Game of Thrones

[Clungeman]

Enjoyed this weeks extended episode, but by Christ those battle scenes were a bit frenetic... made my bloody eyes ache.

I loved the shot of Davos clinging on to his sword with his jaw on the floor while Arya was doing her ninja bit with the spear Gendry gave her (pun intended).

[Balinkay]

Well I agree the ice zombies were a sideshow, but why the hell were they even built up for so long if it was going to just end in a single large fight scene? It's been eight seasons just for that? Decent fight scene, even if a bit too…*well ordinary… but still. If this is it, I really feel let down.

[Clungeman]

Well I agree the ice zombies were a sideshow, but why the hell were they even built up for so long if it was going to just end in a single large fight scene? It's been eight seasons just for that? Decent fight scene, even if a bit too…*well ordinary… but still. If this is it, I really feel let down.

The dead were always the distraction to weaken Jon and Danaerys' forces. The real 'evil' in the show has always been in living, human form.

[Balinkay]

The dead were always the distraction to weaken Jon and Danaerys' forces. The real 'evil' in the show has always been in living, human form.

Has it though? This invasion has been 8 000 years in the making in universe. These guys are the stuff from which fairytales are made. And all they can muster is a limp fight scene where no important characters die. Really? What was their deal? Why were they attacking? They seemed at least half intelligent, but now they've been retconned into just being the next vanilla "I have no reason to be evil, I just am" villain. Now they really do feel like a distraction - what the hell was the point of even having them? I'd have loved some more time devoted to political maneuvering and intrigue if this was how it was going to end. Hell, why even have supernatural elements in the show at all? Like, you don't really need this stuff - just good dialogue and a decent plot. Both of which have been lacking for the past few seasons.

[justme]

Maybe the Night King will comeback to life? .. I think we will find out about him. In one of the Brans flashbacks anyway..

[Clungeman]

Has it though? This invasion has been 8 000 years in the making in universe. These guys are the stuff from which fairytales are made. And all they can muster is a limp fight scene where no important characters die. Really? What was their deal? Why were they attacking? They seemed at least half intelligent, but now they've been retconned into just being the next vanilla "I have no reason to be evil, I just am" villain. Now they really do feel like a distraction - what the hell was the point of even having them? I'd have loved some more time devoted to political maneuvering and intrigue if this was how it was going to end. Hell, why even have supernatural elements in the show at all? Like, you don't really need this stuff - just good dialogue and a decent plot. Both of which have been lacking for the past few seasons.

They weren't retconned though, back in season six (I think) we got a flashback through one of Bran's visions of the Children of the Forest creating the Night King as a weapon against the first men. Basically it explained that he was a WMD whose purpose was to protect the CotF from human threats, he became too powerful for them to control and (like any terminator worth its salt) would stop at nothing to complete his mission which was to destroy humanity.

I thought it was a bit of a curveball that more named characters didn't die, I was expecting Brienne, Gendry, Pod, and Grey Worm at least to be for the chop. I would be surprised if keeping them alive was just fan service (although I have never understood why that's supposed to be a bad thing - surely giving fans what they want is what fans want?) Maybe they're just being saved to die further down the line.

[Balinkay]

I kind of think they were retconned though - I mean yeah, we got the backstory but the guy displays intelligence. He's not an automaton - strategic thought went into some of his choices and yet he ends up a mindless drone with some faulty programming? Seems like a cop-out to me.

I do see your point about fan service, but this is just detrimental to the experience at this point - throwing out the baby with the bathwater sort of thing. Sure we'd like them to live, but not at the expense of changing the established universe rules - like the lack of plot armor. Can you imagine something like this happening in season two or three? Abysmal - you do dumb shite, you die, simple as that. Instead our main cast get away with being swamped by white walker numerous times completely fine - it just clashes with the rest of the show. I no longer feel any of them are in any danger whatsoever. And when they inevitably do kill some of the main cast off, it's going to feel yet again surprising and unfitting, as the rules have again been changed.

[Kev0909]

Whaaaaaaaat a show

That's all I have to say!

[RedNoodle]

Well I agree the ice zombies were a sideshow, but why the hell were they even built up for so long if it was going to just end in a single large fight scene? It's been eight seasons just for that? Decent fight scene, even if a bit too…*well ordinary… but still. If this is it, I really feel let down.

This.

That was seriously disappointing. After all the build up to the 'battle to save humanity' it ends in such a feeble way, never mind all the nonsensical bs taking place such as Jon and Daenerys flying off and doing sod all to help for no good reason, Jon being swamped by undead and saved/left unburnt by Daenerys swooping in and burning everything but Jon to a crisp (since when has dragon fire been laser like in it's accuracy?), Bran doing nowt but having a little jolly as a crow, but somehow is the NK's main threat/focus, with the latter having the tactical nous of Tim Sherwood after a dozen pints.

So, so disappointing.

[eggy81]

This.

