Game of Thrones (contains serious, massive SPOILERS)

[SkyPikachu]

I liked the ending bar a few nit picky things but that's to be expected how Season 8s pacing was horrible and this episode was a perfect example.

Spoiler

Season 7 being 7 episodes was a mistake huge mistake.

Season 7 Episode 8-10 should have sorted out the Night King arc. Season 8 Episode 1 should have wrapped up the post night king arc something that was basically ignored in this rushed season. Season 8 Episode 2/3/4 should have involved the trip to dragonstone and trip to kingslanding giving more meaning to missandei's death. Episode 5/6 should have been the cersei battle Episode 5 being left on a cliffhanging of Dany burning innocents. Episode 7/8 should have shown Dany trying to rule and succeeding to some extent. Episode 9 should have been Danys death and the rebellion. Episode 10 should have been really digging deep into what the characters were off to next. Everything just felt so rushed with them just quickly glossing over what people were doing.

Even if you just make Season 8 7 episodes (with 7 still being 10) it helps a lot.

Finale discussion

Spoiler

Bran being king was a nice unexpected twist I really liked that.

Now I was a bit confused by this part but I believe Sam wrote the Book which is cool however they mentioned something about Tyrion not being in it that confused me.

Leaving Drogon alive was weird but I think better than Drogon dying to some BS reason after making him unstoppable in Episode 5.

Tyrion finding Jaime and Cersei was such a good scene.

Alright I think Episode 4 made the re-union for Ghost and Jon even better in this episode HE PET THE WOLF

Tyrion being hand was nice.

Seeing Sam as a maester was bitter sweet

Podrick knighted was cool

Something that pissed me a tiny bit was Arya not finding land that would have been cool

Other than my big complaint of being rushed I enjoyed it.

The big win is not paying $60 a month to watch this anymore.

[Kong Wen]

Not going into detail because I'm on my phone and don't want to bother with tags, but they did a phenomenal job of tying up plot threads for a show this large. They actually managed to give everyone a satisfying ending, and on a show this grim, that's not an easy feat.

I'll post more analysis on each character's ending tomorrow when I have my laptop with me.

[The Shoemaker]

One thing I did enjoy, was

Spoiler

Drogon's reaction to Daenerys dying, followed by him taking her body away. Very sweet.

[SkyPikachu]

One thing I did enjoy, was

Spoiler

Drogon's reaction to Daenerys dying, followed by him taking her body away. Very sweet.

This was amazing I love how well shot the show was.

[Kong Wen]

Not going into detail because I'm on my phone and don't want to bother with tags, but they did a phenomenal job of tying up plot threads for a show this large. They actually managed to give everyone a satisfying ending, and on a show this grim, that's not an easy feat.

I'll post more analysis on each character's ending tomorrow when I have my laptop with me.

Spoiler

I agree with the above that Drogon's reaction was great. Toasting the throne instead of Jon showed that the dragons had some at least rudimentary understanding of what Dany was doing. Drogon was upset enough by it that he torched the symbol/institution rather than the dude he at least kind of respected. Flying off into the unknown is a good ending for him, because the only alternative was to kill him, and there was no real convincing way to do that (and it would have been a minor eco-tragedy to bring dragons back into the world only to see them go extinct again).

Tyrion was in full form in this episode. It's nice that he gets to be Hand and sit in his old chair again, this time without the crushing weight of Tywin, Joffrey, and Cersei breathing down his neck or the apparatus of Dany's wars to direct his energy toward power rather than governance. Slurm, the Song of Ice and Fire was written by some other Maester—Sam just mentioned that he helped with something minor.

Jon got the best possible ending he could have hoped for. He lived the majority of his life oppressed by a social construct (his being a bastard), and then the latter part of his life crushed by the responsibility of authority (lord commander, king in the north, "true heir") that he didn't want. Even if he "won the throne" there's no way he would have stayed—he would have rather fled north to be where he belongs. This way, he gets to live as a wildling among people who respect him for who he is, actually free. (Keeping him alive as a hostage shows that the Unsullied were smarter governors than Joffrey.)

Arya got the ending that everyone always knew she was going to get: wandering the world in search of adventure. Slurm, showing her finding something would have ruined the whole point of that ending. She's going off into the unknown. Her stories are future legends, not current ones.

Seeing Lord Commander Brienne finish Jaime's page in the Kingsguard records was a nice little conclusion for the off-screen Jaime, too.

I was also impressed that they brought back Edmure to make an ass of himself one last time!

