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Rating: The last season begins with two episodes that set the stage for the impending battle and strengthen (or weaken) the various relationships among the characters. Two essential hours that, whether one likes it or not, had to be more or less like this. Sorry, last-minute fans might not appreciate it, but everyone knows that in "Game Of Thrones," battles and action are just part of the show.
The battle against the undead arrives in the much-discussed third episode, which I found very engaging and exciting, but not without its flaws. Flaws that do not undermine the excellent quality of the episode, which manages to create as much discussion about the continuation of the series as few things on TV and in cinema at the moment (only "The Avengers" comes close). It’s true that certain events were not developed as they were in the early seasons, with more calm and in a more appropriate way, confirming that the level of writing has decreased (George Martin's absence is felt, despite Benioff having written a masterpiece like "25th Hour").
The season continues with the post-battle transition episode, which takes stock with few good things (the exchanges between Varys and Tyrion) and many others less so. Certain events are too rushed, which are some of the drawbacks of the last seasons, where the creators need to fast-track events since they will end it in 6 episodes and don't have time. This is the point, they needed more episodes (at least two, if not more). But the actors were signed for eight seasons, and doing a ninth would have inflated their fees. In partial defense of the creators, this is nonetheless my assumption.
Regarding the crucial episode "The Bells" (discussed as much as, if not more than, "The Long Night"), I didn't find it so horrible, perhaps debatable, but anything but disastrous. First of all, it’s spectacular and visually magnificent, with a considerable emotional load, but also full of flaws, many dictated by the usual haste to conclude certain events and others by poor choices by Benioff and Weiss.
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- Personally, the turn of Daenerys into a villain doesn't bother me. The fact is, more episodes are needed to demonstrate her downfall. It is certain, however, that the madness of the Targaryens has always been evident in the series, not to mention the various moments when she lost her cool, plus all the friendly people she lost. She wanted to burn everyone from the start of the battle, naturally from episode 4 after she was left alone.
- The choice to mistreat Jamie's character and conclude his narrative arc like this is one of the most questionable things of the season, since he had undergone a considerable change. Even though Jamie has always been dependent on Cersei and can't break free from her until the end.
- The Jamie-Euron clash is one of the lowest points of the episode. Euron is a poorly managed character.
- Tyrion's choice to betray Varys so easily is debatable.
- Cersei's management didn't seem optimal to me.
- The clash between the Cleganes was good, but I expected something exceptional that was not.
- How do Arya and The Hound manage to sneak into King's Landing? Let's overlook how they trick a Lannister soldier.
- Beautiful scenes among the crowd with Arya.
- Drogon burning King's Landing, sparing no one, is stunning, though one wonders why Rhaegar was killed so easily. It might be because he wasn't led by his mother and also because he had already been wounded.
- Horrible the way they treated the Golden Company, their contribution practically nil.
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Reaching this point, the final episode seems all in all to fit considering how they made events arrive there. It is an anti-spectacular episode, subdued (intentionally?) and not at all epic, but they at least managed to conclude the characters' stories without any particular glaring or silly mistakes. Sure, there is always the issue of the acceleration of events, especially halfway through the episode, with that time jump that cries out vengeance. It's still an episode that more or less displeases everyone, but it cannot be said that it was predictable.
"Game Of Thrones" from season 5 definitely experienced a general decline, and the first 4 are something unique on television in the fantasy arena. In its own way, Benioff and Weiss's show has subverted the canons of spectacle. And despite the major writing flaws, narrative holes, and quick pacing of events, even the last seasons are of a high level of spectacle and entertainment, and personally, sometimes (not always) I can even overlook the aforementioned issues. As already said (and I repeat), several more episodes were needed to justify certain decisions and the evolutions (and involutions) of some characters.
I find myself somewhat in the middle in evaluating this final and debated season. It wasn't epic, but neither was it trash. Ultimately, it could have been a masterpiece, instead, it was a great visual spectacle, with a few good highlights and several screenplay issues.
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