Monday Morning Quarterbacking for Game of Thrones battles
After all the hype and build up, last night we finally witnessed the Battle Of Winterfell. A battle of living vs dead. A record setting TV experience. And I’m here to say that anything other than complete admiration of this episode is unacceptable.
Now from the knee jerk twitter reactions it seemed like most people enjoyed the episode but not everyone was convinced. The contrarians weren’t satisfied. They wanted more. Spoiled brats. This hour long battle scene was shot beautifully. It was scored to a T. But most importantly, the tension was palpable. If you didn’t feel like you were moments away from going into an unwinnable battle yourself then check your pulse.
Now let’s discuss the biggest complaint of the episode – not enough people died. Or more specifically, no one of high importance died in battle. I can’t stress how incredible that actually is. This show was built on consistently taking the road no one expects and shocking the audience. You muthafuckas thought you finally had this whole show figured out. You spent the last week talking about how all the characters were spending their last night in the world. You were positive Greyworm was a goner because of his goodbye with his boo. You were sure Tormund and Brienne were forever star crossed lovers. You thought Tyrion was in big danger. You all had it wrong. Vegas really messed up when setting those lines. And with all this expectation, the tension only grew throughout the episode. When none of the above were in terrible danger, I couldn’t help but thinking “oh no, oh no” whenever Jon Snow or Daenerys were on screen. I mean Jon Snow chased after the Night King by his goddam self. What an absolute fool. Then, later on in the episode he was going to take on a dragon by himself. I mean hubris is going to get this man soon but not today.
I get that you could be disappointed with this result but if you’re a true fan then I ask you to trust the writers. Think about it. They’ve spent 8 seasons senselessly murdering their main characters. Priming us. And then in the biggest battle to date, where we are expecting mass carnage, most of the main characters come out unscathed. Bravo.
I have no idea what is going to happen next and that’s the best place to be with this show. The fight for the throne is going to be special and the tension that was built in this last episode will only amplify that. You’ll get the gore you blood-thirsty monsters desire. You just won’t see it coming.
