Game of Thrones Season 8 Review

Episode 1

The first episode of the final season of Game of Thrones premiered earlier today, and even the title sequence shows how far the series has come from its humble beginnings. A map that used to span the whole of Westeros and Essos now has only three significant areas of interest — Last Hearth, Winterfell and King’s Landing.

Last Hearth is named so because it is the final place that gives people south of The Wall a sense of home and warm fire before they venture north to the colder climes. It is the northernmost castle in the country (not counting the three that belong to the Night’s Watch alongside The Wall) and is the seat of Umbers, bannermen to Starks. It is here that Tormund and Beric Dondarrion run to from Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, which was breached by the Night King in the last episode of last season. There they are joined by the 999th Lord Commander of Night’s Watch, Edd Tollett who has brought men and horses from Castle Black.

What they find here is a spiral pattern that is very similar to what Jon Snow and Mance Rayder found way back in Season 3. This pattern could be one of two things:
(a) The White Walkers saying they are coming after the Children of the Forest as they were the ones who used to have these patterns as shown in flashbacks.
(b) The spiral pattern is very similar to the sigil of House Targaryen. So either the Night King was an ancient Targaryen or he is coming after Daenerys Targaryen.

Speaking of Daenerys, she and her army of the Unsullied, Dothraki and two dragons all march into Winterfell. This entire sequence is reminiscent of the last time a king came to Winterfell — the first episode of the first season. That is not the only call back in the episode though. There’s also the way Sansa Stark says, “Winterfell is yours, my Grace,” to Daenarys, which is reminiscent of what Eddard said to Robert. Another character asks, “Where is Arya?” similar to how Ned did. We first got to know about the Stark and Targaryen relationship in the very first episode, and we get to know an even bigger truth this time around. It then proceeds to confirm certain theories surrounding Jon and Daenarys (individually and together) whilst also teasing some surrounding Arya and Sansa.

The best throwback is saved for the last as Jaime Lannister rides on a horse and removes his cloak as we see his bearded face — all a stark contrast to his first season appearance. I really want to write a thesis on how beautifully two characters evolve over eight seasons after a meeting that changes everything.

The episode largely helps in establishing each of the big characters (and it is a huge list), a quick recap of their journey, their dynamics with each other and their current motivations. But amidst all these old faces, we also see the arrival of someone completely new quite late into the story — The Golden Company of Braavos. It is quite the huge fighting force and it confirms my speculation that King’s Landing increasingly will be the final stand of all the living. This is evidenced not only by the intro (there is also a throwaway scene in the intro between Lannister lion and White Walkers holding the head of a wolf), but also because of the name “King’s Landing”. It is where the Seven Kingdoms were established after the arrival of dragons and Targaryens, and it makes sense if everything in its current form ends there.

And while on King’s Landing, one of the most enduring theories from the last season might just have been proven right. I’ll just say it concerns Cersei’s pregnancy.

My most favourite scene of this episode as far as King’s Landing is concerned — another callback to the cyclical nature of this show — is Qyburn giving a crossbow to Ser Bronn of Blackwater. I don’t know if you remember, but both GRRM and D&D have said that Varys’ riddle of the sellsword is one of the most important plot points in the whole novel/series.

The riddle goes: “Three great men sit in a room — a king, a priest and a rich man. Between them stands a common sellsword. Each great man bids the sellsword to kill the other.” Varys answers the riddle by saying, “Power resides where men believe it resides. It is a trick. A shadow on the wall. A very small one can cast a very large shadow.”

It has been years since the riddle came into being on the show, but that answer still is thrusting this story forward. Winter is Coming was the title of the first episode. Winterfell is the title of this. The story spiralled outward, but now it is firmly self-contained. Like a circle. Much like this story itself.

Episode 2

While the older seasons took their time in setting the stage for many a payoff in Game of Thrones, we don’t have such luxuries anymore. That explains the hurriedly short trial of Jamie Lannister right at the start of the episode. With that, all three Lannisters have been put on trial and the outcomes for all three have been based on one word, honour – individual, familial and perceived. But what also is interesting is that all three Lannisters have the same emotion that underpinned their trials, remorselessness. In stark contrast (pardon the pun) with Cersei’s, Jaime’s is probably the greatest redemptive arc we have seen in modern day television and every action of his in this remarkable episode affects us emotionally.

