Game of Thrones Season 8 Discussion Thread

[dead0man]

it may be wise to throw 2000 "super" cavalry at 100,000 lightly armed militia in the hopes of getting them to break and run, but this was 100,00 lightly armed militia that was undead.  Magic things don't break and run.

I'm not going to speculate on what they (the good guys) should have done or what I would have done, but they made some, what looked to me at least, huge tactical mistakes in the battle.

[fluffypanther19]

not going to lie....the ending was wack as f@ck. the episode wasn't bad just.......disappointing and lame

[GoTfan]

not going to lie....the ending was wack as f@ck. the episode wasn't bad just.......disappointing and lame

They mentioned during the behind the scenes segment they've known how this goes down for the last 3 years.

[RINO Tom]

My friends are giving me so much shlt (while also agreeing with me, I might add) since my nightmare scenario of D&D going 110% in on dumbing down the White Walkers and defeating them halfway through the final season only for the final conflict to be two aristocrats battling for the same old throne actually came true ... absolutely amazing episode until the end.  I was livid afterward, lol.  This sums up my thoughts quite nicely, but in the end they simply threw out eight years of foreshadowing and thematic progression in favor of simplicity, and it's sad:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BgnxTWW7sc

[Blue3]

https://www.buzzfeed.com/jennaguillaume/game-of-thrones-arya-stark-night-king-foreshadowing?fbclid=IwAR3FJOg0w4zS7Qj4bU7WGy3qUi9Z2Ry3xj98MkC5kbSSfMwrYd0ZwlvFc44

[Statilius the Epicurean]

So I've been rewatching the series for a few weeks and I'm of the mind that it seems like there are a million story threads being trod underfoot owing to the needs of our "final battle" scenario. The religious aspect in particular I feel like has been completely left by the wayside since Stannis was defeated. It seemed like earlier seasons were building toward something cosmic. After all, our protagonist has been raised from the dead, but that matters nought when he gets to shack up with Danerys.

The show is nothing but generic fantasy schlock now. Which, like, if that's what the average viewer wants, then great. But it's terribly disappointing artistically.

[Canis]

https://www.buzzfeed.com/jennaguillaume/game-of-thrones-arya-stark-night-king-foreshadowing?fbclid=IwAR3FJOg0w4zS7Qj4bU7WGy3qUi9Z2Ry3xj98MkC5kbSSfMwrYd0ZwlvFc44

While interesting and all for arya to take on the night king it felt like a kick in the balls to turn azor ahai into a red herring the battle was amazing and I loved it I just wish we got to see Jon and the Night King go mono e mono they have been building it up since hard home

[Blue3]

While interesting and all for arya to take on the night king it felt like a kick in the balls to turn azor ahai into a red herring the battle was amazing and I loved it I just wish we got to see Jon and the Night King go mono e mono they have been building it up since hard home

But THAT is what would be too tropey, too generic-fantasy.

[dead0man]

While interesting and all for arya to take on the night king it felt like a kick in the balls to turn azor ahai into a red herring the battle was amazing and I loved it I just wish we got to see Jon and the Night King go mono e mono they have been building it up since hard home

But THAT is what would be too tropey, too generic-fantasy.

indeed.  It's kind of funny, all these GoT "fans" pissed off that they didn't get the ending they expected...isn't that why we fell in love in the first place, they didn't give us what we expected?

[7,052,770]

In universe, the Azor Ahai prophecy can be twisted after the fact to fit what happened, just like "prophecy" in the real world. I kinda like it.

[GoTfan]

While interesting and all for arya to take on the night king it felt like a kick in the balls to turn azor ahai into a red herring the battle was amazing and I loved it I just wish we got to see Jon and the Night King go mono e mono they have been building it up since hard home

But THAT is what would be too tropey, too generic-fantasy.

indeed.  It's kind of funny, all these GoT "fans" pissed off that they didn't get the ending they expected...isn't that why we fell in love in the first place, they didn't give us what we expected?

