After a lengthy break between awards sessions, thanks to that Long Night between seasons, we’re thrilled to welcome everyone back to the Watchers on the Wall Awards! It’s time to kick off our awards preliminaries, Game of Thrones fans. As always, you the readers suggest the nominees for every category; we gather them up and knock ’em down with a couple rounds of polling, until we find the best of the best!
What do we say to the god of death? We say…good job! The final season of Game of Thrones was bloodthirsty, sending countless faves packing, so let’s start off our voting this year with a category sure to inspire some fun discussion: Best Death Scene. Choose your five favorites from the preliminary poll!
That’s right, five! Our preliminary round rules: Select up to FIVE nominees from the poll. You can choose fewer if you like, but you can’t choose more than 5. (Visit the initial WotW Awards post for a complete explanation of the rules and process.)
At the end of one week (Saturday 08/25/19 at 4PM Eastern Time), whichever five death scenes have the most votes will continue on to the finals. The results of the poll will be revealed when it’s time to choose the winner of Best Death Scene in a few weeks.
As always, these preliminary nominees came from Watchers on the Wall readers, and the winners lay entirely in your hands. Have fun, and thank you all for nominating and voting!
Soemthings wrong with the site. Only displays 2017 content for me and homepage defaults to the Season 7 poster unveil. Can only get to current articles from the twitter links.
Jack Bauer 24,
That happened to me a couple of hours ago but its fine right now.
It was funny to read the speculation of that comment section from two and half years ago btw
Jack Bauer 24
That was fixed a while ago. Let’s try to keep this on topic for once, Jack.
Sorry, still doing it for me. Is there a workaround other then the twitter links?
I voted for Theon, Dany, Jaime/Cersei, Night King, and Jorah. They were all written and executed brilliantly. The 5th was a tossup with Jorah and Beric, but I went Jorah since he was more of a main character. Loved how Beric died serving out the LoL’s prophecy though. They were all brilliant.
Jack Bauer 24,
Clear your cache.
I voted for:
Theon
Danerys
Jaime and Cersei
The Night King
Sandor
-Theon’s sacrifice in the Godswood (what a perfect end for that character)
-Daenerys is stabbed by and dies in the arms of Jon Snow (it breaks my heart every damn time, but it was SO well done)
-Cersei and Jaime are crushed together under the Red Keep (probably the death scene I’ve rewatched the most – and cried essentially every time. I think it’s perfect).
-Beric Dondarrion sacrifices himself as a human barricade to protect Arya (I couldn’t have asked for a better end for one of my favorite characters – saving Arya so that she could save the world)
-Sandor Clegane and the Mountain fall from the Red Keep into the fire (that long shot of them falling into the flames is just unspeakably epic)
I also strongly considered Lyanna Mormont (killed me to leave that one off, but there are so many great ones to choose from), the Night King (though that will ABSOLUTELY get my vote in the Best Dramatic Scene category), Jorah, Melisandre, and Missandei. Qyburn as well, because it was so perversely funny. Like I said, lots of great options here!
I chose Theon, JOrah, the Night King, Sandor, and Melisandre. I almost voted for Dany or Lyanna, who was fighting to the last second. I think Mel had the most beautiful death in a whole show of deaths.
If I were an actor I can’t think of a better death than the way Jorah went out.
It was really a perfect end for him as he defended the woman he love while withstanding many blows that would have been fatal to others. He also looked amazing delivering blow after blow with the Tarley family sword that helped redeem him from the days when he shamed his family.
It’s hard not to also put Arya’s killing of the Night King.
If I had to choose I vote for Jorah because it has to be an actor’s dream of the perfect death scene for his character.
Tron79,
I think we’re on the same page about Jorah. My first three choices to follow.
Tron79,
Darn it! My top three selections post is disappearing into “That Page Not Found” oblivion. I’ll try again tomorrow.
Ahhh I missed nominating anything, is it too late to nominate anything in the other categories?
My votes:
– Theon: trying to redeem himself was the perfect death for a character that hit the very bottom of human existence and came back. The way he ran towards the Night King was a bit silly, though.
– Melisandre: it’s the best death of the season, for me. After her life work is done, she just dies at a new dawn. Very poetic.
– Jaime and Cersei: these two characters made their fates intertwined since they were born. Their final scene together was really well done. I have some issues how they did get there, though.
– Jorah: a fitting end for his story, even if its sacrifice has been a bad thing in hindsight.