The heartfelt (and only) apology he makes ends with one of the most threatening reveals about his fate. Shocked, he still gathers the courage necessary to move on to the next. His repartee with Brienne of Tarth as they both discuss Podrick can as well be a metaphor for Jaime’s arc too. But it doesn’t stop there for Jaime and Brienne, who have one of the most brilliant scenes in the series history. It is interesting to note the parallels here. Remember the last time Brienne knelt before a man, one whom she loved, on the eve of the war? There is also a famous book easter egg dropped here in the form of Jaime doing the deed he does. It was much the same way he got his wish fulfilled at the hands of Ser Arthur Dayne, a Kingsguard for Aerys, the Mad King.

Aside from Jaime, this episode had a chock full of foreshadowing for Tyrion in particular. Getting called as a fool for the second week straight doesn’t bode well for the man who ‘drinks and knows things’. His words with Varys and Ser Jorah soon after doesn’t sit well with a man who had found a new lease of life as the Hand of Danaerys Targaryen. Add to that him recalling to Jaime his season 1 wish of how he would like to die, things went dark quite fast for our favourite dwarf. But he dropped a stray sentence in the middle of the episode, where he proclaims that he believes ‘we still may live through this’ (the only one expressing that in a hopeful manner) and that combined with the rest of his actions only make me ask the question I didn’t think I would – Is Tyrion working hand-in-glove with Cersei and is actually a traitor? There is one menacing line he utters about how he would treat Cersei after he meets her at King’s Landing. What was the deal that took place in the season 7 finale?

Emotions were running high all episode. Tormund and Edd arrived quite early in the episode and told them they only have till sunrise to prepare their defenses. Soon after, we get numerous small moments that are so typical of Game of Thrones that you alternate between smiling and trying to hold back tears. Be it Sansa’s emotional reunion, the meeting between the series’ resident atheist and its fire sword toting messenger of god, the sword that Arya really wants from Gendry or the final stand of the remaining Night’s Watch. 

With the episode coming to its end, the show, just like they had promised in promotions prior, answered the question – who really is the Night King’s target? The truth is revealed when the war council meets and puts an elaborate plan for its last stand at Winterfell against the army of the dead. But in true Game of Thrones style, just when you think the answers are all out there, in comes not one but three potential foreshadowings promising things will go absolutely awry. First is the multiple references to the crypts of Winterfell. Second is the final shot of the episode with one glaring omission. And third, and my most favourite, is the song that Podrick sings – Jenny’s Song. 

Every time a song from the ASOIAF book lore comes to the series, it has had a lasting impact. The Bear and The Maiden Fair in Season 2, Rains of Castamere in Seasons 2 and 3, The Dornishman’s Wife in Season 5 and now Jenny’s Song. It is the song of Jenny of Oldstones, a peasant girl for whom a Targaryen king threw away his right to rule, for the sake of love. When Pod (and later Florence and The Machine in the end credits) sings the song, the shots that followed reminded me the most of one particular song the most. Pippin’s in Lord of The Rings as he sings to Denethor while Faramir goes to his death. Given GRRM’s love for LOTR lore, I just hope that the next episode is more a Helm’s Deep than Battle of Osgiliath. Either way, I think a lot of tears are guaranteed

Episode 3

Into its last stretch, viewers did expect some surprises from Game of Thrones, but I can bet my bottom dollar that the resolutions of episode 3 are quite unexpected. This makes it all the more difficult to write a review spoiler-free. But as always, I’ll try.

The best part of episode 3 is that you know what you have signed up for. Over seven seasons, and especially the last two episodes, the stage has been getting set for the most important battle of the series. The Night King and his army of the dead have crossed the wall and are upon the Seven Kingdom’s northern foothold, Winterfell. The best of the best in Westeros prepare for the war, and make their seemingly last stand. 

