Game of Thrones 8.03

[beer_good_foamy]

Well, that was an episode and a half, wasn't it?

Honestly, I can't remember the last time I was so transfixed by an episode of television. There's, what, two pages of dialogue in this altogether? The rest just plays out in - not silence, but there is little need for talking, and instead they just let the camera do the work. (Sidenote: I'm really glad I got to watch this on a big-screen TV with a good WiFi signal, it was very very very dark indeed.)

They do such a good job building up the dread of what's about to happen that my gut reaction about three minutes in is "I don't want to watch this. This is just too awful." Then fucking Melisandre shows up, lights the Dothraki swords, they ride off to die pointlessly, and we're off on a 70-minute action scene.

(Again, the quote from World War Z applies anytime you're fighting zombies:

...the weapon that really failed wasn’t something that rolled off an assembly line. It’s as old as…I don’t know, I guess as old as war. It’s fear, dude, just fear and you don’t have to be Sun freakin Tzu to know that real fighting isn’t about killing or even hurting the other guy, it’s about scaring him enough to call it a day. Break their spirit, that’s what every successful army goes for, from tribal face paint to the “blitzkrieg” to…what did we call the first round of Gulf War Two, “Shock and Awe”? Perfect name, “Shock and Awe”! But what if the enemy can’t be shocked and awed? Not just won’t, but biologically can’t!

A cavalry charge against an enemy that literally does not have a morale to be broken is useless.)

The way this is all shot, the way it all plays out, is for the most part beautifully done, playing on the viewers' expectations of what will happen, planting us in the middle of the dark confusing violent mess and shaking us around until we hardly know what's up or down anymore, intercut with some deep breath moments like that beautiful shot of the dragons above the clouds or Sansa and Tyrion having a discussion or Arya stalking through the library... All of it leading up to that moment where the dead rise and everything is so very fucked, and we know there has to be a twist coming because otherwise EVERYONE is dead. So we end in the Godswood where FUCKING ARYA STARK KILLS THE NIGHT KING using the knife once sent to kill Bran and the same trick she figured out with Ser Brienne, and the entire Army of Darkness falls dead.



And we close on Drogon, wounded but alive, trying to comfort his mother as she weeps over Jorah.

Death count, then: Jorah dies defending his queen, Lyanna dies taking down a fucking GIANT because nothing else could touch her, Edd dies saving his Night's Watch brother, Theon finally dies defending Bran (who does fuck all to actually help in the battle, which is a bit disappointing but not surprising), Beric dies for the last time to ensure that Arya can become the Prince That Was Promised, and Melisandre just dies. Also, the Dothraki and Unsullied are all but wiped out, and Ghost presumably dies in the cavalry charge (seriously, why are they so opposed to actually using him in any way at all?) They're all good death scenes and it's all very heartbreaking, but now I'm really wondering what they're saving some of the other characters for who pretty much everyone thought would die here - Ser Brienne, Grey Worm, Tormund, etc. It feels weird to see EVERYONE except Our Heroes killed. There's three episodes to go and while most of the named characters survive, they no longer have an army (or even a castle) and Cersei has the Golden Company.

(Speaking of armies, what happened to the Knights of the Vale?)

Yes, it's a thrillride of an episode, a masterclass in action-movie storytelling, using every trick in the book. And yet for all of this... I can't help but feel a tiny bit let down. Maybe that was always going to be the case when you actually have to pay everything off, and maybe I'm just a bit bitter as Team Whitewalker. But after seven and a half season of buildup, the answer to the Night King turned out to just be a dagger in the right spot. No mythological weight to it, no explanation to what the point of all the Winter Is Coming stuff was, no big sacrifices beyond bodies, no difficult choices. Just stick'em with the pointy end. (Though I'll accept the argument that it's a nice payoff to seven seasons of Our Heroes being taken down by pragmatic villains who know that the sword often IS mightier than the pen.) I'm also a little bit miffed that after two episodes of establishing that most Northerners are racist assholes, both the Dothraki and the Unsullied get reduced to cannonfodder to hold the line long enough to save Winterfell for a few minutes more.

Also, how the hell are they going to top this in the next 3 episodes?

I'll probably have more to say on that once my finger nails grow back out. Because, again, fucking hell, that was a great battle scene.

