The Bells and Finale

I waited a whole week to give everyone a chance to watch the conflagration of “The Bells” before I posted about it because I have a lot to say.

First of all, SEVEN HELLS!!

Second, there was so much potential for good in this episode, but it was a let down for me. Not because it isn’t a happy ending; I love the Game of Thrones' standard of doing the unexpected. Here’s my top five gripes about the episode:

1.       The scorpions that brought Rhaegal down in three phenomenal shots were utterly useless against Drogon. He incinerates them in the first minutes so all anyone can do is sit around and watch the destruction (which is exactly what Cersei does) It completely annihilates any suspense or concern I should feel for Dany and Drogon.

2.       Cersei has no other plan than scorpions and common folk? Remember the Battle of Blackwater Bay? Remember the Sept of Baelor? She’s way too smart for that.

3.       The Hound and Arya have traveled all the way from Winterfell, pushed their way through crowds and are in the Red Keep when the Hound tells her to run away and SHE DOES. They are probably setting Arya up with a reason to kill Dany (see finale comments), but it was weak plotting, in my opinion. Also, she knows how to get out of King’s Landing, she’s done it before, so why is she running crazy through the streets? Get some people and get them out.

4.       I don’t mind Dany going mad, she has never been my main heroine, and I even think that facet is good storytelling-wise, it’s just that the show has always carefully crafted its surprises, and though they surprised me, I could see the architecture that went into their development in retrospect (think Red Wedding, Ned’s beheading, Little Finger’s trial, even the Night King’s end had some construction to it.) They could have made Dany’s descent into madness so good. As a character, she deserves that much. Especially with the precedent of the sack of King’s Landing by Tywin Lannister. I mean then: a Targaryen on the Iron Throne yelling “Burn them all!”, King’s Landing brutally sacked by a Lannister, a different Lannister kills the Targaryen and is found and reigned in by a Stark (not quite in that order). Now: a Lannister on the throne, King’s Landing brutally sacked by a Targaryen (who burns them all) and rocks maybe crush the Lannister while the Stark(s) runs away? Weak effort, although I'm optimistic that the finale will tie of some of these a little more neatly. 

5.       Cersei’s death. No, I'm not rooting for Cersei, but even though she is a primary antagonist, she is a deep and rich character (props Lena Headey for carrying the role) that I love to hate. It was the most unsatisfying death I could imagine for her. I honestly almost hope they are setting us up and she survived so that someone else could kill her in the finale (Sansa, ideally). I mean, Jaime’s hand was around her throat, so they could be trying to convince us that is fulfilling the prophecy only to pull the rug out from under us.

5 things they did right.

1.       As disappointing as it was to have Dany completely about face on the whole tyrant thing and burn everyone, I did think that a total sack was better storywise than a ‘peaceful’ takeover.

2.       Cleganebowl. Although my honest to the old gods first thought was “It’s over Anakin! He has the high ground.” I also loved that Cersei just tiptoed past them. But the end of the Mountain in flames at the Hound’s hands was fitting.

3.       Tyrion betraying Danaerys for Jaime. Jaime betrayed Cersei (and his dad) for Tyrion, so this was spot on poetically, although perhaps the rescue/escape plan Tyrion devised was not his intellectual best thinking. Tyrion is smart, smarter than Cersei. I've loved seeing them pit against each other. So although I like this part, I really think Tyrion should have known what Dany would do. I guess he kind of did, but he sure seemed surprised

4.       Jon staying true to his word. It sets up the choice he's going to have to face very well.

5.    Jaime's death. I know, how can I like Jaime's and not Cersei's? One, I like Jaime and him dying in Cersei's arms is right. Two, it was appropriate timing.

What I (now) hope happens in the finale.

I hope that Arya tries to kill Dany, and Jon is faced with choosing between his Queen and his beloved sister. I know, I’m awful, but it’s an important character dilemma that would echo Ned Stark’s choice that betrayed his honor, choosing between his King and his beloved sister. Remember Jon saying, "We're family." and Arya replying "Don't forget that."? Jon is going to have a choice like Theon's: Stark or Targaryen. And I don't think he has the luxury of picking both. Either way, all hell will break loose and most of them will end up dying. Bran will hear of the destruction, decide humans are terrible, travel back in time and communicate (there’s already precedent that he’s trying to do this) with the Children that men are evil and to just kill them all before they have a chance to spread across Westeros, making the entire series pointless as none of our beloved characters would ever exist at all. Maybe that won't happen, but something like it. I don't like Bran and think he's boring, but I hope that the writers are doing that on purpose for one amazing twist at the end.

I am definitely looking forward to the release of GRRM’s next book so I can find out how it really goes.

Food for thought: What if Bran was controlling Drogon during the sack of King’s Landing? Unlikely, but interesting to think about. He is arguably the most powerful person left in the game. What if the "I don't care about anything really." is just a ruse? I find the Bran dilemma interesting because in the books he is a rich, interesting and obviously important character.

Anyway thanks David Benioff and D.B. Weiss for bringing Game of Thrones to the screen.

Good job and huge thank you to: Kit Harington, Maisie Williams, Sophie Turner, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Nikolaj Coster-Waldeau, Rory McCann, Gwendoline Christie, Alfie Allen, Carice Van Houten, Iain Glen, Sean Bean and really the entire cast that I can't list here for making some of my favorite novels and some of my favorite characters come to life in such a spectacular, beautiful fashion. I'm going to miss you!

And thanks George R.R. Martin for the world you created. As someone who dabbles in writing, I know the work it takes and the amount of your heart and soul that goes into creating a world. I love yours and love losing myself for a bit in it.