Season 7 Pacing

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Jack Bauer 24
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Fri Aug 18, 2017 12:01 am

How does everyone feel about the pacing? Should there have been 10 episodes? I know they say the story only called for 7, but I think it was budget reasons. Spent so much on 704 and 706 they couldn't do 10. Same thing next season. Only 6 episodes because they'll be even more expensive then these.

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Needle
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Fri Aug 18, 2017 3:19 am

It's possible to tell a story in 7 episodes, if it wasn't then movies wouldn't exist. But D&D are doing such a horrid job at it, it gives the illusion that the plot is moving too quickly at times.
The Winterfell plot feels entirely like unnecessary filler, which is so fucking unnerving because Sansa, Bran and Arya are all main characters we know from the very beginning. Instead of idiotic sibling rivalry, here are ideas for storylines that I can think of just from the top of my head:

- All three of them adjusting to living in Winterfell without their parents and everyone else they knew. Wouldn't you feel weird if you came back to the place you grew up in, only to realise everyone you knew was replaced? All of the known Winterfell residents are dead. Jory, Rodrik, Luwin, all of the people the Stark kids grew up with.
- Bran coping with becoming the TER, I don't know about you guys, but if my brain suddenly had access to everything that had ever happened, I would break down.
- Sansa and Arya bonding, and realising how much they had both changed.
- And if they still want to go with the 'LF trying to get rid of Arya' route, they could at least write it a lot smarter. Why would Arya turn on her sister just because of an old letter? How did Arya not see through this obvious and lazy scheme? Have LF actually dig up information on Arya, watch her in secret and figure out alone where she had been, and then use it against her. If he suddenly revealed to Sansa that Arya had trained at the HOBAW to be a Faceless Assassin, Sansa might have actually started to fear her and consider her an unpredictable threat.

The writing for this subplot is so unbelievably awful, it boggles my mind. At this point the most logical explanation is that D&D hate these three Starks for some reason and just bullshitted their plots as result.

So many people are concerned that 7 or 6 episodes is too little, but in reality they could've added so much more. For the life of me I don't understand D&D's insistence on using screentime they don't have anyway for pointless scenes that don't add anything to the plot.
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Chilli
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Fri Aug 18, 2017 4:09 am

No more episodes would not have helped, it would only be filler because there is not much to do for a lot of characters until the wall comes down. They made some mistakes in the writing, but I can understand that it's not easy to do it in such a short time. With all those different places they cannot reshoot when they see during editing that some things could have been better.

But to me it's still the best show ever, even if it's not perfect. I've never been so much addicted to a show as to Game of Thrones. Episode 6 really had some very good scenes.

Sam the Slayer
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Fri Aug 18, 2017 7:28 am

Needle wrote:
Fri Aug 18, 2017 3:19 am
- All three of them adjusting to living in Winterfell without their parents and everyone else they knew. Wouldn't you feel weird if you came back to the place you grew up in, only to realise everyone you knew was replaced? All of the known Winterfell residents are dead. Jory, Rodrik, Luwin, all of the people the Stark kids grew up with.
- Bran coping with becoming the TER, I don't know about you guys, but if my brain suddenly had access to everything that had ever happened, I would break down.
- Sansa and Arya bonding, and realising how much they had both changed.
These ideas aren't plots. These could be fun scenes, yeah, but there needs to be a storyline for Winterfell in order to justify spending time there. Just imagine all the filler complaints if all the Winterfell scenes would be the ones you've mentioned here. The route they're taking, with LF trying to sow dissent, is a logical one. Besides, Bran has already broken down. He's so emotionless because he literally can't cope with being the TER. That's why he's been such a robot, his brain has just melted.

(Since this is the quarantine section, I'm going to talk freely about the leaks here)

Haven't the leaks already confirmed that Arya and Sansa are seeing right through LF's ploy and they've played games with him for the entirety of the last episode? Basically tricking him into thinking everything's going his way. In that case, my only complaint about the Winterfell storyline is just how much they've dumbed LF down. For someone who used to be so cunning in the past six seasons (although he already started going downhill last season), he's been acting really obvious and quite stupid, honestly. The LF of past seasons wouldn't have done what he's doing right now.

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Needle
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Fri Aug 18, 2017 7:52 am

Sam the Slayer wrote:
Fri Aug 18, 2017 7:28 am
Needle wrote:
Fri Aug 18, 2017 3:19 am
- All three of them adjusting to living in Winterfell without their parents and everyone else they knew. Wouldn't you feel weird if you came back to the place you grew up in, only to realise everyone you knew was replaced? All of the known Winterfell residents are dead. Jory, Rodrik, Luwin, all of the people the Stark kids grew up with.
- Bran coping with becoming the TER, I don't know about you guys, but if my brain suddenly had access to everything that had ever happened, I would break down.
- Sansa and Arya bonding, and realising how much they had both changed.
These ideas aren't plots. These could be fun scenes, yeah, but there needs to be a storyline for Winterfell in order to justify spending time there. Just imagine all the filler complaints if all the Winterfell scenes would be the ones you've mentioned here. The route they're taking, with LF trying to sow dissent, is a logical one. Besides, Bran has already broken down. He's so emotionless because he literally can't cope with being the TER. That's why he's been such a robot, his brain has just melted.

