Night King, and Jon and Dany, where there is so much dust, smoke, snow, and everything else assaulting the camera and your eye sockets that it is physically difficult to tell what is happening. That said, there are still some notable points which I should highlight again. The make up in this episode is unquestionably remarkable, with the Night King himself standing as one of the greatest practical creations in recent years. The music for the entire season is also incredible, but this is the episode where many of the best tracks come from. Ramin Djawadi's work on this show will stand as one of the greatest collective soundtracks for a series ever devised, and the true impact of his work cannot be understated. Without the slow piano building of the music as the Night King slowly lurks towards Bran towards the episode's conclusion is crucial in building tension and fear in the audience before the credits roll. Perhaps besides the finale, this episode is probably the greatest missed opportunity of the entire season. This should have been epic, unforgettable, and up there with the Red Wedding as one of the most emotionally taxing episodes of the entire show. Unfortunately, an overabundance of darkness and the script left me with a somewhat sour taste after thinking about the episode. There is so much merit to give me, but this is undeniably, somewhat, anti-climactic.
Episode 4 - The Last of the Starks
With episode 4, of the infamous Starbucks cup fiasco, we're definitely back on track despite that. This is probably my favourite episode this season, with lots of great little moments of character interactions. Following an appropriately dreary and atmospheric funeral sequence for all of the dead from the previous episode, the first half hour of this episode is essentially one long feast sequence where we get to see fun dynamics and interesting conversations take place. Tyrion and Davos are always great together to bounce their cynicism off one another, and Peter Dinklage and Liam Cunningham are just a delight as always. It was great to see Sansa and the Hound back together for the first time in a long while, even though I wish their conversation was better written; some of the dialogue felt quite clunky at times but both Sophie Turner and Rory McCann were on point as always. Really, it was Emilia Clarke who shone as an actress this episode, as we begin to see the toll that Westeros has take on her as a person with the losses she's suffered. Effectively, she had it all at one point in Meereen, and now she's lost one of her children, her most trusted adviser in Jorah is dead, and she herself is the subject of great distrust (largely by the Starks) or she can see others simply feel Jon is a better leader even when ignorant of his true heritage. You can really empathise with her character in that sense and understand her point of view building up to...ahem...certain actions. The interactions of the Stark children, including Jon, this episode were absolutely among some of the best of the season. The scene at the Godswood is wonderfully atmospheric and the internal struggle of Jon is palpable. This is the episode where the knowledge of Jon's heritage really spreads, with Sansa playing the game as she learnt in King's Landing and this in turn going to Tyrion and Varys (by the way, the MVP of the episode; it was great to see Conleth Hill back in the action and the Spider is an endlessly entertaining character even knowing what it was building up to). Bronn also returns for about 5 minutes and he's as great as he's always been even this did feel a tad distracting once again. This was also quite a hot and heavy episode in terms of romance, if you'll pardon the expression, with Arya rejecting Gendry's proposal (a fitting character choice, as was leaving Winterfell) but more notably Jaime and Brienne finally getting together. Unlike Arya and Gendry in episode 2 which felt quite forced given the lack of development, after several seasons of build in the dynamic of the character, this felt like appropriate fan service to me. The romance was believable, and the scene where Jaime leaves to return to King's Landing for Cersei was tragic and heart breaking. Speaking of which, this episode also marked the return of the Queen herself, and reminded me why she is one of, if not my favourite character on the show. Lena Headey has always been great on this show, but she revels in the conniving nature of Cersei who, at the end of the day, is still doing everything for her child. Every move she makes has two effects (a notable shared trait with Dany making Gendry a legitimate Baratheon): letting the citizens into the Keep ensures they support her, and makes Dany slaughter thousands to get to her; telling Euron the child is his keeps him on side, and hurts Jaime for abandoning her. The cleverness and subtleties of each political movies - that, right there, is Game of Thrones of old, and I wish we'd seen more of it this season.
