Aderyn

I don't think Jon would have accepted a pardon. I also agree with those who said that it would have been more like him to offer to go to the Wall himself. We should have also seen his public confession on-screen at the Dragonpit, would have been a nice nod to Baelor. Maybe they didn't even know what to call him, a final F U for the Dornish knot that was too much for them from the start. Yeah I get that, it certainly is tragic. But in a way I think that Dany going down as the ultimate Mad Queen as well as Tyrion not even being included in the brand new Westerosi chronicle is a nice counterargument for the point Tyrion makes about stories uniting everyone. Writing history is a form of storytelling, perhaps the most powerful kind of storytelling since historians have the power to erase whole lives by excluding or discrediting them and by shaping the personality, actions and motivations of a historical figure, essentially determining if they land in the “good” or the “evil” basket. So while they can unite people, histories can certainly also divide them based on whose truth gets to be told. Yeah certainly the idea of Bronn in the Small Council seems like a reach (see what I did there?). But then again, it suddenly seems like Westeros is running low on important lords and ladies. Maybe Tyrion just wanted to set things right, as he was tasked by Bran, and one of the first things he did was make sure Bronn got his due and some more. I guess getting his title and castle must have really rubbed Bronn the right way since the last time we saw him, he really seemed like he was done serving the Lannisters. Then again, that's what lordship does to people, I guess... I do have a feeling though that with Bronn serving as Master of Coin, Tyrion will still be setting things right until he reaches that ripe age of 80 he's so fond of.

This! We have every right to criticize, complain and nitpick. We all have our ideas for how things could have been done better. But we are not the ones doing this massive, costly, years-in-the-making show. When GRRM gave HBO permission for the adaptation, he acknowledged that it will be their adaptation, not his. Back then, we acknowledged it too. And we did that again after the show surpassed the books. When an expanding story hits uncharted territories, what can you expect? Of course there will be a bunch of disappointments. But there are also so many good things about this show that carried all the way to the end. And that is exactly why it's unfair and disrespectful of anyone to suggest that there should be a second attempt at finishing it. It's not just about D&D and their individual blunders, there have been hundreds or thousands of people involved in the making of this show over time and these people have overwhelmingly done a fucking outstanding job. The actors most of all So if someone like Sophie Turner goes on to say that it's rude of us to demand for better, she has every reason to do so. That's not to say people can't go on and sign some ridiculous petition. Sure, they also have a right to do that, but they should really question their motives for doing so. The ending was disappointing - so what? A petition is not going to get D&D to change anything, it's not going to bruise their egos, it's going to get some attention for a while but then it'll simply be ignored because that's how you deal with whining. People are just channeling out their frustration in the only way anyone knows how to do it these days - online. What I don't understand is why some would choose a petition, when the most fruitful way to deal with both negative and positive reactions would be in places like this forum. It's just "me, me, me" and it's really quite sad, it's petty and childish and shows how the concept of entitlement is just spreading like rot (I mean just stop and think about it for a second, we are talking about a fucking TV show, no matter how brilliant). It's exactly the kind of attitude that some readers show towards GRRM when they complain about him not writing fast enough. It's the exact same sense of entitlement. But the dust will settle eventually and life will go on, and it will definitely be good to take a break from this series for a while.

For this reason it would have made all the sense in the world for the Vale to also opt for independence after Sansa declared hers.

So much for breaking the wheel!

Bran becoming the king like Tyrion: so let’s make Bran the king Everyone: Bran: Tyrion: you don’t really wanna be king and your man parts don’t work so you’re perfect for the job Bran: yeah well duhh that’s what I came here for obv glad you finally caught up

The Dual Principle of Reverse Logic: 1) Whenever relevant to the plot, ordinary characters have a sudden off-screen revelation of important information. 2) Whenever relevant to the plot, a 3ER may withhold any potentially crucial information without presenting valid reasons, as he sees fit.

