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shadowkatSo, I finally saw the episode tonight. The only spoilers I had (outside of various theories) was that 1) it had lots of plot-twists, and 2) it was a fair and reasonable ending.
Eh. Since most of us pretty much predicted the ending after last week's episode, I'd say it didn't have any plot-twists and was pretty much predictable. (I wasn't surprised by any of it, not really), and 2) it was a fair ending, if a slightly ...disappointing one? I've mixed feelings at any rate. But then I've always had mixed feelings about this series, so what's new?
Say what you will of this series, it's always been beautifully filmed. From a cinematic angle alone -- it's a gorgeous piece of television. There's an amazing shot with Dany and the Dragon towards the beginning.
Equally well-acted.
There are scenes in this episode that took my breath away -- due purely to their photographic beauty and splendor. From a perspective of visual mastery, alone, Game of Thrones remains at the top of its game. The writing, however, I'm not so sure about. But, I've always struggled with the writing, long before the television series was made. There's something underneath GRR Martin's story that bothers me and always has. I'm not entirely sure the story works on a sociological-political level, and considering I seldom care much about this or critique stories on this level -- the fact that I noticed it and it bothered me, means it probably royally pissed off those who do.
A lot happens in the beginning of the episode. In fact everything happens in the beginning, then it's just wrap-up. Reminding a little bit of the last act of Tolkien's Return of the King. (I didn't like Return of the King, by the way, neither the book or the film -- both drug and felt off to me. So that probably says something right there?) Endings are admittedly hard to pull off in a long-running serial. The temptation is to go for 1) the happily ever after neat wrap up, tie everything up, leave a few openings, and follow the status guo. OR 2) go in the other extreme and kill everyone. Luckily we got option 1, but honestly I think they had to go in that direction. The third choice is the more subtle and ambiguous ending, which I'd hoped for early in the season and gave up on roughly around episode 4. That's hard to do, and the only series I've seen sort of pull it off are The Wire, The Sopranoes, and possibly Angel.
This series went for The MASH ending (MASH had the most watched series finale in television history entitled The Long Goodbye, and it was bitter-sweet, and sentimental and completely unrealistic, but what the heck, it was a satisfying conclusion to the characters arcs) -- the sentimental ending, where everything ends well or as well as can be expected. The Starks -- the remaining ones that we've been following for the last seven seasons are victorious and go off where they want to go, happily ever after. The others...not so much.
That said, there are some nice canapes or moments here...
1. Those who predicted Tyrion would talk Jon Snow into killing Dany were right. And it is handled rather well for the most part. And while Dinkalage and Harrington act the hell out of the scene, the speech Tyrion gives Jon -- is hardly one we all have not heard before. The gist of it is basically Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness -- "he whole looks too deeply into the abyss gets swallowed by it" or "when fighting monsters be careful not to become one yourself" -- this speech is echoed in Coppola's deeply flawed by cinematic masterpiece, Apocalpyse Now, where Martin Sheen looks into the eyes of the Mad Colonel, who has become a monster due to war.
Tyrion says a lot of things in his speech, and while a lot them worked for me, many troubled me. Because as he spoke I couldn't help but see the pattern emerging ...these writers don't like women very much [and ETA...I think may be racist?]. And I'm not sure they are even aware of it. I'm not sure many of the fans are. [Or the critics for that matter.] But it's troubling that the mad queens are both women who were raped and abused by men.[ETA: Even more troubling that we have a white haired woman save the enslaved in the East only to be killed as a mad tyrant in the West - with her ex-slave army looked at as her murderous and lowly followers. What is interesting though -- is how clean Dany and her Unsullied are, while everyone else apparently hasn't had a bath in six years.] And it's "white" men who stop them. Danerys becomes, as Tyrion states, a monster -- that we cheered on. She burned the bad guys, but over time she stopped being able to tell who were the bad guys. She's so convinced she's right...that it doesn't matter how she achieves her ends. [This series seems to heavily prefer white guys from snowy Northern climes.]
And love, he states is the death of duty. Or is it, as Jon states, Duty is the Death of Love? But I'm not sure the writers or the characters understand what love is. It was Shakespeare who said:
Love is not love which alters it when alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove: O no! It is an ever fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken; it is the star to every wandering bark whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love is not for your sake or mine. It's about you. And it's not about possession. It's not death. It's life. The love they discuss is love that...is a kind of death, filled with desire for something that is not here. Is not real. And the desire to preserve that illusion of self inside another. Romantic love, familial love, tribal love -- where you wish to change that which you love to make it yours.
