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*SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE FRIGGING SERIES UP TO SEASON EIGHT, EPISODE 4*
Since Season 7, my thoughts concerning the Game of Thrones TV adaptation have been... mixed. Since Year 9, I've been a massive fan of the books, and I still remember being one of the people who went into Season 3 barely able to conceal my anticipation for the Red Wedding from the unsuspecting viewers going in blind. A lot of the thrill I got from the series was from seeing the books I loved being brought to life, but this didn't mean I wasn't still hyped for the series once it passed the point of ADWD. The writers had been doing a good job so far, and it seemed like they knew what they were doing, so I didn't complain.
...till Season 7.
At this point, the show felt a lot more manufactured. It still had amazing moments, but you could certainly feel the situations becoming more and more... forced. For example, one of the giant selling points of the show was its "Anyone can die" reputation, but the only characters dying were ones that you could see not being important in the leadup to the end game, aka, Season 8. People died, but it was no longer a shock; it felt like the writers were simply clearing the stage for the characters who were actually vital to the finale. Season 7 was disappointing, but I was still inclined to forgive it — for all its faults, it was clearly setting things up for the final season, and with all the set pieces in place, you couldn't deny that it was gonna be a spectacle. Of course I was gonna watch it.
So what are my thoughts so far this season?
...again, they're mixed. And don't give me that look! I'm definitely not the only one who feels that way! Episode 3 was the epic battle against the White Walkers, the seemingly unstoppable zombie army with a fuck-mothering zombie dragon on their side. It seemed like the White Walkers were set up to be the ultimate Big Bad of the series... only to be seemingly taken out in one (admittedly badass) move by Arya. Now, if anyone's interested, Hello Future Me has an awesome video highlighting how Episode 3 could've been improved while still keeping the major elements and making the Night King's story infinitely more fascinating. You'll have to google it yourself though, because I'm still trying to find my way around Dreamwidth and I'm lazy.
Anyway, after Episode 3, I was left with one major question; if the series wasn't building up to the White Walker Army destroying everything (and presuming there's no future plot twist that puts the WWs back in the game), then what is the end goal here?
And then I saw Episode 4, and a nasty thought began to emerge in my brain concerning our beloved Mother of Dragons.
Over seven seasons, we've seen Dany gone from a quiet political pawn who was abused by her brother into a powerful Khaleesi in her own right. Her entire arc has been about her learning the lessons and gaining the power she needed to take back her birthright; the Iron Throne. She's had a lot of ups and downs throughout the series, but her biggest "oh shit" moment arguably took place in Season 7, when one of her dragons, Viserion, got killed by the Night King's Olympic level javelin throwing skills, leaving her with only two mass weapons of destruction. And to Daenerys, this is on par with her losing a child; and not even for the first time. How could things get worse?
Season Eight: "*burps* Hold my ale."
Yeah... looking over these past four episodes with a critical eye, there's a conga line approaching, full of small incidents and events with the sole purpose of fucking up Daenerys's day. And as we all know, the Targaryen dynasty is capable of both greatness and madness, and Dany herself has proven herself to be both compassionate and ruthless on the toss of a dime. But madness? I'd be disappointed if the show had Daenerys go full on Mad Queen as all her advisors are fearing, because we've seen all the good she's done, and the good she can do in Westeros...if they'd accept her. But that's just it; they're not accepting her, and as Dany becomes more and more isolated, we see her compassionate side beginning to withdraw.
From Season Eight, Episode One, Dany's introduction to the North is a little frosty. The Northeners don't like trust her, her dragon babies don't like the cold, and she upsets Sam — who's not only her new boo's best friend, but also responsible for healing Jorah's illness — with the news that, oh yeah, she burnt his father and brother to death when they didn't submit to her. Not helping this is Jawn Snoo's news from Sam that he's actually the son of Rhaegar Targaryen, though this isn't shared with Dany till Episode Two.
