I agree, we could have had the journey to find the wights spread over 2-3 episodes so we got more banter.

However, the nits would have just used that as a metric to try and estimate how many miles they were from the wall, so given that, 15 mins was fine.

Sansa really is the absolute WOAT. I hope Arya and/or Jon ends up killing her.

All the North of the wall stuff has been really silly. I was hoping for an epic fight between Jon and The Night King when Jon was left behind, but then it's just Benjen who does another last minute save. And then Benjen refuses to get back on the horse for no reason.

The pacing of the show is much, much faster this season than previous ones.

Part of it is there are less storylines than there were before.

The good part about this is a lot happens every episode, no real filler episodes or setup episodes. The bad part is episodes like tonight where they could have told a much better, cohesive story if they had done it over two episodes instead of one.

The point was to force the incestuous romance angle on us with Dany realizing her feelings for Jon.

I don't think that's ever been entirely true. Lots of big characters have played their part and died, but now it's like the main cast have been revealed and arrived at the end, Dany, Jon, Jamie, Cersei, Tyrion, Arya, Sansa, Bran plus some fan favs Bronn, Hound, Berric etc. Still think Cersei might go down this year. Nobody is safe will apply to the finale when a glorious death will come for some of them.

Like everyone else I had literally zero concern that Jon would die when he fell in the water.

I think we're all feeling a twang of disappointment this year that epic stuff like Azor Ahai, Jon's heritage reveal to Jon/Dany doesn't seem like it will go down. Arya isn't going off to kill anyone with her mad skillz, just being an angry brat in Winterfell.

81 minute finale though. Big meeting in Kings Landing, some sort of conclusion in Winterfell I'm guessing, Invasion of the dead? (the final scene of the episode)? but what else will go down in that 81 minutes??

trailer spoiler

Does anyone think that maybe the way things have turned out this episode was exactly what the Night King wanted and it was all a trap to get his hands on a dragon?

That's what it felt like to me watching it, like he was a step ahead of them. Somehow he knew they were coming and what they were after so he sent a small group out to purposely get ambushed. He'd already seen Jon defeat one of his main guys at Hardhome so sent him with 1 other skeleton that wouldn't explode when Jon killed him.

Then used his numbers to force them into a position they'd be trapped to wait for the dragon rescue team to arrive. Then when they did the one who threw the spear stepped up like "that's my cue".

I know they made some effort to throw a second one at Drogon but it seemed like that was more to force them to retreat now that they'd taken one dragon down and wanted to crack on getting it out of the lake.

This would also go some way to explaining the giant chains they happened to have at hand right away.

I don't really get the whole 3 eyed raven story but if there is one on the side of the living who has visions, can see beyond the wall etc maybe the Night King has something similar that has visions and can see south of the wall and their endgame involves him having an ice dragon.

So the Benjen story line went something like this. I don't remember everything so correct me if I'm wrong.

He's a member of the night's watch, goes on an expedition beyond the wall, never returns

He randomly shows up to help Bran.

He randomly shows up to help John and dies.

Without there ever being an explanation for how he survived beyond the wall and why he never returned to the wall?

That's almost the only explanation for the one skeleton not exploding. The night king's lucky they didn't add "If you come to rescue us please attack the blue guys on horses first xoxoxo" since he waited 10 minutes before throwing a spear.

Yes
The children of the forest saved him from going full undead and he can't cross the wall because the dead can't pass through it.
I think he says this to Bran upon finding him and taking him to the wall and explains why he can't cross.

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Where were the wight giants in this battle?

Also lol at all the good guys stopping to mourn the dragon, and the wights apparently stopping too

A bit too much "Deus ex machina" in this episode.

It was 65 seconds.

Finale is going to be 60 minutes of the Night King ferrying wights over the wall on the dragon in groups of 50 or so and 21 minutes of Cleganebowl

Ghost was fending them off.

It's even sadder because there was so much room for epic dialogue with the All Star Team all north of the wall together, many of whom having their first opportunity together to mix it up. But without book material, it's just B-.

And are you guys on board yet with Arya and Maisie sucking? That sequence with Sansa was pure cringe.

I was going to say, looks like The Hound is the one being tasked with taking this skeleton to Kingslanding, should present a good opportunity for him and The Mountain to get it on.

Also Sansa has sent Brienne of ****ing Tarth to Kinglanding too, I am seeing an interesting reunion with her and the Hound.

She is the one who swore an oath to protect the Stark girls and has basically done nothing while he has saved both their lives multiple times.

Always felt since their fight she would be involved in killing the Mountain. Can see the Mountain almost killing The Hound and her stepping in to save him and taking down the Mountain 2 on 1.

I swear if I see John Snow do another 180 dumb face look I'm gonna loose my ****....

Hate to say it but I got a heavy Walking Dead vibe from this episode. Characters walking, sad, stopping to talk in two's. Lots of behavior that makes no sense based on previous actions (Sansa, Arya) and then just throw a bunch of zombies and CGI at it to taste. That and they're back to having 14 yr old girls write Danys story..

I'm on board with all the LOL show logicwise at this point but aso on team still enjoy it.

Do want to lol at anyone LOLLing at Sansa right now for being dumb which i remember at least 2 of y'all doing. Arya's the one ****ing up right now (because reasons?, but still). Sansa's acting fine.

Wtf, you go and mine a bunch of dragon-glass to kill the whitewalkers then you go north of the wall hunting whitewalkers but bring no dragon-glass?

Since when have they been differentiating between whitewalkers and wights?

You go north of the wall on a dragon without a hat and gloves even though you have never seen snow/cold weather and "winter is here" but yet you have a stylish winter coat?

You yell "fallback" when surrounded on a rock cropping to the seven guys standing on the rock for the last day? Was that an A Team fight scene where no one dies?

Yeah, her reaction to Arya is the same as the viewer's. Which makes them writing Arya this way even more confusing. The plot twist will be Arya taking off her face after she kills all the people and being that guy that trained her for some reason.

It let us see Benji materialize with his flaming skull to rescue Starks, with the added benefit of him dying and us never learning what the **** his purpose or situation entailed other than to act as a Get Out Of Jail Free card for family members.

LOL show devolving rapidly, wife now tapping away at iPad during it and I can't even blame her.

I've been pulling for WW since entering the thread, more so now than ever since it's disgustingly obvious we're heading for United Westeros to protect the realm, barf.

There was no time!