stagmania

Sure. But if people are bothered that the show didn't do its work, that is also fine and they're not wrong for not being satisfied by fanwank. Which is not a comment specifically directed at you.

If this is really the sum total of Bran's 7 season journey, that is unbelievably disappointing. This is a fine explanation, but it's pure fanwank. The show didn't bother to try explaining how Euron's ships were everywhere at once.

I really would've preferred a Meera/Sansa scene if Bran was just going to be a tree. Meera could actually explain who she is, why she came, what she and her brother did for Bran and why he's like this now. We didn't need to see all that exposition dump, but I could've done with Meera being shown some respect and gratitude from someone. I think the buzzkill emo moment was actually pretty important. Dany took note of his words, and seemed to instantly feel more at ease. It communicated to her that this is not a man who's after her power or her throne. It's the first step toward trusting him. I never thought Jaime had any romantic feelings toward Brienne; rather, he seems to admire her because she's a genuinely good person, and honorable in ways he will never be. He respects her. He has eyes for no one but Cersei on the romance front, which is ultimately pretty tragic for him. If they had ever discussed this issue before, I might buy it, but since they never bothered to set it up, it comes across as a very transparent excuse to keep Dany from defeating Team Cersei too soon. All we've heard about for years is how Dany has ~three dragons~ and will be unstoppable; now using the dragons is too dangerous? So lame. It's officially comical how fast things are happening. Anyone binge watching this show in the future is going to get whiplash from the abrupt pacing switch. One gets the sense that this could've been at least two full seasons, but the showrunners are over it and want to rush through the rest. Definitely feels like a deus ex machina that they'll use whenever they want without establishing any firm rules or boundaries.

It's really inexcusable that they've essentially pretended this didn't happen and never even let us in on what Jon thinks about it. Maybe they're going to give us a scene where Dany asks him about it.

Yeah, I get what they were going for, I just don't think they really pulled it off. Having a character totally change offscreen doesn't really work.

You're not alone. I haven't thought Dany has chemistry with anyone, though, even when she was supposed to be in love or lust (Jon certainly generated plenty of sparks with Ygritte). Disappointing since this is clearly going to be the big pairing of the end of the show. Ah, thank you for this reminder! I have a hard enough time remembering all the details of old plots, let alone remembering what each character knows about the details of old plots. Dead Tree Bran really came out of nowhere. He was still a person at the end of s6, and even at the Wall a couple weeks back he showed more personality than this.

So interested in the contrast between Jon and Daenerys tonight, particularly well underlined by their perspective introductions. Daenerys is all ego and bluster and getting outmaneuvered on every front. Jon is humble and reluctant to lead and timid as a result. I think the best kind of leader lies somewhere in between their styles, or in the partnering of them. I love that they're finally showing us that Sansa is smart and capable and good at being the woman in charge at Winterfell. It's a lot better than having her snit around saying she should be in charge. I felt so bad for her when she realized her brother is a tree now. Really took the triumph out of that reunion quickly, didn't they? So greyscale is a deadly disease that turns men to stone and isn't curable ...unless Samwell just kind of peals the scales off you real quick, and then it's fine! Such a lame resolution. Why even bother having Jorah get sick? That Tyrion narration of the Unsullied capture of Casterly Rock was another example of plot logic being abandoned for a cool moment. Tyrion didn't explain the plan of attack to the war council before he sent them off?

Olenna noooooooooooooooooo!

I actually think we're heading for a crowd-pleasing ending. The show is not like the books-it's built for hell yeah! moments and fist pumps (often at the expense of consistent characterization or plots that make any sense). It's a huge part of the culture, the last big collective viewing show to survive the peak TV era. I can't imagine D&D want to go out with everyone disappointed. I'd put my money on Jon Snow and Khaleesi ruling together with their pals Tyrion, Brienne (+ Tormund!) and the Starks hanging around. Cersei and Jaime will go down (probably at each other's hands) and we'll get a few noble deaths in the WW war (Davos? Jorah? Sandor?), but most of the big fan favorites will be safe from here on out.

If you're right about this, I'm even more mad they spent so much time there. I tend to think that the writing is just sloppy and they forgot that Sam already knew about the dragonglass at Dragonstone. Also, Sam is clearly an audience surrogate/wish fulfillment character/writer favorite, so they use him more than they need to. TBH, I think this is probably the way to watch the show if you want to just enjoy it, and what I strive for these days (though obviously, people can and should watch it however they like). Visually, this show is stunning. When it comes to writing, plotting, even acting sometimes? Not so much. If it didn't have these books as source material, I doubt people would be constantly looking for extra meaning or layers beyond what's on screen. It's just not that deep, but it sure is fun.

