I had assumed that they were taking big jumps into the future, but the night king explanation makes sense. I guess.
― Mad Piratical (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Monday, 20 May 2019 22:33 (five years ago) link
It was dumb but I enjoyed it. I’d watch a pirate queen Arya spin-off.
― Allen (etaeoe), Monday, 20 May 2019 22:34 (five years ago) link
"I'd watch a west of Westeros if it happened."
WestofWesterosWorld
― Pontius Pilates (Ye Mad Puffin), Monday, 20 May 2019 23:08 (five years ago) link
I dont understand why everyone's mad because of Tyrions "Bran has the best story" thing. He didnt mean "Bran's story arc was awesome hes the best!" he meant he had *everyone in the words stories stored in his mind*.
― Stoop Crone (Trayce), Monday, 20 May 2019 23:25 (five years ago) link
Generally though, this was a bit of a load of auld bollox. Drogon burning the throne. Good god.
― Stoop Crone (Trayce), Monday, 20 May 2019 23:26 (five years ago) link
What should've happened:
Sailing west for some number of months, they see a statue on the horizon. As they near, they realize it's on an island, and the statue is a woman bearing a torch, and the name of that island: Ellis Island.
-CUT TO BLACK-
― Tormund Giantsbabe (Leee), Monday, 20 May 2019 23:36 (five years ago) link
Trayce otm x2. This season was bad but also frequently misinterpreted in some very weird ways
― rob, Monday, 20 May 2019 23:44 (five years ago) link
As soon as the throne got melted it was pretty obvious that they'd have to choose a king with the vision to bring his own seat
― mick signals, Monday, 20 May 2019 23:45 (five years ago) link
haw!
― Stoop Crone (Trayce), Monday, 20 May 2019 23:48 (five years ago) link
i just thought it was unbelievably corny
― Mordy, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 00:06 (five years ago) link
On that I think we all agree.
When Jon and Tormun went back norf, I'd take Tuomas's caper one step further and say they shoulda been confronted in the forest by Benjen and Lady Stoneheart.
― Stoop Crone (Trayce), Tuesday, 21 May 2019 00:11 (five years ago) link
the whole ending wasn't as bad as lost, and the show never set itself up to leap off a platform on its face as lost did, but this season is as bad and stupid an ending of a series as i've seen since lost. harsh to say that but it honestly is so uneven and silly as it ends.
the wildly imbalanced tone, the 90-minute character-only episodes versus 90-minute battles, the immediate deaths followed by 45 minutes of talking, the sudden bran is king appointment etc, it's just been a fucking laughably shit last six episodes, and that's after season 7 and maybe 6 were at best episode one big battle episode 10 a second one with nothing happening in between.
yet again, somehow, they eschewed any action in favour of a denouement that was as boring as return of the king, except return of the king at least was a bad half hour at the end of a three and a half hour movie. the absolute waste of time. i found myself surprised there was about 50 minutes go when they'd already ended any significant narrative about 10 minutes in.
glad it's over, good first few seasons and entertaining along the way but time to get on with our lives.
― FernandoHierro, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 00:18 (five years ago) link
Yeah for me the pacing was the most jarring part.
We spent an entire fucking season yawning away sitting around in Mereen and in one episode, Dany dies and suddenly its X weeks later and everyone's sitting around going 'ok so whos running the place now then I guess we better do something' and no riots from dothraki or unsullied....
...and um, was there like *anyone* left in Kings Landing to even rule?
― Stoop Crone (Trayce), Tuesday, 21 May 2019 00:21 (five years ago) link
yeah, spent about three or four seasons dawdling around the place, especially dany. then for whatever reason they decided to end this one in six episodes when they'd built up enough slack that they had to rush through deaths of major villains or characters as if there was never any significance to them to begin with.
the bran is king scene was about as stupid as i've seen on television, like the show has always flirted with the new adventures of hercules but mainly in dorne, great they returned to that aesthetic in the finale.
― FernandoHierro, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 00:24 (five years ago) link
Along with the profound existential threat posed by the night king, the threat of the longest winter in memory turned out to be another dud. There was barely even any snow on the ground and thick green foliage on the trees in the background during the election scenenight king dead = no endless winterpretty standard fantasy stuff tbh
night king dead = no endless winter
pretty standard fantasy stuff tbh
I’m not talking about the endless winter, just the really long, non-magical, especially brutal one they kept hyping which ceased to be much of a concern in the end
― the public eating of beans (Sparkle Motion), Tuesday, 21 May 2019 00:27 (five years ago) link
just a garbage end to a garbage season for a show that had several very good seasons is how i bran the broken it down to an extent
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Tuesday, 21 May 2019 00:32 (five years ago) link
I always assumed the extra long winter did actuall = night kings schtick, just no one attributed it to that because no one believed in him/dragons/cotf etc anymore (re Old Nans stories).
