Well, I’d like to say this episode was unexpected but really, the writers were focusing the twist from the last episode.

While I don’t agree with some of the things went down in this episode, this was still a riveting hour of television.

SPOILERS ARE COMING. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED

The Master of Whispers

Things started off quickly with John coming to the base camp. Varys is quick to jump to his side since he knows about Jon’s birthright. Varys tells Jon he thinks Jon should be the true ruler.

Moments later, Tyrian has told Dani what the Master of secrets has been up to. Even though he brings in the information to her, she doesn’t seem to care too much and keeps Tyrian on her naughty list.

Varys is brought to the beach in handcuffs where he and Tyrian have a moment. Tyrian, still on his honesty train, admits that it was he that tattled. Varys doesn’t seem too upset. He knows the game and he isn’t too sad. In fact, he probably knows that this will prove to many that he was right.

Dani orders Drogon with a “Dracarys” and Varys is no more.

Bend the Will

Jon goes to Daenerys after the execution for reasons. He once again pledges his loyality to his queen. She calls him out for telling his family. She also tries to kiss him, but he doesn’t return the favor.

Here’s my first nitpick of the episode: The writers have shown us that Jon isn’t interested in Dani anymore, but hasn’t really leaned into why. It all stems from the parentage reveal, but it hasn’t really been mentioned.

Daenerys also admits that the people still love Jon, even though he can’t seem to do anything right. She knows that the people fear her and there’s not much she can do for that.

Battle Plan

Dani comes up with a battle plan. She will have the unsullied and the Dothraki attack the front gate on her signal.

Pretty difficult plan there.

Tyrian tells everyone that if they hear the bells and the gates raise that Kingslanding has surrendered and they should stop the attack. He pleads with his queen who ultimately agrees (this is all foreshadowing btw).

What is the point of having a Hand if you don’t listen to them? He wasn’t really given anything to do in regards to the planning. She doesn’t seem to even like him.

She does give him two things though: she tells him that his brother Jaime has been captured trying to help Cersei though, which will set off a chain of events that I hate, and she warns him of his death if he messes up again.

Arrested Development

Jaime is in his usual spot: captured. For someone that is supposed to be a great swordsmen and one of the best fighters, why does he always end up as someone’s captive?

Tyrian, risking his life to free his brother. Tyrian also provides a momeny of levity when he tries to speak Valrayin to the Unsullied, but he doesn’t really know it.

Then inside the tent, Tyrian and Jaime share a tender moment. Tyrian tells us about how Jaime always treated him nicely. He also plans a way to save what is left of his family. He tells Jaime how to get to his sister and to escape so that they can live together with their child.

Jaime makes me so angry though. Or I guess, the writers do. What was the point of his arc if he is just going to run back to Cersei and make bad decisions again? Jaime had experience growth when he traveled to Winterfell to help fight. He knighted and nighted Brienne to fans applause (although I always wanted Brienne and Tormund together). He fought and saved the people he had been fighting for years. Then he throws it all away? It makes no sense at all, and is very frustrating.

Riff Raff

Jaime and The Hound plus Arya have made it into Kingslanding. All of them are trying to get to the Red Keep and Cersei. We also get to see all the civilians preparing for war. It makes the travel for Jaime and the assassins difficult, to say the least.

The Slaughter

The battle isn’t a battle. It is a silly start though.

All the men are waiting for the signal when boats start to blow up. Dani, riding Drogon, has started to attack the Iron Fleet. It weaves in and out of the scorpion shots, never getting hit and lighting fire to the boats.

um, what?! Rheagal was taken out by three bolts from miles away. Dani started to attack and pulled back afterward. Now, she flies in and weaves and dodges left and right easily? I don’t understand!

Once the Iron Fleet is toast (pun intended) she sets her sites on the castle. The wall and the guards are taken out easily by the dragon. Again, I don’t get how she dodged all the bolts.

The men on the ground take the castle as well. The inner guards throw down their swords, Dani and Drogon stop, and the people scream for the bells to ring.

Cersei, watching the city burns, does nothing. She watches. She doesn’t scheme. Leaving doesn’t seem to be entering her mind. She just watches and cries a little.

We focus on Tyrian wishing the bells would ring, we cut to the people in the street, and finally the bells ring.

The good guys have won!

The Mad Queen

Then everything goes to hell.

Dani looks at the castle where Cersei is held and snaps. After the show, the writers explain that Dani saw the castle as a symbol of everything that had been taken away from her and she wanted to continue the damage. Well, that wasn’t clear during the show. It just seemed like The Dragon Queen went crazy.

Dani commands Drogon to torch the city. This is the last we actually see of Dani for the episode. Every shot of her we see for the rest of the episode is of her high in the sky riding her dragon.

