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I really enjoyed the episode. Granted, I'm a show fan not a book fan (I've tried, I just can't) so I haven't been steeped in the theorizing and whatnot.
What I liked:
I loved some of the lighting and the way they used it to tell the story of the battle. I loved how you just saw the flickering out of the Dothraki swords as they're swallowed by the army of the dead, the way the charge just hit that black wall across the field as Dany and Jon watched from above, how the dragon fire lit up the storm clouds as Sansa was watching from the ramparts - excellent and beautiful.
I loved seeing Arya in her battle element, but also how she was knocked down a peg after she hit her head so that you felt like she was in jeopardy more than she otherwise would have been. There were people that I figured were safe from death (Dany, Jon, Sansa, Arya, Tyrion, Bran) but I wouldn't have put it past the show runners to seriously injure them.
Loved Sansa's interaction with Tyrion and when she said that he was the best of them. lol
What I didn't like:
I had a moment at the end after Arya stabs the Night King like... is that it? I thought that moment, while I was screaming and cheering and losing my shit with glee, was ultimately anti-climactic. I figured, at least, that they would be able to stave off the army of the dead and retreat further south rather than literally stop the army of the dead at Winterfell. At most I was expecting several lieutenants to die but the Night King suffer a temporary defeat of some kind and ultimately give chase as the Northerners fled to Moat Cailin or the Twins. I didn't think the battle to go further south then the Twin, but not even past Winterfell?
The whole episode was too dark. I understand that keeping the battle dark played into probably keeping CGI costs lower and in some cases the darkness really served to add to the ambiance of the battle (the initial Dothraki charge) but mostly I found it frustrating because I couldn't see who was who and what was happening.
The initial Dothraki charge. Really? Jon was at Hardhome and had a major hand in planning this battle and he thought that would work?
I watched the After the Thrones interviews and David and Dan were both saying things like how everyone would expect the Dothraki charge to be more effective or would forget that Arya just ran off after her encounter with Melisandra... nope. I even said, outloud, during Arya's scene in the library "what do we say to the god of death?" only for Melisandra to say it in the episode 5 minutes later. There was a lot of predictability in this episode.
Teenaged X-Files obsession + Bermuda Triangle episode + Self-led school research project = Atheist.
April 29, 2019 at 4:44 pm (This post was last modified: April 29, 2019 at 5:14 pm by Amarok.)
(April 29, 2019 at 4:37 pm)Clueless Morgan Wrote: I really enjoyed the episode. Granted, I'm a show fan not a book fan (I've tried, I just can't) so I haven't been steeped in the theorizing and whatnot.
What I liked:
I loved some of the lighting and the way they used it to tell the story of the battle. I loved how you just saw the flickering out of the Dothraki swords as they're swallowed by the army of the dead, the way the charge just hit that black wall across the field as Dany and Jon watched from above, how the dragon fire lit up the storm clouds as Sansa was watching from the ramparts - excellent and beautiful.
I loved seeing Arya in her battle element, but also how she was knocked down a peg after she hit her head so that you felt like she was in jeopardy more than she otherwise would have been. There were people that I figured were safe from death (Dany, Jon, Sansa, Arya, Tyrion, Bran) but I wouldn't have put it past the show runners to seriously injure them.
Loved Sansa's interaction with Tyrion and when she said that he was the best of them. lol
What I didn't like:
I had a moment at the end after Arya stabs the Night King like... is that it? I thought that moment, while I was screaming and cheering and losing my shit with glee, was ultimately anti-climactic. I figured, at least, that they would be able to stave off the army of the dead and retreat further south rather than literally stop the army of the dead at Winterfell. At most I was expecting several lieutenants to die but the Night King suffer a temporary defeat of some kind and ultimately give chase as the Northerners fled to Moat Cailin or the Twins. I didn't think the battle to go further south then the Twin, but not even past Winterfell?
The whole episode was too dark. I understand that keeping the battle dark played into probably keeping CGI costs lower and in some cases the darkness really served to add to the ambiance of the battle (the initial Dothraki charge) but mostly I found it frustrating because I couldn't see who was who and what was happening.
The initial Dothraki charge. Really? Jon was at Hardhome and had a major hand in planning this battle and he thought that would work?
I watched the After the Thrones interviews and David and Dan were both saying things like how everyone would expect the Dothraki charge to be more effective or would forget that Arya just ran off after her encounter with Melisandra... nope. I even said, outloud, during Arya's scene in the library "what do we say to the god of death?" only for Melisandra to say it in the episode 5 minutes later. There was a lot of predictability in this episode.
1. Why ? Why should this battle have dragged on rather then do it in one shot ? Why should it have gone further ?
2.Hardhome wasn't an open plain the kind of terrain the Dothraki are built to fight on
3 . The darkness is symbolic
4. And that's bad because .......
(April 29, 2019 at 1:48 am)Homeless Nutter Wrote: It's an hour-long battle involving tens of thousands. If they were to let us see it well, this one episode would cost as much as the Avengers movie.