Speaking of Episode Two, let's continue going through Daenerys's Worst Family Vacation Ever. Jaime Lannister arrives and reveals that Cersei is going back on her deal with them, leaving them with less forces to fight the Walkers with and Tyrion in Dany's bad books. At this point, Tyrion's failed Daenerys multiple times now, and luckily for him, Jorah manages to convince Daenerys to keep Tyrion as her hand. But Tyrion and Dany's relationship is now strained, which is certainly not a good thing for a council that's trying to organise a battalion against an undead army. Dany tries to bond with Sansa, and we see a glimpse of that ever-fleeting humanity in Daenerys, as she expresses her feelings for Jon to Sansa. These women have wills of steel, and clearly admire each other's strength; but Sansa is deadset on keeping the North for the Starks, and Dany is equally deadset on ruling the Seven Kingdoms, and neither of them are budging. To top of this Terrible No-Good Awful Day, Jon reveals his true heritage to Dany in the crypts, and you see the immediate horror in Dany as she realises her claim to the Iron Throne is in jeopardy. Aaaaaaand then the Walkers attack.
Episode Three starts, and the damage against Dany is no longer just psychological; it has a body count. First, she loses her entire Dothraki fleet on the front line in the first charge against the White Walkers. Remember, these are her forces, not the Starks', and these people were the ones who gave her the confidence to be a Queen in the first place. She took them from their homeland, crossed the sea so they could conquer a kingdom, only for them all to die in a completely unrelated fight. She abandoned her goal to do what was right, but as they say, no good deed goes unpunished. But it seems that whoever's writing this has a kink for punishing Dany, so in addition to losing her Dothraki troops (and about half of her Unsullied), she also loses Jorah, who dies protecting her after she falls off Drogon into a pile of the Undead. In an episode full of death and loss, it was Dany who probably lost the most in this one fight. Her manpower's been crushed, and one of her dragons is wounded (and soon to be dead), and she still has an Iron Throne to take.
No wonder Daenerys looks defeated when Episode Four begins, after the mass funeral and subsequent victory party held at Winterfell. Daenerys has always fought to protect the innocent, but this time it's potentially cost her the Iron Throne. Sure, she has the forces at Winterfell backing her up, but that army is in the hands of Jon, who is now possibly her biggest threat to getting her hands on Westeros's most uncomfortable chair. Despite the fact he's pinky sworn not to spill the secret about his heritage, Dany pleads with him to never tell anyone the truth, almost like she's begging for her life — which she is, in a way. Her entire life's work has been to get her claws on the Iron Throne, and that plan depends on the people of Westeros accepting her as the rightful ruler. The last thing she needs is another, prettier, and (arguably) manlier contender to take her place, after everything's she's done to get to her position. And just because Jawn doesn't want to rule doesn't mean others won't want him to, and that his army won't choose to support him over her.
Case in point; Jawn finally tells the secret to the remaining Starks, and with the help of Sansa (never trust Sansa with secrets, she was raised by Littlefinger), the news spreads to Tyrion and Varys as well, who act as audience surrogates, debating over who'd be the better ruler and what would be best for the kingdom. So to conclude the first half hour, Dany's dealing with the loss of half her men, the loss of her closest advisor, and her remaining allies are questioning whether to replace him with Lawful Good Boy Jawn Snoo. Oh, and then her dragon dies.
I wonder if that's why Rhaegal got injured in the previous episode. "Okay, so Jawn Snoo is gonna ride him in Episode Three, but we need a reason for him to not be riding him in Episode Four, where Rhaegal gets shot out of the sky by the pervy pirate. Got it! Rhaegal has an owie on his wing from the fight with Viserion! Justified!" But yeah, Dany loses another of her dragon children on her way to Kings Landing AND Missandei gets captured by Cersei's troops, and is being held hostage in exchange for Daenerys's surrender. By this point, Dany is justifiably pissed and ready to raze Kings Landing to the ground with her last dragon, even after hearing that Cersei is bringing civilians into the Red Keep. However, she agrees to a summit with Cersei, citing that this'll be Cersei's one chance to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. Merciful Dany is gone, and she doesn't have Jorah or Missandei to help her hold on to her humanity anymore. And at the summit, Missandei's last words to Dany are "Dracarys!", right before Zombie Gregor cuts off her head in front of Daenerys and Tyrion. Dany has lost her companion, again. And Tyrion has failed her, again. He tried to reason with Cersei, appealed to her maternal instincts, and to the life of the child (apparently) growing inside her. Tyrion's plans are always to help Daenerys, but his luck is beginning to rival that of Theon Greyjoy, God rest his soul. Let's just hope that Daenerys doesn't go for his balls after this.