– Ned Umber: this death was a good way of showing the threatening power of the White Walkers, even without their appearance in the episode. The art surrounding little Ned was good and the scene with Edd and Tormund was also very good.
Honorable mentions: Beric, Sandor and the Night King (could be on the list, but I would like they have given Arya other way to kill him, without the Olympic long jump).
I went with Dany, because, obviously…
I also went with Beric and Melisandre. The LoL arc throughout the entire series has been one of my favorites, and I love the connection to Arya Stark, and closing the loop on the story in the “The Long Night”. I was so happy with how it played out….
Which leads me to my other selection, and the one I nominated which was the death of the Night King. Sooo good.
The last one I went with was Ned Umber…. I thought it was horrific yet perfect way to continue the build up to the Long Night… sooo good!!!!!!!!
Oooooh, getting to choose 5 is tough. I can automatically eliminate Daenerys, the Night King, Cersei/Jaime, Varys, Rhaegal. The female wight–LOL! That WAS great, but I guess I’ll take her out. Theon? That one’s in-between…sad, but I couldn’t help finding it so…pointless and quick and unnecessary. ;; Qyburn, I actually felt badly for. And talk about quick!
My #1 is undoubtedly Melisandre. Probably my fave of the entire series. Such a poignant, dignified, elegant, beautiful final scene, returning in the morning light to her beloved lord at long last, after having fulfilled her destiny. The weight of the world lifting from her shoulders so she can finally sleep, following this long lifetime spent fighting with the darkness–no more need to fear dreams. She beautifully bookended the battle and was such a highlight of the season.
-Beric’s was noble and tragic…if that’s ultimately what he needed to do, he did a bang-up job of it, spending his final life and moving on for good, as he was also ready to.
-Jorah’s got me misty. I wanted Dany to give him a kiss before he passed, though!
-Almost forgot about Ned, whoops! Yeah, that made for a good jump-scare horror bit…
-Sandor & the Mountain…yeah, that could be another contender.
-Lyanna went down fighting too, that’s another choice…
-Missandei’s was effective. Dreadful, although if I were her I’d have grabbed Cersei and hurled her to the ground. 8D
So which additional four do I pick? Hmm. I guess Beric, Jorah, the Cleganes (twofer), aaannd…Ned, because I’m sure he’s not gonna win. {:3
Theon. Easily.
Alfie deserves every reward for the emotions he was capable to put into this scene.
1. Mellisandre: very poignant scene (if that’s the right word).
2. Cersei and Jaime: Cersei the woman of power lost all her power in the end, and is crushed by the building in which she had that power. And also Dany did in fact kill her there. She died powerless. (having her killed in other ways what people wanted she would have died powerful which I think would not be better).
3. I cried very much with this one_
4. Very emotional scene. How far will a love one go till he thinks_ This is enough. How far will somebody go to for-fill their destiny and be blinded by that. Very great scene and well acted_
5. The Night King: I stated my idea of having a scene before with Arya. But the scene itself was very great. The build up with Bran and the NK. where we see Bran with his pokerface. Bran already knew there the battle was won. Theon sacraficed himself. And There’s Arya, shattering the long dream of the NK.
Jorah, Sandor didn’t make my final 5. But still my top 7. And I had hard time to choose between them and the NK.
Lyanna didn’t get into my top 10 Because I find her death to perfect, she was bad-ass there but her precisely sticking her sword into the giants eye didn’t feel like GoT to me. For me it would have been better if she had stick it less perfect. And sticked it in his jaw first and later his head or something. More battle/GoT-like instead of Hollywood-like.
We never saw Ned Umber being impaled, so what we saw was a wight being burned–not Ned. He’s off my list. Missandeij’s death dealt heavy blows to both Dany and Grey Worm, but the death itself was not especially noteworthy. My five?
#1–DAny. The whole series, and likely the books, led to her death and I teared up when Drogon nudged her body in an attempt to wake her. Beautifully done and beautifully shot. Kudos to both Kit and Emilia.
#2–Sandor. I loved Sandor Clegane. When Gregor was not killed by a knife to the brain, I knew he was dead. What other option was there? He took out a monster and finally, hopefully, found peace.
#3–Lyanna Mormont. This one I did not see coming. Little, tiny Lyanna took out a giant as he killed her. I loved and hated that scene.
#4–Theon. I’m not sure that anyone who made it to the final season suffered more than Theon. Jon forgave him for a lot and said that he was both a Greyjoy and a Stark, and his sister told him he could go fight with Jon against the AotD, so he entered the fray with no constraints. Add in his scenes with Sansa and his death becomes both inevitable and brutal.
