Game of Thrones Season 8

[Springfield]

I aren’t into the lore, or the books, as much as some of you.  What do you want though?

 

Either my dude dies or he defeats Winterfell.  He died, so who’s gonna do it?  Jon, Dany?  Both lame and predictable.  That leaves a secondary character to do it.  I think, given Arya’s journey, she’s perfect.  Who else?

 

Another compelling outcome would have to been to have the WW win that battle with just a few escaping.  Maybe Bran stands up at the end to unit with the Night King.  Arya goes for the kill, fails and dies, then Bran says “hello father” stands up and cut to black.

 

But anyhow, that’s about as good as they could have done it.  3 episodes to wrap up loose ends and figure out who takes the throne.  Just in time for a Dany heel turn.

[purbeast]

WTF do some of you all expect Bran to do?  Dude is a cripple who can't even move. 

 

Some of you would have been happier if a cripple who can't even move stabbed the Night King, but you're mad that a trained assassin who can change faces killed him?

 

I'm also pretty confident we're going to have more of an explanation about what Bran was doing in the next episode or two.

 

The only things that were a bit disappointing to me is how damn dark the whole scene was and that the dragons were basically pointless and Dany and Jon were on a joyride for half of the battle while their army was getting mauled.  They could have used the dragons to burn more of those ****ers.  But they did explain that a bit on the behind the scenes clip they showed about last nights episode, which made a bit more sense.

[Momma There Goes That Man]

7 minutes ago, purbeast said:

WTF do some of you all expect Bran to do?  Dude is a cripple who can't even move. 

 

Do something? Anything? He’s the most powerful mortal in the world and he used all of his powers to get a better view of the battle. That’s it. Go back in History. Tell us something important we’ve missed or that might help. 

 

9 minutes ago, purbeast said:

I'm also pretty confident we're going to have more of an explanation about what Bran was doing in the next episode or two.

 

I’m not. They’ve abandoned his character’s purpose at this point 

 

9 minutes ago, purbeast said:

But they did explain that a bit on the behind the scenes clip they showed about last nights episode, which made a bit more sense.

 

If they need to explain stuff on a behind the scenes clip it’s either bad story telling or bad directing 

 

[Hersh]

6 hours ago, CRobi21 said:

 

 

 

I get that but that’s too obvious. 

[S.T.real,lights,out]

8 hours ago, Momma There Goes That Man said:

 

It’s just ridiculous and disappointing. No lore advancement, no past or motive explained. Just show up, wreak havoc and die. It was exactly what I feared 

 

I felt the same exact way. There were parts of the episode that were amazing. They did an amazing job of showing the power of the army. There was nothing that could be done to even really slow them down. 

 

Things i hated:

 

1. The Night King/White Walkers have been feared for 1,000s of years and in one episode, one battle, they are all gone? Just like that? All they have to show is the killed a bunch of soldiers?

 

2. Bran. What is this guys deal. The most powerful all seeing dude and he does nothing and says nothing. What was the point of him becoming the raven during the entire battle? Looking to make sure Arya was coming? Felt they missed a huge opportunity with him.

 

3. Arya is by far my favorite character so i was excited that she was the one to kill the NK, thought everything happening for a reason was pretty cool, and the the whole dropping the dagger and killing the NK similar to what she did when she was practicing with Lady Brianna, but i really dont like that she just jumped out of nowhere to kill him. We could of had her take the form of something or someone to get closer to the NK? I felt it was lazy.

 

4. Really worried about the last 3 episodes. Im worried that its going to be nothing but dialogue the next two weeks until we make it to KL. And seeing how a ton of Thrones fans hated the first two episodes of this season....well be prepared for more of that.

 

5. The Crips scene was so stupid. They bring no one back from the dead that we can recognize and then no one we care about lost in the crips. Sansa and TL have their moment of we are ready to stop hiding and fight...and what do they do? Run to another area of the crips and hide. lol.   

