Got Season 8 Episode 5 Baby Dragons Slow Down

Big spears/Horse ears/Gol-den Companyyyyy: Harry Strickland (Marc Rissmann) — seriously, that's his name, Harry Strickland — leads an army of mercenaries in the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones. HBO hide explanation

toggle caption

HBO

Big spears/Horse ears/Gol-den Companyyyyy: Harry Strickland (Marc Rissmann) — seriously, that's his proper name, Harry Strickland — leads an army of mercenaries in the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones.

HBO

We're recapping the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones; wait for these recaps first thing on Mon mornings. Spoilers, of form, grow.

Dany got a raw deal.

Narratively speaking, Game of Thrones did the Female parent of Dragons dirty, there'southward no two ways effectually it.

For eight seasons, nosotros've watched her navigate crushing (literally!) setbacks and soaring (as as literally!) triumphs, the mode heroes — peculiarly flawed heroes — classically do. The thing is, almost of those setbacks were straight results of her doing what the show wanted her to — listening to the counsel of advisers like Tyrion — because having her do and then was a handy way to bespeak viewers that she was developing into a just and chivalrous ruler. The show stuck her in Meereen forever, for case, in an effort to force her, and us, to learn hard lessons about trusting enemies (don't do it) and the day-to-day business of running a country (it'due south hella boring and makes you attain for the fast-frontwards button).

And then, when she finally makes it to Westeros, she sticks her neck — and that of poor, doomed Rhaegal — mode, way out to Relieve The World, simply to have Jon Snow receive fawning praise for his wildly incompetent dragon-riding and receive yet more than bad "think of the children!" advice from Tyrion. Now, sure, as a meta-comment on how much harder women have to work to succeed in a globe that'south set to reward men, it scans well plenty. As consequent, satisfying characterization, though, information technology's awfully shaky.

One thing that has remained consequent, throughout: Dany's usually right nearly things. That'due south a through-line that carried over to this season. Jon was naively wrong in trusting that the cloak-and-dagger of his Targaryen blood would never get out. Daenerys was right — clearly, cannily, incandescently right — that it was a terrible, terrible idea for Jon to tell anyone, and that it would testify the end of their relationship. So at least at that place's no Aegon her face.

And afterward last night, information technology doesn't look similar at that place ever will be again. (They broke up.)

If you lot watched the "Previously on Game of Thrones," you caught something unusual: Over the shot of a seething Daenerys reacting to Missandei's murder, we heard dialogue from other characters opining on the nature of Daenerys' soul and mind:

• "He has a better merits to the throne." (Varys)
• "Every fourth dimension a Targaryen is born, the gods flip a money." (Cersei)
• "The Mad Rex gave his enemies the justice he thought they deserved." (Ser Barristan Selmy)
• "Children are non their fathers." (Tyrion)
• "Be a dragon." (Olenna Tyrell)
• "Yous have a gentle eye." (Jorah Mormont)
• "A Targaryen alone in the earth is a terrible thing." (Maester Aemon)
• "You don't want to wake the dragon, do y'all?" (Viserys Targaryen)

Some of those clips came from every bit far dorsum equally Season ane, and they were put here to build suspense in the viewer's listen about Dany's conflicted mental state and raise the question: What will Daenerys do?

Except, we already knew what Dany would do, because the show's been yelling the answer at us all flavor long. It gave u.s. ii of Game of Thrones' most intelligent, businesslike characters — Sam Tarly and Varys — expressing strong misgivings about Daenerys' fitness to atomic number 82. It and then pushed her into a corner by killing off her just friend. They lit her fuse a long time agone — nyet they failed to arrive seem inevitable. Nosotros could tell where the writers were pushing her, but when she got to that destination, and made the decision she did, it felt like a option imposed past the demands of the plot, not the needs of her character.

It looked pretty great, though.

OK. But had to get that out of the way. Now allow'southward y'all and I and this show become penultimate, all up in this piece.

Your mileage may Varys

Every bit we zoom over the credits map, there'south non a lot that'due south new — though the walls of Male monarch's Landing are newly outfitted with the giant crossbows I've been calling ballistas, but which are in fact, yep, scorpions. Please stop with the emails now, tetchy armed forces historians of the globe.