#5–Varys. He was right, and hoped he was not. Initially I disliked Varys and LF and never saw any good in either, but eventually I believed Varys about wanting what was best for Westeros.
Stoneheart,
Yes the nominating period closed a week ago, sorry!
Usually most things/people are nominated for each category multiple times. If you go through that thread you might find that nearly everything you would have nominated was by someone else anyway.
Oh shoot, somehow I missed Varys!! Can I change my mind?
Most heroic is a split between Theon and Lianna Mormont, most hell yeah is Arya knifing the Night King.
Most Shakespearean is Dany’s death, and I would say also the most beautiful… Drogon melting the Iron Throne and flying away with his mama, is haunting.
Saddest, I’d have to say Missandei, Varys and Melissandre…and Jamey is in there as well…in some ways augmented by Brienne and Tyrion’s pain.
The bravest, the Hound, Beric, Jorah and Dolorous Ed.
Theon’s sacrifice in the godswood – I love Theon and I wouldn’t mind him winning just because I’ve enjoyed his overall performance, but this scene really didn’t work for me. “Gee thanks for everything Theon, you can go die now.” “Oh ok great! I mean, I didn’t think I really had to die just now, but if you say so then here I go! buhbye!”
Daenerys is stabbed by and dies in the arms of Jon Snow – Saw this one coming a mile away and I felt nothing when it happened. I just kind of wanted to get it over with at that point. However, the only part of this scene that moved me was Drogon nudging Dany. That was probably the most emotional moment of the entire finale for me.
Cersei and Jaime are crushed together under the Red Keep. – I don’t really hate the way they died, but I’ll be damned if I thought it was a fitting sendoff for them. A hard no on this one.
Jorah Mormont dies protecting his khaleesi in battle. – This was probably the most easily predictable of all the deaths in season 8. There was nothing wrong with it, but it was pretty much standard operating procedure here. Not gonna vote for something so standard.
The Night King falls to Arya’s blade and shatters. – I did not have any issue with Arya being the one to kill the NK, but I thought it was somewhat anticlimactic. By the way, does body armor work on any bad guy in any movie ever? It never seems to do anything at all. What’s the point of wearing armor if it doesn’t…oh, nevermind.
Lyanna Mormont dies after killing a wight giant with her last breath – I actually really liked this one. I couldn’t stand Lyanna’s character. She was so one-note. She appeared on screen every time D&D felt like the audience needed to be patronized about strong women, but her death was probably the only one of the bunch that was even the least bit surprising.
Beric Dondarrion sacrifices himself as a human barricade to protect Arya – Good death, but a rather predictable one too. I’ll pass.
Melisandre walks out of Winterfell at dawn and gives up her life – I thought Mel was the MVP of The Long Night. I loved her performance in this episode, but her death was also somewhat anticlimactic. It had been a long time coming, so when it finally happened, it was more like checking off a box rather than feeling any particular emotion.
Ned Umber is torched after being turned into undead artwork – THIS IS MY VOTE!. It was by far, the most suspenseful, chilling scene in a season that was apparently supposed to have lots of scares in it. There were pretty much no scary scenes at all except for this one.
Sandor Clegane and The Mountain fall from the Red Keep into fire – This was another rather predictable death. I liked the scene, but I didn’t think it really did much for me. As much as I liked Sandor, it was checking off another box.
Missandei is brutally executed by Cersei and the Mountain – I will miss Missandei, but I can’t vote for this one. It was yet another scene where Tyrion was trying to appeal to Cersei’s, ahem, good nature, by trying to to convince her to do the right thing, despite the fact that she previously rebuffed him time and time again. Dude, Tyrion, your sister is not going to listen to you, ffs. Try something else.
Varys is executed by dragonfire for his plotting – No. Hell no. They turned Varys into a complete buffoon in the last season in order to check off the necessary boxes in an expedient amount of time. Varys used to be intelligent and pragmatic. Unfortunately, he decided to commit treason out in the open. He knew Jon wouldn’t betray Dany, but he went ahead and was right out in the open in telling Jon that he needed to betray her anyway. I guess it was time to check off the “Varys needs to die” box.
Qyburn is finally killed by his own creation – I actually liked this one. It was kind of funny, and added a bit of levity in an otherwise emotionally heavy episode.
Rhaegal is shot down by Euron in battle – “Dany kind of forgot about the Iron Fleet”. Ugh, enough said.
