If the title wasn't enough for you this entry is loaded with spoilers and if you haven't seen episode 5 you need to get out of here now.
I'm gonna go ahead and say that from an artistic standpoint, this might be one of the most amazing episodes of G.O.T. that there has ever been and it is a wonderful wrap up to the epic battles for the franchise. We will not get to see another epic battle so this was a fine send off from a directing / production value point of view. The dark music and buildup / tension leading to the initial battle was just perfectly executed. Was it a cello playing that music track leading up to the battle? I can't say for sure, but it was just epic. Esablishing shots were wonderfully placed and the only problem I had at this point was that Dany's army looked to be quite small outside the walls, but that ended up being ok because they didn't really have to do anything.
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Now it is time for me to whinge a bit, because it wouldn't be a blog by me if I didn't complain about something... so here we go.
Scorpions got nerfed in a patch apparently
It was the exact same fleet that instakilled one dragon and hit with the first 3 shots from much further away and from behind a rock last week. This week, they were again, expecting the attack and actually had MORE weaponry at their disposal. It was the same fleet, the same OP Euron and he actually had more ships and more support from the scorpions posted all along the walls of King's Landing in 360 degree style. Yet they don't even graze the dragon this time and Dany quite easily completely dismantles all of them in record time.
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Had someone discussed tactics with her about this approach (perhaps and expert like Bron - a character I've always liked) it would have at least been somewhat believable but Dany just comes up with the "attack with the sun (sorta) behind you and fly low to the water approach on her own."
The scorpion ballistas also have immense difficulty reloading in episode 5, this was not a problem at all in episode 4 where they appeared to reload immediately with very little effort. Both scenarios were absurd and to have them in back-to-back episodes is again, just poor writing.
Hit it and quit it Jaime
The whole Brienne romance is even dumber now as it really had no point for being. Jaime had no feelings for her at all and it would have been better if they just hadn't approached that angle at all because not only did it serve absolutely zero purpose in plot formation, but it was disturbing and kind of ruined the legacy of Brienne, who was an epic character. The whole thing let us down from a Tormund point of view also. At least we get some good memes out of this very short plot-branch.
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King's Landing soldiers too inept
I've always appreciated the prestige of the Golden Company - throughout the entire G.O.T. franchise they are presented as being a super-elite group of soldiers: The best of the best so to speak.
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However, unless it is hidden in the background somewhere, they don't inflict a single casualty and are easily dispatched even by unnamed members of Dany / Jon's army.
Look, we all knew that Dany was going to win this battle, it is a foregone conclusion that was telegraphed a long time ago - but to completely cut the balls off of a group of super-soldiers that have spent their entire lives training for exactly this sort of encounter, is just dumb - especially for the ones that didn't get barbecued.
tl;dr
Seriously? Not gonna read a GOT thread? :P
As i mentioned at the start, from an artistic standpoint this was absolutely amazing. There were aspects of it how they turned the King's Landing soldiers into the "good guys" trying to save civilians against a lawless horde halfway through that was just wonderfully presented. I enjoyed the perspective of the carnage being in the hands of the people on the street, many times the point of view being told from the eyes of a civilian trapped in a war they did not ask for nor do they deserve. That was just brilliant.
While I did enjoy the battle for the direction / art / CGI etc, the story, once again, is too inconsistent for me to really get on board with. We all know that Dany is likely going to get killed in the final episode... my money is on Arya finally using her face-off technology to get that done.
It was actually pretty good. Imho Euron only killed Rhaegal due to element of surprise and positioning. Not to mention it was hurt. Jon should have instructed Bran to warg scout the enemy but— he's no Rob Stark 🤷
Dany had more than enough experience to wipe them out in episode 4 but was devastated from her loss (or) the writers just wanted to bolster the enemy forces by giving them one huge kill.
Her dive and retreat attempt (ep 4) also likely showed the weakness of the scorpions; they cannot fire downward and even if they do they risk destroying the accompanying ships.
The wall mounted scorpions were all attacked from below, behind or at an angle faster than they can reload. Her going Mad Queen wasn't expected but was hinted at through her character arc and many 'fruedian slips'. Very fun to watch 😊👍
Only part I didn't favor was Cercie and Jaime going out that way 😞
#DemThrones
yes, i enjoyed it... was just a shame it was so one sided. Good points by the way.
Thanks, I spent last week ranting after Rhaegal died myself... here's a gory meme I made but it's GOT so 🤷
https://steemit.com/memestagram/@donald.porter/re--memestagram-20190506t145801170z
Posted using Partiko Android
yeah the whole Bran thing needs some sort of explanation or at least demonstration as to why he is important or even powerful. They kind of shelved that whole thing.
LOL @ Scorpian nerf patch
They were weak af this time, but I will say that the Rhaegal was without a pilot when hit multiple times last week - a pilot who could apparently see arrows coming in at immense speed...
I thought it was a top episode though, probably the best of the season unless there is something huge in store for the finale :)
I like your meme references. Those are pretty awesome. Even if you didn't create them yourself, you placed them well :) I don't have a horse in this race so it was interesting reading your review just from a outside point of view. Very entertaining!
We could all aggree that this season has been totally inept, maybe it's because it's the finale, most series I know ends definitely very badly, Merlin for example. The most ridiculous is the Jamie and Brienne romance. It's totally uncalled for.
I disagree, GOT was never meant to be predictable. That episode delivered the goods 9/10 !
More coffee please!