Game of Thrones (HBO)

crisper57

Open the Roof!
Joined
Jan 23, 2007
Posts
14,950
Reaction score
1,019
Location
Phoenix, AZ
I think most of your complaints or questions have easy answers...

For instance, why did certain characters survive the Battle of Winterfell, only to be given happy goodbyes? Presumably, we would not see any of them again either way, so why not off them one episode earlier for dramatic effect? If they still have some sort of part to play in the final two episodes, if their goodbyes were not really forever, then it can be forgiven. If we never see Sam or Ghost or Tormund again, then what was the point of them surviving?

Are you opposed to anyone getting a happy ending? I can see why you want answers but why do all of the sendoffs need to be amped up, particularly Sam? I don't like Sam but I took his send off as his send off. I don't see the payoff in killing him last week. Some people were going to survive and get the "ever after" sort of send off and with what Sam has been through I think he deserves it as much as anyone.

Tormund got sent off as well and had a not so happy ending, more of just "See ya" since he isn't off with a new wife or anything like that, just going home. I don't see the issue there either. More people could have died but asking for deaths instead of allowing them to be sent off on their own way means that there is little that could have happened that would have pleased you.

If you wanted more characters killed in that battle then say that because otherwise it calls into question how any show could end in a way that would be pleasing to you because they could have killed them. I'd mention specific shows as examples but I don't want to spoil those if you haven't seen them. I don't mean just any show but shows where primary characters do die like Walking Dead.

Same with Rhaegal. I actually think his death at Winterfell would have carried more impact than having an entire fleet of ships sneak up on him and kill him. They simply had to show the walls of the Red Keep lined with scorpions to let us know that Cersei was ready for a dragon attack.

The Night King already killed a dragon, why did he need to kill another? On the other side, the scorpions that Cersei has haven't killed a dragon yet so having one die in a sneak attack by Euron finally showed what those could do. I know Bronn shot a dragon before but how long was he hurt? There were no real effects after that brief battle so those weapons didn't have the same power they had before that Euron attack demonstrated, IMO.

As as far Missandei goes, she was a women who wasn't dressed like a soldier of any sort so I think spotting she was someone of importance was fairly easy for them. How important, maybe they didn't know but I don't think she had that much importance now that they crossed the narrow sea. She was a friend of Dany's and they assumed it would bother her, and it did, so they played their hand right.

As for Bronn, I highly doubt he's done. I didn't even consider that given he's waiting to see who wins the war now. I don't think that scene should have been looked at his final appearance. I hope I'm not wrong there but I would think you're in the minority as far as considering that to be his final appearance.

And with Euron and Cersei's "child" I think that's why they had Tyrion mention her children like he did, to get Euron thinking. I don't believe she's actually pregnant myself but I could be wrong. She's been pregnant for a while now without showing any signs of it though and that seems like an odd detail to forget. In addition to that there was talk of her being near her "change" between Olenna and Tywin back when they were arranging her being married off to Loras. It's been a while since that happened but they have hinted at Qyburn helping her with some sort issue while being deliberately vague with the issue was. I suspect we'll learn that in the next 2 episodes.

Try to enjoy the show for what it is rather than making predictions about what will happen, if you can. I find shows much more enjoyable when I'm not trying to guess what comes next because often what does come next doesn't align with what I thought and I create false expectations for it by trying to guess what direction they'll go.

To be clear, I am not opposed to a happy ending for some characters. I am opposed to bad writing and so far, this season is trending that way. For example, the apocalyptic Night King was defeated without any "major" character deaths. But then some mid-major characters that did survive took up valuable screen time in the following episode saying goodbye. Then the entire second half of that episode felt rushed. I'm not saying using those minutes in any other way could have enhanced the story or closed plot holes, but maybe they could have. Or, for instance, whit if we got actually got to see Bran reveal Jon's true identity to his sisters? I'd have loved to have seen their reactions play out. That felt like a missed opportunity.
 

Ouchie-Z-Clown

I'm better than Mulli!
Joined
Sep 16, 2002
Posts
63,614
Reaction score
58,062
Location
SoCal
To be clear, I am not opposed to a happy ending for some characters. I am opposed to bad writing and so far, this season is trending that way. For example, the apocalyptic Night King was defeated without any "major" character deaths. But then some mid-major characters that did survive took up valuable screen time in the following episode saying goodbye. Then the entire second half of that episode felt rushed. I'm not saying using those minutes in any other way could have enhanced the story or closed plot holes, but maybe they could have. Or, for instance, whit if we got actually got to see Bran reveal Jon's true identity to his sisters? I'd have loved to have seen their reactions play out. That felt like a missed opportunity.
I think that’s the only thing I felt robbed off . . . it’s auch a big reveal to Sansa and Arya that I would’ve loved to have seen their reactions.
 

