What's going on guys Carmine here back with another review for season 6 episode 8 of Game
of Thrones.
Traditionally this show has kept to its lineup of having some heavy things going down in
the last three episodes of the season.
In season 4 we had Oberyn Martell Vs The Mountain fight.
In season 5 we had Jon Snow's journey to hardhome.
Both epic episodes which delivered on a lot of points and really shook things up in the
world both in terms of story development and scope.
I hate to say it but season 6 did not deliver on what the standard they've previously set
up.
Now I won't say that this was the worst we've gotten this season because I still hold firm
that episode 1 will be the worst but this week definitely won't be making my top 5.
Before I begin the video I must stress one important thing that some people failed to
understand in my video for last week's episode.
This is a review video and everything said here is my opinion.
If you disagree with anything I say here?
you are welcome to dispute me in the comment section or make a response video explaining
why you thought otherwise.
But as I said this is a review video and my job here is to make sure I point out all the
good stuff and the bad.
For the 99% of you who understand this?
I apologize for having to explain it but there is always that 1% who don't get it so I felt
this was necessary to point out.
Now with that out of the way lets get to the review.
First lets start with King's Landing.
One of the most hyped up moments of the season 6 trailers was Cersei's one liner "I choose
violence" and I was waiting for it all season.
It felt like as soon as she said that then all hell would break loose and for a minute
it did but then it stopped for what ever reason.
We've seen the zombie mountain destroy people before but I wanted a little more carnage
on the Sparrows and especially Lancel.
For such a destructive force of a man he is becoming very under utilized this season.
The main purpose of King's Landing this episode is to deal another hit to Cersei who planned
on relying on the old Lannister manuever: Trial By Combat.
Well now that is out of the question because the High Sparrow had Tommen out law the practice,
probably after he realized that there aren't anymore crazy bi sexual Dornish princes willing
to fight the zombie mountain.
Now..this will be kind of douchey for me to say but what I'm loving this season about
Cersei's situation is that
her power is leaving her and the situation is becoming much more dire.
Somehow shes holding it all together that it's almost inhuman.
At this point any normal person would be in a deep depression and crying constantly over
the humiliation, helplessness and loneliness she must be feeling.
Her only loyal companions are frankstein and his monster which are about as comforting
as a diner date with Ramsay.
We also find out that Qyburn has learned some devious secret, possibly about the High Sparrow
which is a sure setup for their confrontation in the last episode of the season.
And as i said my one disappointment with the King's Landing stuff was how anticlimactic
the whole "I choose violence" scene turned out to be.
I expected him to take out his sword and go crazy on those fools but he just ripped one
guy's head off.
I did however enjoy the little twist Tommen brought in this week by outlawing the trial
by combat practice which really does remove Cersei's option for survival.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: the High Sparrow isn't a fool and its possible
that, ever since he had his first meeting with Cersei in season 5, hes been playing
her all this time.
She thought she could use him but he used her and is slowing removing her options in
every single episode.
Hes a great player in the King's Landing scene and at this point she will have no options
left to play other than blowing up the city with wildfire which seems to be a theory amongst
many people and I can see where they're getting at here.
Its later foreshadowed in a conversation with Jaime and Edmure about the love mothers have
for their children.
But the King's Landing stuff was a mixed bag for me and once again there wasn't enough
here to keep me really invested in much of what was going on but I am curious about her
next move and I'm really hoping she and Tommen are secretly working together because if not
then her setting the whole city on fire will really start seeming very probable.
Also I'm starting to feel bad for Kevan because hes really pissing her off and something tells
me he won't be making it to next season.
But King's Landing was okay for me, its becoming a guilty pleasure of mine watching Cersei
get whats coming to her but I'm also hoping for some type of plan B or master plan to
come through and surprise us all.
Now lets turn to the Riverlands where Brienne and Podrick have arrived on scene.
I did like the little scene between Bronn and Podrick, as I said in my previous video,
Bronn can be paired up with anybody and make it fun and interesting.
He's pretty much saying what we're all thinking about Brinne and Jaime and here's hoping he
survives til next season.
But lets move on to the main course with Jaime and Brienne and in this episode their interaction
was really cool and little cute.