In my previous review, I had wished for this battle to be along the lines of the Battle for Helms Deep in Lord of the Rings. Partly because it’s one of my most favourite siege battles in cinematic history, but also because Winterfell has a wall-castle-keep structure similar to that of Helms Deep. We see the Dothraki, the Unsullied, Knights, the Night’s Watch and wildlings, all awaiting the undead. That’s when we get our first surprise: The decisive arrival of a character who had promised to return ‘to die in a strange land’. Not only is this a boost to the Dothraki vanguard but also to Arya Stark as we get echoes of two old scenes: One with Syrio Forrel and another with Melisandre.

Game of Thrones has excelled at such callbacks all season. Remember the Battle of Blackwater? Cersei, the high Queen, was in the Red Keep alongside all the women and children. At a pivotal moment, she sends word to get Joffrey to her. A mother’s instinct and the Lannisters’ unwritten motto of doing everything for their family. In this season, Sansa is asked by Arya to go down to the crypt. She refuses initially and asks what kind of example she would be setting. A queen’s mark and the Starks’ unwritten motto of doing everything for the welfare of the Northerners.

There is another beautiful parallel in this episode in the form of Beric Dondarrion. A famed knight who had grown weary of the politics of Westeros, Beric has been resurrected multiple times by Thoros of Myr, a follower of the Lord of Light. After the latter’s demise, Beric has been fighting with the knowledge that this time, death would be certain. What happens to him is a callback to a famous, gutwrenching death of a fan-favourite character, two seasons ago.

What this episode lacks in finesse, it more than makes up for in style. The trenches dug in the last episode as well as the ominous references to the crypts of Winterfell both come into play. Lyanna Mormont, the firebrand child queen, gets two terrific scenes. As these various smaller moments built up to a crescendo, in the background so too does the music of Ramin Djawadi, which takes centre stage, just like it did in the opening sequence of the season six finale, that was set alight by the tremendous Light of the Seven track. This episode, The Long Night, is most rewarding with headphones plugged in, on account of all the smaller details that Ramin has put into his work. His final orchestration lasting nearly 13 minutes is mesmerising, and as deaths keep piling on, just as the final blow is about to land, the story, in true Game of Thrones style, takes a terrific twist.

Clocking in at 78 mins, this episode was reportedly shot for 55 nights in the cold reaches. The jury is out on the handling of a few characters, and despite all its pluses, the writing in this episode and the ending does reek of plot armour. The Night King not being affected by dragon fire, Arya doing what she does… It’s safe to say that Game of Thrones has once again opened itself to some wild theories.

Episode 4

Author George RR Martin is a student of history. In many an interview, he has talked about how Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars for the throne in England in the 15th century, influenced A Song of Ice and Fire, his series of books. The last two episodes have now shown the influence of one of the most famous wars of all time, Pyrrhic War.

In this war that occurred many thousands of years ago, King Pyrrhus of Epirus was asked by the people of Greece to help them in their war against Romans. Pyrrhus used war elephants, and won against them twice but at the great cost of losing much of his army might. This caused his allies in Italy to become indifferent towards him, and he realised that one more battle, even if victorious for him, would spell ruin. The term, pyrrhic victory, entered the English lexicon, and more relevantly in this review, sums up the story of Daenarys Stormborn.

Dany has had to deal with loss from the first season, when her husband, Khal Drogo, died. The birth of three dragons imbued her life with purpose, a destiny. But how do you deal with repetitive loss? How much can you take before you begin, as they say, losing it? After the traumatising events of episode four, it has become a real possibility that Dany, who has shown hints of reckless violence, might just go full Mad Queen on us (her father, remember, is the Mad King).

Curiously though, her big rivalry is against someone more insane, more dangerous: Cersei Lannister. Episode four shows though that Cersei is also a far better tactician. Her character’s consistently acted to protect self-interest, and with two equally mad and dangerous supporters in Qyburn and Euron Greyjoy, she seems as invincible as ever.

In this episode, they aren’t the only plotting advisors. Tyrion and Varys’ conversations have always been delightful, and their exchange in today’s episode adds to this. The show’s writers haven’t exactly covered themselves in glory in the seasons after the book material ran out, but these conversations are glimpses into the sort of writing people love George RR Martin for – perhaps it’s drawn from material from his future books? Tyrion learns of his own shortcomings in a painful way, while Varys, after years, shows what made him such a powerhouse – by repeating a line he has previously said to Eddard Stark, Littlefinger and Tyrion. It all seems to lead to an almost Shakespearean betrayal.

