Game of Thrones - And Now Our Watch Has Ended!

[eball]

As I’m sitting in an airport with nothing better to do, I’ll add my $.02 regarding the final, arranged by character. 

 

Dany - my only disappointment is in the rushed nature of her “turn” even if the signs were there all along. Her true love for Jon (and Jon’s dragon blood) was her undoing. That was an incredible scene, as Jon tried to give her every last chance to prove she wasn’t just another tyrant who believed she knew better than anyone else. 

 

Jon - I expected him to die so I was pleasantly surprised with his resolution. Tormund’s “you’ve got the real North in you” words were prophetic, and of course Bran, Tyrion, Sansa, and Arya all knew Jon wouldn’t really be subject to the “rules” of the Night’s Watch. He will live out his days among the free folk, find a wife, and be happy he’s out of the mess of Westeros. 

 

Tyrion - always one of my favorite characters, he deserved to live. His counsel was always given in the name of trying to preserve or restore peace. The speech about stories was corny but I don’t care; he was left to do what he does best, serving a leader who really does have the peoples’ best interests at heart. 

 

Sansa - her resolution was perfect. Wouldn’t change a thing. Probably the smartest person in the kingdom and deserving of the Northern throne. 

 

Arya - can you say “hello, spinoff?” I guess it makes sense that she wants no further part of Westeros and I’d admittedly watch a show that follows her westward. Nothing wrong with how her arc ended. 

 

Grey Worm - this one makes no sense. He’s going to take a group of infertile guys to Naath to settle. Have fun with that. Yes, it’s curious that he didn’t execute Tyrion and Jon immediately but I suppose even he knows there is some sort of protocol to follow. 

 

Brienne - fine with this. It was a touching scene as she completed Jaime’s entry in the book of knights. 

 

Sam - was anything else expected here?

 

Bronn - comic relief to the end, but nothing that made me terribly upset. 

 

Davos - another true servant; he deserved a prominent role and master of ships serves “the world’s greatest smuggler” well. 

 

Yara - an afterthought. One remark about serving Dany and then an “aye” for Bran. Oh well, she’s the ruler of the Iron Islands and that’s all she wanted. 

 

Bran - lots of questions here; the best way I can resolve them is to believe that once Bran’s magical powers were “awakened” he realized this was the end game and everything he did from that point was to make it happen. You have to try and not think to hard about this one because of the gaps in getting from point A to point B. He will be a wise ruler but obviously the question of succession will be a large one.

 

i read that when the show was first being developed B&B correctly “guessed” how GRRM planned to end the story. He just hasn’t gotten around to telling how it happened this way so they had to create a narrative themselves that certainly can’t be expected to be done in the same manner the original author would intend. 

 

A great, great TV series that ended on a rushed note but was satisfying for this watcher. 

[May Day 10]

Wasnt the other three eyed raven like 1000 years old?  Or was that because he was grafted to the weirwood roots?

[Bad Things]

34 minutes ago, Rico said:

Congrats HBO.

 

As for me,  I have the 6 episodes on my DVR & I canceled HBO early this morning.

Same here!

I phoned up this morning and cancelled.

[/dev/null]

45 minutes ago, May Day 10 said:

Wasnt the other three eyed raven like 1000 years old?  Or was that because he was grafted to the weirwood roots?

 

are you talking about a GoT character or Cher?

[Boca BIlls]

Now we wait for the prequel... 

[snafu]

26 minutes ago, /dev/null said:

 

are you talking about a GoT character or Cher?

 

Coincidence: it's Cher's birthday today. 

 

 

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Nice Nuremberg rally at the beginning. So much lameness left unresolved

7 hours ago, Heitz said:

Good thing Arya became a Faceless Man - she sure used that ability a lot in the series.  She became No One, only to come back and be a Stark (and now she's off to be Columbus), WTF? ?

 

This guy gets it. Arguably the coolest story arc dropped like it was hot.

[Bad Things]

So, where do you think Drogon was carrying Dany's body away to?  There were other Red witches, right?

It's almost like they were setting us up for a sequel.  (Yeah, I know a prequel is in the works.)

 

For what it's worth, I thought last nights finale was a fitting closure to the last 2 hurried seasons.

(But still a great disappointment when considering how great the first 6 seasons were.) 

 

I honestly have a hard time believing that they didn't revisit the Night King/Bran/3-eyed Raven storyline. Very weird.

