[TV] HBO Game of Thrones - Page 1714

Call me crazy but Bran is my favorite character atm. Ending with seeing Jamie and waiting for old friend. Good stuff.

Disappointed with the first episode overall though.

So I pretty much disliked this whole episode. There were some really good bits, like the scenes with Sam's character, but for the most part, the scenes felt terribly paced, pointless, and even cartoonish at times to me. And I'm also going to go ahead and kind of defend northern outrage right now: yes, they have the right to be a bit a mad at Jon for coming back a kneeler but they should also move on for the most part (aside maybe some lingering bitterness and sense of betrayal) when he tells them he did it to fight the dead, and that's pretty much what happens. He gets called out by lady Mormont, the place erupts in agreement, he states his case, and everyone just kind of has to bite their tongue and deal with it. The only person who doesn't is Sansa in a later scene when she cuts the bullshit and calls him out on lying to his people. Remember, Dany pledged her forces to him on that boat before Jon swore loyalty and gave up his crown. It was after that pledge that he gave up his crown and essentially went against the wishes of his people. Sansa calls him out in private because she thinks that was his true motive for kneeling and she was right.

Also, the dragon riding scene was dumb and took up valuable screen time. Screen time that could have developed the plot a bit better, helped the pacing of some scenes, or even given us a better dragon riding scene. Jon and Dany's scenes as a whole really felt like a rom com to me and it felt so out of place. I also don't believe this romance at all. It was not earned in season 7 in my opinion and showing a quick bunch of scenes of them having fun after they've already been declared a couple doesn't do it for me, especially when both characters have had way better romances with much better chemistry and believability in earlier seasons.

The pacing was god awful. Scenes where things actually happen feel like they're moving at a million miles an hour like the Yara rescue scene, and reunion scenes that could have had a point to the story and been emotionally statisfying at the same time ended up overstaying their welcome and feeling pointless aside from the emotional satisfaction. Jon's reunion scenes with Arya and Sam felt emotionally moving and they served a point, as did Arya's and Gendry's, but the others really did not seem like something worth wasting time on. I love Sansa and Tyrion, but was there really a point to their scene? Nothing was shared that wasn't just a rehash of previous events and discussions(Sansa is Lady of Winterfell, Tyrion is Hand of the Queen, Sansa doesn't like Dany, nobody trusts the Lannister army is really coming to help but what choice do they have, etc). The plot was not advanced, characters were not developed. It was just a scene with some one-liners and emotional payoff.

I could go on for a long time about what I felt was bad in that episode but this is already long as is, so I'll quickly touch on some things I liked and end it there. I loved Sam's scenes. In fact, I'd say the latter half of the episode is pretty good to great at times. I also liked Jon being confronted by the northern lords and ladies publicly like that, I liked Arya giving Jon some perspective on where Sansa is coming from and to remember his family, and I liked Sansa calling Jon's true motives out. I'm excited to see more scenes like the ones from the last 30 or so minutes happen in these last episodes. Not a good episode but it had its moments.

So here's my personal theory I've had for a while about who will rule the 7 Kingdoms at the end of the day:

First off, I think Daenerys dies and Jon takes the Iron Throne.

Kingdom of the North: Sansa Stark
Kingdom of the Rock : Tyrion Lannister
Kingdom of the Vale: Robin Arryn
Kingdom of the Stormlands: Gendry Baratheon via legitimization by Jon
Kingdom of the Reach: Samwell Tarly, again via legitimization
Kingdom of the Iron Islands: Yara Greyjoy
Kingdom of Dorne: Does it matter at this point in the show? The show forgot they exist, so whoever is in charge currently. Maybe Missandei could get appointed after the war since she is a great advisor, Daenerys would be dead, and the seat is vacant as far as we know.

My only problem is that it looks too clean and fan-servicey to have all these likable characters end up in these spots, especially Gendry who has no experience ruling or leading. Still, the 7 Kingdoms will need to be given rulers when this is all said and done and it's too late to draw up new characters and prove they can rule. We have to work with the roster we have, and while Gendry doesn't have the experience, he could potentially have the right last name. Same with Sam. Sam might not have much experience leading, but his family is from the region and he could have the right last name. Being best friends with the eventual king never hurt either. The last 2 seasons have also shown restraint in killing important characters. Characters we like have died like Thoros of Myr, as I'm sure many will this season, but none that were really important to the story have, I don't think.

During Bran's vision of the Night King being created, it was revealed that their original purpose was to wage war against the First Men until they went rogue and turned on their creators. I think they've kept that original "programming" by continuing to seek the destruction of mankind. Their motivation is as simple as that, and they don't need dialogue to justify themselves as an unrelenting. uncompromising force of destruction that contrasts with all the human factions and their petty squabbling.