We Fell In Love With GOT Because It Defied Expectations

Published May 13, 2019 · Updated July 6, 2022

Gents,

I’ve listened to the podcast for 4 seasons, but first time writing in. Just some thoughts after episode 5 Instacast:

1. I was surprised by Big D’s take on Daenerys. You stated she did a complete “180-degree turn” but last week’s deep dive spent a lot of time highlighting the red flags in her behavior throughout the series (I think you even wrote en essay on it!). Ignoring advisors, smiling at burning people and always choosing the violent path were just a few of red flags talked about. You also discussed Daenerys being underappreciated for saving the North and isolated having lost her friend (Missandei) and child (Rhaegal). You painted a picture of a woman on the edge and ended the section saying “She’s either going to go full Mad Queen and just start roasting people indiscriminately. That paranoia will either control her or she’ll come to a point where she controls it. But either way, she’s becoming unhinged, you can’t deny that.” Add to the mix she discovers Jon Snow betrayed her and doesn’t really love her anymore, AND Varys committed treason against her. Is it really a 180-degree turn that she went Mad Queen? Umm actually Big D, it seems like you are the one who has done a complete 180-degree turn. Based on your analysis, anyone who has been paying attention should not have been shocked at the path that Daenerys chose. It’s been a long time coming.

2. The shocking part was the complete destructive power of Drogon. Over the past few seasons, the dragons have been a little underwhelming compared to what legend and the books have made them out to be. That could have been because the show decided to make dragons less destructive than the books. Or within the realm of the show, legends built them up to be more than what they really were. OR it could have been because Daenerys was holding them back. Up until now, she did not want to be perceived as the Mad Queen, so she kept the dragons from unleashing their full destructive power. In episode 5 she wanted to instill fear. She rationalized it as showing “mercy to future generations”, but her goal was to establish dominance through fear and destruction. She finally let Drogon go balls to the wall and we finally got to see how powerful a dragon could be. I thought it was worth the wait. A single dragon destroyed the Iron Fleet, took out the Golden Company, brought stone cold Cersei to helpless tears, and crippled an entire city. It was horrible and awesome to watch at the same time. I thought it was really good TV.

3. I completely agree with Big D’s take on Euron. It wasn’t just convenient that he was the ONLY survivor of the Iron Fleet, but he just happened to be swimming up onto the beach at the exact moment Jaime was passing by? At least have him sitting there already or laying on the beach. But they both happen to be passing that exact spot at that exact moment? In the words of Big D “This is too convenient. Oh fuck me man. God. Why?”

4. It seems that fans of the show are victims of our own expectations. We fell in love with GOT because it completely defied expectations early on, Ned Stark’s execution being the most prominent example. However, 8 seasons in, we have invested so much time and energy into the show that we now feel entitled to certain outcomes. This episode was a big reminder that our expectations don’t matter. All the fans that spent time theorizing who will kill Cersei, likely screamed “What the FUCK?” when she was pummeled by a pile of rocks. How many other theories and expectations were crushed just like that? I loved this episode because the whole time I was totally thrown off by what was going on. No one was safe and characters were flipped upside down. For a brief moment, I actually felt sorry for Cersei. Can we take a second to appreciate how good a show has to be to do that? She has been the villain from day one and I’ve been waiting for her death for so many seasons. But as she was crying about wanting her baby to live, I found myself hoping they would find a way out. I have been rooting for Daenarys all along, and now I hope Arya kills her in the series finale. This episode was nothing like I thought it would be and I loved every minute of it. Everything has changed.

5. Speaking of expectations and theories. How do you think Jon and Daenarys are going to resolve the claim to the throne? I’ve wondered since we found out about Jon’s parents if he has the same immunity to fire that Daenarys has. We’ve seen Daenarys has gone off the edge now, so I don’t think she will hesitate to take down any threat to her throne. Jon is clearly not comfortable with how Kings Landing was taken and will likely feel pressure to pursue his claim. Could Daenarys attempt to put Jon to death for treason, but he will survive and reveal to all that he is, in fact, the rightful king??? Just a theory I would love to see happen. A lot to happen in a single episode though…

6. Final thought. Gene did not mention crying at all in the instacast, but I am willing to bet there were some tears shed. Tyrion saying goodbye to Varys? Tyrion freeing Jamie? The Hound convincing Arya not to be like him? Jamie and Cersie? Arya seeing the mom and daughter roasted in the street? There were some definite tear-worthy moments in this episode, I actually found myself choked up at several of them.

Thanks for reading. Love the podcast. Really appreciate all the time and effort you guys put in. Look forward to each edition every week!

Mike MacDonald

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