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.
The first time I watched season six of Game of Thrones, I wasn’t particularly blown away by it. But binging the season in a few days? Well, I found far less to be annoyed with this time around. Season six is largely back loaded – most of the important moments for the season happen in the back half, rather than the early episodes (save for the heartbreaking events in “The Door”). But, aside from the major deaths of the season, most everything that happens is simply rehashing elements of previous seasons (which works ok for a binge, but was trying as hell the first time around).
Let’s take the major set-piece of Cersei’s season six arc: blowing up the Sept of Baelor. That doesn’t happen until the season finale. There’s an entire season spent leading up to it, with Cersei trying to work alongside the Faith Militant (and putting all her eggs in the trial by combat basket), only for Cersei to get bested by the High Sparrow. And then she opts for the Dany route and simply kills everyone who she wants out of the way. It creates an interesting parallel between Cersei and Dany (are they really all that different, in the grand scheme of things?), but it takes a full ten episodes to get us to the point I suspect everyone knew we would eventually reach. There’d been enough hints that wildfire was still in play (all those nice Bran flashbacks to the Mad King) that this was a twist I originally saw from miles away. Watching it a second time really allowed me to appreciate the set-up and the pay-off in a way I didn’t the first time around. That being said, it still took the show way too long to get to that point.
I was less impressed with the Jon Snow arc in season six than I was the first time around. I never really cared for the Battle of the Bastards, mostly because I found it more tedious than electric (yes, it hit on the horrors of battle, but I didn’t find the sequence nearly as well done as many other critics). When the show called on Kit Harington to be the voice of strength and reason, all we got was him being upstaged by the various actors around him. Sophie Turner and Liam Cunningham owned the scenes they shared with him. Carice van Houten showed us that Melisandre has a softer, less fanatic side to her in several scenes with Harington. Hell, Bella Ramsey’s Lyanna Mormont stole every scene she had. Harington simply faded into the background. Which is not what you want when the actor is playing the ultimate hero of the story. I can’t fault Sansa for not trusting Jon considering how uninspiring his scenes were.
Also uninspiring was Arya’s arc. While I liked the action in the House of Black and White back in season five, this time around the show simply recycled the same arc for the show’s most dynamic character. Nothing she learned was new – she’s always been and always will be Arya Stark. Maybe she got an upgrade in fighting tactics, but she could have arguably gotten that somewhere in Westeros as well. And, on a show where the audience is asked to suspend disbelief on multiple occasions, I found Arya’s fighting ability post-stabbing to be one of the most ridiculous things they’ve ever done on the show (especially as someone who recently had her appendix out, I feel I can confidently say that there’s no physical way Arya would have been in any shape to fight after getting stabbed like that). But, at least we got to witness the epic revenge for the Red Wedding we were all waiting for.
As for what worked surprisingly well, that would be Bran’s arc. I’ve never really warmed to his story as much as others (largely since his journey into the Three-Eyed Raven has been so shrouded in mysticism and confusion), but in light of everything that happened in season seven, this arc worked really well on a rewatch. So much of the final season hinges on the battle with the Night King, and all that he represents to this world. Bran’s arc has been crucial from season one in giving us a look at the myths and legends that may or may not be true (think of Old Nan’s tales from season one). Getting to see the origins of the Night King, remembering that the Night King’s trip to Winterfell is likely due to his brief interaction with Bran in the vision, and recalling Jon’s true parentage was important as we approach this final chapter of the series. Sure, it might not be the most flashy story, but it will likely turn out to be one of the most important.
Final Thoughts:
— Dany’s arc was, once again, largely all about her going somewhere new and showing her power by burning things to the ground (hell, she even made it back to Meereen and burnt things). I’m finding it harder and harder to believe that Dany won’t be tempted to do the same at some point in season eight to capture the throne she believes is hers.
— The two fun parts of Dany’s arc came not from Dany but from two of the show’s more whimsical characters. Tyrion getting to know his new friends Grey Worm and Missandei was a joy to watch. As was seeing Yara negotiate a deal with Dany. In a show so concerned with family and the way parents impact their children, the tete-a-tete between Yara, Dany, and Tyrion was a brief moment of hope that the next generation of Westerosi leaders might be different than the one that came before them.
— Euron was and is the worst.
— Lyanna Mormont is the greatest.
— Another season, another great Brienne/Jaime interaction. These moments are making me the most sad that the show is coming to an end, as I cannot see an ending that sees both of these characters alive.
