Like every Game of Thrones fanatic, I woke up at 6:30 AM to watch the screening of episode 5 of season 8. After a series of disappointing episodes, I was hoping that this would be the one that would set things straight.
After the untimely demise of the Night King, I assumed that the real villain of the story was Cersei Lannister. Olenna Tyrell did not call her “the worst person I’ve ever met” for nothing. So I expected a long, drawn out, siege for King’s Landing that spanned this episode, ending with a tantalising cliff hanger.
But what did we get?
If the dragons could go on such a rampage and kill/destroy everything in sight, what on Earth were they doing at the battle of Winterfell? They could’ve killed half the White Walkers, while the rest of the forces held off the siege. Ok…I’m digressing. There are lots of problems with that episode, so let’s not open that can of worms.
The real problem I have with this episode is the way characters who have been developed across seven seasons just went up in flames (tears for Varys). Daenerys was never the “Mad Queen”. From all the evidence that we’ve been presented so far, she is merciful, intelligent, and graceful. Yes, she has been showing signs of madness this season, but four episodes are just not enough to change her narrative. The “Breaker of Chains” suddenly decides to burn the whole city down, incinerate all its inhabitants, while her true enemy watches in horror from the Red Keep. What a way to ruin a character!
The quality of writing has deteriorated. Compare this episode to the Red Wedding. All the characters had motivations – the Bolton’s ambition, the Freys’ pride and grievances, and Tywin’s ruthlessness. All this was ingrained in us through multiple episodes that spanned an entire season. But now it seems like the story is cut from one scene to the next. The main characters are present in every scene, and unlike earlier seasons, there are no stories happening in the background.
It’s not just me who’s disappointed, here’s the cast of GoT being disappointed by season 8.
I believe the only way out of this maze is having the show rebooted after George RR Martin finishes the books. I feel the show lost its punch after the creators ran out of books and that the books will have a much better and satisfying ending. If that’s the case, we will have two versions of Game of Thrones like there are two versions of Full Metal Alchemist.
But if there’s one thing I liked about this episode, it was how Jon stopped fighting after the Lannister surrender. I like how he is more Stark than Targaryen – rooted in morals that Ned Stark had instilled in him since childhood. Now that he has realised that Varys was right, I hope he kills Danny and takes the Iron Throne.