I think by now they must be feeling so uncomfortable with their own show that they want us to get the authentic experience. (See also: no lighting budget in a night-time battle episode) Yeah for some reason it feels like they don't want us to forget. Maybe they're thinking that just in case Sansa appears too Perfect, we will remind the audience of all the horrible things that were done to her and all the stupid things that she did seasons ago (despite being a child and war prisoner).

Ugh I think that was the only part of their dialogue I disliked. Him knowing it is yet another example of lazy writing I guess, unless Sansa getting raped is somehow still popular gossip at WF and he heard the rumours. Still a flat explanation. All I get from this is just a disturbing feeling that D&D are still trying to squeeze out of the shock value of Sansa's rape scene. That or they really want to write the Hound as someone with zero emotional intelligence.

That scene with Dany and Jon was so awkward. Dany was all: "Bae let's just ignore the elephant in the room and snog a bit more, then I'm gonna go into full Dom mode and force you to submit, otherwise we're over :)))" I was mad about Ghost's last scene at first but now I see it as similar to Arya and Nymeria's last scene together. Jon was acknowledging that Ghost is of the North and has no place inside a castle and much less down south. At the same time it gave me the chills because it felt like Jon was giving up an essential part of his identity, or at least a loyal protector. And now he's heading to KL. Definitely seems like a bad omen. Gendry being legitimised made me feel super touched at first, then it felt like too much fan service. But Arya declining him kind of made up for it, that's definitely something she would do. "That's not me". Although a part of me still wishes that she and Gendry will end up together and that she would define a new way of being a "lady", much like Brienne has. Sansa & Sandor was probably one of the strongest moments of the whole episode. Her telling Tyrion about Jon's parentage was a really nice touch, really illustrates how much she has learned from the top schemers of Westeros. I just hope that her cunning doesn't result in the death of her cousin. Multiple meanings, perhaps. It's vague enough for more than one interpretation. It might simply refer to the last "true" Stark, with Sansa being the obvious character to claim that title since she holds Winterfell and seems to be the only one still truly living the northern way. Or it can refer to all the Stark siblings (plus half-Stark Jon), the pack that has survived. Or it can be in the sense that this is "the last that we see of the Starks, at least together". She really looked stunning. Also, is it just me or did her "dracarys" sound much more impressive than those that Dany utters? I was low key expecting that Drogon, moved by her powerful interpretation of the magic word, would teleport behind Cersei and roast her there and then. THIS. I wanted to throw my laptop through the window at this. Although, since they went down this road, they actually left a huge plothole. In reality it would have been logical to also place these undefeatable ballistae in strategic places on the rocks of Dragonstone to shoot down any dragon that would make it past the ships. And similarly have archers hiding there to shoot at anyone crawling from the sea or trying to make the steps to the fort. It's not like they had many left to kill at that point anyway... This didn't even bother me as I was watching but now I can't stop thinking about it. True, that was some good drama and acting thrown down the gutter. But I guess if they had shown this scene, it might have given away Sansa's Littlefinger moment with Tyrion.

Ok, my comment was with sarcasm... But I did find it funny how they just punched through solid stone like that, considering that in the previous season they managed to carry a wight all the way from beyond the Wall to KL in a damn crate...

There was actually a brief moment when they showed Lyanna's statue from an interesting angle and I thought "OMGOMGOGM" but no...

Yeah I thought that pretty pointless. They killed a bunch of extras. I was expecting Varys or Gilly to die this way. And I kinda wanted to see Ned's grave stirring... The only good thing to come out of it was that short moment between Sansa and Tyrion.

Yes it was the Starks. They punched and clawed their way through the stone tombs... Which I thought pretty impressive. Stark wights must have some special powers, otherwise the whole army of the dead would have stormed Winterfell by simply fisting through the walls...

Of course, gotta have more screen time for the second half. Cut out the extras

Ya never know. Next episode we find out Arya is Targaryen

When I saw the actor's name in the opening credits, I rolled my eyes for the first time. I thought either she's gonna bring some wild card Fire Army with her or then do her fiery tricks. And sacrifice her one way or another. (But didn't anticipate the return of Grannysandre..)

