I have to say, I quite loved this episode. Perhaps the ending was a bit too neat, particularly in regards to how the conflict between Daenerys' remaining armies and the rest of Westeros was resolved. That said, I was surprised when Tyrion suggested Brandon (the Broken!) should be the ruler, although it continues playing on the weird idea of someone who doesn't want to rule would be the best person suited to rule. It was a poor argument for Jon and I'm not entirely convinced it's a good argument for Bran, aside from him knowing the history of the world and could potentially learn from all of the mistakes of the past. I had been rooting for Sansa but ultimately I agree that it makes more sense that should enforce the North's independence once more with her as their queen (and she fulfilled her childhood dream!).
That said, I
loved the how episode rickrolled us with Sam's suggestion of a democratic government. It feels like D&D were paying attention to some of the online theories and decided to troll us all.
The only other truly surprising thing about the episode was how much of a happy, upbeat note the story ended on, with very little death, aside Daenerys and we all knew that was coming. This is especially surprising considering everything Martin has suggested about how it would end poorly for most involved. Considering it's been stated repeatedly that D&D got a rough outline from Martin about the ending, the way things played out in the last 20 minutes or so appear to what will be getting in the books.
Moving past that surprise, I am thrilled with how everyone's stories ended, even if they were tied up a bit too neatly, too, particularly who filled out the Small Council (albeit not the entirety of it), I love all of those choices, especially Brienne as the Lord Commander of the King's Guard and writing a...sanitized version of Jaime's story in the White Book (as it's referred to in the books). I'm also greatly relieved that Arya didn't resume her cycle of violence by going after Daenerys and instead decided to explore the unseen world. The look on her face on the prow of the ship reminded me of the same unmasked happiness on her face when she first sailed to Braavos.
The only thing that struck me as off was how the episode seemed to present Jon's exile back to the Wall with the Night's Watch as this great and terrible thing. He's clearly shown he's best suited up there and has a strong affinity for those people. So why was he looking back as the Wall's gate closed, looking all sourpussed?
Also...winter sure seemed to end awfully fast, after all that build-up!
