Game of Thrones Review: Season 8 Episode 4
I'm not quite sure how I feel about this episode of Game of Thrones. On the surface, there's nothing wrong with it. We're back to the political drama which characterized the earlier seasons of the show, and I'm happy about that. I always enjoyed the political intrigue and plots more than the dragons and ice zombies.
However, to me, this wasn't a very memorable episode. I enjoyed it while I was watching it, but it didn't leave me burning with anticipation of the next episode. I'm guessing that the last three episodes are going to represent A Dream of Spring, the forthcoming last book of the ASOIAF series. So, episode four was probably designed to set up the conflicts for the second half of the season. In this episode, the showrunners are moving all the pieces into place before the action kicks off again.
But, viewed as a single episode, it's a bit uninteresting. Plus, as others have pointed out, there are some frustrating and disappointing moments in this episode that seem beneath a show that's as good as Game of Thrones is. I'm willing to forgive a lot because this is television. And, sometimes, annoying things need to happen on TV shows to move the plot along. For example, how did Missandei get captured? How did Euron know to take her? How did Dany not see Euron while she was flying? These are obvious oversights, but they were necessary to move the plot along. So, to some extent, we have to suspend our disbelief. I think this is an episode that will make more sense and be more enjoyable once we've seen the rest of the season.
That being said, there are definitely some BAD moments in this episode:
1) GHOST. I am so unbelieveably FRUSTRATED that Jon casually gave up his direwolf for seemingly no good reason. Ghost has been in this show since SEASON ONE. They couldn't think of a better way to end his arc? Almost anything else would have been better. Ghost could have died saving Jon's life in the last episode. Jon could have left Ghost with Sansa or Bran to protect them in his absence. Jon could have even taken Ghost south with him. What was not an option was giving him away like a Christmas fruitcake. This is an animal that saved Jon's life on multiple occasions. For Jon to give him up like that was a betrayal of Jon's character and lazy story telling. And, Jon gave him up without even petting him! The director basically admitted that they did that for CGI budget reasons. That's totally unacceptable to me. HBO basically gave GOT a blank check for this season. They couldn't afford a better goodbye for ghost? We see Jon and Dany touch the dragons all the time. Shame on them for giving us that lame excuse.
2) I like Sansa and the Hound's moment together. These characters have a history together in both the show and books, and it's nice to see the show remind us of that. The Hound definitely has some sort of affection for Sansa. Even so, I wish she hadn't said that what Ramsay Bolton did to her was some sort of learning experience. Mention Littlefinger and Cersei sure, but leave Ramsay out of that conversation. I know some people argue that this is Sansa turning her pain to her advantage, that this is part of the healing process for her, but I just wish his name hadn't come up. If a woman had written this episode, I don't think it would have.
3) The whole feast scene felt a little campy and unnecessary to me; I think they could have used the time differently.
4) The whole Iron Fleet scene. It seems ridiculous to me that Dany and co. didn't have a plan to deal with the Iron Fleet, should they encounter it. In an interview, one of the showrunners said that Dany forgot about the Iron Fleet. Like that would happen. That's just lazy story telling.
Overall, however, I did like this episode, and I'm not particularly mad at about it. There were some really great moments in this episode.
I absolutely LOVED seeing Jaime and Brienne get together. It was so great to see Brienne finally get to have some romance! In the books, she's mocked for not being womanly enough, so it's great to see someone appreciate her as a woman just the way she is. I FELT for Brienne when Jaime left at the end of the episode, but there's really no other way to end his character arc. Now, I'm just sitting back and waiting for the Brienne pregnancy theories. Also, how funny was it to see Tormund crying to the Hound about how heartbroken he is.
Bron, however, was the real MVP of this episode. I LOVED his scene in this episode! He was so funny. I loved his speech about how the lords became lords. "Who were your ancestors? Fancy lads in silk?" I don't actually think Bronn would ever kill Tyrion or Jaime, but I would love to see Bronn as the lord of Highgarden. How great would that be. Or, even better, Bronn could be the king! Bronn for the Iron Throne 2020.
Also, how cute was Gendry in this episode? I loved his proposal to Arya. It was ADORABLE. Of course, she had to turn him down, but it was super cute. Plus, Gendry is the lord of Storm's End now. I'm honestly really happy for him. Naming him a Baratheon was kind of fan service-y, but I don't care. I thought it was a great moment.