It almost felt like two professional people who like each other a lot but they're trying
not to show it in the work environment.
I don't want to go ahead and say that Brienne and Jaime are hardcore in love with Brienne
but you can tell he has some respect for her and he sees a lot of himself in her...and
no I don't mean that sexually.
Some people are saying that he likes Brienne a lot more than Cersei and that he went all
douchebag on Edmure, threatening his child, because he wanted the siege to end quickly
before Brienne was put in danger.
While that does make sense I don't think he loves her more than Cersei.
Jaime and Brienne have been through a lot of things and she helped bring him back from
a big depression in season 3 and in a way you could say that she is his best friend.
She was with him through a lot of shit and, to me, what they have is a mutual respect
for each other as friends.
I like to think that not every man and woman on television need to fall in love with each
other.
As for the whole conversation Jaime had with Edmure?
I liked it a lot.
Jaime has changed a lot since season 1 and in a way I kind of miss him being a jerk a
little and we got to see a bit of that.
I do like Edmure's take on Jaime and how we've come to see him as a good guy but to the real
good guys?
Jaime is just another asshole and that makes sense.
During their conversation you could sense a little desperation in Jaime for wanting
the whole thing over with, not just because Brienne was there but because he wants to
get back to Cersei and even I'm surprised he came out and told Edmure about that.
But eventually he does convince Edmure to have the gates lowered and I did like the
scene between the Blackfish and the Tully soldiers.
Edmure is lord of Riverrun and it shows how loyal many of these soldiers can be to their
own.
But my disappointment in the Riverland scenes comes mainly from the Blackfish and his stupidity.
For him to stay at the castle and die was terrible and poor writing on the show runners
part.
And if you're wondering why?
well its because their family words are "Family.
Duty.
Honor" in that order.
Their House puts family above all else.
He could've gone with Brienne because he is well known throughout the continent as one
of the best soldiers to have under your command.
He may not have had the numbers needed to defeat the Boltons but having him around does
help in many others ways.
His decision was selfish and made no sense.
The House Tully words are taught to Bran in season 1 by Maestr Luwin so Even if you hadn't
read the books you would still know that.
Hell I was watching the episode with someone who hadn't read them and even they thought
it was a dumb decision.
what really gets me is that they brought back another great character and did absolutely
nothing with him and he just ended up being some old man yelling at people to get off
his lawn.
The blackfish was another character wasted just to get Jaime out of King's Landing.
They did this last season when they introduced the Sand Snakes and House Martell for that
exact reason and they still managed to fuck it up.
All to get Jaime out of King's Landing and give him something to do.
I'm all for that but how hard is it to make his trip actually mean something?
While his conversation with Brienne was cool and I did like that little wave he did to
her it would've meant more had Brienne actually accomplished her mission in bringing the guy
back with her to Sansa.
It's also a huge slap in the face to the audience to have the guy die off screen too.
I mean come on...if you're going to bring back someone like him at least give him an
honorable death like you gave Barristan.
But once again the Riverlands, like King's Landing, is just a mixed bag for me.
While I loved Brienne and Jaime together again and Jaime's speech to Edmure...I really hated
that resolution with the Blackfish and how it made no sense.
It's almost as though they're just bringing back old characters to quickly kill them off
so their fates aren't just left hanging out there before they finish the series.
It was very anticlimatic and seems a little like lazy writing.
And speaking of lazy writing we come to the Hound on the warpath.
It starts off simple enough with him chopping off some heads, kicking ass and taking names
and then we find out that it wasn't the Brotherhood without banners but just some of their members
gone rogue.
Instead of tearing them apart he just helps them in the punishment by kicking the block
of under from under their feet.
Wow...way to cock tease an entire episode's worth of revenge into a minute of resolution.
We spend almost an entire episode with those people, they get killed and its basically
resolved so quickly I almost don't get the point of this.
I mean I get the point is to have the Hound team up with Beric Dondarion and Thorors of
Myr and it sounds like they're gearing up for a fight against the Night's King, which
is cool.
I get that but why couldn't those three guys actually engage in an all out fight with him?
