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scifi_rewatchWelp, we’ve come to it, folks: my least favorite episode of the yeeeeear! Quite unlike how I feel about most penultimate eps, but a truncated season covers new ground, it seems.
Or more accurately, a truncated season truncates ground. I may have made my peace with “capture the wight,” but the actual battle beyond the Wall left me cold. Seriously, why didn’t anyone have their hoods up in those punishing winds of winter, teehee, (other than the Hollywood demand to see our leads? :P)
Back in season/book one, the selling point of the story was that no one is safe from death if their/other people’s actions lead them there, but this episode bent over backwards to let a bunch of ninconpoops (particularly one whose name rhymes with Shming in the Smorth) to survive. Sigh. Though I will say…the final death we got to see did carry a lot of heft.
But in general…when I’m watching the Hound throw rocks at a bunch of zombies from the Mummy movies, it’s hard to justify that this is award-winning television. :P Also, I’ve gone easy on the geographical hopscotch this year, but how long would it take for Gendry to reach Eastwatch, a raven to fly to Dragonstone, and Dany to make it beyond the Wall? Surely our band of living men, who were literally standing in the middle of a circle of the dead, would have starved by then. Right?
I should shut it before I spoil any more of the plot up here…and most of my annoyo-feels have to do with Winterfell anyway. :P I’ll lay into it under the cut.
Summary
Dragonstone
Tyrion tries to counsel less ruthlessness, but he and Dany can’t see eye to eye on the Tarly situation. Her Hand also gets on her case about the line of succession, since he believes this proverbial “wheel” she’s trying to break will take more than a lifetime to achieve. Finally, they part company when Dany heads beyond the Wall, since she’s keen to be active and save her people, despite Tyrion’s protestations.
Winterfell
Arya confronts Sansa with the letter Cersei made her write in season one, and expresses anger that Sansa supposedly betrayed her family. Sansa is concerned that the northern lords will abandon their cause, and she sends Brienne away when Littlefinger points out that she would intercede if the sisters were having a dispute. Later, Arya tells Sansa about her faces and insinuates that she could kill her sister and take on her life.
Beyond the Wall
Lots of bonding and reunions as the men head towards the place from Sandor’s vision! First they encounter a dead polar bear who kills Thoros, woe, then a small group of wights where they’re able to capture one, and finally a large group of wights and White Walkers (including the Night King.) They’re basically done for until Dany saves the day…at the cost of one of her dragons (who later comes back as undead!). :(
The Targaryen Boat…Ship is a’Startin’ :P
Jon returns alone to Eastwatch because of Uncle Benjen and the fact that he’s a gary stu. :P Dany tends to him as they travel home, and pledges to help him fight the Night King. In return, Jon proverbially bends the knee.
Possible spoilers
The polar wight is inspired by something from the books, so. :P We also get book backstory by way of Jorah and Thoros reminiscing about past battles, plus Beric’s flaming sword finally makes an appearance. It’s unclear but possible that wights might disintegrate when the Walker/Other who made them is killed. If Jorah and Jon were to meet, they’d probably discuss Commander Mormont. :P There’s also speculation that Dany will lose a dragon to the Others—main characters rarely get off scott free. And in general, I think it’s assumed that the dragons can wipe out wights like they did here (plus they have other magic. Veeery lucrative.) On a happier note, an ultimate Jon/Dany relationship is assumed by many—once again I point to the title of the series: A song of Ice and Fire. Could mean other things too, but these are two leaders we’ve been following for a long time. Stands to reason there’d be some narrative resolution in bringing them together.
Thoughts
A family friend found this to be boring, but I think my favorite part of the ep was all of the reunions and introductions happening between the men as they wandered towards the wights. My favorite part of “Game of Thrones”: character drama! (Not melodrama, Winterfell…I’ll get there. :P) I roll my eyes a little bit at Tormund saying he’s survived this long because he’s good at killing people…par for the course, show, but it’s a reason I’m getting sick of Westeros and its surrounding environs. We get a more tender, if schmaltzy, moment when Jon tries to re-give Longclaw to Jorah, but Jorah says it’s his now. Also, poor Gendry gets little to no sympathy from the Brotherhood and the Hound. Not much room for sulking…or for empathy.
