Astrotherapist

This is pretty funny:

Exactly what I was getting at. And what I meant is that IF this was so important (which it wasn't) and the North had always been agitating for independence then Ned would have negotiated it as soon as Robert's rebellion began, not after he was king.

No, he was human and started merging into the roots over time because the weirwood provides the greatest attunement for greenseer abilities. And the 3EC in the books is likely Brynden Rivers. There's no telling how long Bran will live, but he will likely outlive malcontent Northmen, and I contend that the next generation would have been fine with being part of the Seven Kingdoms. The Warden of the North/Lord Paramount of the North rules over that region just like a king anyway. The North could have pushed for independence when the dragons diminished and died out or when Robert Baratheon took the throne, but they didn't, they just continued as before. Ned could have made that condition with Robert just as Cat negotiated same with Renly later if this was so important. It really feels like D&D did this to make Sansa's childhood wish come true. If this is GRRM outcome, it will probably feel more deserved because Sansa won't be written as such an arrogant, self-entitled, backstabbing, undermining bitch.

When will Bran die? What's the longevity of a 3ER? The last one was thousands of years old (in the show), a fact which must be wound up with the function of the 3ER itself. Then there's Sansa's questionable rationale for secession: "But tens of thousands of Northmen fell in the Great War defending all of Westeros. And those who survived have seen too much and fought too hard ever to kneel again." But they most certainly would kneel to a Northerner now, to Brandon Stark, and no matter whether the relatively young Bran lives a full human life or for thousands of years, those Northmen that fought and sacrificed will have passed away and folks up there would just roll with the new norm as they did under Targaryen rule. If these are truly GRRM's final outcomes, they will have to (and likely will) be set up to make more sense than this.

I gave it a 5. I'll give every episode a base score of five for being a top-notch production as far as cinematography, special FX, musical score, and acting go. Every episode is also an opportunity to immerse into GRRM's fantastic world and be with characters I've grown to love, and that's worth something too. Most of the actors have been brilliant, doing much of the heavy lifting when the script is lacking. Though D&D have a gift for visuals and spectacle and some shots looked like beautiful paintings, too much of the story fails to make sense, and that's where I subtract points. I was rolling okay with this episode and felt a good deal of tension and excitement until the time jump into the Dragonpit scene where the writers' stupidity really began in earnest. I sat through the second half like a zombie, totally deflated and scratching my head at numerous things like: -why Dany didn't execute Tyrion immediately. Drogon was there, public assembly, why not? -why there were seemingly a veritable multitude of Unsullied left when there are no replacements and they surely suffered varying degrees of attrition from every battle in which they've fought: Yunkai, Mereen, Casterly Rock, Winterfell, and King's Landing. -why Jon wasn't executed immediately by the vengeful and hardcore loyalist, Greyworm. Same with Tyrion, right after Jon. -why Tyrion wasn't allowed to speak, but then got to speak at length and even decided (not proposed) the new election system. -why there were no objections to, nor discussion of, this new, unorthodox election system, especially when lordships throughout the kingdoms have always inherited though familial succession, and evidently will continue to do so. -why Edmure Tully had to be humiliated - I saw no humor in this. It was embarrassing and awkward, especially his explicable submission to the command of his young, uppity niece. -why non-Lords and minor lords/bannermen like Royce got to vote. -why a spaceman was "elected" king and why Bran/3ER accepted it when he had previously denied his identity as Bran and rejected lordship of the North having transcended all such mundane, worldly concerns. Shouldn't he have burrowed beneath the weirwood in the Godswood enclosure to wrap himself in its roots for the next few thousand years like his predecessors? Is an emotionally-devoid "computer" which can't empathize with people, who mostly lives in the past now (as he explicitly stated) and not the present, really the best choice? -why the North needed to be independent when a Stark is now on the throne, -why Dorne and the Iron Islands especially, just fell in line and didn't secede after Sansa essentially crowned herself Queen of an independent North (through nepotism). At the very least we should have heard some objections from those quarters, whatever the final result. At this point, I found myself wishing that Drogon would suddenly fly in to burn and eat some of these people, starting with Sansa. That wouldn't have been any less ludicrous than what was transpiring at this council and would have seemed like an improvement. -why Greyworm would have accepted any of this nonsense, including the bogus "sentences" for Tyrion and Jon. -why the Dothraki are completely unaccounted for. And after the deaths of Jorah, Missandei and Dany, who's left to even speak their language and communicate with them? Greyworm? He never spoke it, and had barely learned the common tongue. And we never once heard any of these Dothraki warriors speak the common tongue. Maybe they should have attacked the council -- why not! -why a thoroughly selfish THUG was not only given Highgarden castle, but lordship over the most prosperous of the Kingdoms, and control over finances to boot --which, of course, are prioritized to build brothels. What a wise choice by Tyrion and King Bran! For haha moments only, apparently. -how Sam was made Grand Maester without completing the training for it, and if the Night's Watch is restored, how he's excused from his vows. -why Brienne is in the Kingsguard and not Sansa's Queensguard. Why would her previous oath be nullified? -why Bran was looking for Drogon. And why Bran never got to warg a dragon at all in this series. -why there's a Night's Watch when the threat of the White Walkers is over, the Wildlings are on friendly terms with everybody now and radically diminished to only a couple thousand people even if they weren't-- oh and the eastern edge of the Wall is gone. They just need a penal colony for outcasts and rejects? Yet it's still at Castle Black, within the bounds of the independent Kingdom of the North, not "The "Six Kingdoms"? -why Jon had to follow through with his sentence when it was given to placate Greyworm who quickly sailed away. I would have liked to see a duel between those two at some point in this episode. -what Jon was doing at the end. Was he "ranging" simultaneously with the Wildlings exit, or escorting the Wildlings, or actually joining them? And if the latter then why dress like a crow? I would have preferred a self-imposed exile to the far North where Jon wanted to go anyway instead of this outcome leveled as "punishment" and after all he's done to save their world! Now the character is returned all the way back to the Night's Watch where he started and even looking like he did in seasons 1-5. It would be much better that he just joins (and dresses like) Tormund and the Wildlings with the possibility of finding happiness in the arms of another 'Ygritte-like' character someday left open... instead of the "I will take no wife, guard against nothing, and live in a depressing, gloomy castle like a monk" fate consigned by Tyrion. He should surely just chuck that crap to the wind. I predicted the endings for Arya and Jon some time ago (even the final scene visually mirroring the very first in the series) but that gave me no satisfaction. This episode was supposed to wrap up loose ends, not leave loads of questions unanswered or create so many new ones. It's "bittersweet" for the wrong reasons, the painful part of that coming from writing. I still enjoyed some things though: Tyrion finding his siblings, the awesome shot of the dragon wings behind Daenerys, the callback to the House of the Undying (except this time Dany actually touched the throne), her citing Viserys --who basically raised her and programmed her obsessive ambition for the Iron Throne in the first place, Drogon's "acting" and his melting of the Iron Throne, Brienne recording Jamie's chronicle, Davos as Master of Ships, and Arya's sweet wolfship. Despite its many narrative flaws this season (and in seasons 5-7), the show still basically succeeded as entertainment -I felt entertained- and anxiously came back for more every time it aired. I'll miss it.