 

I need to stop thinking and expecting so much from the show and just sit back and enjoy it. I was so excited for the last week for this episode expecting so many people to die and something really crazy happening to the walkers...then we got nothing. A few meh character lost and the rest are fine.  

 

[Elessar78]

Thought the episode was really enjoyable. 

 

17 minutes ago, S.T.real,lights,out said:

 

I felt the same exact way. There were parts of the episode that were amazing. They did an amazing job of showing the power of the army. There was nothing that could be done to even really slow them down. 

 

Things i hated:

 

1. The Night King/White Walkers have been feared for 1,000s of years and in one episode, one battle, they are all gone? Just like that? All they have to show is the killed a bunch of soldiers?

after they took wiped out the wildlings, destroyed the wall that had stood for 1,000 years

 

Quote

 

2. Bran. What is this guys deal. The most powerful all seeing dude and he does nothing and says nothing. What was the point of him becoming the raven during the entire battle? Looking to make sure Arya was coming? Felt they missed a huge opportunity with him.

When was he made all powerful? All he has been able to to do is tap into the history of Westeros. 

 

Quote

 

3. Arya is by far my favorite character so i was excited that she was the one to kill the NK, thought everything happening for a reason was pretty cool, and the the whole dropping the dagger and killing the NK similar to what she did when she was practicing with Lady Brianna, but i really dont like that she just jumped out of nowhere to kill him. We could of had her take the form of something or someone to get closer to the NK? I felt it was lazy.

They established in the library scene that as long as she didn't make a sound she was practically invisible. 

 

Quote

 

4. Really worried about the last 3 episodes. Im worried that its going to be nothing but dialogue the next two weeks until we make it to KL. And seeing how a ton of Thrones fans hated the first two episodes of this season....well be prepared for more of that.

****, ****, ****, ****, ****

 

Quote

 

5. The Crips scene was so stupid. They bring no one back from the dead that we can recognize and then no one we care about lost in the crips. Sansa and TL have their moment of we are ready to stop hiding and fight...and what do they do? Run to another area of the crips and hide. lol.   

 

I need to stop thinking and expecting so much from the show and just sit back and enjoy it. I was so excited for the last week for this episode expecting so many people to die and something really crazy happening to the walkers...then we got nothing. A few meh character lost and the rest are fine.  

 

Maybe it's your fault that you had preconceptions going into the episode.

1 hour ago, purbeast said:

WTF do some of you all expect Bran to do?  Dude is a cripple who can't even move. 

 

Some of you would have been happier if a cripple who can't even move stabbed the Night King, but you're mad that a trained assassin who can change faces killed him?

 

I'm also pretty confident we're going to have more of an explanation about what Bran was doing in the next episode or two.

 

The only things that were a bit disappointing to me is how damn dark the whole scene was and that the dragons were basically pointless and Dany and Jon were on a joyride for half of the battle while their army was getting mauled.  They could have used the dragons to burn more of those ****ers.  But they did explain that a bit on the behind the scenes clip they showed about last nights episode, which made a bit more sense.

They wanted him to pull out some psychic dagger and go all professor X on them ****ers. 

 

I loved Walking Dead when it came out. Then I thought the story got boring and repetitive. I quit watching. Some of these people, if you don't like the show—don't watch it. 

Edited April 29, 2019 by Elessar78

[JamesMadisonSkins]

I understand some of the issues people are raising in here. I think they could have developed some things a little better. But at the same time, any time the show took time to develop lore people found a way to **** about that, too. So I'm not sure they could have / should have done much more than they already did. Would I have liked some sort of finality with the WW? Sure. But with 3 episodes to go, we may still get that.

 

Bran has been inhibited in his visions about the WW and gaining history from them once he was marked by the NK. Maybe now, if he's still the 3 Eyed Raven, he can go back and gather more information. But if they don't do that, I won't be too worried.

