HBO's Game of Thrones - Open Discussion - Final Season VIII

[nn586]

If you guys wanna break everything down, just imagine if she didn't catch that dagger when she dropped it. She dies and Bran dies and the NK continues his reign of terror and surely everyone else would have died if Arya failed right there.

Everything rode on that dagger drop and she came through in the clutch. STONE COLD ASSASSIN

[CaliSuperSport]

There were a few parts I enjoyed but mostly didn't like it and will probably hate it when I get to a series rewatch.

I don't see why Arya had to go from a good character to THE superhero of the show. She already had two big payoff moments in the revenge against Frey and a lesser extent Littlefinger. Then this episode they show her being not only a god assassin when she steals jon's big moment but better in combat than all of the other seasoned warriors on the show when she was mowing through wights.

Then the chit tier siege strategy and the insane plot armor on most of the main characters especially Sam. No white walker action.

Brienne getting knighted was clearly my favorite moment of the season so far which I thought might be at least matched by something in this megahyped battle.

The dumbest part about all that...if she can kill the Night King then there's no reason she can't kill Cersei too, aside from not writing in her proximity to Cersei.

But if they're anywhere in the same room together and Arya's knife isn't in Cersei's chest, I'd have to ask why.

[VladMass]

Whether or not you liked or disliked episode 3, you gotta admit that background song is fckn amazing.



Arya is a cold blooded assassin and has skills that you can't train. So what if she didn't complete her training? She is obviously a prodigy assassin that has the intangibles and has ice running through her veins. I love watching her fuk chit up, I don't know about you.

Some people that have natural skills and talent don't need to complete training. That's like saying every high school basketball player needs to go to college no matter how good they are. There's been a few that go straight to the NBA after HS.

Why don't you marry her

[ragingcrayon]

This would've been so much better than the cringe Air Jordan kill we got.

That simple change plus killing off Sam or at least knocking him unconscious would've gone a long way toward making things more satisfying.

I can kind of buy the most skilled fighters endlessly shredding lesser skilled undead fighters - it was like taking out NPCs at will - but for all of them to survive .. c'mon just have at least one major character gas out and finally be overwhelmed.

Bronn will sit on the throne

[BetaAsPhuck]

Arya is a cold blooded assassin and has skills that you can't train. So what if she didn't complete her training? She is obviously a prodigy assassin that has the intangibles and has ice running through her veins. I love watching her fuk chit up, I don't know about you.

Some people that have natural skills and talent don't need to complete training. That's like saying every high school basketball player needs to go to college no matter how good they are. There's been a few that go straight to the NBA after HS.

I agree.

I don't get that complaint from people about Arya.

From the first episode we saw that she had a seemingly natural aptitude for fighting. We also saw her learn in Kings landing.

Then she fought besides the hound. Whilst with the hound we saw her practice her sword fighting techniques, a clear hint that she practices whatever she learns.

Then she did her training. They didn't show her full training, they showed key moments.

Like her being able to deceive people and blend in, and learning to fight literally whilst blind. She didn't receive any instruction on how to fight, she had to learn how to do it herself, the other girl just used to come to her every day and beat the crap out of her.

So, we literally saw her; have a natural aptitude for archery and sword fighting, learn from one of the best sword fighterd one on one, fight alongside one of the best fighters in Westeros (The hound), go through training at an assassin school, learn to fight whilst literally blind, and we also saw (sword fighting) and heard her talk about practicing her skills alone since she was a child (archery).

I don't know how they could make it any clearer that she's a natural fighter, had elite level training, and is constantly practicing.

[nn586]

Why don't you marry her

Why don't you guys stop hatin' on Arya?

[WHChampion]

The dumbest part about all that...if she can kill the Night King then there's no reason she can't kill Cersei too, aside from not writing in her proximity to Cersei.

But if they're anywhere in the same room together and Arya's knife isn't in Cersei's chest, I'd have to ask why.

kinda doubt they'll be stupid enough have her kill cersei even though they turned her into a god.

though half expecting her to ruin cleganebowl since having the small girl kill the biggest guy is some cranked up fan service

[Fit1NYC]

So was Arya the wight that blinked, or did she jump past him???
Does Arya have magic? Seems like she might since the facelessmen can do magical feats
I’m reading all these pages that sound the same lol

Also bran didn’t not do anything, bran clearly warged into the ravens to bait the NK
NK is flying around with dragons and the ravens fly up to attract him and NK reaches towards brans direction
From that point on NK focuses on getting to the gods wood

[CaliSuperSport]

kinda doubt they'll be stupid enough have her kill cersei even though they turned her into a god.

though half expecting her to ruin cleganebowl since having the small girl kill the biggest guy is some cranked up fan service

Hopefully Lyanna vs the Giant was enough to satisfy that shallow desire.

