Oh hello, so I may have missed a few episodes- we’re all entitled to a break, check the contract- but here I am to talk the season finale of Game of Thrones with anyone unable to walk into my room and have a full-on conversation with me about it. Talk about a finale! While nothing completely shocking happened, I posit that this was the biggest finale of the series so far. Just because the penultimate episode wasn’t as grand- I reckon- as earlier seasons’ penultimate episodes which always left their finales seeming a bit wanting.
Everyone should have seen it by now but just in case, beyond here be spoilers!
The aptly named episode, ‘The Children’, checked in with all the major players- save for the Boltons, Greyjoys, those at the Vale and the Tyrells- levelling the playing field ever-so-slightly and setting us up for further amazement come April (hopefully) 2015. Bran made it to the mystical weirwood tree, escaping very Ray Harryhausen skeleton-zombies and losing Jojen along-the-way (NOT how it happened it the book- Jojen just goes missing we don’t even know what happened to him) to meet the Children of the Forest. The Hound and Brienne’s epic swordfight turned into a brutal fight to the death, which left the Hound worse off, when Brienne figures out that Arya is…well Arya. Daenerys chained up her dragons, and the Lannisters continue to demonstrate the right and so so wrong way to love your family. Jaime and Tyrion, the right way. Jaime and Cersei, the worst way. Tyrion and Tywin, the long john way.
People will hate Dany for having to chain up Viserion and Rhaegal, however it had to be done. Granted the real danger- Drogon- escaped imprisonment. It’s a hard decision for Dany to chain up her babies, however she’s a ruler and she knows that her people must come first. It’s just a bit unfair that V and R cop it for D’s bad behaviour. The scene really packs a punch, no?
Remember when I wondered at how Shae and Tyrion’s relationship would end? They had altered Shae’s character and made her much more likeable until the moment she betrayed Tyrion at his trial. As soon as that happened I knew that this was coming, that shot of Tyrion sitting there with Shae’s head slumped upside down beside him is everything. Interesting that they chose not to mention Tysha, Jaime and Tyrion parted on good terms because of this, a far cry from how they depart in the book. Also, ‘wherever whores go’ was notably absent during that crossbow/privy scene. Or the fact that Tywin doesn’t in fact shit gold.
‘But you will fly’ finally some good news for Bran, but we know he can’t fly if he can’t even walk- right? Hodor. Seeing the Children was great, is the pyrokinetic old-as-balls kid-looking thing Leaf? I would imagine so, but she does not explicitly give her name so *shrug*. Bran warging into Hodor to help him fight is still so cool, if only someone could now teach Arya, Sansa and Jon to do the same consciously it would be awesome.
Speaking of Jon at the wall, it was nice of him to take Ygritte’s body back north of the wall and burn it there. A better funeral than some. Stannis, always a bit late, finally turns up at the wall. I liked his interaction with Jon, but not as much as Jon’s conversation with Mance. Have I mentioned how much I like that Davos is basically Stannis’ hype-man? Still no Val though. But Jon spotting Melisandre through the fire was rather foreboding.
Although it never ocurred in the book Brienne and the Hound’s fight was pretty awesome, if gruesome- although not as gruesome as the Mountain and the Red Viper’s. When Brienne Mike Tyson’d the Hound I was like NOPE, NOPE. I wondered if they were going to change how Arya leaves the Hound and I’m glad they kept it in. Arya on her way to Braavos is the most uplifting thing this season. Even if she’s on her way there because she’s all alone and feels that she has no one and no where else to turn to.