 

Bottom line is that cinematic approach was unbelievable and the symphony music throughout reallly made it feel like a masterpiece. Was it hard to see at times? Sure. But the entire time I, and the people I was watching with, were holding our breath, nervous, on edge, terrified, sad, scared ... I've never actually felt that feeling before, where I had pure dread for over an hour. And up until the very last scene, I did not see that coming.

 

And you can really appreciate how this has been built. Going all the way back to Season 1 ... Arya has been groomed for and been building to this event. Unbelievable long-term commitment to the bit, and nobody saw it coming (outside of a random guess) even after all the clues that were dropped over the years.

 

What an episode.

 

3 more 80 minute episodes. I think next week we get some insight ... somehow ... about the WW. I can't see them just being like "ait guys that was nuts but lets roll south" ... gotta be a bit more resolution there. Whether through Bran visions or Sam insights that he gained at the Citadel and hasn't had a chance to share yet.

 

***Also a little appreciation for the little things .... like the Children of the Forest turning man into the Night King against the weirwood tree with a dragon glass dagger to the belly ... and the Night King finding his end under the weirwood tree with a dragon glass dagger to the belly.

Edited April 29, 2019 by JamesMadisonSkins

[DogofWar1]

I feel like Bran maybe manipulated things to get the pieces into position.  He knows the Night King wants him, so he can't run or hide, he needs to be there in an open spot.

 

He also gave the dagger she used to Arya after he became the Three-Eyed Raven.  My guess if he pushed the pieces on the board to where they needed to be to ensure this would work, perhaps with the Red lady's help, after all she is basically the last person Arya sees before slinking off to kill the Night King.

 

While I'd like them to have explained Bran's plan a bit more, and hopefully they will, I think there's enough evidence to suggest that basically the whole battle was a distraction to get the Night King into that courtyard.

 

I'd say what it's like but that would be a potential spoiler for another major franchise, but anyone who has seen it will likely know what I'm talking about.

[Hersh]

I do agree that the crypts scene was a major missed opportunity. Some of the fights scenes were too dark to fully appreciate. Couldn’t tell anything.

[Elessar78]

38 minutes ago, JamesMadisonSkins said:

***Also a little appreciation for the little things .... like the Children of the Forest turning man into the Night King against the weirwood tree with a dragon glass dagger to the belly ... and the Night King finding his end under the weirwood tree with a dragon glass dagger to the belly.

It was Valyrian Steel dagger, but still I see your point.

 

It's also nice that Arya is an agent of death. And she kills Death (or the embodiment of "the dead").

 

There was a long moment when the NK had walked up to Bran and I was wondering if they were somehow going to merge into one. Which would've been disappointing.

[Warhead36]

While I loved the episode I will say more people should have died, including at least one MAJOR character. The deaths were fairly minor for the most part, I mean I love Sir Jorah but when I mean major I mean someone in the first tier and Theon isn't in that tier either. I'm talking like a Sansa or Tyrion or Jamie.

[Mooka]

Episode was awesome.

 

Unfortunately the writing and storytelling has run its course. Have to just enjoy the last few episodes and it'll end. Not sure what's going to happen in these last few episodes; fighting Cersei seems pretty trivial after defeating the dead. 

[Elessar78]

5 minutes ago, Warhead36 said:

While I loved the episode I will say more people should have died, including at least one MAJOR character. The deaths were fairly minor for the most part, I mean I love Sir Jorah but when I mean major I mean someone in the first tier and Theon isn't in that tier either. I'm talking like a Sansa or Tyrion or Jamie.

Why? Wouldn't that have made it predictable? All the lead-up to this week was how many key characters were going to die. 

 

"Fans": GoT is all about fan service now

(No key characters die) (besides Jorah and Beric and Dothraki)

 

"Fans": GoT didn't give us what we were expecting. 

[Bang]

i enjoyed it, but i am not really a fan of the style in which the battle is shot.. It's good in spurts,, like the rushes and hand to hand combat .. he chaos is well represented with wildly flailing cameras and so much darkness.. but at some point, i need to see a bit of what is going on just to help me keep up.

