Books, Movies, TV and Whatever
One Line Review
Undiagnosed ADD
Game Of Thrones Season Eight Episode Four The Last Of The Starks
Jon Romeo
Jorah, dead. Theon, dead (posthumously awarded the title of Right hand to the Lady Winterfell). Lyanna, dead. Eddison Tollett, dead. A lot of Unsullied, Dothraki, and North Men, all dead. Each one was sent off to the next life on a pyre lighted by a character associated with them. It was a touching moment in "The Last of the Starks" that tried to cram a lot of touching moments into a short period of time before setting the stage for the final battle to come.
As I sit here, I'm trying to decide if I liked episode four, "The Last of the Stark" or not. Game of Thrones is notorious for following up a high adrenaline episode like "The Long Night" with a slower paced episode. "The Last of the Starks" was only half of an exception to this rule. Granted the episode clocked in at a respectable 78 minutes, but a lot of the extra time was wasted in order to dedicate time to the aftermath of the Battle of Winterfell.
The Funeral Reception
A funeral isn't quite complete without the reception. What reception isn't complete without a little drama? Daenerys recognized Gendry as a Baratheon and then named him lord of Storms' End. Arya turned down Gendry's marriage proposal. Jamie and Brienne finally bumped uglies only for Jamie to pull a Jamie and head back to Cersei. Finally, everyone knows Jon is a Taragaryn. Okay, not everyone but the secret will be out before the end of the series.
There's an old saying that goes something like this- The only way to keep a secret between three people is if two of them are dead. Now eight people know Jon Snow isn't a Stark but a Targaryen. The fact already has Varys plotting treason against Daenerys. It's a position Tyrion may be drawn into before the final credits roll and a position Daenerys is sure to learn about before it's all over.
She's Not Mad, She's Pissed Off
Let's say for a moment Varys is killed off before the end of the series. It would only work if it were learned shortly after Sunday's episode. Fans are saying Daenerys is becoming mad like her father. Fans are using the term "mad" as in crazy or deranged. Daenerys is anything but crazy. She's mad, but mad as in pissed off. Pissed off people tend not to make the best decisions.
A new story line of Daenerys learning of Varys treachery may have been something to explore a couple of seasons ago, but with two episodes remaining is there enough time to start new story threads? The series has shown it has no problem cutting out characters with little to no explanation or explaining it away by claiming everything happened off screen (See the very cheap death of Petyr Baelish).
Jamie Lannister Backpedals
Showrunners had plotted out a redemption of Jamie Lannister type story line for the past several seasons. "The Last of the Starks" saw this story line come to an end as Jamie left Winterfell to be with Cersei. How did Jamie learn Daenerys was outside the Red Keep ready to burn it and everything inside to a crisp? Weird things happen when you waste time. Time has no meaning when trying to keep the story moving forward.
The Hound and Arya
By the time the next episode airs Jamie, Jon and company, The Hound, and Arya will all be at King's Landing. There won't be a Hound and Arya Road Show like there was in season three. There's not enough time. The series is going to have to teleport them to King's Landing in record time. Which also means other things have to happen to get the two characters where they need to be in the final two episodes.
Arya has already been set up to kill everything in her path or at least kill everyone on her list. Ilyn Payne, The Mountain, The Hound, and Cersei are still on Arya's list. It's going to take some maneuvering and cheap ploys to line up the four of them for Arya to kill. I don't doubt showrunners would stoop to cheap tactics to make this happen. However, it would be bad story telling and not the natural course of things. For things to come to a natural conclusion The Hound must face The Mountain. Arya fans will have to settle for whatever kills Arya can manage.
"The Last of the Starks" may not have been the worst episode in eight seasons, but given the length of the episode it ranks up there with the worst of them. The episode didn't even manage to set the stage for the final battle. It's a battle that has to happen if there is going to be any sort of resolution to the series.
It would have been nice to have seen more time dedicated to setting up things for the last two episodes. For the most part what happened could have been said and done in less than a half an hour. The good byes were touching and full of false sentimentality. We could have done with one or two fewer good byes. Did we need to see Daenerys even more mad at Cersei? And did anyone think Tyrion was going to talk Cersei into doing anything?
Two more episodes, even with an extended run time, isn't going to be enough to wrap things up. It's a given no matter the outcome not all the fans will be happy. The possibility of a Jon and Daenerys ruling together is still on the table.
All men…and women…die
Game of Thrones Heads Into The Long Night
The Bells Are Rocked in Episode Five Of Game of Thrones
It's Not Aquaman, It's Man From Atlantis
Warner Archive's Man from Atlantis is a blast from the past and pretty fun too
Amazon Prime's The Boys season one debuts with eight episodes of blah, meh, and more meh.
Game Of Thrones Season Finale Finds No One On The Iron Throne Part I
Game of Thrones has come, gone, and will go down in television history as one of the best series to have a horrible ending. Read more to find out.
Fans are reacting to Game of Thrones giving them everything wanted in The Bells. We react to the fans not being happy with what they got in The Bells.
Art of the Dead Deals In Paintings, Sins, And Horror
Our thoughts and review of Mahal Empire Productions, the production company behind Bus Party to Hell, newest horror movie Art of the Dead.
The Comedy Stylings Of An American Werewolf In London
The Dead Center Arrives on Blu-Ray From Arrow Video
What Keeps You Alive
A Mind On Fire
Hit us up on social media or subscribe to our RSS feed.
Archives Select Month November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 June 2013 March 2013 August 2010 January 2010 December 2009 September 2009 August 2009 June 2009
Action Adventure Animation App Review Christmas collectible toy reviews Comedy comic books Doctor Who Drama Fantasy Fear the Walking Dead Fiction Game of Thrones Halloween Hannibal Horror Loot Crate Marvel Marvel Collector Corps Marvel Comics Music Mystery Netflix Podcast road trip romance Round Table sci-fi Science Fiction social media South Park Star Wars super heroes Tech The Strain The Walking Dead Thriller toys Walking Dead Western
Sometimes we struggle with planning and forethought and design items and all these other things, so we ended up with this extra space. BUT, because of this, you reap the reward. Enjoy our favorite YouTube video!
© Copyright 2019 - A Mind On Fire
Write For Us?
About AMoF