We’re halfway through the final season of Game of Thrones
and have been treated to the most epic battle in history.
I’m torn between loving the hell out of this season and
being disappointed by the fact the show runners are no longer honoring the
source material. Since they surpassed the original creator of this series they
have veered as far as possible from story cannon, which would not seem so odd
if they hadn’t spent a lot of time trying to be faithful to it during the
previous seasons.
I understand that book to screen adaptations have to be
taken with a grain of salt. There is no possible way to make something picture
perfect to the original source material. But Game of Thrones was sticking
pretty close, in the grand scheme of things. However, since surpassing the creator’s
source material, they have decidedly gone in their own direction as they race
to the finish.
Before I continue, there be dragons…er…spoilers ahead.
Read
at your own risk.
But, if you’re caught up to season 8 episode 3, and are ready
to discuss, let’s dive in!
The Prince That Was
Promised /Azor Ahai
The Crypts of
Winterfell
The Three-Eyed
Raven’s importance.
The Night King
We have spent a lot of time learning these very important
prophesy plot points.
From the very first episode we were introduced to the chief
Fantasy threat in the world our favorite characters reside in: The Night King.
Fantasy is not the only threat in this world. It wouldn’t be
called the Game of Thrones if it
weren’t meant to be a political-heavy story. But, despite all the squabbling
over the Iron Throne, the fantasy
element is a thread weaved through each episode.
The Prince That Was
Promised /Azor Ahai has been teased right alongside of nearly every mention
of the Night King. He or she (High
Valyrian doesn’t specify genders with words) was meant to bring the dawn after
the long night. The one assumed to end the Night
King.
The Three-Eyed Raven
is introduced to us as a Greenseer with knowledge and wisdom to pass on to
Brandon Stark. Connecting him to the Children of the Forest (who created the Knight King) and the Others (wight
walkers). His true importance has yet to be discovered since GRRM hasn’t
finished the last two books in the series.
But let’s not forget that Brandon is a Stark of Winterfell,
a place built by Bran the Builder, also a Stark, during the Age of Heroes. Below
Winterfell are the Crypts, built
with the same magic as the Wall and its construction was aided by the Children
of the Forest. It contains the tombs of all the Stark Kings laid to rest with
Iron swords across their laps to prevent the vengeful spirits from rising.
All of these major fantasy threads are connected.
But those are more book elements than TV show elements. The
show has teased us with a few, turning Brandon Stark into the Three-Eyed Raven, hinting that either
Jon Snow/Aegon Targaryen or Daenerys Targaryen are potentials to be the Prince that was Promised, and hinted
that Winterfell and it’s crypts were
the safest place to be when the Night
King came to bring the long night.
However, after 7 seasons of buildup, when the moment came,
the Night King arrived at Winterfell,
they changed gears and not only subverted our expectations, they negated all
that they had set up in exchange for what feels like a combination of fan
service and shock value.
Please understand that while I’m questioning the
repercussions of ignoring all the lore, I do feel the Battle of Winterfell episode
did what it set out to do. Epic Night King Killing Action!
From the moment the show began we knew it was going to be
tense. Dothraki screamers, long hailed as the most fearsome fighting force to
meet in open combat, armed with swords ablaze, rode into the darkness. In
seconds, their flames were extinguished. That set the tone for this battle. Viewers
knew, right then and there, that this was not going to turn out the way
everyone planned.
The die had been cast and there would be no turning back.
As far as battle planning went, it was clear, as a viewer,
that they were not concerned with real strategy. Every effort was made to
create a sense of maximum drama. Fighting in the dark, our key players were all
out in front, in the thick of things, easy targets.
Ser Jorah, Ghost, Brienne, Jamie, Podrik, Sam, Edd, Grey
Worm, Tormund, etc… And we expected them to die. Maximum drama.
For 82 minutes, viewers were left sitting at the edge of their
seat praying their favorite characters would survive. This constant questioning
saw us through the front lines, the retreat into Winterfell, the breech of
Winterfell and did not let up until the last moment of the show.