So many major characters, i had a really hard time seeing who i was looking at.

i am still foggy on who all survived. Some they showed us, others they didn't.

I liked the end of the Night King, and as far as Bran.. he knows how it's going to play out from the beginning, right?

 

The other thing i felt never got answered for me was what happened to Jon's dragon. I didn't think the Night King hit him with the spear, and the landing wasn't that bad. i kept expecting him to come back around but he didn't.

the mid-air dragon battling was very cool. the ice dragon wrecking Winterfell was very cool. Little Mormont taking down the giant was cool, and the giant's arrival was VERY cool.

 

The crypts..  yes, they did miss a chance for some good terror. BUT...  ok, they  know the night king raises the DEAD...  so they put the most vulnerable people in with the DEAD?

Some things could have been really well done in there. 

 

So now smash Cerci and then figure out between dani and Jon what they will do as far as the throne.

 

~Bang

Edited April 29, 2019 by Bang

[sportjunkie07]

It's not that the episode wasn't intense.. it's that it was sloppy and inconsistent with the story and character arcs and really felt extremely rushed. 

 

The night king was the most mysterious subplot of the show. To eliminate him so effortlessly, with no explanation of his motives, no explanation of the body symbols he leaves, no reincarnations of famous actors from earlier seasons... just missed opportunities and completely ignoring storyline payouts which is in contrast to how the show has been. 

 

The writing was sloppy. The night king death was weak for such a powerful character and a high enough value target didnt die in exchange; someone like jamie, dany, jon, sansa, tyrion, etc should have died.

 

Imagine that if as the battle ensued arya comes across one of the ice generals and is getting beaten badly; her death is ominous. the camera then pans across to Jon trying to escape the dragon, tyrion and friends hiding in the crypts, theon getting off'ed, and bran about to face the sword. 

 

Then the night king senses danger, turns, and throatgrabs, not arya, but a general that is sneaking up behind him. the dagger is then dropped to the other hand and plunged into the night king. The smug look of confidence fades from the night king and turns to horror as the general pulls his face off and shows that his assassin is actually arya. That night king death is way better and more consistent with storyline arcs. 

 

I will say it wasnt all bad. They crushed the melisandre arc completely, lady Mormon death was well done and fitting, sir friend zone death was good as well. 

 

Edited April 29, 2019 by sportjunkie07

[Hersh]

Rather than the remaining main characters somehow warding off endless amounts of undead, I would’ve like to seen some of the WW actually fight. Now they at least better have a Hound vs Mountain death match. If the Mountain doesn’t fight that will be very disappointing 

[sportjunkie07]

34 minutes ago, Mooka said:

Episode was awesome.

 

Unfortunately the writing and storytelling has run its course. Have to just enjoy the last few episodes and it'll end. Not sure what's going to happen in these last few episodes; fighting Cersei seems pretty trivial after defeating the dead. 

You're probably right, though fighting cersei is not trivial. She's got more men, defenses for a dragon, franken mountain, and a **** load of wildfire. 

 

I'm prolly just in denial, but I dont think we're done with the white walker storyline though. 

 

 

[TradeTheBeal!]

It was a little disappointing how easily they killed Snoke.

[kfrankie]

Has anyone taken account of the character or groups that died last night?  I'll start, could be wrong about a few of these though:

 

(1) All of the dothraki

(2) Sir Jorah

(3) Theon

(4) The Red Lady

(5) Mormont Girl

(6) Night Watch lieutenant guy

(7) Sam and Gillie (please please please....)

(8) Brianee of Tarth (not sure)

(9) Jaime Lannister (not sure)

(10) Dany's dragon (not sure)

(11) Night King

(12) Eye patch guy with 9 lives

(13) Wildling guy that likes Brianne (not sure)

 

So we saw a few of these characters at the end looking like they were getting backed up against a wall and torn apart, but nothing definitive.  I though I saw Sam get through into a mob of the dead, and Gillie got dragged away.  

[StillUnknown]

50 minutes ago, Mooka said:

Episode was awesome.