Hoop Head

ASFN Icon
Joined
Feb 4, 2005
Posts
17,374
Reaction score
12,554
Location
Tempe, AZ
To be clear, I am not opposed to a happy ending for some characters. I am opposed to bad writing and so far, this season is trending that way. For example, the apocalyptic Night King was defeated without any "major" character deaths. But then some mid-major characters that did survive took up valuable screen time in the following episode saying goodbye. Then the entire second half of that episode felt rushed. I'm not saying using those minutes in any other way could have enhanced the story or closed plot holes, but maybe they could have. Or, for instance, whit if we got actually got to see Bran reveal Jon's true identity to his sisters? I'd have loved to have seen their reactions play out. That felt like a missed opportunity.


I agree with you that there has been some bad writing in the series over the last season and a half. Since the show surpassed the books material and have needed to create their own they've been lazy. They know where they're going but the journey hasn't been as enjoyable because they're not even trying to duplicate or imitate Martin's style of writing.

They should have killed more characters at the battle for Winterfell but they didn't, for whatever reason. I fault that episode for that rather than their sendoff in the next episode. If those characters don't show back up to do anything of value then that still points to executing the battle poorly.

I wouldn't say anyone wasted screentime in this last episode but I don't know how I'd describe my issue with it. It didn't need to be an 80 minute episode. If they trimmed the fat with the goodbyes it would have been closer to length of a normal episode so I guess what they gave us was more of a bonus than wasted screentime. I'm glad they did show it so it's not like Ghost being gone for a year and a half without any explanation at all. Also this keeps them from having to return to say goodbye after everything down south plays out, whether they're involved or not.

I didn't think it was a perfect episode by any means but I don't think it was terrible or even bad overall. It was average as far as being on the same level of most episodes last season. I knew this week would be a bit dull beecause there was no way they were going to start another huge battle right after the last. In a way I wish Cersei would have been prepared to attack them so once word came the battle against the undead was over and Dany won then they could have marched in as a new attack that couldn't be stopped. That would wipe them out without having to wait for them to march south to take the throne, which Cersei knew was going to happen.

I just hope they can wrap everything up well. I expect the next episode to be like the Winterfell battle in that it'll be packed with action and the actual finale will be the final blows of that battle and everyone's send off. Getting some character's exits out of the way keeps them from having to travel north again just to say what happens to some secondary characters.
 

Stout

Hold onto the ball, Murray!
Joined
Dec 30, 2002
Posts
39,809
Reaction score
24,016
Location
Pittsburgh, PA--Enemy territory!
:lmao: Stout is out with one episode left. Classic.

LOL No, I won't/wouldn't be, but I can see where you'd get that. I'd just be massively disappointed and consider the ending to be as ridiculously bad as seasons 5/6. It would be the height of crappy writing on this show.

There have been some hit and miss episodes since they ran out of book material...

But wow, this was dreadful. We had characters transporting hundreds, maybe thousands of miles in the blink of an eye... vast distances that the time required to cover was one of the key plot points of the first 5 seasons but the last couple have totally taken a crap on. We also had characters making decisions and saying things that were so blatantly forced for the sake of manufacturing drama and so wildly against their character arch that it is getting really hard to swallow.

At this point Jon is the only main character with any consistent belief system... maybe Cersi too, but the idea that Cersi has any support beyond the one or two freak shows on her council is utterly impossible to believe.

There was so much stupid in this episode but what irked me most was Tyrion walking up to the walls of Kings Landing. He SHOULD know better than anyone how pointless it is to put one's self at the mercy of his sister, he does so anyway, she spits on his effort and chops off that chicks head anyway... and... for some reason... doesn't have the archers fill her brother with arrows. She should have been laughing at this stupidity as she ordered him filled with holes.

Furthermore... does king's landing not have even like... 100 dudes with horses? There is Dany, like, 200 yards outside the castle gates, without any real army to protect her... Cersi should have a few thousand men at her disposal, minimum (and I'm sure in the next episode Cersi will produce an army over 100k strong), but she doesn't bother to kill her rival when defended by a baker's dozen...

