alinoris

Just a few quick considerations about this episode (one taken from my comment to ep.5) About Dany: her vision in the House of the Undying was a huge spoiler: the half destroyed throne room covered in ashes, even if it might look like snow (probably a reference to Jon) where she is so close to the Iron Throne, but she can't touch it (we see the tips and especially the pummels of some of the swords)...that is, you won't get it, Dany ^^ Then she walks outside the gate of Castle Black through the Wall and reaches a tent where Khal Drogo and her son Rhaego are waiting for her (hint: the "North", that is a Northener, will kill her). About Drogon: in the books it's clearly said that dragons are much more intelligent than an ordinary beast (in the TV show it's hinted). Drogon doesn't kill Jon because he understands that Dany has been killed by her obsession for the Iron Throne, so he melts it, closing the circle (as Balerion the Black Dread had forged it). I think he's flying to Valyria now, homeland of the dragons and House Targaryen...BUT (I think it will never happen ofc) if someone would, one day, go on with the TV series, all Drogon has to do is to fly over Essos, get the attention of a red priest and have Dany resurrected (in the end, dragons are the source of magic...and the spell should be even easier if casted while being close to a dragon...ehm ^^). About the enemy? Who knows what Arya will find in the unknown lands, West of Westeros... (I repeat...I'm just fantasizing a bit ) Finally, Bran (who says that he will probably be able to find Drogon... ^^ ) sends Jon to the Wall because he knows about his "farewell dialogue" with Tormund: Jon will be happy with the Free Folk (and with Ghost), so... P.S. Many of us thought Brienne would fill in Jaime’s Kingsguard page, but it's been very nice anyway to actually see it happen

My 2 cents about a few things. In GOT there are some subtle hints of what will happen in the future, starting from Hodor always saying "Hodor"....we have learned much later what it meant ^^ Many, many fans complain about Jon /Aegon doing nothing smart/heroic/significant....the phrase "You know nothing, Jon Snow" hinted to that: he is a good person, he got a kind heart, but that doesn't make him a hero, or a genius, or a strategist...in fact he is a good, but not an exceptional fighter, he is a bad general/military leader (remember the Battle of the Bastards, for instance), he has no clue about how politics and ruling work, he is naive (Dany knew what Sansa would have done, once learned about Jon's true identity, he didn't, because..."he knows nothing". He may be Aegon Targaryen, but he actually is and will remain Jon Snow, who knows nothing (until the truth is smashed on his face) and would be happy with Tormund, beyond the Wall, living a simple and free life. About Dany: her vision in the House of the Undying was a huge spoiler (also for the final episode, I guess ^^): the half destroyed throne room covered in snow (...or ashes? ^^) where she is so close to the iron throne, but she can't touch it (we see the tips and especially the pummels of some of the swords)...that is, you won't get it, Dany ^^ Then she walks outside the gate of Castle Black through the Wall and reaches a tent where Khal Drogo and her son Rhaego are waiting for her (hint: the "North" will kill her). Then, the mother (or the father) of all spoilers (I know...no news for many fans): Ramsey saying "If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention..." ^^ Dany's father, Aerys II, at first ruled benevolently...then succumbed to madness and Dany is "closing the circle": Jamie killed Aerys because he wanted to burn everyone in King's Landing with wildfire (and in fact we see also wildfire, together with dragon fire, in ep 8x5). Jamie was serving in the Kingsguard at that time, he was supposed to defend the king, no matter his decisions, because he made an oath (in fact Ser Barristan Selmy, Ned Stark, men of honor, and everyone else despise him for that (because he didn't tell anyone why he killed the king...and from that moment his "corruption" started). Jamie was supposed to die with Aerys II and he dies when the King's daughter realizes his father's evil plan, years later (circle closed, as I wrote before). Yes, I agree Dany's descent into madness is a bit too quick in the show, but there were hints: his brother was a piece of s**t, but do you remember her face and her words while he was burning? Did she look sane there? (I suggest you guys to go rewatching that scene: the "seeds" of the Mad Queen were already there). The Masters crucified the slaves, she crucifies the Masters. She burns the Tarlys, who were war prisoners, not "traitors"...you burn prisoners on the battle field because they don't bend the knee? It's what Sam tells Jon: would u do that? She starts to see treason and traitors everywhere (sometimes with good reason, sometimes not) and the deaths of Rhaegal and Missandei (one of the last few she trusted blindly) make her flip. An eye for an eye often makes you become exactly what you wanted to fight. There are a lot of examples in our history: just think to the Holy Inquisition, which was established to fight the evil...and it became the evil! Dany has become a (mad) tyrant now...too bad, but that's it ^^ Yes, again...it seems too rushed (even if, what happens in minutes on screen, can require days or months in the show's timeline) but consider that: if Varys would have spotted gradual signs of madness in her, don't you think he would have her killed or poisoned long before, even not knowing about Jon's true identity? ^^ That said, it wasn't a perfect episode. Tyrion's persistence in trying to save Cersei's life is just...out of place. Ok, he did it for Jamie and to save his child, but still, after everything Cersei did, including sending Bronn to kill both of them...seriously?. Just free Jaime to repay your debt and let him go to do whatever he wants, but don't keep trying to personally save your murderous sister, come on! You killed you father and Cersei is even worse than him! Then...Drogon destroys everything too easily. Again...Rhaegal was ambushed, they were flying slowly, etc., the scorpions can't be moved so quickly to follow a dragon flying close and at high speed, or if it attacks directly from above (they have a limited elevation)...but still everything seemed too easy, even if Drogon is bigger and stronger than his dead brothers. So...not perfect, yes, I agree...but rating it with a 1 (or 2, or 3...etc) is utterly unfair (imho): writing is just a part of what should be considered when voting for an episode and, to me, it wasn't so bad as many ppl think, here and not only here. Sorry for the long post.

