Game of Thrones: Season 8, The Final Season (spoilers)

And it's Sunday again. Seems like the BoW was years ago.

My anticipation is way lower than the last few weeks.

__________________

Shame!

Internet has been down since a storm last night. ISP said there are no issues on their end. So looks like I'm missing it this week.

Nutter is best suited for this kind of episode where after you have a big battle and need good character moments dealing with the previous episode, but also need set up episode 5 for likely another battle episode.


I myself think Cersei was always gonna be the Big Boss when she arranged to have King Robert killed and Conspired with Littlefinger and Pycelle to end Ned Stark or rather get him out of the way.


I knew she would be final person we hate to die and the game would end with her because her words in season one to Ned Stark.

Okay, I've been meaning to ask this. Grabbed this screenshot from the opening credits. What is going on here? For some reason my brain isn't registering what these images are. Whose head is that? Who's holding it? WHAT IS GOING ON?

It looks like a human holding up a wolf's severed head... with the wolf body in the middle... and a lion on the left? So is that someone holding up Ned Stark's head in front of a Lannister? Or Rob's wolf's head? Or ... what?

Attachments

 

__________________
Linda's Author Website
Linda's Amazon Author page

Yeah, I took the images to be a sort of recap, but not positive.

Bronn holding Tyrion's head.

Ha, except that's not a lion's head, for sure. Definitely looks like a wolf.

Also, @Yoda ... the opening credits aren't really about a recap, and if so, why would they wait till the final season credits to put THIS in? And the rest of the credits aren't recaps like that. Certainly not the band of metal (I call it Saturn's ring) part.

Just seems a little jarring, given the fact that the credits seem very focused on showing us what's GOING to happen, not what happened seven seasons ago.

BEWARE FULL PLOT FOR FINAL 3 EPISODES HAS LEAKED.

Watch out folks.

Didn’t think this show could get any lamer, but I’m sorta glad to see I was wrong about that one.

__________________
"This is that human freedom, which all boast that they possess, and which consists solely in the fact, that men are conscious of their own desire, but are ignorant of the causes whereby that desire has been determined." -Baruch Spinoza

What a load of ****.

I really liked this episode. Now I’m worried what this is going to mean for the Lannister brothers

__________________

I LOVED this episode. What is wrong with you people? This is precisely how you wrap up this series!

Here's my take on how things play out (generally speaking):

Arya and Jaime are both heading Cersei's way. I'm betting on one of them taking her down... after a bunch more carnage, of course.

I'm also betting that we're seeing Dany slowly going mad, letting her power-hunger allow her to kill innocents. HOW many seasons did she spend across the Narrow Sea unseating people who hurt innocents? And now she's one of them.

I think we're meant to start shifting our loyalties to Jon... and that Dany will end up dying (not sure by whose hand, though)… thereby opening the way for Jon to take the throne.

He is, after all, as part Stark, part Targaryen, both ice and fire. The entire series title is embodied in Jon.

And after seeing Dany tonight, I think Jon is the only way we get a happy ending.

@John McClane ... you seem to just post negative comments here. Why are you even watching then? Go watch something else so you don't waste your own time. You're a serious buzzkill. (I'm mostly kidding. Mostly. We know you're not happy with the show. I'm not sure you need to keep posting about it every episode at this point.)

I'm curious what people keep griping about... after nearly every episode now. I'm not talking about details -- those I don't mind hearing about. But just a general "I didn't like it" or "It was terrible" just make me scratch my head.

They're telling us a story. A lengthy story. Now they're wrapping it up. And they're telling the story the way THEY wrote it. Not the way WE wrote it. Perhaps it's just my viewpoint as a reader and writer, but I tend to allow a writer to tell me his or her story their way. (Let's filter out bad writers here. This is a generalization, I know.)

I guess what I tend to hear when people continually say they don't like a story (but keep listening to it or reading it) is: "This isn't how **I** would have told it!"

Well, fine. Then go tell your own stories and we'll listen to them. If I start a book or movie or series and it doesn't strike me, I stop. My time is worth too much. And if I do like it, especially a series, there are always spots that I didn't like along the way. Always. Even my favorite book series ever, Gabaldon's Outlander series, has parts in those eight big books that just didn't do it for me. But I'm VERY much invested in how Gabaldon is telling HER story.

Now, I'm definitely hoping that this series ends well -- meaning, I hope it doesn't screw the pooch like LOST did and like Battlestar Galactica halfway did and like The Sopranos kinda did. But even those endings didn't ruin the entire series for me. I've rewatched each one of them since they aired... because they are good stories, with endings I would have preferred to see differently.

