Wed Aug 16, 2017 6:31 pm
Hi everyone, I am new to the forum but regularly contribute in the article comments.
I watched the leaked episode here in the UK, largely because I had a HD link and that it saves me waking at 2am to watch it live - it still wasn't an easy choice though.
Anyway I am a huge ASOIF/GOT fan but this episode left me with mixed feelings. I read the leaked outline last year so I knew a dragon would die but not which side kicks (other than Thoros and Beric - who actually survives!!) perished or how the episode would play. As I watched this episode unfold there is some really amazing stuff but also a few plot holes/poor writing which distracted me (anyone who reads my comments will know I am not normally one for this).
Anyway here are my thoughts:
- The dialogue by the Wight hunting team is fantastic, Tormund and the Hound are brilliant through out the episode. Beric, Jorah, Gendry all interact amazingly well. Hearing Tormund describe Brienne as his woman then the Hound realise who is talking about was one notable highlight.
- The scenario north of the wall is amazing, such also cinematography!
- Unlike one or two others I love the Winterfell scenes and genuinely thought Arya was going to kill Sansa. I'm not a great fan of Sansa or Sophie as an actress but she nails it and is genuinely terrified by Arya who is excellently portrayed by Maisie.
- The dragon CGI is amazing, by far the best on the show.
- The escape is well done and not cheesy as it could be.
Now my criticisms:
- This one really bugged me but Jon and co grab a wight then see the coming storm and realise it's going to get nasty. Jon immediately tells Gendry to run to Eastwatch and send a raven to Danerys, I meant what the fuck? They are presumably miles past the wall, if he gets there he has to send a raven to Dragonstone, she has to read it and then fly all the way North and find them, that's going to take days and they are about to get swamped by thousands of wights, it's just daft.
- Anyway Jon and co run in a different direction to Gendry and accidently get refuge on a small island in the middle of a frozen lake, this is all fine and good but the are their presumably for a long time given the above with no noticeable food or heat (well apart from Thoros burning body), they sleep over night then on day 2 Jorah tells Jon they are going to freeze to death despite surviving the night? Also tens of thousands of the army of the dead just stand motionless watching them, why? * see my point below I may have worked out why but it's not clear to the audience.
* Final criticism where exactly did all those chains come from to pull the dragon out of the lake? They are in the frozen north but suddenly have these huge chains?
Also my question that nobody seems to have picked upon is the Nights King a Greenseeyer? The way the army of the dead just stand around the last few survivors and the Nights king has the ice spears ready it's almost as if he knew the Dragons would come right? He was prepared and waiting in my opinion.