It can be argued that neither Jon nor Tyrion truly loved Dany. While Jorah, Drogon, Missandra, and Grey Worm did. For Jon and Tyrion saw what they wanted to see, not what was there -- a woman who walked through fire, and was enslaved and raped along the way.
Tyrion asks Jon if he would have done the same thing Dany did. Jon doesn't know, and Tyrion states it is important that you do know. My guess, is he's right, he doesn't know. None of us do. He's not Dany. He's a man. He's never been raped. And everything he's been through, which is a lot, doesn't hold a candle to what she went through as a woman in that world, or what his sisters survived.
A better question is would Sansa have done it? Or Ayra? Yes, she would.
And that's troubling.
Tyrion's speech rings hollow, as it rings true...it's too neat, too easy, too rehearsed and very thematic. For writers who state theme's are for eigth grade book reports, they certainly seem to enjoy putting them up in big bright letters across the screen -- subtly be damned.
But then spectacle has been where Game of Thrones has slowly over time slanted, and subtly to the extent it was there...has ebbed away. And that's not necessarily a bad thing all in all.
I enjoyed this scene -- do not get me wrong. I kept rewinding to listen, because Dinklage and Harrington act the hell out of it. And it is shot beautifully, but the words at times stuck in my craw. On the surface, I thought, yes, so true, but my mind being what it is...began to analyze and question. [I'm beginning to think this series works best, when you don't think too much about it. Surface only. No analysis.]
2. The next scene, which we know is inevitable from this one -- and just in case we're not certain, prior to Jon's scene with Tyrion, we see him confront Grey Worm and talk with Ayra, not to mention Davos, who in various ways demonstrate to him that if he does not act now, so many more will fall beneath Dany's righteous sword of flames. At this point Dany is an echo of Melissandre, the Serpent Sisters of Mereen, and Cersei, power made with righteousness and justice (which in reality stinks of self-centered revenge). It's not as if this hasn't been foreshadowed...by the line of powerful ladies proceeding her. So, when Jon is sniffed by Drogon and allowed to pass as friend not foe, we know and in fact want him to kill her -- and here she is in her vision, at last, standing in front of the iron throne.
Jon tries to talk her out of it...and realizing he has not succeeded gives in to her embrace, kissed and kills her at the same time, Mercifully. She's killed instantly.
With little pain. And her dragon feels it. And comes to her side, and in his grief (for a moment I wondered if he'd kill Jon, but the Dragon decides Jon is not to blame but her ill-conceived quest for her father's throne -- a throne made from iron swords and constructed by war. The Dragon melts the throne.
It's a great scene - beautifully filmed. Although I laughed through it, because the metaphors were a tad on the obvious and spectacle side. Also, it was sort of unbelievable. I mean, yes, we all know the battle for the throne is what destroyed everyone who fought for it. So of course the Dragon destroys the throne instead of Jon. But hey, cool dragon and thank you for leaving him be. He picks up Dany in his claws and flies off with her to parts unseen -- which is sort of what I hoped for. I love the dragon.
And Jon, after they convince the furious and righteous Grey Worm, is allowed to go to the North with the free-folk and Ghost, with whom he is finally reunited. Sentenced to a life of celibacy and childlessness in the cold north. (Honestly if he got married, had sex, and had kids, how would they know? Maybe Bran would -- but would he even care? Jon seemed to be pleased about it at any rate.) He finally recognizes and embraces his old and devoted friend, Ghost.
A lot of the episode felt like needless fan service. Actually everything after Dany's death. And much of it not all that logical -- oh let's give the throne and leadership duties to Bran, who stares into space and isn't here much of the time. Meanwhile Tyrion can actually rule instead, and no one will notice.
Or..such as someone writing a book about what happened entitled "A Song of Ice and Fire" and giving it to Tyrion. The council being made up of Brienne (who I still think should have died during the battle of Winterfell, although I'm glad she didn't and that she took Ser Jamie's place as the Leader of the King's Guard), Bronne, Davos (the man is unkillable), and Sam. And all the Stark kids walking off into their respective sunsets or riding off to them as the case may be.
I felt...disappointed by it all somehow. And understood finally what Kit Harrington meant when they asked him what he thought of the ending: "Disappointing. Epic. One of those two. Maybe both."
He's right, it's definitely "Epic" but it is also..disappointing. I wanted or expected more somehow...not now, not after last week...but prior to that point.
