By Zane Bixby
Overall Grade: A-
In past seasons of Game of Thrones the 9th episode of the season has always been the big shocker while the 10th episode acted as a way to quell the audience a bit and set up the story lines for the next season. Almost in the same way as the 1st episode of the season acts as a “check-in” episode, the last would act as a “check-out” episode. But this doesn’t necessarily ring true for this final episode. No this episode decided to upend another huge part of the world of Westeros and brings the fact that doom and destruction is coming straight into the light.
I know this past season writing these reviews I have changed the format several times but each time I have done it for thematic reasons to review the episode. I will be doing it this time as well; it will still be worst to first however do not include this first section in that ranking. Buckle up because this one is a bit of a long one.
King’s Landing:
It is really impossible for me to talk about the rest of the episode without first discussing King’s Landing. And thus it needs to be at the forefront of the review. King’s Landing wasn’t necessarily the best part of the episode despite how much went on in it. And in the same vain, it wasn’t the worst even though the amount of display going on could have easily become too much and ruined a good portion of the plot. No, King’s Landing found itself in this interesting middle ground that it road perfectly and acted as the necessary striking point for half of the episodes plot lines.
It’s no secret that many viewers found the High Sparrow to be a complex and odd character all things considered. Over the season we heard multiple anecdotes and history from him that has allowed us to understand his character better. But it still left a certain shroud of mystery around him and his Faith Militant. Margaery was one of the few that was subject to psychological torture at his hands and the hands of his followers and yet it didn’t seem to faze her. She seemed to have a plan to utilize the Faith to increase her own power in the realm. The issue with this being that every time we have seen someone striving and reaching for power someone seems to cut them down.
Before we move to that we should address Loras Tyrell. This season, prior to this episode, we had exactly one episode featuring Loras. It creates a certain level of apathy for viewers to find any means to care about this character because we hadn’t seen him in any meaningful light for so long. But the bigger problem is the way his character has divulged from the books so completely. In the books Loras was always regarded as one of the best fighters, riders, and jousters in the kingdoms, he was admired and full of honor and while it’s only partially touched on, he is also gay. However, in the show, the character was treated as a fighter who used cheap tricks to win and wasn’t nearly the fighter or man that he should have been displayed as. No instead the show decided to focus on the one tiny fact of his sexual preference to define his character, it’s a move that confused many book readers and one of many changes to characters that were made to better fit to television. So his confession this week, while fitting for the show, doesn’t truly fit in the bounds of what his character should be. Which is disappointing because this is the last move he ever gets to make, before having his forehead scarred with the mark of the seven.
It’s Cersei though, that is the power player here. For the entirety of the shows run we have known that Cersei has cared about two things. Her children and her drive for power. If Cersei was in anyway a likable character than the fact that these two things have converged and were the direct cause to her losing half of her desires would be almost tragic. But instead it comes as a certain level of either oversight or just plain malice. One could argue that she might have known that Tommen would be a casualty of her actions, but the opposite could be true as well. Cersei utilizing wildfire was hinted at in episode 8, and it comes full circle in the finale as a beautifully scored scene slowly lets what is about to happen dawn on the viewer.
Included in this is Lancel Lannister. Lancel has always been more of a story element than a character. And in this episode he becomes the ultimate story element of the plot line. He is the one who witnesses the wildfire caches and attempts to stop what is about to happen. But anyone who knows story telling could tell you that his efforts were futile and he existed in that cellar only to add to the tension of the scene. This doesn’t detract from the episode at all as it helps to build the anticipation. Instead we get the ultimate betrayal by the High Sparrow, it’s his arrogance here that ends his and countless other lives. I don’t believe that listening to Margaery would have saved him or any of them. No, that explosion destroyed a large part of the city around the Sept as well. But when you don’t think about this, it also added to the tension that mirrored Lancel’s crawl toward the candles.
With the Sept destroyed, the Tyrells nearly wiped from existence, Tommen was at a loss. The Mountain stopping him from leaving to head to the sept told him exactly what was about to happen, well that is of course if he had any amount of intelligence in him. So as he watched out the window and saw his wife and everything he just stood up for explode his world crumbles around him. His mother did this with absolutely no remorse and he has no one left either. Yes, it’s true that his weakness at this moment is what leads to him stepping out the window (another scene beautifully scored by the way), but it fits so perfectly with his character that it’s easy to believe he would do it. Tommen is no Joffrey and Tommen is definitely no Robert. He was far too young to have the crown thrust upon him and yet he took it and listened to his advisers, with his advisers killed he didn’t believe he could do this anymore so he ended it.
