I'm not too sure how I feel about that last episode overall. I tried to not dismiss the ending of Arya's No One arc as best as I could but the more I think about it the more I really do think everyone's right and that it's pretty damn bad. I hope I change my mind as time goes on, perhaps future events will make it seem like a more purposeful arc in the long run but as of right now it just feels like a major disappointment. And while I didn't seem to mind Tyrion's banter with Grey Worm and whatshername as much as a lot of other people, Dany's return was absolutely cringeworthy. It's bad enough that I called it but even if I didn't the way it was done was just really bad.
That being said however, the non-Dany and non-Arya parts of this episode I liked quite a bit, particularly Jaime and Cersei's parts. So I have mixed feelings about it overall. Mainly I'm looking forward to the final episode (not the next one so much because I'm not a fan of the episodes that are battle-heavy) to see how this strange season wraps up. Depending on the conclusion I could see it being one of my favorite or one of my least favorite seasons. As of right now it's totally up in the air.
Really? This was my second favorite episode so far. No Dany was a plus, as well as no Tyrion (make no mistake I love Tyrion, but I agree with Rico that it seems like they have no idea what to do with him right now) and all of the dialogue was really engaging in this one.
nutella wrote:
- I agree with zebra re: Dany. She's always been kinda boring to me and is just constantly overrated and glorified and I'm really tired of it.[/spoiler]
I'M NOT ALONE, THANK YOU!
This video touches on one of my (many) problems with how the show handles Dany. Although I disagree with the video's main point because I don't think that adaptations are obligated to keep the spirit of what they're adapting, I have not read the books myself and this video has gotten me more curious about them than I ever thought I would be simply because this guy makes the ideology of the books sound more interesting than the ideology of the show, though neither are set in stone yet. Spoilers for the books and for the show:
If she does become the big band in the end, that would make me almost forgive the extremely uneventful and unnecessarily long developments with her character arc. It would be great to have the one character in the entire series that the audience is actively encouraged to root for become the one character that is the primary antagonist of every other character that the audience has rooted for on the basis of the characters themselves.
I welcome it as well and I do think that's where it's going, it's just that I think this development should've happened way earlier. Like Season 2 earlier. As soon as Khal Drogo died this is the direction I believe Khaleesi should have immediately gone. As it is we've had over four seasons of what I would consider meandering with her arc.
My response to the most recent episode was lukewarm. I liked it overall, especially Samwell's part which is a first, but the final scene was really tepid IMO. I am so tired of the show acting like Khaleesi is more magnificent than she actually is. Every single thing she does is portrayed as triumphant and it's annoying. Other than that though, I liked this one, and I'm glad Arya's story is heading in a new direction, although I was much more of a fan of her temporary quest to become no one in Season 5 than a lot of other people.
a2thezebra wrote:I should clarify that I plan to make the third party cut as a single piece, I'm estimating around 10-15 hours.
What does that mean?
An edited down version of the complete television series to flow as if it was a very long film. I've thought about doing this with other shows as well, such as Twin Peaks, Columbo, Buffy, Angel, and a few others.
How could I forget the fantastic scene with Sansa, Brienne and Littlefinger!? That floored me. I'm also impressed with the fight choreography this season. If I were to compose a third party cut of this series (which I actually plan to do when it's over) I would remove almost all of the fight scenes until this season, to illustrate the feeling that shit is about to go down.
Okay, I did miss that, which helps a lot. I still don't think that the Dothraki people who were totally dismissive of Dany even knowing her past successes before, would then bow down before her for killing their leaders and not getting burnt. Again. I was just like, really???
I also find it unbelievable that just burning the other Dothraki leaders to death...worked. Like, couldn't they just run away? Or stop her after she knocked down the first fire thingamabob? They're fucking Dothraki, not a spoiled Arryn child.
The inexplicable obligatory cock was way more warranted than Dany's finale in 6x04. :P
To clarify, I don't mean it's unwarranted in the sense that I think that she should've just stayed there for the rest of the series. I mean it's unwarranted that she earned the respect of all the Dothraki so easily. All she did was not get burned, again. It was just lame in my opinion.
I didn't complain about it being wonky, I complained about it being unwarranted and unbelievable. I can see how young Hodor may seem narmy to some but I was moved by it, as opposed to being enraged at 6x04. The reason I could see this season outdoing the second is because Dany was the first part about that season as well, for me anyway.
Some sort of resolution is definitely coming with the High Sparrow, but I love his segments in each episode. He's such a contrast to everything else. I like how powerless and irrelevant everyone and everything at King's Landing has become, mostly because of him.
This season has been the best since season 2 and it might even be able to surpass that by the end. I really like the direction everything is moving in and for the first time it actually feels like the show is building toward a resolution, even if it's still far off in the distance.
And RE: last night's episode: That was a different kind of emotional debilitation than I'm used to experiencing from Game of Thrones.
I think I may be starting to agree with this. Last night's episode was the first 10/10 episode I've seen from this show since Season 2's finale. The pacing was immaculate, every scene followed the one before it beautifully.
It doesn't make sense to me that it would work a second time because the Dothraki were already aware of Khaleesi's history with Khal Drogo and as the mother of dragons, they just didn't care because she wasn't in a position to impress anymore. Then she pulls the rabbit out of the hat again and then everyone's suddenly like "oh we didn't know you could like actually survive flames and shit, here let us all bow down to you even though you just killed our leaders and we don't like or care for you much at all." It just feels really unearned and unbelievable to me. Since Season 2 (with the exception of Season 5) it feels like the show's been nicer to Khaleesi than any other character, and that's been annoying me. When she gets lucky the show portrays her as a heroine when her blood is the only thing about her that has managed to get anyone's respect and/or loyalty, and when her decision-making skills are tested they are revealed to be tepid, over and over again. Yet the show seems to hand her success on a silver platter when every other character has to either earn it or at the very least seize an opportunity. Out of everyone in the show who believes that they are destined for greatness she's the only one where the show's presentation seems to agree with her.
I agree that it was a good episode overall, perhaps the best so far in this season, but am I the only that thought that Daenarys' final scene was ridiculously bad?
And the scene you've all been waiting for. Literally schoolyard filmmaking. "Melisande doesn't do shit, gives a hopeless look, everyone leaves, freeze frame on face for 10 seconds, aaaaaah *gasp of liveliness*, cut to black". 100% mainstream tropes, 0% intelligent design. Sorry, but no. No.
Every other scene was filler, you know it's true.
I disagree with everything else you said about the episode, but I'm with you one hundred percent here.
Seriously, fuck that last scene. I was hoping so, so badly that they were doing the buildup to the gasp of liveliness only to have no gasp of liveliness at the end...you know, to actually be as unpredictable as everyone parades the show to be for once, but nope.