I don't see any reason to think we'll revisit that scene at all. It was mostly a vehicle for a cameo, and next time we see Arya she'll likely be somewhere totally different.

...she didn't kill them. It's nothing but an invention of a few people in this forum.

Ed Sheeran is a hugely successful international popstar. I'm really happy for anyone who doesn't know who he is (seriously), but MANY people do and it pulled them out of the episode. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Yes, I believe Catelyn was pregnant with Robb when Ned left, and then he came back with Jon, so they're very close in age. That was part of why Catelyn hated Jon so much-she was humiliated that her brand new husband (supposedly) fathered a bastard while she was pregnant with their first son. Sansa was next in line, so definitely younger than Jon by a year or two. Probably just the difference in one year of change versus 7-8.

I like this angle on her story, and agree it tracks nicely with her ongoing arc with Littlefinger, though I don't know that the show is really telling this specific story. I think they muddled her motivations by bringing Cersei into the conversation with Jon and making the comparison between them.

Your post made me laugh so hard ("love-you-until-decrepitude song"). And I agree, I liked the spirit of the scene. I just could've done without the stunt casting in the center of it. But they probably wouldn't have bothered to do a scene like that without the stunt, so it's a real catch-22. I have completely given up trying to understand space and time on this show. Each plot moves at whatever pace they want, and it's impossible to tell how close in time any one group of characters is to another. Dany is already at Dragonstone and Samwell has been training for weeks, yet Bran and Meera are still at the Wall and it seemed like the next day at Winterfell.

I already answered this. You just have a different opinion, which is fine. No need to get upset that people disagree with you. All adult Frey men were part of the plot to murder the Starks.

Let's not pretend that Sigur Ros is recognizable in the same way as Ed Sheeran.

For me, it was incredibly jarring to see a pop star suddenly appear in this fantasy universe. Kind of breaks the immersive viewing experience and takes you out of the scene. Well, the entire (adult male) Frey family was in on the scheme to murder the Starks and their bannermen, weren't they? So they weren't murdered because of what their father did, but because of the slaughter they actively took part in. Arya didn't harm the daughters or the servants.

I mean, sitting on her tush prettily doing nothing was exactly what Sansa wanted once upon a time. I'm not saying she should still feel that way, but there has been no clarity around what she wants now that those dreams are over. She seems to want a leadership role, but she doesn't really know what to do with it. As has been pointed out many times, she never has any specific idea about what should be done or how to collect and use information in a practical way-she just has instincts about who is a threat. They're decent instincts and Jon should hear about them (though if she was able to articulate them better, he might actually be able to do something with her observations). But the position she already has is pretty much all she needs to accomplish that. And Robb definitely made stupid choices, but he never would've had to go to war in the first place if it wasn't for Catelyn's stupid choices. My takeaway is that war and vengeance are bad and everyone makes bad choices when they're in their thrall. This is an intriguing possibility. I would love to see Sansa being open to broadening her horizons in this way. She's never going to be a warrior, but she could be of more practical use in this fight if she picked up a few skills. And it would be some actual character development for her that we could see with our own eyes, versus growth that the show just keeps trying to tell us has happened.

Yes, it's incredibly tiresome, especially when the show seemed to be making the point that they were both somewhat right and both somewhat wrong. I believe the idea is that they need to learn to trust each other and combine the wisdom of their very different experiences to handle their various enemies. I think this is a big source of the inconsistent writing for Sansa; they haven't figured out what motivates her now. She has everything she previously wanted-to be home, to be safe, to get revenge on Ramsey-and yet she is dissatisfied and craving something else. Is it just power? Respect? Fealty? One would think that being Lady of Winterfell and having a seat at the King in the North's right hand would be enough to satisfy that. But they want to create some tension, I guess.

They're totally going to make us wait another year for a Jon/Arya reunion.

...except that she was wrong, in this instance. Jon did the right thing with the Karstarks and Umbers. He seemed to be hearing her and open to her advice (when not in front of the court), but he was right to point out that being smarter doesn't necessarily mean doing everything she says. Sansa has clearly learned some of the wrong lessons from Cersei. Yeah, she finds a way to take vengeance on everyone who pisses her off-and what has that gotten her? All her children dead, a brother who's starting not to trust her, and rule of a people who hate her and will probably turn on her at the first opportunity.

I was incredulous that they gave so much time to Samwell just for the ~amazing revelation~ that one can find dragonglass at Dragonstone, but they did surprise me with the Jorah reveal.

Loved everything except the poop montage and that random Ed Sheeran cameo. Is anyone else hung up on how much Euron looks like Evil Pacey?