This is probably the best episode to talk about why the deaths in Game of Thrones, or at least the Game of Thrones of old, were so effective. To do that, before considering this episode, let's compare, say, Robb Stark's death in season 3's monstrous Red Wedding, to the season 7 premiere of The Walking Dead (told you this was coming). In the season 6 finale of The Walking Dead, the cast of characters meet a lovely chap called Negan who delightedly tells them that he is going to kill one to keep the rest in line. He proceeds to do eeny meeny miny mo to decide and as he swings the bat, the episode cuts to black and the season ends. Outrage, as you can imagine. Flash forward to season 7 and Negan kills a bloke called Abraham who at a very push you could describe as one of the main characters. After he gets a punch, Negan then kills another character called Glenn who, to make matters worse, had already had a fake out death in the previous season. These deaths were done for shock value and nothing more. Let's compare that to the Red Wedding. This is a horrific event where, at a Frey Wedding, Roose Bolton betrays the Starks and lots of people die, including main characters like Robb Stark. This is built up to for the entirety of season 3 and even slightly before and you can perfectly trace every single mistake Robb make which led up to this, betraying Walder Frey and sidelining Roose. It wasn't all his fault, sure (Catelyn letting Jaime go even with Brienne surely led to some lost confidence), but regardless this is the foreseeable punishment for every error which occurred. It's still shocking and horrifying to watch, but the key difference is this is earned, not only through build up of characters and not placing them in cheap situations where the writers pretend they're dead, but through the story and their actions. With that borne in mind, it's easy to see why fans were outraged about the death of the Night King in episode 3 after years of build up (particularly given showrunners Benioff and Weiss's admission one of their primary aims was to subvert expectations), but episode 4 is notable for two examples. The first is Dany's second dragon Rhaegal, who is unceremoniously murdered by Euron Greyjoy with three Scorpion arrows (one of which is through the HEAD bare in mind) as the dragons are mid-flight God knows how many hundreds of feet in the air. Leaving aside the fact that Qyburn has apparently invented cloaking technology (cause sorry, Benioff and Weiss, I will not buy Dany just didn't see them behind that small rock), the fact Euron managed to get three direct hits is more than enough to raise some eyebrows. This was something obviously done, not only to shock fans, but perhaps more worryingly to even the odds before the final battle with Cersei. Again, this could have benefitted from an extension of episodes whereby this death could have come about in a way that further character and made sense (even leaving aside more episodes, I saw one fan suggest that Rhaegal should have died in episode 5 when the Bells are ringing while Dany is sitting on the wall to provoke her actions which we're coming to don't worry). The second death, and probably the more emotionally effective, is that of Nathalie Emmanuel's Missandei, a staple of the show for several seasons now and one of the only genuinely good people on the show. Her death scene certainly worked well enough. I felt the emotional connection, every actor was on point (especially Jacob Anderson's Grey Worm who looked physically sick, as he should), and it was tense to watch. The problem is how we get there. Unlike Rhaegal who is a shock device, Missandei simply didn't feel earned in the circumstances of how Euron captured her and in that sense the build-up felt weaker. Just have had her travelling by road instead of by sea, and then the party she's in is ambushed by the Golden Company. It would have let them have some moment of dignity and made more sense as to how she was found. The problem (which flows through other writing issues this season) is that as soon as you think about it it comes to pieces. Even despite all that, I will emphasise again though that episode 4 is still rock solid despite those two deaths and some logic issues. Intriguing, fun, good character dynamics, great build up, it seemed as though we were back on track. Until...
Episode 5 - The Bells
Oh boy. Alright, let's be fair and start with the strong points of this episode. This is a show that is always, as I said, technically impressive, but this episode, whatever its faults, is sure to stand as one of the greatest technical achievements in the history of the entire series. Miguel Sapochnik returns once again to the helm to direct this instalment and his trade mark style is evident throughout the episode. Long takes, intense and brutal action, and strong cinematography all help to immerse you in the battle sequences but, now that the civilians are at the mercy of a dragon, there is greater opportunity to instil fear in us as an audience of the sheer power Daenerys controls. Take the shots of Arya running through the city as Drogon wreaks havoc from above her very head towards the conclusion of the episode (even though this lacked any tension whatsoever as this obviously wasn't where Arya died if she was going to at all). The camera is ingeniously kept extremely low down, paired with the hand held (and thus naturally shaky) nature of the takes to give the impression we ourselves are a character in the action, to keep us looking up at the dragon and in awe and terror of the scale of the destruction. It's intense, terrifying, and from a purely visual standpoint, masterful. The acting from all parties is also wonderful here, but there's a few particular actors to note. Conleth Hill's Varys gets a well-deserved and fitting send off for his character, and it's in line with his nature that he would have had his "told you so" moment. Rory McCann as the Hound I've barely touched upon despite how excellent he's (always) been thus far, but in this episode he really shines, with the occurrence of "Cleganebowl" as he brawls to the, eventual, death with his monster of a brother feeling earned and appropriate. His speech to Arya about letting go of anger and living for herself was also very emotionally satisfying and matches that, despite his demeanour, the Hound has always sought to protect the Stark children. All in all, a great send off for a great character. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Lena Headey were excellent together as always, each perfectly selling their desperation, love, and emotional connection. However, despite everything I'll come to shortly, the star of the episode in terms of acting was Emilia Clarke as Dany. Clarke has always been a somewhat inconsistent actress on this show, particularly in the early days, but before coming on to the main criticisms a lot of people have with this show and I share to an extent, her performance absolutely must be singled out and praised for this episode, but also for this entire season. Her volatile emotion and rage is palpable throughout and this at least feels justified. Every tear, quiet moment, outburst, Clarke makes the entire performance feel genuine and relatable. No matter how much criticism may be levelled at the show, her great work here absolutely should not be underestimated.