So much of the importance of alliance building and the foolishness of putting yourself at the mercy of your enemy that was built in this universe is getting absolutely crapped on with scene after scene of nonsense storytelling.

I wish I could watch this wish George RR Martin, the entire time pointing at the screen and saying "Look! Look what at a mess is being made of your intricate story and well developed characters because you're pushing a decade to release a book!

Right there with you on most of this. I mean, I loved it up through 3 episodes, sans dark screen and surprising character survivals. This episode went right back the the "quality" of how they wrapped up the Dorne story line.

I'm not sure how the writers could explain Rhaegal surviving 3 catastrophic scorpion hits to my satisfaction.

Yup.
 

puckhead

Massive Member
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2005
Posts
16,669
Reaction score
15,581
Location
Moment, AZ
I think Varys, with his "loyalty to the Realm", has decided the Ruler of Westros should be in this order:

1. Jon
2. Cercei
3. Dany

If that is the case, he may be working with Cercei to undermine Dany, i.e. feeding her info like where the fleet will be heading and who Missandei is. Perhaps he knows something about Tyrion's true lineage as well and is secretly positioning the Imp toward a desired outcome. In my mind, that is the only way his a) continued existence and b) the plot holes in season 8 can be justified.

After thinking about this a while I'm warming up to this idea because it does help explain a lot of things.
 

puckhead

Massive Member
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2005
Posts
16,669
Reaction score
15,581
Location
Moment, AZ
Saw this on Twitter, someone posted what Euron was reacting to in the preview for next week's episode....

You must be registered for see images attach

Maury Povich is the third rider! :lmao:
 

Cheesebeef

ASFN IDOL
Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2003
Posts
91,471
Reaction score
68,714
still very entertained in episode, but really not feeling this season from a writing standpoint.
 

puckhead

Massive Member
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2005
Posts
16,669
Reaction score
15,581
Location
Moment, AZ
Could there be a 4th Dragon?

I don't see how. Everyone thought they were fairy tales or ancient history until Dany came around and we know she only received three eggs. But, that brings up another question. How do dragons procreate? Could Dany's dragons have laid some eggs that we're not aware of?
 

Dback Jon

Doing it My Way
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
May 14, 2002
Posts
82,069
Reaction score
41,875
Location
South Scottsdale
I don't see how. Everyone thought they were fairy tales or ancient history until Dany came around and we know she only received three eggs. But, that brings up another question. How do dragons procreate? Could Dany's dragons have laid some eggs that we're not aware of?


Remember Ser Jorah and Tyrion saw a Dragon flying over the ruins of Valeria in season 5. Never confirmed to be Drogon

Also, remember that Drogon fled and was missing for a long period of time

Dragons are thought to be, in this setting, like some frogs are - able to change sex if needed.

Azor was supposed to waken stone dragons. So either Dany is Azor, or there are stone dragons to be awakened in DRAGONSTONE :)
 

puckhead

Massive Member
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2005
Posts
16,669
Reaction score
15,581
Location
Moment, AZ
Remember Ser Jorah and Tyrion saw a Dragon flying over the ruins of Valeria in season 5. Never confirmed to be Drogon

Also, remember that Drogon fled and was missing for a long period of time

Dragons are thought to be, in this setting, like some frogs are - able to change sex if needed.

Azor was supposed to waken stone dragons. So either Dany is Azor, or there are stone dragons to be awakened in DRAGONSTONE :)

Ah! Good catch! Very interesting.
 

Chris_Sanders

Not Always The Best Moderator
Super Moderator
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2002
Posts
40,179
Reaction score
31,714
Location
Scottsdale, Az
Remember Ser Jorah and Tyrion saw a Dragon flying over the ruins of Valeria in season 5. Never confirmed to be Drogon

Also, remember that Drogon fled and was missing for a long period of time

Dragons are thought to be, in this setting, like some frogs are - able to change sex if needed.

Azor was supposed to waken stone dragons. So either Dany is Azor, or there are stone dragons to be awakened in DRAGONSTONE :)

Jon is correct from a book stand point. Drogon could have changed sex and be female now based on only two dragons being alive.

Might explain why they weren't eating much before, they were giving their food to the babies

Would be an awesome twist but I doubt it is coming
 

Dback Jon

Doing it My Way
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
May 14, 2002
Posts
82,069
Reaction score
41,875
Location
South Scottsdale
Jon is correct from a book stand point. Drogon could have changed sex and be female now based on only two dragons being alive.