Someone gets it at last. The whole Night King vs Jon Snow showdown was too predictable. Plus, I'm certain Jon would have lost on a duel. The Night King was always going to have to be killed by someone sneaky.

Either way, we know Martin despises traditional fantasy tropes. There has been a voice in my head for a while saying Martin threw in the whole prophecy as a giant red herring.

[Statilius the Epicurean]

isn't that why we fell in love in the first place, they didn't give us what we expected?

No, you f***ing idiot. The dumbest hack writer in the world can write an "unexpected" twist.

ASOIAF was unique because it was a brutal, realistic fantasy setting where actions had consequences, heroes didn't have plot armour, deaths were deaths and not heroic, battles and wars didn't solve anything, political intrigue was petty squabbling, there weren't any faceless motivationless chaotic evil baddies etc. etc.. Ned Stark wasn't killed just to make a unexpected twist for cheap shock value, but to make a point about the world of Westeros and the world we live in. All of that is out the window by now, the show is generic fantasy fanservice, dick jokes and cool shots of dragons.

[dead0man]

isn't that why we fell in love in the first place, they didn't give us what we expected?

No, you f***ing idiot.

wow, that escalated quickly.  Perhaps you're too emotionally invested in this?  It's just a show.

[Statilius the Epicurean]

Lol nah, I emotionally checked out of GOT a long time ago.

[GoTfan]

isn't that why we fell in love in the first place, they didn't give us what we expected?

No, you f***ing idiot. The dumbest hack writer in the world can write an "unexpected" twist.

ASOIAF was unique because it was a brutal, realistic fantasy setting where actions had consequences, heroes didn't have plot armour, deaths were deaths and not heroic, battles and wars didn't solve anything, political intrigue was petty squabbling, there weren't any faceless motivationless chaotic evil baddies etc. etc.. Ned Stark wasn't killed just to make a unexpected twist for cheap shock value, but to make a point about the world of Westeros and the world we live in. All of that is out the window by now, the show is generic fantasy fanservice, dick jokes and cool shots of dragons.

If it was a generic fantasy show, Jon would have killed the Night King for no other reason than 'prophecy says so'.

[dead0man]

did anybody else make 3 Stooges noises when two wights tried to go through a door at the same time to get Arya?

[Rules for me, but not for thee]

did anybody else make 3 Stooges noises when two wights tried to go through a door at the same time to get Arya?

More like Benny Hill theme.

[Rules for me, but not for thee]

So I've been rewatching the series for a few weeks and I'm of the mind that it seems like there are a million story threads being trod underfoot owing to the needs of our "final battle" scenario. The religious aspect in particular I feel like has been completely left by the wayside since Stannis was defeated. It seemed like earlier seasons were building toward something cosmic. After all, our protagonist has been raised from the dead, but that matters nought when he gets to shack up with Danerys.

The show is nothing but generic fantasy schlock now. Which, like, if that's what the average viewer wants, then great. But it's terribly disappointing artistically.

Well I'm still hoping the Lord of Light keeps GRRM alive to finish the books with his version of the story.

[GoTfan]

So I've been rewatching the series for a few weeks and I'm of the mind that it seems like there are a million story threads being trod underfoot owing to the needs of our "final battle" scenario. The religious aspect in particular I feel like has been completely left by the wayside since Stannis was defeated. It seemed like earlier seasons were building toward something cosmic. After all, our protagonist has been raised from the dead, but that matters nought when he gets to shack up with Danerys.

The show is nothing but generic fantasy schlock now. Which, like, if that's what the average viewer wants, then great. But it's terribly disappointing artistically.

Well I'm still hoping the Lord of Light keeps GRRM alive to finish the books with his version of the story.

Martin has told them all the major plot points. D and D mentioned they've known it was Arya for three years. People seem to either forget about or wholesale ignore this.