I'm hoping Game of Thrones goes out strong, and if not, then I await the book versions and will read them and hope for the best yet again.

My two cents on that. I love this discussion, even when some of it makes me scratch my head.

Well, @Austruck, no surprise here that I agree with you on the episode. Everyone seemed to crying for GOT to get back to the way it was in the old days, with people talking and court intrigue and setting things up. And that's exactly what we got tonight and I loved it!

My favorite part of the show was the back-and-forth between Varys and Tyrion. They've been sparring partners since the very beginning and it was nice to see them back at it. The looks Tyrion would get when Varys suggested something he didn't like were aces. Yes, plans are coming unraveled pretty quickly. And nobody has guaranteed us a happy ending. For me, no matter who lives or dies, the very worst that could happen is Cersei still sitting on the Iron Throne at the very end. I don't believe it will happen because that would be the ultimate f*** you to the viewers but I guess it's not out of the question. I thought Emilia Clarke did some solid acting tonight, trying desperately to hold in her rage but not succeeding very well. And if someone is going to die, like a certain character did near the end tonight, I'm glad they go out with defiance.

Had to laugh at Bronn---he still wants his castle!

Liked the after-funeral feast in Winterfell with everyone touching base and getting their drink on. I like how the series sometimes gives you what you want, as with Jamie and Brienne but then pulls a reverse on you. Jamie is just a man addicted. Wow.

I wish that idiot Euron a brutal death. He deserves it royally.

I wonder what Sansa has up her sleeve? I know she has to have something planned.

After Tyrion and Varys, my second-favorite character tonight was The Hound. How Sansa was watching him and the serving girl who was flirting with him and how he snapped at her just like a hound! I laughed hard at that one. And her talk with him was nice, and how he called her "little bird" like he did in the past. Nice moment between those two.

Overall, another great episode.

__________________
"Miss Jean Louise, Mr. Arthur Radley."

Terrible episode, not because of the direction they are taking with Dany, and all the solid interactions with Jon, then Varys/Tyrion later but because of a number of writing fumbles, and moments where you are expected to turn your brain off.

- Arya and Hound going to get Cersei/Mountain. Fine but haven't they told anyone? seems like a lot of carnage would be avoided if the other characters let them attempt this first, or has Arya told Sansa/Bran offscreen?

- Off camera reaction for Sansa and Arya finding out about their cousin, underwhelming.

- Dany flying around high in the sky and can't spot a fleet lying in ambush. Very underwhelming death of Rhaegal. One minute the fleet is getting crushed and then most of them wake up on the beach, offscreen again.

-Did they just forget all about Euron and his massive fleet and decide to sail past KL to Dragonstone?? Wtf

-Greyworm announcing that half their army survived Winterfell, don't think so.

- Worst of all I can't come up with a single reason why Cersei wouldn't just kill Tyrion?? Then Dany aswell, she has a ton of Scorpions and archers right there, and cavalry in the city and her rival is what? 200 metres outside the gates? How does that meeting even happen after her fleet has been smashed.


Sure, I guess its set up an interesting finish what with Varys outright wanting Dany dead and Tyrion at a complete loss what to do. I'm reminded though of Arya/Sansa in s7 how they played it all up that they would go against each other and then it was all ok in the end. How will it play out in KL with Arya, Cleganebowl, Jamie going to finish the bitch off?

Thought the episode had some very good moments and some head scratching moments. It was my favorite episode of the season.
The good:
-The meeting at the table where they were discussing their losses and how to approach Kings Landing.
-Varys and Tyrions discussion was the best moment of the season so far. That felt like early season GoT's.
- Jon telling Arya and Sansa his "secret"
- Clegane Bowl is inevitable
The Bad (most of it was the final 10-15 minutes):
- Jamie and Brienne. Didn't care at all.
- The end. Cercei should have killed that entire group. That would have been the easiest way to end it and is something completely within Cercei's character to do. She likes a rigged game, you know what I'm saying? Also, why did Dany bring her LAST Dragon to that little get together? If you don't plan on using the dragons keep them out of sight until they're needed. Fortunately Cercei decided to do nothing dramatic except eliminate a character who was obviously the biggest threat to her reign.
- No Sansa/ Arya reaction shot. Not a biggie but I wanted to see that
- Pet Ghost or give him a treat, do something, before you give him away. He saved your skin a few times. Another not a biggie but it would have been nice.

Overall the show has lost steam. It was on track to be one of the greatest shows ever then got lost as soon as it passed the books. Still watching because I want to see how Cercei and the Mountain gets theirs - I really don't care who sits on the throne when it's all said and done. Let Podrick have it.