A female wight in the library is silently killed by Arya, and gently lowered to the floor. – I enjoyed this scene a lot, as I enjoyed most of The Long Night, but I dunno. This was a pretty standard, run-of-the-mill Arya kill. It didn’t really stand out one way or the other.
1 – Daenerys is stabbed by and dies in the arms of Jon Snow
2 – Jorah Mormont dies protecting his khaleesi in battle.
3 – The Night King falls to Arya’s blade and shatters.
4 – Sandor Clegane and The Mountain fall from the Red Keep into fire
5 – Missandei is brutally executed by Cersei and the Mountain
Out of those, I would rate Jorah Mormont’s death scene as the best. He went down fighting to the end.
#1: Daenerys. The acting and shooting conveyed the tragedy beautifully.
#2: Jorah. So perfect. I loves show!Jorah, and the acting relationship between Emilia Clarke and Iain Glen was incredible.
#3 : Cersei and Jaimie. Roughly, same reasons as Kevin1989. In particular, I didn’t expect to be moved, and it reminded me how most characters are neither black or white and the symbol of the Red Keep falling down on her was perfectly to the point.
#4. Melisander. The shooting are so poetic, and all together they brought the dawn.
#5. The NK. Because I loved how the sequence was done (the contrast between the slow motion, which was the culmination of the “all-is-lost” sequence, and the swift outcome, how it was edited and the music . Though I am among those that’d prefer a previous short shot of Arya sneaking her way from the library, in parallel with Jon striving to go to the Godswood, I think the end of the sequence is perfectly well-done (except probably for Theon charging: I thought it felt lame, and that’s why I didn’t vote for his death – I was ready to cry for Theon, and it failed for me. Well, I did cry at the funeral pyre, thanks to Sophie Turner).
I voted for those that felt emotionally and visually perfect to me, and had some impact story-wise. Those I would never have voted for: Ned Umber (too secondary, just horror prop), Sandor (I didn’t like the way it was directed, too marvelesque and cartoonish for my tatste, though I loved the way it was edited, in parallel with Arya), Lyanna Mormont (just too much). Beric’s and Varys’ deaths would be my 6 ex-aequo.
Rhaegal’s death scene was tragic and beautifully written and executed. The whole “Dany kinda forgot about the Iron Fleet” was the whole point. Dany was overconfident and becoming more and more worried about the Aegon reveal, so she wasn’t even concerned about the IF. It made perfect sense and was conveyed on screen beautifully.
This was never conveyed onscreen as fact. Is this how you’re choosing to interpret the scene? Forgetting about your enemy’s entire naval fleet is pretty different than being overconfident. Besides, what reason would she have to be overconfident? All of her efforts to win had failed up to that point. D&D specifically said that Dany forgot about them. So, what is it? Did she forget or was she just overconfident?
I think they just needed a way to kill off Rhaegal in expedient fashion and this is the way they seemed to have chosen.
I mean, in one scene, Euron and his entire fleet expertly shot Rhaegal from miles away in one shot, yet subsequently Euron and his entire fleet couldn’t hit Drogon at all while he’s dive-bombing straight at them because of…reasons? It’s just goofy. And THEN she decides it’s a good idea to fly away after she dive-bombed them and all their shots missed. You know, like the perfect time to fucking roast them. When they’re re-loading.
If any sort of logic was used at all, Dany would’ve wiped out the Iron Fleet without any issue whatsoever. All she’d have to do is maneuver to the sides of the ships where the ships would have to spend time repositioning. Dany could have Drogon roast them all easily. Obviously, it can’t be an easy win because there would be no drama in that, so they have to come up with something. However, I would’ve preferred if they came up with something that was a bit easier to believe.
IMO, D&D became increasingly concerned with big moments and dramatic payoff, and less and less about logical, clever storytelling, which the show was founded on. Some people like it and some just don’t. i still respect D&D and appreciate what they’ve done. I personally think they could’ve and should’ve done a better job with playing out the last season without requiring every character to turn into a complete moron to check off the remaining boxes.
loco73,
I liked how you separated those. I need to give those categories some thought. Off the top of my head
the saddest was Theon,
bravest Beric,
Most Shakespearian Dany
Heroic Jorah
-Theon’s sacrifice in the godswood
-Daenerys is stabbed by and dies in the arms of Jon Snow
-Jorah Mormont dies protecting his khaleesi in battle
-Melisandre walks out of Winterfell at dawn and gives up her life
-Sandor Clegane and The Mountain fall from the Red Keep into fire
Definitely my top five of the season.
