On Les Finale de Game of Thrones

Just perfect.

The writers knew their characters and what they would do. Or at least what we think they should do.

This meshed perfectly with what the fans, at least this fan, wanted.

We liked Brianne of Tarth writing up Jamie Lannister's entry in the history book and the presentation of the History of the Wars after the death of King Robert. We would, then, wouldn't we?

What, indeed, is west of Westeros?

We end with the rogues and misfits running the Royal Council.

From now on there will be no hereditary successor and with the death of each monarch the lords shall meet to chose a new monarch. In the centuries to come the meeting will expand to include not just lords, but rich men, maesters, perhaps a philosopher or two.

And in this way Westeros stumbled upon parliamentary democracy.

So the wheel is broken. All hail Denarys the Great.

The Battle of Winterfell

The Battle of Winterfell was part Medieval battle, part Zombie flick.

The battle did not disappoint. The writers gave us twists and turns, moves and countermoves.

Fought in the cold and at night, with a light snow coming down, the battle was an aesthetic triumph for film.

We saw the characters as they were, with nothing left to hide and no reason to hide. They were naked.

The episode was the length of a short movie and exhausting. The end prompted....that damn emotional reaction again.

There's nothing quite like the Battle of Winterfell.

Well done, GoT.

Battle Extraordinaire

Game of Thrones Edition.

So we've been binge watching season 7. We got to episode five and the battle of Highgarden.

Spoilers are coming so don't scroll if you wanna watch.


*spoilers*

Here there be spoilers.

Here's a clip:

Basically, the Lannister Army has just taken Highgarden and is marching away when they hear approaching hooves. Over the rise come thousands of screaming Dothraki raiders.

We were impressed with the Lannister shield wall. Any good military historian knows light cavalry can't crack heavy infantry.

Then came Daenarys Stormborn and her dragon which basically napalms the Lannister army.

They tried a score of archers against the dragon. Then  try a giant balista, which only wounds the dragon.

We love that the viewer could see the battle from various perspectives. We loved the fire and smoke everywhere and how the Lannister men stood their ground even after their line had been breached.

A note on the strategy here. Daenerys is losing the war. One fleet has been destroyed outright while another has been destroyed after landing an army of the mighty Unsullied at Casterly Rock, which is now cut off. Then the Lannisters go and defeat Daenerys' Tyrell allies at Highgarden.

Daenerys pulls a George Washington and launches an attack to regain momentum. In doing so she destroys one army, retakes Highgarden and captures the loot with which the Lannisters were going to repay their credit-masters at the Iron Bank.

Dracaryes must be the most feared word in the Valerian language.

Well done, Stormborn. Well done indeed.