The shortest, but maybe also the most intense episode of Game of Thrones so far.
I really enjoyed the episode overall and the battle in the end was likely the greatest battle scene I have seen yet from Game of Thrones and vastly surpasses most blockbusters in terms of scope and atmosphere.
So, let's sum up the various storylines happening in this episode:
Arya comes home:
I am not at all a fan of the Arya storyline, so to me this was by far the weakest part of the episode.
Arya comes home and meets Sansa in the crypts. I wonder why nobody ever mentioned Rickon's demise however, after all this would have been far more crucial for this scene than Arya's kill list.
The battle between her and Brienne looks nice, but is probably simply fan service. First of all, there is no way she would be able to block the strong hits by Brienne with her small sword in the first place. Also, at Braavos she barely ever practised with a sword - so how was she able to make the transition to a master sword fighter so quickly?
These scenes annoy me, since it merely serves by giving the audience "strong women", however without the actual realism attached to it. Arya still has the body of a small 15 year old girl - no way she could be beating someone like The Hound in an open battle like that. I wished that they would focus instead rather on her using stealth tactics, rather than her being invincible in every situation.Jon and Danaerys:
While these are the most beloved characters in the show, I unfortunately find both of them to be rather bland and uninspiring. I liked the chemistry between Jon and Davos, but the dialogue between Jon and Danaerys seems somewhat cringe worthy and it is clear that the show runners have decided to put the most beloved characters together, as a sort of fan service.
The cave itself felt a bit forced - how come nobody else ever saw the many symbols by the children of the forest? This scene felt forced "let's just give them a reason to unite, so we can have a big battle in the end".Cersei and Tycho:
Sharp and witty dialogue between two great actors. I wished the Iron Bank would play an even bigger part in this show - after all most of us in the crypto sphere tend to be quite critical of the banking institution and I like how the bankers, even in this show, are portrayed as ruthless and calculating.The field of fire:
Fortunately this scene more than made up for the somewhat bland scenes we saw with Jon and Danaerys, as well as with Arya, Sansa and Bran. I watched this scene two times in a row and was at the edge of my seat the whole time.
First we have a fitting dialogue, where Rickon...eh, Dickon (ha!) and Jaime talk about how weird battles feel like - killing people you hunted with, the horrible smell. Dickon and Jaime come across here as genuine good persons, doing the deeds demanded by them.
The environment certainly makes allusions to Western movies - we see small carts and an open field - suddenly Bron mentions hearing something...and within a short instant we hear the Dothraki horde approaching. "Spears and shields, get in line!"
While the Lannisters are hated the most in the show, I am genuinely impressed by the professionalism of their army and their Roman inspired design. Seeing battle hardened men acting in a sense of unity certainly is an inspiring moment to watch.
What makes the battle scene so different from most blockbusters is the psychological element to it: Every good scene must tell a story. If we see countless explosions, roads and skyscrapers getting destroyed, we react with boredom, rather than with a sense of awe. These elements only work if we have a sense of tension, for which we must feel a link to an actual character, not just by being numbed down by special effects.
In contrast, in this episode we can see the whole psychological effect of the battle by observing Jaime's face - changing instantaneously from "we can hold them off, I will not abandon my men" to "...did I just hear a dragon?"
Witnessing the entire destruction of his army caught in surprise, we can see a glimpse of nihilism, akin to a Vietnam war movie, on Jaime's face.
What good are tested battle formations against the medieval equivalent of an Apache helicopter with unlimited fire power? Archers cannot hurt him, so it is up to the comic sidekick Bronn trying to save the day.
I must also congratulate the director for adequately portraying the Dothraki with their own fighting style - barbaric, and used to full raids and storming an enemy - but also extremely skilled in a one to one combat, or by jumping off a horse. They are not just strawmen, serving as objects to be killed, but display their own sense of personality, which increases the tension of the scene by a lot.
Jaime has easily grown to be amongst my favourite characters in the whole show - presented first as a cocky villain, then transforming into a complex character with comprehensible motivations.
While the actor certainly did not die in this episode (useless cliffhanger), I actually do think this would have been a good moment to let go of him.
Watching the senseless destruction of his men, he does not act in a coward manner, but charges into battle, doing the best he can, albeit it is all for nought.
Reminiscing the fact that he is known throughout the entire seven kingdoms as the kingslayer, with nothing noteworthy to be written about him besides, he charges against the insurmountable threat full on. A tragic mistake, but comprehensible and a good way for him to be killed with full closure to his story.
Sadly, the show will probably cop-out and instead we are going to see Jaime reunite with Tyrion and likely be sent to The Wall in order to fight the undead. The lack of a true shock disappoints me a bit in this episode and is something we have not seen in a long time, now that the show has become such a popular phenomena.
Overall I give the battle scene a 9.5/10 (to be studied by directors in the future of how to create tension and use explosions in an effective manner, rather than as a pure distraction), which fortunately makes up for the rather bland scenes beforehand.
Nitpicking comments:
- How does Danaerys and the horde even know the army is there? Besides, looking at a map it would take them weeks of marching to even get there in the first place. While I understand the reasoning "we just want an awesome battle for the fans", it is not something George RR Martin would have written.
- Why does Danaerys blow up the carts? It was mentioned that her army is starving. Besides, carts with wheat do not explode as if they were full with gasoline.
- Wouldn't it be easy for the Dothraki to simply encircle the entire Lannister army, rather than charging full-on? There is no way the Lannisters could have succeeded against such a numerous disadvantage.