And I'm not sure what exactly. Probably a more logical ending? Less fanservice? Something thoughtful? Something that fit the promise I saw in the beginning?
I can't say there have been many, if any, good endings to television series. My mother and I were discussing this the other night. And as she pointed out, MASH, the highest viewed, was among the most disappointing. Most writers struggle with endings. It's hard to stick the ending. Beginnings are easier in a way. As are middle's but endings are hard. The one time I liked the ending of a story I wrote, I found that the rest of it did not work.
The endings I've come up with that I loved...I also have mixed feelings about.
I will state that this ending was better than what I feared --- and not as good as what I had once, long ago, envisioned. But are they ever?
[Oh as an aside, I read somewhere that many friendships had ended or been ripped apart by this series. And I thought, how sad. At the end of the day, it is just a television series, that you will forget in five to ten years from now. I know I will. I've seen far too many worse and far better ones now and I'm certain in the not too distant future, not too. One of many television series. There are more important things to get upset over or so one would think. Speaking of television series -- HBO previewed His Dark Materials and Watchmen, I am looking forward to both...].
Eh. Since most of us pretty much predicted the ending after last week's episode, I'd say it didn't have any plot-twists and was pretty much predictable. (I wasn't surprised by any of it, not really), and 2) it was a fair ending, if a slightly ...disappointing one? I've mixed feelings at any rate. But then I've always had mixed feelings about this series, so what's new?
Say what you will of this series, it's always been beautifully filmed. From a cinematic angle alone -- it's a gorgeous piece of television. There's an amazing shot with Dany and the Dragon towards the beginning.
Equally well-acted.
There are scenes in this episode that took my breath away -- due purely to their photographic beauty and splendor. From a perspective of visual mastery, alone, Game of Thrones remains at the top of its game. The writing, however, I'm not so sure about. But, I've always struggled with the writing, long before the television series was made. There's something underneath GRR Martin's story that bothers me and always has. I'm not entirely sure the story works on a sociological-political level, and considering I seldom care much about this or critique stories on this level -- the fact that I noticed it and it bothered me, means it probably royally pissed off those who do.
A lot happens in the beginning of the episode. In fact everything happens in the beginning, then it's just wrap-up. Reminding a little bit of the last act of Tolkien's Return of the King. (I didn't like Return of the King, by the way, neither the book or the film -- both drug and felt off to me. So that probably says something right there?) Endings are admittedly hard to pull off in a long-running serial. The temptation is to go for 1) the happily ever after neat wrap up, tie everything up, leave a few openings, and follow the status guo. OR 2) go in the other extreme and kill everyone. Luckily we got option 1, but honestly I think they had to go in that direction. The third choice is the more subtle and ambiguous ending, which I'd hoped for early in the season and gave up on roughly around episode 4. That's hard to do, and the only series I've seen sort of pull it off are The Wire, The Sopranoes, and possibly Angel.
This series went for The MASH ending (MASH had the most watched series finale in television history entitled The Long Goodbye, and it was bitter-sweet, and sentimental and completely unrealistic, but what the heck, it was a satisfying conclusion to the characters arcs) -- the sentimental ending, where everything ends well or as well as can be expected. The Starks -- the remaining ones that we've been following for the last seven seasons are victorious and go off where they want to go, happily ever after. The others...not so much.
That said, there are some nice canapes or moments here...
1. Those who predicted Tyrion would talk Jon Snow into killing Dany were right. And it is handled rather well for the most part. And while Dinkalage and Harrington act the hell out of the scene, the speech Tyrion gives Jon -- is hardly one we all have not heard before. The gist of it is basically Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness -- "he whole looks too deeply into the abyss gets swallowed by it" or "when fighting monsters be careful not to become one yourself" -- this speech is echoed in Coppola's deeply flawed by cinematic masterpiece, Apocalpyse Now, where Martin Sheen looks into the eyes of the Mad Colonel, who has become a monster due to war.
Tyrion says a lot of things in his speech, and while a lot them worked for me, many troubled me. Because as he spoke I couldn't help but see the pattern emerging ...these writers don't like women very much [and ETA...I think may be racist?]. And I'm not sure they are even aware of it. I'm not sure many of the fans are. [Or the critics for that matter.] But it's troubling that the mad queens are both women who were raped and abused by men.[ETA: Even more troubling that we have a white haired woman save the enslaved in the East only to be killed as a mad tyrant in the West - with her ex-slave army looked at as her murderous and lowly followers. What is interesting though -- is how clean Dany and her Unsullied are, while everyone else apparently hasn't had a bath in six years.] And it's "white" men who stop them. Danerys becomes, as Tyrion states, a monster -- that we cheered on. She burned the bad guys, but over time she stopped being able to tell who were the bad guys. She's so convinced she's right...that it doesn't matter how she achieves her ends. [This series seems to heavily prefer white guys from snowy Northern climes.]
