Television Game of Thrones (TV) • The watch has ended

Why did he sacrifice her again? Was so long ago, I genuinely cannot remember what the reason behind it was.

His army was stranded in the north and winter. Red priestess needed a sacrifice of royal blood so they burnt her alive. No coming back from that as a character..
 
Why did he sacrifice her again? Was so long ago, I genuinely cannot remember what the reason behind it was.
he was marching with a starving freezing army to Winterfall to take on Ramsey

The red woman convinced him thr Lord of Light would look kindly on his sacrifice
 
I rewatched a few bits last night and on second viewing (and third, and fourth), the scene where Arya kills the NK is fecking fantastic, despite her basically appearing out of thin air. The music in the background and the fact that it focuses on every other character and makes you basically forget that she ran out of a room with Melisandre being told to kill something with "blue-eyes" is excellent. First time I viewed it I was definitely a bit "is that it?" but now I think it was perfect.

Main problems with the episode were really just the stupid tactics and the plot armor of major characters, but then, that's been the case in just about every battle apart from Blackwater, so I was expecting it anyway.
 
As a spectacle I really enjoyed it, definitely think it was one of the better episodes post books. The lack of dialogue working in its favour!
 
Sam better have some important roll to play not to die whnw surround by the dead and jon just ran past him.

I thought brienne would have died to, i felt her getting knighted was the perfect ending to her story.
 
Arya's story arc is now more or less complete. She's used her assassin skills to kill the Ice Man, and she made Genry stab her with the pointy end.

She still has a few names on her list, I guess, but I really do think that killing the Night King AND checking off all her names on her kill list is stretching it a bit far. That's way too "perfect" for one character who is just one part of a huge ensemble. I like the character, but hopefully she's now dispensable. We need us another Ned Stark/Red Wedding moment. Haven't been properly jolted since the Mountain vs Viper, basically. Jon's death doesn't count as he was resurrected.
 
Arya's story arc is now more or less complete. She's used her assassin skills to kill the Ice Man, and she made Genry stab her with the pointy end.

She still has a few names on her list, I guess, but I really do think that killing the Night King AND checking off all her names on her kill list is stretching it a bit far. That's way too "perfect" for one character who is just one part of a huge ensemble. I like the character, but hopefully she's now dispensable. We need us another Ned Stark/Red Wedding moment. Haven't been properly jolted since the Mountain vs Viper, basically. Jon's death doesn't count as he was resurrected.
You didn’t get jolted by Hodor’s death?
 
So how does Cersei possibly stop Arya now? Given that even the thickest man in the worldtm Tyrion with all his uselessness was able to enter the keep through a hole in the floor, Arya with maxed out Stealth, Dex and Intelligence will make mincemeat out of them all.

Unless the Mountain has a second phase, and he was the final boss all along, I can only see one winner and a quick winner at that. Stretched out over four hours.

Cersei has also levelled up, don't forget. I'm amazed that such a tyrannical queen, who blew up the centre of the people's religion and undoubtedly killed hundreds if not thousands in the wildfire blazes, hasn't had to deal with any peasant revolts or rebellions. She must be a proper genius mastermind now. Also don't forget that Qyburn is the smartest person she has ever met... Wait a second...

Cersei says Qyburn is the smartest person she's ever met. Arya says that Sansa is the smartest person she's ever met....... Oh my fecking god. Oh my god, of course. They're going to set up a Trial by MasterMind!!!!!!!! 60 seconds. Answer as many questions as you can on your chosen subject. Sansa picks The History of Lemon Cakes and Qyburn picks 100 Things To Do With Your Zombie Hand.
 
Thinking about it, if Cersei is the one left standing at the end it will remind me a lot of Atia in Rome - getting all the power she has spent her life striving for, but losing everything else, and everyone, she cared about in the process.
 
Thinking about it, if Cersei is the one left standing at the end it will remind me a lot of Atia in Rome - getting all the power she has spent her life striving for, but losing everything else, and everyone, she cared about in the process.
Rome was such a damn great show. Bet HBO wish they didn't cancel it.
 
I read somewhere that HBO only commissioned GoT because they wanted something to replace the Rome shaped hole in their schedule.