Might explain why they weren't eating much before, they were giving their food to the babies

Would be an awesome twist but I doubt it is coming

I think it would be awesome to see a flock(?) of dragons approaching King's Landing
 

Cheesebeef

ASFN IDOL
Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2003
Posts
91,471
Reaction score
68,714
Jon is correct from a book stand point. Drogon could have changed sex and be female now based on only two dragons being alive.

Might explain why they weren't eating much before, they were giving their food to the babies

Would be an awesome twist but I doubt it is coming

since the show established NONE of the above as being possible, that would be ATROCIOUS to pop up as a twist in the show.
 

Chris_Sanders

Not Always The Best Moderator
Super Moderator
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2002
Posts
40,179
Reaction score
31,714
Location
Scottsdale, Az
since the show established NONE of the above as being possible, that would be ATROCIOUS to pop up as a twist in the show.

Well we have seen other dragons already in Valeria so I don't think it is out of the question that more could be on the way.
 

Dback Jon

Doing it My Way
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
May 14, 2002
Posts
82,069
Reaction score
41,875
Location
South Scottsdale
since the show established NONE of the above as being possible, that would be ATROCIOUS to pop up as a twist in the show.


Where/when did the show establish any of those? (IE Dragons don't have a "gender", that it was Drogon that was seen flying, and that Drogon's activities were fully accounted for?

Also, that Dragonstone has no stone dragons...
 

Dback Jon

Doing it My Way
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
May 14, 2002
Posts
82,069
Reaction score
41,875
Location
South Scottsdale
https://www.tor.com/2019/05/08/doin...d88b1e52007c265e822a7212d4656463f62e1864f6cc7

Checking the Math: The Big Event from Game of ThronesSeason 8 Episode 4 is Just as Impossible as You Think

See, those scorpion bolts went straight. I mean, really straight. Their trajectory was so flat that Euron was using a fixed “iron” sight to take aim. Since a projectile under the influence of gravity cannot have a flat trajectory, the only explanation for such a seemingly straight shot would be that its parabolic arc is so wide that within the range covered it appears to be flat. It’s rather like how over short distances the earth appears to be flat, but that’s only because we’re seeing such a small section of a really wide curvature.

In other words, if it hadn’t hit the neck of a flying dragon, Euron’s bolt would have gone really, really far.

How far?

Let’s have some fun with numbers!

In other words, he would need to be aiming for the very nose of the beast, and the bolt would need to cover the 1,000 meter distance in about half a second.

The bolt, therefore, would need to have an initial velocity of about 2,000 m/s.

By comparison, a modern sniper rifle propels a bullet around 800 to 1,000 m/s (howdy, Fortnitefans!).

Oh, remember that parabola? Having the projectile drop just 2.5 meters over its first 1,000 meters of travel means it’s a wide one. If we figure that the angle, from Euron’s perspective, between the sea and Rhaegal is about 20 degrees, we can use our initial velocity to trace out that parabola mathematically.

I’m just a lowly medievalist here, folks, but I’m calculating that Euron’s bolt, if it hadn’t hit the dragon, would have reached a maximum elevation of around 14 miles above sea level before it nosed back down to earth. That’s, um, around twice the cruising altitude of most commercial airliners.
 

Town Drunk

Longest serving ASFN lurker
Joined
Aug 30, 2003
Posts
9,048
Reaction score
9,539
Location
CA
Remember Ser Jorah and Tyrion saw a Dragon flying over the ruins of Valeria in season 5. Never confirmed to be Drogon

Also, remember that Drogon fled and was missing for a long period of time

Dragons are thought to be, in this setting, like some frogs are - able to change sex if needed.

Azor was supposed to waken stone dragons. So either Dany is Azor, or there are stone dragons to be awakened in DRAGONSTONE :)

That’s the big fan theory I’ve been reading all over the interwebs.
 

Western Font

ASFN Lifer
Joined
Jan 30, 2018
Posts
2,968
Reaction score
3,323
Location
Downtown
The current dragons game from petrified eggs. Illyrio said they were from a basically inaccessible place and were the last of their kind. But I don’t know how much we’re supposed to take what he says as fact.

It generally doesn’t surprise me that there could be more dragons, whether from Drogon or elsewhere. I just hope they aren’t revealed at a climactic moment in battle as a dues ex machina.
 
Top