Game of Thrones Season 8

State43

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It's fitting that Benioff and Weiss are making a new Star Wars trilogy, because they totally "Last Jedi"-d this season of GOT. This series was built on strong female characters and that has gone out the window in recent weeks:

Cersei - wallowing in Jaime's arms
Dany - snapping as she hears the cries of thousands ("Meesa!")
Arya - giving up on killing Cersei because The Hound tells her to
Brienne - sobbing when Jaime leaves for Cersei, despite having been left/broken multiple times in her life

It's becoming apparent that Benioff & Weiss relied more on GRRM's books to gain insight into these women and adapt them to the screen. Without the books, they are defaulting to negative/weak stereotypes of women that do not fit these characters. Go watch a series like Killing Eve - those writers are portraying women far better than GOT S8 has.
I agree with the character assessment but it’s the opposite of TLJ where women were smarter and stronger than everyone else so that comparison doesn’t make sense.
 

3GenClone

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I agree with the character assessment but it’s the opposite of TLJ where women were smarter and stronger than everyone else so that comparison doesn’t make sense.

Sorry, I meant to compare how The Last Jedi totally blew up the lore and "traditional" narrative that we had come to expect over 7 Star Wars films - that is what S8 GOT has done to some of their strongest characters.
 

1100011CS

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You can read while running on a treadmill?

I thought it sounded like a good idea until I tried it. After struggling to focus enough to read, my foot then clipped the side of the machine and I almost ended up in a big pile of Cooler.

Reading is hard.
I use a Kindle and increase the font
 

1100011CS

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Did it seem odd to anyone else that previously the ballistas were such formidable, well operated weapons and now tonight they can hardly get a shot off? I know initially there was the element of surprise but with the sheer numbers of them they should still have been somewhat effective.
Agree. This was the only thing that really bothered me about that episode.
 

Trice

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There's been a lot of criticism of this season that IMO falls flat because it's simply a matter of people not liking the outcomes. They're emotionally invested in Dany and don't want to see her become what she has, and no pivot towards her character becoming mad could satisfy them.

The show has hinted at Dany's mad turn for a long, long time. She could be kind and gracious and different - as long as she got her way. But when she didn't, she acted in ways that was really no different from anyone else. You'd think, for example, a Targaryen who wants to change her brand image might not embrace the spectacle of fiery death to kill many of her enemies when simple beheadings would have worked just fine, but nope! (And to be clear, I'm talking about situations like the Tarlys or Lord Varys, not battles. All's fair there, IMO.)

But there's a lot of legitimate criticism too, that the storylines have felt forced and rushed at times. Relative to the show's pacing in previous seasons, Dany's turn toward madness has come pretty quickly. I guess we're supposed to believe that she is going to just suddenly snap because some of her trusted advisors were killed, after literally years of showing the enormous personal cost she has already paid building toward this moment. As I saw in one headline, it feels like the show is turning her into a crazy ex-girlfriend.

It's not that she's gone mad or that she has killed innocents that bothers me (after all, that's what mad people do), it's that I feel like the setup has been executed poorly and doesn't do justice to her character.
 

Trice

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Yeah. I agree totally with your prediction on Arya; there's a reason why there was a focus on the young girl and her mother throughout the episode, and then having Arya come upon their burnt bodies in each other's arms at the very end. And, it wouldn't even be revenge IMO; it would be justice to have Arya kill Dany for that. I hope that happens next week.

I'm also sensing a Jon vs. Grey Worm showdown in the finale as well.

I wonder if Dany would have gone full blown evil/mad this episode if Jon had just boinked her like she wanted one last time. Not really even trying to be funny with that; I really do wonder if that one last moment of rejection from a man she loves (loved?) is what really pushed her over the edge.

I'm not "disappointed" with the episode, so to speak, as I had no expectations of it going into watching it, and the "battle" (more of a rout; so much for the prowess of the Golden Company), while visually spectacular, was a bit of a letdown.

I never cease to be amazed by the acting chops of Lena Headey; she did the impossible for me this episode and made Cersei a sympathetic figure, at least compared to Dany. Just an awe-inspiring performance on her part.

Agree. I found myself feeling bad for her and had to consciously remind myself that she deserves whatever she gets.
 

Cyclonepride

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Agree. This was the only thing that really bothered me about that episode.

It's more odd that the ballista were so effective in the dragon killing episode. They are wildly inaccurate, and I think the "story" was that she took them from directly above (initially) and then kept low to the water to keep below their targeting arc (and then took the ones on the wall in the flank). That makes some sense at least.

I'm still enjoying the series just fine, but I was struck last night by how hard it is to kill off a character in a satisfying manner when they've been built up so much, over so long a period.
 
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Mr Janny

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There's been a lot of criticism of this season that IMO falls flat because it's simply a matter of people not liking the outcomes. They're emotionally invested in Dany and don't want to see her become what she has, and no pivot towards her character becoming mad could satisfy them.