Alright, now let's talk about the writing, and more specifically, character development. Yet again, turning very briefly to positives, there are some good character moments in here, including as I said, the Hound, or Jon Snow, who, once all hell breaks loose, never actually murders anyone in cold blood a la Grey Worm; he only kills people in self-defence, even the random rapist solider. It is undeniable, however, even to the most staunch defenders of this entire season, that this episode makes some severe missteps as to characters, of which there are two key examples to be considered in turn: Jaime Lannister and Daenerys Targaryen. Turning to the former firstly, I have no serious issues with Jaime going back to Cersei, because he has always loved her deep down. You could argue it undermines his relationship with Brienne and the moment where he leaves Cersei at the end of season 8 but, at the end of the day, the war against the dead was won and that was the reason he left in the first place. Love wins out and, in that sense, I can imagine he would go back. What I cannot accept is the conversation between Tyrion and Jaime where the latter states that he has never cared about any of the residents of King's Landing or any of their lives, and has only ever cared about Cersei. Okay, no. When asked in the past about lives he has saved, he's responded regarding the slaying of the Mad King to save the people of the city. Over the past 8 seasons, Jaime has undergone a dark, personal journey of redemption learning to look past his own interests, respect and help others, care about people in general. To now say, 8 seasons in, that none of this matters, is incredibly disrespectful to the characters and throws all development out of the window, akin to how Jaime treated Bran way back when in episode 1. His death also felt poor, as did Cersei's. Let's face it though, you're not here to talk about Jaime, so let's talk about Dany. The Mad Queen and now city scorcher. This is not an entirely left field choice, straight off the bat that must be said. The show has been building to this from day one, as Dany has had her eyes set on the Throne and doing whatever it takes to get there. She has always followed her heart and been rather emotionally volatile, particularly in the absence of Jorah, her constant and reliable adviser. With the loss of now two of her children, Jorah, Missandei, and surrounded by skepticism, I will buy that Dany would decide enough was enough and burn the Red Keep to prevent Cersei from getting off lightly with her actions. What I will not buy is that Daenerys Targaryen, the Breaker of Chains, will burn innocent citizens, including children, taking into account all of her development to date. This is not to say I could never see the character reaching this point, because that was certainly in the stars, but it's too far far too fast. This is the greatest victim of the unnecessarily truncated series length. The pacing is the true demon behind this season (and indeed last season) and it is the failure to properly develop the potential of such a dark turn that has been the root of some deserved criticism. I agree that this has been somewhat overblown and disproportionate but, certainly, more time should have been taken to develop this. Oh well, what's next?
Episode 6 - The Iron Throne
With all of that, we come to the finale, the last ever episode of Game of Thrones. Storylines had to be resolved, character journeys concluded, and a satisfying conclusion. So did it deliver? Yes and no, so let's explore. This episode is similar to a few episodes this season in that it strangely feels almost like two episodes in one, much like "The Last of the Starks" where there is a clear divide in the episode. Unlike that episode, however, which was generally consistently strong, not only is there an obvious story switch in this episode, but there is also a noticeable quality dip. The first half of the episode deals with the immediate aftermath of episode 5, with Dany, now the official Mad Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, proclaiming her desire to liberate the entire world as Tyrion is taken into custody, and Jon faces his most troubling dilemma to date (although I'm sure Kit Harington was thankful more than anything to have lines that weren't "I don't want it" or "She is my queen" this season). I have virtually no issues with this half of the episode. Besides Dany's projector voice and some quick Arya teleporting, the episode is on point, and even the writing isn't dreadful. Tyrion's notes about Dany and how she's been treated in the past does lend some legitimacy to her plan which was greatly appreciated, while Jon and Dany's final conversation was also excellent. Jon's evident desire to persuade her away from her plan before finishing it in the only way possible was emotionally wrenching and well deserved. Drogon's subsequent reaction, burning the Throne (a good symbol for breaking the wheel as Dany intended to do, the absence of this at the end a symbol of a desire to rule without war) and taking his mother's body away was also satisfying. This was a fitting end to Daenerys, even if the road we took to get here was not always smooth. The effects work and set design here was on point, as was the cinematography once again. Whoever devised the shot of Dany walking forward before Drogon's wings spread behind her as if they are her own, whatever they're getting paid, it's not enough. So far so good. Then we hit the meeting scene and the problems arise. After a jarring time jump, a meeting is held where control over the Kingdoms is wrestled from an understandably