Anyway, see you next episode!
Valar dohaeris.
However, to me, this wasn't a very memorable episode. I enjoyed it while I was watching it, but it didn't leave me burning with anticipation of the next episode. I'm guessing that the last three episodes are going to represent A Dream of Spring, the forthcoming last book of the ASOIAF series. So, episode four was probably designed to set up the conflicts for the second half of the season. In this episode, the showrunners are moving all the pieces into place before the action kicks off again.
But, viewed as a single episode, it's a bit uninteresting. Plus, as others have pointed out, there are some frustrating and disappointing moments in this episode that seem beneath a show that's as good as Game of Thrones is. I'm willing to forgive a lot because this is television. And, sometimes, annoying things need to happen on TV shows to move the plot along. For example, how did Missandei get captured? How did Euron know to take her? How did Dany not see Euron while she was flying? These are obvious oversights, but they were necessary to move the plot along. So, to some extent, we have to suspend our disbelief. I think this is an episode that will make more sense and be more enjoyable once we've seen the rest of the season.
That being said, there are definitely some BAD moments in this episode:
1) GHOST. I am so unbelieveably FRUSTRATED that Jon casually gave up his direwolf for seemingly no good reason. Ghost has been in this show since SEASON ONE. They couldn't think of a better way to end his arc? Almost anything else would have been better. Ghost could have died saving Jon's life in the last episode. Jon could have left Ghost with Sansa or Bran to protect them in his absence. Jon could have even taken Ghost south with him. What was not an option was giving him away like a Christmas fruitcake. This is an animal that saved Jon's life on multiple occasions. For Jon to give him up like that was a betrayal of Jon's character and lazy story telling. And, Jon gave him up without even petting him! The director basically admitted that they did that for CGI budget reasons. That's totally unacceptable to me. HBO basically gave GOT a blank check for this season. They couldn't afford a better goodbye for ghost? We see Jon and Dany touch the dragons all the time. Shame on them for giving us that lame excuse.
2) I like Sansa and the Hound's moment together. These characters have a history together in both the show and books, and it's nice to see the show remind us of that. The Hound definitely has some sort of affection for Sansa. Even so, I wish she hadn't said that what Ramsay Bolton did to her was some sort of learning experience. Mention Littlefinger and Cersei sure, but leave Ramsay out of that conversation. I know some people argue that this is Sansa turning her pain to her advantage, that this is part of the healing process for her, but I just wish his name hadn't come up. If a woman had written this episode, I don't think it would have.
3) The whole feast scene felt a little campy and unnecessary to me; I think they could have used the time differently.
4) The whole Iron Fleet scene. It seems ridiculous to me that Dany and co. didn't have a plan to deal with the Iron Fleet, should they encounter it. In an interview, one of the showrunners said that Dany forgot about the Iron Fleet. Like that would happen. That's just lazy story telling.
Overall, however, I did like this episode, and I'm not particularly mad at about it. There were some really great moments in this episode.
I absolutely LOVED seeing Jaime and Brienne get together. It was so great to see Brienne finally get to have some romance! In the books, she's mocked for not being womanly enough, so it's great to see someone appreciate her as a woman just the way she is. I FELT for Brienne when Jaime left at the end of the episode, but there's really no other way to end his character arc. Now, I'm just sitting back and waiting for the Brienne pregnancy theories. Also, how funny was it to see Tormund crying to the Hound about how heartbroken he is.
Bron, however, was the real MVP of this episode. I LOVED his scene in this episode! He was so funny. I loved his speech about how the lords became lords. "Who were your ancestors? Fancy lads in silk?" I don't actually think Bronn would ever kill Tyrion or Jaime, but I would love to see Bronn as the lord of Highgarden. How great would that be. Or, even better, Bronn could be the king! Bronn for the Iron Throne 2020.
Also, how cute was Gendry in this episode? I loved his proposal to Arya. It was ADORABLE. Of course, she had to turn him down, but it was super cute. Plus, Gendry is the lord of Storm's End now. I'm honestly really happy for him. Naming him a Baratheon was kind of fan service-y, but I don't care. I thought it was a great moment.
Anyway, see you next episode!
Valar dohaeris.
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