This is it! Last three episodes, everyone, and where the shit really hits the fan this season! This is by far one of the most anticipated episodes/moments in the entire series, let alone this season, so did they nail it, or did they fail it?
As a note, David is no longer doing his Game of Thrones write-ups. Therefore, this is the only one that exists — and it exists with the caveat that we will be comparing things to the books, and discussion in the comments will likely mention spoilers for the books. This is every spoiler warning in the known universe right here, if you catch my drift.
So join me as we get all spoiler-tastic in the write-up below.
1. Goodbye “Alayne”
Well, that pseudonym didn’t last long. Like, at all. They barely even tried to cover up Sansa’s identity, huh?
The scene in the episode in which Sansa covered for Petyr was interesting, though. Since Petyr’s scapegoat from the book was not present in the show, I was curious as to how they were going to cover that up. It seems they did so nicely. What’s interesting to me, though, is the change to Sansa as a character here; Sansa certainly transformed after that scene, but not in this way. When she descended the stairs in the latter half of the episode she felt like a brand new character — which I would reckon is very much the point.
Still. It is a change, but not one I’m inherently against. Not for nothing, but as much as I like Sansa, her chapters aren’t exactly exciting; if anything, in “Feast” they’re just borderline creepy. I’m looking forward to what Sophie Turner can do with Confident Sansa, because we’ve pretty much never seen that before.
2. Goodbye Ramsay “Snow”
Ah, poor Theon! Sent to save his men only to have them flayed.
I’ll be honest: when Roose told Ramsay he was a Bolton now, I laughed. Not because I thought the scene was done poorly, mind you, but it’s because if anyone has massive daddy issues it’s Ramsay and this is literally all he’s ever wanted. The finale airs on father’s day, but man, they should’ve saved this scene for the end, because Roose wins for Best Dad of Show. Congratulations, Ramsay! You made it!
Though, speaking of fathers, what about Balon Greyjoy? He’s still kicking around, isn’t he? Hmm.
3. Goodbye Jorah
I’ve been waiting for this scene with baited breath, let me tell you. One of my favorite characters in the book is Jorah Mormont, even if he is the proverbial Nice Guy of Westeros. This scene tore me up in the book, although it was quite different; Dany didn’t know who Arstan Whitebeard was, and when confronted with two liars in her court, she still picked the new guy over the one who had proven himself loyal! What a diss.
Granted, Jorah is a jerk. He may have saved her from poison, but it was his fault she was poisoned in the first place. Still — this scene was done incredibly well, given all the changes that they’ve made to this storyline. I’m looking forward to drunk sad Jorah in Season 5.
(Also, please correct me if I’m wrong, but is this the first episode of Game of Thrones to fail the Bechdel Test? It probably isn’t, but it failed noticeably and miserably.)
4. Goodbye Aunt Lysa
So, how about that scene with Arya? Her adventures with the Hound have been entertaining and they’ve certainly built that friendship up BIG time, to the point where he calls her his traveling companion. That was cute! But man, when she started laughing at the death of her aunt, I can’t even really begin to tell you what the point of that was.
Arya is a great character, and she has some amazing stories ahead of her. I for one can’t wait until she gets to be Daredevil of Essos. But right now, they need to get that story wrapped up; next episode seems like it’ll be dominated by the battle at Castle Black in the same way that Season 2’s penultimate episode was all about Blackwater, and that gives them about one episode to right this ship — and for Arya to literally get on her ship. Then again, the finale is called “The Children,” so…
Continued below5. Goodbye Oberyn
Well!
That.
Was.
Amazing.
Game of Thrones, past Season 1, has been largely hit or miss in terms of its adaptations. It really got wild in Season 3, but for the most part, some of the most epic scenes of the book are taken down a notch or changed to suit the show. The aforementioned Blackwater episode, for example, is a bit more muted than the book (it’s an insane bunch of chapters), and even the Red Wedding managed to get one crucial line wrong (although, honestly, that’s a nitpick and I don’t care as much as others).
But this. Oh, this! WOW! It was my #1 Pick for Most Anticipated Scene, and they KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK!
You guys. He said the line right! And he said it, like, a billion awesome times! Pedro Pascal is my favorite, and I almost feel bad for telling people that I really can’t wait for his Season 5 story arc.
Game of Thrones, past Season 1, has been largely hit or miss in terms of its adaptations. But this not only knocked the ball out of the park; it launched into orbit, and I’m going to stop writing this write-up now because I have to watch the scene again.
(First person to over-dub this scene with “Y’all Ready For This” wins all the money.)
