Ncgunner

I rarely post, but I’m finding the discussion of the Season 7 finale pretty interesting. I gave the episode a 4 – not god awful, but there were enough serious flaws that I simply couldn’t rate it any higher. I guess I could argue that my rating is a bit generous, but I think I’ve started to grade on a bit of curve since the show moved the beyond books. I’ve gotten used to the “turbo paced/character development light” approach that the show has adopted – and this episode was a “marginal” episode in that vein. There are plenty of posts identifying the episodes shortcomings, but a few of the things that gave me real problems – 1. The pointless unraveling of Sam’s story. He leaves the Citadel in a huff after a year??? When he went there to be a master, did he think he was taking a correspondence course? Becoming a master takes years and is effectively a lifetime commitments – but a few months in he throws up his hands and just leaves. To make matters worse, this episode reduces him to a vehicle for ham-handed exposition. The whole fireside chat, when Bran’s magic visions and Sam’s (well Gilly’s) coincidental discovery all come together, is as contrived as it could be. 2. The plot to kill LF. I liked the idea of the Stark sister team-up and I liked the idea of taking in the ultimate schemer with a counter-scheme. But all of the tension between the sisters is based on conversations they had when they were alone!! So it makes no sense to believe that they were setting up LF. So really, the only folks that were tricking were the audience. That’s not clever – that’s just cheap. 3. I liked the Tyrion/Cersei scene, but they completely copped out by not showing the critical exchange in which Tyrion supposedly convinced Cersei to join the cause. 4. Theon reprising the fight scene from Cool Hand Luke (poorly) There are more, but there were just too many “doh” moments for this to be anything other than a mediocre episode.