 

Unfortunately the writing and storytelling has run its course. Have to just enjoy the last few episodes and it'll end. Not sure what's going to happen in these last few episodes; fighting Cersei seems pretty trivial after defeating the dead. 

 

Thrones is visually stunning, but its not holding up when you put thought to it.

 

Its really entertaining in the moment, thats good enough for me right now.

[kfrankie]

One other thought here....  As far as a battle plan, having a ring of firewood isn't a bad idea.  However, as a defensive strategy it only saves time.  Their time may have been better spent building a large moat around the castle due to the fact that WWs can't swim, then perhaps have some oil pre-poured into the moat and light it on fire if any of them try to angle siege ladders against the wall from the other side of the moat. 

 

Then again, I guess getting enough water to fill a moat to that location could present problems.  Or if it froze...  Maybe pour salt or whiskey into the moat too to keep it from freezing right away.

Edited April 29, 2019 by kfrankie

[No Excuses]

Reading through reddit and twitter, the book nerds are in total revolt and are ready to burn the legacy of this show to the ground.

 

I am probably somewhere in the middle. I thought the entire episode was great but the finale conclusion to the Night King and White Walkers was underwhelming. It's not even Arya taking him out anime style. The previous episode they show us 100s of Walkers on horses and we see none of them get into the fight with any major characters. Glorified body guards for the NK as he makes his way to Bran? Nah fam come on. I think I just expected more of a fight between the main Walker army and the characters, rather than the wights just doing typical zombie ****.

 

Jon yelling at a giant undead dragon was corny but whatever.

 

Good episode nonetheless. I think the book-reader segment is so upset because it is very likely that they never receive a conclusion from GRRM to the entire series, so they are left with Arya dunking on the Night King, who isn't' even a character in the books, as one of the two major endpoints to the story. Everyone else I watch this show with is a casual watcher, like my girlfriend and all her friends loved it, and this is really what the show wanted to accomplish. It gave 2 hours of tense fighting and a dramatic finish. If you look under the hood, you see all the problems, but if not, it's probably one of the best two hours of TV you will find anywhere.

[purbeast]

Pretty much all of the crying I am reading today is just that the story didn't go the direction they wanted it to.  Which is okay I guess, but there is also clearly some valid criticism.

 

But that dude above hit it on the head about how many of those same people are crying about the show doing too much fan service, then crying when it doesn't do what they (fans) want it todo.

[HooHog]

15 minutes ago, No Excuses said:

Reading through reddit and twitter, the book nerds are in total revolt and are ready to burn the legacy of this show to the ground.

 

Good episode nonetheless. I think the book-reader segment is so upset because it is very likely that they never receive a conclusion from GRRM to the entire series, so they are left with Arya dunking on the Night King, who isn't' even a character in the books, as one of the two major endpoints to the story.

I'm a hardcore book reader and wasn't upset with this in the least.  One thing I think many readers are failing to process is that while ASOIAF is widely considered the best modern epic fantasy series, GRRM frequently goes out of his way to flip off fantasy tropes.  Those who really believed his story would end up with the unknowing prince/chosen one being the great singular hero and savior of the world weren't being realistic about where this story was going.  There isn't a singular protagonist in the books whose POV we always follow through the story.   The POVs are split between many of the "main" characters, Arya being one of the largest.  The other thing book readers fail to embrace is that the show and books are separate mediums and at this point largely different stories.  A lot of folks seem offended that their pet theories didn't pan out, but they can still theorize on what's going to happen in the books because we still just don't know.   

[Warhead36]

1 hour ago, Elessar78 said:

Why? Wouldn't that have made it predictable? All the lead-up to this week was how many key characters were going to die. 

 

"Fans": GoT is all about fan service now

(No key characters die) (besides Jorah and Beric and Dothraki)

 

"Fans": GoT didn't give us what we were expecting. 

Because over the course of the entire show, people have died. Important people. It just doesn't make sense that the biggest battle in the show's history has no major deaths.