I think I am not gonna vote on this one.
It honestly made me really sad to read the amount of people who died because, honestly, I barely felt a thing.
Jaime and Theon were my favourite male characters, I felt nothing when they died (maybe a little bit for Theon tbh, but they ruined Jaime’s character SO much that I didn’t care at the end).
Same can be said about Daenerys and Cersei, I absolutely loved them as characters…. and then season 8 happened… and I know I was supposed to be sobbing uncontrollably when they died, I should have cried like a little baby given that I am a really emotional person but nope, only numbness.
I think that’s the worst critic you can give to a saga, it got to a point where I didn’t care about the brilliantly complex characters that I once rooted for.
Oh, not this again. This argument has been debunked so many times. Rhaegal was injured and didn’t see the attack coming, so he was an easy target to hit. Drogon was in full health and saw the attack coming, so he was a much harder target to hit. It is, quite literally, that simple.
No, Danerys should not have attacked the Iron Fleet. One of her dragons was down and the Unsullied were shipwrecked. She would have been on her own with Drogon and all it would have taken was one lucky shot to either kill her or her dragon. That’s too big a risk to take just to take out a handful of ships. After the Long Night, Drogon was Dany’s best strategic advantage. If she lost him, she would have no way of winning.
Characters were not “complete morons” in season 8. Where do you come up with this stuff?
Max,
Jaime and Cersei died tragically in each other’s arms as the world fell down around them. Theon died tragically trying to save Bran. Beric died tragically saving Arya. Sandor died tragically, sacrificing himself for his revenge. Lyanna died heroically, taking down a wight giant. Missandei died tragically, beheaded to taunt Danerys. Melisandre died beautifully. If you felt nothing for all of these deaths, I truly feel sorry for you. GOT is the biggest show in the world. There will never be another one like it in our lifetime. I don’t understand why you would spend the final season criticizing how the show didn’t go the way you wanted it to. Take Jaime, for example. They didn’t ruin his character at all. His actions were perfectly understandable. He wanted a life with Brienne, but he didn’t think he deserved it. He couldn’t forgive himself for all the terrible things he’s done. Also, he wanted to save his sister and unborn child from being burned alive. In the end, D&D stayed true to the story and its characters.
This awards show is a gift for fans so they could say goodbye to a show that they love and so they could appreciate all the hard work and care that went in to crafting such a magnificent season. If you don’t plan on voting, can you please go away and let us have our fun?
Even though it wasn’t a main character, I voted for the female wight as one of my favorites because that scene was so tense and so well done!
8/20/19 2:56 AM Attempted Re-Post #7 🤢
Best Death Preliminary Round
(Comment, Part 1)
After my first three choices, selecting the remaining two was unexpectedly difficult. Those three choices, in the order in which they appear in the poll, were (for me) no-brainers for the reasons that follow:
• Jorah “Yet Here I Stand” Mormont dies protecting his Khaleesi in battle.
This is the hero’s death Jorah surely envisioned for himself: guarding Dany with his life, and refusing to die until he saw she was safe. As far back as S5 when Jorah sold himself back into indentured servitude just to “fight for her” in the fighting pits, dying in battle to safeguard Dany was the ultimate expression of his loyalty and love for her.
• Lyanna Mormont dies after killing a wight giant with her last breath.
As much as it pained me to see Baby Bear perish, she went out like a boss, vindicating her putdowns of those who second-guessed her abilities to fight for the North – like Lord Glover. (Meanwhile, chickensh*t Lord Glover chickened out – again – sending a note that he was going to sit tight in Deepwood Motte. I assume and hope he was drafted by Team Night King, or turned into a spiral wall decoration.)
• Beric Dondarrion sacrifices himself as a human barricade to protect the Princess That Was Promised – I mean, Arya.
I thought Beric’s heroic sacrifice was set up beautifully in the previous episode, tempered by a bit of humor courtesy of Sandor…
To be continued …
Mr Derp,
”Forgetting about your enemy’s entire naval fleet is pretty different than being overconfident. Besides, what reason would she have to be overconfident? All of her efforts to win had failed up to that point. D&D specifically said that Dany forgot about them.”
______
Argggh! This brings back bad memories of how director Mark Mylod tweaked the scripts in S6 so that Arya “forgot” that the Faceless Men had put a hit on her: cheap manipulation for “dramatic” effect.
They should’ve had Michelle MacLaren direct those episodes.