While Dany suffered loss, the Starks gained. For a family that has lost so much, the celebrations following the Great War provided a bit of respite. And yet, some melancholy continues to haunt them. They have all grown though. Sansa understands suffering; Arya understands mistrust; and Jon, reminiscent of Eddard, gets the importance of honor. Bran is something else entirely. The Starks seem to have enough to do with war, but the latter won’t leave them. With two episodes left, I wonder if this pack will survive. The episode’s titled The Last of the Starks, and I am dreading the worst.

Can we expect Game of Thrones to end on a truly happy note? So far, the shocks have been underwhelming, this season. The urgency to wrap things up doesn’t allow losses to linger. Character decision-making has been inconsistent. Perhaps, just perhaps, the season will pull through, and secure a pyrrhic victory.

Episode 5

As the end credits rolled on the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones, I was reminded of Johnny Cash’s The Man Comes Around. It was chosen by James Mangold as the perfect goodbye song to our beloved Wolverine in 2017’s Logan. The lyrics have a finality to it, about preparation for death as it comes calling. Similarly, Episode 5, billed as the ‘Last War’, has an all-pervasive tone of fatality.

Death has been one of the great talking points in Game of Thrones. As long as the White Walkers were alive, death was never final, as we know it. Cast them aside, and death still isn’t cold and final. It has consequences. It sets future events in motion. In death, was born a new powerful family. In death, was born new power to an old family. The Game of Thrones ensued when Jaime Lannister killed the Mad King Aerys during Robert’s Rebellion and since then, the value of life has had diminishing returns. It was the death of Missandei and Rhaegal last episode, and Ser Jorah Mormont in the episode prior, that has propelled Daenerys’ story forward now.

While Varys and Tyrion teased Shakespearean betrayal at the end of the last episode, what followed in today’s episode is straight out of Machiavellian politics. Dany, for the first time unbraided in this series since the first episode, is brooding, angry and despondent. She takes up Machiavelli on his word: “Since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved.” For the girl queen who wanted to break the wheel of overlords that crush the innocent, today’s episode also served as a reminder of another of those wonderful Machiavellian quotes — “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

This episode encourages pontificating on death. In this universe, it’s hardly permanent — sometimes like in the case of Jon Snow and The Mountain, quite literally. Gregor Clegane aka The Mountain died a long time ago when Oberyn Martell danced around him with a sword, all the way back in Season 4. But he has been around. When his brother, Sandor Clegane, the Hound, took off from Winterfell to King’s Landing to meet his brother, we knew Cleganebowl was incoming. For Sandor, whose face was half burnt by his brother just because he took away Gregor’s toy, death was always a destination. The climax of Cleganebowl, although haphazardly orchestrated and with a couple of easter eggs thrown in, was ultimately both satisfying and poetic for me.

Death for someone like Jon Snow is less about the body, and more about honour (his foster father would be proud). Jon faces the greatest threat to his moral code in this episode. People whom he had grown up with, whom he had saved, whom he had met and loved — none of them appear to be what they are. In A Feast For Crows, George RR Martin through Septon Maribald writes one of my most favourite monologues, titled The Broken Man. In it, he writes, “War seems a fine adventure till they get a taste of battle. For some, that one taste is enough to break them. Others go on for years until they lose count of all the battles they have fought in, but even a man who has survived a hundred fights can break in his hundred-and-first.” The great essence of the book, its position on war, is often lost in translation on the TV show. While the books were opposed to war, the shows glorified them. Yet in Episode 5, which has the curious dichotomy of being incredibly directed, but poorly written, the TV show finally gets what Martin was talking about.

To Tyrion, death is a matter of belief. To Jaime, it’s about love. To Cersei, it’s about children. The Lannister siblings, however far apart they are, are tied together in this episode particularly by their positions on death. We get a poetic conclusion, but the pacing leaves us with a bitter, bitter aftertaste. One can only hope that when (or if) George RR Martin gets around to finishing his books, the paths will be far more satisfying.

