Game of Thrones “The Winds of Winter” Review: Game on

 Dany and Tyrion confiding in one another on Game of Thrones

Photo credit: HBO

A bunch of thoughts on what might have been the best Game of Thrones episode ever right after I give you some very ineffective console…

“I do things because it feels good.”
-Cerci

Ok Game of Thrones you got me back.

After weeks of wheel spinning and a climax that ultimately did very little for me, Game of Thrones really needed a bounce back with its finale “The Winds of Winter.” While I have not been reviewing the show for the last few weeks (apologies most weeks got me to the point where I was watching and beginning to write about the show mid week at which the episode was at that point old news) I have begun growing very frustrated with it. Two weeks ago “No One” spun the show in circles, reverting a lot of progress in the character development front (Jamie) and revealing that some characters were being spun around repeating very similar arcs to the ones they had previous for the sole purpose of keeping them out of the action (Arya). It made for a frustrating lack of process that ultimately never ended up serving the story in any positive manner. Then there was “Battle of the Bastards” that despite it’s cool (if overlong) battle sequence never really provided the emotional satisfaction it wanted to due to just how awful of a character Ramsey was. Not to mention there was no satisfaction to the victory as Jon and Sansa were frustratingly bad at war to the point that their victory seemed as if it came from sheer luck.

Luckily for the show “The Winds of Winter” was much more than just a simple bounce back episode. In fact it may be the best episode in the show’s run so far. One of my main criticisms of the show that has been made even more opaque over the last few weeks is the moment to moment nature of the show’s storytelling. Because of the “bounce around Westeros” format the show doesn’t often provide a chance for building coherent themes or connecting its thoughts. It can make for a show that contains great individual moments but often lacks the connecting elements of a great television show. “The Winds of Winter” is the first episode of the show that finally begins the process of connecting the show’s various, characters, themes and plotlines. It begins to shed a lot of the fat that had made the show so frustrating over the last few years and begin the process of moving towards a dramatic finish. It finally feels like there is an end game in sight and it feels so good.

It helps that the finale managed to pull all of this off in beautiful fashion. The first third of the episode was one of the best single sequences that the show has ever done rivaling and maybe even topping the amazing battle sequence from “Battle of the Bastards.” The quicker editing, the beautiful new piano theme from series composer Ramin Djawadi, and the near perfect composition of the lead up to Cersei’s bombing of the Sept of Balor made for a sequence that was both memorable and satisfying. Gone are the characters that have been holding Cersei back from fully being a part of the more central conflict that was looming. No more distractions from the faith or a younger queen. Even her son Tommen is now out of the way as the young king, out of greif and perhaps a little bit of powerlessness, decided to take his life in the most beautiful and horrifying ending shot possible. Everything that stemmed from the opening third that took place in King’s Landing was perfectly executed, and made for one of the best single sequences in the show’s history.

But unlike other episodes of Game of Thrones it was not just a single sequence that defined the episode rather the amazing King’s Landing sequence tied into the rest of the episode’s themes of revenge, power, and leadership. Dany, using both the lust for revenge that the Dornish and Tyrells possess has found herself new allies on her way over to Westeros (finally!), Arya exacted her vengeance to finally rid of the Freys once and for all in a fashion that had me both cheering and actively questioning the good of Arya’s sociopathic nature, and Jon Snow managed to wrangle together the leadership and belief in one’s self to become a competent King of the North. It all tied together in a beautiful coherent bow. Never, like I had in the past, was I asking why we were focusing on a particular area of the show or what all the individual parts of an episode had to do with each other. For Game of Thrones this was mighty refreshing.

Best of all though, “Winds of Winter” is finally bringing the characters together. Long gone are the day’s of sprawling and stalling as it seems as the show looks to finally be centering these characters around a single plot line. Dany is finally making the trek over to Westeros that has been way too long in the making, the Starks finally have a leg to stand on again in Jon Snow/Tygarian (the nobility of Ned again rears its ugly head) even if Littlefinger’s devious plotting may be ultimately out to get him, and there is no doubt who the f-ng official queen of Westeros is now. The final participants of the Game of Thrones are set and it’s time for them to begin to square off.

Season six of Game of Thrones had many a frustration, especially in its later half but I could not have asked for a better finale than “The Winds of Winter.” The show has finally rid of a lot of the fat and has began to connect its sprawl in a beautiful novelistic fashion. We are just (or so at least the creators would have it) two seasons away from the conclusion of show and I could not be more excited to find out where this roller coaster ride will conclude.

Some other Musings:

• Jon Targaryen/Stark!!!!! So turns out he wasn’t a bastard after all! Thank you Bran for being a part of a useful part of the show for once!

• Cersei’s strange look of authoritative satisfaction as she took the throne was one of the most chilling scenes of the episode. Even if loosing her son was not in the plans it sure did not seem like she cared by the end of it. Her icy stare as she looked to take back her own destiny was one of the many memorable shots that punctuated this beautiful episode.

• In an episode of big moments we still got time for some great scenes of intimacy. The peak of this being the wonderful conversation between Tyrion and Dany. For the first time Tyrion has a place, and a cause in which to believe in. Will his newfound belief end up being his downfall? Or can he overcome the odds in the way he always has?

That’s it for this season. It was a little rough getting there at times but boy what a satisfying conclusion.

Now let’s see if they can stick the landing...

That’s just me though. What did everyone else think?