Very intriguing about the wights supposedly dying when the creator does; I suppose that’s the show’s way of indicating that this war can be won, if the living direct their dragonglass towards the right enemies. Gah, I hope it’s not as simple as killing the Night King and it’s all over…or maybe I do. This isn’t really my favorite storyline, despite its importance to the overall narrative. In the books, there’s so much worldbuilding that this walking dead storyline doesn’t feel as reductive as it does on the show. On the other hand, however, GRRM is introducing so many new elements and people that many fans find difficulty in finding something to care about in the later books. Alas.
In terms of this episode, it seems like “kill the Night King” is Jon’s cue to be a stupid hero, as Dany prophesied at Dragonstone? I don’t buy what the showrunners say that he was trying to save the others. Fastest way to do that would be to take Dany’s hand and get on the damn dragon! But noooo….we had to see Uncle Benjen again, I suppose as a sloppy way to tie up the storyline of Jon looking for him. Also so that Jon could be a gary stu survivor of a situation that shoulda left him dead. Seriously…I have a lot more understanding for Melisandre bringing him back, given all the backstory leading up to it, than this foolishness.
I’ve already said above what I hate about the “battle” above…I mean that it’s a really boring standoff for like weeks? I guess we’re supposed to believe it’s more like a day. Still: BORING! And it’s only there because the showrunners were backed into a corner; couldn’t think of another way for our heroes to survive. At least it reinforces that wights are scared of water, I guess. They only start moving when they’re sure the ice is strong enough to hold them. Meh.
Less meh: the dragons taking out the wights. Because here’s the thing about the dragons. They’re nuclear weapons. They turn living people into ash and that’s difficult to stomach. But the wights are already dead! They should stay dead (and not kill more people)! Seeing them beyond the Wall was like seeing them fulfill their true purpose. And that’s why it was extra sad to see Viserion, fandom believes, bite the dust. Dany didn’t really have time to react to it because the episode/season is so jampacked. But I was sad! And later horrified to see him come back to life! Nothing good can come of this…
Relatedly, it’s worth pointing out how much is said about Jon, Dany, and children. The dragons are the only children Dany will ever have, she says ad nauseum. Because of that, succession is an issue, Tyrion points out this episode. And then, in passing, Jorah tells Jon that he hopes Longclaw will serve both him and his children; first time it’s been implied that Jon might have children! Which makes sense given his new kingship, but curious timing, no? :P We’ll have to see how this plays out. Love is in the air on that shippy boat. And I gotta say—I like Kit and Emilia’s chemistry.
But I’ve put it off long enough. Amidst all of this world-changing plot, we have Winterfell sibling drama. I have a lot of beef.
To start with, and I know not all of fandom will agree with me: I don’t think Sansa’s letter meant shit. Robb immediately conferred with Luwin (and later Catelyn) who knew it came from Cersei, and all it really did was move up when he called the banners. He would have done so anyway when Ned died…which happened because Joffrey didn’t stick to the script! Watch both Cersei and Varys go after him for that one.
That being said: characters are subjective. Would the northern lords turn on them? As Sansa points out, they’ve been fickle plenty of times before. At the moment this whole “war against the dead” thing isn’t an active reality, so probably more than anything they want to go home anyway. It would be easy enough to turn on Sansa for the reasons she described.
As for Arya: girl lives in a world of black and white (tada ching.) If Sansa wasn’t actively fighting the Lannisters as a little girl (despite the fact that it would have only led to her death) then she’s a traitor. Doesn’t matter that even Arya didn’t save Ned from beheading; Sansa’s effeminate (and realistic, I’d say,) portrayal of a hostage situation is always in the wrong. And why is that? This is where the story tries to have its cake and eat it, too. Because we’re told that Sansa acted the part of the proper lady and Arya was the outsider. And yet, the narrative has always paid more credence to Arya’s backstory. We’re not supposed to care about “girly” things like playing the high harp or the other arts…or what it takes for someone without badass skills to survive as a hostage. Instead we’re given a contradictory message: that Sansa is actually an anomaly, and the people worth following, like Arya or Lyanna Mormont, would act differently. Not that we’ll ever see Lyanna Mormont (who, props to the actress for her chops, but the character has about as much dimension as a toothpick) in such a situation.