I did too! Arya was almost… loving the way she embraced the female wight and gently lowered her to the floor.
That was #5 of my five selections.
Mr Derp,
”Ned Umber is torched after being turned into undead artwork – THIS IS MY VOTE!. It was by far, the most suspenseful, chilling scene in a season that was apparently supposed to have lots of scares in it. There were pretty much no scary scenes at all except for this one.”
Yup. Ned Umber was my #4. When his mutilated corpse opened its eyes, it spooked the sh*t out of me.
Mr Derp,
”A female wight in the library is silently killed by Arya, and gently lowered to the floor. – I enjoyed this scene a lot, as I enjoyed most of The Long Night, but I dunno. This was a pretty standard, run-of-the-mill Arya kill. It didn’t really stand out one way or the other.”
_____
“Run-of-the-mill Arya kill” is an oxymoron. Every Arya kill is a highlight (except for NK).
Young Dragon,
Well, first of all, I love watchersonthewall and it’s articles and, as a fan, I am more than entitled to express my opinion with respect.
That being said, I do not particularly agree with you about Jaime’s character ruin, his phrase “I never really cared about them” while referring to the innocent small folk still haunts me.
Anyway, i don’t think this is the place to argue about such things.
Dee Stark,
”Which leads me to my other selection, and the one I nominated which was the death of the Night King. Sooo good.”
As much as I love Arya, her takedown of NK didn’t make my Top 5. However, I acknowledge I’m in the minority.
You know what I enjoyed more than watching that scene? Watching the Burlington Bar crowd react to it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5wm3fY5pCY
at 1:01…
Max,
Yet, I don’t see you posting your opinions very often, and you chose a very strange article to post your criticisms. This is an article where posters are supposed to vote on what they liked about the final season. There were several articles that came before this where your post would have felt more at home.
Jaime was in a very dark place when he said that and he was playing a role, similar to the role he played with Edmure back in season 6. As a Jaime fan, you should have caught that.
You’re right, this isn’t the place for such nonsense, but that didn’t stop you from posting.
Young Dragon,
Just as you are certainly allowed to share your opinions , the rest of us can share ours. I personally felt Jaime’s character was sacrificed to promote Cersei storyline. Peter and Lena were propped up for the Emmys. I didn’t even know who Jaime was in episode 5. The writers did a horrible job in conveying the message they intended. If Jaime was always going to return to Cersei to die , that is fine. The way they chose to show that was rushed and felt out of character based on his actions prior to that in Season 8 episodes 1-3.. I felt nothing when he died, and he was my favorite character. A complete mess. George may have the same ending in mind, but it will be shown in a way that makes sense. this did not. Nikolaj didn’t even submit that episode for his Emmy submission. He submitted Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Watchers on the Wall declined to report on that change however.
You haven’t “debunked” anything. Only in your mind.
Look, I get it. You loved the ending of the show and you get all pissy when someone else doesn’t share the same opinion. I get it. I could easily throw “not this again” back at you. This is a site that encourages conversation. If you don’t want to talk about it then don’t.
Unless Rhaegal’s eyes were injured and couldn’t see, this makes no sense. Rhaegal didn’t see the attack coming because he was hurt? That’s it? If that’s what you’re going with that’s a pretty weak explanation. And how can you say that Drogon was a “much harder target to hit” when Drogon simply dive-bombed them and went straight at them? That’s as easy of a target as it gets.
What can I say? Arya set a high bar for killings. She only has herself to blame 🙂
Hard agree on so many of your assessments, Mr. Derp (mainly except that Mel’s strongly moved me.) xD Especially RHAEGAL (thank you), Varys, Dany, the NK, the twins, Theon, Lyanna, Ned, & Missandei. Lotta box-ticking involved, and uncharacteristic idiocy allowing said ticking.
I included Jorah in my votes despite it being kinda by-the-numbers. At least it’s what he wanted. ;; Same with Cleganebowl, basically. Fanservicey but I didn’t have a *problem* with it, so it made my cut.
I also felt more emotion when Sansa put the direwolf pin on Theon at the funeral than when he actually died.
There was a lot of surprising numbness and just, anger (among the multiple reasons I automatically ruled out several choices.)
Jaime’s “I never cared for them” remark didn’t bug me much because even if it was sincere, I had no problem buying Lannister safety as his motive for kingslaying & the rest of the city’s population as a bonus. Loved him but loathed where he wound up and felt little but disgust as he died.