But yeah that's the issue....if Arya is in position and doesn't kill Cersei, then it won't make any sense. If say, they're in the same building. All Cersei would have is some soldiers, some kingsguard and 1 wight in the Mountain. The Night King had a fuk ton more than that, plus he's superpowered.

[VladMass]

kinda doubt they'll be stupid enough have her kill cersei even though they turned her into a god.

though half expecting her to ruin cleganebowl since having the small girl kill the biggest guy is some cranked up fan service

Creators should just troll and have arya get the rest of the kills guarantee ppl would defend it talking about how all the signs pointed to it and chit lmao absolute zero pressure job they have

[samous]

So was Arya the wight that blinked, or did she jump past him???
Does Arya have magic? Seems like she might since the facelessmen can do magical feats
I’m reading all these pages that sound the same lol

Also bran didn’t not do anything, bran clearly warged into the ravens to bait the NK
NK is flying around with dragons and the ravens fly up to attract him and NK reaches towards brans direction
From that point on NK focuses on getting to the gods wood

Why did Bran need to attract the NK if NK always knows his exact location?

[jackflag]

So the general consensus is that people hated the last episode?

Ive been ranting against it for five pages and i didnt hate it. It was an enjoyable episode, but the show is playing with a stacked deck since people are so emotionally invested in the characters that literally just seeing them onscreen is enough for a 6/10 rating. As it is, the ep was maybe a strong 7 when it could have been a 10 with better choices. Thats why people are mad. This ep was supposed to be IT.

It wasnt a hateable episode, just a massively underwhelming one considering its potential.

[KingKringe]

So let me get this straight...

They spend 8 seasons hinting at the fact the Mad King stashed wildfire all over Kings Landing and he kept repeating “burn them all” even as he was dying, SUSPICIOUSLY SIMILAR to the way Wylas became Hodor after Bran tried to warg into him in the past...and they’re just gonna let the entire army of the dead get destroyed without ever getting close to Kings Landing?

It’s set up perfectly for Bran to warg into the Mad King in the past and cause him to stash wildfire everywhere specifically to kill the army of the dead when they get to Kings Landing 20 years later, but also inadvertently cause him to go mad and indirectly lead to the death of Richard and Brandon Stark, and from there to Robert’s Rebellion.

They’ve shown that Bran can alter the past. This would be the perfect use of that plot device. But instead the only thing that actually happens is...Bran creates Hodor? He doesn’t actually do anything of real significance?

And all of this just so Arya can be a fuking ninja since she inexplicably learned so much from the Faceless Men before she LEFT WITHOUT EVEN COMPLETING HER TRAINING. Seriously, they taught her how to lie and...what else exactly? When did she learn to sword fight so well she could take on Brienne?

Way to go, D&D. What fantastic writing.





This is worse than when they perfectly set up Selyse to burn her daughter Shireen and then be executed by Stannis for it but then retconned it all just to have Stannis go against everything we’d seen so far to sacrifice Shireen himself, then have Selyse kill herself.












Yes mad

They did all this to SHOCK the audience brah (from the horses mouth in the after episode discussion with the writers).

ARE YOU NOT SHOCKED AT THIS TWIST?

[XterraRob]

Best Episode of the GoT Series, have watched it 3 times already.

[BraneyGumble]

So was Arya the wight that blinked, or did she jump past him???
Does Arya have magic? Seems like she might since the facelessmen can do magical feats
I’m reading all these pages that sound the same lol

Also bran didn’t not do anything, bran clearly warged into the ravens to bait the NK
NK is flying around with dragons and the ravens fly up to attract him and NK reaches towards brans direction
From that point on NK focuses on getting to the gods wood

Except it was the NK who actually baited Jon and Dany, cut them off from the battle via blizzard and took them out from most of the battle.

Then smirked after getting faceblasted with dragonfire.

Then did another round of raising the dead and just calmly strolled to the Godswood facing no resistance whatsoever.

NK knew exactly where Bran was, there was no need to "bait" him. At this point we have no idea what Bran's deal was with warging into the ravens, beside providing a droneshot of the battlefield.

[Destor]

If you guys wanna break everything down, just imagine if she didn't catch that dagger when she dropped it. She dies and Bran dies and the NK continues his reign of terror and surely everyone else would have died if Arya failed right there.

Everything rode on that dagger drop and she came through in the clutch. STONE COLD ASSASSIN

Why didn't the NK instantly snap her neck? Theon runs at him with a spear and he snaps that fukn thing right in half and immediately plunges it into Theon despite him now posing zero threat


Arya flies at him with a Valyrian steel dagger and he just holds her there inches away from himself while she drops it and stabs him. He has the strength to instantly pop her head right off, yet we're supposed to believe he refrains and decides to gaze at her for a few seconds


You shouldn't even be able to question holes like this without watching the chit multiple times and scrutinizing details. The numerous issues are so glaringly obvious it's not even funny brah

[nvrstopworking]

There were a few parts I enjoyed but mostly didn't like it and will probably hate it when I get to a series rewatch.