In a turn that doesn’t feel very earned, Daenerys has turned evil. The story had spent all these years setting her up as the breaker of chains, the freer of slaves and she just snaps and loses it. I mean sure that have been moments where we see how calloused she became over time, but this doesn’t feel earned at all.

I think the show-runners would have done better with more episodes. We had an inkling that something would happen last week, and maybe a whisper of something when Jon told her who he was, but this doesn’t feel earned at all. It feels rushed and forced to meet an end.

Special note: During the dragon destruction, Wild Fire started going off in the city. I didn’t remember at the time that Dani’s father had hidden the wildfire through the city when he had threatened to do what she did years before. It was a nice call back.

All Is Not Right

On the ground, as Dani sets fire to the city, the men start to go crazy as well. The Unsullied are killing everyone. The Dothraki are killing everyone. Jon’s men are starting to pillage and rape. It is complete and utter chaos.

I hated this turn of events but it is so real. War is hell. Everyone is affected by it and we see this. Martin has tried to show that in the books for a while I feel like, and the show has done this as well.

Still, it creates an interesting point for Jon. He tries to stop what is happening and get as many people out of the danger zone as possible.

The “King” and the Kingslayer

Jaime tries to get in to see his beloved but is confronted by rubble and Euron Greyjoy who has survived the bombing of the Iron Fleet and washed up on shore. Instead of helping out his would be brother, he thinks that he can conquer The Kingslayer.

The fight. Jaime obtains not one, but two mortal wounds it seems.

I had a hard time really caring about either of these characters at this point. I was probably cheering for Jaime, but I don’t know why. He isn’t a character that I care about now that he’s ignored everything he’s gone through.

Ultimately, Jaime wins killing Euron and getting songs written about him in the future. He exits looking for his sister/lover.

Arya and The Hound

The best part of the entire episode to me was Arya and the Hound. I figured that Arya wouldn’t be the one to kill Cersei since the young lady has already claimed the Night King.

Upon entering the Red Keep, the Hound stops her and tells her to go back. That she doesn’t want to end up like him, hunting for revenge for the rest of her life.

She says okay and thanks as if nothing had happened really. It actually is a tender moment when she thanks Sandor and leaves. She will be the eyes that we see the assault and damage through as Arya tries to escape. The direction and filmography are amazing through these scenes. It is gritty and real. I was scared throughout the entire time. I thought Arya had died a couple of times throughout.

Arya meanwhile tries to help get at least one family out of the area, but she will fail. Their bodies will be burned and it will be sad.

The Hound meanwhile goes to kill his brother the Mountain. The Cleaganebowl has finally come. Get Hype!

The Hound and the Mountain battle but not before The Mountain kills ex-maester that created him gruesomely. Sandor stabs and cleaves his brother, trying to kill the Frankenstein’s monster/Hulk hybrid. Nothing seems to work, and the Mountain rains heavy punches down on him.

The Mountain presses his thumbs into the Hounds eyes, and the Hound stabs him between the eyes with a dagger. Still, it does nothing. Finally, in a bit of sacrifce, the Hound throws himself at his brother and through a brick wall to die after a giant drop from the top of the tower and burned by the fire.

It is the most satisfying death in some time on the show.

Death of the Twins

Even though Jaime has been mortally wounded, he finds Cersei and they try to escape through the basement. If only they had the force, they could have moved all the rocks that blocked their way. Instead, the castle crumbles around them and they die. Killed by falling rubble.

This is by far the least satisfying death in some time. Cersei had been such a strong force for so long. The Starks have so many things to hold over her, and she dies in the rubble.

Heading into The Last Episode

Arya wakes up after escaping a blast from Drogon to find dead bodies and a live horse. Why a horse would just be hanging out here? No idea.

Jon has pulled back as many of his faithful men as he could, but we don’t have any idea how many that is right now.

The battles aren’t done.

But here’s this episode’s death list:

• Cersei
• Jaime
• Euron
• The Hound
• The Mountain
• Kingslanding
• a few unimportant people I don’t remember the names of
• and reason.

Verdict

The episode was great TV. It was shot well, there was drama. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.

Just like every episode this final season, everything feels rushed and unearned. I have no idea why the writers wanted to finish this show in six episodes because it needs more. If they were going to turn Dani as they did, there needs to be more to it. We need to see more of her anger leading up to it. It didn’t make sense to me with what we know about her character.

The same could be said about the fight with the White Walkers, or how Cersei has been handled this season. It feels like the writers knew what needed to happen but didn’t really know how to get there so they rushed it.

I don’t think it will tarnish the series, but these last episodes are not like what we got early in the run. I’ve started to read the books though (and I hope they actually get finished) so that I can see how the ending actually does happen.

What did you think? Did you have any issues with Dani’s heel turn? Do you think she can be saved?

Let me know in the comments.