(Since this is the quarantine section, I'm going to talk freely about the leaks here)

Haven't the leaks already confirmed that Arya and Sansa are seeing right through LF's ploy and they've played games with him for the entirety of the last episode? Basically tricking him into thinking everything's going his way. In that case, my only complaint about the Winterfell storyline is just how much they've dumbed LF down. For someone who used to be so cunning in the past six seasons (although he already started going downhill last season), he's been acting really obvious and quite stupid, honestly. The LF of past seasons wouldn't have done what he's doing right now.
I've read the Green Chili leaks and they said nothing about Sansa and Arya just pretending to do it all to trick LF, but correct me if I'm wrong. I agree on the whole dumbed down LF, that's one of the most absurd decisions they made this season.
I mean, you tell me this dude managed to manipulate the entire kingdom into a massive war, but can't make two sisters hate each other? LF is supposed to be this cunning and charming man, even if he fooled you once, he'd do something that would make you forgive him. The fact that every single character sees through is facade just makes him feel like dead weight at this point.
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Dyanna
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Fri Aug 18, 2017 9:12 am

I don't think they necessarily see through his facade. That wasn't the way it was going at all in episode 6. The point is Bran is in Winterfell and Bran can see what LF has done in the past ...."chaos is a ladder" so logically the sisters have an oracle on hand, who can and will point them to the truth.

I knew as soon as Bran arrived in Winterfell, LF was doomed. He cannot scheme successfully with the 3ER in residence. LF was bound to get his comeuppance.

If LF could successfully get up to his usual antics with Bran around, it would seem very far fetched to me.

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PulledGroin
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Fri Aug 18, 2017 9:41 am

Besides the money issue, which I have already commented on, I do get the feeling that D&D are over it and want to move on. They have spoken about wanting to move onto other projects for the last year or two, spend time with family, etc., so they don't seem as dedicated to the show now as when they were rookie showrunners when GoT started. Feels to me like a painter who spent months getting 80% of the painting perfect and then finishes the other 20% sloppily in 5 minutes. (or how Lost ended, lol)

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anna1226
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Fri Aug 18, 2017 10:47 am

I love, love, love this show & think this season has been great, but it does anger me that were not getting 10 full episodes this season. The producers are whining about time & costs, seriously- this is the best show on tv & they make tons off the sales afterwards. There is plenty of story line for 10 episodes. They could have added more Bran visions, he could have warged into Ghost, included some winterfell flashbacks from season 1 when the kids were young-they prolly had unused footage; more development of the Dany/Jon attraction; the Oldtown story could easily have been expanded with books/research finds, or they could have just extended a few of the existing scenes in editing.

The producers are already taking about their next stupid project when they should be 100% focused on this one for now. Alan Ball did that with True Blood, said he had to quit the show for his health, then started working on something else, like he just got tired of it. UGH.
Last edited by anna1226 on Fri Aug 18, 2017 11:14 am, edited 1 time in total.

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anna1226
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Fri Aug 18, 2017 11:13 am

PulledGroin wrote:
Fri Aug 18, 2017 9:41 am
Besides the money issue, which I have already commented on, I do get the feeling that D&D are over it and want to move on. They have spoken about wanting to move onto other projects for the last year or two, spend time with family, etc., so they don't seem as dedicated to the show now as when they were rookie showrunners when GoT started. Feels to me like a painter who spent months getting 80% of the painting perfect and then finishes the other 20% sloppily in 5 minutes. (or how Lost ended, lol)
I totally agree, if your going to start a masterpiece then finish it properly. I'm sure Michelangelo got tired of painting the Sistine chapel at some point. They earned tremendous fame & fortune from this show-more than most folks would ever get in a lifetime, suck it up & dedicate the time needed, I'm sure HBO has the money. Plus, it irks me that they are already planning a new HBO project (which sounds idiotic), they should be putting all that energy & time into this project for now.

Sam the Slayer
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Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2017 2:05 pm

Fri Aug 18, 2017 11:22 am

Needle wrote:
Fri Aug 18, 2017 7:52 am
I've read the Green Chili leaks and they said nothing about Sansa and Arya just pretending to do it all to trick LF, but correct me if I'm wrong. I agree on the whole dumbed down LF, that's one of the most absurd decisions they made this season.
Dyanna wrote:
Fri Aug 18, 2017 9:12 am
I don't think they necessarily see through his facade. That wasn't the way it was going at all in episode 6. The point is Bran is in Winterfell and Bran can see what LF has done in the past ...."chaos is a ladder" so logically the sisters have an oracle on hand, who can and will point them to the truth.
The leaks gave me the impression they're putting up an act. It says that Sansa condemning LF is supposed to be a twist for both the audience and in-universe. I'm guessing that's why they made a point of showing LF has spies everywhere in Winterfell in E5, to make sure the audience knows that Arya knows she's always being watched by LF. It wouldn't surprise me if Arya was manipulating Sansa to manipulate LF, if that makes any sense, and that's why she gave her the knife at the end of her last scene, to show her that she is loyal to her and putting up a sort of facade, and this is the thing that prompts Sansa to go talk to Bran and eventually have LF executed. I dunno. We'll have to wait until episode 7 to find out, I guess, but this doesn't contrast with the leaks and these are exactly the kind of nuances and details the leaks have neglected to mention for the past episodes.

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