GoT S8E5

The penultimate episode of Game of Thrones.  Only one to go after this.  Ever (discounting any spin-offs/prequels!).  That makes me sad, but maybe it is for the better.  As I watched the episode, I enjoyed it as a spectacle – it maybe might even be the best episode of this series.  Certainly I found the battle more engrossing and visceral than the Battle of Winterfell – the advantage of actually having it well lit!  But on reflection, ultimately too many flaws in this episode – as with much of this season – to overcome.  From the sudden total ineffectiveness of crossbows, the Iron Fleet and the Golden Company, to the very predictable destruction of King’s Landing and rise of the “Mad Queen”, to the fan-service Cleganebowl, to the somewhat anticlimactic death of Jamie and Cersei in the collapsing rubble.  I don’t think I have the same level of frustration and disappointment with this last season, and particularly this last episode, as many other online recappers seem to have – but I have been trying to think about what is lacking.  I think a big one is that the element of surprise has gone – everything seems very predictable, and almost everything I’ve predicted for this last season has come to pass.  The shock and horror of something like The Red Wedding seems like a distant memory – but something like that is what we have been missing for the last few seasons.  And I think the other big problem is the pacing.  I seem to remember this was a big issue for me in the last season, and as we rush through this truncated final season the momentous big pay-offs do not land as hard or as satisfying as they should.  We needed better character development, more nuance, more satisfaction when things actually come to pass or not.  My somewhat poor analogy is when I first drove up to Seattle from California – there were 2 ways to do it.  You could take the I-5 interstate – the most direct and the most boring.  Or you could take your time and enjoy the sights and views from routes 1 and 101 on the coast, and inland detours to places like the Redwood National Forest and Oregon Caves National Monument.  This last season has felt like we are on I-5, when ultimately one of the best things about Game of Thrones over the many years has been its distractions and detours.  Shucks.