Bran is a fine choice for a king, and a natural choice for Tyrion to make. This is actually a classic G.R.R. Martin conceit, and the natural foil to Dany's attempts to "break the wheel" via warfare and conquest and power. Much of Martin's work is anti-war, and resolving this catastrophic conflict by foregrounding a physically powerless storyteller, historian, collective cultural memory is Martin's commentary on what societies value—what they can value as an alternative to strength. Besides his symbolic value, he's not supposed to have personal interest in the office. He's not supposed to have an interest in ruling or "want" things or have a narrative trajectory towards the throne, because that's the kind of person Martin is trying to avoid promoting.

[SkyPikachu]

Not going into detail because I'm on my phone and don't want to bother with tags, but they did a phenomenal job of tying up plot threads for a show this large. They actually managed to give everyone a satisfying ending, and on a show this grim, that's not an easy feat.

I'll post more analysis on each character's ending tomorrow when I have my laptop with me.

Spoiler

I agree with the above that Drogon's reaction was great. Toasting the throne instead of Jon showed that the dragons had some at least rudimentary understanding of what Dany was doing. Drogon was upset enough by it that he torched the symbol/institution rather than the dude he at least kind of respected. Flying off into the unknown is a good ending for him, because the only alternative was to kill him, and there was no real convincing way to do that (and it would have been a minor eco-tragedy to bring dragons back into the world only to see them go extinct again).

Tyrion was in full form in this episode. It's nice that he gets to be Hand and sit in his old chair again, this time without the crushing weight of Tywin, Joffrey, and Cersei breathing down his neck or the apparatus of Dany's wars to direct his energy toward power rather than governance. Slurm, the Song of Ice and Fire was written by some other Maester—Sam just mentioned that he helped with something minor.

Jon got the best possible ending he could have hoped for. He lived the majority of his life oppressed by a social construct (his being a bastard), and then the latter part of his life crushed by the responsibility of authority (lord commander, king in the north, "true heir") that he didn't want. Even if he "won the throne" there's no way he would have stayed—he would have rather fled north to be where he belongs. This way, he gets to live as a wildling among people who respect him for who he is, actually free. (Keeping him alive as a hostage shows that the Unsullied were smarter governors than Joffrey.)

Arya got the ending that everyone always knew she was going to get: wandering the world in search of adventure. Slurm, showing her finding something would have ruined the whole point of that ending. She's going off into the unknown. Her stories are future legends, not current ones.

Seeing Lord Commander Brienne finish Jaime's page in the Kingsguard records was a nice little conclusion for the off-screen Jaime, too.

I was also impressed that they brought back Edmure to make an ass of himself one last time!

Bran is a fine choice for a king, and a natural choice for Tyrion to make. This is actually a classic G.R.R. Martin conceit, and the natural foil to Dany's attempts to "break the wheel" via warfare and conquest and power. Much of Martin's work is anti-war, and resolving this catastrophic conflict by foregrounding a physically powerless storyteller, historian, collective cultural memory is Martin's commentary on what societies value—what they can value as an alternative to strength. Besides his symbolic value, he's not supposed to have personal interest in the office. He's not supposed to have an interest in ruling or "want" things or have a narrative trajectory towards the throne, because that's the kind of person Martin is trying to avoid promoting.

Spoiler

I think Grey Worm killing Jon would have made more sense though. He'd completely lost it and was just in crazy worm mode. Also being smarter than joffery is far from a compliment.

I disagree about Arya seeing her find something would have been cool in my opinion like she has succeeded but not actually explored everything properly finding the land is only step one.

Forgot about the Jaime book part I loved that too.

Please don't break the wheel bran needs it to move.

Also I don't understand why they had bran say in episode 2 or 4 (can't remember which) to tyrion saying "he is not Brandon start and he doesn't want or care anymore and he'd make a terrible lord. If he truly has that mindset why the complete 180. Why even add that to the dialog and why didn't bran get more character development during the season. I think this is the big complaint I see about bran and I tend to agree even if I still enjoyed the episode. Also I believe a lot more was explained about him in the book which is inexcusable since 95% of the viewers didnt read the books. I understand easily how people could hate this ending and the writing is clearly not season 4 quality. However I still think its better than most shows and I believe its become cool to hate on the show.

BTW I enjoyed seeing Robert Ayrn (catelins starks nephew) he was a character I enjoyed.

Stand out from the whole show have to be
Joffery - Best villian
Tyrion - Best good/bad guy
Tywin Lanister - Amazing lord/actor
Jaime - Probably my second favorite character behind Tyrion real shame his death was average.
Ghost - Best good boy
Ygirtte - Maybe it's just that she was a bad ass with an accent and nice body but I adored her character.