Plus the darkness is symbolic
(April 29, 2019 at 9:14 am)Kit Wrote: With only three episodes left, I doubt there's going to be another battle. If it was me, I'd make Arya sneak in and kill Cercei.
I think it will be Sansa that kills Cercei
(April 24, 2019 at 10:08 pm)Aegon Wrote:
(April 24, 2019 at 10:05 pm)Kit Wrote: I think the dragon fight is going to be the toughest part to watch, because it's going to be an undead sibling against live siblings.
Yeah but theyre CGI monsters with no personality so I don't care.
I had low expectations going into the final season, since it's really sucked pretty badly since Season 5 (with a few episodes serving as wonderful exceptions). But I've been pretty pleased so far. The last episode was great.
Really what about the Scene with Tyrion
(April 29, 2019 at 10:49 am)Shell B Wrote:
(April 29, 2019 at 1:48 am)Homeless Nutter Wrote: It's an hour-long battle involving tens of thousands. If they were to let us see it well, this one episode would cost as much as the Avengers movie.
I do think they could have turned up the lights just a bit. There were parts that I couldn't just not see well. I couldn't see at all.
Really I thought lighting was alright
(April 29, 2019 at 11:08 am)Aegon Wrote: That was ... pretty poorly written lol. Magnificent acting, but... I mean, come on. That was painful to watch.
Worst military strategy ever. Some teenager in his basement playing Total War could've came up with a better one.
Arya sneaking behind undead white walkers and the Night King? Outta nowhere? You gotta understand that, since 1999, book fans have had endless theories about the Others (i.e., their motivation), the prophecy of Azor Ahai, Jon's role as a Targaryen, and Arya just stabs the NK in the stomach and that's it? All nicely and cleanly resolved in one episode? This show is just like any other now (correction: it has been since S5). A mindless evil zombie bent on destroying humanity, nothing more nuanced than that. And Arya just up and stabs the guy. Seriously anticlimactic.
I also can't believe Cersei and fucking Euron are the biggest baddies at the end of the day. "Winter is Coming," now it just came and went and we're done? We good? What?
That being said, the acting was great, and I sincerely felt for all the characters. It was a brutal battle, and I liked it a lot. Yeah, it was a little dark. Just turn up your brightness
1. Really their plan wasn't perfect but it wasn't completely dumb
2. The NK isn't suppose to have an understable motivation that's what makes him scary. As for the prophecy guess what even in fantasy setting legends and prophecy's can be bullshit . It's fans fault for trying to read to much into things . Why should it be nuanced ? And Arya was always going to be the one to kill the Night King there was nothing anti climatic about it . Why should the NK [/color]be hard to kill nobody else in this show is . Yup winter came and it was defeated and that's an issue why . As for Cersei of course she's going to be the final antagonist she's a bigger monster then the Night King .
Seek strength, not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy -- myself.
Regardless there's going to be a banging episode and then a kill Cercei episode and a final wrap up one.
I understand wrapping up with the wildlings and Walkers and NK because they're doing a whole prequel about that side of the wall. I'm OK with that now.
Lots of banging to wrap up now.
Yara's uncle and Cercei-definately
Jayme and Cercei-probably not
Arya and Gendry-maybe
Giant's Bane and big lady-definately
Tyrion and Sansa-maybe
worm and his honey-definately
Jon and Danny-probably not
Sam and Gily-meh
I think that's about it
Side note. If the red queen was that powerful, then the three eyed raven, the living memory of the world, better pull out something a lot cooler than he has. Now that they're down 2 dragons, there should be budget room.
"There ought to be a term that would designate those who actually follow the teachings of Jesus, since the word 'Christian' has been largely divorced from those teachings, and so polluted by fundamentalists that it has come to connote their polar opposite: intolerance, vindictive hatred, and bigotry." -- Philip Stater, Huffington Post
always working on cleaning my windows- me regarding Johari
(April 29, 2019 at 5:14 pm)tackattack Wrote: Regardless there's going to be a banging episode and then a kill Cercei episode and a final wrap up one.
I understand wrapping up with the wildlings and Walkers and NK because they're doing a whole prequel about that side of the wall. I'm OK with that now.
Lots of banging to wrap up now.
Yara's uncle and Cercei-definately
Jayme and Cercei-probably not
Arya and Gendry-maybe
Giant's Bane and big lady-definately
Tyrion and Sansa-maybe
worm and his honey-definately
Jon and Danny-probably not
Sam and Gily-meh
I think that's about it
Side note. If the red queen was that powerful, then the three eyed raven, the living memory of the world, better pull out something a lot cooler than he has. Now that they're down 2 dragons, there should be budget room.
Too be fair to Bran the Three Eyed Raven isn't suppose to be about big flashy spells it's power is suppose to be subtle.
Seek strength, not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy -- myself.
I'm not asking for a gandalf "you shall not pass" moment but change the past then, worg all the rats in the city, work a 50 foot python ans swallow cercei whole. Something more than peekaboo with some ravens.