And yeah, fvck that Lord Glover! :p
Agree I felt noting when Jaime died . He was my favorite character and i didnt even recognize who he was.
Mr Derp,
I don’t mind if you didn’t like the ending. It’s just I found the vast majority of the arguments to be incredibly weak. I actually understood the criticisms for the previous seasons more than the criticisms for this one. Like yours, for instance.
Rhaegal didn’t see the attack coming because it was an ambush, lol. Euron’s ships were hidden from view until they struck. And just because Drogon dive bombed them doesn’t make him an easy target, as he can still duck and weave. It’s all there in the episode. All you have to do is pay attention and come up with better arguments. So yeah, you can go ahead and call your criticism debunked.
They’re not arguments. I could care less about convincing anyone of anything. This is an article to express my opinions on the best death, and I explained my choice. You came at me.
And what about your argument? You’re changing your stance with every post. First, Rhaegal was hit because he was injured. Now it’s not because of his injury, but because it was an ambush? It’s hard to make a convincing argument when your argument is constantly changing.
All he did was list lazily to the left after going straight at them. Considering that Rhaegal was shot expertly multiples times from miles away through a mountain, Drogon should not have been a difficult shot since he went straight at them. Also, why didn’t Drogon just roast the entire IF if he was able to get that close to them without getting hit? He can do his listing lazily to the left maneuver and then roast them from behind. It’s all right there in the episode.
I don’t normally like to nitpick these things, but part of the appeal of Game of Thrones was that it cared more about logic than spectacle. It wasn’t just another Michael Bay type of production that did away with logic for the sake of booms and pows. This is exactly the kind of crap that I would expect to see in a Michael Bay movie, not Game of Thrones.
Also, the dragons had an aerial view of the entire area. If they couldn’t see the IF, then the IF shouldn’t have been able to see them either. Euron had to shoot through a mountain. So, unless Westeros had magically bending arrows that can curve around mountains, consider your ambush theory debunked.
Mr Derp,
Lol you tell him Mr. Derp! We all know the “Dany forgot about the Iron Fleet” scene reasoning is so weak it makes the “zombies were conveniently carrying chains” from last season cringe.
It’s terrible, but YD didn’t get the silly memo. Or he keeps shoving it in the drawer and refuses to look at it. He thinks it will go away if he says “criticism debunked!” ☺️
TormundsWoman,
I don’t get why people keep on falling over that detail. Yes maybe the death of Rhaegal was too much suspension of disbelief, but it never bothered me one bit. One way or another, he had to die. I liked episode 4, probably the last episode I liked. I am more concerned with episode 3, that was hyped so much, but it didn’t live up to my expectations. Miguel Sapochnik is a very good director, loved what he did with Hardhome and Winds of Winter, but episode 3 was for me a complete failure. Both the directing and the writing really sucked. GOT has done so much better in previous seasons.
Best death scene for me were Melisandre and the Umber-boy. His death was really terrifying.
By the way, I do admire D&D. It wasn’t easy for them to finnish a story someone else started. And at least they gave us an ending. Maybe not all episodes were good, but most of them were very good.
You just answered your own question 😉
Chilli,
I am the wrong person to ask such a question, Chilli. Just because I notice inconsistencies, retcons, shoehorning, ridiculous explanations that make no sense or acknowledge silly reasonings and accept some low quality storyline writing, it doesn’t mean I don’t like the series.
Let me prove my point: Beyond the Wall is without doubt the episode I’ve rewatched the most times as of today. Numerous times. Every single time they ran it on any HBO channels (East, West, Family, Zone etc.) and I was at home. Plus on demand when I missed Tormund. It’s my go to ep. it is in fact my favorite from the seasons that have no book material and possibly one of my faves in the whole series.
I still think it’s hilarious the ice zombies had chains and there’s nothing anyone can say that will convince me it’s not the most ridiculously convenient and expedient writing. That being said I personally justified it by having the NK know the future and know he’ll shoot down a dragon that will fall in a lake. Because he may see the future. (Of course if that were even half true he would have seen Arya coming a mile away… 😋)
As you see I don’t trip over a thing like that because it’s incredibly ridiculous, but neither do I bury my head in the sand and say it makes perfect sense and it’s good writing.
I don’t really see how it requires and suspension of disbelief. Iron Fleet were hiding AND Euron was a master pirate. I don’t think Dany was concerned with the Iron Fleet at all and didn’t care or wasn’t concerned that people were advising her about them.