But I consider this point the edge of madness for Daenerys Targaryen; her forces are exhausted and have been halved by the White Walkers. Two out of her three dragons have been killed, and the other is still a target. The two people closest to her are dead, and her remaining council are questioning her right to rule. And lastly, the man she loves and has put her trust in could be on his way to taking her birthright right from under her, despite his reluctance. They say you can only see someone's true nature when they're at their lowest, and Dany is... a little overwhelmed at the moment. But part of me still wants to hope for Dany; I believe she still has the capacity to step back and stop herself from picking up her father's mantle. Even though this could be a story of her tragic downfall, this could also simply be the low point of her hero's journey, where she proceeds to overcome the adversity thrown her way to take back the Iron Throne.
Targaryens are capable of both greatness and madness. Daenerys can be both compassionate and ruthless. Is she going to be the final "evil" of the story? While I hate the idea of Daenerys being torn down like this, I also find it compelling — we've seen Daenerys do so much good over the series, and we've cheered for her for seven seasons now. The reason she's in such a low place now is simply because she did what she'd always done — fought to protect the innocent, even though it caused a great personal cost to herself. The path to hell is paved with good intentions; maybe Daenerys will become another "Mad Queen", not because she herself will go mad, but because people will remember her for her hellfire and fury, while her acts of protection and mercy will fade from the memories of everyone in Westeros.
...okay, I think I got all my thoughts out. Time to wait for Episode Five.
Since Season 7, my thoughts concerning the Game of Thrones TV adaptation have been... mixed. Since Year 9, I've been a massive fan of the books, and I still remember being one of the people who went into Season 3 barely able to conceal my anticipation for the Red Wedding from the unsuspecting viewers going in blind. A lot of the thrill I got from the series was from seeing the books I loved being brought to life, but this didn't mean I wasn't still hyped for the series once it passed the point of ADWD. The writers had been doing a good job so far, and it seemed like they knew what they were doing, so I didn't complain.
...till Season 7.
At this point, the show felt a lot more manufactured. It still had amazing moments, but you could certainly feel the situations becoming more and more... forced. For example, one of the giant selling points of the show was its "Anyone can die" reputation, but the only characters dying were ones that you could see not being important in the leadup to the end game, aka, Season 8. People died, but it was no longer a shock; it felt like the writers were simply clearing the stage for the characters who were actually vital to the finale. Season 7 was disappointing, but I was still inclined to forgive it — for all its faults, it was clearly setting things up for the final season, and with all the set pieces in place, you couldn't deny that it was gonna be a spectacle. Of course I was gonna watch it.
So what are my thoughts so far this season?
...again, they're mixed. And don't give me that look! I'm definitely not the only one who feels that way! Episode 3 was the epic battle against the White Walkers, the seemingly unstoppable zombie army with a fuck-mothering zombie dragon on their side. It seemed like the White Walkers were set up to be the ultimate Big Bad of the series... only to be seemingly taken out in one (admittedly badass) move by Arya. Now, if anyone's interested, Hello Future Me has an awesome video highlighting how Episode 3 could've been improved while still keeping the major elements and making the Night King's story infinitely more fascinating. You'll have to google it yourself though, because I'm still trying to find my way around Dreamwidth and I'm lazy.
Anyway, after Episode 3, I was left with one major question; if the series wasn't building up to the White Walker Army destroying everything (and presuming there's no future plot twist that puts the WWs back in the game), then what is the end goal here?