And while this alone could have been a great end to the King’s Landing story we get one more set of scenes that set in motion the plot for the next season. With Jaime returning to King’s Landing just in time to see Qyburn proclaiming Cersei as the Queen, a certain level of distaste can be read into Jaime’s expression. Jaime and Cersei have been on divulging paths for some time now, and this may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back and leaves him forever suspicious of his sister. For now, only time will tell.
With that out of the way, let’s get down to Worst to First.
Old Town:
With the abundance of characters in the show it’s easy to forget where some of them are all the time. Especially when some of the characters just aren’t interesting enough to hold their own story lines. Sam is one of these characters. When Sam was at Castle Black or even North of the Wall, the story was never fully focused on him (at least until Jon separates from him.) Sam always acted better as a foil to Jon and thus it became increasingly difficult to really find any form of connection with a self-proclaimed coward of a character that stumbles his way through his own story. This season hasn’t done much to change that view of this character and instead uses him more as a scenic view character with his rapidly changing location.
Old town is by all means a beautiful set piece, and one with a keen eye will recognize the device at the center of the Library that Sam sees as the same device that opens the show every episode. However, Sam’s actions leave bitter tastes in the mouth. After spending the few scenes, he received this season proclaiming how him and Gilly had to stay together he was quick to walk away from her just because one maester proclaimed “no women or children.” It’s even further unsettling as now we are left to assume she is just standing in that lobby for the next however long just waiting for Sam to get back. All in all, Old town’s only real importance is seeing the flock of White Ravens flying from the tower to announce one thing to the world. Winter is here.
Dorne:
Dorne has been out of the spotlight for the majority of the season. And that has been 100% acceptable in my eyes. After the abysmal first episode appearance of the location, many fans were happy to put it out of sight and out of mind. For those who forgot what happened at the beginning of the season, the Sand Snakes took over Dorne after killing of Doran and Prince Trystane. That’s about it really. So returning to the location after what is essentially a season long absence felt empty and all things considered pointless. The shining light of this location is Olenna Tyrell, the Queen of Thorns. She acted as the voice of the audience as she pointed out the Sand Snakes and told the collectively to shut the hell up, a fact that many fans had called for after their lackluster performances to try and act as “strong and empowered women.” Thankfully the show didn’t lack in strong women and Olenna got to show the women of Dorne how a real strong woman acted. But, it’s Varys who ties this location to the rest of the story, and with one phrase alone “Fire and Blood” the Targaryen motto.
Daenerys:
I have tried, really tried, to like Daenerys’ story this season. But when it has been stalled for the entire season it became a bit of a slog to the end. It was truly hard for me to care about Dany’s love life with Daario (something that has barely been touched on this season at all) because it hasn’t been front and center. So her commanding him to stay behind with the Second Sons to manage Meereen, a place that is equally hard to care about because of its existence only there to provide Dany a spot to wait for her story to begin. It’s instead Tyrion, as expected, who saves the story line for this episode. Peter Dinklage’s acting chops are nothing to scoff at, and his interaction with Dany really lifts the story this week, with it ultimately ending with Daenerys appointing him as Hand of the Queen. This is a decision that we can’t take lightly, knowing that it was the Lannisters who played a huge part in the destruction of House Targaryen, it’s this forming friendship and trust between Dany and Tyrion. He knows Westeros, he knows Cersei, and he knows what needs to be done to give the Iron Throne to Dany. With Dorne, half the Greyjoys and the remaining Tyrells behind her, she has a fleet to carry her army to lay siege to Westeros.
The Twins:
Arya, like Daenerys, has been at this weird holding point this season. We all knew she couldn’t stay in Braavos forever. We knew she would never fully become a Faceless Man. But her road has never been an easy road. We can track this back to season 3 “The Red Wedding” when Arya witnessed the Stark’s encampment being destroyed by the Frey and Bolton men. That episode is what really flipped Arya’s switch. We had already known she had her list of people she wanted dead, but she was never really on the route to being an assassin until she watched a large part of her family being murdered. So when Arya returned to Westeros a long time has passed now, and she truly doesn’t know where many people are in the Kingdoms. The one that she does know, because of how prickly and stubborn he is, is Walder Frey. Sitting in his hall alone and gloating over his victories. How long Arya had been there in disguise is up for debate, what we do know is she was there when Jaime was there, and she was there when Jaime got to King’s Landing. For the amount of children Walder Frey had she must have been killing them at a huge pace, just to feed them to him before she killed him.
