This was probably the best written episode of the season. And the one that was closest to the style of the rest of the series. But that shouldn't be confused for an endorsement. From I production standpoint It seems to me that they wrote the last episdoe first and really refined the script. Then they wrote most of the second episode, and story boarded a big battle for the third and fifth episodes. Lastly they phoned-in the scripts for everything else this season to make sure that they ended where they did in the last episode.
It's a bad sign, that even with the huge budget and extra time, that they couldn't pull together a tighter story arc and scripts. Some people blame the lack of source material in the last few seasons, but I wonder if it has more to do with GRRM knowing how it ends without figuring out how it gets there. The show producers sure couldn't
This season was pretty sloppy, but I don't think it's so bad that it will destroy the legacy of the show, ala Lost, BSG, etc. They could have really benefited from 13 episode seasons from the start, or at least 10 episode seasons in season 7 and 8. The story really suffered with the accelerated scripts. They basically eliminated the first and second act, and chunks of the third, from every episode in the seventh and eight season. I can't understand why HBO wouldn't have ordered more episodes? Budget and money-flow? Maybe, but GoT was there cash cow for years. Maybe it had to do with the actors contracts? I know many of them want to work on other projects.
So was Jon ditching the wall and becoming the king beyond the wall? Or is here really no more wall and that was just a way to keep him alive?
There is no need for the Night's Watch anymore. The threat of the undead is gone, and the freemen aren't generally going to harass the north anymore. If anything, it functions as a means of allowing high-born to self-exile in lieu of death or lifetime imprisonment. Bran and the other nobles had to have know this, so they just sent Jon there as a way of pacifying Greyworm and the hordes.
I'm not sure that Jon will become the King beyond the wall, or just another clan leader? In the end, I think he wanted to go north, so this was probably for the best for him.
I really love Sansa's character development throughout the series. Her coronation was definitely one of my favorite parts of the episode.
Yeah, that's a good point about Jon. I'm wondering if he'll be like Mance Rayder and become King beyond the wall...
Sansa was the most developed character arc of all the characters, and one of the few they did properly. They did a great job with her character and costumes.
So based on the LOTR discussion we had a while back.
The 2nd half of last night's episode reminded me a lot of the ending to LOTR. Nothing particularly memorable except for the fact that it was just a series of ever-longer goodbyes.
The LotR homages were strong in this episode. I turned to my wife at one point and asked if they were really going to Tolkein this ending.
Narrator: They Did.
Sam presents a book called A Song of Fire and Ice which is a call to the got books and something that Bilbo and Frodo did in lotr.
Arya gets on a boat and goes west.
The aforementioned, lots of endings.
Coronation and "rules wisely"
others
Right? Wouldn't Yara and the Prince of Dorne, and basically anyone else sitting at that table, want independence as well?
The Iron Islands were always an independent kingdom. I don't know why Yara was there to begin with?!
Dorne should have also declared independence too and would have been justified in doing so. They were the only principality in the seven kingdoms, and had semi-autonomy. They were the only Kingdom to successfully resist the original Tragaryn invasion millennia ago.
The other five kingdoms? I went into the episode expecting the balkanization of the seven kingdoms. But it sort of makes sense that they would have wanted to stick together. They had similar enough cultures and religion. Most were pretty messed up from the recent wars, loss of leadership, or economic collapse. Only the Reach had the resources to go fully independent and self sustain, but with the tyrells gone they lacked the leadership and politics to pull it off.
I did like Tyrion's early scenes where he found Jamie & Cersi. He really did care about them like any sibling would. Not sure if he relayed finding them to Sansa/Jon/Arya for their closure, but it would be only a matter of time for their bodies to eventually be found during cleanup.
The Iron Throne literally just within Dany's reach before she died was a bit bittersweet. I don't mind Drogon melting the thing down. It seemed to fit within the scene as any child's rage-fit would.
Tyrion finding the bodies was there for dramatic effect. I'm not sure how practical it would have been in reality. The bodies would have been found eventually... but it could have been many months to years, depending on if/when KL and the red keep was ever rebuilt.
I just watched the series finale of Big Bang theory. It was by far more satisfying than the series finale of GOT.
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They built up the battle with the night king for 7 (?) seasons and it lasted half of one episode and one could barely make out what was happening.
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GOT was an epic series that had a wrap up reminiscent of a cheap, straight to DVD, B- rated movie.
BBT was a cookie cutter ending for a niche-based but ultimately generic sit-com. The framework for that finale was obvious from the second season. Wrap up everyone's arcs neatly: the normies achieve milestones as people in normal families, and Sheldon finds humility and humanity during a high point in his life - recognizing his friends and how they aided him.
The army of the night king was the low point in the series. You are right that they built it up, then waived it away with a poor cinematography and writing. It's like the show writers always viewed it as a distraction from the main story.
Totally agree with your assessment of the wrap up.