And then I saw Episode 4, and a nasty thought began to emerge in my brain concerning our beloved Mother of Dragons.
Over seven seasons, we've seen Dany gone from a quiet political pawn who was abused by her brother into a powerful Khaleesi in her own right. Her entire arc has been about her learning the lessons and gaining the power she needed to take back her birthright; the Iron Throne. She's had a lot of ups and downs throughout the series, but her biggest "oh shit" moment arguably took place in Season 7, when one of her dragons, Viserion, got killed by the Night King's Olympic level javelin throwing skills, leaving her with only two mass weapons of destruction. And to Daenerys, this is on par with her losing a child; and not even for the first time. How could things get worse?
Season Eight: "*burps* Hold my ale."
Yeah... looking over these past four episodes with a critical eye, there's a conga line approaching, full of small incidents and events with the sole purpose of fucking up Daenerys's day. And as we all know, the Targaryen dynasty is capable of both greatness and madness, and Dany herself has proven herself to be both compassionate and ruthless on the toss of a dime. But madness? I'd be disappointed if the show had Daenerys go full on Mad Queen as all her advisors are fearing, because we've seen all the good she's done, and the good she can do in Westeros...if they'd accept her. But that's just it; they're not accepting her, and as Dany becomes more and more isolated, we see her compassionate side beginning to withdraw.
From Season Eight, Episode One, Dany's introduction to the North is a little frosty. The Northeners don't like trust her, her dragon babies don't like the cold, and she upsets Sam — who's not only her new boo's best friend, but also responsible for healing Jorah's illness — with the news that, oh yeah, she burnt his father and brother to death when they didn't submit to her. Not helping this is Jawn Snoo's news from Sam that he's actually the son of Rhaegar Targaryen, though this isn't shared with Dany till Episode Two.
Speaking of Episode Two, let's continue going through Daenerys's Worst Family Vacation Ever. Jaime Lannister arrives and reveals that Cersei is going back on her deal with them, leaving them with less forces to fight the Walkers with and Tyrion in Dany's bad books. At this point, Tyrion's failed Daenerys multiple times now, and luckily for him, Jorah manages to convince Daenerys to keep Tyrion as her hand. But Tyrion and Dany's relationship is now strained, which is certainly not a good thing for a council that's trying to organise a battalion against an undead army. Dany tries to bond with Sansa, and we see a glimpse of that ever-fleeting humanity in Daenerys, as she expresses her feelings for Jon to Sansa. These women have wills of steel, and clearly admire each other's strength; but Sansa is deadset on keeping the North for the Starks, and Dany is equally deadset on ruling the Seven Kingdoms, and neither of them are budging. To top of this Terrible No-Good Awful Day, Jon reveals his true heritage to Dany in the crypts, and you see the immediate horror in Dany as she realises her claim to the Iron Throne is in jeopardy. Aaaaaaand then the Walkers attack.
Episode Three starts, and the damage against Dany is no longer just psychological; it has a body count. First, she loses her entire Dothraki fleet on the front line in the first charge against the White Walkers. Remember, these are her forces, not the Starks', and these people were the ones who gave her the confidence to be a Queen in the first place. She took them from their homeland, crossed the sea so they could conquer a kingdom, only for them all to die in a completely unrelated fight. She abandoned her goal to do what was right, but as they say, no good deed goes unpunished. But it seems that whoever's writing this has a kink for punishing Dany, so in addition to losing her Dothraki troops (and about half of her Unsullied), she also loses Jorah, who dies protecting her after she falls off Drogon into a pile of the Undead. In an episode full of death and loss, it was Dany who probably lost the most in this one fight. Her manpower's been crushed, and one of her dragons is wounded (and soon to be dead), and she still has an Iron Throne to take.
