*** SPOILERS *** Game of Thrones Season 8

[Roadtrip635]

UNLESS
You are saying Arya get credit for directly killing the entire White Walker Army by killing the King.
Then you have me

 

[Big_D]

Awesome episode! Just insane from start to finish. They setup the calm before the storm perfectly! And towards the end where you no longer heard the battle, but just the slow haunting music. It was great. Very well done and I'm sure extremely difficult to shoot.

 

[Runwildboys]

Incorrect-a-mundo! The books says Arya is in fact left handed and she plays that way in the show!

Think Princess Bride.

 

[cml750]

Meh, I was disappointed in this episode. I get they were trying to make things seem even more impossible with the blizzard (was that a Night King power or just a freak thing??) however they ruined it with the blurriness everyone is alluding to. After all of the building up to this it ended after just one show. Not that I would have wanted them to drag this out farther at least not with the crappy way the cinematography was done but I think it needed more. What about the Azor Ahai prophecies? Is it Aria? What about the flaming sword? I don't know. I just expected more after all of the build up.

 

[Juggernaut]

 

[DallasEast]

Why is Varys still alive? I can't imagine he still has a part to play.

KILL HIM!!!

And get rid of his invaluable, worldwide, MI-6 like, spy network??? Shame on you!

 

[Roadtrip635]

Meh, I was disappointed in this episode. I get they were trying to make things seem even more impossible with the blizzard (was that a Night King power or just a freak thing??) however they ruined it with the blurriness everyone is alluding to. After all of the building up to this it ended after just one show. Not that I would have wanted them to drag this out farther at least not with the crappy way the cinematography was done but I think it needed more. What about the Azor Ahai prophecies? Is it Aria? What about the flaming sword? I don't know. I just expected more after all of the build up.

It's a Night King power, hence the phrase "Winter is Coming", it's not just a metaphor. As the army of the dead advance, kill and conquer new land winter extends it's reach. I suspect that's a reason they couldn't just bypass Winterfell and continue to march south, they have to conquer the land/people to be able to advance and be able to bring Winter" with them.

I was a little surprised too, that it ended in one episode. I was expecting a more cliffhanger ending with the NK being killed next week.

 

[CouchCoach]

They have severely depleted numbers now.

While they were waiting for the White Walkers to attack, I was thinking what a coup it would be if the Night King had taken his army to King's Landing instead, to build his numbers before fighting Winterfell and the dragons.

And brought all of the ones we've hated on like Joeffrey back to fight at Winterfell and gathered all the dead Lannisters and Starks back to fight at Winterfell. And what the hell, bring the Mad King back, he'd be madder than hell now.

I get focused on the ones I want to get it and imagine them going and right behind Cersei is her Hand, what a sneaky little weasel.

 

[CouchCoach]

It wasn't the dark that bothered me most. It was the way the picture seemed to skip frames, the way a DVD does with an incompatible player.

Agree, it was really hard to tell who was doing what to whom. I've seen that as the major complaint online by the critics and these are critics that love GoT.

You would think with the trials of producing that and taking 55 days, they would have paid better attention to that unless that was by design to cover some flaws and they didn't want to reshoot. Darkness and frantic motion can cover a lot of flaws. I can see the director sitting there having them keep dimming the light. "Sir, it's so dark we can't see what's happening". "That's ok, G0T fans are known for using their imaginations, let them use them watching this. 55 days in the cold, mud and rain is my limit".

 

[CouchCoach]

It's a Night King power, hence the phrase "Winter is Coming", it's not just a metaphor. As the army of the dead advance, kill and conquer new land winter extends it's reach. I suspect that's a reason they couldn't just bypass Winterfell and continue to march south, they have to conquer the land/people to be able to advance and be able to bring Winter" with them.

I was a little surprised too, that it ended in one episode. I was expecting a more cliffhanger ending with the NK being killed next week.

But isn't that in line with the usual "didn't see that coming yet" of this franchise? At least they waited until the end to off the NK and didn't have another scene of Arya jumping Gendry's bones again to end it.

Breaking Bad did that and two ways, they'd kill somebody off before the end of the season and before it was time on that TV watch we all use to determine when things are going to happen within an episode. Really worked well on Law and Order, you could rule out anyone charged in the first 20 minutes, even with a smoking gun.

