Game of Thrones

[MarkoRaj]

Just wanted 1 or 2 main guys to get their jotters tbh. That's what has always set GoT apart from other series' in my eyes. Good Vs evil is always such low stakes when you know the good guys are always going to live to fight another day.

I really liked not being able to see a fucking thing, it gave a real idea of what it would be like to be right in the middle of it. Some seriously tense moments and some great fight scenes

Overall a 7/10 but if even just 1 or 2 shocking deaths would have bumped it to a 8.5

[Oleksandr]

55 minutes ago, ali_91 said:

Cheese in a mouse trap. Simple but effective. 

Too easy these days

[DA Baracus]

Anyway, looks like 'plot armour' is this week's buzz term given how many folk have parroted it.

Folk talking about the show 'passing the books' are wrong. The show only took some elements of the books to make its own story. It's not, and never has been, a retelling of the books. If it was we'd have had fun in Dorne with the Targaryen prince and Griff/Jon Connington and his lads taking Storm's End in preparation to storm King's Landing to install Aegon as king. Since he's Danaerys' nephew and the rightful heir, that would make Jon Snow someone different in the books, and he wouldn't be Aegon. We would have had Victarion sailing the Iron Fleet across the Narrow Sea and loads of other shit.

 

Anyway, I loved it. Lyanna Mormont going out like an absolute boss was heartbreaking. Always in our hearts! Jorah as well. Tears. Beric was always a goner (he wasn't a priest so was never bringing anyone back as he didn't have the ability to do so). Edd was sadly too unimportant. Theon went out well and can be proud of his efforts. Where was Yohn Royce? Not really important. When did Gilly get a bit chubby?

Interesting to see what happens next! Will they remember that Dorne exists and could be a very valuable ally? Will Dario still be a thing and fire across the sea with more troops? Wonder how many fighting men the North/Dragon coalition has now? They still have 2 dragons, which is a big advantage. There's still the small matter of Jon being the rightful heir as well. Plus what is Bran's purpose now? He's surely defunct now? What about Jaime? He said he'd fight for the living and kept his word. Doubt he'd be welcome back in King's King's Landing, but can he be trusted? Could they pick up allies and troops if they march south, like the folk in the Riverlands, most notably Edmure and the Tully army? 

If Sansa wants the North to rule themselves, who are they ruling? The Glovers are presumably gone. The Umbers are done in. The Mormonts are spent. I think Alys Karstark is still alive (we saw her in that episode and never saw her dying).

Tormund and the Big Woman to mate.

We're surely in for Cleganebowl, which is what a song of Ice and Fire is really about, and has been all along. Ice is the cold, undead Mountain, and fire is the seething burnt Hound. 

Mountain to become the new Night King when he gets a bit of dragon glass in the chest by mistake. The south will be the new Land of Always Winter and a new Wall will be built across the wee strip of land where Moat Cailin is.

[DA Baracus]

Varys is still to die, as per Melisandre in season 7.

Next episode will be a dust settling one. Episode 5 will be the last battle surely?

[D'Jaffo]

Agree with this.
What great commanders are folk talking about? There's load of great warriors but no commanders. The Unsullied always follow orders, not formulate battle plans. The Dothraki have no tactics other than ride at folk full pelt. Jon was shown to be a shit strategist in the Battle of the b*****ds. Davos has always been an advisor, not a strategist. Jaime perhaps could be decent at battle planning but we haven't seen it before (his old man gave the orders). Danaerys has also been proven to be shit at making battle plans in the past.
The only good strategist they had was Tyrion, and he made a good point about being stuck in the crypt. His involvement in the initial battle plan might have been tempered by Danaerys raging at him.

Guys like Stannis, Ned and Tywin were all strategists. Any one of of those would’ve been better than Jaime, Davos or Jon.

[DA Baracus]

Season 3, episode 6, when Melisandre first meets Arya and issues a prophecy: “I see a darkness in you. And in that darkness, eyes staring back at me: brown eyes, blue eyes, green eyes. Eyes you’ll shut forever. We will meet again."

[killieshire]

On 22/04/2019 at 19:45, killieshire said:

Great episode where the build up emotional resonance with the characters (highlights being anything with Tormund, Sansa and Theon, Brienne’s knighting, Arya and the hound) and also begin to tease out how the game could be played (Sansa and Danny’s discussion, Jon and Dany at the end). So in true GoT fashion we know best layed plans result in a beheading/ poisoning/ knifing/ etc... so I’m now thinking they are almost all going to die and the White Walkers will continue on South, probably a couple of randoms to survive with a Stark (so let’s got for Pod, Sam and Sansa).

If they do break the formula then my money is on Arya topping the Night King. Her being the resident Assassin and the White Walkers being a bit of an affront to death and probably the many faced God.

I’d still have preferred my first prediction. Think most others did well on predicting the actual minor character deaths, though glad Tormund and Davos survived.

While it was difficult to see in places I thought that was great, really added to the sense of terror and dread. The music was spot on. Mormonts take the prize for best deaths, particularly Lyanna. Night King wins for best diss, both to Dany and then to Jon, so a go FY to the supposed equivalents.

As others have mentioned the sheer number of main characters surviving is a bit of let down, particularly given the almost improbable odds they were against. Sam would never have survived.