And love, he states is the death of duty. Or is it, as Jon states, Duty is the Death of Love? But I'm not sure the writers or the characters understand what love is. It was Shakespeare who said:
Love is not love which alters it when alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove: O no! It is an ever fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken; it is the star to every wandering bark whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love is not for your sake or mine. It's about you. And it's not about possession. It's not death. It's life. The love they discuss is love that...is a kind of death, filled with desire for something that is not here. Is not real. And the desire to preserve that illusion of self inside another. Romantic love, familial love, tribal love -- where you wish to change that which you love to make it yours.
It can be argued that neither Jon nor Tyrion truly loved Dany. While Jorah, Drogon, Missandra, and Grey Worm did. For Jon and Tyrion saw what they wanted to see, not what was there -- a woman who walked through fire, and was enslaved and raped along the way.
Tyrion asks Jon if he would have done the same thing Dany did. Jon doesn't know, and Tyrion states it is important that you do know. My guess, is he's right, he doesn't know. None of us do. He's not Dany. He's a man. He's never been raped. And everything he's been through, which is a lot, doesn't hold a candle to what she went through as a woman in that world, or what his sisters survived.
A better question is would Sansa have done it? Or Ayra? Yes, she would.
And that's troubling.
Tyrion's speech rings hollow, as it rings true...it's too neat, too easy, too rehearsed and very thematic. For writers who state theme's are for eigth grade book reports, they certainly seem to enjoy putting them up in big bright letters across the screen -- subtly be damned.
But then spectacle has been where Game of Thrones has slowly over time slanted, and subtly to the extent it was there...has ebbed away. And that's not necessarily a bad thing all in all.
I enjoyed this scene -- do not get me wrong. I kept rewinding to listen, because Dinklage and Harrington act the hell out of it. And it is shot beautifully, but the words at times stuck in my craw. On the surface, I thought, yes, so true, but my mind being what it is...began to analyze and question. [I'm beginning to think this series works best, when you don't think too much about it. Surface only. No analysis.]
2. The next scene, which we know is inevitable from this one -- and just in case we're not certain, prior to Jon's scene with Tyrion, we see him confront Grey Worm and talk with Ayra, not to mention Davos, who in various ways demonstrate to him that if he does not act now, so many more will fall beneath Dany's righteous sword of flames. At this point Dany is an echo of Melissandre, the Serpent Sisters of Mereen, and Cersei, power made with righteousness and justice (which in reality stinks of self-centered revenge). It's not as if this hasn't been foreshadowed...by the line of powerful ladies proceeding her. So, when Jon is sniffed by Drogon and allowed to pass as friend not foe, we know and in fact want him to kill her -- and here she is in her vision, at last, standing in front of the iron throne.
Jon tries to talk her out of it...and realizing he has not succeeded gives in to her embrace, kissed and kills her at the same time, Mercifully. She's killed instantly.
With little pain. And her dragon feels it. And comes to her side, and in his grief (for a moment I wondered if he'd kill Jon, but the Dragon decides Jon is not to blame but her ill-conceived quest for her father's throne -- a throne made from iron swords and constructed by war. The Dragon melts the throne.
It's a great scene - beautifully filmed. Although I laughed through it, because the metaphors were a tad on the obvious and spectacle side. Also, it was sort of unbelievable. I mean, yes, we all know the battle for the throne is what destroyed everyone who fought for it. So of course the Dragon destroys the throne instead of Jon. But hey, cool dragon and thank you for leaving him be. He picks up Dany in his claws and flies off with her to parts unseen -- which is sort of what I hoped for. I love the dragon.
And Jon, after they convince the furious and righteous Grey Worm, is allowed to go to the North with the free-folk and Ghost, with whom he is finally reunited. Sentenced to a life of celibacy and childlessness in the cold north. (Honestly if he got married, had sex, and had kids, how would they know? Maybe Bran would -- but would he even care? Jon seemed to be pleased about it at any rate.) He finally recognizes and embraces his old and devoted friend, Ghost.
A lot of the episode felt like needless fan service. Actually everything after Dany's death. And much of it not all that logical -- oh let's give the throne and leadership duties to Bran, who stares into space and isn't here much of the time. Meanwhile Tyrion can actually rule instead, and no one will notice.