Great as GoT is, Rome was better for me. I hope I can say that without being threadbanned or worse.
I think they commented after that they fecked up by not renewing it because it was making loads of money for them from DVD scales that they hadn't anticipated. It's not like it had low viewer numbers either, baffling descision.

Not sure it was better, I'd put season one on par with GoT season one, and season two was massively rushed in order to finish the storyline so hard to compare it either, but I would've loved to see it play out properly over five seasons.
 
Sorry if posted before. But I've been going around in circles trying to express how annoying I found that episode and how the show to me now is essentially finished/don't really care about the rest but will have to finish it now.

This review hits most my complaints on the head:
So basically, you like the reviewer have become too engrained in the fan theories thereby setting up unrealistic expectations and then being disappointed when that thing doesn't happen. The episode wasn't perfect, but it was still incredible and i just feel like 90% of the complaints are 'i just needed a shock for the sake of it'.
 
They're talking about the awesome Stannis Baratheon. :drool:



Ah man, I loved Stannis... shame he went absolutely nowhere.

I mean if you remove him from the world - would it really be that different? He came, he lost every battle, he died, and no one cared :(
 
Sorry if posted before. But I've been going around in circles trying to express how annoying I found that episode and how the show to me now is essentially finished/don't really care about the rest but will have to finish it now.

This review hits most my complaints on the head:
Good review.

Oof. Watching it (the parts that were visible, at least) was even worse than just reading. So much dumb shit going on almost from minute one, and just ridiculous levels of plot armor.
 
Brilliant episode. Not quite the bloodbath I was hoping for (in terms of main characters) but I guess they still have three episodes to take care of the rest of them.
 
So basically, you like the reviewer have become too engrained in the fan theories thereby setting up unrealistic expectations and then being disappointed when that thing doesn't happen. The episode wasn't perfect, but it was still incredible and i just feel like 90% of the complaints are 'i just needed a shock for the sake of it'.

How is wanting a proper backstory on the Night King fan theory? Fan theory would be of I thought he had a wife and kids. I have said all along I wanted a backstory and was waiting years for it The- I don't care what it was. The show built the Walkers up to be the ultimate enemy, literally from the first season. Each season basically ended with them inching closer to show they are coming. Then they do the entire plot away like this. Yes fan theory.

And by backstory I don't mean how they were created but why after thousands of years they decided to march and what happened between creation, the first loss (how?) and now. "He wants to destroy mankind and kill Bran cos he sees stuff" is not a backstory
 
How is wanting a proper backstory on the Night King fan theory? Fan theory would be of I thought he had a wife and kids. I have said all along I wanted a backstory and was waiting years for it The- I don't care what it was. The show built the Walkers up to be the ultimate enemy, literally from the first season. Each season basically ended with them inching closer to show they are coming. Then they do the entire plot away like this. Yes fan theory.

And by backstory I don't mean how they were created but why after thousands of years they decided to march and what happened between creation, the first loss (how?) and now. "He wants to destroy mankind and kill Bran cos he sees stuff" is not a backstory

Yeah compared with say Sauron and the Nazgul, we know feck all about the White Walkers. We got that one bit of information that they were created by the children of the forest, but that was more of an "okay?" moment than "ah right, of course", since we know feck all about the children of the forest as well, and in any case nothing further was elaborated. So we're basically left with - children of the forest created the white walkers, who then want to destroy mankind every few thousand years and are really really cold, because. That's it.
 
Sorry if posted before. But I've been going around in circles trying to express how annoying I found that episode and how the show to me now is essentially finished/don't really care about the rest but will have to finish it now.

This review hits most my complaints on the head:

Going around in circles to express your annoyance over a fecking tv show (a pretty silly one at that). Amazing how you couldn’t acknowledge that fact first and foremost.
 
So basically, you like the reviewer have become too engrained in the fan theories thereby setting up unrealistic expectations and then being disappointed when that thing doesn't happen. The episode wasn't perfect, but it was still incredible and i just feel like 90% of the complaints are 'i just needed a shock for the sake of it'.
It's not about a certain theory not happening, it's about nothing at all happening. How is it 'unrealistic expectations' to expect, well anything at all to happen in that final confrontation, instead of a 10 second mute staring contest between the Swag King and Bran9000, before Wolverine jumps in from nowhere to replace all remaining questions with sweet feck all.
 