I don't see why Arya had to go from a good character to THE superhero of the show. She already had two big payoff moments in the revenge against Frey and a lesser extent Littlefinger. Then this episode they show her being not only a god assassin when she steals jon's big moment but better in combat than all of the other seasoned warriors on the show when she was mowing through wights.

Then the chit tier siege strategy and the insane plot armor on most of the main characters especially Sam. No white walker action.

Brienne getting knighted was clearly my favorite moment of the season so far which I thought might be at least matched by something in this megahyped battle.

This ep would have been the perfect ending for Brienne. Have her go down saving Jaime (or Tormund) from certain death or have her be the one to kill the giant after little Mormont distracts him.

Her character arc is done. She’s fulfilled her oaths. She has the ultimate respect from her peers after being knighted. Literally no reason for her to have plot armour other than trying to pair her up with Tormund at the end. And I actually like Brienne a lot.... show writers just have no balls. They should work for Disney.

Best Episode of the GoT Series, have watched it 3 times already.

Trolling used to mean something.

[KingKringe]

Why didn't the NK instantly snap her neck? Theon runs at him with a spear and he snaps that fukn thing right in half and immediately plunges it into Theon despite him now posing zero threat


Arya flies at him with a Valyrian steel dagger and he just holds her there inches away from himself while she drops it and stabs him. He has the strength to instantly pop her head right off, yet we're supposed to believe he refrains and decides to gaze at her for a few seconds


You shouldn't even be able to question holes like this without watching the chit multiple times and scrutinizing details. The numerous issues are so glaringly obvious it's not even funny brah

You know why. Chit tier writing. Last night's ep insulted it's audience like no other, felt like i was watching walking dead at times.

[NillaWafer]

I agree.

I don't get that complaint from people about Arya.

From the first episode we saw that she had a seemingly natural aptitude for fighting. We also saw her learn in Kings landing.

Then she fought besides the hound. Whilst with the hound we saw her practice her sword fighting techniques, a clear hint that she practices whatever she learns.

Then she did her training. They didn't show her full training, they showed key moments.

Like her being able to deceive people and blend in, and learning to fight literally whilst blind. She didn't receive any instruction on how to fight, she had to learn how to do it herself, the other girl just used to come to her every day and beat the crap out of her.

So, we literally saw her; have a natural aptitude for archery and sword fighting, learn from one of the best sword fighterd one on one, fight alongside one of the best fighters in Westeros (The hound), go through training at an assassin school, learn to fight whilst literally blind, and we also saw (sword fighting) and heard her talk about practicing her skills alone since she was a child (archery).

I don't know how they could make it any clearer that she's a natural fighter, had elite level training, and is constantly practicing.

She went from this really cool character battling to fit into a soldier's world as a little girl to this all powerful soldier-assassin who is nothing more than an on-screen spectacle and plot device to kill characters that need to be killed. That's the issue with her.

She's two characters put into one. There's the Arya that smiles at Jon, that's hiding in the library, the Arya that is vulnerable and we all know and love. Then there's the Arya that's cold, heartless, fuking Gendry with all the emotion of a dead fish, taking on dozens of wights single handedly, beating Brienne in single combat, assassinating an entire family of Freys by herself, and going full Ezio on the NK.

It's so jarring to me, and I think that is the issue with her. I recognize her, and then I don't.

[CaliSuperSport]

Ive been ranting against it for five pages and i didnt hate it. It was an enjoyable episode, but the show is playing with a stacked deck since people are so emotionally invested in the characters that literally just seeing them onscreen is enough for a 6/10 rating. As it is, the ep was maybe a strong 7 when it could have been a 10 with better choices. Thats why people are mad. This ep was supposed to be IT.

It wasnt a hateable episode, just a massively underwhelming one considering its potential.

That thing about appearances started happening in late Season 6 through 7 when we were getting reunions hard and fast. People are clearly amped up since Season 7 which makes their reactions to EVERYTHING more positive.

My reception to the reunions has been dulled by the lackluster script and interactions.

[samous]

NK knew exactly where Bran was, there was no need to "bait" him. At this point we have no idea what Bran's deal was with warging into the ravens, beside providing a droneshot of the battlefield.

I think the showrunners have no idea either.

[CaliSuperSport]

Trolling used to mean something.

