I am a fan of episodic television. I love the amount of time a season of a tv show has to lay out a story, because for me, the story is the most important. There have been only a few shows that stand heads above the rest when it comes to season premieres and season finales. Lost was one of those shows, Breaking Bad is another. The Sopranos was probably the first show for me that got my excitement built up for the season finale. But of all of these great shows we've seen and have now, Game of Thrones is the best of the best; and Sunday night's episode was the best one ever.
Let's just dive right in. First of all, there is one thing that fans want more than anything when watching their favorite shows. Resolution. And this episode was the most satisfying GoT finale ever. SO MANY PEOPLE DIED! But let's go from start to end:
The beginning is just eerie. Everyone preparing for the fateful day of trial within the Great Sept of Baelor. Cersei looked like she was dressing for battle, with her black (what looked like boiled leather) dress and shoulder pads. She looked serious, and like she had something on her mind, and BOY DID SHE EVER! After this scene, and then watching the rest of the episode, to see that Cersei wears the same thing the entire time tells me that she was fully aware of every and all possibilities after the incident.
Then we see the King. Tommen, of course, is being prepped and is dressed in gold. Remember the prophecy post I did the other day? The one about Maggy the Frog and Cersei, when talking about Cersei's future and specifically her children, Maggy said, "Gold shall be their crowns and gold shall be their shrouds." So to see Tommen dressed in gold from head to toe told me everything I needed to know. I already figured that Tommen would die in this episode, but I only found myself thinking that he would kill himself after I saw his face when he saw the explosion. That was so wonderfully done, so creepy and eerie how he waits til the servant leaves the room; removes his crown and just falls out the window. No hesitation, no emotion; just nothing. And it fit perfectly! Of course Tommen would commit suicide! He was a coward, who lost everyone and everything he cared about in an instant. He was fighting the voices in his own head about what to do with his mother!
The destruction of the Great Sept was an incredible sight. My wife and I found ourselves screaming at the High Sparrow to let everyone leave! Why wouldn't they let them go? It was such a clean sweep of Cersei's enemies, and one that no other character has been able to do. Every other character who has eliminated an obstacle or enemy in their way, is almost immediatley confronted with another. Cersei kills everyone, and takes the Iron Throne without contest.
I loved this season because it progressed the story further and more quickly than ever before. Don't get me wrong, I loved the other seasons as well along with their pacing, but (again) the quickness in the story telling really lent a lot to the fun and excitement of the season. The finale killed many characters, some major some minor. And one seemed to be the substitute for a major death in the book that we don't see on the show. Kevyn Lannister dies at the hands of Varys in the books, but is present at the Great Sept when it blows up. So, Grand Maester Pycelle's death takes it's place. For the show, it works wonderfully, because Cersei is systematically taking out everone. And the Kevyn Lannister in the show, is not the same as the books.
Back to Cersei. So the Sept explodes, and she is so happy with what she's done. Instead of going straight to her son, the King, she goes to see a chained up Septa Unella so she can mess with her for more revenge. I think this was Cersei's way of giving Tommen a choice. She saves him from dying with the others at the Sept, but leaves him to choose who he wants to be with. It also says, to me, that Tommen never had his mother's interests in his heart nor was he at all interested in joining her, as he makes a clear choice almost immediately after seeing the explosion. When Cersei asks to see his body (which also happens to be covered in a gold shroud), she doesn't seem surprised nor very upset. I'm sure she is disapointed, because the one thing real about her was her love for her children. It seems that Cersei was expecting to lose Tommen as a consequence to her actions, and she accepted that fact without remorse. Certainly setting up a clash with Jamie to, perhaps, completely fulfill her prophecy as told by Maggie the Frog.
The whole lead up to the wildfire explosion is a masterpiece! The ominious music and drawn out reveal of the wildfire with Lancel Lannister chasing the little boy is brilliant! Cersei is ruthless!
Moving on, Sam and Gilly make it to the Citadel in Old Town. I absolutely LOVED that Samwell got instant access to the Citadel library and that we're certain to meet a Arch Maester next season! My god, that reveal of the Citadel Library was boner enducing to nerds and readers everywhere!
As soon as Lord Frey's voice was heard, I cringed. His speech is full of arrogance and ego, and leaves a bad taste in Jamie's mouth. The question is, was that serving girl Arya the whole time? I believe so, yes. I think Arya worked out her plan perfectly, and that satisfied smile she has after killing Walder Frey is not only because she's exacting revenge, but also that her patience and training is clearly paying off. I can't wait to see what she does in season 7. I don't think she's going back to Winterfell, but will bounce around as a faceless assassin, picking off the people that are left on her list.
