HBO: Game of Thrones (Song of Ice and Fire)

[washing machine]

Bammer’s just feuding with you, Joe. Has been since January.

[BurtReynolds]

He posted in the predictions thread

Yeah there’s plenty of him doing whatever it is that he does over in that thread

You have a problem with the one post I made in that thread? Really?

Get well, Bammer.

Also, I posted three times in this thread today. Including one in which I fucking agreed with Burt!

oh I didn't go back far enough.

[Anders]

Still coming down from this episode. Is the big gripe here that Daenerys turned at all, or that this is just sloppy storytelling to get from A to B?

Sloppy/rushed story telling.

Rushed more than anything.

Definitely.

I saw on fark someone posted this so I won’t take credit for it: Dany only appeared heroic in comparison to others in the ruling class

the thing is, I could see her massacring soldiers, but I couldn’t believe that she was recklessly killing smallfolk

Didn’t she once crucify a bunch of people whether or not they were actually slavers?

Yup, but they were the nobility of Meereen aka slavers

She blames everyone in Kings Landing. As power hungry and crazy as she is, it would take what she felt was a major action against her, for her to do that to Mereen.

[dimejinky99]

So those plot leaks of episode 5 turned out to be 100% accurate.
I caved and read the second page outlining the finale.

its pretty much as I expected with the odd exception.

[E.H. Ruddock]

And your Starbucks cup for this week has been found and oh fuck these assholes will literally complain about everything

So this didn't appear in the episode, but in behind-the-scenes footage.

[dimejinky99]

Doesn’t stop the hellfire shit brigade writing articles about it. Sadly.

[Anders]

PS I don't think people that disagree with me are retarded, malformed, non-people. The picture above is a joke.

[Anders]

Final episode preview trailer:

Spoiler: show

[Strat]

In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, actor Conleth Hill, aka Varys, weighed in on the demise of his character in last night’s penultimate episode, “The Bells”. While discussing his fiery exit, he shared his thoughts on the post-Martin seasons.

“As a whole it’s been overwhelmingly positive and brilliant but I suppose the last couple seasons weren’t my favorite,” Hill admitted, later adding: “I can’t complain because it’s six great seasons and I had some great scenes these last two seasons. But that’s when It changed for me a little.”

That change, he added, involved the lack of Martin’s narratives, particularly the way he wrestled with the more fringe characters of Westeros. He explained his reasoning:

“I loved the traveling with [Tyrion actor Peter Dinklage] and just the two of us in that cart. I think the stuff that was said in there understood the nature of freaks and outsiders so precisely. In a way, that was lost when we got past [the narrative in George R.R. Martin’s] books. That special niche interest in weirdos wasn’t as effective as it had been. Last season and this season there were great scenes and then I’d come in and kind of give a weather report at the end of them — ‘film at 11.’ So I thought he was losing his knowledge. If he was such an intelligent man and he had such resources, how come he didn’t know about things? That added to my dismay. It’s now being rectified with getting a great and noble ending. But that was frustrating for a couple seasons.”

Of his own fate, Hill was equally transparent:

“I took it very personally. I took it as a person, not as an actor or an artist. I understood the reactions of previous actors who had been in the same position a lot more than I did at the time. You can’t help feeling that you failed in some way, that you haven’t lived up to some expectation that you didn’t know about. The only thing that consoles you is people who worked a lot harder than you are in the same boat. So that helps. I don’t think anybody who hasn’t been through it can identify with it. They think, ‘What’s all the fuss about? You’re all finishing anyway.’ But you take it personally, you can’t help it.”

Towards the end of the interview, Hill eventually admitted that “this is all personal and selfish” and stressed that the series altogether was “a fantastic journey,” but again, he’s hardly alone.

Game of Thrones ends its legendary eight-season run on Sunday. As you wait, catch up with senior writer Andrew Bloom’s incredible weekly recaps, starting with this past Sunday’s review. In related news, Martin’s sixth book still has no release date and he still has another one to deliver after that.

Yikes.

