This latest episode will doubtless cause polarization among GOT viewers. On the one hand, the final outcome of the story, or rather guessing which characters will and won't survive, has become ever more defined (one could read predictable), and like the previous episode 'Hardhome' was packed with drawn out, epic-ish action sequences (they came off as Ridley Scott rip off moments). However for those who count themselves fans of tension, suspense and clever plot lines, 'The Dance of Dragons' has fallen miserably short of the show's standard.
As pointed out in other negative reviews, there are some serious continuity issues in the way the story is unfolding. The wildling party were traveling by ship, not by foot. The ease of the raid on Stannis's camp cannot be explained away by "either the guards were asleep or complicit", the sacrifice comes out of nowhere, with no buildup or rationale whatsoever, and the events at the arena of Meereen are largely both laughable and cringe worthy at the same time. For instance; that no one notices that half the audience has smuggled weapons and clearly identifiable masks, that the sons of the harpy not once press their advantage despite clearly outnumbering their prey by a wide margin, and that on every possible occasion they simply forget to target the Queen... As if you'd chuck the spear at the dragon if you could instead pierce your unarmoured, unprotected mortal enemy as she's starstruck not more than a few meters away (or that you let her climb on top of the beast, of course she's going to fly away!).
Not to mention Sir Jorah's incredibly illogical survival (why dishonorably kill one rival only to let the other one get up and pick up his sword? Either he should of ruthlessly killed both of them there and then or let them finish each other off and take on the victor for the sake of grandstanding).
I have to make this clear, Its not that I disagree with the outcomes of this episode, but the manner in which GOT has set itself up for the last episode of the season simply comes off as rushed, and robbed the audience of some great moments; such as a debate among the nightwatch pertaining to admitting the wildlings within the wall, a medieval black ops moment in the form of a menacing and cunning character we all love to hate (Ramsay Bolton) laying waste to the Barrathon camp, Stannis explaining to his men why he need burn his daughter, Sir Jorah proving his mettle rather than getting lucky and a moment where Daenerys actually has to make a choice to overcome her fear of her dragons or abandon her friends and loved ones, rather than being stupidly star struck and then deciding to take a fanciful flight in the middle of a blood bath.
All in all, the episode choose thrills over sense, and even though I suspect the final installment of the season will attempt and may even succeed in explaining away some of the issues I and others have raised in objection, Im left with a bitter taste in the back of my throat. What's more the only acting to be celebrated in the entirety of the episode, is the absolute shock displayed by Stannis's daughter at her father's betrayal, in a moving, yet totally misplaced scene.
GOT rose through the rankings of shows because, it was not a conventional crowd pleaser, it didn't offer un-original moments based on CGI, but rather it made the hard decisions and planned it shocks and thrills. To use a metaphor as a final statement; over the last two episodes, it is as if we have watched a genuine master swordsman with honor and flair, suddenly become a drunken, purposeless pub brawler in a shiny new outfit, cheap silicon sparkles and all.
As pointed out in other negative reviews, there are some serious continuity issues in the way the story is unfolding. The wildling party were traveling by ship, not by foot. The ease of the raid on Stannis's camp cannot be explained away by "either the guards were asleep or complicit", the sacrifice comes out of nowhere, with no buildup or rationale whatsoever, and the events at the arena of Meereen are largely both laughable and cringe worthy at the same time. For instance; that no one notices that half the audience has smuggled weapons and clearly identifiable masks, that the sons of the harpy not once press their advantage despite clearly outnumbering their prey by a wide margin, and that on every possible occasion they simply forget to target the Queen... As if you'd chuck the spear at the dragon if you could instead pierce your unarmoured, unprotected mortal enemy as she's starstruck not more than a few meters away (or that you let her climb on top of the beast, of course she's going to fly away!).
Not to mention Sir Jorah's incredibly illogical survival (why dishonorably kill one rival only to let the other one get up and pick up his sword? Either he should of ruthlessly killed both of them there and then or let them finish each other off and take on the victor for the sake of grandstanding).
I have to make this clear, Its not that I disagree with the outcomes of this episode, but the manner in which GOT has set itself up for the last episode of the season simply comes off as rushed, and robbed the audience of some great moments; such as a debate among the nightwatch pertaining to admitting the wildlings within the wall, a medieval black ops moment in the form of a menacing and cunning character we all love to hate (Ramsay Bolton) laying waste to the Barrathon camp, Stannis explaining to his men why he need burn his daughter, Sir Jorah proving his mettle rather than getting lucky and a moment where Daenerys actually has to make a choice to overcome her fear of her dragons or abandon her friends and loved ones, rather than being stupidly star struck and then deciding to take a fanciful flight in the middle of a blood bath.
All in all, the episode choose thrills over sense, and even though I suspect the final installment of the season will attempt and may even succeed in explaining away some of the issues I and others have raised in objection, Im left with a bitter taste in the back of my throat. What's more the only acting to be celebrated in the entirety of the episode, is the absolute shock displayed by Stannis's daughter at her father's betrayal, in a moving, yet totally misplaced scene.
GOT rose through the rankings of shows because, it was not a conventional crowd pleaser, it didn't offer un-original moments based on CGI, but rather it made the hard decisions and planned it shocks and thrills. To use a metaphor as a final statement; over the last two episodes, it is as if we have watched a genuine master swordsman with honor and flair, suddenly become a drunken, purposeless pub brawler in a shiny new outfit, cheap silicon sparkles and all.