[Tom4784]

I didn't hate that episode tbh.

A lot of it was undeserved and it was all built on a bones of Dany's characterisation but they made something passable on the foundation of **** they created for themselves last week.

I actually liked Dany's reasoning in this episode and with better writing in the past few seasons to bring her correctly to the point she was at (Foreshadowing is not character development, people!) the whole Mad Queen thing would have worked well. From what I've heard of the books, such an ending is better befitting Book Dany more than Show Dany. I didn't expect to feel anything this episode but I honestly teared up at the Drogon scene when he was nudging Dany which is something because the thought of watching this episode before left me feeling cold tbh. I thought Drogon choosing to burn the throne was fitting, it wasn't Jon that really killed Dany (It was bad writing that truly stabbed her in the stomach) but her need to rule and Drogon burning the throne was a good resolution to it all. I liked that they didn't end up killing him like I suspected and I thought him flying off with Dany's body was probably the best resolution to her storyline we could have hoped for at this point.

Bran as king is a bit random but the explanation as to why makes sense, plus he was kept around for a reason so I suspected that he'd have a part to play in the endgame. I don't hate him as king though, it's definitely a more interesting end than Jon ruling which would have left a bad taste in my mouth. I'm also happy that Sansa got to rule in the end too. She's been my pick for the throne since the start of the season and while it seemed a bit convenient that the North was freed while none of the other lords thought to separate from the crown, I can overlook it since Sansa becoming Queen of the North felt right.

One of the things I really hated about this episode was Arya's story, it felt like an afterthought and she deserved more. Her ending was weak and random (when has she ever alluded to the fact she wanted to explore the world?) and it felt like a disservice to the character.

As for Jon, I liked his ending. I liked that the Night's Watch was basically code for become a wildling and I'm not too fussed that his heritage was meaningless in the end because if it led to him becoming king then it wouldn't have been satisfying. I predicted he was going to end up beyond the wall and I'm happy enough that is how his story ended.

As for the rest of the characters, Grey Worm was done dirty but I liked the idea of him going to defend Missandei's home and I like the new Small Council and how those characters ended up (although Bronn being Master of Coin was bizarre). It annoyed me a little that, in Brienne's scene, it became more about Jamie than her finally becoming what she always wanted to be, a true knight and a kingsguard. It's nice that they redeemed Jamie's character a little after they screwed him over last week.

Considering how much I hated the last two episodes, I came out of this one feeling a lot more positive than I thought I'd be. It still wasn't great but compared to what came before, it's almost a masterpiece.

My ratings for each episode of this season.

Ep 1 - 7/10
Ep 2 - 6/10
Ep 3 - 10/10 (Yes it had problems but no episode of any TV show has ever made me lose my **** in utter anxiety like this one did)
Ep 4 - 3/10
Ep 5 - 2/10
Ep 6 - 5/10