Knee-Jerk Reactions to “The Last of the Starks”

Bonus Valyrian Steel Moment: Jaime and Brienne say goodbye. Yeah, I said I was disappointed in their hook up, and I am. But the parting scene, with Brienne being so good and honest and Jaime being so weak and honest, was fantastic. Yet I can’t help feeling that the scene would have still worked better if they hadn’t slept together.

Wrap it up and put a Bloody Bow on it:

I had some issues with “The Last of the Starks,” although I ultimately enjoyed it. This show has succeeded by delivering big doses of the unexpected (Ned Stark’s death, the Red Wedding), but it’s starting to feel more and more pat as it approaches the end.

Yes there are shock twists, like the sudden death of Rhaegal, but where are those monster out-of-left-field narrative punches we’re all dreading and breathlessly awaiting? We’re getting tons of great action and melodrama, but no mind-blowing blows have been landed.

For example, I love the Bronn character, but was there any reason to waltz in on Jaime and Tyrion throwing punches and firing his crossbow? I think that Bronn is “overdoing it” and that’s a problem reflected in season 8 as a whole. What do I mean? As the series approaches its penultimate episode, are the showrunners overdoing it by giving us a little too much of everything we thought we wanted? Or are they just holding pulling punches until later? I’ll be watching next week with bated breath to find out.

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