“Game of Thrones” third season comes to an end, and after last week’s rather…umm…colorful wedding, they have a pretty hard act to follow with “Mhysa.” Let’s take a look at my five thoughts as a non-book reader on the season finale below.
1. Hmm
After last week’s epic Red Wedding, this week was going to have a very, very hard time living up to it no matter what the show did. And sadly, it came woefully short of the previous week’s iteration in my opinion. Was it still a good episode mostly? Yeah. But we get spoiled by this show, and instead of getting quality time on a few of the plot lines, it felt like the show touched on every single one just for a little bit, including one we hadn’t seen for a while.
That lack of focus made everything feel less impactful. We gained important knowledge in the episode assuredly, but ultimately, they were such quick touches that I just felt like I was waiting for something more (speaking of, where was Joffrey’s wedding? Seemed reasonable to close with one last wedding to complete the trifecta). And in a finale, I want something that feels a little more powerful than the slaves of Yunkai “mhysa-ing” Dany.
2. Greyjoys Take the Lead
I cannot believe I’m going to say this, but the part I enjoyed the most of the whole episode was Theon’s sister Yara vowing to take 50 of the hardest men on the Iron Islands off to get her brother back. While Baelon, the big pansy face, refused to go get his son now that Ramsay Bolton – Roose’s bastard son now stands revealed as Theon’s torturer! – has de-junked him, his sister stands up like the epic badass she is to go and save her brother. It was a great moment, and while this season has crushed my interest in Theon’s story, I have faith that the once fascinating (albeit whiny) character could someday be interesting again. I’m looking forward to more coming our way from Theon for the first time in a while.
3. Crows Before Hoes
Damn Ygritte! Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and she brought the pain in the form of three arrows to Jon Snow. Granted, Snow did tell her he loved her and that he had to go home so she felt betrayed, but that seemed like a gross overreaction. Either way, Jon made the choice he had to, and it gets him back with his fellow crows, who recently were rejoined by Mr. Samwell Tarley as well, inspiring a bevy of ravens being sent out to inform the lords of Westeros that some seriously wintry evil is coming. This was another storyline that I didn’t particularly enjoy that ended well, so I enjoyed that.
4. Arya remains the best
I enjoyed the hell out of everything with The Hound and Arya in this episode, even if that did include Robb Stark’s body being combined with his Dire Wolf to create some weird ass fantasy taxidermy. Either way, I could get used to the freshly murderous (“first man?”) Arya and The Hound hanging out, dispatching Frey men and getting their Valar Morghulis on. She’s in a bad place, but she does have sneakily powerful allies in The Hound and one Jaqen H’Gar (who will show up again, I know it!).
If this entire episode could have been one storyline, it would have been hers. I enjoy Maisie Williams and Rory McCann that much.
5. So much happening!
Things I enjoyed: Tyrion telling off Joffrey, Joffrey being sent to bed, Tywin’s revelation to Tyrion, Vaerys trying to pay off Shae, Sansa and Tyrion’s walk, Davos being awesome, Davos learning to read, Hodor shouting into a well, the story of the Rat Cook, Davos bro’ing up to Gendry, the Blackfish getting away, Cersei and Tyrion bonding.
Things I didn’t: Sausage taunting, anything with Stannis (who is a completely empty character), the ending regardless of dragons, as much Sam as we got even if he is entertaining, more Team Bran walking, too little Jaime and Brienne.
Overall, it was a solid episode, but so much happened that nothing was given a chance to settle in. That’s a bit of a bummer for a finale, and I really hope that season four comes sooner rather than later so I can get this mostly delicious but slightly disappointing taste out of my mouth.
Continued belowDammit. It was good though. This show just has too high of expectations on it.
Final Verdict: 7.5
We have five more thoughts on last night’s Game of Thrones, but as a reminder the second five thoughts contain massive spoilers for the books. With the season now over, I’m going to look at the finale in retrospect to the entire season of the show and, for the first time this season, give a whole lot of negative commentary. This portion is designed for readers of the books in mind over folks who just watch the show, and I will be covering material not seen on the show but seen by the end of “A Storm of Swords” and beyond, so please keep that in mind if you’re not fully caught up with this series or the books.
So, without further ado,
6. I Can’t Believe They Showed That
Honestly. If there’s one thing that I am reeling from with tonight’s episode, it’s that they actually showed Robbwind. In pre-season discussions, one of the main points of discussion between myself and others was obviously the Red Wedding, how we’d do it, how we think the show will do it — and amongst that, whether or not you’d actually get to see what the Freys did the bodies of Robb Stark and Greywind.