At Dragonstone, Varys is in his room, doing the Westerosi equivalent of lying on his bed kicking his bobby-soxed anxiety in the air backside him while on the phone spreading the latest hot goss near who'due south going steady with whom. Only instead of a phone, a raven note; and instead of who's going steady, Jon Snowfall is the true heir to the Iron Throne, etc. He'southward visited by one of his little birds — a young kitchen maid who reports that Daenerys is non eating.

A fact that he gain to study to Jon Snowfall, who's just arrived at Dragonstone. Jon says the Northern armies have "simply crossed the Trident" and volition exist at King's Landing in two days' time — a line of dialogue that seems intended to transport a certain subset of viewers scurrying to their scale maps of the 7 Kingdoms, and promptly thereafter into the very highest of dudgeons. Happily, reader, you and I are absurd, hip, insouciant types who cannot be bothered to care a whit about things like the transit times of imaginary armies, and we will happily have this piece of information without even the merest hint of indignation, OK?

Varys hints, in a fairly transparent (and thus wildly uncharacteristic, simply who cares, nothing matters) way, that he's worried she'southward about to light King'southward Landing up like a Christmas tree. If you can imagine Christmas copse filled with screaming peasants.

Jon picks up on what Varys is laying down, and cuts him off.

Tyrion visits Daenerys, who looks drawn and tired. He tells her that Varys is like totally talking behind her back and corrects her when she mistakenly blames Jon Snow. The dialogue in this scene could have been played in a way that would have us encounter Daenerys as paranoid and deranged — and maybe they filmed another takes in which Emilia Clarke played information technology bigger — merely here, her choices are precise and intimate. She just seems tired.

Also, small point? She'due south right — in one case over again, however, some more. People are betraying her. Tyrion has given her bad advice, and he was the i who told Varys virtually Jon Snow. She's also absolutely correct that Sansa only told Tyrion the truth nearly Jon because she knew he'd tell Varys. If the Vii Kingdoms are high school, Daenerys is the Heather who knows how the lines of advice work.

Back in his room, Varys is scribbling abroad. ("I, Varys, being of audio mind and torso, do hereby bequeath my collection of robes, nightshirts and kimonos to Mister Gary's House of Pre-Endemic Couture in Fleabottom.") Soldiers come up for him, and he's taken to a beach that has seen its share of midnight clambakes, over the years. In Season 2, the clams in question were Stannis' followers who refused to embrace the Lord of Light. Tonight, it'due south Varys, who gets well and truly dracarysed, but not before sharing a squeamish, quiet moment with Tyrion. It should be noted that Drogon reeeeeally takes his ain sweet time getting on with the business of flipping his dragony Bic in this scene. It gives the states more fourth dimension to say goodbye to Conleth Hill, but it does seem kinda drama queen-y on the big lizard's part.

And even-more-mopey-than-his-manufacturing plant-default-setting Jon visits Daenerys, who is non letting become of Sansa'due south role in all of this — which doesn't bode well for next week'southward finale. She tries to osculation him and he responds like ... well, like a kid being kissed by his boozy aunt, considering while flowers may blossom in Targaryen attics, they tend non to have root in the frozen soil of the North.

For what seems similar the 20th time this season, Tyrion entreats Daenerys not to rain fire on King's Landing, because of the tens of thousands of innocents in that location. She — again, rightly! — points out that Cersei is cynically exploiting Daenerys' (and Tyrion's) inclination toward mercy.

He wheedles a hope out of her — that if she hears the urban center bells signaling that Male monarch's Landing has surrendered, she volition call off her attack. (In this unmarried episode, the phrase "Ring the bells" leaps to the top of well-nigh-frequently heard lines of dialogue on Game of Thrones — alee of "Yous'll be rubber in the crypts" and, believe information technology or not, even above "Bend the human knee.")

She informs him that they've captured his brother Jaime and that if Tyrion fails her once more, she will kill him.

Tyrion nods, and pops off to ... fail her, over again.

A Lannister repays a debt

Commoners stream into King's Landing by the thousands. Daenerys' army is camped outside the city wall. Tyrion asks Davos for a favor — the keys to Jaime's restraints.

Arya and the Hound pass through the army campsite. They are stopped briefly by a guard, merely Arya's bare-faced badassedness convinces the poor schlub that they are not the droids he's looking for, and they laissez passer on.