It’s a certain level of sadistic that many will ignore because of how much joy comes from seeing Lord Frey finally get what is coming to him. It’s the same effect as when we watched Ramsey beaten and fed to the hounds. We ignore the sadism of it because of the level of justice that we believe they must pay for. Yet it leaves worrisome after shock to the entire event. Arya took a sick pleasure in cutting Walder Frey’s throat, and whether that is just joy from getting revenge or something much more sinister we can only wonder until the next season. For now, let’s hope she has heard word that Jon and Sansa are in Winterfell, and she heads for a reunion next.
Bran:
Oh Bran, you have been out of sight but never really out of mind for a few episodes now. And even in this episode he doesn’t act as a catalyst for any story, but more as a viewfinder for all of us to look through. This is the moment so many book readers have waited for, the full story of the Tower of Joy. And yet, the direction and display of the scene leaves questions still, all while confirming the biggest fan theory of the show. R+L=J. Jon Snow, is the child of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen. While it wasn’t 100% explicitly said, it’s easy to tie all the loose ends together. Between the fragmented whispers we heard, “Robert can’t find out….. he’ll kill him,” is the most telling of it. It’s a scene that beautifully encompasses the man the Eddard Stark was, and the younger actor chosen to portray the young Ned pulls it off so completely. This is a man so shrouded in honor he puts all of it aside, choose to lie to his new wife and the rest of the world, just to honor a promise to his dying sister. It’s a heartbreaking realization as the baby in question is brought into view and his juxtaposition to the following scene uplifts the next scene even further. Jon Snow is a Stark, but he’s also a Targaryen and that means so much for the future of this series.
Winterfell:
I have made it no secret my joy for the Jon Snow story line this season. Each step being predictable and yet oddly tensing and enjoyable at the same time. From his inevitable revival to the Battle of the Bastards, Jon has been on this path to Winterfell that has been enjoyable to watch. The problem that Jon has always had, is he doesn’t necessarily ever look at the full picture. This is clarified and displayed in the first sequence as he stands atop the walls of Winterfell and talks with Sansa. It’s a touching scene that shows how Sansa has grown over the years. She never really liked Jon growing up and this was a result of emulating her mother that never really cared for Jon either, yet they do love each other and Sansa declaring to Jon that “you are to me” (in regards to his status as a Stark.)
It’s the second part of this story that is an echo of an earlier season and yet just as moving and thrilling. Lady Mormont has quickly become a fan favorite among viewers and she probably solidified that this week. Her speech ushered in the follow up speeches of men that were trying to regain their honor and yet Lyanna Mormont spoke the truest of them all, and did it while spinning the tale that had already been told. Jon is no great commander, and it was thanks to the Knights of the Vale that he and his men weren’t slaughtered. Yet Lyanna speaks so confidently and perfectly that she spurs all of these old men to follow this young lady in declaring their support for Jon Snow as The King in the North.
It’s an odd echo to Robb Stark and his men that is purposely meant to leave viewers at unease with Jon Snow. Last time this happened it didn’t end well for the King in the North and there’s already a certain level of discord that Jon, being naïve as he is without seeing the whole picture, exists. Sansa wants nothing more than to just be back home and to get revenge on those who wronged her, but one conversation with Littlefinger in the God’s Wood put a certain level of thought in her head that did make her hope for some power. Whether this is a drive for power on the level of Cersei is up for debate. I don’t think Sansa would ever slip to that level, but any amount of discord between her and Jon is easy to feel uneasy about for the future of this new King in the North.
I’ve been saying all season that it has felt like the show has been creeping toward legitimizing Jon as a Stark (even though this episode confirms his as a Targaryen and a Stark), and yet the show didn’t make that a 100% fact. It’s only by speech that he is confirmed as a Stark. And again we can thank Lyanna for that, “House Mormont knows no King but the one named Stark, he [Jon Snow] may be a bastard, but Ned Stark’s blood runs through him and that’s good enough for me.” This line alone and the subsequent chants of King in the North are as close to legitimizing Jon as a Stark as anything we will get this season, and honestly it’s good enough for me for now.
Season Grade: A-
This season has had its ups and downs and even in the episodes that have felt lackluster, overall the season has been one great episode after another. It’s hard to feel too upset at a season that made us lose Hodor and a large portion of the King’s Landing cast and still started to turn the Stark’s luck around. Either way I’m excited for the next season and it’s been nothing but a pleasure writing reviews all season. See y’all next season!
Feel free to follow me on Twitter @ZaneBixby, Now that the season is over I’ll mainly be tweeting about games and eSports but I’m entertaining nonetheless.
