GAME OF THRONES: Final season (8) discussion

[Hal...]

"Full Targaryen"? Yeah, she's got a bit of the Mad King in her, doesn't she?

Well, after that episode, I can't say Daenerys is one of my three my favorite characters anymore.

[Paulie]

Great fuckin ep!

[NogbadTheBad]

Clegane Bowl was epic

In the dead pool I think we've lost

Cersei
Jamie
Theon
Varys
Jorah
Euron
Night King
Melisandre
The Hound
The Mountain
Missandei
Qybrun

I missing anyone?

[The Dark Elf]

Lyanna Mormont taking out the giant.

[Hal...]

And, Jesus, Arya sure looked like she was put through the ringer.

Now on to the series finale of Veep. I think I need it like a stiff drink after that episode of GOT.

[Paulie]

What did Sir Davos have to “smuggle?”

[The Dark Elf]

And, Jesus, Arya sure looked like she was put through the ringer.

Now on to the series finale of Veep. I think I need it like a stiff drink after that episode of GOT.

I can't think of any other ending than Arya changing her face and killing Daenerys.

[The Dark Elf]

What did Sir Davos have to “smuggle?”

Cersei and Jaime.

[SteveSly]

Now that was more like it. Best episode of the season.

[Klonk]

...and then there was one. Hell of an episode! I was a bit underwhelmed with Jamie vs. Euron and selfishly wanted to see Cersei suffer a worse fate, but damn that was fun!

[Jerjo]

It was fun - the scenes with Arya on the run were harrowing and Clegane Bowl was epic. I have other...thoughts but I will save them for now.

[Progatron]

Wow, that was amazing. So much to take in! I have to watch it again tomorrow... but suffice to say, in the immortal words of Daenerys' own father:

BURN THEM ALL!

[Tangram]

Damn that was good. Cersei got housed like the wicked witch that she was. The Hound / Mountain had the battle that’s been in the works since childhood. Dany completely lost it tonight and totally trashed the city. Can’t wait for next week

[NogbadTheBad]

GOT Deadpool.jpg

[BobM]

I just read that, per the Barriston Selmy actor, George has the last 2 books penned and ready to be released, but has a contractual obligation to wait until the show is completed. Start rereading he books now boys so you can refresh yourself on the real story,

[Poisoned Youth]

Like the battle vs. the dead, the action and scope of the King's Landing battle was off the charts EPIC. But it's coming at the expense of character development, believably, and nuance. The inner child in me who likes seeing dragons burn things is in conflict with the adult that is wanting for something deeper, more clever, more satisfying. As mentioned earlier during The Long Night, what's transpired the last two seasons is much closer to an apocalyptic, big budget sci-fi movie with comic book larger-than-life superheroes. On that level it wins big.

I guess ultimately I'm in the minority for expecting something deeper.

Here's one theory on what happened and why D&D screwed the pooch: https://twitter.com/DSilvermint/stat...56091261136896

Interesting Twitter "article", thanks for sharing. It's presented well and does explain how things "feel" different.


Here are my takeaways and random thoughts from the episode:

1. The unbelievably of Dany's transformation from "breaker of chains" to "jilted ex-girlfriend" is only topped by how poorly Anakin Skywalker was turned into Darth Vader.

2. Apparently dragon's breath is so powerful that even stone structures of all degrees of durability simply crumble instantly.

3. Arya goes down to King's Landing and to the Red Keep only at the very last minute to be told by The Hound not to "become like him". And suddenly, like the Grinch, Arya's heart grew three sizes that day.

4. In fact, it grew so large that she develops in instant bond with a particular mother and child, who of course completely get dyced by Drogon (along with the whole block). Now Arya (being seemingly the only survivor) gets up - of course sees that child she spent 2 minutes with is dead, but is surely now an assassin reborn.

5. Did Bran warg that horse Arya rode away on? Prolly not, but sounds cool.

6. No way Davos survives that battle.

7. Was it Jaime that rang the bells?

8. I was thinking that Varys was going to be killed for tipping pitches from the last season until now. This made sense to me. It seems now he was killed purely on his principles of believing Jon would make a better leader - and I guess he told someone? Who did he tell? What was the point of the young girl in that story?

9. So long story short, Jon did nothing of consequence in the episode except refuse to bury his snowman into Dany's fire pit. Tyrion did little beyond freeing Jaime (which only occurred because the writers told us Jaime got captured 5 minutes earlier). Arya did nothing, Sansa did nothing, Bran did nothing. Yara did nothing. Cersei did nothing.

10. Why can't we show people actually dead? They didn't show Jaime and Cersei. They didn't technically show The Hound or The Mountain. They didn't show Euron. They did show Qybrun, and it was fucking cool, am I right?

11. So I guess with all the antagonists defeated, I guess we have three choices in the last episode to root against - Darth Targaryen, a new (old threat) beyond the wall, or Bran.

[Paulie]

And now ladies and gentlemen...The Mad Queen!

With that said, Arya may have a new target...and perhaps a new nickname? By the way, loved the scene with her and The Hound at the gate.

I could practically hear my GFs eyes roll twice. Once when Euron dives off his ship, narrowly missing the dragon fire, and again when he miraculously appears on the beach as Jaime is heading to the Red Keep.

If Jaime and Cersei are gone, we were robbed. I wasn't completely satisfied with her merely shitting her pants. We did laugh when she just walked by the Cleganes like, "excuse me, pardon me, carry on..."

