Game of Thrones: I Can Hear the Bells
The penultimate episode has come and gone and there are fewer pieces on the chess board than there was a week ago.
The Unexpected
-Varys the Spider getting got!! Like Littlefinger he played the game and he played it well and he maneuvered as well as he could but Melisandre's prophecy came true - he lost his life far from home.
I've never considered Varys much but I felt bad for him in his final moments even though in my heart of hearts I felt he deserved it because he didn't help Ned when he could have so eff that guy.
-I assume Varys was writing notes to the lords of Westeros to alert them that Jon was the rightful ruler just as Ned did while he was jailed. I'm trying to remember which major house leaders are even alive. There's the new Dornish prince, there's Robin Arryn in the Vale, Gendry, Yara, no more Tyrells and who exactly reps House Tully? Is Edmure still in the wind?
-The reality of Cleganbowl: Every since The Mountain became Franken!Mountain people have been clamoring for Cleganbowl but when we got it I was faced with the reality of how ineffective the fight would be because Franken!Mountain is essentially undead so how can it be a fair fight? But I'm glad that Sandor went out courageously and also helping Arya out before he handled his big bro.
-Cersei's Final Moments. She was behind the deaths of my favorite family The Tyrells. She hired Bronn to kill her brothers, she put the Faith Militant in power, she blew up the sept, she had a Septa tortured, she drove my poor junior fail!king Tommen to suicide, she planned the horrid deaths of the Ellaria and her daughter, she treated Tyrion horribly and yet I felt sad for Cersei. But also, I wanted her to have a more violent death because ...see my previous points.
This show has killed off the sweetest characters in the most awful ways but Cersei gets to go out being comforted by Jaime??!! So what if she was terrified, Missandei was terrified. It's was too easy a death.
Lena Headey spoke with EW and she said she had to be convinced that this was a good ending because she wanted something more dramatic.
>Loved
-The wildfire callback. Planted throughout Kings Landing, some was detonated as Drogon went on his killing spree.
-Jaime and Tyrion's goodbye. I still don't understand why Tyrion felt Cersei could be/should be saved. Even if she wasn't a terror to him, he still knew the sins she had committed. And the difference between Jaime and Cersei is that Jaime still had goodness within exemplified for his care for others, whereas Cersei only cared about herself and her kids. But I fully get Tyrion putting his own life on the line to release Jaime for the very reasons he said and I loved their goodbye.
-Ruler of Ashes. Varys once said that Littlefinger would let Kings Landing burn as long as he could be king of the ashes and that's Dany to a T. Has she factored in the cost of rebuilding Kings Landing?? Doesn't Drogon understand commands? Why not just tell him to fly to the Red Keep and destroy it, thus saving thousands of lives?
I'm not saying Dany should have killed thousands of people, but I have to admire that it took losing her second child and Missandei to get her there. There's a mighty uproar online over the characterization of Dany and how this season has boiled down to “b*tches be crazy”, but Cersei has done the same over lower stakes. This is Dany being a loving mother and friend who is avenging the deaths of those she loves. Getting the throne is just the cherry on the top.
There's a clip from the final season premiere and Emilia, Jacob and Nathalie are asked if they were happy with the final season and Emilia sarcastically said "best season ever" sooo... I don't think she's loving the direction Dany was sent in.
-I don't watch the previews for the next episode because I like being surprised but this must boil down to Dany v. Jon and with Jon saying to anyone who listens that he doesn't want the throne, I don't see how this will end. He'll either get it and cede it to Sansa and walk away or he'll take it and realize he can rule as he sees fit, not beholding to regular convention they'll just melt the damn thing and build a statue to the Mormonts with it which is what I feel they should do because no one rode harder for the Starks than the Mormonts.