Game of Thrones: The Children

It took me awhile to figure out how I felt about the finale.  I mean, the episode was great, but I was not sure whether or not I actually liked how it ended.  Does that make sense?  The episode was like a short movie and it was very well made.  All the character arcs ended where I figured they would, so why do I feel less than satisfied?  Well let me get to the awesome parts and maybe we can pinpoint what was wrong…

-Stannis shows up and does what he does best:  be badass.  He rescues the Night’s Watch with a massive cavalry charge.  How do you get that many horses off a ship and not have one person notice?  Does Mance not know about scouts?

I do love how Mance quickly realizes that there is no chance of beating Stannis and his army.  He only wants what is best for the Free Folk.  Here is what I do not like though, Jon Snow and the Night’s Watch know about the White Walkers, they know that something bad is coming towards the Wall, it would make sense to have the Free Folk on your side.  It would just be a matter of logistics really.  Hell, having them on your side of the Wall means less zombies for the Walkers.

-Bran makes it to the Tree and then meets one of the Children (in the book, her name is Leaf).  She can shoot fireballs at the Wights.  Sadly, Jojen does not make it.  Apparently he already knew that would happen.  Bran goes inside and he meets the guy who is the Three Eyed Raven.  They kept that scene basically identical to the book with TER saying that Bran will never walk again, but that he will fly.  I am so happy that they fast-forwarded Bran’s story and got him to this destination so quickly.

-In something that veered away from the books, the Hound runs into Brienne.  They have a fantastic battle and I honestly had no clue how it would end.  This is something every book reader likes to argue about, who would win in a fight.  Not just those two, but anyone who ever picks up a sword.  The Mountain, the Hound, Brienne, Jaime, Ned, Red Viper, and well you get the point.

I figured that since they were departing from how the books went, it was possible that Brienne could lose.  I have always been a fan of her and always thought she might be one of the best fighters.  At least she was able to prove that she was for real.

As he lay there goading Arya to show him mercy, he brings up how he should have raped Sansa, but you could tell that he did not mean it since he is actually in love with Sansa.  That was actually a sad scene.

-Speaking of sad scenes.  I almost cried when Daenerys had to lock up her dragons.  I guess they could not do the scene of the guy with the bones like it was in the book.  I remember it being a little different, Daenerys thinks the bones are another goat and starts to say something like that and then she sees the skull.  This scene worked well, especially when you see the horror in Daenerys eyes as she realizes what the man is so upset over.

-Tyrion is rescued by Jaime.  He decides to pay a visit to his father’s chamber.  There he finds Shae and he ends up strangling her.  Tyrion grabs a crossbow and finds Tywin in the privy.  They have a little talk and Tyrion shoots his own father.  I love that Tywin is embarrassed that he is on the chamber pot and keeps saying that they should go to his study to have this conversation.

Tyrion is now being smuggled out of the country by Varys.  I heard a bunch of people are asking why Varys would also be on the ship, but if I remember correctly, he disappears in the books, but we just never know where he goes.  I always assumed he went back to Pentos and joins up with an old friend.

-Arya finds a ship and offers them money to take her to the Wall.  They laugh and tell her no and that her money is basically no good.  The captain says they are going to Braavos and Arya remembers her coin.  She gives it to the captain and he immediately offers her a cabin.  Thus begins the education of Arya.  I loved the shot at the end of her on the ship sailing away from Westeros.

And maybe that was what bothered me.  That was just an odd way to end the season.  I get that it fits better with the theme of “children”, but I guess a feeling of hope is not something you really expect from this show.

It was a great season and I am looking forward to the next one.  It is cool that some of this stuff is now past the books, so I will be shocked during certain stories.

Author: Ngewo