That was seriously disappointing. After all the build up to the 'battle to save humanity' it ends in such a feeble way, never mind all the nonsensical bs taking place such as Jon and Daenerys flying off and doing sod all to help for no good reason, Jon being swamped by undead and saved/left unburnt by Daenerys swooping in and burning everything but Jon to a crisp (since when has dragon fire been laser like in it's accuracy?), Bran doing nowt but having a little jolly as a crow, but somehow is the NK's main threat/focus, with the latter having the tactical nous of Tim Sherwood after a dozen pints.

So, so disappointing.

Glad I wasn't the only one to think that.

[Insidious]

I kind of think they were retconned though - I mean yeah, we got the backstory but the guy displays intelligence. He's not an automaton - strategic thought went into some of his choices and yet he ends up a mindless drone with some faulty programming? Seems like a cop-out to me.

I do see your point about fan service, but this is just detrimental to the experience at this point - throwing out the baby with the bathwater sort of thing. Sure we'd like them to live, but not at the expense of changing the established universe rules - like the lack of plot armor. Can you imagine something like this happening in season two or three? Abysmal - you do dumb shite, you die, simple as that. Instead our main cast get away with being swamped by white walker numerous times completely fine - it just clashes with the rest of the show. I no longer feel any of them are in any danger whatsoever. And when they inevitably do kill some of the main cast off, it's going to feel yet again surprising and unfitting, as the rules have again been changed.

Tormund being dragged down by the Wights in Season 7 only to be saved by the Steal-a-Wight squad / Daenerys was a real turning point on that score.

[Insidious]

This.

That was seriously disappointing. After all the build up to the 'battle to save humanity' it ends in such a feeble way, never mind all the nonsensical bs taking place such as Jon and Daenerys flying off and doing sod all to help for no good reason, Jon being swamped by undead and saved/left unburnt by Daenerys swooping in and burning everything but Jon to a crisp (since when has dragon fire been laser like in it's accuracy?), Bran doing nowt but having a little jolly as a crow, but somehow is the NK's main threat/focus, with the latter having the tactical nous of Tim Sherwood after a dozen pints.

So, so disappointing.

Leaves questions unanswered.

The Night King and Jon Snow have had a few "stare-downs" that felt significant. Apparently not!

There was the idea that the Night King was the original Bran (the Builder) and had built the Wall to keep himself out as he had become the Night King and his arc was stuck in a time loop (Bran as Three-Eyed Raven on a mission to stop himself from becoming the Night King) but who cares, Darth Maul "Ice Ice Baby" edition is gone, why explore an intriguing plot device?

Also tactics - for a guy who has waited thousands of years to execute his grand plan (which isn't trying to get a Night Queen from Winterfell crypts or anything fun - just "destroy the Wurld lulz") his tactics are poor. Why expose yourself early? If I was the Night King I don't even show up to the Battle - I take Wight Viserion down to King's Landing, go absolutely ape on the locals and add 1,000,000 soldiers to my army and then march them up to Winterfell en masse.

Wish there was more intelligence in the show's writing once they passed the point of the books. Littlefinger has a relative in Bravos (mentions it when interrogated at the Eyrie about Lysa Arryn's death) and is seen giving a coin to a lass in his last pre-Death appearance - it would have been so easy to write in that the person that gets their throat cut by Arya was a Faceless Man and not actually Little Finger - and potentially even have Baelish be Jaqen H'gar all along, but I guess that'd be too much like fun! It was even Baelish's dagger that finishes off the Night King in the end - "I did what I had to do, to save the World" could have been such a "what the f**k" angle, but nah - just got to have the relentlessly evil thingy die, like an Orc in Lord of the Rings.

Eugh.

[justme]

I thought last nights episode was superb..Cersei really is evil

[RedNoodle]

That was a seriously s**t episode. Possibly the worst one so far.

I cringed my way through the overly long p*ss up and shagathon (they certainly got over thousands of their comrades, friends and family dying very quickly), only to then constantly shake my head at the seriously crap dialogue, about turns, nonsensical 'tactics' and basic bat s**t crazy nonsense.

I mean you've got one of the supposed most intelligent men completely ignoring the fact that the person he rallied behind is becoming as bad as the person he's trying to dispose.

Then you've got silent ships with ultra accurate and deadly crossbows, when the supposed richest city/people had already failed with the supposed best money can buy.

Then you've got characters like Jaime who have slowly changed from being one thing to the exact opposite, only to then revert back to their former selves in an instant.

Utter, utter, crud.

If the series had started like this I don't think it would have made it past a couple of seasons, if that.

[justme]

Spoiler alert. Dany has gone bass ass on them all. Just like her father she finished what he wanted!..Varys was right all along!.
I think John will kill Dany and return to the wildlings. And Tyrion will take the throne. what ever is left of it that is..
Maybe he and Sansa will Marry again and reunite the North with the South..