They're not the simply ones duping credulous soldiers this night — Tyrion dismisses Jaime'due south guards and steals into his tent. "Cersei's gonna die, bro," says Tyrion. "We'll see," says Jaime. "Hey, I'm beverage-and-know-things-guy, over here," says Tyrion. "The urban center will fall, and she's gonna die." (Oh great, I think, at present the writers are letting Tyrion be smart well-nigh things again.)

"You can convince her to give up," he says. (Sigh. Forget that part virtually Tyrion being smart about things.) Tyrion frees Jaime and tells him to sneak Cersei out through the tunnels nether the Cherry Proceed. Oh, and to band them bells, ya gotta ring them bells, ya gotta make 'em sing and really ring them bells.

Jaime points out that what Tyrion is doing is betraying Daenerys. Tyrion thinks that she'll exist grateful to him for helping to forestall the deaths of thousands of innocent lives, and yeah OK turns out that whole chip where he was smart about things once again was just a blip. Because he is exultantly incorrect, here.

A final, tearful goodbye between the Brothers Lannister.

The Iron Fleet throngs Blackwater Bay exterior King'south Landing. On his send, The Hot Topic Banana Manager (notation: not the bodily name of his transport) Euron Greyjoy paces the poop deck — so named considering he's on it, guyliner and all.

Along the walls of Male monarch'south Landing, soldiers load the many, many, many scorpions with bolts and scan the horizon for dragonsign. Nosotros note that the scorpions are decked out with embossed Lannister lions, which seem like putting a hat on a hat, merely as noted previously, I question Qyburn's taste level.

The citizens of King's Landing desert the streets and abscond within their homes like in that location's a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Child-Catcher coming, and the Golden Company marches out of the main gates to ... stand menacingly before them, staring silently beyond the patently at Daenerys' forces. They're not much company, but they are certainly gilt, lined up like so many Oscar statues, and almost as threatening.

The Golden Company is led by the hilariously floppy-haired, hilariously named Harry Strickland, who, once again, is the leader of this imaginary fantasy-earth ground forces of mercenaries and non, despite the proper name, a carpet salesman from Paramus. He rides up on a fine-looking white horse we will meet again later.

Tyrion's got that "terminate the assault if they band the bells" bee in his bonnet, and he pesters Jon with it. Jon gets that wait on his face up like he's trying to call up the difference between pimientos and pistachios again.

Soldiers close the gates to the Red Keep, locking Jaime outside, and so he tries to take hold of the attention of a solider by waving his big honkin' gold hand. (You'd think it'd work — Gold Company, golden hand — but no.) He steals away every bit citizens start to panic.

Out on the bay, Ol' Neckbeard the Pirate squints into the sun. Because it's from there that Daenerys, riding Drogon, is barreling downwardly at him, having all of a sudden manifested a mastery of tactical air gainsay over and above what she demonstrated concluding week. (Her strategy then, you'll call up, was the "Wing-Directly-Into-Their-Arrows-Like-An-Idiot Maneuver.")

This time, she's just better at it. Faster, more active — then she'southward able to catch them flatfooted and destroy pretty much the entire armada in seconds. She and Drogon move on to the scorpions forth the walls of King'south Landing, making curt work of them in ... tens of seconds.

Cut to: Those lines of Golden Visitor mercenaries continuing in front of the Male monarch's Landing gate. They look worried at the sound of afar explosions, which quickly abound ... less distant. Harry Strickland looks effectually similar he'southward missed his flight to the regional sales meeting in Tampa. Then – Nail. The gate backside them blows upward, thanks to Drogon; the entire Golden Company gets taken out like chumps.

The Unsullied, Northmen and Dothraki (there's nevertheless a few!) stream into the city, unto the proverbial breach. Grey Worm takes out a fleeing Harry Strickland, who will at present be peddling carpet samples in sky.

Cersei is staring at the city from a balustrade, because fish gotta swim, birds gotta wing, and Cersei's gotta balcony-stare. She been wearing the aforementioned smug smile e'er since she blew up the Sept of Baelor — at present, for the kickoff fourth dimension, she looks worried.

Meanwhile, Drogon is called-for upwardly more than scorpions. Man, he hates the scorpions; probably more a rammstein guy.

Qyburn and The Mountain join Cersei in her looking-worriedness. "We merely need one expert shot," she says. "Nosotros're still good, we're even so good." Qyburn says at that place'southward no more scorpions. "We have the Iron Fleet," she says. "Nosotros're still adept, we're yet practiced." Qyburn says the fleet is called-for. Likewise the Aureate Company went bankrupt. "Our Lannister army volition fight well," she says. "The Cerise Go along has never fallen. We're still good, we're nevertheless practiced."

