Monday, August 14, 2017

Game of Thrones S7 E5: Eastwatch


Daenerys has tipped over into despot territory with the burning of the Tarlys who would not bend the knee. I can see the argument that she had to execute them for refusing to serve her, proving she has her money where her mouth is, but I also agree with Varys that she could also have not burned them alive. Surely there were more humane ways to do that. The modern-day equivalent would be a war crime.

I’ve seen Daenerys crossing over to the dark side for awhile now. She preaches something like democracy and taking back the world from the 1 percent but she’s really just like every other dictator (and Tyrion is starting to see that). She offers a choice but when one of the choices is death, can she really claim to be better than her father? I know Dany is the fan favorite but I’ve been uncomfortable with her for a long time.

It can’t be an accident that the show is even dressing Daenerys like Cersei now, with all that black and the chrome accents (although Dany has added a fetching maroon pashmina). These are two mad queens and they may now be allied against the threat from the other side of the Wall.

I liked the emotion of the reunion between Tyrion and Jaime. You could feel the history between them and they each did seem affected by reuniting. I also like Cersei’s delicate mix of anger and denial and grief when Jaime told her Olenna killed Joffrey. Cersei is an awful person but I think her character is leagues ahead of Daenerys in depth.

Davos thought Gendry was still out there rowing. The viewers did too, but now the royal bastard (and one of the series’ biggest loose ends) is back, rowing right into our hearts and killing soldiers with that large axe thing. Speaking of royal bastards, there will soon be another one in King’s Landing as Cersei and Jaime will be proud parents sometime soon. She’s not going to hide the incest. A murderous queen gets pregnant as the white walkers threaten apocalypse. This will not end well.

As for the series’ other bastard, it turns out Jon Snow is really Jon Targaryen, with a legitimate claim to the Iron Throne. It was sitcom-funny to see Gilly make herself useful, discovering Rhaegar and Lyanna were really married. It may be the most significant reveal of the series and nobody may ever know because Sam talked right over her.

Jorrah and friends are now planning to take a white walker as a hostage to convince Cersei of the threat from the zombie army. I’m sure nothing will go wrong with this plan and everything will work out just great for everyone.


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