Spoilers Game of Thrones: The Final Season

[SJGardner]

I think what Dany did was shocking, devastating and chilling. The Doom of Dany was a force of nature that everyone on both sides were caught in the maelstrom of; it was horrific and utterly unforgivable. That being said... it works for me now. However, I still believe there's no getting around the fact her story did not benefit from the compressed nature of the last two seasons. It would still needed to have been shocking for full effect, but had they fleshed it out more we'd have had more to look back on to appreciate/understand how she hit this critical juncture.

That's kind of how I feel about it myself and why I keep seeing this huge disconnect between her Season 1-7 deliberate cruelty and her indiscriminate rage in The Bells. It's perfectly plausible why she went insane, and what she does after going insane is understandable knowing who she is. But the compressed nature of the show in the last two seasons just undermines the whole thing. For something this drastic, I would've preferred if it was believable as opposed to simply plausible when you dig into it.

And for me this includes the moment she went insane itself. The bells are ringing, she looks at the Red Keep in the distance, and we never learn what goes through her head. GRRM will probably have her go insane in the novels as well, I think, and when her inner monologue gets written on paper, it will be much more clearer. But on TV it just looks like her mind snapped for some unknown reason and that stretches it past my suspension of disbelief.

 

[Cyrus]

Some fans are petitioning HBO to remake season 8:
https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a27475925/game-of-thrones-season-8-petition-remake/

Meanwhile the latest episode (The Bells) had the highest rating ever for GoT, being watched by 12.48 million viewers. Previous record holder was season 7 finale. It's a record that probably lasts one week.

 

[LaxScrutiny]

Some fans are petitioning HBO to remake season 8:
https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a27475925/game-of-thrones-season-8-petition-remake/

Meanwhile the latest episode (The Bells) had the highest rating ever for GoT, being watched by 12.48 million viewers. Previous record holder was season 7 finale. It's a record that probably lasts one week.

Let's see, that's 15,000 petitioners/12,480,000 = 0.1202 %. Compelling.

 

[StarMan]

I think she planned this ever since Missandei died.
But I think she wanted King’s landing to stand their ground und not surrender.
She might not even have believed that could happen.
And when it did she realized she lost any semblance of justification and then decided to do it it anyway.

Oh, she wanted to do it. I agree, she did not want the city to surrender - not at an emotional level. She wanted the Lannister army to fight to the last man and/or the people to rise up against Cersei. I don't know how much she'd planned ahead for it. She was obviously prepared for The Iron Fleet and scorpions.

Just after she had perched herself on top of that building I still don't think she'd made her mind up, based on how I read Clarke's acting. She appeared to be surveying the city when she glimpsed The Red Keep - that's when things started to turn.

For something this drastic, I would've preferred if it was believable as opposed to simply plausible when you dig into it.

Exactly. I had to dig into it to come to terms with it.

 

[Cyrus]

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Dane Bowl was interesting. I didn't know that Jaime and Euron actors were both Danish.

 

[M.A.C.O.]

Since dragging GOT is the popular thing to do and D&D set out to top LOTR. An amusing side by side comparison of both battles.

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I couldn't find the quote by one of the LOTR producers. I think someone in this thread posted it earlier. It was something to the effect of, a person asking the producer where the lighting is coming from for the battle of Helm's Deep, and the producer responds "the same place as the music".

 

[EmoBorg]

Some fans are petitioning HBO to remake season 8:
https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a27475925/game-of-thrones-season-8-petition-remake/

Does that ever work ?

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Dane Bowl was interesting. I didn't know that Jaime and Euron actors were both Danish.

I knew NIkolaj Coster-Waldau is Danish, but despite his name, for some reason I didn't suss out that Pilou Asbæk is also Danish. Pity Dane Bowl wasn't nearly as exciting as Clegane Bowl.

 

[LaxScrutiny]

Does that ever work ?

I remember a few years back, 15,000 fans signed a petition to remake that year's Superbowl. They were about to, but then 16,000 fans signed a petition not to. TSN mysteriously went off the air for a few hours, and then everyone denied the whole thing.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Don't know about a remake, but fan edits are a likelihood. One thing I would dispense with is the pointless and contrived Danebowl. How easy it would be to move the second dragon death (Rhaegal?) from episode 4 to episode 5 after the bells start ringing to tip Daenerys over the edge, I don't know. I'd also like to fix the horribly shoddy tactics displayed in episode 3 but that's probably not possible without significant effort.

