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Game of Thrones S8E5 "The Bells" premiered five years ago today...

Posted on 5/12/24 at 7:02 pm
Posted by RollTide1987
Augusta, GA
Member since Nov 2009
66513 posts
Posted on 5/12/24 at 7:02 pm
Definitely a watershed moment in television history. While the show had taken a creative nosedive over the course of the previous season and a half, I don't think there has been an episode that epitomizes just how low a show can sink after such an amazing creative high as this one.




Where were you all? I was in Hawaii just a week or so away from transferring back to the continental United States, watching the episode at a friend's house. I had a scowl on my face for like the last 20-30 minutes. I was so pissed.
Posted by OMLandshark
Member since Apr 2009
115159 posts
Posted on 5/12/24 at 7:51 pm to
The fact of the matter is I really don’t mind Dany burning down King’s Landing. Sir Too Fat to Write a Book has always said that he admires the Scouring of the Shire and wanted a similar ending tone to his novels, so I buy it that this is the end fate of Dany and King’s Landing. It makes sense (at least from the books) that could be the end of her character, but the show did nothing leading up to it making it a plausible end for the character.

It also doesn’t work given that all the named characters killed in it are murderous assholes and sociopaths. You’ve got the Mad Queen, Frankenstein’s Monster, Josef Mengele, and evil Jack Sparrow as its victims. Sorry, I don’t feel bad for any of these people and they all deserved death.

Guess technically Jaime dies as well, but it’s after betraying all of the progress of the character sleeping with Brienne, leaving her behind, dying with Cersei, and saying that he never cared much for the commoners, the later of which just seems to be an intentional spit in the character’s and fans’ faces.

The fact is Cersei is almost certainly on borrowed time in the show compared to the books, where the vast majority of fans expect her to be dead by the end of WoW. The Burning of King’s Landing would work if there were characters we cared about affected by it, but we don’t in the show.
Posted by St Augustine
The Pauper of the Surf
Member since Mar 2006
66134 posts
Posted on 5/12/24 at 8:03 pm to
It was fine. What led to it wasn't fine. Man frick those guys all over for ruining a great show.
Posted by JustLivinTheDream
Member since Jan 2017
3515 posts
Posted on 5/12/24 at 8:14 pm to
Drogon was the best part of the show by the end of it

Posted by teke184
Zachary, LA
Member since Jan 2007
99597 posts
Posted on 5/12/24 at 8:23 pm to
quote:

but the show did nothing leading up to it making it a plausible end for the character.


Lotta that going on.

Show runners just kind of forgot how to lay out a story or character development by the end.

quote:

I don’t feel bad for any of these people and they all deserved death.


The named characters aren’t to be pitied. I think the problem was that the citizens of King’s Landing getting subject to rape, murder, arson, and rape was a problem. When you can draw parallels in the book between it and the sack of the city by Tywin, it is one thing. But it just comes off as random and harsh.
This post was edited on 5/12/24 at 8:26 pm
Posted by dawgfan24348
Member since Oct 2011
49951 posts
Posted on 5/12/24 at 9:52 pm to
Dany going mad wasn’t the problem, her suddenly burning down KL after she won the war made no fricking sense. Her descent into madness felt out of nowhere and way too sudden. She literally put her life on the line just two episodes ago to save the world. Now after she won the war she decides to kill everyone? No sense at all
Posted by DMagic
#ChowderPosse
Member since Aug 2010
47622 posts
Posted on 5/12/24 at 9:59 pm to
I had already read the leaks so I knew what was about to happen but it was still so very stupid. The Dothraki reappearing after the long night, the anticlimactic fight between the mountain and the hound, Jamie going back to Cersei, etc. everything about the last season was plain dumb.
Posted by OMLandshark
Member since Apr 2009
115159 posts
Posted on 5/12/24 at 10:02 pm to
If I had to take a guess how it goes down in the books, first off Dany will clearly be on the edge of madness upon returning to Westeros, and won’t be the biggest surprise to everyone.

But how it could make sense is that Dany comes back to King’s Landing pissed that they didn’t send forces to fight the Others. Instead of Cersei being on the Iron Throne, it is Aegon and Arianne. Dany demands an unconditional surrender from Aegon, and even if he’s about to do so, the small folk of King’s Landing refuse. They will openly tell Dany that they’ve had enough Mad Kings and Queens and instead want the Heir of Rhaegar to be their king.

Well Dany will not only know that Aegon is a fake but that Jon who is in her army is the actual Heir of Rhaegar, so she loses her shite and entirely snaps about them being ungrateful for saving the realm, and proceeds to burn them all to the ground. And Aegon and Arianne and the others (save for Varys who escapes) die in fire, and House Martell is extinguished save for Doran who lived long enough to see the extinction of his house.

That works much better than what happened in the show.
This post was edited on 5/12/24 at 10:04 pm
Posted by OWLFAN86
Erotic Novelist
Member since Jun 2004
182842 posts
Posted on 5/12/24 at 10:17 pm to
her grandpa wanted" to burn them all" Dany's insanity was foreshadowed the showrunners just did a terrible job of telling the story
Posted by 1BamaRTR
In Your Head Blvd
Member since Apr 2015
23143 posts
Posted on 5/12/24 at 11:15 pm to
The show writers didn’t give a frick at that point and threw some shite against the wall. You could see some cracks post season 4 (though it was still overall really good) but they went full blown dumbing down most characters and rushing through the story the last 2 seasons. Remember they admitted HBO was letting them do more seasons.

They just underestimated how much shite they would receive because people saw through all the CGI and giant battles they thought would make up for it
Posted by jmcwhrter
Member since Nov 2012
6871 posts
Posted on 5/13/24 at 5:25 am to
My "uh-oh" moment was S7E2.. Daenerys meets the Red Priestess who tells her that "only the prince that was promised can bring the dawn". Dany of course says "well, I'm not a prince..."

And the writers have the curly-haired lady give one of the clunkiest "aaaackshuaaallllyyy" explanations I'd heard yet in the show

This post was edited on 5/13/24 at 5:26 am
Posted by AUCom96
Alabama
Member since May 2020
5638 posts
Posted on 5/13/24 at 6:41 am to
quote:

Dany going mad wasn’t the problem, her suddenly burning down KL after she won the war made no fricking sense. Her descent into madness felt out of nowhere and way too sudden. She literally put her life on the line just two episodes ago to save the world. Now after she won the war she decides to kill everyone? No sense at all


Not really defending it, but it also wasn't far out of character. She was understandably nuts and had always dealt with that by destroying what opposed her. She came from a genetic line known for violent tyranny and she was riding around on a weapon of mass destruction. She was a tyrant. She meant to be a tyrant...a benevolent tyrant, sure, but all tyrants have violence in their back pocket at any time if they want to stay in power.

All of this was rushed and compressed into far too small of a space. Honestly, I pity the showrunners. Martin won't finish his story and also likes to sneer from the sidelines. They had probably been given a timeline and just going on notes, any ending they came up with would have been bad.
Posted by St Augustine
The Pauper of the Surf
Member since Mar 2006
66134 posts
Posted on 5/13/24 at 7:17 am to
quote:

If I had to take a guess how it goes down in the books,


Posted by MorbidTheClown
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2015
68226 posts
Posted on 5/13/24 at 7:25 am to
Question: do dragons ever run out of fire? I mean, Drogon did a lot of work in that episode.
Posted by AUCom96
Alabama
Member since May 2020
5638 posts
Posted on 5/13/24 at 8:19 am to
quote:

Question: do dragons ever run out of fire? I mean, Drogon did a lot of work in that episode.


Posted by Green Chili Tiger
Lurking the Tin Foil Hat Board
Member since Jul 2009
49120 posts
Posted on 5/13/24 at 8:22 am to
quote:

betraying all of the progress of the character sleeping with Brienne, leaving her behind


Posted by pevetohead
lurking behind sonic
Member since Apr 2017
2959 posts
Posted on 5/13/24 at 10:55 am to
See, real ones knew the show tanked its final season with the Long Night episode. A LOT of people were still in denial until The bells episode, and then they realized what everyone had already known 2 weeks prior.
This post was edited on 5/14/24 at 1:24 pm
Posted by OMLandshark
Member since Apr 2009
115159 posts
Posted on 5/13/24 at 11:01 am to
quote:

See, real ones knew the show tanked its final season with the Long Night episode. A LOT of people were still in denial until The Doors episode, and then they realized what everyone had already known 2 weeks prior.


To be fair, we actually knew in Season 7 where Jon “The King in the North” Snow goes over the Wall in an extremely idiotic effort to capture a living wight to convince batshit crazy Cersei to fight with them. Dumbest moment of the entire show bar none.
Posted by SlowFlowPro
Simple Solutions to Complex Probs
Member since Jan 2004
435758 posts
Posted on 5/13/24 at 11:10 am to
quote:

but the show did nothing leading up to it making it a plausible end for the character.

Yup

Posted by SlowFlowPro
Simple Solutions to Complex Probs
Member since Jan 2004
435758 posts
Posted on 5/13/24 at 11:12 am to
quote:

See, real ones knew the show tanked its final season with the Long Night episode.

Real ones know it was tanking in season 6
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