This is something that has been niggling at me for a long time—how Arya is seen as the hero and Sansa as the villain (or at least the dupe.) Real life isn’t that simple. Real life proves that there are more options out there for women and girls than to be “badasses.” Real life might give more credence to the diplomacy Sansa has learned on the show.
And then we come to the bill of goods that this episode is trying to sell us: that Sansa only believes Arya is trying to kill her because Littlefinger is manipulating her. But is that the truth? Is Littlefinger forcing Arya to act like Hannibal Lecter in the room with the faces? Even some reviewers agree with me now! Yet others say I’m missing the bigger picture—that Arya is sending coded messages to Sansa (apparently she’s onto Littlefinger’s game now) and maybe even Sansa was being smart by throwing LF off the scent with the Brienne-send off. (Or maybe Sansa was being eeeevil by sending someone away who might stop her from killing her sister! Or maybe Arya is being eeeevil by wanting to kill Sansa and take her place? Could be an easy way for her to enact her own agenda at Winterfell…but sororicide is vastly different than the sibling drama of the last episode or two.)
Since I’ve seen the final episode already, I can say that the “team Stark girls vs Littlefinger” have a point. But I still think it’s shoddily done. If Sansa and Arya aren’t on the level here, then they’re pulling the wool over our eyes, too. I mean to say that they’re basically putting on a show for us, as if we’re Littlefinger. And that sucks. I didn’t wait all this time for a Stark reunion in order to see something fake. I want real characters, real emotions. And yes, a lot of the tension between the sisters is actually real. So let’s take a step back for a moment and look at things from Sansa’s perspective: if her fears about Arya killing her are on the level, why should she experience this scene much differently than she experienced this scene?
…and I say that Sansa is legitimately afraid that Arya will kill her based on spoilers that apply to the next episode, so. :P Overall, ugh. The showrunners are contorting the audience into place for a “gotcha!” moment, and the character arcs suffer for it. Because the best stories are always what we see played out on the page (or screen), not trickery to fool the audience.
Or more accurately, a truncated season truncates ground. I may have made my peace with “capture the wight,” but the actual battle beyond the Wall left me cold. Seriously, why didn’t anyone have their hoods up in those punishing winds of winter, teehee, (other than the Hollywood demand to see our leads? :P)
Back in season/book one, the selling point of the story was that no one is safe from death if their/other people’s actions lead them there, but this episode bent over backwards to let a bunch of ninconpoops (particularly one whose name rhymes with Shming in the Smorth) to survive. Sigh. Though I will say…the final death we got to see did carry a lot of heft.
But in general…when I’m watching the Hound throw rocks at a bunch of zombies from the Mummy movies, it’s hard to justify that this is award-winning television. :P Also, I’ve gone easy on the geographical hopscotch this year, but how long would it take for Gendry to reach Eastwatch, a raven to fly to Dragonstone, and Dany to make it beyond the Wall? Surely our band of living men, who were literally standing in the middle of a circle of the dead, would have starved by then. Right?
I should shut it before I spoil any more of the plot up here…and most of my annoyo-feels have to do with Winterfell anyway. :P I’ll lay into it under the cut.
Summary
Dragonstone
Tyrion tries to counsel less ruthlessness, but he and Dany can’t see eye to eye on the Tarly situation. Her Hand also gets on her case about the line of succession, since he believes this proverbial “wheel” she’s trying to break will take more than a lifetime to achieve. Finally, they part company when Dany heads beyond the Wall, since she’s keen to be active and save her people, despite Tyrion’s protestations.
Winterfell
Arya confronts Sansa with the letter Cersei made her write in season one, and expresses anger that Sansa supposedly betrayed her family. Sansa is concerned that the northern lords will abandon their cause, and she sends Brienne away when Littlefinger points out that she would intercede if the sisters were having a dispute. Later, Arya tells Sansa about her faces and insinuates that she could kill her sister and take on her life.