[mrags]

13 minutes ago, Bad Things said:

So, where do you think Drogon was carrying Dany's body away to?  There were other Red witches, right?

It's almost like they were setting us up for a sequel.  (Yeah, I know a prequel is in the works.)

 

For what it's worth, I thought last nights finale was a fitting closure to the last 2 hurried seasons.

(But still a great disappointment when considering how great the first 6 seasons were.) 

 

I honestly have a hard time believing that they didn't revisit the Night King/Bran/3-eyed Raven storyline. Very weird.

He was just carrying his mother away. Probably back to Valeria somewhere. 

 

It was game of Thrones. The whole point was who would rule the 7 Kingdoms. The Night along was just a chapter (maybe more than one. Lol) in a long story. 

[BeginnersMind]

28 minutes ago, Joe in Winslow said:

Nice Nuremberg rally at the beginning. So much lameness left unresolved

 

This guy gets it. Arguably the coolest story arc dropped like it was hot.

 

You wanted her to do more than save the world? 

 

No one was the prime mover. That was part of what made it so great.

 

Arya went away. Learned all the things she learned. Never forgot she was a Stark. Avenged the family. Saved the world. Took her vengeance almost too far and lost herself, but didn’t...but she wasn’t going to be a “lady” in the 6/7 kingdoms so she went off to find out what else is out there. 

[Bad Things]

2 minutes ago, mrags said:

 The Night along was just a chapter (maybe more than one. Lol) in a long story. 

 

No it wasn't.

The very first scene of the entire series was about the White Walkers and their threat was constantly being built up.

 

"Winter is Coming" wasn't just a saying to remind everyone to get their firewood ready, it was about the upcoming threat of the White Walkers and the Night King.

[Doc Brown]

25 minutes ago, mrags said:

He was just carrying his mother away. Probably back to Valeria somewhere. 

 

It was game of Thrones. The whole point was who would rule the 7 Kingdoms. The Night along was just a chapter (maybe more than one. Lol) in a long story. 

It was more than a chapter and a looming threat throughout the entire series.  After the epic Hardhome battle where the Night King slowly raised the dead with the lift of his arms, it didn't seem like the fight for the seven kingdoms even mattered.  It would be the living against the dead.  The battle for King's Landing should've been done first and then the ultimate fight against the Night King.  Also, some major complaints I have is hiding whatever the hell Bran was doing from the viewers as it would've been nice if they showed some of his visions.  Also, the identity of the Night King also would've been appreciated.  They could've done so much more and made it way more satisfying.  Oh well.  I appreciate the quality of the show throughout most of its run even if it ended on a whimper.

Edited May 21, 2019 by Doc Brown

[Ol Dirty B]

6 hours ago, Warcodered said:

The biggest problem with this finale is that they just skipped one of the most important scenes that should of been in it. The aftermath of Jon killing Danny I mean what happened did Jon just confess? Why didn't Danny's forces kill him? Why didn't Jon's forces help him? They skipped everything that would of put that meeting to decide everything in context.

 

As to who should of ruled it was clearly Jon he was the only one who seemed like he could have a base of power to warrant the other houses following him. I mean I get it being happier for him to be north of the wall, but I always figured that would of been a selfish ending for him. Leaving the 7 kingdoms with a massive power vacuum and an endless war.

 

Bran does make sense as the best leader for the 7 kingdoms but he doesn't make sense as someone they'd choose to follow. Also so the Unsullied are unwilling for Jon to take the throne and want to kill him but his brother can take it?

 

I agree with all except the unsullied. I can see your points and don't necessarily think you're wrong. I could be mistaken but I'm not sure the unsullied had any connection to the throne beyond Dany. They didnt even seem as though they'd stick around after she gained power. Grey worm didnt want to stick around Westoros with her as queen. What do they care now? I can see the vengeance angle, but I can also see them just wanting it with Jon. I don't think they were concerned with who sat on the throne after her death.

Edited May 21, 2019 by Ol Dirty B

[Ol Dirty B]

24 minutes ago, BeginnersMind said:

 

You wanted her to do more than save the world? 

 

No one was the prime mover. That was part of what made it so great.

 

Arya went away. Learned all the things she learned. Never forgot she was a Stark. Avenged the family. Saved the world. Took her vengeance almost too far and lost herself, but didn’t...but she wasn’t going to be a “lady” in the 6/7 kingdoms so she went off to find out what else is out there. 