furious Grey Worm and the Unsullied and a new ruler is appointed. Featuring some returning faces, eventually Bran Stark is appointed King of Westeros, while Sansa, defending the independence of the North from another ruler (even though that ruler would also be a Stark but whatever) becomes Queen in the North. While the latter feels a well earned ending for that character, it's safe to say Bran has been a bit more divisive to say the least. This is such an utterly bizarre turn of events that this feels as if George R. R. Martin must have told the writers about this in advance but not quite how to get there, so this was tacked on. It is somewhat satisfying, the ruler can only be the person who does not want to rule, but considering once again the build of the show to this point, it does feel somewhat anti-climactic. Other character endings are mixed as well. Arya decides to head west of Westeros to where the maps end to find what lies beyond, which is fitting considering the progression of the character. Jon is exiled North of the Wall to take the black once again, and is reunited with Tormund and, thankfully, Ghost, who gets a pat like the good boy he truly is. Tyrion is appointed Hand of the King once again, and it's when we get to the Small Council things just get a little silly. Davos on the Council feels sensible, although Bronn is a somewhat questionable choice. I have no problem with Brienne leading the Kingsguard, while Ser Pod is also knighted. Her adding to Jaime's section of the White Book is also fitting. Grand Maester Sam is also there and this is when we reach the worst moment of the episode. Apparently a maester somewhere in the Citadel has been composing a catalogue of the events of the season which is, of course, titled "A Song of Ice and Fire". This nod to the camera and massive wink to the audience just felt a step too far quite frankly, and as soon as this happened, I rolled my eyes and felt like groaning out loud. The entire finale felt rather bittersweet if I had to pick one word to describe it. Honestly, personally, I do not have any serious problems with any of these character endings but, the issue is that not all of these felt as though they had the proper development to reach where they are. How fitting that the final issue is, once again, the pacing and shorter series length. With more time, this could have been incredibly satisfying. As it is, however, it's fine but you can't help but wonder what more could have been done.
Conclusion
That's this season of Game of Thrones. It's not a disaster, absolutely not, and some of the criticism levelled at this season as a whole has been a little much at times, I feel no one will deny that in the future at least in some respects. Although some characters are treated poorly as to their development over 8 seasons (*cough* Jaime *cough*), these are still largely entertaining people to watch on screen, and, for the most part, you continue to maintain that emotional connection to them and the journey's we are finally seeing reach their end. The acting remains strong across the board, the best performance coming from Emilia Clarke as Daenerys. The technical aspects of course remain strong. Say what you like about the writing (cause there's certainly plenty to say), but as a piece of cinema the merits of Thrones is simply undeniable. From the cinematography to the sound to the set and costume design to the effects work, from a visual standpoint, the series remains an absolute joy. The issues which are present, of which there are many, all stem from the writing of the series. It's a shame more than anything that the ending to this story has quite simply had its legs cut out from under it by virtue of an overly short series of length, leading to a lack of development as to certain plot points and characters motivations. The focus on wide scale battles and destructions and a lack of smart decisions and political interest. Some decisions on the part of the writers are admittedly anti-climactic, unexpected moves made for the sake of being unexpected, and that is possibly a sad symbol of what Thrones became over the last few years. At the end of the day, however, the fact of the matter was always that the show was never going to move back to the way it once was. Once the adaption came to its close, a change was always inevitable, and, yes, those changes might not always have been for the best. For the story we have witnessed, loved, experienced, however, this ending, certain to have been controversial regardless, feels concluded. The Game is over and the Throne is won. We'll always be able to re-watch this show as a complete story now, always remember Game of Thrones. There are so many great memories of moments from this show that everyone may have a different favourite, and the discussion this show has opened is a marvel rarely achieved by a modern film or series, and I can't see that discussion going anywhere soon. For that, at least, I'm thankful.
Pros
- Strong acting
- Entertaining characters
- A technical marvel
- On the balance, a somewhat satisfying ending
Cons
- Generally inconsistent writing
- Poor pacing and underdeveloped plot points
- A lack of political intrique
- Some anti-climactic choices
Rating: 5/10
Full Season Release Date: 21st May, 2018
Starring Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Liam Cunningham, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jacob Anderson, Alfie Allen, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, John Bradley, Hannah Murray, Rory McCann, Gwendoline Christie, Conleth Hill, Jerome Flynn, Kristofer Hivju, Joe Dempsie, Carice Van Houten, and Iain Glen
