Game of Thrones (The Final Season / 8 )

[Spinal]

I'm convinced more than ever that Jamie is going to kill Cersei.

Well, you're leading the prediction game, and I'm in last. So I'd go with you.

[Lazlo]

Watching the behind-the-scenes stuff, it's amazing how well lit the set actually is. It's all down to the color grade that fucked it all up, combined with their apparent disregard for cable and streaming compression and people's horrible TV settings.

Working in TV, I know it's super hard. We do our best to make it look good before it leaves the building, but once it goes to the network and then to the cable providers, it's out of our hands and never ends up looking like it did when we finished it. It's frustrating to no end. But they really put themselves in a bad spot it seems.

I wish there was some option to get a blu-ray delivered to my house every Sunday so I could see it in the best possible circumstances (for home viewing, at least) and still be able to see it on time/avoid spoilers.

[Grouchy]

I don't think there's much to support the use of faces like that.

Dude, that's how the masks work. Look at the Walder Frey scenes that closed and opened the sixth and seventh seasons, respectively.

This was actually a big issue for my watch group. My friend and I understood Melisandre's blue eyes line like that but none else agreed.

[Grouchy]

Watching the behind-the-scenes stuff, it's amazing how well lit the set actually is. It's all down to the color grade that fucked it all up, combined with their apparent disregard for cable and streaming compression and people's horrible TV settings.

Working in TV, I know it's super hard. We do our best to make it look good before it leaves the building, but once it goes to the network and then to the cable providers, it's out of our hands and never ends up looking like it did when we finished it. It's frustrating to no end. But they really put themselves in a bad spot it seems.

I wish there was some option to get a blu-ray delivered to my house every Sunday so I could see it in the best possible circumstances (for home viewing, at least) and still be able to see it on time/avoid spoilers.

I thought it might be a color correction issue and I also thought it might have to do with the amount of digital effects. Maybe the finished work just wasn't that convincing and darkening everything was the solution they found.

[Ezee E]

Spectacular in execution, but also spectacularly ordinary from a writing point of view.

All Dothrakis - dead in under 3 minutes. Samwell Tarly - still hacking away 8 hours later.

Meanwhile, the Lyanna Mormont scene was kind of cool, but just didn't feel like it belonged in this world. She's a brave little girl, not a superhero.

And it's a huge cheat to have Arya just jump from off-screen like a cat in a horror movie instead of giving us an idea of how she got there.

This is the kind of stuff that this show used to critique with its meticulous verisimilitude. It's not that it's "bad", it's just that it's the typical fantasy stuff we let writers get away with because they're feeding our senses with pretty pictures and sexy characters.

The bright side is that this episode can't possibly spoil the books because there is no way any of this would be in Martin's story.

I can see what you mean about Dothraki, and then Samwell hacking away... But it's not like Sam was mowing down wights left and right. He kind of just fell and just made sure nobody touched him with his dragonglass knife it seemed like.

But yeah, I figure GRRM's approach in the book will be far different, even if it ends with Arya hiding in the tree.

[Grouchy]

Sam got Dolorous Edd killed. Not cool.

Melissandre is the real hero of the episode. She lit shit on fire so that us TV watchers could understand what was going on.

[Grouchy]

Hahah we said this exact same thing. That's Aegon Targaryen for you - great warrior, shit strategist.

Also, how right was I with this post? I have the same man crush on Jon Snow as the next guy but I bet it was his idea to send all the Dothraki to die. Congratulations, man, you just ended that culture for good.

If you're defending a fortress, I think it's generally a poor idea to leave that fortress to launch the first attack. And that's an advice I would give even for dealing with armies that don't have nechromancers as generals.

[Spinal]

There is some logic to the fact that Dothraki are strongest in the field and not behind walls. HOWEVER, Jon absolutely should have known that you don't send out bodies that you don't want to face after they get reanimated. Fire, fire and more fire until you can't use fire. The logic of the battle plan was clearly 'what will look good on television?' as opposed to 'what will win the day?'

[Lazlo]

Dude, that's how the masks work. Look at the Walder Frey scenes that closed and opened the sixth and seventh seasons, respectively.

This was actually a big issue for my watch group. My friend and I understood Melisandre's blue eyes line like that but none else agreed.

I meant there's nothing in this specific episode to support the use of faces. I get how they've worked in the past, but we've always seen her removing it, which we didn't here. And whose face would have worked? It takes prep time to make one of those things and Arya didn't have access to a wight or walker to take their face.

[Grouchy]

I meant there's nothing in this specific episode to support the use of faces. I get how they've worked in the past, but we've always seen her removing it, which we didn't here. And whose face would have worked? It takes prep time to make one of those things and Arya didn't have access to a wight or walker to take their face.

I agree the storytelling could have been better in general but if she didn't use the masks, what was the point of what Melissandre said to her? You know, the brown eyes, green eyes, blue eyes, something like that... I think she was telling her she could use any mask even if it wasn't someone she'd killed, which is how I assumed the Mission: Impossible trick worked so far in this universe.

EDIT: There's a brief shot of another Wight right before Arya jumps with the dagger where there's a breeze blowing his hair. I assume that's Arya sweeping by him.

[Scar]

I agree the storytelling could have been better in general but if she didn't use the masks, what was the point of what Melissandre said to her? You know, the brown eyes, green eyes, blue eyes, something like that... I think she was telling her she could use any mask even if it wasn't someone she'd killed, which is how I assumed the Mission: Impossible trick worked so far in this universe.