 

I don't think the issue with Arya is that she left, it was her lack of involvement in the last scene. She witnessed the burning of the capital first hand. She lost the hound who she did ultimately like, was nearly killed and saw a mother and daughter be incinerated who saved her. 

 

Then the white horse shows up out of no where which was questionable to begin with and then ultimately she had nothing to do with anything of importance. I think that's an issue with how her story ended. I'm fine with her leaving, it's totally understandable, but her being cut out of so much last episode was rather unfulfilling.

[Ol Dirty B]

8 hours ago, frostbitmic said:

Code of honor ?

 

Jon Snow could've continued tapping his Queen .. He could've gone on tapping her and keeping her under control and ruled the realm. Instead he decided to be a moron and killed her mid kiss ... moron.

 

Jon Barleysnow must die.

 

I thought it was funny. Anyone getting upset over this comment on a show that contains 10000x more crude comments and moments is a bit over the top.

14 hours ago, BeginnersMind said:

It was fine. The story had to end. Martin, if he ever writes the books, will do a better job setting up Brann. 

 

Martin cashed the checks. Do you think it's beyond a possibility a guy who wrote these books, would set up those pressing him to hurry up to fail and look awful.

 

Then come out with a great conclusion that he already has an outline formulated to sell more books and make him look like even more of a better writer? 

 

It's a crazy theory and idk his personality at all, but I wouldn't be shocked if he didnt have Brann there.

[ComradeKayAdams]

36 minutes ago, Doc Brown said:

It was more than a chapter and a looming threat throughout the entire series.  After the epic Hardhome battle where the Night King slowly raised the dead with the lift of his arms, it didn't seem like the fight for the seven kingdoms even mattered.  It would be the living against the dead.  The battle for King's Landing should've been done first and then the ultimate fight against the Night King.  Also, some major complaints I have is hiding whatever the hell Bran was doing from the viewers as it would've been nice if they showed some of his visions.  Also, the identity of the Night King also would've been appreciated.  They could've done so much more and made it way more satisfying.  Oh well.  I appreciate the quality of the show throughout most of its run even if it ended on a whimper.

 

I agree with all of this. Both the Bran and the Night King storylines were severely lacking in detail and coverage toward the end of the series. My best guess is that this may have been done intentionally in order to set up the prequel, which I assume/hope will address many of the surrounding questions? From a storytelling perspective, I guess the point of the Night King was to rally all of the disparate and antagonistic groups of people in Westeros together and get them on friendly enough terms in order to create a better Westeros post-Cersei and post-Dany. Or something...

[mrags]

1 hour ago, Bad Things said:

 

No it wasn't.

The very first scene of the entire series was about the White Walkers and their threat was constantly being built up.

 

"Winter is Coming" wasn't just a saying to remind everyone to get their firewood ready, it was about the upcoming threat of the White Walkers and the Night King.

Yeah. Except the entire story is about the battle of the throne of the 7 Kingdoms. Period. End of list. All other stories within the story are just that. A story within the story. 

[Bad Things]

53 minutes ago, Ol Dirty B said:

Then the white horse shows up out of no where which was questionable to begin with and then ultimately she had nothing to do with anything of importance.

 

I forgot about the white horse. Where did she even ride it?  Wasn't she still in Kings Landing?

 

The more I think about it, the more I think people are correct in calling out the poor writing this season.

 

[mrags]

1 hour ago, Doc Brown said:

It was more than a chapter and a looming threat throughout the entire series.  After the epic Hardhome battle where the Night King slowly raised the dead with the lift of his arms, it didn't seem like the fight for the seven kingdoms even mattered.  It would be the living against the dead.  The battle for King's Landing should've been done first and then the ultimate fight against the Night King.  Also, some major complaints I have is hiding whatever the hell Bran was doing from the viewers as it would've been nice if they showed some of his visions.  Also, the identity of the Night King also would've been appreciated.  They could've done so much more and made it way more satisfying.  Oh well.  I appreciate the quality of the show throughout most of its run even if it ended on a whimper.

See above. 

 

And btw. They did reveal the identity of the Night King seasons ago. Nothing more to it because he wasn’t the purpose of the story 

[Bad Things]

8 minutes ago, mrags said:

Yeah. Except the entire story is about the battle of the throne of the 7 Kingdoms. Period. End of list. All other stories within the story are just that. A story within the story. 

Which makes for a poorly written over-arching story.