8x05 Post-Show Review

Cersei's death is quite underwhelming, but props for Lena's acting.

Long Live the Queen.

idek what to say right now

This is a much quieter reaction than I was expecting. Even with our limited numbers this is an uncharacteristically empty thread.

Did Davey drink himself to death?

I'm 99.9% sure this is the last scene Maisie filmed. She said she was on her own, covered in blood, and that it was a very quiet and beautiful scene.

I'll be honest, I'm just meh about the episode. I don't care anymore. I don't care that the valonqar is a bunch of debris, that Jaime regressed to his season 2 version for no reason, that Dany was triggered by bells (WTF?), that the scorpions that killed Rhaegal like he was nothing were 100% useless against Drogon, that they cut with shots of Arya possibly dying like 4 times, that Cersei and Jaime's death was sooooooooo underwhelming, that the Golden Company was useless, or that they destroyed 7 seasons of Dany's character development in two episodes.

I should be upset, have some kind of emotional reaction because it was a mess. But I don't.

I'm ready for the show to end.

Is there really anything to say?

We could all easily point out how rushed, unjustified and non-sensical everything was, but if the writers didn't care about the ending of the show, why should we?

Guess I do have something to say.

Dany suddenly turning into a monster ... I just don't buy it. I don't care if it was set up, or if it makes narrative or thematic sense (I don't think it does, but I guess that's up for debate). To me, the turn was jarring and insane and it only happened, because the writers wanted it to happen. Dany went from being the one good Targaryen, to probably the most terrible Targaryen (maybe even GoT character) who has ever lived. All in one episode, all because some bells ticked her off. That entire storyline really feels like a version of the "Hell hath no fury" bullshit, and that is sickening to me.

Dany has always been ruthless, she's always been quick to execute her enemies ... but she's also always directed her hatred and anger towards the people who actually deserved it. But now she has decided to flip a switch in her head and to start murdering indiscriminately. And it's not just that she is showing disregard for the lives of innocent women and children in pursuit of her final goal. That, I think, would have made perfect sense and would have been in line with what we know about Dany. But no, she actively made an effort to slaughter them in the tens of thousands. Why? Because.

This is such a terrible, harmful and cynical message in my opinion. But ... but it makes sense, 'cause she's "the mad queen", y'all. Like, fuck off.

This was one of the most beautifully shot and directed episodes of the entire series. Cleganebowl was everything I hoped it would be. There were several other scenes that I really, really liked, even those between Cersei and Jaime. I even cried when they died. Arya was great. But I think Dany's turn has finally and definitively killed my love for Game of Thrones, and I can't wait for the show to end.

I actually really loved the deaths of Cersei and Jaime. I didn't interpret that scene as Jaime regressing back, or the writers throwing all of his character development out the window. I took it as a brother trying to save his sister, who he still loves deeply, despite everything that's happened between them. And those things he said to her, that they were the only ones that mattered ... I mean, they were both about to die and Jaime knew that. Should he have said something to make her feel bad, like maybe "this is all your fault?". I think he just wanted to comfort her in those last few moments of their lives ... and maybe comfort himself too, and to me personally, that doesn't cheapen any of Jaime's previous character development.

Despite being a bit short, I thought that scene was quite beautiful. It made me cry. Both Lena and Nikolaj gave such great performances, and I also loved the haunting version of Rains of Castamere that played during it. 

I think this sums up my feeling about the episode.

I rated it 6/10.  Because the directing and cinematography were great.

Scenes I liked:
The Hound/Arya's final goodbye.  Don't be like me, go home.
Jaime/Tyrion's final scene.  Of course, we think Tyrion's dead meat letting him go but it's Jaime that dies.  I liked that they left nothing unsaid.
Cleganebowl ending poetically.  I did like the fight but the shot of them falling into the fire was good shot.
Varys dying bravely and telling Tyrion that he hoped he was wrong (he wasn't).
Varys putting the nugget in Jon's head that when a Targaryen is born the Gods flip a coin and hold their breath.

Little call backs to earlier seasons: the shadow of the dragon over the Red Keep.  Tyrion telling Jaime basically the same plan that Ned told Cersei in season 1.

I don't care what James Hibberd, D&D and show fanatics have to say about Mad Queen Dany (that's been set up all along blah blah).  It's been abrupt.  Despite her prior burnings-which she had some justification for...laying waste to Kings Landing when the army had surrendered and killing tens of thousands of small folk is not what the show presented all along with Dany.  Again, I don't mind the mad queen storyline...it just needed more set up than what it got.  I don't know that the Bells set her off but I do think they represented a turning point for her, she could have stopped, she could have called it off and chose not to.  She did the very thing that Jaime Lannister tried to prevent all those years ago with Aerys. 

They've done nothing with Kit Harrington this season and that's been disappointing.  Jon's very slow realization that he put his eggs (and more) in the wrong basket seemed a bit OOC for him. 

The repeated fake outs of Arya's near death began to get annoying. 

While emotional, Cersei and Jaime's deaths were underwhelming.

Prediction: Varys' line about the gods and the Targs isn't making Jon any more likely to take the throne.   I think Jon excuses himself from that particular narrative.  Tyrion's in big trouble next week, despite probably being the most heroic in this episode.

Jon this ep: