Spoilers might be a bit overcooked.

This was an episode in which the strength of the realm wielded by Cersei clashed with the raw power of Daenerys’ legacy. Dragon (Drogon to be specific) trumps everything, scorpions or no scorpions. The dreaded giant crossbows were shown as fearsome weaknesses for the mythical beast. The tide seemed to favour Cersei and paint Daenerys as the underdog, but we were all deceived. Perhaps we were supposed to have false expectations, but it almost seemed like perhaps the show could’ve used some time to develop this outcome a little better.

You might think I’m talking about how Drogon just overpowered everything and everyone. Yes, that happened. But no, what I am talking about is where Daenerys character is headed now. A very, very dark place indeed. The cheering for the Mother of Dragons has stopped. There’s one twist that we’re being prepared for, a heel turn for the character we’ve been cheering on since she was sold to the Dothraki. Daenerys is suddenly been shifted into the mad, vindictive, ruthless role. We already had that? Why do we need it?

Highs, Lows and Scorch Marks:

  • Some people want to see the world burn. They’re probably some of the viewers, but I hardly think hardcore fans of the show want to see excellent world building for 7 seasons just to destroy everything in the last. Or perhaps they do. Still, literally everything was just overpowered by a dragon. Dany’s only strategy was using the sun and steeping the angle of attack to take out a bunch of ships of the Iron Fleet. That was it though, after that I’m not sure why the other scorpions become ineffective.
  • Daenerys. Now, more than ever, the show is literally forcing us to side with Jon Snow against Daenerys. To do that, they have to start painting the Mother of Dragons in a negative light. It’s a bit too late? You’ve been building this character from slave to savior to warrior to queen and the next step is going to be destroyer? Doesn’t make sense. Not everything has to be a subversion. It’s frustrating to build something just go for a cheap twist in the end.
  • Cersei and Jaime. First of all, their arc was doomed for them to end up together. We literally had Jaime ride all the way to Winterfell to face the white walkers, make Brienne a knight, sleep with her and then have him ride all the way back to Cersei again. That was exhausting. But we knew they would most likely die or kill each other. I won’t be surprised if they emerge from the rubble for the finale.
  • The Hound and The Mountain finally face each other. It kinda went the best it could have gone, and that’s another arc fulfilled. Oh, and Qyburn dies too. No need to look up who he is, he’s dead.
  • Euron Greyjoy dies because, of course, Jaime is the bigger gun in the show. Well, actually he dies because he thinks he won and Jaime just grabs a sword and stabs him. RIP Euron Greyjoy. You were not much of a character.
  • Arya. She’s there to literally learn a lesson, which makes me think it might be up to Arya to kill Daenerys. I never thought it would come to that, but that’s the only reason we have Arya watching people get killed in King’s Landing. That’s also the only reason she survives and even finds the only surviving horse to ride out of the city. Death rides a pale horse. It’s a little too on the nose, but I guess we don’t have time to be subtle with the finale coming up.
  • RIP Varys. He was now is absolutely certain where Daenerys was headed, but I just thought his death was another step to paint her in a negative light. I would’ve prefer him to disappear mysteriously.
  • I did like that suddenly every hidden site with Wildfire on it went up. After all, they were hidden caches of it throughout the city that had never been found. At least nobody can use that anymore.
  • And finally, the show is trying to pull one last fast twist that we’re all seeing coming in literally the last minute: make two favourites fight each other. It’s not something anybody wanted, and just like having Drogon burn the entire city down, it feels forced.

That will do for now.