Or..such as someone writing a book about what happened entitled "A Song of Ice and Fire" and giving it to Tyrion. The council being made up of Brienne (who I still think should have died during the battle of Winterfell, although I'm glad she didn't and that she took Ser Jamie's place as the Leader of the King's Guard), Bronne, Davos (the man is unkillable), and Sam. And all the Stark kids walking off into their respective sunsets or riding off to them as the case may be.
I felt...disappointed by it all somehow. And understood finally what Kit Harrington meant when they asked him what he thought of the ending: "Disappointing. Epic. One of those two. Maybe both."
He's right, it's definitely "Epic" but it is also..disappointing. I wanted or expected more somehow...not now, not after last week...but prior to that point.
And I'm not sure what exactly. Probably a more logical ending? Less fanservice? Something thoughtful? Something that fit the promise I saw in the beginning?
I can't say there have been many, if any, good endings to television series. My mother and I were discussing this the other night. And as she pointed out, MASH, the highest viewed, was among the most disappointing. Most writers struggle with endings. It's hard to stick the ending. Beginnings are easier in a way. As are middle's but endings are hard. The one time I liked the ending of a story I wrote, I found that the rest of it did not work.
The endings I've come up with that I loved...I also have mixed feelings about.
I will state that this ending was better than what I feared --- and not as good as what I had once, long ago, envisioned. But are they ever?
[Oh as an aside, I read somewhere that many friendships had ended or been ripped apart by this series. And I thought, how sad. At the end of the day, it is just a television series, that you will forget in five to ten years from now. I know I will. I've seen far too many worse and far better ones now and I'm certain in the not too distant future, not too. One of many television series. There are more important things to get upset over or so one would think. Speaking of television series -- HBO previewed His Dark Materials and Watchmen, I am looking forward to both...].
no subject
Date: 2019-05-23 03:06 am (UTC)Generally speaking, I'm not that much into world-building, as long as you have fascinating characters.... But, in some cases, I do expect it and it is why I like fantasy and science-fiction novels. The good ones? Have detailed world-building or at the very least consistency. Think of Star Trek and Star Wars -- and how much world-building went into both franchises. Or Babylon 5. You don't really need it for series such as The Wire, Mad Men, Friday Night Lights, or the Americans -- although it's there to a degree, but we're in our world.
Song of Ice and Fire, which Game of Thrones was adapted from had a well-developed world. Heck, the writer went so far as to write an encyclopedia on that world, Fire and Blood. This is a writer who focused heavily on world-building. The dragons in the books at the point we left them -- couldn't take Dany anywhere, because she hadn't managed to get them to let her fly on one yet.
But here, she does. We passed that point. Also Sansa makes a good point in episode 2 about the care and feeding of dragons. And their limited stores. She also explains how big Dany's army is and how will they be able to feed and house all these additional people, including two dragons?
When they decide to go to Kings Landing and wage war, Sansa once again brings up the logistics of the world. I liked this part. As much as Sansa, the character, got on my nerves, I liked that they discussed it, albeit briefly. But then it was dropped.
I like the action, but it needs to be built up to. It's odd to say this, but I think the Marvel movies did a better job of incorporating all of that and following the rules they'd set up. I read an interview with the writers of the Avengers films, and they said that they thought about how to end the series for three years. And prior, plotted out various ways of going about it. What worked for each character arc, what worked science wise within their world, etc. And I could tell.Was it perfect? No. But I didn't expect it to be -- it was a superhero film adapted from a series of comic books, which have the plot structure and consistency of soap operas. I went in with low expectations and was surprised by it.
Game of Thrones in direct contrast was more like LoTR, in that the writer had hired people to create an actual language. That he'd studied the possible anatomy of dragons. That he had lineages and charts for each house. Granted he wasn't a huge plotter, but the adapters were. And it was detailed and consistent to its rules of that world in the beginning. It's really not until S7 that it started to swing away from the world's rules, and people started popping up in various locations with little to no trouble. I need the logic to make sense.
I'm willing to hand-wave a lot -- depending on the show. (Such as Xenia -- don't expect it. Also don't expect it from Captain America. Or for that matter even Buffy...so, Spike's reflection was in one scene by accident, it was a low budget television show filmed quickly, and with 22 episodes..considering that, it was pretty damn good.) But Game of Thrones had a budget in the multi-million dollar range. Two years to film six episodes. And location shooting. They had things most television producers and show-runners can only dream about. Plus HBO as a venue, which meant nudity and violence and language weren't censored.