The ending of this episode reminded me of that Cash song I mentioned in the beginning.

“And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder
And I looked, and behold a pale horse
And his name that sat on him was death, and hell followed with him”

Death came for King’s Landing in this episode. I doubt it’s done yet.

Episode 6

Stories. The lifeblood of every human interaction. For Tyrion Lannister, the most learned man in all of Westeros, there is nothing more powerful than a good story. He says in the series finale, “Nothing can stop it. No enemy can defeat it.” But as he was saying those lines, I asked myself a question. What makes a good story? Is it the journey or the destination?

Stories always contain a bit of the author in themselves. Over the years, we have come to understand that a large portion of George RR Martin’s thoughts about the world and the nature of life and death is expressed through the words of Tyrion. In fact, that strange story of his cousin Orson Lannister smashing the beetles down with little to no regard was then seen as an allegory of Martin’s killing of characters. That story was narrated way back when George still lent a creative voice to the show. This particular scene was not present in the books and both the readers and the watchers scrambled to make sense of it all. But that story, while seen as a rebuke by Martin to all his detractors back then, makes even more sense after the events of Episode 5 and 6 in Game of Thrones.

In my opinion, trying to make sense of events is part of what makes Game of Thrones so riveting. This season has largely been defined by Daenerys and her transformation. Friedrich Nietzsche’s famous quote, “There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness,” perfectly encapsulates the character of Daenarys Stormborn, and more so her relationship with Jon Snow. As Chaplin so profoundly said at the end of The Great Dictator in that legendary speech, “Dictators free themselves, but they enslave people.” Daenarys’ belief that she broke the wheel is testament to this fact.

But stories are, in a way, the antithesis of dictators; they free minds from enslavement. They make Jon Snow, the human representation of melancholy, question his own choices. What is love? What is honour? What is the right way? Here’s a man who has repeatedly been told he knows nothing. Yet it is this man who always knew what the real war was. It was this man who knew to differentiate between right and wrong. He is the quintessential hero, and it is his song of ice and fire that will be sung for years to come in the kingdoms.

Stories have been passed down for generations in an oral form. Used greatly in GRRM’s books as part of his ‘unreliable narrator’ device, many prophecies have been brushed aside this season, thanks to the inconsistent writing and pacing. But this final episode’s handling of one of the most famous prophecies — Azhor Ahai — has to be commended. Prophecies, when metaphorical, have a great power unto them and so too did this one when we understood what the ‘cold breath of darkness falls heavy on the world’ actually meant after the victorious speech of Daenarys.

But in an episode that was filled with speeches, it was the silence that spoke the loudest. Silence has long been a writer’s best friend and many a story owes its greatness to great stretches of tranquility. Ser Brienne of Tarth, the first female knight of Westeros, has one of the most poignant scenes in the finale when she writes in silence the story of her greatest love. Those two minutes of stillness from when she starts to when she finishes — with that amazing last sentence — is a testament to the power of an honest, albeit distilled, story.

Such storytelling though has been found lacking in this and the previous season. Great stories don’t use MacGuffins, red herrings and Deus Ex Machinas the way Game of Thrones has been using — for pure shock value. Yet, on a largely ironic note, the final episode has probably the least shock value. I could actually understand why the characters took the decisions they did. Even that tongue-in-cheek comment about democracy, that was clearly as GRRM as it gets, whilst used as a comic effect, was given credence because of the character who spoke it. 

The original title for A Dream of Spring was A Time for Wolves, and the last minutes of this episode focused on the stories of Jon Snow, Sansa Stark, Arya Stark, and Brandon Stark. It is those final few shots, down to the blade of grass that grows amidst the cold winter up north, that made this show and especially this final season a terrific study in ‘show don’t tell.’ The music and that cinematography have consistently elevated this season and the finale did not disappoint. The dialogues are another matter though.

When the dust settles on this season and people argue over it, they will agree that Winter did come. The lions roared; they experienced what fire and blood mean — even if in an unexpected way. Above all, I hope they will remember that the journey is as important, if not more, than the destination.