Moving North, Jon's is reminising with Melisandre about how his family would sit at the head table and he would sit in the back of the room because he was a bastard. I kept hearing him say, "My family would sell beer. And I would sit back there." Try not hearing that now. Go ahead, I'll wait.... .......... ........... ................
I know right?! Anyway, respect to Davos for not holding back and revealing what happened to Princess Shireen to Jon. He should know who's blood was used to bring him back to life. Jon's decision to keep her alive is a good one. He knows that she could be a great asset in the war to come with the White Walkers, but also that she can't stay at his side. The temptation to believe what she sees in her flames is too great, and I think Jon does not want to be anyway associated with her like Stannis was.
Jon's story has been my favorite from the beginning, Daenarys' is my 2nd favorite. So this season has been wonderful for me. When Lady Mormont stood up and roused the other Northern Lords to take up arms with Jon and proclaimed him the new King of the North, I will admit some tears came. Man tears. Like the toughest, coolest way a man can look while crying. That was me. Fucking Niagra Falls coming out of my face. It was just a great scene! It was everyone on screen FINALLY seeing what we've been watching for 6 years! I can't wait to see what they do next season!
I am really enjoying how Sansa is handling Little Finger. She knows how dangerous he is, and after revealing his ultimate plan to her; she has him in the palm of her hand. The thing is though...Baelish did not look happy when Jon was proclaimed King of the North, and Sansa noticed this. Will she still accept his marriage proposal? Or will he hold this latest slight by the Starks as a grudge and become a villain? I love that anything is possible!
The inclusion of the Sand Snakes of Dorne in this episode was nice. I liked that Varys went to them first to rally support for Daenarys and I really liked that Lady Olenna, the Queen of Thorns knew that the combo of the Tyrell Army and the Dornish Army would be nothing for Cersei to sneeze at! It sets up a war of 6 Queens kind of like the war of the 5 Kings in season 2. Cersei, Daenarys, Olenna, Ellaria, Asha and Sansa are all in position to be called Queen, and will fight against and alongside each other. I love that the women have taken such a strong role going into season 7, and I can't wait to see what they do!
Dany then breaks up with Daario. Good. That relationship wasn't going to work out anyway in Westeros. I also had thought that Daario was actually the Harpy, and was happy to see I was wrong about that. The scene works perfectly with the story, but the following scene was better. Tyrion's face when she names him Hand of the Queen was wonderful. He's finally in a place where he is happy, and doing something that he obviously loves. Tyrion is one of my favorite characters, and I love that him and Dany are working together. Tyrion is also the link to a positive relationship with the North. He has had a relationship with both Jon and Sansa, however different those relationships were, both Jon and Sansa can claim that Tyrion was both kind and respectful. So when the time comes for the North to join forces with Daenarys, that should be a very easy going conversation.
So let's go in for the close here by talking about the most satisfying scenes in the episode. First that comes to mind is the death of Walder Frey. Arya's revenge plot is immaculate. She is patient and meticulous. Killing two full grown Frey's, carving them, cooking them, and serving them in a pie to Lord Frey was amazing! Her little speech was immensely satisfying. Something that we as fans have wanted to see since the Red Wedding.
The closing shot of the Dany's forces sailing across the sea with the dragons flying over them was incredible. I knew that was happening at the end of this season, because Dany's story had no where else to go, but I still could not contain my excitement once I saw it happening. As great as that was, the most satisfying scene (for me anyway) was Bran's flashback! Because R + L really does = J!!!!
He touches that Weirwood tree and as soon as we see young Ned outside the Tower of Joy, my wife and I leapt off the couch in excitement. My wife was the first one to point out the theory to me, while we read the books. She finished book 1 before me, and asked me to try to find evidence against the theory while I read. I could not. For 3 more seasons we wondered how long until it was revealed. So this season we were waiting at the edge of our seats! The scene did not disapoint in the least! It played out exactly as we believed it would. I would have liked to hear everything Lyanna whispered to Ned, but I caught the gist. BUT NOW I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR TO SEE HOW JON FINDS OUT HIMSELF!!!!!!! The most satisfying moment of that scene is the close up of the baby and then the quick cut to a close up of the adult Jon Snow aka Jon TARGARYAN!!!!!!
WINTER IS HERE!
I have rewatched this episode 4 times now, with the fifth running as I write this. I think it is safe for me to say that this is my favorite show of all time. I love the characters, the story, and everything else that this show has done, more than any other tv show before. When this show inevitably ends, I will be very disapointed, because the next great show has VERY BIG shoes to fill.
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