Once again I understand that not everything in the episode needs to be like an action
movie but if that's the case then don't set your story lines up for a big fight scene
and then just have him assist in their deaths.
The only thing in the scenes with the Hound that I really enjoyed is his interaction with
the Brotherhood before and after those guys are killed.
The idea of the Hound joining up with them and heading north is awesome and I would love
a reunion with him and Sansa.
Shame they couldn't have gotten there before the big battle in episode 9 but the thought
of him coming back next season is still great and there leaves a lot of room here for what
they can do.
Oh and just so you know...now that its confirmed Beric is still alive?
that means no Lady Stoneheart.
Hate to break it to you guys....well maybe not yet.
Maybe the Hound's narrative this season will show us but I'm doubting the hell out of it
and CleganeBowl is losing steam very fast if hes headed north and his brother is still
south in King's Landing.
This episode has been really bad for fan theories.
Over in Mereen we get Varys and Tyrion one last time before he departs for places unknown
all in an effort to help Dany get to Westeros.
For me I loved these guys this season, I always enjoy their banter and Varys, to me, is always
a joy to see on screen.
Some people believe Varys is heading Dorne to find allies there that would love to see
the Lannisters overthrown in King's Landing and I'm apart of that group.
One of the many friends Dany will find in Westeros will start with the people who hate
those in power and House Martell will definitely be one of those people.
I also noticed one tiny little thing that not a lot of people caught on to...Varys and
Dany are never in the same place at the same time.
I'm not saying they're the same person, although I would love to hear the theory behind that
one, I think there is some major reveal that the show runners are keeping from us that
would spoil something about her lineage.
Varys has been the spymaster in King's Landing since before she was born and he could shed
light on a lot secrets we still don't know.
One of the biggest is that maybe her father isn't the Mad King but is actually Rhaegar
which would make her half Stark.
But Mereen was very short this episode and it started off good but then went almost nowhere
with that cringe worthy scene between Tyrion, Missandei and Greyworm.
Originally I thought their banter in previous episodes was charming but this went on for
way too long.
Its interrupted when the combined forces of the masters start attacking Mereen.
Tyrion was wrong and they're making sure he knows that.
But it's okay....we'll mount a counterattack.
We still have some siege weapons we used to catapult the collars of slaves into Mereen
back in season 4, lets use those and fire back, gather the troops and we'll launch a
push against their troops, Oh no wait...Dany's here with Drogon.
Never mind everybody go back to your beds, go home.
Dany's here with her dragon that flies over the water and can burn things below.
Never mind.
Everybody back to their drinking.
Okay let me ask you, the people watching this video, a question: What do you think is going
to happen in Mereen in episode 10?
just take a guess.
Pause this video right now and write in the comments below how you think Mereen will be
resolved by episode 10.
If you guessed that Dany will release all three dragons on the enemy fleet then you
are probably right.
We haven't seen the three dragons kick ass together since the end of season 2 against
the warlocks.
There was an earlier scene with Tyrion and the other two dragons and the purpose of that
was to mainly show us that they still exist, much like the young Benjen reveal with Bran.
To remind the audience that the other two dragons are still there.
But this really annoys me because it ruined the suspense and sense of danger that Mereen
had this entire episode.
They are outnumbered and probably being attacked from both land and sea and they'll need to
hold out until she comes back but they don't know if shes coming back or not.
Her landing in there just in time completely ruins the suspense.
It's almost as though they're working against their own show.
We all thought she was going to come in on episode 10 with the dothraki all Rohirrim
style but no...she has dragons so its all good now.
Everybody go home.
Seriously no matter how annoyed you are with my complaint of this scene, if you are annoyed
at all, you've got to agree that her suddenly showing up removes the tension in that scene.
Personally I thought Dany shouldn't have shown up at all between episodes 4 and episode 10.
Watching the Dothraki kneel before her was a great way to close out most of her story
line this season and the whole speech she gave later on to the dothraki was just off
for me.
I would've loved if they left her off in episode 4 with the dothraki kneeling before her and
then brought her back with all of them in episode 10 to save the city.
I'm sorry but I really hated Mereen this episode and even Varys, who is tied with Petyr as
my favorite character, couldn't save it.