There's a lot to wrap up next week. I know they'll never get to everything, but I hope some of the departures from Winterfel during Ep4 have at least some significance.

All in all, an epic episode! Total eye-candy.

[Buddhabreath]

Well more degeneration of the writing that was once so immaculate with all those interweaving sub-plots, but still an enjoyable episode and at least a big step up from last week's. My favorite part by far was Arya's arc and last words with the Hound - she called him Sandor for the first time and thanked him. Arya chose life instead of death and revenge. The final scene with the white horse was quite poignant. Cleagan Bowel also did not disappoint - it was quite epic with the brothers battling while the Red Keep crumbled, dragon-fire overhead.

OK here's my idea for the ending given what has happened: Danny continues to go full Targaryen and clealry Jon will not be onboard with this. Eventually this will lead to a showdown where Danny will consider that Jon has not only jilted her as a lover but betrayed her as a queen. Drogon will be there to dispense the queen's justice and roast Jon, who is afterall a Targaryen and rightful heir, will emerge from the fire unscathed and grimly walk up to Danny and with tears rolling down his cheeks and plunge his sword through her heart.

THE END.

[Progatron]

The inner child in me who likes seeing dragons burn things is in conflict with the adult that is wanting for something deeper, more clever, more satisfying.

The show is for your inner child, the books are for your adult self.

[Nearfest2]

I missing anyone?

Beric (eye-patch, follower of the Lord of Light, died protecting Arya from wights)

[Hal...]

1. The unbelievability of Dany's transformation from "breaker of chains" to "jilted ex-girlfriend" is only topped by how poorly Anakin Skywalker was turned into Darth Vader.

From Nerdist:

...the most problematic ending of the episode was that of Daenerys’ sanity. For seven seasons, she worried more about the lives of the common people than she did any powerful lords. She wanted to “break the wheel” and make a better world, and while she wasn’t perfect, she consistently showed why hundreds of thousands followed her and believed in her, including the cynical Tyrion. Then in the final season, Sansa, who didn’t know her, said she didn’t trust her. And Varys, after one major setback where she responded with a temper everyone knew Daenerys had (Daenerys included), suddenly decided this woman he worked years to install as ruler was obviously a lunatic.

For years, we saw who Daenerys was as a person, and we knew her. Then this season, some characters said she was totally different, so when she turned out to be the opposite of what we knew her to be, it felt cheap and unearned. The show didn’t put in the work necessary for that moment to feel authentic. It was a betrayal of the character and everything we’ve seen before.

Daenerys was never above burning her enemies, or of punishing injustice, but she would never, ever, ever hurt an innocent person. When she heard the bells, she finally had everything she wanted, but inexplicably that was when she decided to destroy the city anyway, something her brother Viserys would have done. She was never her brother, and nothing before she torched King’s Landing ever showed us she would become him. That’s not the character arc the show gave us. That was not Daenerys Targaryen, Breaker of Chains. (How Game Of Thrones Torched Its Characters’ Endings)

I disagree with most of those points. And in direct response to Sean, I think they foreshadowed Daenerys' transformation. Remember in earlier episodes how two or three people referenced The Mad King burning people alive? And what did she do to the Tarlys and Varys (instead of having Greyworm dispose of them, like at Meereen)? Remember how some of her initial impulses were thwarted by advisors? Remember how she reluctantly agreed to Tyrion's request to call off the attack once the bells started ringing?

So, she lost two of her "children", half her army, felt betrayed to varying degrees by Jon, Sansa, and Varys, and has lost nearly all confidence in Tyrion. She's commented before how she feels alone. Now she's really feeling it when combined with betrayal and incompetence, probably making her somewhat paranoid. And she knows, regardless of what Jon says, her claim to the throne is tenuous at best.

Put simply, I think she lost her shit. Her reaction was a combination of frustration, anger, Targaryen impulse, and, last but not least, a show of force... to anyone who would oppose her.

---

Two possibilities:

1. I don't think she'll survive.

So who kills Daenerys? It's gotta be Jon Snow, doesn't it? Considering they're completely at odds, now, and he's sort of the reluctant moral compass of the show, it makes sense.

Of course, there's a good case to be made for Arya doing it, as well. I could see her taking on the role for him when he can't.

But this begs another question: what happens to Drogon if Daenerys is killed? Does Jon, a Vargaryen, adopt him? Does Drogon lose his shit and kill everyone? lol

2. In the aftermath of the razing of King's Landing, Jon shows her she's really no better than her father and she exiles herself, riding off into the sunset on Drogon, leaving Jon to claim the throne.

[NogbadTheBad]

So for those keeping score the body count is

Cersei
Jamie
Theon
Varys
Jorah
Euron
Night King
Melisandre
The Hound
The Mountain
Missandei
Qybrun
Lyanna Mormont
Beric

[Nearfest2]

Of course, there's a good case to be made for Arya doing it, as well. I could see her taking on the role for him when he can't.

I don't know how it can't be Arya. Daenerys has green eyes, just like in Melisandre's prophecy...

[Poisoned Youth]

I don't know how it can't be Arya. Daenerys has green eyes, just like in Melisandre's prophecy...

And then there was the Valonquar theory that apparently didn't pan out, so I take all that stuff with a grain of salt - especially if it occurred before season 5.

More seriously, while Arya could be the killer, to reference Melissandre, what of Jon Snow? What was his purpose of being resurrected if not to fulfill some sort of prophecy?

[Sean]

My bet is Tyrion will kill her. Might as well be someone unexpected.....