Post unpopular opinion in bold

8/8 bait

[BetaAsPhuck]

Why didn't the NK instantly snap her neck? Theon runs at him with a spear and he snaps that fukn thing right in half and immediately plunges it into Theon despite him now posing zero threat


Arya flies at him with a Valyrian steel dagger and he just holds her there inches away from himself while she drops it and stabs him. He has the strength to instantly pop her head right off, yet we're supposed to believe he refrains and decides to gaze at her for a few seconds

Slow motion sequence from when he grabbed her to her stabbing him, so more like literally a second or 2 between him grabbing her, and then her dropping it and stabbing him.

We've seen that sometimes the night king and white walkers study people before killing them, or if they are fixated on a goal they will hit people out of the way even. Or not notice people around them....

The first white walker killed doesn't notice friggin Sam running up behind him. They aren't the most hyperaware or logically acting bunch of beings.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lmnEbJyM8A

[BraneyGumble]

I think the showrunners have no idea either.

Yes, that is one thing we can definitely agree upon.

"lol brb ravening"
...
"Theon you are a good man"

[jackflag]

When cersei dies from tripping down the steps instead of jaimie or tyrion snuffing her kunt life out with their bare hands, it will also be "unpredictable", but man will it FUKING suck.

[CaliSuperSport]

When cersei dies from tripping down the steps instead of jaimie or tyrion snuffing her kunt life out with their bare hands, it will also be "unpredictable", but man will it FUKING suck.

doesn't matter, your expectations were subverted.

"w0t So YoU tHiNk a pReDiCtAbLe EnDiNg iz BeTTuR br0??"

[OptimistPrime11]

I feel that the lighting was an obvious and cheap attempt to keep production costs under control. If you jack up the contrast you're going to find there's a lot of detail missing in those scenes.

That is exactly why it was shot so dark. Think if it was lighter....all the zombies would have had to have full on zombie gear (or done in CGI) instead of just having stand ins dressed in raggedy clothes that don't need a ton of makeup since all you could see were blobs running around anyway.

[canonhope]

*scene missing*

Watch the show.

In Braavos there was a hazing period - sitting outside in the rain, sweeping floors, cleaning corpses

Then there was an initiation - kill the actress

Then Arya would be worthy to begin her training as a Faceless Man.

Guess what Arya never did? Kill the actress and begin her training as a Faceless Man. According to what we are shown on the show, the only thing Arya gains in Braavos is the ability to sweep floors.

And Danaerys flew her dragon north of the wall in like 45 minutes to rescue Jon and others. I can allow things like that because we are at the end. Don't have another 3 years to drag out Arya's training. You just have to assume she has what it takes. None of the other fighters could pull off what she did. Someone with the ability to sneak around was the only way to get through to the NK. Brienne swinging her heavy sword or whoever else wouldn't get past the group of WW generals.

Would a 90 minute training montage really make for better viewing?

exactly. People are hating how it was done but at least it was done by a character who was capable of that sneak attack. I love how important some people thought Beric was with his flaming sword, coming back from the dead only to see his final purpose was to help Arya get to the NK. lmao stay mad
it was another fine Ned Stark moment brought to you by GoT

I REALLY want Dany to get the Iron Throne. If she doesn't, I will be upset but I won't hate.

When cersei dies from tripping down the steps instead of jaimie or tyrion snuffing her kunt life out with their bare hands, it will also be "unpredictable", but man will it FUKING suck.

As long as she stays in character when it happens I can live with it. Accidents do happen, and I would celebrate whether that villain falls of the ledge because one of the dragons spooks her or if she drank poison. I don't need epic deaths for every single character.

[Destor]

Slow motion sequence from when he grabbed her to her stabbing him, so more like literally a second or 2 between him grabbing her, and then her dropping it and stabbing him.

We've seen that sometimes the night king and white walkers study people before killing them, or if they are fixated on a goal they will hit people out of the way even. Or not notice people around them....

The first white walker killed doesn't notice friggin Sam running up behind him. They aren't the most hyperaware or logically acting bunch of beings.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lmnEbJyM8A

That doesn't really make sense when he killed Theon moments earlier with absolutely zero hesitation. He practically snapped the spear and plunged it right into Theon in the same motion


Needing to weave your own narrative around this type of stuff is a sign of bad writing. There should be no questions when you first watch it, maybe after you watch it 4-5+ times over a long period you begin thinking "why this?" and "why that?", but not immediately after

[NillaWafer]

When cersei dies from tripping down the steps instead of jaimie or tyrion snuffing her kunt life out with their bare hands, it will also be "unpredictable", but man will it FUKING suck.

Greyscale breaks out in Dany/Sansa's army, killing everyone slowly and brutally. War ends. Fade to black.

D&D: "Hah! Bet you didn't see that coming. We got you good. #moments."

Just kill me pls.