Ya know after thinking this over, the NK was bad, a real awesome person, but he was made that way, not really his fault. It's like who ya gonna blame, the monster or Frankenstein? Cersei is just flat out a monster, her deeds are all through calculation and evil. She really does deserve the last death. And I want to see her die slowly, relishing every moment her breath slips away and she begins to realize she has lost and is perishing. Damn, got a little Cersei in me too. I need to watch some harmless cartoons as intervention.

 

[YosemiteSam]

And get rid of his invaluable, worldwide, MI-6 like, spy network??? Shame on you!

They are all dead on the steps of Winterfell. The dead tell no secrets!

 

[DallasEast]

They are all dead on the steps of Winterfell. The dead tell no secrets!

I know you are joking but spies are not soldiers and do not fight battles or wars. It is one reason why they are called spies. Spies prefer hiding in crypts while others fight for them, all the while sitting on their tuchus.

The only spy exception are gorgeous women wearing skintight black outfits. Sorry. I couldn't resist.

 

[CouchCoach]

I know you are joking but spies are not soldiers and do not fight battles or wars. It is one reason why they are called spies. Spies prefer hiding in crypts while others fight for them, all the while sitting on their tookus.

The only spy exception are gorgeous women wearing skintight black outfits. Sorry. I couldn't resist.

FIFY

 

[DallasEast]

FIFY

Thanks but I prefer the Yiddish word instead of the English slang version.

 

[Roadtrip635]

But isn't that in line with the usual "didn't see that coming yet" of this franchise? At least they waited until the end to off the NK and didn't have another scene of Arya jumping Gendry's bones again to end it.

Breaking Bad did that and two ways, they'd kill somebody off before the end of the season and before it was time on that TV watch we all use to determine when things are going to happen within an episode. Really worked well on Law and Order, you could rule out anyone charged in the first 20 minutes, even with a smoking gun.

Ya know after thinking this over, the NK was bad, a real awesome person, but he was made that way, not really his fault. It's like who ya gonna blame, the monster or Frankenstein? Cersei is just flat out a monster, her deeds are all through calculation and evil. She really does deserve the last death. And I want to see her die slowly, relishing every moment her breath slips away and she begins to realize she has lost and is perishing. Damn, got a little Cersei in me too. I need to watch some harmless cartoons as intervention.

They did zag a bit in the episode, there was a much lower expected kill count of characters. The only major characters was Jorah and Theon and they were hardly a surprise and a few minor ones, it was too neat and tidy. Tens of thousands were killed in the battle, but a remarkable number of characters emerged without even a serious wound, maiming or even a scratch. One of the love triangle of Brienne, Jamie or Tormund were prime candidates, all fought on the front lines the whole time, could have set up a great save/sacrifice scene. How the heck did Samwell get out alive, out of shape, limited skillset and spent about 80% of the battle on his back like a turtle? Way too many survived down in the crypts. There were no fighters and no weapons, except one and she wasn't going to use it until everyone else was killed. The crypts are filled with dead bodies and no protection and yet not one character died down there, not even that disfigured little bread girl we met briefly! After their dreaming of the future living on the beach, how did both Grey Worm and Missandei both survive? I fully expected Gendry to get whacked after sleeping with Arya, afterall didn't we learn from Mick in "Rocky" that women weaken the legs? After the wanton whacking of characters in previous seasons, there was relatively few for such an epic battle.

 

[Runwildboys]

They did zag a bit in the episode, there was a much lower expected kill count of characters. The only major characters was Jorah and Theon and they were hardly a surprise and a few minor ones, it was too neat and tidy. Tens of thousands were killed in the battle, but a remarkable number of characters emerged without even a serious wound, maiming or even a scratch. One of the love triangle of Brienne, Jamie or Tormund were prime candidates, all fought on the front lines the whole time, could have set up a great save/sacrifice scene. How the heck did Samwell get out alive, out of shape, limited skillset and spent about 80% of the battle on his back like a turtle? Way too many survived down in the crypts. There were no fighters and no weapons, except one and she wasn't going to use it until everyone else was killed. The crypts are filled with dead bodies and no protection and yet not one character died down there, not even that disfigured little bread girl we met briefly! After their dreaming of the future living on the beach, how did both Grey Worm and Missandei both survive? I fully expected Gendry to get whacked after sleeping with Arya, afterall didn't we learn from Mick in "Rocky" that women weaken the legs? After the wanton whacking of characters in previous seasons, there was relatively few for such an epic battle.