Hearkens back to Olenna Tyrell in Season 7: "You're a dragon. Be a dragon!" Here's a gif of that: https://thumbs.gfycat.com/ShabbyDisgustingCricket-size_restricted.gif

A number of people here are wondering why Arya has turned explorer and sails West at the end, but this was foreshadowed in Season 6 Episode 8 when Arya was in Braavos. While tending Arya's wounds from the Waif, Lady Crane invited her to join her theater group but Arya rejected that offer: LADY CRANE: Where will you go? ARYA: Essos is east and Westeros is west. But what's west of Westeros? LADY CRANE: I don't know. ARYA: Nobody does. That's where all the maps stop. The edge of the world, maybe. I'd like to see that. And so, with her business in Westeros settled, she did!

Well the show still succeeds in entertaining me, even if that's been reduced to more primitive levels, like colors and flashing lights.

I sincerely hope that this was the worst episode of this season <GULP!>

While I like the idea of a battle here, I'm unsure of the terrain advantage because of the weather and perhaps the Night King's mysterious abilities. If the swamps freeze they won't be much of a hindrance to the marching Dead.

And the 3ER made a point of identifying Howland in the first ToJ vision -I think that's significant. He's been mentioned in the series several times now, so the odds are good of his making an appearance for additional confirmation which comes from a respected northern lord and loyal Stark bannerman. The other lords may fall in line if he publicly vouches for Jon's true identity and parentage. While Sansa had the bannermen "retreat" to Winterfell from the approaching AotD, Reed's stronghold at Greywater Watch is far south in the The Neck, out of their path. Also Reed's warriors are mostly Crannogmen who fight with guerrilla tactics in the swamps, so I don't see them marching up to Winterfell. I can see Winterfell falling though, and the survivors retreating to Moat Cailin or to Greywater Watch where the Crannogmen can fight more effectively. Retreating to The Neck makes strategic sense because the continent narrows here forming a more defensible bottleneck, Making a stand here would also open the possibilities of receiving rapid reinforcements from the Vale and the Riverlands -- if Edmure Tully can muster up a force in time.