Game of Thrones Finale Recap: What a Shame
Photo: HBO
So many plots, so little time. Game of Thrones has always been epic in scale. It wouldn’t be Game of Thrones without its epic storytelling, juggling several plots throughout the season, and generally doing a masterful job of it. In the end, though, what made the season 5 finale fall short of expectations, and just fall flat in general, was its hard time cramming all the show’s elements into one episode.
So much happened during the finale - many supposed deaths; many plot cliffhangers - that the events did not really have the time to fully sink in. At least for me. The ending left me cold, maybe a tad puzzled, while, clearly, left a lot of fans infuriated. Viewers of this show shouldn’t get infuriated over a character’s death anymore. They should be used to it by now – it’s what the show thrives on. Bad shit happens to good people. Get over it. Excluding the shocking death (or so they say), of Jon Snow, the finale still felt rushed. It’s a shame, really. Shame. Shame. Shame. Not just for Cersei.
Let’s get down to business, shall we?
The big hurrah over Stannis Baratheon’s sacrifice to the Lord of Light in last week’s episode – burning his daughter Shireen alive – appeared to have been in vain. Poor Shireen. A crap load of his army commits mutiny, his wife, Selyse, commits suicide by hanging herself from a tree, and Stannis decides to march on Winterfell. However, he marched his army right into Roose Bolton’s armed forces. Stannis’ army of course got their asses killed, easily beaten by the Bolton forces. This left an injured Stannis out in the open; man alone, only to be brought to justice by Brienne. As we know, Brienne firmly believes that it was Stannis who killed her king Renly Baratheon. She saw Stannis’ face on the shadow that killed Renly, so naturally it must have been him, right? Nope. We see her swing her sword towards the camera – but no body. He probably isn’t dead and could still sit on the iron throne. Watch this space.
This, of course, still leaves Melisandre. We see her arrival at Castle Black, where her silence is golden – conveying to Jon and Ser Davos that Stannis got his ass handed to him. Ser Davos enquires about Princess Shireen, to which she doesn’t respond. “No, we burned her alive way before the battle, such a worthy sacrifice” is of course what she did not say to Ser Davos. Ignorance is bliss, right?
The Sansa plot was by far the weakest element of the finale. It felt like it was just crammed into a small available space, plonked into the episode like an unwanted stepchild, just getting some sweets because it needed to be done.
Sansa manages to light a candle in the tallest tower – because anyone would come and save a Stark girl – just to be caught by Ramsay’s little psychotic lover, Myranda, doing her best Katniss Everdeen impression. Wonderful ol’ Reek is with her. Sansa says she would rather die now than go to her proverbial prison cell. Before Myranda can put an arrow in the pretty Stark ginger, Reek wins the emotional battle and Theon snaps back into the land of the living – or the barely living in Game of Thrones. He fights off Myranda and throws her over the rails, splattering to her death. Sansa and Theon then continue to jump from the wall of Winterfell into the wonderful world of Narnia. Nope, that does not happen. They do jump but only to not be seen again. Cliffhanger! No, they’ll obviously survive.
We then catch up with Arya on her quest to become nobody. Arya’s revenge has always been something viewers have been rooting for, and during the finale she does get to cross a name from her kill list. She disguises herself as a young prostitute to kill Meryn Trant, the crazy asshole from last week who derives pleasure from hurting young girls. She blinds him, stabs him, and then slits his throat. Back at the House of Black and White, however, things weren’t so dandy. Jaqen H’ghar tells Arya that Meryn’s life wasn’t hers to take. You see, killing Meryn was an act of vengeance. Vengeance for her family. Vengeance for the Starks. Arya still wasn’t nobody – she was still Arya Stark. Jagen tells her that “only death can pay for life” and continues to drink the poison that was supposedly meant for Arya. Jagen was actually still alive. He wanted to teach her a lesson, the lesson referred to above: “The faces are for no one – you are still someone”. Arya continued to look at the faces on the body she thought was Jagen’s before she loses her sight. As a non-book reader, this plot continues to intrigue me.
We catch up with Daenerys after her breathtaking flight on one of her dragons at the end of last week’s episode. She needs to go back to Meereen, but the exhausted and hurt dragon isn’t very keen on giving her a lift. She climbs on its back but it shrugs her off. She goes off on her own only to encounter a Dothraki army. She slips her ring from her finger and lets it fall to the ground, clearly hoping that someone would find it and search for her. Knowing her luck, I can already see them taking her as queen.
At this point, clearly the writers thought there hasn’t been enough death, so pretty little Myrcella got cut. Jaime and Cersei’s little princess went the same way as their beloved son. These Lannisters really need to handle their poison better. Before Myrcella departs Dorne with her uncle-father Jaime, Bronn, and arranged marriage sweetheart Trystane, Ellaria Sand seemingly got her revenge through a steamy kiss on Myrcella’s lips. On the ship, Jaime prepares to give her the “I am actually your father” speech, but she interjects by saying that she’s happy that her uncle is also her father. She likes to keep it small, you know. They eventually hug, such an aww-moment. Too sweet. Next thing you know, she starts bleeding and collapses in her uncle-daddy’s arms. We cut back to the Sands while they watch the ship travel across the open seas as Ellaria wipes away blood from her own nose before drinking the antidote. So crafty, these people.
Now to Cersei and the wonderfully cute new haircut she was forcibly given just before her atonement and a nice bath. She confesses her sins to the High Sparrow. She only fornicated with a cousin – never Jaime. Never! She has moral standards, man! After confessing, she asks to see her son. The High Sparrow obliges, but not before she goes for a relaxing afternoon stroll – naked and with a new haircut. Seriously, though, she works that cut. The relaxing afternoon stroll was more of a walk of shame.
Cersei was forced to publicly atone for her sins, walking through the streets of King’s Landing while the population hurled insults at her and spit in her face, eventually coming out on the other side bloody and messy, tears streaming down her face. This was Emmy nomination #2 for Lena Heady. Lena made me feel for Cersei, actually feel sorry for the evil witch – vulnerable and broken now.
The shocking event that was supposed to cap off an edge-of-your-seat-while-cursing-at-the-television moment was the death of everyone’s favourite bastard – Jon Snow. You should have seen this coming at the end of episode 8. Olly, that kid who was so disappointed in Jon for siding with the wildlings who killed his parents (I know you’re happy that his parents are dead now), came rushing in to tell Jon that one of the wildlings has news about his uncle Benjen, who I honestly cannot remember at all. Jon follows Olly right into the trap. The members of the Night’s Watch each take a turn to stab Jon, uttering the words, “for the Watch.” Last but not least, Olly came to deliver the final blow. Please let King Joffrey’s fate always wait for this little punk. The episode ends with the camera focuses on Jon bleeding out, the red enveloping him.
What did you think of the finale? Please sound off in the comments.