[Mr. Morden]

My friends are giving me so much shlt (while also agreeing with me, I might add) since my nightmare scenario of D&D going 110% in on dumbing down the White Walkers and defeating them halfway through the final season only for the final conflict to be two aristocrats battling for the same old throne actually came true ... absolutely amazing episode until the end.  I was livid afterward, lol.  This sums up my thoughts quite nicely, but in the end they simply threw out eight years of foreshadowing and thematic progression in favor of simplicity, and it's sad:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BgnxTWW7sc

*In principle*, I don’t mind the White Walker storyline ending with 3 episodes left to go, but I agree with the rest of your post.  The White Walker storyline ended in the dumbest possible way, with our heroes pulling a The Phantom Menace and disintegrating the entire Army of the Dead just by offing its leader.  We don’t even get any additional mythology that fleshes out their motives.  Apparently “The CotF made them and then they got out of control” is the entirety of the WW mythology.  They’re just cartoon villains and nothing more.

l was hoping at the very least that there might be some wrinkle in the Night King death scenario whereby the other White Walkers are freed from his spell and now go off to make their own destiny.  But alas, they all just shatter.

[GoTfan]

So I've been rewatching the series for a few weeks and I'm of the mind that it seems like there are a million story threads being trod underfoot owing to the needs of our "final battle" scenario. The religious aspect in particular I feel like has been completely left by the wayside since Stannis was defeated. It seemed like earlier seasons were building toward something cosmic. After all, our protagonist has been raised from the dead, but that matters nought when he gets to shack up with Danerys.

The show is nothing but generic fantasy schlock now. Which, like, if that's what the average viewer wants, then great. But it's terribly disappointing artistically.

Well I'm still hoping the Lord of Light keeps GRRM alive to finish the books with his version of the story.

Martin has told them all the major plot points. D and D mentioned they've known it was Arya for three years. People seem to either forget about or wholesale ignore this.

Wait, so you're saying that GRRM told D&D that Arya was supposed to be the one to kill the Night King?

Let me put it this way: I will be very surprised if the way it goes down in the books is drastically different. It would be very Martin-like to just say that the prophecy was all a red herring chucked in to mislead readers.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Guys, the books are the books and the show is the show.  We have both to enjoy for what they are, so let’s do that instead of getting angry that the show and books aren’t the same (because that ship sailed in season 2, for better or worse).  I say that as someone who far prefers the books to the show.  Expecting them to be the same at this point is like asking a mongoose to be a horse.  You can scream until you’re blue in the face, but it ain’t happening.

[GoTfan]

Guys, the books are the books and the show is the show.  We have both to enjoy for what they are, so let’s do that instead of getting angry that the show and books aren’t the same (because that ship sailed in season 2, for better or worse).  I say that as someone who far prefers the books to the show.  Expecting them to be the same at this point is like asking a mongoose to be a horse.  You can scream until you’re blue in the face, but it ain’t happening.

My understanding is that Martin gave thme the major plot points, so they hit those and largely fill the rest with their own stuff.

[Mr. Morden]

Guys, the books are the books and the show is the show.  We have both to enjoy for what they are, so let’s do that instead of getting angry that the show and books aren’t the same (because that ship sailed in season 2, for better or worse).  I say that as someone who far prefers the books to the show.  Expecting them to be the same at this point is like asking a mongoose to be a horse.  You can scream until you’re blue in the face, but it ain’t happening.

I haven't read the books, and am just concerned with the show.  I'm saying that I think the way the WW storyline ended on the show was dumb in and of itself, without regard to how it relates to the books or anything else.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

The grumbling here seems to assume that with three episodes to go we're only going to have an anticlimactic final battle with Cersei. She and her mad maester Qyburn will obviously have been doing more than just waiting for the war in the north to come to a conclusion.  I can easily see Qyburn's researches coming up with something as bad as white walkers, or perhaps his own version of them.