• Episode one – 54 mins <-- Everyone says hello
• Episode two – 58 mins <-- Everyone says goodbye
• Episode three – 78 minutes <-- Fight! Fight! Fight!
• Episode four – 60? minutes <-- Did they change the episodes around? This was supposed to be the long one
• Episode five – 80 minutes
• Episode six – 80 minutes

Comments

[saturnofthemoon]

Ghost is still alive, he was spotted in the trailer for next week.

I imagine the defeat of the White Walkers will be much more complicated in the books, where they don't even have a Night King.

[shadowkat]

I had troubles figuring out who got killed to be honest. It was very hard to see - and I watched on a 32 inch, the lights out, and rewound at different points.

The fingernail biting scene was Ayra in the library with the undead. Whoa. The Ayra scenes were frigging good. Best by far. Close second, Tyrion and Sansa in the crypt.

So, I saw Ghost, then he disappeared. I did not see him get killed. Samwell's wife and kid did die -- as far as I could tell. Jamie -- I think made it, and he appears to be in the next episode. Is Berric dead? I think so. I was pretty sure Greyworm got it along with his translator girlfriend, but maybe I'm wrong?

Otherwise we were pretty much on target with our predictions - Jorah, Lyanna, Berric, Eddis, and Theon (along with his entire group guarding Bran) dead. Most of the Unsullied Army and the Drofaki (I can't spell it) army dead. I had a feeling Dany's army would be pretty much gone. There's a reason Cersei was happy about them fighting the undead and deciding not to help -- she probably figured the undead would either take them out completely or at the very least take out most of their army, evening out their numbers. Proving Cersei may be more diabolical than the Night King.

I loved portions of it. The last twenty minutes, and Ayra playing cat and mouse with the undead in the library was a work of genius from a film making standpoint. But a lot of it was hard to follow or see. (I watched the commentary afterwards -- and apparently they'd decided from the beginning that Ayra would take out the Night King. Also, they went out of their way not to make the fighting monotonous -- which for the most part they succeeded. Having watched Lord of the Rings and other War films -- it is hard not to make epic battles interesting.)

That said?

I agree with you.

Yes, it's a thrillride of an episode, a masterclass in action-movie storytelling, using every trick in the book. And yet for all of this... I can't help but feel a tiny bit let down. Maybe that was always going to be the case when you actually have to pay everything off, and maybe I'm just a bit bitter as Team Whitewalker. But after seven and a half season of buildup, the answer to the Night King turned out to just be a dagger in the right spot. No mythological weight to it, no explanation to what the point of all the Winter Is Coming stuff was, no big sacrifices beyond bodies, no difficult choices. Just stick'em with the pointy end. (Though I'll accept the argument that it's a nice payoff to seven seasons of Our Heroes being taken down by pragmatic villains who know that the sword often IS mightier than the pen.) I'm also a little bit miffed that after two episodes of establishing that most Northerners are racist assholes, both the Dothraki and the Unsullied get reduced to cannonfodder to hold the line long enough to save Winterfell for a few minutes more.

I wanted a bit more death. Somewhat disappointed that they left Ser Brienne alive. Jamie -- I expected, mainly because I still think he's going to killed by either Ayra or Bronne.
As is Tyrion.

They have three more episodes, all of which are fairly long, two of which are close to two hours long.

While Cersei has the Golden Company -- she doesn't have as much as she thinks. Remember that Theon's sister was freed in the first episode and went to the Iron Isles, taking back the fleet that her uncle stole from her. Also, I still think they may send Ayra, Brienne, Jamie and the Hound down to Kings Landing to take out Cersei.

[shapinglight]

It was a great battle, and Arya was totally awesome.

I am also upset about the Dothraki, but I think some of the Unsullied might have survived (including Greyworm), and hopefully seeing their sacrifice might teach the Northerners to be a bit less racist (though if I were a Dothraki or an Unsullied I'd very much object to having to die just so some white people learn not to be so racist which is in fact the usual Hollywood narrative, isn't it?).

I have no idea how Dany and co are going to take on Cersei now. Two dragons isn't going to cut it, especially not with that big crossbow still around.

As for the Night King being defeated in episode 3, it sort of reminds me of season 4 of Babylon Five. The Shadows are defeated mid-season, and the rest of the season is taken up with defeating the home-grown fascists.

Hmm, the similarities are actually too great to ignore.

Very, very sad about Jorah. :(

[rogin]

The thing with the Dothraki and Unsullied was racist as hell, though the scenes, where the lights went out was extremly powerful.

Arya and Sansa were both made of awesome. But yes mythology wise it was all a bit of a let down.

And Cersei as the final villain after all that build up. IDK.