The show has hinted at Dany's mad turn for a long, long time. She could be kind and gracious and different - as long as she got her way. But when she didn't, she acted in ways that was really no different from anyone else. You'd think, for example, a Targaryen who wants to change her brand image might not embrace the spectacle of fiery death to kill many of her enemies when simple beheadings would have worked just fine, but nope! (And to be clear, I'm talking about situations like the Tarlys or Lord Varys, not battles. All's fair there, IMO.)

But there's a lot of legitimate criticism too, that the storylines have felt forced and rushed at times. Relative to the show's pacing in previous seasons, Dany's turn toward madness has come pretty quickly. I guess we're supposed to believe that she is going to just suddenly snap because some of her trusted advisors were killed, after literally years of showing the enormous personal cost she has already paid building toward this moment. As I saw in one headline, it feels like the show is turning her into a crazy ex-girlfriend.

It's not that she's gone mad or that she has killed innocents that bothers me (after all, that's what mad people do), it's that I feel like the setup has been executed poorly and doesn't do justice to her character.
Well put. The issue is not what has happened. It's how rushed it has felt. Anyone who says that Danny's character turn comes out of nowhere, hasn't been paying attention.
 

snowcraig2.0

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Well put. The issue is not what has happened. It's how rushed it has felt. Anyone who says that Danny's character turn comes out of nowhere, hasn't been paying attention.


Yeah, think back to season 5 when she fed that innocent guy to the dragons because she thought they were responsible for the sons of the harpy killing Sir Barriston.
 

Tri4Cy

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Agree. This was the only thing that really bothered me about that episode.

I hated that too...but noticed that maybe she had learned and changed her tactics a bit. I had conversations with friends about the dragon battle a few episodes ago and thought she needed better air-air/air-ground tactics. In this episode she attacked by using the sun to blind her position. Without the aid of tech, you are essentially blinding the defenders. Also, she did MUCH better about changing her heading and AoA. You can notice the dragon flying super low to the ocean after she wiped out the fleet and was making her first strafing run. My assumptions where on parallel with old AA guns, they are designed to be pointed UP in the sky. My thoughts were maybe the ballistas in an elevated position were not capable of pointing DOWN at the sea.
 

Bigman38

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Medieval warfare. Destroy enemy infrastructure, eliminate their will to fight, revenge...

It's moments away from being her infrastructure, they had already surrendered, and she's now all but guaranteed someone will kill her for her slaughtering the city.

I really don't agree with the angle that she's shown to be a potential mass murderer, but at least there is some logic there. The idea that it was strategic is nonsense.
 

runbikeswim

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The Dany thing is absolutely in keeping with her past - the wizards, Mereen, the Dothraki, the witch who effectively killed Drogo. She is ruthless against her enemies and those who don’t bow to her rule - which, by the way, has only been her design since her husband melted her brother’s head. The city was standing by Cersei by not evacuating, in Dany’s eyes (that had just recently lost Jorah and another dragon and Missandei, as well as been betrayed by Varys and with Jon not obeying her and then refusing to bone his aunt again). She was riddled with grief and anger, and has never exactly been known for moderating those emotions. When she lost Drogo, she walked into a fire.

If anything, I found Grey Worm losing his mind more out-of-character, even with his grief. He and Jon will battle next week. I think Arya will kill (or try to) Dany. I don’t think Tyrion survives. Not sure about Jon. I think the episode was logical - the only thing that disappointed me was Jaime losing all of that character development over the past few seasons. If there even is a monarchy at this point, I would guess Sansa or Gendry will rule.

Has anyone really found the Grey Worm/Missandei story line compelling? It's never been that interesting to me, although, to take part in slaughter like that did seem very out of character for the unsullied in general, not just Grey Worm.
 

Tre4ISU

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It's fitting that Benioff and Weiss are making a new Star Wars trilogy, because they totally "Last Jedi"-d this season of GOT. This series was built on strong female characters and that has gone out the window in recent weeks:

Cersei - wallowing in Jaime's arms
Dany - snapping as she hears the cries of thousands ("Meesa!")
Arya - giving up on killing Cersei because The Hound tells her to
Brienne - sobbing when Jaime leaves for Cersei, despite having been left/broken multiple times in her life

It's becoming apparent that Benioff & Weiss relied more on GRRM's books to gain insight into these women and adapt them to the screen. Without the books, they are defaulting to negative/weak stereotypes of women that do not fit these characters. Go watch a series like Killing Eve - those writers are portraying women far better than GOT S8 has.

Is it a challenge to make everything into some sort narrative on social norms? Half of these things aren't even true and the ones that are would be gender dependent. Cersei was going to die pregnant, Dany was snapping because she was a Targ and it's been talked about dozen's of times in the past, Arya just killed the ******* night king and they made a point to point out that Brienne was a virgin.
 
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runbikeswim

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It's moments away from being her infrastructure, they had already surrendered, and she's now all but guaranteed someone will kill her for her slaughtering the city.

I really don't agree with the angle that she's shown to be a potential mass murderer, but at least there is some logic there. The idea that it was strategic is nonsense.

Not to mention, the Red Keep is the house HER family built. It is basically the symbol of her legacy.
 

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