With “The Last of the Starks’ GOT returns to what it does best – palace intrigue and human conflict. In terms of sheer plot development, this was probably the most fruitful episode of the season and a lot of stuff happened.
The episode opens with burning of the many bodies that fell at Winterfell, quickly followed up by what seems like a tone-deaf celebration. Half-baked plans are laid to take over the south and are predictably destroyed. Daenerys continues being isolated from the Stark pack, as Jon Snow confides to his sisters about his identity. Sansa sows the seeds of dissent in Tyrion’s head, opening the path for Jon Snow to claim the Throne. Cersei continues to demonstrate that evil or not, she is the smartest of them all.
So what worked and what didn’t….<spoilers ahead>
The Good
Farewell to the Dead – The mass cremation of the dead was somber and a good reminder to why the Night King was such a huge threat. Jon Snow made a rousing speech in a deeper voice than usual, reminding us that he is the true intended hero of the series.
Farewell to the Living – You don’t always have to die to leave the show. I am guessing it was the final goodbye to Tormund, Gilly, Sam and Ghost. The only character whose fate I am not clear about is Gendry or should I say Lord Baratheon of Storm’s End. Will he go to fight in the South?
Drinking Games – I could watch an entire episode of Brienne, Tyrion, Jamie and Podrick playing drinking games.
‘She’s hateful and so am I’ – After a fleeting romance with Brienne, Jamie return to his sister is a good reminder to all of us on what a terrible person he is. Over the years, we have all watched his growth into something of a human being and have almost forgotten his terrible beginnings. For once, I am grateful to be reminded of how terrible the heroes are on GOT.
Tyrion & Varys plotting – While the substance of the conversation was predictable, the sheer joy of watching this brilliant actors plotting was a reward in itself. Also, after Jon Snow, Tyrion maybe the only other decent character on the show.
What will you do now?
The Bad
Skimping on the reveal – Considering that Jon Snow’s identity is the biggest secret and reveal of the show, it was very disappointing to not having seen the reactions of Sansa, Arya or Tyrion. I mean we barely got to see how Jon and Dany processed the information. I felt cheated as a viewer. I really wanted to see the emotional impact of that scene.
Bronn & the Crossbow – This was the most boring and pointless scene of the show. If he wasn’t going to kill one of the Lannister boys, then what was the point of all that grandstanding. Who gives a fuck on what happens after the Last War? I guess this is it for Bronn too.
The Jon Snow Problem -This episode makes several attempts to build up Jon Snow as the future of Westeros. Given his recent lack of military skills and glaringly low level of political savviness, as an audience, it’s hard to agree. But maybe that is the point. Maybe Westeros doesn’t need a charismatic leader but a sensible one. Jon Snow is so much like his foster father that we are annoyed at his honesty and sincerity. We have forgotten that he has done a great job of consensus building with extreme warring factions with no desire for power for himself. Maybe Varys is right about him, now only if they could make Jon Snow less dim and more likable.
The Daenerys Problem – The show writers have written themselves into a corner with Daenerys. Her journey from a well-meaning monarch to ruthless tyrant seems very forced. I have never liked her character and but could not fault her empathy or sense of justice. I do have a problem with her presumed right to rule and she hasn’t really shown how she will ‘break the wheel”. But she did the right thing by supporting the North at huge personal cost, so you can’t make her the villain in the very next second. And as much as Tyrion & Varys are questioning her leadership, their advice has not served her well at all. Her anger is understandable but her journey to evil should have been more nuanced.
The Ugly
Last Dragon Standing – D&D have systemically removed all magical elements that made GOT a fantasy show. The dire wolves so important in the first season and in the books disappeared early in the show. The only reason Ghost made an appearance was to shut up the fans, who have been asking about him for years. They CGIed him in a couple of episodes and then found a way to take him out. The Night King and his massive army of the dead are gone too.
Now the dragons have been reduced to mere irritants that can be ambushed easily. Rhaegel’s death further reduces the opportunity of any real bonding between him and Jon. So we are looking at a very non-magical upcoming battle unless they bring Rhaegel back to life. If I wanted to watch a show on medieval politics, with no fantasy, then I could have just watched The Tudors.
Cersei’s Missed Opportunity – For a woman, who makes rash, impulsive and cruel decisions, I do not understand why Cersei didn’t decimate Daenerys and partly troops of 50 people right on the spot. More shocking than that is that Tyrion walks away alive. Hasn’t Cersei always wanted to kill him? So she chose over killing Daenerys and Tyrion just that she could put up a show with Missandei’s death? Really? Or is it because the show writers wanted to a grander battle. Totally Contrived.
What’s with all the hate?
I am little surprised to see the backlash on Ep4. In my opinion, in term of plot and character development, this was way more significant than Ep 3. You may not agree with creative choices, but at least we went somewhere.
Since Season 6, Game of Thrones has gone Hollywood. Without the guiding light of its source material, TPTB decided that the success of GOT lies in shocking twists. So let’s stuff in a one or two every week, logic notwithstanding. So yes, the plot holes are annoying but let us as fans not be hypocrites about what this show is about.
For instance, let’s not pretend to be righteous feminists when we sat through the earliest seasons full of gratuitous porn and violence against women that served little plot purpose. We kept watching, didn’t we?
What about the moment when Jamie forced himself on Cersei in front of their son’s dead body, the producers had a hard time calling it rape. We kept on watching. Also, terrible female leaders are not feminist role models, so to call Daenerys such and be disappointed at her trajectory is just silly.
The same goes about the representation of race. The fact that they chose to make the Unsullied, a race of black people, is problematic. Nowhere in the history of civilization is slavery limited to a particular race, so why make this choice? But it happened, and we still kept watching. To now be shocked and disappointed with Missandei’s death is stupid. She is not an ex-slave but an important character and must serve some purpose, which she did.
So hate the show for plot holes or lazy writing but the ship for arguments on principle has sailed.
So, what now?
As we get closer to the end, there are not many ways to go. With Dany so clearly being written as the power-hungry villain, it only leaves Jon Snow for the Throne.
To be fair, we have had an inkling this is where the story was going over the last few years, ever since Jon’s lineage was revealed. Before that, there were several real contenders for the Throne, Tyrion being a favorite of mine. But given the vast reduction of his intellect for the last two seasons, I doubt that’s going to ever happen.
If Jon Snow doesn’t destroy the Iron Throne and break the cycle, then this was all for nothing. Maybe, I am wrong and much like how it happens in the real world, there are no heroes and Cersei gets to keep it.
Only two more weeks before we find out.
For reviews of other episodes of season 8, go here: Episode 1, Episode 2 and Episode 3.
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