Night Person

RThe problem for me with Dany’s story arc is that her actions were SO over the top. I really don’t have an issue with her giving in to her dark side and committing acts that turn Jon and Tyrion against her. If this is GRRM’s ending, D&D didn’t really have any other choice. They could have had her torch the surrendering army and the Keep with Cersei inside. It would still have been morally horrifying to Jon and Tyrion because of the dishonor of killing a surrendering army and the loss of the innocent life when the Keep collapsed. But Dany could have defended her actions by insisting that she would never be safe without destroying Cersei and her army. This would also have set up an even more difficult dilemma for Jon because there would be at least some justification for her actions. As it is now, he shouldn’t have any qualms at all about killing her. They went way too far by having her destroy the whole city and kill thousands of innocent people. It just wasn’t believable. It totally felt to me like the primary goal was to shock the audience. Plus all of the scenes of the dragon destroying the city got a little boring at the end.

There is a lot of nitpicking in regard to writing and character development. For me, it is in large part because the series was so excellent for the first few years. And even the last seasons have been beautifully produced in terms of production values and cinematography and have had lovely moments. I loved E3 this year. The first 20 minutes of E4 was stunning. it just saddens me if the resolution doesn’t live up logically to the expectations of the earlier seasons. But I am withholding judgement. We haven’t seen it play out yet. And even if I don’t feel the ending is well executed, I still believe the series as a whole was one of the best productions In television history.

I think the thing that bothers me most is that D&D seem more interested in shocking the audience than in telling a good story. It is as if they believe the hype that GOT has been popular primarily because of unexpected plot twists (Ned’s execution, the Red Wedding) and have decided to make faking out the audience their primary goal. The problem is that the earlier shocking moments made sense and were integral to the story. Now they are there for shock value only. The mess with Arya/Sansa/Littlefinger was the perfect example. Jamie’s actions, for example, make zero sense if the leaks are correct. They have been building up his redemption and his relationship with Brienne for several seasons. He left Cersei because she broke her word. Everything he has done in KL indicates that he has changed. Now he is going back to her only after he hears reports of more atrocities? It feels like his actions are designed simply to surprise the audience because they think he was headed in a different direction. Perhaps these actions will be handled with more nuance than the leaks indicate. For example it might make sense if he goes to KL to kill her, is mortally wounded, and then decides to die with her because he thinks he is “hateful” and deserves his fate. Maybe they will present Tyrion’s betrayal in a way that makes sense. But I’m not very optimistic.

I really think that Jon’s story arc has been bungled as badly as Dany’s. He was originally presented as a tortured soul with a good heart and leadership skills. We are lead to believe that he has a destiny that was integral to the story. But there has been little development of his character since his resurrection. He mostly comes across as a well meaning doofus. it also appears that his endgame is meant to be a tragic hero who is forced to murder the love of his life to save the world (or something like that). In order to make that work, the audience has to believe that he and Dany are soulmates in a passionate love affair (much like his parents). They have done little to establish that feeling. I was certain they would have romantic scenes with them in S8, especially given the way their sex scene was panned. But all of their scenes have been awkward and forced, even before he learned of his heritage. It is hard to even understand why they supposedly love each other. I don’t know if it is his limitations as an actor, bad writing, or poor chemistry, but I’m just not feeling any grand passion. I think that is going to blunt the impact they are going far in the ending. I would never have liked the suspected ending, but it might have been more believable and maybe even moving if their individual arcs (her descent into chaos because of the terrible things that happened to her and his horrible decision to end it) and their relationship had been better developed.

Thanks, too lazy! Do we know how many more books are remaining in the series?

Do the books ever explain how Jamie came to be outside of Claire's window in Inverness during the pilot episode?