Grey Worm, Jon and Davos march through the streets until they run across a visitor of Lannister soldiers. There'southward a lot of glaring, a lot of worried glances tossed to and fro. Then Drogon lands atop a tower nearby, and the Lannisters drop their swords similar they're all Chris Rock.

Ring ring band went the bell

Jon is relieved. Tyrion is relieved. The streets fill with audio of dropped swords and citizens pleading for someone to ring the damn bells, already.

Information technology takes a while — a while filled up with a serial of Janet!-Brad!-Dr. Scott! close-ups of our characters looking worriedly at a bell tower (Tyrion/Jon), or angrily at the Red Keep (Daenerys), or worriedly from the Red Keep (Cersei) — but eventually that bell gets rung.

But Daenerys isn't having it. She's staring at the Red Keep like it but said something not-at-all-nice about her mother. Even as the bells ring beyond King'southward Landing, she and Drogon take off and fly over the city (Drogon casts his shadow over its red-tile rooftops, just every bit in the visions experienced past both Daenerys and Bran in past seasons). She flies toward the Scarlet Keep — and for long seconds we assume she'due south just going to attack it straight, which would brand more than sense, but no. The show's giving her the Mad King edit, so she has Drogon get-go doing strafing runs through the metropolis, burning both soldiers and citizens every bit she goes.

Tyrion'southward horrified, Jon'due south dislocated, and Grey Worm ... Grey Worm sees Daenerys' gambit every bit an excuse to get his impale on. Jon tries to stop him, and the soldiers who follow him, but the battle is already joined.

It's a column of carnage, for a while. Heads explode, buildings crumble, citizens burn. Davos tries to get people to safety, because he'south a skilful egg. Jon tries to end people from fighting, with no luck, and tries to salvage a adult female from being ravaged, with ameliorate luck.

Finally, Daenerys and Drogon head to the Cerise Go on and start dismantling it, starting (I think?) with the Belfry of the Paw.

Jaime finds the entrance to the tunnels nether the Ruddy Keep, at precisely the same moment and in precisely the same place that Euron Greyjoy, ol' Dreadful Pirate Roberts, wades aground. Euron says various gross annoying things, because he is never anything less than fully on-make. He and Jaime have a choppily edited and difficult-to-follow fight to the non-expiry. The net consequence: Euron plunges his dagger into Jaime's kidneys, which Jaime ludicrously manages to just sort of ... shake off, and Jaime plunges his sword through Euron'due south chest.

Euron assures us that Jaime'south wounds are mortal and delights in this fact as Jaime enters the tunnels with more than spring in his pace than you'd expect from a homo whose kidneys take only been julienned within him. Euron is losing corking gouts of claret, here and stares upwards at the sky contentedly — but we don't actually see him dice, and it would be just like this testify to bring him back side by side week, somehow. I pray I am wrong, but I fear I am not.

Qyburn convinces Cersei that standing in a balcony while a dragon is attacking makes the kind of sense that'due south non-; they and the Mount head for Maegor's Holdfast — a nigh-impregnable fortress deep inside the Ruddy Proceed (I had to look information technology up). Earlier they get out, we get a shot from the balcony that shows the true extent of the harm that Daenerys and her one, lonely dragon have wrought — the entire city is burning.

Arya and the Hound have sneaked into the aging Carmine Keep, and as they enter the map room, the Hound urges Arya to requite up her quest for revenge, lest she finish up like him. It'due south a tiny little speech, barely a few seconds, almost a subject that very likely would accept come up at whatever betoken forth the long slow ride from Winterfell, but that's all information technology takes. Arya's convinced to surrender the motivation that'southward kept her alive through 8 seasons, just like that. She peaces out, but the Hound continues searching for his blood brother, the Mountain.

Cleganebowl I

On a crumbling staircase, the Hound finds his brother — forth with Cersei, Qyburn and some soldiers. The Hound dispatches the soldiers easily and challenges the Mountain. The Mountain accepts, much to Cersei'south dismay, and Qyburn's ... well, we don't go a chance to hear much from Qyburn as the Mountain angrily tosses him into a wall like he's a Wacky Wall Walker. Or technically, in this particular case, a Wacky Floor Dier.

The brothers stare at each other balefully. Cersei's all, "I think I left the iron on," and excuses herself.

