Sansa has been through this song and dance before. To her and the rest of the north they are adamant about not being ruled over again, especially by a foreign ruler. The whole scene was to show that at least Dany is trying to make it work, and it almost works out until the issue of rule comes up again. I think it was great to help drive the fact that there will be conflict left to resolve for Dany after the WW are defeated. And it will be up to Dany to decide what happens as the Starks refuse to be ruled over.M.C. Swag said:
The Trouble Spots:
- I know the common sentiment online and twitter is that this episode was 60 minutes of brilliance and anyone who thinks it comes up anywhere shy of that mark is a 'hater' but I'm in that minority. There were too many scenes that seemed aimless. The most egregious of which was the discussion between Sansa and Dany. I understand the show runners are trying to exemplify the growing strife between the 2 female leaders but that's already abundantly clear. Having Sansa (who continues to irk me) go after Dany about what COULD happen after 2 massive conflicts is akin to worrying about what 401k investment vehicle is best for a 21 yr old, unemployed, college dropout. There are BIGGER FISH TO FRY SANSA. That scene was irritating.
Sansa hated Theon until he revealed he didn't murder Bran and Rickon. Then Theon saved Sansa from the Boltons. Then Theon left his sister and the Greyjoys to fight for her and Winterfell. He finally chose the Starks. That is plenty reason for me to be cool with Sansa developing googly eyes for Theon.Quote:
Sansa rushing to hug Theon was another head scratcher for me. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but was Sansa giving Theon love eyes? How did her affection for Theon seemingly sprout out of nowhere and what exactly did he do to earn it? (Yes, I understand he 'rescued' her from Ramsay, but that was after a countless string of atrocities he committed against the Stark family). It just seemed like she warped drived from loathing scorn to brotherly (or possibly more?) love for Theon. Of all the characters I'd expect to be hugged by 'the smartest person ever', I thought it'd be the Hound. My guy needs some more recognition.
Agree completely. I almost feel like their scene got cut as what was the point of them sitting down together in the first place?Quote:
- Tyrion sitting down with Bran had allllll kinds of potential. Tyrion could literally discuss ANY event from the HISTORY of westeros and instead of listening to that conversation, we just had to hear about Missandei and Greyworm's vacation plans. That was a wasted moment.
Agree with this as well. It has been clear since season 6 when they passed the books that they are great producers but not great writers. We haven't had a genuinely surprising Game of Thrones type moment the last couple of seasons. These last two episodes have been filled with paying homage to itself with a callback to earlier seasons at almost every scene. It's very similar to what the Force Awakens was doing with the previous Star Wars lore.Quote:
- The amount of time (or lack thereof) dedicated to Jon and the ramifications of his parentage are a continuous struggle for me. 2 episodes in a row (when Jon learns from Sam and when Jon talks with Dany) the showrunners decide that the best time to squeeze that crucial information in is at the end of an episode with hardly an effort to re-examine it later. Both conversations lasted the span of 2 minutes. That's simply not enough. Jon went from hearing who his parents are to telling Dany "my name is Aegon Targaryen" in what appeared to the audience as a single night of mulling it over.
- My biggest gripe of all is also the hardest to describe. I love this show and I love so many of these characters (Tyrion being my all time #1) but I feel like the dialogue written for them was done by a Freshman English major. Almost EVERY conversation starts with a 'remember when' or 'the last time we met'...the nuance or complexity is gone. Everything feels so obvious and shallow. For those Star Wars fans, this reminds me somewhat of 'The Force Awakens' and how a lot of criticism was heaped on it for using nostalgia as a crutch. I feel like this season so far is relying on our love of the characters from seasons past as this crutch and using that nostalgia as the vehicle for 'checking the box' on character meet ups (A perfect example of this; Tyrion's reunion with Jamie and his quote about 'dying with a belly full of wine.'). I went to look at the writer for these episodes and couldn't help but notice that Ep. 1 & 2 were written by two different people who aren't Benioff & Weiss.
I also feel like they don't know what to do with certain characters like Tyrion and Varys, who were key players in the first 6 seasons. They were two of the most clever minds in the show and now those minds are virtually non-existent. Even Bran's abilities are being wasted. His power of Greensight is being used to push the plot forward for Jon's true identity and not much else. I'm worried the showrunners aren't going to truly utilize Bran's character potential along with others.