Best moments
Jaime shoving Bran
Tyrion slapping Joffery
Neds death
Red wedding
Joffery wedding
Tyrion killing Tywin
Battle of the bastards
Ramsay/Reek interaction
Hound/Arya trip
Jon/Ygirtte arc
Ghost pet

I do have to agree with the community that the last few season were the worst of the lot. Season 7 basically had one good episode with the Jaime vs Dany battle. Season 6 had the Battle of the Bastards and S6EP10 were fantastic however the whole religious arc sucked and I didn't like Season 5s Dorne stuff either. The show was at its best with Joffery/Tywin as the villains. Nothing from this season (8) stands up to any of the past season that being said this season is still better than your average drama.

[Pluvius]

Spoiler

The argument for Bran's apparent 180 is that he was lying the whole time and everything that happened this season was a gambit for him to gain the crown. Which would make sense if you gave D&D credit for that sort of writing--which, again, I don't. One imagines that this entire last season or two will work a lot better if GRRM ever writes it.

I think that within the context of the show, as opposed to whatever GRRM might write, Tyrion would've made a lot more sense as the choice for king. All of the same arguments for Bran being king and Tyrion being his Hand also apply to the reverse, with the additional bonuses of (a) Tyrion actually having had direct experience in ruling and accomplishments of note and (b) placating Yara's almost-out-of-nowhere objections by putting Cersei's next-of-kin on the throne. It also would've made more sense to ask Bran for his opinion on who the king should be than to ask Tyrion. But of course, this all would've taken away from the final outcome of "Starks win!" so it's no surprise that it didn't happen.

Rob

[Kong Wen]

Spoiler

The argument for Bran's apparent 180 is that he was lying the whole time and everything that happened this season was a gambit for him to gain the crown. Which would make sense if you gave D&D credit for that sort of writing--which, again, I don't. One imagines that this entire last season or two will work a lot better if GRRM ever writes it.

I think that within the context of the show, as opposed to whatever GRRM might write, Tyrion would've made a lot more sense as the choice for king. All of the same arguments for Bran being king and Tyrion being his Hand also apply to the reverse, with the additional bonuses of (a) Tyrion actually having had direct experience in ruling and accomplishments of note and (b) placating Yara's almost-out-of-nowhere objections by putting Cersei's next-of-kin on the throne. It also would've made more sense to ask Bran for his opinion on who the king should be than to ask Tyrion. But of course, this all would've taken away from the final outcome of "Starks win!" so it's no surprise that it didn't happen.

Spoiler

I don't really see it as a 180. He didn't say he didn't want to be Lord/King—Tyrion filled in that blank. All Bran said was that he doesn't really "want" anything. Having Bran actively setting the stage for his coronation would be a bit much, no matter who wrote it. I can buy Bran making the trek to King's Landing because he knew Tyrion was going to nominate him as King. I can't buy Bran actively positioning himself for King because the character evidence simply isn't there. Maybe the people arguing that are the fanfic kids who wanted to see everything that happened throughout the course of history as the result of a time-traveling Bran being meddlesome.

Yara's objection didn't have anything to do with Cersei, but that she pledged to serve Dany. Maybe that's what you meant—putting Dany's next-in-command on the throne. Within the context of the show, I think the council would have made Tyrion king, but he was correct to refuse. Tyrion found his strength as a back-room planner and developer. Having a nothing king like Bran actually means he'll have more unfettered ability to do that.

At least they didn't try to make Gendry king.

I also liked how:

Spoiler

Arya sails off into the sunset under a Stark banner.

Also, in the ending sequence, Arya and Jon both don't have their Ned Stark hair anymore. Jon is back to his Night's Watch / wildling haircut, and he's wearing the black furs again instead of the Stark furs. I like that Jon is the emotional fulfilment of Ned Stark, doing the right thing even though it crushes him, and then being punished for it—and Jon got the punishment that was meant for Ned. Fortunately, for Jon, it's not a punishment at all. He gets to be where he wants to be.

I liked Sophie Turner's acting in the nomination scene. Even with her brother as king, she made it clear that her concern was for all the shit the North had been through during the past decade or so. She'll be a good ruler.

Overall, the trajectory of the show is about the change of a regime/dynasty. We started with the aftermath of Robert's Rebellion, and we ended with the last clingers-on to his claim being replaced by someone new. Maybe there will be another Siege of Pyke. Yara's likely going to want the same deal (off-screen) that Sansa got.

Selfish old Bronn owns the grain. Maybe he's going to pinch the purse to get what he wants. Bronn surviving and getting what he wants is meant to be a discomfiture. Sometimes evil shit-heads do come out on top. Fitting that he ends up in the position that Littlefinger started in (Master of Coin) since they're both upjumped nobodies who got there through determined self-interest.

On that note, it's also interesting that the previous Grand Maester was a Lannister sycophant, and now the current one is a Stark sycophant. And the previous Master of Ships was Stannis, and the current Master of Ships is Stannis's Hand.