Beyond the Wall
Lots of bonding and reunions as the men head towards the place from Sandor’s vision! First they encounter a dead polar bear who kills Thoros, woe, then a small group of wights where they’re able to capture one, and finally a large group of wights and White Walkers (including the Night King.) They’re basically done for until Dany saves the day…at the cost of one of her dragons (who later comes back as undead!). :(
The Targaryen Boat…Ship is a’Startin’ :P
Jon returns alone to Eastwatch because of Uncle Benjen and the fact that he’s a gary stu. :P Dany tends to him as they travel home, and pledges to help him fight the Night King. In return, Jon proverbially bends the knee.
Possible spoilers
The polar wight is inspired by something from the books, so. :P We also get book backstory by way of Jorah and Thoros reminiscing about past battles, plus Beric’s flaming sword finally makes an appearance. It’s unclear but possible that wights might disintegrate when the Walker/Other who made them is killed. If Jorah and Jon were to meet, they’d probably discuss Commander Mormont. :P There’s also speculation that Dany will lose a dragon to the Others—main characters rarely get off scott free. And in general, I think it’s assumed that the dragons can wipe out wights like they did here (plus they have other magic. Veeery lucrative.) On a happier note, an ultimate Jon/Dany relationship is assumed by many—once again I point to the title of the series: A song of Ice and Fire. Could mean other things too, but these are two leaders we’ve been following for a long time. Stands to reason there’d be some narrative resolution in bringing them together.
Thoughts
A family friend found this to be boring, but I think my favorite part of the ep was all of the reunions and introductions happening between the men as they wandered towards the wights. My favorite part of “Game of Thrones”: character drama! (Not melodrama, Winterfell…I’ll get there. :P) I roll my eyes a little bit at Tormund saying he’s survived this long because he’s good at killing people…par for the course, show, but it’s a reason I’m getting sick of Westeros and its surrounding environs. We get a more tender, if schmaltzy, moment when Jon tries to re-give Longclaw to Jorah, but Jorah says it’s his now. Also, poor Gendry gets little to no sympathy from the Brotherhood and the Hound. Not much room for sulking…or for empathy.
Very intriguing about the wights supposedly dying when the creator does; I suppose that’s the show’s way of indicating that this war can be won, if the living direct their dragonglass towards the right enemies. Gah, I hope it’s not as simple as killing the Night King and it’s all over…or maybe I do. This isn’t really my favorite storyline, despite its importance to the overall narrative. In the books, there’s so much worldbuilding that this walking dead storyline doesn’t feel as reductive as it does on the show. On the other hand, however, GRRM is introducing so many new elements and people that many fans find difficulty in finding something to care about in the later books. Alas.
In terms of this episode, it seems like “kill the Night King” is Jon’s cue to be a stupid hero, as Dany prophesied at Dragonstone? I don’t buy what the showrunners say that he was trying to save the others. Fastest way to do that would be to take Dany’s hand and get on the damn dragon! But noooo….we had to see Uncle Benjen again, I suppose as a sloppy way to tie up the storyline of Jon looking for him. Also so that Jon could be a gary stu survivor of a situation that shoulda left him dead. Seriously…I have a lot more understanding for Melisandre bringing him back, given all the backstory leading up to it, than this foolishness.
I’ve already said above what I hate about the “battle” above…I mean that it’s a really boring standoff for like weeks? I guess we’re supposed to believe it’s more like a day. Still: BORING! And it’s only there because the showrunners were backed into a corner; couldn’t think of another way for our heroes to survive. At least it reinforces that wights are scared of water, I guess. They only start moving when they’re sure the ice is strong enough to hold them. Meh.
Less meh: the dragons taking out the wights. Because here’s the thing about the dragons. They’re nuclear weapons. They turn living people into ash and that’s difficult to stomach. But the wights are already dead! They should stay dead (and not kill more people)! Seeing them beyond the Wall was like seeing them fulfill their true purpose. And that’s why it was extra sad to see Viserion, fandom believes, bite the dust. Dany didn’t really have time to react to it because the episode/season is so jampacked. But I was sad! And later horrified to see him come back to life! Nothing good can come of this…
Relatedly, it’s worth pointing out how much is said about Jon, Dany, and children. The dragons are the only children Dany will ever have, she says ad nauseum. Because of that, succession is an issue, Tyrion points out this episode. And then, in passing, Jorah tells Jon that he hopes Longclaw will serve both him and his children; first time it’s been implied that Jon might have children! Which makes sense given his new kingship, but curious timing, no? :P We’ll have to see how this plays out. Love is in the air on that shippy boat. And I gotta say—I like Kit and Emilia’s chemistry.
