A Time for Starks

I thought the first half of the episode was really, really good, up until and including Drogon burning the Iron Throne. I've been predicting that Jon would kill Dany very much in this fashion, and was glad it played out like it did. But in addition, I thought the scene was well done. When the scene began and Jon and Dany started talking, I was thinking why is Jon continuing to be so weak. But the reason is because at that time, he knew what needed to be done and was emotional because of it. I found it more powerful the second time watching it knowing what would happen, and reading into Jon's emotions. I also really enjoyed the scene right before, the Tyrion and Jon scene where Tyrion had to convince Jon of what needed to be done. But the second half was... disappointing. The main thing that I keep coming back to in my mind as to why it is so disappointing is that: Bran is not a king. He doesn't inspire love. He doesn't inspire fear. He doesn't inspire... well anything really. He would have made a great Master of Whispers as he knows all, but he is not a leader. I also couldn't fully grasp why Jon was being punished. He just saved the Kingdoms from a tyrant. And it appears that the Unsullied left for Naath anyway, so they wouldn't need to appease them by punishing Jon and sending him North. Didn't make sense to me. I guess in the end, I really felt that Jon had earned the title of king and should've been nominated by the council because of it. At the end of the day, he saved the Kingdoms from Ice and Fire. He convinced Dany to fight for the North to save the Kingdoms from Ice. He personally killed Dany and saved the Kingdoms from Fire.

Gave it an 8/10 Overall, I thought it was a good first episode of the season. Didn’t have a lot of action, but did set the stage for the rest of the season. Favorite part of the episode: Sam breaking the news to Jon that he is the rightful heir in the Crypts. I thought this was wonderfully acted, and had a lot of weight to it. This sticks out as the highlight of the episode for me. Other parts I liked: Bran mentioning that he’s “waiting for an old friend” then Jaime shows up. Seems to imply that Jaime will have some significance in the fight with the Night King. I don’t believe Bran is waiting for him because he has a score to settle. Instead, he must be waiting for him because there is some importance to the battle against the dead. I liked the Cersei – Euron interaction. When she was walking away, she realized that if she doesn’t give in to him, she seriously risks losing her only ally. For the opening scene of them arriving to Winterfell, loved the music throwback Parts that I didn’t like too much: Jon and Arya reunion didn’t move me like I thought it might. As a matter of fact, pretty much all the Stark reunions going back to season 7 were underwhelming. Jon riding Rahegal for several reasons – a lot of people have already pointed these out. The whole thing (including the waterfall scene) felt cheesy and non-GOT-like, for one. Also, no reaction from Dany and Jon that he was able to ride a dragon? Surely, this would imply that he’s part Targaryen but it didn’t dawn on either of them. Theon’s rescue of Yara. I don’t have a problem with the scene as much as I have a problem with what I expected. I expected Theon rescuing Yara to be a major plot for Theon this season. I expected it to coincide with real growth in his character. But it happened so quickly, it ended up being a let-down for me. Side note: did anyone else think that Theon looked a little like Luke Skywalker with his new longer hair?