Leading up to the April 14 premiere of the final, six-episode eighth season of HBO’s massive hit series Game of Thrones, Pop Culture Maniacs will be rewatching the entire series (season by season) and writing on how each season fares in light of all that we know now (and thoughts about how the major plot points that came before might impact the great battles still to come). Each season article will contain spoilers for the entire series through season seven, so you have been warned. Any speculation on what might happen in the upcoming eighth season is merely that: speculation.
Well, here we are, at the end of all that has come before the final season. We’re ready for these final six episodes. But, before we start getting hyped for Clegane Bowl and seeing Jaimie reunite with Brienne (or Tormund reunite with Brienne, depending on your preference), let’s take a few minutes to reflect on season seven, the penultimate season of Game of Thrones.
After watching the entire seven season run of the series, I can confidently say that Game of Thrones is a pretty good show with flashes of brilliance (seriously, the best scenes from the series can be found via a quick trip to YouTube, and you don’t miss much else). Season seven is the perfect allegory for Game of Thrones as a series: there are a few moments of epic storytelling, a handful of spectacular conversations and interactions between complex characters, and a lot of time in between. The sea battle between Euron and Yara is pretty epic (albeit also incredibly dark from a visual standpoint, which is one of my television pet peeves). The Loot Train attack is, for my money, the second best battle sequence the show has ever done (behind only Hardhome – although I suspect the upcoming Siege of Winterfell will put both to shame). The sword fight between Brienne and Arya was more than just a brilliant piece of choreography – it was a reunion a long time coming, showing Brienne that the youngest Stark daughter has managed not only to survive but thrive. And the Dragon Pit Council was the culmination of seven seasons of relationship building coming to fruition. Each of these moments were series highlights, not just the best parts of season seven.
But season seven also suffered from some of the worst arcs in the series. The Arya-Sansa “Let’s Take Out Littlefinger” plan doesn’t become any clearer on a binge than it was to the audience on its initial airing. There’s no indication in any of their various interactions just where their plan began, and which moments were real and which were for Littlefinger’s benefit. For example, the conversation about Arya’s Faceless Man training is, presumably, held in private. Yet, both women are incredibly contentious. It doesn’t make sense, unless Littlefinger had a much more complex spy network in Winterfell than we’re ever shown. Thrones really dropped the ball with this arc, undercutting two of the show’s most interesting characters with so little time left in the narrative life of the series.
Also a mess? The Westerosi boy band trip beyond The Wall. This one played even worse on a second watch than when it initially aired (and it had the shock of the Ice Dragon at the end). The entire plan is stupid (especially considering that Cersei pretty much ignored the evidence, even if it got Jaimie on board – though one might argue Brienne’s entreaty carried some weight), it cost them Thoros (who is really only a loss to Ser Beric, but a second flaming sword couldn’t hurt in the battle to come) and A DRAGON. Way to go, Jon. Sure, Tyrion took a ton of Ls in season seven (which may come back to haunt him in the final season – how much will Dany trust him with some important lives on the line?), but Jon’s decision to charge beyond The Wall without much of a plan (“Hey, we’re all here and we can all fight, let’s go catch a wight!”) pretty much convinced me that this isn’t the guy who should sit on the Iron Throne.
Speaking of worries about possible rulers of Westeros, Dany once again opted to burn people alive rather than offer mercy. For all her talk about wanting to break the wheel, she has, in every season, burnt those who opposed her (or, on occasion, just didn’t want to give her what she wanted). And her conversation with Tyrion in Dragonstone? That was pretty vicious, and not an idle threat to her Hand. While I don’t think the series really has the time to delve into Dany as a Mad Queen (while it has set Cersei up to fit this archetype perfectly), all the signs are there that, if she ends up on the Throne, this might not be a good situation for Westeros. The Targaryen apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree.
Having said that, I’m still intrigued to see where things end up in season eight. Yes, there are only a handful of narrative moves left for the writers to play, but even having a pretty good idea how some of the stories are going to end, I’m excited to see it all play out. This rewatch has made me appreciate some characters in ways I didn’t on my initial viewing of the series, but it also made some of the show’s flaws even more obvious. Game of Thrones is far from a perfect show (hell, at times it was just a mediocre series), but it’s ignited the cultural zeitgeist in a way we haven’t seen in years (and, as people continue to watch shows at different paces thanks to the rise of streaming), and will likely never see again. With that, my rewatch has ended.
Final Thoughts:
— The fact that Viserion, Dany’s dead brother Viserys’s namesake, is the dragon to fall to the Night King has a touch of dramatic irony to it. He was willing to betray Dany, and it’s fitting that his dragon is on the other side of the battle now.
— Lord, is Theon the absolute worst. While the series has gone to great lengths to redeem the show’s other “villain” Jaimie, I think it’s important to note that the series hasn’t done the same with Theon. He’s a coward, who killed two boys out of fear of losing the respect of his soldiers (after he ignored his father’s orders and sacked Winterfell). He didn’t let Yara rescue him. He turned on Sansa, prior to finally escaping (which, only happened because Ramsay wasn’t around). And he didn’t try to fight to save Yara on the ship. His sole purpose on the series now is to get a last minute “redemption” arc by dying while saving Yara (calling back to her rescue attempt of him). And, frankly, Yara seems to have some role to play in the final battle in King’s Landing (she’s the only other character who could feasibly defeat Euron on the sea).
— Cersei has hired the Golden Company, who have famously never broken a contract. However, she sent Euron to sign that contract with them. So, did Euron do as he was asked and get the Golden Company for Cersei, or did he betray her? I suspect we’ll get this answer pretty early in the season. But it’s certainly one of the major question marks heading into season eight.
— I’ll be here every Sunday night with a review of each of the final six episodes of Game of Thrones. Hope to see you here as well!