"There ought to be a term that would designate those who actually follow the teachings of Jesus, since the word 'Christian' has been largely divorced from those teachings, and so polluted by fundamentalists that it has come to connote their polar opposite: intolerance, vindictive hatred, and bigotry." -- Philip Stater, Huffington Post
always working on cleaning my windows- me regarding Johari
April 29, 2019 at 5:24 pm (This post was last modified: April 29, 2019 at 5:28 pm by Amarok.)
Some more thoughts
1. People who complain the night king went down to easy . I remind you this story shows over and over again being "legendary " doesn't mean shit . You can be the most "legendary "whatever and go down in the most mundane ways . So why should the Night King be an exception to this rule .
2. For people who complain Arya did it . It's pretty obvious it was going to be her . After all why would Bran have given her that specific dagger ?
(April 29, 2019 at 5:21 pm)tackattack Wrote: I'm not asking for a gandalf "you shall not pass" moment but change the past then, worg all the rats in the city, work a 50 foot python ans swallow cercei whole. Something more than peekaboo with some ravens.
It's going to be Bran that kills her I don't think . Bran changing the past would be dangerous . Why the hell would he use rats? . Were the hell would they find a python let alone 50 foot one in Westroes in the winter ? The Ravens served a purpose .
Seek strength, not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy -- myself.
How the heck do you plan for a horseback army to attack an unseen foe at night?!?!
Oh, surprise!! they get slaughtered by ghosts and the little flaming swords go out in less than 5 minutes! Damn, worse than a crappy battle in World of tanks.
How were those dothraki expecting to defeat the dead?? no valyrian steel, no dragonglass... wut?!! wasn't that the whole point of Jon going to Dragonstone? get dragonglass. Most idiotic waste of a whole army.
Also, that's not how you do battle at night. Blind!? Idiots.
Either light up the field properly or stay behind the walls and wait for the day... at least dawn. Wasn't that the plan at Helm's Deep? Weren't they saying that this was going to be more spectacular than Helm's Deep? More stupid, if anything...
Then the waste of the unsullied army. Also getting overwhelmed due to lack of sight.
The dragons are totally wasted. I think I saw more blue fire than yellow fire coming out of them.
Dragons should have been on top of the castle towers spitting fire at the attacking horde and obliterating them all until only the night king and the other white walkers were around.
Clegane goes back into PTSD mode with fire. PTSD is real and already existed in the third age, folks! Did he expect a night time battle with dragons involved to not have fire??
Arya indoors has to tiptoe around the whights?! Didn't they dissolve into a puff of dust when skewered by dragonglass? take them out one by one, as they were spread out, no?.... no... just try to evade.
Speaking of, why did some of the whights (giant included) dissolve into dust and some (close encounter lady with Arya) falls on her shoulder, bleeds from the wound, and remains intact? that's what I call inconsistent.
Theon... close quarters battle with bow and arrow, very clever. Also, to keep the bows singing, you'd hold multiple arrows with the hand that holds the bow and shoot them at more than one per second... not having to draw them one at a time from a quiver on the ground... idiots. Somehow, plot armor kept him safe until he ran at the big boss bad guy. With his combat expertise, he should have known to stand his ground and let the attacking force come. Idiotic death.
And Arya jumping through every white walker and screaming...? oops, got caught, duh! But the old drop and slip in saves the day. yay!! Bran is safe, Jon is safe, Dany is safe... Jorah not so much... who else died? oh Beric, a very important character - not! Oh, and also little miss Mormont who took out the giant, nice.
Briene and Jamie were screaming together, last I saw them...
And the red woman can finally have her peace. I thought she was supposed to just be a priestess of the god of light, like other priestesses we saw in Meereen... Why was she special and turned old when she took off the necklace? What about the other priestesses? Did they also lose their meaning to live when the night king was vanquished and fell dead of old age? unexplained and they will never bother.
With the white walkers gone and the wildlings mostly on the south side of the wall, I'd say that the wall will not get rebuilt and the far north might become an 8th kingdom of Westeros.... or part of the North, vassals to the Starks.
April 30, 2019 at 3:54 am (This post was last modified: April 30, 2019 at 3:54 am by Silver.)
Episode three rated the lowest by viewers, and their main concern:
Quote:It turns out that despite Arya’s entire series-long arc of becoming a silent, quick, agile warrior/assassin, a lot of extremely Online™ men can’t stomach Game of Thrones’ villain being taken out by a young woman.
(April 30, 2019 at 3:54 am)Kit Wrote: Episode three rated the lowest by viewers, and their main concern:
Quote:It turns out that despite Arya’s entire series-long arc of becoming a silent, quick, agile warrior/assassin, a lot of extremely Online™ men can’t stomach Game of Thrones’ villain being taken out by a young woman.
Haha I didn't have any problems with girl "doing that" but it's just that it was lame. It was deus ex machina. Writers wrote themselves into a corner of having the enemy being too strong and when they were on the verge of killing everybody someone stabs the king and all enemies die. I mean this so typical TV while, on the other hand, it seems that people like GOT because it is different: characters die all the time, things have consequences. But as they left RR Martin's books they started making the show as TV producers. I mean this reminds me of so many other shows, especially SF shows.
Also fuck spoilers: if someone doesn't watch this then don't open it.