Winter is Coming: A Game of Thrones (SPOILERS)

[narya]

A good workout while waiting (seemingly forever) for the next season. Warning - spoilers thru all seasons.

https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/the-wi ... g-workout/

[eborr]

when your worlds meet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxWfvtnHtS0

kinda surprised people didn't know the song

[Eldy]

I fell out of love with Game of Thrones several years ago now, but I've found myself thinking about its impending conclusion more than I'd expected. I knew that I was gonna tune in for the final episode no matter what, even though I haven't watched regularly since mid-season six, but I'll probably be there for the first episode of the final season (Sunday night) as well, and maybe the ones in between. I vividly remember watching the very first episode (with only 2.2 million other viewers lol) when it aired: my university paid for HBO in dorm rooms and I'd brought a TV, so I was able to watch it in the common area of the four person suite I was in. I've personally drifted in and out of the show's orbit multiple times over the years, but it's been such a consistent presence in online culture and general "geekdom" for so long that it's departure feels significant. Even more than Avengers: Endgame (which, to be honest, I'm more excited about) since the MCU will continue. I mean, there's the GOT spin-off(s) on the horizon, but AFAIK it's not going to share any major characters, whereas we've already got a trailer for the next Spider-Man movie.

[Sunsilver]

This really had me lol'ing! No spoilers, or very minor ones if you haven't watched the previous seasons.

Um, could someone tag Inanna on this?

If Game of Thrones Were Indian:

https://www.facebook.com/IISuperwomanII ... A1OTkwNjU/

[Alatar]

Well, that was Epic!

[Inanna]

This really had me lol'ing! No spoilers, or very minor ones if you haven't watched the previous seasons.

Um, could someone tag Inanna on this?

If Game of Thrones Were Indian:

https://www.facebook.com/IISuperwomanII ... A1OTkwNjU/

Ohmigod. My stomach is hurting!! Rotfl!!

[yovargas]

Thoughts.

Knowing that this show was ending this year, and that all my friends had been watching it all along, I finally decided that I would jump in and watch it. Earlier this year I started watching it in preparation for the final season. Then the Red Wedding happened. I absolutely hated it. I very much wanted to quit watching then and there. It was, in my opinion, abysmal storytelling and signaled that the authors had no idea what they were doing. I did not quit, again, because of my friends but also because it had become such a cultural phenomenon that I felt almost obligated. It only got worse though, and now, as we come down to the end, I really wish I had quit back then. Because f*** this show. I hate the damm thing and just want the misery to be over so the world can collectively move on.

[Beutlin]

The "Red Wedding" appears in the books as well, and is arguably one of the better story points in the whole narrative. Indeed, the difference between the "Red Wedding" and more recent "twists" in the show is that what happened then made sense (at least in hindsight) and felt consistent whereas now a lot of things feel rushed. Game of Thrones is still superior to most of what is shown on TV (let alone mainstream Hollywood) but the quality has dipped indeed.

[River]

My feeling is the show started to weaken when the writers ran out of novels to base the script on. That was Season 6. The Red Wedding was in the novels and it played out on paper much the same as how it played out on screen (Rob's wife wasn't there in the book). That said, there are a number of readers who feel that the Red Wedding was when the book series jumped the shark. I'm still waiting for how both the TV and the written versions finish before I render judgment. But I mention it so you feel less lonely in your criticism, yov.

What's really creepy is the Red Wedding was based on an actual historical event: The Black Dinner.

[yovargas]

I know that the Red Wedding was based on the book and I don't take issue with it from a logical perspective like much of the last two seasons. But I still think it's a terrible way to tell a terrible story. Almost all of the storielines since season 2 have sucked IMO. The show is a giant pile of potential wasted on cheap cynicism and shock value.

[Beutlin]

Describing the "Red Wedding" as "cheap cynicism and shock value" is overtly reductive. Part of the allure of "Game of Thrones" has always been that it was a (slightly) more challgenging show than the dreck that usually is aired on TV and blockbuster cinema. The "Red Wedding" was not merely a twist for the sake of a twist but conveyed multiple larger themes of the series: That certain actions can have dark and terminal consequences, that character arcs (in real history and fiction) do not always have a satisfying ending, and that hopelessness in the face of death is certainly the final feeling of many people. "Game of Thrones" has never been truly great art, but through scenes such as the "Red Wedding" it partly transcended the ever-pleasing, ever-undemanding modus operandi of Hollywood. The two head-writers of the show apparently did not get that, viewed the scene as merely a great and shocking twist, and therefore hoped to achieve the same result in the last two seasons. They were wrong.

