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The Nights Watch. GAME OF THRONES. SEASON 8 EPISODE 5. May 13 UK. SPOILERS AFTER 2am.

999 replies

OneInAMillionYou · 12/05/2019 15:55

So, now we battle for King's Landing and the Throne.

The penultimate episode of this most epic of tales. Can Cersei survive? Will Euron catch on and wonder how Tyrion could have known of the pregnancy? Will Arya and the Hound beat Jaime in the race south?

As ever, no leaks or spoilers please until we watch the episode live together. Our Watch begins....

OP posts:
SweetSummerchild · 15/05/2019 14:25

I saw Graham Norton with Kit Harington where he said he had a statue of himself from the show either he was teasing which could well given the show be or there's future flash at end – though how far and where I couldn’t guess - or Sansa is really well prepared for his death.

That’s referring to the crypt statues that were made of Arya, Sansa and Jon for the teaser trailer and were part of the promotional tour for the season. I don’t think they’ll be used in the finale.

itswinetime · 15/05/2019 14:26

I saw Graham Norton with Kit Harington where he said he had a statue of himself from the show

I saw that too I assumed it was the one from the trailer we saw where the Sansa, Arya, and Jon were in the crypts looking at their death statues....still not sure if that meant anything it was just to get everyone hyped up.

I don't want it to end with a flash forward they are always rubbish can't think of one I liked!

bigKiteFlying · 15/05/2019 14:27

SweetSummerchild that's interesting I didn't see those teaser trailers.

Leontine · 15/05/2019 14:28

I know the thread has moved in a bit since this morning but the 50mph-100mph comment I made was specifically regarding the pacing of the Dany story as of late, not that I wanted to see her rocking back and forth gurning or whatever,
All the pieces are there, it’s purely the pacing that makes it feel inauthentic and forced. Rhaegal and Missandei’s deaths particularly felt as if they were purely to drive the plot, rather than them happening in an organic way.

It’s particularly annoying when you consider that they were offered two full seasons with money not being an issue, but for some reason (I suspect it has something to do with Star Wars) they were hell bent on finishing it as quickly as possible.

bigKiteFlying · 15/05/2019 14:28

I don't want it to end with a flash forward they are always rubbish can't think of one I liked!

I like them sometimes in books - but yes I struggle to think of any good TV ones.

Abra1de · 15/05/2019 14:29

Why couldn’t Dany have taken out Sweetrobin and done us all a favour?

itswinetime · 15/05/2019 14:29

Can anyone explain why Drogon was suddenly so much more powerful and faster in episode 5, compared to previous epidodes?

I thought he was feeding off Danny's emotions to like when he cane to her in the fight pit because she needed him or at the end of the battle of winterfell where he lays down after Jorah died.

Completely unproven but in my head Drogon was feeding off Danny's rage and that made him seem bigger.

Leontine · 15/05/2019 14:37

I think in general Drogon was bigger because he wasn’t chained in the dragon pits like Viserion or Rhaegal. I’m not sure if it’s presented as fact or theory in the show and books but apparently dragons only grow as big as the environment they’re kept in.

millythepink · 15/05/2019 14:38

If they really were offered 2 more seasons with money no problem, then that really is a tragedy. They have rushed this last season so, so much that it's a travesty Angry

Leontine · 15/05/2019 14:39

@millythepink I’ll try and find the interview for you

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OneInAMillionYou · 15/05/2019 14:46

I was also wondering if Drogon could run out of fire! The whole of Kings Landing was crispy by the time he had finished! 🔥🔥🔥

I've watched it a few times now. It was really sickening that Dany was so indiscriminate. Quite apart from the thousands of innocents, her own men were down there. The Dothraki and Unsullied who had travelled thousands of miles to fight for her. Hateful but unsurprising.

If I was Jon I would be disgusted with her.

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itswinetime · 15/05/2019 14:52

It’s particularly annoying when you consider that they were offered two full seasons with money not being an issue, but for some reason (I suspect it has something to do with Star Wars) they were hell bent on finishing it as quickly as possible.

I guess it all depends on the offer if HBO were willing to pay for 2 more series with money no issue it seems a shame they turned it down and rushed the storylines. But I imagine it's not as simple as that how long were the actors contracts for? Would it be a case of 2 more seasons but not all the original cast wanting to sign on for it?

Maybe the genuinely weren't sure they could fill 2 more seasons because this pacing issue hasn't just started it, changed when the books ran out I think we just feel it more this season as there is no more maybe something will happen next series that explains it.

I don't like the writing at times and I'm not sure all the story arch's are pulled of convincingly but without the source material from GRRM they have seemed a bit unsure where they are going like the know were each character ends but not to sure how to get them there I think that would of been the case regardless of how many seasons there were. I don't think don't like to think the just gave up and couldn't be bothered or that something better came along but we will probably never know for sure.