82 minutes of edge of your seat, stressed out, fear for the
lives of characters we’ve followed from the early days. Maximum drama.
When deaths came, they were almost hand-picked to evoke the
most emotion.
Dothraki Screamers – Too many to count
Unsullied – Too many to count
Eddison Tollett – Saving Sam
Lady Lyanna Mormont – Killing the Giant that killed her
Theon Greyjoy – Protecting Bran
Beric Dondarrion – Protecting Arya
Jorah Mormont – Protecting Dany
The Night King – Arya
Melisandre – The End
While the death count seems high, there were less main
character deaths than I expected. “Valar Morghulis,” unless you have plot
armor. Many other characters in this episode were in obvious mortal peril but
somehow made it through. A hint of fan service there, but we have three more
episodes to go. We’ll have to see what the final death count is at the end.
Back to the Night
King. Mr. Big Bad himself. For 7 seasons we have watched him build his
army. We got hits of how he raised the dead, made more wights, and eventually,
claimed a dragon as his mount. This guy literally brings the winter with him
wherever he goes. He is an unstoppable force. And he was heading straight for
Winterfell.
As expected the Crypts
were touted as the safest place to be. A nod to the magical protections that
lay within. We have spent so much time down there over the seasons. We have
stared at the statues. We have been hinted at their importance. But when the Night King came, they served little
more than a room to hide in. No Stark Kings rose up. No magic prevented wights
from entering. For all the lore, we were let down. The crypts might as well have been a wine cellar for all the protection
they offered during the great battle.
Fine. Crypts are
nothing. But once the Night King got
knocked off his Dragon, we were sure to see Dany or Jon become Azor Ahai and wield the flaming sword,
Lightbringer, to defeat him, right? Well, Dany tried to burn him. She gave him
the best Dracarys she could, a poetic license take on the flaming sword, right?
Not really. The Night King just
stood there and smiled. A totally bad ass moment, for sure. Not defeated,
however, that must mean it was not Dany. Okay, for sure, Jon, right? He did
take off after the Night King on
foot, ready to challenge the big bad to what I expected to be the most epic of
epic sword fights. Only, he didn’t. Big Baddy raised the dead to handle Mr.
Snow and kept on walking. Major subversion of expectations there.
While that’s all happening, Brandon Stark, the
self-proclaimed Three-Eyed Raven is
sitting in the Godswood waiting. That’s it. Just waiting. All that knowledge.
All that power. The ability to warg into other creatures and command them. All
he does is sit and wait. Bait. Nothing the Northern Army did could stop the Night King. He walked right on into
Winterfell and straight into the Godswood to meet Brandon face to face.
Of course it wouldn’t be a satisfying end to the episode if
after all that the Night King wasn’t
destroyed, and for that we get Arya Stark with the amazing save right at the last
moment. Maximum drama, this time with an even bigger dose of subverted expectations.
No one saw that coming. She doesn’t fit the profile of Azor Ahai. She’s a bad ass for sure. She earned her assassin badge
many times over during the last 7 seasons, but she is not the Princess who was Promised. The
showrunners themselves said, they chose her to do it because everyone expected
Jon to be the one and they wanted to subvert our expectations.
Here’s the thing, we
expected Jon because he fits the prophesy that had been set up for the last
7 seasons.
Stabbed through the chest with a Valyrian steel dagger, the Night King shattered and with that, his
army fell too. After 8 seasons we’re now finished with the fantasy element of
this series. And while I’m pleased to see they are closing out the big plot
points (we only have 3 episodes left), as a fan of both the books and the show,
the way they did it feels hollow. As I said above, I’m torn between loving the
hell out of this season and being disappointed by the fact the showrunners are
no longer honoring the source material.
And, it should also be said, that now they have defeated the
Night King and the fantasy element
of this world is over, will the remaining political drama hold enough interest?
We’ll just have to watch and see.