EDIT: There's a brief shot of another Wight right before Arya jumps with the dagger where there's a breeze blowing his hair. I assume that's Arya sweeping by him.

She emphasized the blue eyes line, basically saying go after the Night King.

[Spinal]

For reference, here is what she said when she first met Arya: "I see a darkness in you. And in that darkness, eyes staring back at me. Brown eyes, blue eyes, green eyes. Eyes you'll shut forever. We will meet again."

[Scar]

For reference, here is what she said when she first met Arya: "I see a darkness in you. And in that darkness, eyes staring back at me. Brown eyes, blue eyes, green eyes. Eyes you'll shut forever. We will meet again."

I’ll watch the episode again soon. I was pretty sure she emphasized one of the colors.

[Spinal]

I’ll watch the episode again soon. I was pretty sure she emphasized one of the colors.

Oh yes, when she repeated it last night, she definitely did. I'm talking about when she first met Arya, back when she retrieved Gendry.

[Grouchy]

For reference, here is what she said when she first met Arya: "I see a darkness in you. And in that darkness, eyes staring back at me. Brown eyes, blue eyes, green eyes. Eyes you'll shut forever. We will meet again."

Ah, ok, I didn't remember it as a callback to that scene.

Maybe I'm wrong and she didn't use the face - she's just a Level 20 Rogue Assassin.

[Scar]

Oh yes, when she repeated it last night, she definitely did. I'm talking about when she first met Arya, back when she retrieved Gendry.

Ok, glad I haven’t completely lost my mind, and was sober. Bac0n, on the other hand....

EDIT: Just wrapped a twelve hour day without any real breaks, so I’m extra fried.

[Wryan]

The behind-the-scenes of The Kill doesn't really explain it either:

https://www.reddit.com/r/gameofthron...down_from_the/

Tho someone suggested she jumped from Bran's wheelchair ramp lol.

Someone also made this for the intersection between what-the-fuck-is-Bran-doing-to-help and where-the-fuck-did-she-come-from?

https://www.reddit.com/r/gameofthron..._really_up_to/

[Dukefrukem]

Yeh...What the fuck WAS Bran doing?

[Grouchy]

Getting some drone shots of the battle.

[Watashi]

I reaaaaally hope this isn't the end of the White Walker mythology because that would be a bummer for them to just go out like that with us. I never bought into "Bran being the Night King" but I expected he would shed light into their motives or history. I never saw Cersei as the "big bad." The very first scene of Episode 1 showed the loom and doom of the WW and the phrase "Winter is Coming" is specifically about this threat.

[Peng]

[Morris Schæffer]

My assorted thoughts on Episode 3, some with feedback to what some of you said:


- thrilling shit, I was quiet I think the entire episode because it was so pulse-pounding, but there was one moment when I giggled (and felt true elation) and this was the brief close-up on Davos's face when he sees Arya tearing through Wights like it was second nature. Priceless.
- Arya's 'jump-out-of-nowhere' moment struck me as cheap initially, but big thanks to grouchy for pointing out the moment seconds earlier when something seemed to be passing one of the wights. I guess that girl trained hard enough to be able to do that.
- I read a lot that we want to know more about the Night king, perhaps through Bran. On other forums but also here (Watashi). I don't necessarily have a problem with not knowing more about him, made him more eerily menacing, but I am curious to know whether the books do delve into his background? Could it be that the makers are holding back because of the prequel series planned?
- Spinal said it was odd that the Dothraki forces were sent out as the first wave and that this was a dumb move because there was always the risk they were going to be brought back to life by the Night King. Not sure that matters. Full-on battle was always on the menu I suppose so it would have happened eventually whether away from the castle or in closer proxomity. If the Dothraki forces had been rescuscitated when they were inside the castle walls, full-on pandemonium might have erupted sooner. Not sure how the Night King's powers work though.
- It was fun seeing Davos do his best John McClane impression with the two torches, trying to give Daenerys some sense of distance.
- makers tried a bit too hard making us believe some were going to die only for most of them to be ok in the end.
- some breathtaking shots, especially the one with the dragons surrounded by what I assume was a snow cloud whipped up by the Night King. Reminded me briefly of the wide shot in Mad Max Fury Road when they're riding into the sandstorm.
- Yes, it was dark, some of the action somewhat blurry, but overall still coherent enough.
- The bit with Arya indeed made me think immediately of Jurassic Park, as someone else said.
- Duke, Melissandre felt like a huge deus ex machina. You'll get no grief from me this time. Liked her ending though.
- It is telling that my company (global employees 500+) started a deadpool as well. although that is fun, it has become such a fashionable thing to do with regards to GoT that you're mentally just re-arranging the pieces in your head, considering all the possible outcomes and that lessens the impact. Because any outcome can be pondered, just not how it will happen.
- Was this the big battle? I understand there's another one coming. I look more forward to human vs. human battle, I expect the stakes to feel hightened by the time our heroes advance on Cersei's stronghold.

[Dukefrukem]

This more I think about the last episode the more I hate everything about it.

[Lazlo]

This more I think about the last episode the more I hate everything about it.

I keep hoping it will all make sense and look better in the context of the rest of the season, but as a stand-alone episode it's one of the worst/most frustrating.

[Dukefrukem]

dammmmmmmmn. first time seeing this.

BTW, can anyone confirm how many dragons are left?