[Anders]

I've still been enjoying the show as much as ever every week. Doesn't mean it's flawless. I think whatever fault there is, is not in the main lines (Night King dying, Dany crazy, Jon not knowing what to do, etc), but rather in the small characters, like Conleth Hill alludes to. I also found the travelling in season 7 a bit weird, although most people don't care about that. But that part of it seems more logical in season 8.

[Jorge]

Moving this from the Predictions thread:

Though I have no personal stake in the show, I always find it interesting to observe how narratives are formed and cultivated around mass media. From what I'm picking up on social media and the couple review headlines I've seen, this final season is being perceived as a Lost-level dropping-of-the-ball. Is that fair?

[darth_vedder]

Moving this from the Predictions thread:

Though I have no personal stake in the show, I always find it interesting to observe how narratives are formed and cultivated around mass media. From what I'm picking up on social media and the couple review headlines I've seen, this final season is being perceived as a Lost-level dropping-of-the-ball. Is that fair?

No, I don't think so. Lost was a head scratcher for s6, this one just feels too rushed. If the writers weren't so determined to end the series and allowed s7 to be at least 8 episodes and this season to be 8 episodes, I think most of the problems people have would be solved. This rush towards the end is jarring in a lot of places and people aren't reacting to it well. A show like this needed a little more time to bake in the oven. No one but D&D wanted this thing to end, and that forced ending is the biggest flaw of the last two seasons.

[darth_vedder]

[Monkey_Driven]

I've still been enjoying the show as much as ever every week. Doesn't mean it's flawless. I think whatever fault there is, is not in the main lines (Night King dying, Dany crazy, Jon not knowing what to do, etc), but rather in the small characters, like Conleth Hill alludes to. I also found the travelling in season 7 a bit weird, although most people don't care about that. But that part of it seems more logical in season 8.

I've had no issues with the major plot points of this season. We just haven't spent enough time with each character in the quiet moments to appreciate the weight and impact of major events.

[Strat]

What was most frustrating about this story is also the best part about it.

There isn't every really some some big major hero moment. Storming the castle, saving the princess, final hero blow to the villain. That's not how this world works and its made it feel so real and magnificently frustrating. We never get that satisfying moment. Its been poison, natural causes, manipulation, accidents...

Ned gets his head chopped off
Rob gets murdered by a conspirator
Joffrey gets poising by tyrells
Robert Botheration gets killed by a boar
Hitler shot himself in a bunker etc..

The conclusion of this story wont be any different.

[Chris_H_2]

What was most frustrating about this story is also the best part about it.

There isn't every really some some big major hero moment. Storming the castle, saving the princess, final hero blow to the villain. That's not how this world works and its made it feel so real and magnificently frustrating. We never get that satisfying moment. Its been poison, natural causes, manipulation, accidents...

Ned gets his head chopped off
Rob gets murdered by a conspirator
Joffrey gets poising by tyrells
Robert Botheration gets killed by a boar
Hitler shot himself in a bunker etc..

The conclusion of this story wont be any different.

holy shit, did i miss the episode where hitler made a cameo?!

[Simple Torture]

What was most frustrating about this story is also the best part about it.

There isn't every really some some big major hero moment. Storming the castle, saving the princess, final hero blow to the villain. That's not how this world works and its made it feel so real and magnificently frustrating. We never get that satisfying moment. Its been poison, natural causes, manipulation, accidents...

Ned gets his head chopped off
Rob gets murdered by a conspirator
Joffrey gets poising by tyrells
Robert Botheration gets killed by a boar
Hitler shot himself in a bunker etc..

The conclusion of this story wont be any different.

holy shit, did i miss the episode where hitler made a cameo?!

[Mecca]

One of the best character moments was Tyrion’s speech to Jamie about how he was the only person who never saw him as a monster

[dimejinky99]

One of the best character moments was Tyrion’s speech to Jamie about how he was the only person who never saw him as a monster

That was beautiful and carried out so well.

[Monkey_Driven]

I loved everything about Tyrion and Jaime's last scene together.