M.C. Swag said:
Not With a Bang, But a Whimper (***TL;DR warning***)
The good:
The not so good:
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The battle sequence(s):. Fan Service Moments (or lack thereof):SamThe Night King's demise- I've already mentioned this but it bears repeating: The 'winter is coming' motif is a direct link to the White Walkers (winter = death = WW). The prince who was promised prophecy (which was the entire plot arc for Dany and Jon) was a consistent theme as well. The PWWP isn't some prophesized hero sent to overthrow 1 crazy queen. They were meant to FIGHT BACK THE NIGHT. The NK was an immortal who could raise the dead, control the dead, had a zombie dragon, and to some varying degree, control the weather. That man was just defeated. How can we as an audience feel any sort of suspense about the conflict with Cersei in comparison to what they just defeated? I mean hell, Arya could literally sneak through a pack of zombies to stab the NK...she could assassinate Cersei in her sleep. Boom. game over. My point is; the NK literally and thematically was the big bad. He was ICE. He was WINTER. He was DEATH. They just beat that. Now I'm supposed to buy that Cersei is the last challenge? She's the reason Jon was resurrected amongst smoke and ash? Suffice to say, the sequence of events (killing the Nk then killing Cersei) is a problem for me.
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- Since the moment they showed that killing the White Walker also kills those he turned, it was obvious how this was going to end. And even then I had my issues with that (8/21/2017):
Quote:
"The biggest reveal of this episode: Killing a White Walker also kills the Wights who follow him. This is a fairly common trope amongst fantasy (science) fiction. From Ender's Game to Lord of the Rings to even the repulsive Independence Day: Resurgence film - - "The monstrous enemy is a hive mind that can be killed at once by slaying the queen." I'm a bit disappointed by that reveal. It's too easy and clearly reveals the method of conclusion for this story."
[/ol]I get it. I get that there's only so many ways you can defeat an overwhelming force and the 'Dracula achilles heel' is one of the most sensible ways to solve that. And I was able to reconcile with that conclusion. It was the obvious destination but in my mind, the method was more important than the act itself. Which leads me to the act itself. Arya killing the Night King completely obliterated the Jon Snow arc for me. This isn't about 'subverting expectations' (the sexy lingo of the last couple years for Hollywood thanks to SW: The Last Jedi), it's about paying off narrative arcs. The reason Brienne being knighted was so good was because it was an absolutely earned moment that cap-stoned her and Jamie's relationship perfectly.
To put it frankly, Arya didn't earn that kill. Jon was out there thwarting the Night King as often as he could and actually died trying to do so. Melisandre made it abundantly clear that Jon Snow, and Beric, and herself were all brought back for a reason. Beric fulfilled his purpose of saving Arya and died. Melisandre fulfilled her purpose of giving Arya a pep talk and died. What is Jon Snow's purpose? Why is he still alive? Too kill Cersei? Arya is more than capable of killing anyone in the world at this point. To take back the iron throne? That seems like a shallow objective that runs contrary to everything he has been preaching and practicing. Fighting the dead and protecting the realm was his life's dedication (literally). And Arya gets that moment? Not my cup of tea.
Very good post. I agree with almost everything you posted and so deleted them - I left only the things I'd like to discuss.
First, the NK - that was certainly NOT a 10+ year build-up. The character doesn't even exist in the books and likely will not. It was a tool to "put a face" to the threat from "Winter" which would appeal to the show viewers. It was at best, a 3 year build-up (he wasn't part of the first experiences with the WW in seasons 1 and 2). That's important as I do not think the character really had any supporting narrative from the underlying story. HE wasn't the "big bad" - the forces of the night and of winter were the collective big bad. You just can't really fight that in a 70 hour show.
GRRM avoided the singular "Sauron" bad guy for a reason. I think he wanted to avoid the kind of showdown you're complaining about. I have no idea how he will resolve the northern question in the books, but the fundamental arc where Jon will be resurrected; Jon will unite the North; Dany will defeat the slavers and get to Westeros; Dany will be convinced of the threat from Winter; Dany will bring her Dragons to Winterfell - I think will remain. That unity will have value that will play out in the books (hopefully), but to your point, it will not involve a singular kill. To me, that mean's Jon Snow has a different purpose to his story. He enabled the end to winter by all the things he's done the last two seasons - he didn't need to actually kill that NK to validate that fact.
If you assume Jon has a broader purpose, having Arya take the shot actually makes a ton of sense. Her story has been one of focus on the past - insults by Sansa, not being included in the "boy stuff", the death of the baker's boy, the death of her father, death/suffering by her friends. She lived for revenge for things that happened in the past. Last season and this one have been about changing that perspective to realize the importance of moving forward, love and family - working together ("the pack survives"), appreciating our differences (Sansa), and the value of romantic love (Gendry). She didn't kill the NK because of revenge - she killed him because she could. Because she was the best trained and best skilled to do it.
My belief is that Jon IS "The song of Ice and Fire" (Ice is Starks and Fire is Targs). His story starts as a pawn in the Game of Thrones and ends with the Dream of Spring. The end of the book series is NOT the Winds of Winter. My assumption is the basic story told through last season and the first three episodes of this one is that book. These last three episodes will cover the Dream of Spring. Minus, of course, GRRM wrapping up all the dumb tangents which the show just ignored. I do not think that story is just killing Cercei (although I do think that will happen). I think it's actually breaking the wheel - creating a new world (a Spring) where you don't have an Iron Throne. Jon/Aegon is the one who does that not Dany.
