Game of Thrones: Season 8, Part 2 – Review

Welcome to part two of our wrap up of Game of Thrones: Season 8. Here, I will be reviewing the final three episodes of the season. If you aren’t caught up with my opinion of the final season so far, you can head to my Part 1 review here. Also, it goes without saying but… spoilers ahoy!

With the slaying of the Night King and the survival of most of our heroes, the final season of Game of Thrones still marched on. I sat down to watch Episode 4 ‘The Last of The Starks,’ eagerly awaiting what would be the wrap up of The Long Night and hoping for a bit more context regarding ‘The Others’. Of course, I was left a bit disappointed on that behalf, but still, there was the beginning of the battle for the Iron Throne to look forward to. The Last of the Starks was a weird episode. I find it difficult to translate my feelings towards it into words, so to simply put it, it’s all set up… nothing more. Starting in the North before whizzing downwards, we careen through plot points as quickly as possible. Notably, there are three major moments throughout the episode that feel like in the past would have been episode ending events: Jon revealing his true parentage to the remaining Starks, Rhaegal being killed on the way to Dragonstone, and the killing of Missandei atop the gates of King’s Landing are all extremely pivotal moments and solid plot points on their own. Unfortunately, they are constrained by the fact that they’re jam-packed into this one episode. The emotion and gravitas of each is cut short, due to having to skip along to something else so quickly. This pacing problem has been evident in Game of Thrones for some time, but never as much so as here.

I haven’t been one to complain about the writing in Game of Thrones outside of the pacing issues, but this episode does contain one piece of writing that feels extremely out of place. The way Rhaegal is shot down by an awaiting Greyjoy fleet is ridiculous. There are arguments to be made of his ongoing recovery after The Long Night preventing him from flying properly, but that explanation is, at best, weak. How could Dany not see Euron’s fleet during her flight? An entire fleet was able to hide behind a few well-placed rocks? Why did the writers think “she forgot” was a good enough explanation for this gaping plot hole? This could have been easily remedied with a small fight between the dragons and the ships, with Rhaegal going down during, but in the end, this ‘ambush’ felt cheap.

The acting throughout this episode is solid even if there’s nothing much to write home about. Emilia Clarke stands out the most, having stepped up her game throughout this season. Here she portrays ‘the lonely ruler’ during the celebration extremely well, and we begin to see cracks in her usually poised façade begin to appear. These are only compounded during her stay in the north when Jon Snow rejects her pleas to keep his heritage a secret. Things only get worse for the Dragon Queen throughout the episode, culminating in losing one of her ‘children’ and her closest friend, with Clarke performing her anguish perfectly. This great performance just wasn’t enough for me. Immediately after viewing… I was happy enough. However, the more I thought about it, the less I liked Episode 4. Like many other fans, eventually, I was left disappointed. This is my least favourite episode of the season and maybe even the series as a whole.

Having dwelled on The Last of the Starks for a week, I went into Episode 5: The Bells slightly concerned for the quality of what I was about to watch: a first for this show. Thankfully those concerns were abated. This was the big one, more akin to the Episode 9 events of the early seasons. The Bells delivered a punchy, gory and gut-wrenching story. While yes, I will admit again that the pacing feels off, it’s not because of the episode but because of the lack of overall episodes. With more to work with, every story arc and plot point would feel heavier and more deserved, especially those of Jamie and Cersei Lannister. Jamie’s turn back toward his sister was extremely abrupt and, while I could see him going back to her due to undying love, the story did not give his character enough room to remember that love so soon after abandoning it. Cersei would have also benefitted with more screen-time, and more building of her character. Throughout the season, she had become a mere caricature of herself. What was done beautifully was her final demise. She was left for dead filled with nothing but fear in a basement, and while I have heard a fair share of criticism for this move; this is war. People die scared and trapped, and even those who deserve a far worse fate can be victims of circumstance. This whole scene was performed beautifully by Lena Heady, showing us a side of Cersei we have not had the pleasure to encounter since she held her children in Blackwater. 

Yes, this was war; and this episode did its absolute utmost to show the horror it is. As Jon Snow was forced to witness innocents being cut down or burnt in front of his own eyes, trying desperately to withdraw his own men to no avail, my heart broke for him. It was powerful, moving, and visually stunning. The gore was intense and right in our faces, and Drogon looked terrifying as he rained down fire from the sky. The attention to detail was at its peak and seeing the plumes of wildfire erupt from under the city, was executed perfectly. The fire and blood begin with none other than Daenerys, her house words ringing truer than ever. The predicted slip into ‘madness’ finally comes into fruition during one of, if not the best scene of the season. As the city’s bells ring she cannot hold her rage in any longer. The dragon queen has lost too much because of this city, and all those instincts previously quelled by her now lost advisors are let loose on the innocents of King’s Landing—all of this portrayed in a beautifully tense moment by Emilia Clarke who had nothing but a green screen and a saddle to sit on. Again, her descent does suffer from pacing issues, but it is still emotional. However, I can’t help but feel that the nail would have just hit even harder if there was a fraction more build-up. If you think this was a character assassination, you haven’t been watching close enough. The signs have always been there. Daenerys was never a good ruler, only a conqueror, and this time she got to conquer her way. So, the city burned, and the finale loomed. Oh yeah, and Clegane bowl was great too.

After a tense week of waiting, the finale was finally upon us, aptly titled The Iron Throne. I eagerly awaited the end of the series that has meant so much to me. While the ending didn’t go exactly how I thought it would, I was impressed and satisfied with the conclusion. Tension built throughout the beginning of the episode, Tyrion uncovering his dead siblings was emotional and, once again, heartbreaking. Daenerys’ ominous speech of world destruction to her armies was ferociously given—again, it is clear that Emilia gave her all. Tyrion renouncing his title of ‘Hand of the Queen’ in front of her armies was the most badass thing he has done in three seasons, and his and Jon’s jail cell conversation questioning love and duty felt like the Game of Thrones of old. Jon’s ultimate choice to kill his love was expected but executed well enough. The build-up to this moment saw Emilia put in one last cracking performance, mirrored perfectly by Kit Harrington.

Once the dust settled, following Drogon’s destruction of the symbol of Daenerys downfall, the episode kicked into a slow and sombre feel, more akin to an epilogue. Characters are placed in their final positions and a new king is elected thanks to one last silver-tongued speech delivered by the incredible Peter Dinklage. The decision on the new king is the only final development that left me feeling hollow. Bran being elected made sense but, once again, the pacing became a problem. I couldn’t help but feel as if Bran’s character and abilities were being consistently wasted… and there wasn’t much reason for me to really care about his fate by the final episode. Overall, I found the other character endings to be poetic, calling back to previous desires and ambitions, or ending in a place where they were happiest.

In the end, Season 8 finished the story we have been following since 2011. There were problems, namely, uneven pacing (it could have done with a full 10 episodes… or two more seasons) and there were great moments, acting and visuals. Overall, I was left satisfied for now. I still look forward to George RR Martin’s completion of the books, if that is to ever come; but in the event that it doesn’t, at least I know where every character winds up and how this beloved story ends. For me, the best summary of season eight comes straight from Tyrion during the finale: “No one’s very happy, which means it’s a good compromise, I suppose.”