Final point I have to say it’s probably the greatest technical feat Television has ever seen. The sheer volume of shots, edits, characters, etc.. was staggering. Fantastically made show even if the plot did have some let downs.

[DiegoDiego]

Varys is still to die, as per Melisandre in season 7.
Next episode will be a dust settling one. Episode 5 will be the last battle surely?

Melisandre also said some stuff about Stannis. I'll take her prophecies with a pinch of salt.

I'm glad Lyanna Mormont is dead. I thought she was a terrible character and as someone else said, that first swat from the giant would have severely incapacitated her. It was a ridiculous, fan-service of a death.

I'm not sure why The Night King didn't just burn Brann in a fly-by. Suppose it would have made shite TV.

[sergie's no1 fan]

The Hound survived, don't give a f**k about anything else.

Fair fucks to Lady Mourmount, went out like a champ.

[Rodhull]

Pretty sure there were multiple giants when the dead marched past the wall last season so a little surprised they only showed one in this episode (I think). Wonder if it was just a budgetary decision in the end.

[Bairnardo]

Watching the Dothraki going out like that was absolutely chilling tv. Superb.

That was straight up good v evil. I want the main characters to go out at eachothers hands not some fucking zombies so surprised but not disappointed I guess. What a breathtaking 90 mins though. Edge of seat stuff.

[PB1994]

Does anybody else feel a bit disappointed the pretty much gave away the ending with the scene between Melisandre and Arya.

Mainly stating she would be killing people with blue eyes. I think it would have been much more subtle if they left it at the part about what you say to the god of the dead.

[Savage Henry]

Visually, that was stunning, with the only CGI failings being the dragons. First hour pretty dull, last half hour or so absolutely terrific. I really wish some of the story was stronger, and the usual suspects still can’t act, but for a show that, save for about maybe a dozen episodes, I’ve never really loved, that was a generally enjoyable episode.

[DA Baracus]

Just now, PB1994 said:

Does anybody else feel a bit disappointed the pretty much gave away the ending with the scene between Melisandre and Arya.

Mainly stating she would be killing people with blue eyes. I think it would have been much more subtle if they left it at the part about what you say to the god of the dead.

 

[Dazzle]

I think if that was any other show it would be considered excellent TV, for me though its only good in GoT terms. Hardhome for me is still the best episode of any TV show ever.

[Bairnardo]

Theres so much to talk about.

Bran warged into the crows presumably to see the night king, but what the f**k was he doing right up until the end? Was he running shit? Was he purely engaged in luring the night king in?

Lets see what Cersei has up her sleeve now. Should be some proper deviousness next week

[UpInTheAyr]

16 minutes ago, Rodhull said:

Pretty sure there were multiple giants when the dead marched past the wall last season so a little surprised they only showed one in this episode (I think). Wonder if it was just a budgetary decision in the end.

Probably, same reason you don't see much of Ghost, sure I read somewhere that his little cameo in ep 2 cost something like 800k.

[PB1994]

 

I don’t have an issue with that one to be fair. Was long enough ago that it could have meant a few things but I just think doing it again in this episode kind of left it with everyone knowing how the episode would end.

Not trying to take away from the episode at all as I thought it was brilliant.

[Have some faith in Magic]

The bit in the crypt after the night king gave Jon the look and raised the dead was brilliant. Should have seen it coming a mile away though. 

 

[Thistle_do_nicely]

2 hours ago, JamieStevenson said:

Had to be a sneaky assassin to get the Night King. He'd take anyone in a straight up 1v1 fight.

it could have been both though - either someone (Jaime for the whole "fighting to defend the kid he pushed out of a window so long ago + living up to the Kingslayer moniker" aspects to it that would have been a bit more satisfying with the potential for added sacrifice, or Jon given his entire involvement in GoT has so heavily been linked with the NK for so long) gets involved in a fight and creates room for the sneak attack, or Arya sneaks in and creates room for someone else to deal the deathblow. The route they went down just about could have worked as an end to the NK, it was just handled so god damn ham-fisted.

Saw a good summation of the problems with it elsewhere:

1) Arya being the one to do it, despite her having zero relevance to the white walker story arc, rather than someone like Jon or Bran or even Sam
2) the manner in which she did it, in an anticlimactic *teleports behind you* OMAE WA MOU SHINDEIRU! ass-pull 

Spoiler

 

3) the fact that the threat that's been built up over the past 8 seasons as an apocalyptic final-boss-of-westeros gets killed so unceremoniously halfway through the season without even actually having done anything of consequence after crossing the wall
4) the white walker storyline conclusion now meaning that Dany-vs-Cersei is going to be the "final showdown" of GoT, despite that being irrelevant and inconsequential compared to how important defeating NK was supposed to be
5) The fact that we didn't get any juicy details or plot twists about NK or Bran. How did NK know ahead of time that Dany's dragons would be coming and have the trap set up to capture one? What's the deal with NK chasing after Bran? Does he have any motive beyond just wanting everyone dead? None of these things will ever get a satisfying answer now. And Bran no longer seems to serve a purpose.

In fact Bran could have told theon "Theon... just stand behind me for a minute, my Deus ex Machina is about to come and you needn't sacrifice your life pointlessly"

Edited April 29, 2019 by Thistle_do_nicely