― Stoop Crone (Trayce), Tuesday, 21 May 2019 00:35 (five years ago) link
heres my question how come Brienne is still wearing her armor for like, going to meetings & stuff all that nice royal furniture being chewed up! plus surely uncomfortable af
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 21 May 2019 01:26 (five years ago) link
for me it's hard to fault Brienne for anything, she is so awesome (I say this not having seen the last season)
― Dan S, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 01:28 (five years ago) link
oh i agree, she’s awesome
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 21 May 2019 01:46 (five years ago) link
the seasons on Westeros are inherently magical, yes
Unless there's a scientific explanation for decades-long winters of variable length
― Number None, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 02:13 (five years ago) link
https://splinternews.com/thank-you-for-the-content-slop-hbo-1834887867I feel like the above linked piece is a much better distillation of all the whining than anyone else is likely to accomplish on this thread or elsewhere The scientific american blog post about sociological vs psychological storytelling was really good though, everyone should read thaton to chernobyl, his dark materials and the third season of that stupid westworld show
― El Tomboto, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 02:41 (five years ago) link
the teen junkie drama they advertised at the end looked like it has an outside chance of being interesting.
― Greta Van Show Feets BB (milo z), Tuesday, 21 May 2019 02:44 (five years ago) link
expecting television to give you more than basic titillation is like asking for a rollercoaster to make you thinkit’s because it’s all on widescreens now and a couple of episodes of The Wire and Mad Men got all aspirationally into folks’ head space that we forgot what teevee really is
― El Tomboto, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 02:47 (five years ago) link
I think there have been enough truly great TV shows from the past few years that expectations are indeed maybe too high, but at the same time, same TV shows prove that it is possible to be exceptional, which makes anything less often disappointing.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 02:49 (five years ago) link
expecting television to give you more than basic titillation is like asking for a rollercoaster to make you think
this post was not by who I thought it was by
― the public eating of beans (Sparkle Motion), Tuesday, 21 May 2019 02:52 (five years ago) link
I believe it was Scientific American who said it was a great modern TV tragedy that they reduced the season length from 10 to 7 (or 6) and I agree!
The weird (I guess) issue I had with a lot of Season 8 consistency was all the Lion-oriented interior decoration. You wouldn't think that the staunchly "I didn't fuck my brother" queen might retain the sigil of her departed king and "father" of two deceased monarchs? I.. guess not?
― flamboyant goon tie included, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 03:56 (five years ago) link
Why would she? The lion is her sigil.
― gyac, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 05:46 (five years ago) link
By now she knows everyone knows she's knobbing her brother so no need to keep up that pretence any more.
― thomasintrouble, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 06:06 (five years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/z7iHD54.png
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Tuesday, 21 May 2019 06:30 (five years ago) link
It's possible to think this was crap even after lowering all expectations - the assumption that you yourself treat TV with the lack of respect it deserves but anyone criticising this show in fact expects it to be high art is practically sociopathic in its insularity.
― FernandoHierro, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 06:50 (five years ago) link
I think the idea of a West of Westeros the gutther advrntures of Arya Stark or whatever they'd call it has the potential to be quite interesting if done right. Though hate to see potential squandered.
& just hope she hasn't gone and sailed off the side of a flat earth. I take it the planet Westeros is on is supposed to be a globe though.