And finally we come to Arya in Bravos who seeks shelter with Lady Crane.
She helps Arya heal her injuries and gives her milk of the poppy which is really not
something you should take, especially considering how addicting it can be.
Milk of the poppy is basically morphine and in the books some characters are known to
be addicted to it.
Like the Mountain before he was killed.
Now I really hated that Lady Crane had to die because I liked her character a lot but
once a name is given the deed must be carried out.
The Waif breaks in and kills her, Arya sees this and runs off.
One of the many complaints people had with this is Arya's injuries and how they should've
slowed her down but you could make the argument that shes been through a lot worse pain and
when you're running for your life you really don't worry about other things too much.
I also really liked the Terminator style chase sequence that went down in this episode, having
them run around through Bravos was pretty cool.
The scenes with Arya in Bravos this episode were epic and I absolutely loved how she lured
the Waif into her little den and shut off the light in order to win.
Arya had to do that because shes use to fighting in the dark, she was blind, and the Waif should've
seen that coming especially since she was the one fighting blind Arya.
Now I think I speak for everyone when I say I really wanted to see them fight but at the
same time I get it.
In order for her to win it had to be done but it is a shame.
She cuts off the Waif's face and places it in the wall of faces and tells Jaqen shes
done with this whole thing and is going home.
Some people called it dumb that Jaqen is letting her leave just like that but I think what
happened here is that Jaqen just let loose a monster.
Arya has most of their knowledge, shes shown that she can wear and remove faces.
His little smile there at the end proves that he knows exactly what hes doing.
All I got to say is I feel bad for everybody on her list.
But Arya in Bravos I did enjoy.
Overall this was an episode of cock teases.
we expected the Hound to go insane and kill them all but...he just assists in hanging
them.
we expect the mountain to go crazy and kill all the Sparrows but no...he kills one guy.
We expect an amazing battle between the blackfish and lannisters soldiers but no he goes down
off screen....and then we get Arya Vs the Waif which was a long awaited fight and it
was done off screen but I can forgive that one because it made sense.
But what really annoyed me is that if the previous episode was given an extra 10 minutes
we could've resolved almost all these story lines then and there.
IF episode 7 extended to an actual hour of run time we could've concluded the Hound,
Blackfish and maybe even the Arya scenes if you cut out Lady Crane.
In hindsight it really does seem like a waste of an episode with how little was given for
any of these scenes to conclude.
I know this is going to piss off some people because I know some of you are fiercely loyal
to the show but its just sloppy writing and it feels like this isn't episode 8 but episode
7.5.
Just like how I feel episode 1 looked like deleted scenes from season 5 episode 10...this
really felt like part 2 to the last episode.
Now don't get me wrong....as much as I disliked some of these choices I did think that it
was an okay week but its definitely not in my top 5 for the season.
Definitely not the worst but its up there with episode 1 though.
I think what the episode's main goal was, is to basically get everything done as quickly
as possible to set up for some episode 10 shockers and to make sure they're able to
freely go into battle of bastards without too many lingering questions.
But in the end that makes the story line and the season overall suffer.
When you end everything too quickly like that your characters are given little room to shine
or do anything meaningful at all.
The Blackfish was reintroduced last episode and then is quickly killed off this episode
and it almost felt utterly pointless.
While I feel like this episode was slightly better than last week it still doesn't feel
like the quality of Game of Thrones that the audience has come to expect.
And before anybody says it in the comment section...yes I understand not every episode
needs hardcore action and I agree but to have a lot of hyped up story lines coming to an
end in very anticlimactic ways is just not good television.
For a series that has redefined how good television is made this doesn't seem like the same show
that has kept me entertained for the past 5 years.
Don't get me wrong I still love every bit of it but in my opinion you can't call yourself
a true fan of something without having the balls to critique it and call out some flaws.
If you enjoyed every bit of this episode?
that's fine but I feel like the show has done better and can do better but this is one of
those episodes where they've stumbled.
As always let me know what you thought down below, if you enjoyed the video then support
the channel and hit that like button, subscribe if you already haven't, share the video around
and lets get a discussion going.
I'll see you guys next time.
Baba Booey