Hardhome and Cersei blowing up that meeting are much better episodes. Still a great episode though.
 
Yeah compared with say Sauron and the Nazgul, we know feck all about the White Walkers. We got that one bit of information that they were created by the children of the forest, but that was more of an "okay?" moment than "ah right, of course", since we know feck all about the children of the forest as well, and in any case nothing further was elaborated. So we're basically left with - children of the forest created the white walkers, who then want to destroy mankind every few thousand years and are really really cold, because. That's it.

I’m kind of confused why people put “back story” on such a high pedestal?

Like literally deciding they hate a tv series purely on the basis that they don’t learn enough about the motivations and childhood trauma of a massive, scary dude who can make the dead come back to life.

Just seems a little odd to me. I enjoyed the hell out of Jaws without desperately needing to know exactly how that shark ended up at that beach, that summer.
 
Sorry if posted before. But I've been going around in circles trying to express how annoying I found that episode and how the show to me now is essentially finished/don't really care about the rest but will have to finish it now.

This review hits most my complaints on the head:

Most relevant sentence in that review.
It's possible that I've been immersed in the world of Game of Thrones theories, speculating, and prophecies for too long
 
Seems people will defend the show till Winter is over (which given D&Ds track record will be perhaps 1 or maybe 2 episodes).

Some didnt like the episode, some loved it. Opinions.
 
It's an interesting new(ish) phenomenon actually. Fans spending hours and hours online, completely immersed in a fantasy universe, speculating about what might happen in the future. Obsessing about tiny plot details and coming up with elaborate theories to pull them all together. Then boom, plot twist. The writers don't share their vision. Worst movie ever!

Out of interest, has any piece of entertainment that attracts this sort of obsessive fan ever ended up not disappointing large numbers of them?
 
It's funny, before this season started I wondered how they were going to get everything done in six episodes. Now, three episodes in, I'm wondering how they'll stretch whatever they have left for three more episodes.
 
Yeah compared with say Sauron and the Nazgul, we know feck all about the White Walkers. We got that one bit of information that they were created by the children of the forest, but that was more of an "okay?" moment than "ah right, of course", since we know feck all about the children of the forest as well, and in any case nothing further was elaborated. So we're basically left with - children of the forest created the white walkers, who then want to destroy mankind every few thousand years and are really really cold, because. That's it.
But we did get more about his character, it just wasn't verbally explained.

So we know that the Night King was created to kill all human life. He's a husk that has only one goal. And yet, despite that, he has still maintained enough free will to hunt down the remaining Children of the Forest in revenge for what they did to him. He's also decided that killing humanity isn't enough and wants to also remove any memory of their existence (well, at least Bran told us that much). Instead of just following the impulses that he was born to have, he's smart enough to make his own choices in that regard. And let's not forget that he's a cocky bastard who likes a bit of theatre - at Hardhome where he stared Jon down as he raised the dead, the way he smirks at Dany after the dragonfire does nothing to harm him, and also we've seen him on two occasions stare at 3 Eyed Ravens for a while instead of just killing him (in my head he's savouring the moment).

Is it a perfect backstory? Of course not. But short of having Bran find a little book documenting what the Night King wanted and translations of the symbols, or even worse having the Night King talk, there's not really much else they can do to explain what he wants.
 
I’m kind of confused why people put “back story” on such a high pedestal?

Like literally deciding they hate a tv series purely on the basis that they don’t learn enough about the motivations and childhood trauma of a massive, scary dude who can make the dead come back to life.

Just seems a little odd to me. I enjoyed the hell out of Jaws without desperately needing to know exactly how that shark ended up at that beach, that summer.

I don't hate the show. I think it's gone completely ridiculous in recent seasons but I still enjoy it, albeit in a very different, less satisfying way.

The Jaws analogy doesn't work for me, even without knowing much specifically about sharks we already understand a great deal about what motivates predatory animals in general before watching it, so no explanation is really required. (though if you want to go down that route, Jurassic Park does attempt to give the dinosaurs a bit of depth). On the other hand, we do get a good sense of what lies behind the actions of Brody and the other two.

The "back story" is the foundation of Game of Thrones, it's crucial to understanding the motivations of the different characters, their houses and their struggle for power. Which is why the lack of an explanation for the primary antagonist feels a bit hollow and makes him seem pointless.