I think the writing is, so far, has been the worst of all seasons and the reaction shots after the one liners, quite cheesy and over the top. No doubt, I’ll keep watching. ;-)
my left of field prediction is Jon and Dany will survive but fight it for the throne, Both will die.... and wait for it, Sansa will sit on the iron throne...
That's it, isn't it? Great shows just run out of good writing, and loyalty to the yarn remains, unrequited. I loved "Endeavor" and even thought the early plots were very opaque, I relished the interplay between characters (and gritty, lower British middle-class imagery) while it lasted. They're still filming but silliness took over and pervades, now. I skipped the last two GOT seasons as it devolved into a comic book (armies manage a month's march in a day, Aria casually gets the drop on a master assassin, making him yield, and other anomalies). When they ran out of material (really, in the middle of the third book), there was no more interesting dialog, nor delicious tension between characters (remember Tyrion and Snow figuring out whether they hate or like each other; Varys and Tyrion feeling each other out; Ned Stark's bewilderment at the disintegration of honor; Robb Stark's rise and fall; the initial mystery of unexplained happenings; etc.) and then it was just a costume drama--Benioff is a truly terrible stand-in for a screenwriter. His inventions are mostly clunkers (Ned Stark dispatching Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning, in under two minutes, after countless words praising him as invincible sword-god incarnate; Brienne defeating the Hound? Come on.) High production values only take you so far. But hey, it's easy to criticize. The early books were brilliantly realized. George Martin wrote two and a half terrific, well-paced books and even though books 4 and 5 were little more than 12oo-page puppet shows, I doff my hat to the genius of the first volumes. Today the landscape of television is so drab, GOT was a huge (noisy, crude, violent, iconoclastic) breath of fresh air.
Is that why as much as I love this series, my reading stalled long ago at about halfway through A Storm Of Swords?
Well if you grew weary after a hundred pages or more dedicated to the kingsmoot in the Iron Islands, you are not alone.
Honestly, I gave up so many years ago that I cannot remember exactly where I left off. I've turned to a children's book instead, "Fire & Blood".
So far I'm very happy with this season. It's a return to what made the show great, the relationships between the characters. Last season especially, but really the last couple, was so rushed. It was just a headlong dive to get people where they needed to be for each major set piece, subtlety and logic and character consistency be damned. I'm so glad that here, in the final season of only six episodes, the show was able to spend two episodes giving the characters a chance to have what they are expecting to be their last moments together.
Just saw the 'Inside The Episode' on HBO on demand. Provided some good insight to the episode. The writers considered it a 'love letter' to the characters. They also went into great detail about the 'New' Castle Winterfell, how it needed to be greatly expanded for all that was happening. At 20 minutes, it covers a lot. Its worth checking out!
@GentleSenator , I must admit, when I heard Podrick it reminded me of Pippin's 'Edge of Night'. @tommy-thewho, I also had a feeling Gilly was pregnant.
But at the same time, it seems like most of the cast including Bran, Arya, Gilly, Sam, Podrick, Cersei got an extra layer of fat to survive the WINTER.
I really enjoyed Brienne's spontaneous knighting ceremony. I think that maintaining the unconsummated undercurrent between her & Jaime is a good choice, and portrays a unique relationship more intimate than many physical lovers (certainly Gentry & Arya). Also glad to see Jon's big reveal to Danny happening sooner than later. She's not pleased, obvy. I'm wondering if the Iron Throne itself, or possibly even just the pursuit of it, is what drives people "mad"?
An article I read this morning suggests exactly what you laid out here. Well done. Spoiler Why the Night King won't be at the Battle of Winterfell on 'Game of Thrones' — Mashable
Testing my memory here but didn't Daenerys have visions in the house of the undying which showed the Throne covered in snow and not a soul to be found anywhere?
No, the internet is sputtering with righteous indignation over Arya's nude scene. People, Masie Williams is 22. Deal with it.
That is a really good article. It all adds up. However, one thing I'd like to see in the article is an update on the actual numbers. Anybody traced and estimated the possible numbers defending Winterfell? All the houses pledged to Starks, Unsullied, Dothraki, The Vale, Wildlings, potential remaining Night's Watch Brothers, Lannister and Tarly who bent the knee for Daenerys? All we know about the Night King's army is that it is about 100 000 strong plus house Umber and all that they found on their way after melting the Wall.
Anyone else catch Yara Queen of the Ironborn, in her new role in the HBO series; Gentleman Jack!? Excellent premier episode!
