(05-13-2019, 08:36 AM)BmorePat87 Wrote: This has been teased for a while, but they jumped from 3 to 10 pretty fast. She has a history of pretty brutal tactics, but all aimed against those who either wronged her (killed her child, tried to kidnap her, wouldn't bend the knee when captured) or have wronged innocent people (the masters, the Khals).

Indiscriminately murdering women and children for the **** of it with an episode and a half left?

This is why we needed the 10 episode seasons that HBO offered them.

(05-13-2019, 08:34 AM)CKwi88 Wrote: So many issues of the writing could be alleviated, if not downright resolved, with just a simple line of dialogue thrown in.

Bran is all-powerful yet seemingly useless? Have some line where he says that the three eyed Raven doesn't interfere (directly even) in the affairs of men, and send him to chill in a tree north of the wall.

Scorpions that seemed to have heat seeking arrows last episode can't hit jack this episode? Have Qyburn mention something along the lines of "well we used that Gambit, but failed to get both dragons while Dany didn't know and was surprised by the scorpions, now we're boned."

They're hardly brilliant solutions but hell, it's like how getting a 60 on an assignment is worlds better than getting a 0, even if the 60 sucks.

That said, I think the only two things that truly bothered me about the episode was the Euron-Jaime fight and going back to the well too many times with the "did one of those 6 buildings fall on Arya this time?" It was quite a ride.

(05-13-2019, 12:01 PM)Millhouse Wrote: I like all the twist and turns so far. But cramming them in the span that they have is completely opposite of the show in previous seasons. And it is killing the season with things happening as if they just want to finish the show up as fast as possible.

Its like Dany going mad. I get that, they have dropped little hints and clues along the way she can have a darker side to ruling. And I have no problem with her going batshit mass murderer crazy. But the bells were ringing, city was hers, and all that was left was Cersei in the Keep. Was it because Cersei had her best friend servant executed? Dany was the breaker of chains, freed slaves and all. But one servant head is chopped, she kills 100s of thousands of innocents? Makes no sense. At least throw something in there that when the bells were ringing, some hidden away scorpions appear shooting at her, and then she snaps. Something, but another example of cramming to finish the show.


Bran's storyline since Hodor was so anti-climatic. The only purpose he has served was to be bait for the NK, thats it. This episode I was hoping perhaps when Euron was looking up at the clouds, he would see millions of ravens coming at them to distract the scorpions as Dany flew in to blow them up. That would have been so much better and made her attack believable considering just before 5 scorpion shots hit one of her dragons 3 times killing it, where this episode literally dozens of scorpions couldnt hit once.

(05-13-2019, 12:35 PM)CKwi88 Wrote: Agree on all fronts. The broad strokes of the story are there and are all valid but are moving at the speed of light. For a show that used to move so deliberately, it's an odd shift.

I have to assume that Bran and Sansa will have something to do with the finale. But at this point it will be hard to do anything very satisfying with Bran.

(05-13-2019, 12:01 PM)Millhouse Wrote: Bran's storyline since Hodor was so anti-climatic. The only purpose he has served was to be bait for the NK, thats it. This episode I was hoping perhaps when Euron was looking up at the clouds, he would see millions of ravens coming at them to distract the scorpions as Dany flew in to blow them up. That would have been so much better and made her attack believable considering just before 5 scorpion shots hit one of her dragons 3 times killing it, where this episode literally dozens of scorpions couldnt hit once.

(05-13-2019, 12:35 PM)CKwi88 Wrote: I have to assume that Bran and Sansa will have something to do with the finale. But at this point it will be hard to do anything very satisfying with Bran.

(05-10-2019, 11:25 PM)samhain Wrote: Any other book readers here?

One thing I have a tough time with is what a sorry translation the Euron character on TV is compared to the one in the book.

Euron in the book is a stomach-churning, twisted, demonic sadist and drug addict.  Euron on the show is just a lame party boy with a pirate ship.  Euron is one of the most terrifying characters in ASOIAF.  He's just an annoying clown on GOT.

(05-13-2019, 12:01 PM)Millhouse Wrote: I like all the twist and turns so far. But cramming them in the span that they have is completely opposite of the show in previous seasons. And it is killing the season with things happening as if they just want to finish the show up as fast as possible.

Its like Dany going mad. I get that, they have dropped little hints and clues along the way she can have a darker side to ruling. And I have no problem with her going batshit mass murderer crazy. But the bells were ringing, city was hers, and all that was left was Cersei in the Keep. Was it because Cersei had her best friend servant executed? Dany was the breaker of chains, freed slaves and all. But one servant head is chopped, she kills 100s of thousands of innocents? Makes no sense. At least throw something in there that when the bells were ringing, some hidden away scorpions appear shooting at her, and then she snaps. Something, but another example of cramming to finish the show.

Bran's storyline since Hodor was so anti-climatic. The only purpose he has served was to be bait for the NK, thats it. This episode I was hoping perhaps when Euron was looking up at the clouds, he would see millions of ravens coming at them to distract the scorpions as Dany flew in to blow them up. That would have been so much better and made her attack believable considering just before 5 scorpion shots hit one of her dragons 3 times killing it, where this episode literally dozens of scorpions couldnt hit once.

(05-13-2019, 06:58 PM)Yojimbo Wrote: I have not been a fan of the writing this season or last and agree with most of the criticism here. The lack of character depth from HBO has been sad really.

(05-15-2019, 06:21 PM)JustWinBaby Wrote: They ran out of runway, except there's really no excuse for it.  "People in rooms talking" can be great drama and writing, but eventually plans have to be put into motion.  Even last year they were still often moving along slowly and including a lot of non-critical scenes.  

It was pretty clear the show wasn't going to be prematurely canceled, so the outline of the last 4-5 seasons should have been mapped out and plotted much better.  For example, look at all the time devoted to Theon - does the GoT suffer, at all, with no Theon?  Heck did the show really even need the Iron Islands, much less Euron?

Is there another way to blow-up the Sept without all the time devoted to the Red Sparrow?  What point did Dorne serve other than fan service to book readers? 

Actors don't generally like to stick around for years and years.  Even if RR had finished the books, GoT was NEVER going to not rush clumsily to the ending given all the ancilliary sidebars they wasted time on.

I'm pretty happy that we'll get one ending that I think will be pretty good and satisfactory despite all the holes.  And plenty of motivation to read the book for what I hope will be a much better, and significantly different, ending.