I just thought my streaming was super bad (also thought about my glasses). It really bothered me at first, combined with all the darkness I felt like an elderly lady squinting at the screen. At some point I just forgot about it...

Me for the first 30 minutes: literally can't see a thing because the screen is black Ok that was intense... Not as many major deaths as I'd anticipated but enough to feel a loss. I might have missed something but did Grey Worm and Tormund survive? WHAT ABOUT GHOST? The moment with Sansa and Tyrion was sweet. Theon's death will leave my heart raw for weeks. Okay but the ending. Seriously. I didn't want it to end like this. Why on earth Arya? The way she just jumped at him was a bit... idk, Deus Ex Machina?

Just got back to this forum after a hiatus and hey, someone's doing a roll call. I'm from Finland.

I remember watching Valkyrie back when I hadn't even heard about Game of Thrones. Outside of the realm of TV/cinema, I really like to listen to Carice van Houten's music. There isn't much out there but I kind of like it. Wow, Brodie-Sangster as Hitler is something that I'm having a hard time picturing Anyone watching The Good Fight? I'm curious about how Rose Leslie is doing in her role.

6/10 Just too many f-ing clichés in one episode. People being thrown from point A to point B, fanfiction-esque interaction between characters, fan service in general, repeating plot points (the Arya-Sansa tension and LF being creepy and enjoying it), deus ex machina styled plot resolve x2, and Dany and Jon's budding romance that has no grounding whatsoever. What kept this episode from scoring even lower was the yet again amazing CGI work with dragons as well as superb acting by certain actors (Iain Glenn, Maisie Williams, Sophie Turner). edit. I guess I'm getting more critical of the show towards the end. I don't think I would rate the previous episodes this low, but my expectations seem to grow more as the endgame approaches.

As much as I liked seeing the Seven Snowmen interacting with each other, it all seemed very artificial and forced. Also, my inner grandmother just kept thinking, "why aren't these boys covering their heads in the middle of a frikkin winter??" However, Tormund and the Hound deserve extra credit, I loved them in every scene. (And I'm so relieved that Tormund got saved in the end, I swear my heart skipped a beat or two for him.) Gendry sure knows how to run. Seems like the lad has more than one superpower. Then there's the dragon ex machina (and the not quite so impressive Benjen ex machina). I think enough has been said about that so I'm just going to insert and eye roll right about *here* and say that otherwise a scene with flying and fire breathing dragons is always cool to watch. And of course... we finally got our long waited ice dragon! Goodbye Viserion, and hello ViCerion (forced laughing). What happened between Dany and Jon in the ship was like watching fanfiction come alive. Seriously? Now they are suddenly all "I think I'm in love with this person"? D&D, you've obviously grown up watching too many Disney films. It's kind of funny how in this episode Dany managed to go from "I don't care about discussing my successor" to looking at Jon with a full on "omg I'm kinda wet rn wanna make babies" face. Also, Jon calling her "Dany", wtf? This was so unexpected, unnecessary and unbelievably ridiculous. Again, something from a fanfic, not a TV show. This scene just made me downright angry. Not even disappointed, just plain angry. Winterfell was also agonising to watch. When does this forced tension between the Stark kids end? Can someone just off Littlefinger already? I do hope that in truth Arya and Sansa are playing LF using his own plot against him. And it would be cool if that included Arya using faces of some of the people in Winterfell to stay one step ahead of him. I also can't wait to see what purpose Brienne will serve once she reaches King's Landing. Hopefully she finally drives Jaime away from Cersei. But I'm also afraid for her life, Cersei might not be so happy to see her at her doorstep...