And they did. And it was horrifying.
The show runners are worse than the Freys, it seems.
7. I Can’t Believe They Didn’t Show This
My biggest prediction for the season finale was that we’d get to see the Purple Wedding, that of Joffrey and Margaery. It’d make sense in so many ways: it’d get all the weddings done and out of the way, it would pay off the biggest running storyline the Lannisters had this season (how many moments of this season were dedicated to this? Honestly, count it) and it would be the only real way to “make up for” or even top the events of the last episode.
And they didn’t do it. And it was surprising.
I suppose it’s not entirely shocking that they’d want to save a moment as big as this for the next season, but at the same time it feels to me like a major story misstep. The narrative line that ran through the season doesn’t have a proper conclusion, and with this season and the next both being “A Storm of Swords,” there are many moments shown in season three that will now have to have pay-off with season four, and it’s kind of silly to do that. Given what happens after the Purple Wedding, using that as the closing point for season three seemed entirely logical, since now a few storylines either a) have to get pushed up, b) have to be left dormant or c) have to be written new parts — and in an adaptation that has stuck so closely to the book, it’s beginning to become strange just how many liberties the show is choosing to take.
Which leads me to my next point,
8. Some Divergence
There are quite a few things in the season finale that happened different, or somewhat differently, than they should have. There was no Coldhands and no Black Gate for Bran, certain relationships were given much bigger moments of emphasis (Shae/Tyrion and Jon/Ygritte, all for obvious reasons for book readers) and many other “little” things missing — if you can call anything little in this series, given how often Martin calls back to an event you thought you were over and done with.
The biggest and most surprising moments, though, were that Jamie arrived in Kings Landing early, before the Purple Wedding, and Asha (I refuse to call her Yara) going after Theon. These are two moments that, for all intents and purposes, change very big things; Jamie is now around to witness the events of the Purple Wedding which will then change his viewpoint of said events (as the relationship between Jamie and Tyrion was very important to both their stories), and Asha going after Theon ostensibly changes the entire Greyjoy storyline, since she should be around the Iron Islands for the Kingsmoot.
I have faith in the show runners and remain an avid fan of the show, but as someone who has read the books it is impossible to look at these events and not raise an eyebrow in the same way people who read “The Walking Dead” are wondering why Rick still has his hand and the Governor is still running around. Still, for two guys adapting an epic saga that isn’t completed and to go off and change things that will clearly have an impact (well, Asha’s battle against Ramsay, for sure; maybe not so much Jamie’s) is curious.
Continued belowI’m not a huge fan of that.
9. A Lack of Subtlety
One thing that the show has always not done as well as the book (and, I promise this isn’t another “the book is always better” arguments even though it kind of is) is that the book is beautifully subtle in how it allows you to understand what’s going on. I mentioned Robbwind earlier and that’s a great example, as you only hear about what the Freys do and it allows your mind to take all of these horrible things and put your own spin on it.
The show seems less interested in doing that, and while it doesn’t always bug me, sometimes it does. Like, for example, Davos’ line (and I’m paraphrasing here) of “HEY, STANNIS, REMEMBER THOSE LEECHES YOU KILLED? AND THEN THE KING DIED? LIKE, THAT WAS CRAZY, WITH THE LEECHES AND STUFF, AND THEN HOW THE KING DIED AND STUFF. PROBABLY BECAUSE OF THE LEECHES.” Come on.
Or maybe I’m just an idiot. Maybe I’m the only person on the planet who read the book, read what happens and didn’t immediately think “Woah! The leeches in that one scene a while back!” Maybe it’s only me who then had discussion with other book readers, weighing the possibility of the Red God’s involvement versus simple coincidence as we decided which we truly believed in.
But at least the book allows you that option.
There are other little things, too. I liked how in the book Theon disappears, and when Reek arrives you only realize what you’re reading on the last two or three pages of his chapter. I liked how in the book Davos is sentenced to die and you don’t see him for quite some time, instead hearing about how he was supposedly killed. I liked how in the book, for a minute I thought Arya died at the Red Wedding too as she was hit in the back of the head with an axe. I liked all of these things very much, and I think that the show’s inability to really get the nuance of Martin’s writing is its biggest issue, and the only major criticism I can give to the writing.
That and
10. A Small Nitpick, Or: The Single Biggest Mistake The Finale Made
Ramsay would never sign something Ramsay Snow. YOU MUSTN’T CALL HIM THAT!
