Game of Thrones S8 Ep5.

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Hey Guys,

A big thanks to the Shat On team. Your weekly input injects my further interest in Game of Thrones (and Westworld) exponentially. Without your weekly breakdowns, I would have been lost at times. Your efforts take me beyond the episode. You keep me connected to an experience I already enjoy and make it even better. So, massive thanks. As Game of Thrones draws to an end there’s so much to consider but I’ll just focus on 2 points. 1, character and 2, audience relationship with the show. I’d like to punctuate Daenerys’s ability to outmaneuver the Scorpions. Previous encounters have been by surprise or under highly adverse conditions, both of which were out of her control. She’s now had time to work them out, to better understand them. Whilst the Scorpion’s damage count is extremely high, they’re also very cumbersome machines. They take time to reload, considerable effort to pivot and once fired the projectile is mono-directional and relatively slow moving (particularly when compared to the agility of a dragon). Really, by the time the projectile reaches its intended target, there’s almost every chance the target has moved on, particularly if the pilot has increased knowledge of the weapon. I think the above coupled with Daenerys’s strategy of flying low and close to her target (greater surface to airspeed and increased firepower) dramatically diminishes the Scorpion’s effectiveness. Another factor weighing in Daenerys’s favor is I can’t see how the Scorpion operators would have had sufficient time to practice shooting at a fast moving, airborne targets. For some, it may have even been their first time firing in true attack mode. Compare this with Dany’s piloting dexterity, commitment to the moment and her dragon’s flying and survival instincts. It’s not really that great a mystery how she survived any counter-attack, either at sea or on land. Some believe Daenerys’s destruction of both Kings Landing and her own mental state are unjustified or happened to suddenly. If we’re to reflect on every episode of S8 I believe it’s easy to track Daenerys’s mental decline. She’s in a world where she has but a handful of truly dedicated allies, this comes not long after her being revered almost “God-like” in previous seasons. She’s clearly losing grip as she suffers blow after blow. From the cold relationship with Jon’s family, a very wary public in Winterfell, the groundswell of belief people have in Jon Snow, learning of Jon’s lineage, the death of Jorah, the death Missandei, the death of dragons (she considers to be her own children) and finally the obvious rejection from Jon. Dany is a person raised with abuse and incest and told since birth her father was mad. She’s been conditioned for a very long time to be somewhat unhinged. Just because we don’t see a rambling lunatic on the screen every time we watch, doesn’t mean her deprived sense of mental integrity, fuelled by rage, isn’t eating away at her. It’s almost like Daenerys commits the most heinous of acts, something we knew she was likely to do and then we all look at each other in disbelief. Sometimes I feel the GOT characters are damned if they do – damned if they don’t. We the audience believe we’ve invested time and emotion to this series. Sometimes we speak of it as a chore. It’s not. It’s a gift. We’re all very lucky to be a part of such a game-changing event such GOT. The real blood and sweat and tears have come from the incredibly talented crew and cast. What they’ve achieved is mind-blowing. Beyond the cinematic sphere when considering budget and time. This season alone, we would have consumed around 10 hours of story time. There are very few pleasures in life that last that long. We are our own greatest enemies thanks to expectation. Like an addict, we chase that next great hit. Satisfaction should not be measured by earlier gratitude’s but by our own willingness to accept outcomes, especially when it’s not to our own pre-conceived notion. I think we should all look at S8Ep5 again and really focus on the subtleties of the episode pre-armageddon. For all of this episode’s brashness, there are a good 35 minutes of critically important nuance and information. Right from Varys’s opening scene to the moment Daenerys succumbs to her own daemons and flies from the tower in Kings Landing as the Bells are ringing (Oh and Emilia Clarke acts the shit out of that moment), this episode is laden with subtle hints and information and often without a word spoken. Regardless of how the series ends, it’s a win-win for the audience. Remember we still have Martin’s ending to come in written form. Whilst I believe the double D’s and Martin have been in close council in regards to the show’s outcome I think there’s every chance Martin’s closure will be considerably different, if not the final result but certainly the journey to the climax. We get two bites at the cherry. The GOT creators are ultimately making us the custodians of this world by allowing us to align with our preferred storyline, characters and ultimately the ending. It’s a very rare and special proposition for any audience. Embrace it. Many thanks lads. Keep on keeping on.

Adam. Sydney, Australia.

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