SweetSummerchild · 15/05/2019 15:02

2 more seasons of listening to eunuch jokes, seeing Bronn give manly advice to Pod and watching Jaime and Cersei break up and make up. Urgh, no thank you. Jeez, we had a three minute actual shit montage in season 7 - probably the most meta scene of the season.

Really, I’ve had quite enough of this now. It’s a bit like being forced to eat your gran’s mince pies after Christmas Dinner when all you really want is a waffer thin mint. Any more and I’ll throw up.

D&D were great adapters in seasons 1-4 and have been hopeless writers ever since. More episodes would not help.

millythepink · 15/05/2019 15:04

Thank you @leotine. Just heard on the radio that showrunners are going to be directing the next Star Wars trilogy. No wonder they wanted shot of GOT as quick as possible Hmm I never believed them when they said they wanted to do full justice to the final season by making longer episodes. I think that was just their best compromise because they wanted to move on to new stuff.

Leontine · 15/05/2019 15:09

I believe with big network TV stuff like this, the contracts are open ended and upon signing you agree to stay for as long as they want you for, you can’t just decided to leave.

The thing is, it’s not as if they’ve never had other writers or directors on the show. If they genuinely felt they didn’t know how to wrap things up they could have handed over to someone else they’d previously used. It seems almost like an ego thing given that they’ve done more writing and directing themselves over past two seasons than they have before. Obviously we’ll probably never know but it seems more than a little suspicious that it’s coincided exactly with them being offered the Star Wars gig.

LaurieMarlow · 15/05/2019 15:13

I can see why they might have gotten bored with it and keen to move on.

I can’t criticise D&D for not giving it more of their time and energy when George himself isn’t m too focused on finishing.

millythepink · 15/05/2019 15:13

Disney have deeper pockets than HBO, it would seem Sad

SweetSummerchild · 15/05/2019 15:19

I’ve said this before.

The actors contacts came up for renewal after a number of seasons (either 6 or 7 - can’t remember exactly). The ‘big five’ get $1 million an episode each. This season cost $85 for approximately 7.5 hours. Out of that, the ‘big five’ cost $30 million.

Compare this to the first Harry Potter film, which cost £130 million and munsnetters seem to unanimously believe looks really flakey.

D&D want out. I don’t blame them. They are not miracle workers and they’ve done the best they can with a set of books which ended up as a set of bullet points.

I doubt they’d have taken on the project if they’d known that in 2019 we still didn’t have the Winds of Winter.

Leontine · 15/05/2019 15:20

Fair enough if they got bored with it but at least hand the reins over to someone else. What they’ve done smacks of bloody mindedness.
There have been a few stories that have come out from various cast members that indicate they’ve got a tendency to be a bit like that. But I guess there loads of people in Hollywood like that I suppose.

itswinetime · 15/05/2019 15:23

believe with big network TV stuff like this, the contracts are open ended and upon signing you agree to stay for as long as they want you for, you can’t just decided to leave.

Thats not the way it seems with most big shows the actors sign on for a number of years at the start a set number of seasons (they can't leave during that) once that is up the negotiating starts for more money more time for films ect whatever the actors want. Game of thrones was always planned be 7 seasons it's not unlikely the actors contracts were that long. I'm not sure if they would or wouldn't have wanted to come back but I don't think extending the run would be simple.

I also don't think it would of solved the issues. They needed the books to adapt once they ran out the whole tone changed.

TinklyLittleLaugh · 15/05/2019 15:28

I have absolutely no sympathy for the Dothraki, vile culture. Dani would be doing her world a favour by cleansing the world of Dothraki menfolk.

I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for the unsullied though, Grey Worm in particular. I think it was pretty out of character for gentle Missandei to have wanted Dany to dracarys the whole city. I would have liked Grey Worm to have had a wtf am I doing moment, to show he is his own person, not just a slave still.

EluphNaugeMeop · 15/05/2019 15:28

From the trailer for season 1 all those years ago : when you play the Game of Thrones, you win or you die.

There will be no 'happily ever after' for anyone who has any kind of claim to the throne. They will all be dead except perhaps one "winner" on the throne. But I wouldn't be surprised at an "everyone loses" outcome.

itswinetime · 15/05/2019 15:30

SweetSummerchild

I didn't realise the contracts had already come up. That is indeed insane money.

Other than that I agree adapting books is one thing fleshing out bullet points is a another. One that the author himself hasn't been able to do yet. They had an impossible job really.

Leontine · 15/05/2019 15:30

I so wish that GRRM had been brought in as the screenwriter so at least we might have got one satisfying ending. Grin

Although obviously he’s taken a very long time to finish the Winds of Winter, realistically the show was always going up surpass the books given that A Dance with Dragons hadn’t even come out when the series started, so it’s not like D&D didn’t know what they were getting into.