Here it is, at long last: Cleganebowl. The final boxing between ii brothers who loathe each other. Over the grade of the battle, the Mountain removes his helm to reveal that he's the straight-from-central-casting zombie nosotros've always known him to exist — an Uncle Fester who'southward actually festering.

Cersei makes information technology to the map room, as masonry tumbles downward around her, where she finds Jaime looking — I know I keep harping on this point — just really remarkably spry, considering. They embrace, and he leads her down to the tunnels as the continue keeps collapsing effectually them. They're like Marlon Brando's Jor-El and Susannah York's Lara stumbling along as Krypton self-destructs around them, but without the tinfoil pajamas. More than'southward the pity.

Back at Cleganebowl, there's no halftime bear witness — but lots of slashing and stabbing. The Hound learns that all that slashing and stabbing isn't proving particularly effective, inasmuch every bit his opponent is pre-deceased.

Arya is not having a much better time on the broken, crumbling, peppery, encarmine and scream-y streets of Kings Landing. She gets knocked down, but she gets up once more, y'all're never gonna etc. etc. She runs into a mother and daughter who try to aid her, merely gets separated from them.

Meanwhile, Cleganebowl is going into double overtime. The Mountain tries to pull his "clasp the head similar an overripe melon" move he'due south used before on the Hound — been there, Dorne that! — but the Hound manages to interruption out of it by stabbing the Mountain like the guy'south the world'due south largest, fleshiest pincushion. The Mount shakes it off, though, because: dead already. Then the Hound hurls himself at his brother, sending both of them tumbling from the Carmine Keep into the fires far beneath.

It'southward the second brotherly embrace in tonight's episode. This 1 ends ... differently.

Jon attempts to call his men to go the hell out of this hell of a city; they run toward the gates.

Arya returns to consciousness covered in ash; it's eerily quiet. I'm only going to annotation that from this indicate on, the episode plays with Sept. 11 imagery; I'll get out it to the many think pieces that volition be written over the next few days, by smarter people than me, to unpack exactly what nosotros're meant to practice with that.

Arya finds some citizens – including the mother and daughter from earlier — huddling together inside a edifice, and convinces them they demand to go on moving.

Jaime and Cersei have somehow made it allllllllll the way downward to the very bottom of the tunnels under the Red Keep — Jaime'due south still full of pep, by the style — simply to find that their exit is completely blocked by rubble. Jamie keeps trying to notice a way out, merely Cersei knows information technology's the end. They embrace a final time. "Nix else matters," Jaime says. "Zip else matters. Only us." And within a few seconds, information technology's only them ... and thousands of tons of stone, collapsing upon them.

Arya stumbles, alone, through streets filled with burned bodies — including those of the mother and girl — and ash. The sole sign of life — a once-white equus caballus, now covered in claret and soot. It seems to be good ol' Harry Strickland'southward horse, in point of fact. Arya comforts the beast and rides out of King'south Landing, which is at present a charred, smoking ruin. Cease.

Welp.

So Daenerys took Olenna Tyrell'due south advice. She was the dragon, and the dragon was her. She broke the bicycle, and then chopped information technology into bite-sized chunks, and so she lit that sucker on fire.

I don't have a house agreement every bit to why she destroyed the entire city and not simply the Red Keep, but I'm guessing the writers don't desire u.s. to think too difficult on that. I think we're supposed to come abroad from this episode convinced that Daenerys has given in to her familial madness, that Varys was right about her, that Sam was right about her — and, past extension, that they were besides right nearly Jon Snow.

So next week, it will come up downwards to Jon Snow vs. Daenerys Stormborn. Targaryen vs. Targaryen. Though whether at that place'due south yet an Iron Throne to fight over, or just a melted lump of steel where information technology one time sabbatum, remains to exist seen.

Speaking of remains, here'southward a list of the named characters who met their cease in this episode.

• Varys (sniff)
• Harry Strickland (...her?)
• Euron Greyjoy (fingers crossed)
• The Hound
• The Mountain
• Qyburn (yay!)
• Jaime Lannister
• Cersei Lannister

That'due south ... a lot of the prove's about interesting characters (and, yes, one who is very antithesis of interesting) gone, with still another hour and 20 minutes to make full.

howescorephrearm.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.npr.org/2019/05/13/722629681/game-of-thrones-season-8-episode-5-let-it-be-fear

Share this post