Laugh of the day Ok, one of the highlights of this ep was definitely Gendry's comeback. I agree, he had an instant bromance going on with Jon and I think if one ends up on the IT, then the other should be his Hand. I really can't wait to see him wielding the hell out of that hammer. I also enjoyed some of the reunions and characters meeting each other for the first time. It seems like there are less fewer people in Westeros every day, the way they just keep running into each other. Unfortunately, that's almost all of the highlights for me. This episode mainly had some very bland and annoying bits. Not going to list them here because they've already been discussed, let's just mention one that really got my eyes rolling until they almost dropped in my lap. I'm of course talking about that moment with Dany, Jon and Drogon. Every time they showed Jon petting Drogon, I thought "yeah, this is cool, finally" BUT when they cut to Dany's face I just wanted to throw up. Dany and Jon, just give us a favour and stop giving each other the bedroom eyes.

I don't really see a problem with this. Sure, the people may still hold on to their ancient ideals regarding this, but countless years have passed since and during those years Braavos has had to become a functional society. It's called Braavos, not Utopia. Like someone said, the Iron Bank is a financial institution that mainly cares about the flow of money. I'm sure there are representatives of the IB who are proud to have the blood of the "free people" but like so often in real life, we follow facts instead of our ideals. And here the fact is, money is power and there is a lot of money involved in slave business. I never considered this. Interesting. I really hope this is the case. At first, I was surprised that the Archmaester let Sam off so easily (I was actually hoping for an actual punishment), but this "reward-disguised-as-a-punishment" is a cool idea. And I also like the idea of Sam contributing to the scrolls based on his own experiences. I'm not sure if Jon is still fully okay with what happened to him. If it scares him and his friends, then imagine how a potential enemy/rival would feel about it. It wasn't the right time to bring it up, he had just met Dany for the first time and was unarmed and Dany was already acting all suspicious. It will be interesting to see how Dany eventually finds out about Jon (and now I'm talking about both his resurrection and his parentage). I agree, first of all Bran was super creepy in both scenes with Sansa. ("Ok I'm sorry about what happened to you sis, but hey, at least you looked beautiful that night, like really beautiful...") And he certainly could have provided Sansa with a full explanation if he'd just uttered one more sentence. Instead he ended up sounding like a teenager who tells their parents, "Get out of my room, leave me alone." BUT overall I have to say I do like how Bran is being portrayed now, it's like he is losing grip of reality while spending all his time in the world of visions. Of course it is going to take a huge toll on him and it is good of D&D to clearly demonstrate that. I think Bran will continue to struggle with which "reality" feels more real to him. He is very powerful but his power is also his burden. -- Overall this episode was okay, with some strong scenes and some that were less so. The final scene with Olenna & Jaime takes most of the credits and I was also very impressed with the scene with Cersei, Ellaria and Tyene. I also liked some parts of Dragonstone, like the exchange between Varys and Melisandre (it's really interesting to see these two together, and I have to see I chuckle everytime I see Varys feeling uncomfortable in the presence of a red priestess). However, the interaction between Dany and Jon left me feel contradicted. I'm still struggling with whatever is going on with Dany and her exaggerated regal rigidity. But Jon (and Davos) being much more down to earth balanced the scene nicely. I'm glad they were granted permission for mining, I guess that is Tyrion's first step in trying to "manipulate" Dany into becoming allies with Jon. Things I didn't like so much include how Casterly Rock was depicted (seriously looked like suuuuuch a cheap setup), Jorah leaving the Citadel (Jorah: "Ok so I appear to be all cured, so I'm just going to venture into the world and hope that everything is fine and I'm still not contageous." / Sam: "Ok bye Jorah good luck, I'm not going to tell you about what I've seen as a NW member or ask for any favours from Dany or her dragons since I cured her favourite knight.") Also, some of the dialogue was completely pointless and ridiculous and again only served as fan service and a tragic waste of good screen time (good example being Tyrion commenting to Jon about his brooding).

By the way, was anyone else bothered by the conversation between Dany and Varys in the opening scene? After all, Varys has been floating in Dany's camp (ship) for a while now, so it would have made more sense to have this kind of conversation as soon as he arrives at her doorstep. To me it just felt comical and out of place to postpone it until Dragonstone...