― Stevolende, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 07:37 (five years ago) link
It's a banana
― Frederik B, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 07:40 (five years ago) link
Eye of Macumba theory still holds
― nashwan, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 07:48 (five years ago) link
The whole episode felt like a rushed first draft of a script that no one bothered to ask any difficult questions about. Say what you like about the rest of the season at least it worked as blockbuster entertainment but this was just a clunker. The meeting of the new small council was probably the best thing about it because it was probably the only time I felt like I was watching characters I recognised and not pieces being shuffled up and down a board.Kind of think that the writers might have nailed the landing if they'd a) had writers who could write dialogue and b) worked the last season's worth of story into two - allowing the last two episodes' worth of plot to play out over a whole season. That way they could have shown Cersei's downfall and Dany's descent into tyranny properly and worked some actual conflict and peril into Tyrion's imprisonment and Jon's situation. And used Varys properly. As it was it was just rushed and the less said about the murder scene and its aftermath the better.Also Bran Stark if you can warg into a dragon then maybe do so before it's used a weapon of genocide? Then again who am I to question the good and rightful King of Westeros.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 07:57 (five years ago) link
tbf it's never confirmed Bran intends to or is really capable of warging Drogon and it was a relief that when he said perjsps he could find him it didn't cut to a bunch of warged crows flying east out of Kings Landing
― nashwan, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 08:01 (five years ago) link
The alternative is the dragon decided to melt down the Iron Throne out of a mixture of grief and stop-the-madness while deciding to just let Jon go, which is somehow worse.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 08:04 (five years ago) link
I just assumed the dragon let him go because he was a Targaryen
― Number None, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 08:29 (five years ago) link
But yeah, it seems like the first part is true - and very stupid
― Number None, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 08:31 (five years ago) link
The throne was stupid and that is reaon enough for it to be melted by anyone with the power to do so.
― nashwan, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 08:36 (five years ago) link
Also, half the dialogue was characters over-explaining the writers' own rushed character decisions, like Jon and Tyrion banging on about how the signs were there about Dany all along.
Nice to see Edmure again though, love that dude.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 08:37 (five years ago) link
there is a funny tension in a show that got big off sudden intense twists and popcorn moments ending with a seer in charge, perfectly calm and able to look back in time to check he's posting as he always has
― ogmor, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 08:38 (five years ago) link
it was so bad that it would have been better if the last scene was ned stark having a shower in 1994 and realising it was all a dream.
― FernandoHierro, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 08:38 (five years ago) link
Late doors Bran was such a weird character, a deus ex machina with no real plot function. Everything he did could have been done by someone else quite easily (Sam, Arya, whoever).
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 09:52 (five years ago) link
They should really have done a reprise of the final episode of the first season, with Jon in the Ned position, but Arya no longer standing idly by. Then she could have gone west to escape the wrath of the unsullied. And the big question for everyone else should be who gets to tell *this* story and how do you tell it. Arghh.
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Tuesday, 21 May 2019 10:18 (five years ago) link
what I tried to type earlier was
I think the idea of a West of Westeros the further adventures of Arya Stark or whatever they'd call it has the potential to be quite interesting if done right. Though hate to see potential squandered.
but typing on phone not great.
I assume that there are no immediate plans to further follow any of the surviving characters though. & certainly see that as a more interesting possibility than following Jon Snow into the reclaimed North of the Wall though that might have possibilities too.Further adventures of Tyrion in righting some longstanding wrongs might have some possibilities. Or Sansa Queen of the Free North.
But I like the idea of the explorations of a single female in the Uncharted territories of the world they live in. Though could see the drawbacks in terms of a woman's perceived place in the medieval world. Could be good though.
― Stevolende, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 10:39 (five years ago) link
As for spinoff ideas, someone pointed out that the final scene with Drogon was him flying eastwards with Dany's body. So maybe he's returning to Essos to the area where he's originally from? But said area also has magicians (like Melisandre) who can bring the dead back to life... So if they really wanted to, they could do a sequel series where a pissed off, resurrected Daenerys declares war on Westeros. I doubt they're gonna do that, but since they didn't show what happened to her body, maybe they were intentionally keeping the door open, in case someone wants to do such a sequel?
― Tuomas, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 11:35 (five years ago) link
an idea just awful enough to work!
― michael keaton IS jim thirlwell IN ‘foetaljuice’ (bizarro gazzara), Tuesday, 21 May 2019 11:42 (five years ago) link
There's a bit of a horrific implication with Bran saying "why do you think I came all the way here?" after Tyrion makes the plea for him to become the king. It could suggest that Bran foresaw everything that was gonna happen, including Dany destroying King's Landing and Jon murdering her, so neither of them could become the new ruler, thus opening the door for him. But if he saw all of that, then that means he decided not to warn anyone about the massacre and let it play out, just so the others would see Dany needs to be killed. Which doesn't seem like a good omen for what kind of a king he will be.
― Tuomas, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 11:44 (five years ago) link
In fact, there is (of course there is) a whole "Bran is evil" fan theory, according to which Bran deliberately told Jon about his true parentage, knowing that the truth would get out, that it would destabilise Daenerys, leading to her lash-out and subsequent death, and that Bran's endgame was always to become the king.
― Tuomas, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 11:48 (five years ago) link