 

[eschaton]

At first I thought it would have made more sense if her other Dragon had survived to this episode and been mortally wounded at the end just before/as the bells rang, or at least *something* happening, that would spark her onslaught. But that's not the point. The decisive and very deliberate turn is all the more shocking because the battle was won easily, the city had surrendered - it was over. But in that moment, all the anger, hurt and fury was still pulsating through her. In spite of the victory she still felt the throne slipping away from her. I think she believed (rightly or wrongly) that in spite of Jon's protestations to "not wanting it", word would spread and he would eventually be thrust on to the throne. I think the Jon factor is one of a few dominoes that toppled over in that defining moment.

IMHO her sacking of the city with no justification will ultimately be needed because Jon is going to have to kill her in the next episode. And for Jon to be willing to do that, he has to see the path she has chosen as being unrepentant evil which will spell doom for his family and Westeros. To have him kill a Dany who wasn't as morally comprised would just destroy his own character as well as hers, leading to an end fans would find even more frustrating.

 

[Mr Awe]

TBut the compressed nature of the show in the last two seasons just undermines the whole thing. But on TV it just looks like her mind snapped for some unknown reason and that stretches it past my suspension of disbelief.

I agree with the point that the compressed seasons didn't help. However, they've done plenty to build this up over the previous 7 seasons that it really shouldn't be a surprise nor should it break your suspension of disbelief. There are many reasons why she snapped that have been shown over the years. I suspect that when many people rewatch the series at some point after the finale, it will be with very different eyes and it'll make more sense. Certain cold, ruthless aspects of hers will stand out more. It'll be easier to see where her arc is heading!

 

[SJGardner]

I agree with the point that the compressed seasons didn't help. However, they've done plenty to build this up over the previous 7 seasons that it really shouldn't be a surprise nor should it break your suspension of disbelief. There are many reasons why she snapped that have been shown over the years. I suspect that when many people rewatch the series at some point after the finale, it will be with very different eyes and it'll make more sense. Certain cold, ruthless aspects of hers will stand out more. It'll be easier to see where her arc is heading!

That's actually the point I was making. I've already realized that point of Daenerys is to make the audience realize how their own perceptions have made them blind to the glaring fact that she was a villain all along, just because she looks like a fairy-tale princess, has a sympathetic backstory, and, as long as you aren't prodding at them too hard, sympathetic motives. That perception was bound to have a reality check after she got to Westeros. But the past actions many people cite as signs of her insanity don't really seem different to me from the deeds that gave Tywin Lannister or Roose Bolton their ruthlessly pragmatic, villainous reputation.

Tywin has done a lot of truly heinous, reprehensible, horrifically disproportionate things in his life starting at a younger age than what Daenerys is now, often for no other reason than someone tried to defy him, even if that someone was his own son, and these were never used to paint him as insane. Not even Walder Frey gets dismissed as a madman, even though he plotted to massacre an entire noble house and all their loyal bannermen just because its leader didn't honor a betrothal and that hurt his pride. I often have a feeling that Daenerys just never ever got a pass because she's a Targaryen and everybody knows Targaryens are crazy.

 

[Mr Awe]

That's actually the point I was making.

Ah, ok. I was mostly reacting to this portion of your comment, "But on TV it just looks like her mind snapped for some unknown reason." I'm just saying the reasons are known.

I'd say all the people you mention are reprehensible. I'd just add Dany in to the same category. The difference is that she has the largest military force and a WMD! Oh, and she's probably killed like million people or so! I don't think Dany is crazy in the technical sense.

However, that all said, none of them should get a pass!

 

[137th Gebirg]

I don’t think it’s really going to matter. They’re all probably going to be dead by the end of the finale.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I don’t think it’s really going to matter. They’re all probably going to be dead by the end of the finale.

That's what I've been expecting for years now.

 

[eschaton]

I don’t think it’s really going to matter. They’re all probably going to be dead by the end of the finale.

Personally, I don't think so. Dany will be dead for sure. Maybe Grey Worm and Tyrion. But most of the other characters who are left are going to survive till the end of the series.

 

[Mr Awe]

^ I'd tend to agree. Although, there might be a major surprise death just for one last shock. But, I think most will survive who are currently alive. I suppose in the attempt to take down Dany there could be more deaths. We'll find out soon!

 

[137th Gebirg]

Hard to believe it's all going to come to an end in a few days. Looking forward to the announced prequel, though.

 

[Gary7]

A prequel will be interesting, and no doubt it'll start with a much higher viewership than GoT did. Prequels usually have a much harder time of it, and there will be very high expectations. I wonder if Martin had a "framework" already planned at the beginning of this book series or if he has been actively working on one at the behest of success with GoT. The casting competition will be fierce. Lottery win roles -- millionaire status practically guaranteed, as long as you don't get whacked early.