"Hello Big Brother" Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 5 "The Bells"

Everyone is throwing a fit, and I will certainly join in here in a bit, but I don’t hate Daenerys going rogue

“You’re No King”

HBO

Okay, let me put one thing to bed right off the bat.

I hated a lot of things about this episode but Daenerys going Pol Pot was not one of them.

First, we know for a fact that GRRM told Benioff and Weiss how it was going to end which means that Daenerys breaking bad was part of the plan.

Second, it actually makes a great deal of sense within the context of both the books and the show. GRRM has ALWAYS been writing a realist take on fantasy. For goodness sake Ned Stark dies in Season One to let you know the good guy or gal doesn’t always win in this story. The Red Wedding happened to let you know that the good guy or gal doesn’t win in this story.

Third, ASOIAF has always been a deconstruction of the fantasy genre. Every fantasy story ever starts with the “chosen” one who overcomes great evil and ends with him or her becoming king. In this story, the chosen one breaks bad and burns her entire capital to dust.

This was not a mistake, this was not Benioff and Weiss messing with the story, this is what GRRM intended.

Now, the way they got to it will be very different and the way Benioff and Weiss got there was idiotic (because that is Benioff and Weiss being Benioff and Weiss).

And, just for an extra added bonus, there was zero reason for Daenerys to continue to make flaming Cheetos out of her populace. It went more than a little far, even for Daenerys breaking bad.

But, in a sense, it all makes sense. Daenerys has lived in a state of perpetual frustration for almost her entire life. She lost her most trusted advisers and the man she loves has turned his heart against her.

And, in addition, Varys another of her advisers was trying to make Jon Snow king behind her back.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, now she is going to have to try to kill Jon Snow. Sansa and Varys have made it very clear that he will always remain a threat to her rule and she has gone full on Machiavelli now.

The Peasants Are Revolting

HBO

Had to get one more Python joke in there before the end of the season.

Okay, so what did bother me.

WHAT IN THE HELL

Why in the world did they leave King's Landing and go back to Dragonstone? How did that happen?

So let me get this entirely straight:

Daenerys takes her dragon Drogon, Tyrion and like 400 Unsullied and stood outside of a castle holding all of the Golden Company, the Gold Cloaks, and apparently the Lannister armies.

And for some reason Cersei not only doesn’t kill them where they stand but also lets them leave while she has every strategic advantage/

WTF?????

Also, how does she magically have Dothraki cavalry again? Remember when they got slaughtered after taking the ill-advised charge into the darkness?

Also, how does she magically have about ten times the amount of Unsullied as she had after “the Long Night” episode?

And, am I totally crazy here or are they a surprisingly large amount of surviving troops from the North?

Okay, let’s pretend all of that doesn’t matter, what exactly was Cersei’s plan? Why do I feel like nobody ever thinks beyond one move when it becomes their turn to lose? Cersei basically just stood in place for most of the episode and said crazy things.

Oh, and why could the Scorpions take dead aim from a boat sailing on the ocean and hit a moving target last week but now, at anchor or on the walls of King Landing they are run by the Gang that couldn’t shoot straight?

I guess I am glad that Jaime and Cersei get to spend their last minutes together?

I guess I am glad that Cleganebowl happened but even that fight was pretty anticlimactic.

I guess I am glad that Arya gets to go do something else with her life (even though she literally just decided a different kind of life wasn’t for her).

Arya might kill Daenerys, someone probably will, but in an odd way I kind of feel like it would make more sense for Daenerys to win.

I still can’t believe that Varys was that obvious and stupid. Ridiculous that Benioff (or Weiss) had the audacity to suggest that Varys “might have known” his plan wasn’t going to work. Of course he had to know, it was a stupid plan, in broad daylight, with multiple people in the loop including Tyrion. The only good news is that it might mean that Tyrion will be the one to successfully betray Daenerys now that she knows what she has become.

But, most likely, Jon will be the one to kill Daenerys.

Who knows, but we will see Sansa again.

One thing I am sure of, whoever is going after Daenerys will have to do so in a way that doesn’t risk Drogon being involved.

Okay one episode left, this season has been the worst, but in all honesty, it didn’t bother me that much to see Daenerys go all Mao on her populace.

Oh well, see you next week!