[yovargas]

That certain actions can have dark and terminal consequences, that character arcs (in real history and fiction) do not always have a satisfying ending, and that hopelessness in the face of death is certainly the final feeling of many people.

Right. That's what I said. Cheap cynicism.

[Beutlin]

What I described above is not cynicism, let alone cheap cynicism. That is an overtly broad and false definition of a rather clearly defined term; one that is inherently intertwined with an essentially derisive outlook towards certain mores and people. Ned Stark's death in the show is portrayed as a tragic death; the same goes for the "Red Wedding" - the music, tempo, character actions - all convey tragedy. A cynic would portray these scenes in a mocking fashion, "cynically" mocking what has transpired.

[Cerin]

yov, I don't understand why you forced yourself to watch something you hated.

When I heard that Amazon was hoping to turn Tolkien into the next GoT, I thought I'd better watch it so as to condition myself as to what might be done to Tolkien. I made it through Season 6, but just couldn't sustain the effort through Season 7. I'm reading the synopses of the final season episodes and I may watch them eventually. It does indeed sound as though they are rushing to cram everything in.

One wonders how successful it would have been without all the torture, sex and nudity.

I tried listening to the audiobooks, but the choice of reader was unfortunate. He sounds old and his voice has a laborious quality, and I found it too trying to listen to.

[yovargas]

yov, I don't understand why you forced yourself to watch something you hated.

Mostly because I had promised my friend I would watch the final season with him and he would have been really disappointed if I had bailed. The promise was easy to make back when I had only watched the first season, which I had loved.

[Sunsilver]

Just going to leave this here...

[yovargas]

LOL what a dumb show LOL

[Sunsilver]

I didn't totally hate the finale, but I didn't much like it either. Major lengthy commentary with numerous spoilers follows:

Hidden text.

I liked that no one got to sit on the throne. Mad kings and greedy, vicious kings/queens were the main cause of all the misery in the series. The harm caused by the lust for power has been a main theme throughout the series, and the ending definitely highlighted that. Hopefully the democratic rule proposed by Sam will happen some day. In the meantime, I think Bran will make a wise, just king. And the fact he can't have children and a new king/queen will be chosen by all the rulers of Westeros will bring democracy of a sort.

I hate what the writers did to Dany's character. This is the same person that said back several seasons ago, "I will not be the queen of ashes." That's exactly what she became. Her character at the end just made no sense. Her final lines to Jon made no sense, and left me scratching my head. How she could reconcile setting people free with burning their cities to the ground is really beyond me. The writers tried to say she went mad with grief. If so, she didn't express it very well. She looked sad, not angry during the last two episodes.

I would have linked for Jon to get a better deal, but his fate was explained well enough that I was able to shrug and think, "Oh well, at least he's reunited with Tormund and Ghost."

The small council meeting at the end of the episode was IMO, some of the worst writing of the series. Was this scene REALLY necessary? Could we have gotten something more important than Bronn wanting to get the whorehouses rebuilt?? I mean, half the city has been destroyed thousands of people killed, and he's worrying about that?? It was just really, really jarring.

Things I really liked: One of my major worries throughout the series was that Tyrion would be killed off. He is my favourite character, and also the favourite of most people I know that are fans of the series. Well, they not only didn't kill him off, (though the writers DID make us really worry about him) they gave him the major role in determining the outcome of the finale, and the choice of the king. The best moment was when Bran chose him as Hand, and Tyrion tried to refuse. Second best moment was Tyrion's final line to Jon, about a couple of years of being Hand would cause him to need to go north, and "piss off the edge of the world!" I sincerely hope Peter wins another Emmy for his part in this final season!

[yovargas]

Mainly just - Bran?? Really?? Who on earth or in Westeros gives one flying rats butt about Bran??

[Cerin]

It seemed so obvious to me that Jon Snow should be king. (Haven't seen episode.)

edit

I did not agree with commentary I read objecting to Dany's 'turn.' Her cruel streak and megalomania were always in evidence.