On the surface, I was somewhat disappointed, but not upset with the finale.
I was surprised at how many characters survived. I was expecting a much bleaker wrap up.
I think part of it stems from how they built up the foreboding in the first part of the ep.
Walking through the ruins. Confrontation with Greyworm.
Seeing the army together, and Dani winding them up talking about marching across the world.
Made it feel like a huge confrontation was brimming.
Then nothing.
(BTW - how did Jon leave Greyworm slitting throats, then he is standing there at the top of the steps when Jon walked up them?)
I suppose this was about the best we could hope for.
I said all along it couldn't be Dani or Jon ruling. And it wasn't.
Rewatching this evening, I was reminded of something I meant to mention.
Huge props to the CGI guys on Drogon in this final episode!
Everything about the dragon in the finale felt sooooo real.
Don't get me wrong. The dragons have been great all series, but this episode was totally stand-out.
Taking off after delivering Dani.
Waking up to check out Jon.
The reaction after she died. Especially him trying to 'wake' her up.
Then flying off with her.
tay666 wrote: . . . Huge props to the CGI guys on Drogon . . . The dragons have been great all series . . .
Agreed - the special effects work (computerised & practical) has been superb.
Pretty much EVERYTHING about this show has been off-the-charts amazing since the beginning.
It's a shame that (arguably) the EASIEST thing to get right with such a robust character-driven story (I.E. the script) was what let it down this final season.
What I don't see ANYONE talking about are the flashbacks to Tolkien - Drogon, for one, melting the Iron Throne was very much a great example. Arya doing the Grey Havens thing at the end... JRRT was such a huge inspiration to Martin, and I do believe that George wanted to emulate some of those LOTR elements into the ending. I thought that I had read that somewhere...
crazy joe
"Many miles away----- something rises to the surface...
tay666 wrote: . . . Huge props to the CGI guys on Drogon . . . The dragons have been great all series . . .
Agreed - the special effects work (computerised & practical) has been superb.
Pretty much EVERYTHING about this show has been off-the-charts amazing since the beginning.
It's a shame that (arguably) the EASIEST thing to get right with such a robust character-driven story (I.E. the script) was what let it down this final season.
.
Exactly.
HBO wanted a 10 episode season, but B&B said, nah, we only need 6.
4 more episodes, to spread things out, and make things make more sense, would have gone a long way.
tay666 wrote: . . . Huge props to the CGI guys on Drogon . . . The dragons have been great all series . . .
Agreed - the special effects work (computerised & practical) has been superb.
Pretty much EVERYTHING about this show has been off-the-charts amazing since the beginning.
It's a shame that (arguably) the EASIEST thing to get right with such a robust character-driven story (I.E. the script) was what let it down this final season.
.
Exactly.
HBO wanted a 10 episode season, but B&B said, nah, we only need 6.
4 more episodes, to spread things out, and make things make more sense, would have gone a long way.
However...
If you add up the total run time for the six episodes from this year - with four of those episodes running closer to 1:20 - it sort of works out to 8 regular-length episodes... sort of...
Granted, not the 10 eps. that could have been used to tell a proper story ... but not really six either in my view.
If GRRM ever finishes the series of books maybe we'll get a more satisfying ending?? But I'm thinking that both finishing the series and delivering an ending fans can embrace are two very big maybes.
Helena is here at hand;
And the youth, mistook by me,
Pleading for a lover's fee.
Shall we their fond pageant see?
Lord, what fools these mortals be! -Puck
Okay, I've had a few days to process the final episode and I think it suffered from the same malady that plagued the end of the final LOTR movie. (Crazy Joe is right about about the similarities between the two series). With so many storylines to tie up, there was really no way to finish the story with anywhere near as much drama and intensity as we saw in the penultimate episode. Yes there was anxiety over who would rule Westeros, but even that didn't have me on the edge of my seat the way I had hoped it would. To me, it all played more like a series of loose fitting vignettes rather than one cohesive episode. That being said, I can't fault the performers. No one really seemed to be mailing it in. If I could give an Emmy to one character from the final episode, it would have to be Drogon! Every scene he was in was awesome, and not just because he's a dragon. The special effects team really made you feel his pain and barely controlled rage.
Jon killing Dany didn't surprise me, but a knife between the ribs during an embrace just seemed completely out of place for the character we've come to know. Maybe that was meant to show us how much the game had changed him?