But I’ve put it off long enough. Amidst all of this world-changing plot, we have Winterfell sibling drama. I have a lot of beef.
To start with, and I know not all of fandom will agree with me: I don’t think Sansa’s letter meant shit. Robb immediately conferred with Luwin (and later Catelyn) who knew it came from Cersei, and all it really did was move up when he called the banners. He would have done so anyway when Ned died…which happened because Joffrey didn’t stick to the script! Watch both Cersei and Varys go after him for that one.
That being said: characters are subjective. Would the northern lords turn on them? As Sansa points out, they’ve been fickle plenty of times before. At the moment this whole “war against the dead” thing isn’t an active reality, so probably more than anything they want to go home anyway. It would be easy enough to turn on Sansa for the reasons she described.
As for Arya: girl lives in a world of black and white (tada ching.) If Sansa wasn’t actively fighting the Lannisters as a little girl (despite the fact that it would have only led to her death) then she’s a traitor. Doesn’t matter that even Arya didn’t save Ned from beheading; Sansa’s effeminate (and realistic, I’d say,) portrayal of a hostage situation is always in the wrong. And why is that? This is where the story tries to have its cake and eat it, too. Because we’re told that Sansa acted the part of the proper lady and Arya was the outsider. And yet, the narrative has always paid more credence to Arya’s backstory. We’re not supposed to care about “girly” things like playing the high harp or the other arts…or what it takes for someone without badass skills to survive as a hostage. Instead we’re given a contradictory message: that Sansa is actually an anomaly, and the people worth following, like Arya or Lyanna Mormont, would act differently. Not that we’ll ever see Lyanna Mormont (who, props to the actress for her chops, but the character has about as much dimension as a toothpick) in such a situation.
This is something that has been niggling at me for a long time—how Arya is seen as the hero and Sansa as the villain (or at least the dupe.) Real life isn’t that simple. Real life proves that there are more options out there for women and girls than to be “badasses.” Real life might give more credence to the diplomacy Sansa has learned on the show.
And then we come to the bill of goods that this episode is trying to sell us: that Sansa only believes Arya is trying to kill her because Littlefinger is manipulating her. But is that the truth? Is Littlefinger forcing Arya to act like Hannibal Lecter in the room with the faces? Even some reviewers agree with me now! Yet others say I’m missing the bigger picture—that Arya is sending coded messages to Sansa (apparently she’s onto Littlefinger’s game now) and maybe even Sansa was being smart by throwing LF off the scent with the Brienne-send off. (Or maybe Sansa was being eeeevil by sending someone away who might stop her from killing her sister! Or maybe Arya is being eeeevil by wanting to kill Sansa and take her place? Could be an easy way for her to enact her own agenda at Winterfell…but sororicide is vastly different than the sibling drama of the last episode or two.)
Since I’ve seen the final episode already, I can say that the “team Stark girls vs Littlefinger” have a point. But I still think it’s shoddily done. If Sansa and Arya aren’t on the level here, then they’re pulling the wool over our eyes, too. I mean to say that they’re basically putting on a show for us, as if we’re Littlefinger. And that sucks. I didn’t wait all this time for a Stark reunion in order to see something fake. I want real characters, real emotions. And yes, a lot of the tension between the sisters is actually real. So let’s take a step back for a moment and look at things from Sansa’s perspective: if her fears about Arya killing her are on the level, why should she experience this scene much differently than she experienced this scene?
…and I say that Sansa is legitimately afraid that Arya will kill her based on spoilers that apply to the next episode, so. :P Overall, ugh. The showrunners are contorting the audience into place for a “gotcha!” moment, and the character arcs suffer for it. Because the best stories are always what we see played out on the page (or screen), not trickery to fool the audience.