No wonder Daenerys looks defeated when Episode Four begins, after the mass funeral and subsequent victory party held at Winterfell. Daenerys has always fought to protect the innocent, but this time it's potentially cost her the Iron Throne. Sure, she has the forces at Winterfell backing her up, but that army is in the hands of Jon, who is now possibly her biggest threat to getting her hands on Westeros's most uncomfortable chair. Despite the fact he's pinky sworn not to spill the secret about his heritage, Dany pleads with him to never tell anyone the truth, almost like she's begging for her life — which she is, in a way. Her entire life's work has been to get her claws on the Iron Throne, and that plan depends on the people of Westeros accepting her as the rightful ruler. The last thing she needs is another, prettier, and (arguably) manlier contender to take her place, after everything's she's done to get to her position. And just because Jawn doesn't want to rule doesn't mean others won't want him to, and that his army won't choose to support him over her.
Case in point; Jawn finally tells the secret to the remaining Starks, and with the help of Sansa (never trust Sansa with secrets, she was raised by Littlefinger), the news spreads to Tyrion and Varys as well, who act as audience surrogates, debating over who'd be the better ruler and what would be best for the kingdom. So to conclude the first half hour, Dany's dealing with the loss of half her men, the loss of her closest advisor, and her remaining allies are questioning whether to replace him with Lawful Good Boy Jawn Snoo. Oh, and then her dragon dies.
I wonder if that's why Rhaegal got injured in the previous episode. "Okay, so Jawn Snoo is gonna ride him in Episode Three, but we need a reason for him to not be riding him in Episode Four, where Rhaegal gets shot out of the sky by the pervy pirate. Got it! Rhaegal has an owie on his wing from the fight with Viserion! Justified!" But yeah, Dany loses another of her dragon children on her way to Kings Landing AND Missandei gets captured by Cersei's troops, and is being held hostage in exchange for Daenerys's surrender. By this point, Dany is justifiably pissed and ready to raze Kings Landing to the ground with her last dragon, even after hearing that Cersei is bringing civilians into the Red Keep. However, she agrees to a summit with Cersei, citing that this'll be Cersei's one chance to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. Merciful Dany is gone, and she doesn't have Jorah or Missandei to help her hold on to her humanity anymore. And at the summit, Missandei's last words to Dany are "Dracarys!", right before Zombie Gregor cuts off her head in front of Daenerys and Tyrion. Dany has lost her companion, again. And Tyrion has failed her, again. He tried to reason with Cersei, appealed to her maternal instincts, and to the life of the child (apparently) growing inside her. Tyrion's plans are always to help Daenerys, but his luck is beginning to rival that of Theon Greyjoy, God rest his soul. Let's just hope that Daenerys doesn't go for his balls after this.
But I consider this point the edge of madness for Daenerys Targaryen; her forces are exhausted and have been halved by the White Walkers. Two out of her three dragons have been killed, and the other is still a target. The two people closest to her are dead, and her remaining council are questioning her right to rule. And lastly, the man she loves and has put her trust in could be on his way to taking her birthright right from under her, despite his reluctance. They say you can only see someone's true nature when they're at their lowest, and Dany is... a little overwhelmed at the moment. But part of me still wants to hope for Dany; I believe she still has the capacity to step back and stop herself from picking up her father's mantle. Even though this could be a story of her tragic downfall, this could also simply be the low point of her hero's journey, where she proceeds to overcome the adversity thrown her way to take back the Iron Throne.
Targaryens are capable of both greatness and madness. Daenerys can be both compassionate and ruthless. Is she going to be the final "evil" of the story? While I hate the idea of Daenerys being torn down like this, I also find it compelling — we've seen Daenerys do so much good over the series, and we've cheered for her for seven seasons now. The reason she's in such a low place now is simply because she did what she'd always done — fought to protect the innocent, even though it caused a great personal cost to herself. The path to hell is paved with good intentions; maybe Daenerys will become another "Mad Queen", not because she herself will go mad, but because people will remember her for her hellfire and fury, while her acts of protection and mercy will fade from the memories of everyone in Westeros.
...okay, I think I got all my thoughts out. Time to wait for Episode Five.