Maybe the books will be different, but what has happened that qualifies Arya to be a ship's Captain? For me, that ending really came out of left field. I hoped she would find her wolf, and ride off into the sunset. Instead, she sailed...minus a wolf.
I guess if Martin writes it that way, I'm okay with Bran ruling the six kingdoms, but the way he's been portrayed in the TV series makes me wonder if he was a good choice. The total absence of emotion and passion are traits that I personally would not want in a leader. He may know the history of Westeros, and can see glimpses of the future, but it doesn't seem to have helped much thus far. If he came to King's Landing knowing he would become the King, why didn't he know to tell someone to kill Dany before she destroyed a city, and killed countless noncombatants?
I've also been a little surprised that there's been no uproar (at least none I'm aware of) from the Women's Movement over Dany being killed in what could be construed by some as an act of domestic violence, murdered by a lover she thought she could trust? The show has always been criticized for it's portrayal of women in general, but has been able to counterbalanced that with several strong female characters. The closing scene debating prioritizing the rebuilding of brothels (I thought) would also come under fire.
Finally, what's everyone's opinion? Was Jon just escorting the Wildlings back to their homes, or was he abandoning the Watch to essentially become The King Beyond the Wall?
"So cry 'Crivens' and let loose the clan Mac Feegle!" - Tiffany Aching
Finally, what's everyone's opinion? Was Jon just escorting the Wildlings back to their homes, or was he abandoning the Watch to essentially become The King Beyond the Wall?
The more pressing question is... Is there a Watch any more?! For that matter,
was there a Castle Black any longer?! (I thought the Night Dragon destroyed that
and the wall...but it's all back?! Neverrrrrrrrmind!)
Finally, what's everyone's opinion? Was Jon just escorting the Wildlings back to their homes, or was he abandoning the Watch to essentially become The King Beyond the Wall?
The more pressing question is... Is there a Watch any more?! For that matter,
was there a Castle Black any longer?! (I thought the Night Dragon destroyed that
and the wall...but it's all back?! Neverrrrrrrrmind!)
The portion of the Wall breeched was at Eastwatch - the rest of the structure is intact. Castle Black was untouched. As far as the Night Watch is concerned, what did Grey Worm or The Dothraki know about it's dissolution? Likely nothing. Sending Jon up there was like B'rer Rabbit gettin' tossed into the Briar Patch. He's free. With the Free Folk. And Ghost.
crazy joe
"Many miles away----- something rises to the surface...
Joe - yeah - it was still enjoyable - but not at the same level as previous seasons. Just fell a bit flat for me.
Mark - I never picked up on any woke stuff about female characters? (rather glad about that). Also never thought about similarities between LOTR and GOT. They must be there if other folks have picked up on them, but it went straight over my head
Buc - it was the castle to the EAST of Castle Black that got demolished. I may have got confused about what Jon was up to - but as far as I could tell, there is no need for "the watch" and he went North with the freefolk, to live his life as he (and they) want. There's nothing really stopping family visits from the South
The more pressing question is... Is there a Watch any more?! For that matter,
was there a Castle Black any longer?! (I thought the Night Dragon destroyed that
and the wall...but it's all back?! Neverrrrrrrrmind!)
King Bran says the Watch still exists, so I guess it does? Only a small portion of the Wall's eastern end was destroyed, so they might be able to construct something to fill the gap, but will they bother? King Bran is the only one that might know for sure if the White Walker threat is over for good.
"So cry 'Crivens' and let loose the clan Mac Feegle!" - Tiffany Aching
As for the season overall, I don't have a problem with what happened, but how it was presented.
I have no doubt that this is the direction GRRM is going with the books. It's just the show only gave us a sketch of what is going to happen. A rough outline.
By compressing the events into the short number of episodes, they took away all the stuff in between that makes it all feel more real.
When they started teleporting between locations last season, they robbed us of the set up between events that we had gotten before. They resorted to telling us stuff instead of showing it.
We used to find things out by experiencing them when people were on the road, or at inns and such.
How hard would it have been to follow Arya and the Hound a bit. Maybe have them stop to see Hotpie on the way to Kings Landing. While there for food they could have heard the northerners complaining about the foreign queen. Talking about being left to themselves and out of the rest of the nonsense.
B&B were all about the destination, when most of us wanted to experience the journey.