They're going to need all those main characters (many of whom are the best fighters, hence the reason they survived) to battle in King's Landing.

 

[Roadtrip635]

They're going to need all those main characters (many of whom are the best fighters, hence the reason they survived) to battle in King's Landing.

So they were saved by their plot armor? Most weren't even injured, Arya took the most damage..... a bump to the head. Quite remarkable for hand to hand fighting with swords and axes, getting overrun by literally thousands of foes that never tire. Even more remarkable that none of the characters were killed or at least wounded in the crypt, despite not having weapons. Kinda like the poor crew members wearing red shirts on the original Star Trek that beam down with the stars, the stars will be fine, but those crew members are toast.

 

[Kevinicus]

Meh, I was disappointed in this episode. I get they were trying to make things seem even more impossible with the blizzard (was that a Night King power or just a freak thing??) however they ruined it with the blurriness everyone is alluding to. After all of the building up to this it ended after just one show. Not that I would have wanted them to drag this out farther at least not with the crappy way the cinematography was done but I think it needed more. What about the Azor Ahai prophecies? Is it Aria? What about the flaming sword? I don't know. I just expected more after all of the build up.

The cinematography was exceptional.

 

[CouchCoach]

So, I re-watched The Longest Night again, which should have been titled The Darkest Night, to see if I can see what I couldn't see in the first viewing and discovered something but I haven't seen anything from the producers or directors about this but was this by design? I was actually more engrossed in the battle than the first time because I was trying to see and when those frantic, moving too quickly images were taking place, my level of tension rose. I had more of a feeling of being in the battle because I was so focused in on it. The confusion of battle was captured.

So, I wonder if they took a page from Ridley Scott's "Alien" book when he purposely muddied the audio to create tension and add an edge to it? Don't know about you but I did get edgy trying to figure out what the hell was going on with all of that action and the added element of darkness. It was as if they were really only using the light of the torches and fires to shoot by, which is all they would have had at Winterfell. All the electricity is at King's Landing with the rich people.

Anyway, I hope they did that by design because it will make me like the series even better but I am hoping for a day war at King's Landing. Maybe the naval part of it at night because ships on fire at night is just flat cool.

I've got my "to die in order" list going on the bad guys and in all fairness had to pepper in a few good guys, as good as they can be in the Seven Kingdoms and these writers are a bloodthirsty lot. Got a lot of characters to off and only 3 episodes to get that done.

Sunday night combo, Cinco de Mayo and episode 4, the beginning of the end for many. Hate to see them go but they've overstayed their welcome and I've other carnage to consider.

 

[CouchCoach]

Meh, I was disappointed in this episode. I get they were trying to make things seem even more impossible with the blizzard (was that a Night King power or just a freak thing??) however they ruined it with the blurriness everyone is alluding to. After all of the building up to this it ended after just one show. Not that I would have wanted them to drag this out farther at least not with the crappy way the cinematography was done but I think it needed more. What about the Azor Ahai prophecies? Is it Aria? What about the flaming sword? I don't know. I just expected more after all of the build up.

That's a little like removing a segment of film and judging the whole on that. I think this last season is going to be enjoyed best when viewed as an 8 hour movie. And part of this for me was the fact that the director of the battles has done such an impressive job, the best ever for anything not made for the theater, that I keep expecting more and for him to keep one upping himself. And he may very well be saving the best for last.

The only thing I didn't care for was the "just in the nick of time" for all the main characters. They're all teetering on death when Arya strikes the Night King, just too many of them on the edge at the exact same time. And I would have liked to have seen more of her path to the Night King, not just showing up amidst a gang of White Walkers.

But my complaints about this are few and minor, the anticipation of these episodes has been like Christmas for me and the magic of Christmas is the anticipation.