My expectations were much higher. Yes, it's hard to write -- but they knew that when they signed on. And they had the money and time allotted to them.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-23 11:19 pm (UTC)Indeed. When people talk about why Sansa had earned her leadership/rulership position... this demonstrates why far better than any number of times characters said "Sansa is very smart." It's a big chunk of governance. It's really good, as it demonstrates a character who lives in the world, asking the questions someone who lives in the world would ask. It's smart writing.
There used to be a lot more of that earlier in the show. When the Tyrells were introduced, the reason they were so powerful was that they were in charge of the country's most fertile farmland, and consequently could feed armies and cities. (That's the kingdom Tyrion gave over to Bronn, who is a capable mercenary, but would you trust that guy with that region & also give him control of the treasury?)
no subject
Date: 2019-05-24 02:57 am (UTC)She's frustrated with both of her brothers -- Bran, who basically just wants to sit by the tree and stare into space, and Jon who keeps talking about fighting this or that, and refuses to make any decisions.. He's handed the leadership position, but he can't seem to make a decision to save his life.
You're right in the earlier seasons there was more of it -- Dany wrestles with the care and feeding of a huge army and a city in Mereen. And we have Tyrion struggling with the finances in Kings Landing.
The finale? They discuss it around the table and seem to be at a total loss. Bronn knows nothing about coin. Davos...about ships, but not managing a fleet.
Brienne nothing about feeding, training or housing an army. Too much time is wasted on needless bits like "oh someone wrote a book about all of this" or
"Brienne finished Jaime's chapter in the book" (which I'd forgotten about).
And when they discuss choosing a King, they choose Bran over someone like Sansa?
I love how she handles that situation, okay, fine, the North is declaring independence, you can destroy yourselves.
That's the kingdom Tyrion gave over to Bronn, who is a capable mercenary, but would you trust that guy with that region & also give him control of the treasury?
Because, no. I wouldn't.
Actually based on the colossal mistakes Tyrion has made over the last six seasons, I wouldn't trust Tyrion. It felt very...fan-ficy or like fanservice to go this direction. Like when a writer gives a character something, not because the character earned it or it was built up to, but because the writer loves that character for some reason.
If you go throw the last several seasons -- Sansa makes the most sense as a leader. (Even though the character irritated me, I think she made the most sense as a leader.) After they fight the battle in Winterfell, and are exhausted. Dany is gung-ho to race down to Kings Landing to defeat Cersei. And Sansa's like -- eh, we just fought a horrible battle, suffered major losses, and have a lot of injured and grieving people. Not to mention lots of damage to our castle and stores. What are you thinking?
Jon -- oh, Dany's right, let's go.
Bran -- I don't care, it's what is meant to be.
Arya -- I'm going to kill Cersei.
Sigh. Also, as an aside, I thought the Drofaki and most of Dany's army was killed by the White Walkers...guess not.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-24 08:40 pm (UTC)This is back to where they are sloppy and handwaving. For the Battle of Winterfell, the only Dothraki we see are the ones who ride out with flaming swords and instantly die. If there were any Dothraki, we don't know about them. They weren't at the victory party. (none of them even have names)
When Dany shows up before the walls of Kings Landing, there are very few of them or the Unsullied. But then, after the sack of King's Landing, there are once again a horde of them. But also, when the show wraps, we know Grey Worm is sailing off to Naath - but no one has said what the Dothraki are doing.
And again, in the last season - out of the entire Dorthraki and Unsullied armies, only Grey Worm has a name or gets dialogue in "English" on the show.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-25 01:24 am (UTC)Anyhow, I agree. Both the Unsullied and Drofaki don't get names and are treated like barbarians. Faceless. The Unsullied are also insanely clean in comparison to everyone else. So too is Dany.
And...they make a big deal of all of the Drofaki being dead in episode 3 and episode 4, and Dany's army being decimated, only to have this huge army at the end of episode 5 and beginning of episode 6. It would be one thing if the Drofaki all being killed during Season 3 wasn't a major plot point that resulted in Dany abandoning their plan and going out to try to kill the White Walkers on her own -- with fury, which was clearly supposed to be forshadowing for episode 5. But it is. So, it's made all the more glaring when the Drofaki show up in episodes 5 and 6. They wanted to show her as a major threat with an unstoppable army, yet at the same time show her as losing everyone? Sorry, can't have it both ways.
Very sloppy writing.