So, was Jaime riding off to the Lannister Army, or just riding off?
Mixed feelings. LF was on my short list for deaths because a) he no longer served the plot in any meaningful capacity and b) a lot of fans want to see him get his comeuppance. Still, I wasn’t wild about it. Outside of that the episode was extremely predictable, but still a pretty good time.
I went into it predicting it wouldn’t resolve any meaningful plot points because Cersei, Jon, Dany and Sansa all have plot armor made out of the finest mithril until the last few episodes. So I wasn’t disappointed in that sense. I guess I just hoped it would surprise me a little more than it did.
I don’t want to go too hard on it because it was still a great episode of TV (sometimes I forget it is TV), just maybe not as great as I was hoping for with another year+ wait to see how it all wraps up.
Game of Thrones this season, the show where the producers and their writers think they’re being clever by unknowingly breaking the 4th wall and everything, from teleporting armies and navies to cliffhanger-esque narrow escapes rather than real-world/politic consequences, all occur in the name of script servicing. This is arguably the worst season yet. Complex politicking and character motivation in the earlier seasons have given way to well-produced big set pieces carried by Hollywood-quality CGI.
blah blah blah
undead dragon
B/C that was the “sell” on Cersei’s big play. I loved the great dramatic scene between Cersei and Tyrion but when Cersei later reveals she intentionally sent Euron off to convey the Golden Company, and that she had no intention of honoring her agreement, it became clear that the entire negotiation was a pageant put on by Cersei, even the “heart to heart” with Tyrion. That scene was great, but in hindsight it was all a fake by Cersei. And that includes the pregnancy bit, IMO, part of the play.
Jeeebus, that last scene.
So much for the Wall.
Makes you wonder if the Wall actually ever stopped the dead, even once, in its 8000 year history. I wish I could say that it was ironic that Jon’s stupid-ass plan ended up doing nothing good (convince Cersei, really?!) and everything bad (give the dead the means to take down the wall), but there’s no irony there since it was wholly as expected.
What a great season. LF’s abrupt and bloody end was very satisfying, Jaime joined team good-guys (he’s on track to be the valonquar that strangles Cersei) and Undead Dragon vs Wall was fantastic. Imagine the battle scenes we’ll see next year, with dragons, elephants, zombie hordes and dothraki.
Yep. We are frequently reminded that, much like Ned Stark, Jon is a brave and honorable man, but he’s an awful strategist.
Did the Hound see his brother all golemed up before tonight? Seemed weird that he was just totally OK with him being a reanimated corpse, arch-nemesis or not. I think it’d at least give him pause.
Yeah it was awkward and struck me as fan service.
Can someone remind me what relation John and Daenerys are with this confirmation?
Nephew and aunt
So gross, I assume? I haven’t read the books, but in this world, when they find out are they going to be mortified or is it no big deal?
Of course this is made even more awkward by the realization that John is the true successor to the throne after all.
Same here. That was really well done. From the proceedings at Winterfell, to the revelations about Jon by Sam and Bran, to the Dragon arena drama. All excellent drama on a human level. And then finally, that last scene to make you think “Oh shit, they’re all fucked”.
I think the impact of incest isn’t that big in Westeros. The place was ruled by the Targaryens, who practiced it for centuries. Both Dany and Jon belong to that family so in that regard it’s even more par for the course.
The main reason why Jaime and Cersei hid their involvement with one another was because she cuckolded Robert, bearing none of his children. The whole incest part was secondary to that and so far everyone who knows about it just shrugs whenever it comes up.
By Westeros standards, it’s barely incest.
The Arya and Sansa show was still dumb. Great payoff that everyone was looking forward to for 7 seasons, but the long con was stupid. You could’ve snatched him up at any time and executed him or just stabbed him in a hallway. Nope. We get a full season of skulking and deception because the showrunners had to drag out that plot to fill time.
And I love that I was right about Cersei. She’s crazy. There’s no chance of a truce with her. The only surprising thing was that she let Jaime go.
But here’s the part I don’t get:
Cersei seemingly gives an order to the Mountain to kill Jamie.
Mountain pulls out his sword.
Jaime says, “I don’t believe you” and walks away.
At that point, the Mountain had been told to kill him… Cersei didn’t say anything countering that order.
Why didn’t the Mountain kill him?
Is the Mountain psychically linked to Cercei at this point?
I have to say that I’m pretty tired of the Lannister money-Deus Ex Machina (deus ex currencia?) Even if it’s realistic, it feels like bad writing.
Also, I feel like the whole relationship with the Iron Bank is weird and dumb. You know the old saying about “You owe the bank $1000, the bank owns you, you owe the bank $1 million, you own the bank?” I feel like that’s where the Lannisters were before. They were so heavily in debt, the Iron Bank had no choice but to continue to chase that payoff.
Now that their earlier loans have been paid off, and the geopolitical situation is uncertain enough, that the Iron Bank would be insane to throw in with Cersei again. Their Westeros branch should be all “kthxbye, we got some deals in Essos that need attention”. Cersei even calls this out by highlighting the fact that their house is weakened since Tywin’s death.
There would also be a fantastic irony to the Lannister’s “We always repay our debts” to be their undoing.