Well...I guess the Mad Queen is on Arya's list now ^^ I rated this episode with a 9 and not with a 10, mainly because of Tyrion's persistence in trying to save Cersei's life (ok, one might say: he did it for Jamie and to save his child, but still, after everything Cersei did...seriously?). Just free Jaime to repay your debt and let him free to do what he wants. This episode seems to match the part of Dany's vision in the House of the Undying, when she walks in a desert and half destroyed throne room in King's Landing and everything is covered in snow (or ashes...?). If you remember the last part of the vision...well, you know what to expect next, I guess ^^ About Maggy's prophecy: differently from the books, in the TV show she didn't say anything about Cersei's death, so...^^

Just my 2 cents on some reported tactical issues. Winterfell isn't a huge castle (just compare it to the Red Keep, or to the Dragonstone Fortress, for instance) and so are its walls...therefore you can't put trebuchets or big catapultss up there. Consequently also the courtyards aren't that large, so again...big trebuchets (u really need a big empty area for them to work) aren't an option there as well (to make it short, it's Winterfell, not Minas Tirith ^^). Catapults: if u place them inside, u need a very long space ahead to hit very far, otherwise u will hit your own walls, or u will be forced to aim too high (and that will shorten your shots a lot). Then, don't forget this is not an ordinary "medieval battle", as there is magic involved. U could use pitch all around the castle to set the whole plain on fire at will? Well...that's a huge amount of pitch to get...maybe they simply didn't have enough of it? Moreover, u might have noticed that the NK's magic was preventing all ordinary fires to burn and only Melisandre's spell could fight it, setting fire to the trench (and even she had a lot of probs in doing it). About the Dothraki's charge: they said no army could match the Dothraki in an open field (do you remember what they did to Jamie's army, right?), so they had their flaming weapons, they were overconfident...and they just got silently annihilated...one of the most powerful scenes in the whole episode, imho. Why did they charge almost immediately? Because the dead weren't moving at all...they had their pride, their past experiences of invincibility, etc etc. Ofc they could have waited for the dawn to attack...but [see what I wrote before ^^]. About Jon doing almost "nothing": well, it was Jon with Rhaegal to physically engage Viserion and the NK while flying, making this one falling down, so he actually did something "significant" ^^ Ok...I guess I've bored you enough, so I (almost ) stop here P.S. I expected Jon at least to throw Longclaw down Viserion's throat: just yelling at it in frustration was a bit...meh ^^ About Arya assaulting unnoticed the NK...well, the Faceless Men are by far the best assassins of the world, so no one is better than them to kill a single target: they can hide better than anyone, they can move better than anyone, they can fight 1 vs 1 better than anyone...you can say there is even some "magic" in their skills (starting from their ability to wear faces ofc), so I'm ok with that ^^ P.S, #2 My favourite ending would have been this one: while the NK is in front of him, Bran touches the weirwood, animating it, and this one smashes to NK to the ground like an omelette...lol (j/k)

Well...I'm afraid u (and every1 else) already saw it, but as u clearly didn't notice/remember it (and u don't want to see it...again), I'm not saying when ^^