Mr Derp,
I “came at you” for the same reason I “came at” Max. I’ll tell you the same thing I told him. This awards show is a gift to fans so they can say goodbye to the show they love and show appreciation for all the hard work and care that was used to craft such a magnificent season. It is not a place to reiterate nonsensical criticisms. There are many other articles for you to do that. Sorry, but I’m not going to allow you or others turn this site into Westeros.org 2.0. That’s not going to happen.
I didn’t change my argument at all. In my first post, I said Rhaegal was an easier target because “he was injured and he didn’t see the attack coming.” He didn’t see the attack coming because it was an ambush. Now do you see? You don’t pay at. You didn’t pay attention to the show and you didn’t pay attention to my post.
Yes, Drogon moved to the left and was able to dodge the bolts. Drogon had maneuverability and awareness whereas Rhaegal had neither, thus making Rhaegal an easier target.
You aren’t nit picking, though. You are flat out wrong. Rhaegal getting shot and Drogon dodging the bolts was logical for the reasons I listed. A nit pick would be the wights ability to punch through stone but them not being able to punch through wood. You could nit pick the earlier seasons as well, if you wanted to, just like any other show. For example, why was the Hound waiting in Sansa’s room during the Battle of the Blackwater when he had absolutely no reason to assume she would show up? Why did Ilyn Payne let her leave at all? How did the Karstarks make up half of Robb’s army? These are just a few examples, things you obviously let slide. Season 8 is different because you didn’t like how it ended, so you’re criticizing it much more harshly because you want to punch D&D in the nose.
There are certain positions/angles one could be in that would make you be able to see your opponent while keeping out of their sight. Besides, the bolts came from the Rgaegal’s side, so the could have easily poked out and shot Rhaegal before they were seen.
TormundsWoman,
Mr. Derp didn’t tell me anything I haven’t already heard before. I had no problem dealing with it then, and this time it’s no different. If you have something you want to say to me, try saying it directly. Otherwise, you’re just being a coward.
Forgive me for intruding a comment; I’m not trying to take sides. But a key difference is that Dany was riding Drogon. A rider is very important in battle, to control, anticipate, strategize, and observe. I’m confident this was said in the show and/or the books. We saw Dany manoeuvre Drogon to great effect several times, especially against the NK and Euron’s fleet. And Jon being on Rhaegal during E8E3 helped them combine to unseat the Night King. Both Viserion and Rhaegal were riderless when shot down. As to whether Rhaegal was shot through a mountain, I just re-watched and it seemed Euron’s ships were hiding in a bay behind the mountain and shot at Rhaegal when he flew into view. Dany controlled Drogon and they evaded some bolts.
As to whether Dany “kinda forgot” about the Iron Fleet, I think that was one of D&D’s (Benioff?) little jokes that not only fell flat but ended up being taken too literally., causing unwarranted damage. At any rate, someone should have reminded Dany to be wary, probably Varys. My burning question is: how in blazes did Euron know to be there? Had he just been cruising in the area, waiting there for weeks, did Qyburn send him, did someone back North betray Dany’s plans? My enquiring mind needs to know
Young Dragon,
A coward, eh?! Well I’ve been called worse o suppose.
Unfortunately I didn’t have anything to say to you that Mr. Derp didn’t say above so much better than I could ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I didn’t want to pile up and so I expressed approval for his comment and basically told him he did good and I agree and obviously complete disagree with you. Not that he needed my approval or encouragement.
Plus he was terribly funny at the end with his “ambush theory debunked” 😊
Cersei/Euron knew Dany was coming to KL, so they probably figured she would regroup or stop off at DS one last time before invading. Euron is a master of the sea, so I don’t really question how or when he gets to where he’s going.
Theon; Sandor; Jorah; Lady Mormont and Melisandre.
Well, I think that Daenerys just did not expect that Euron would risked attacking with his fleet because they knew Dany was guarding her fleet with her Dragons.Therefore, it is quite possible that she simply did not think about it anymore
Stark Raven' Rad,
You make some really good points. I never thought about how a dragon with a rider is more capable than a dragon on its own, but it makes perfect sense.
I never watch the behind the scenes videos for any show, so Benioff’s comments didn’t mean much to me. As for Euron, as Jack said, Cersei knew Danerys was coming and that it was only logical that she would use Dragonstone as a base of operations/staging area, as she had done in the past.
TormundsWoman,
Fair enough. I just prefer it when people respond to me directly.
This discussion is getting dumber by the minute. You really should’ve stopped yesterday.
This is not an article to say goodbye. The curtain call articles are for goodbyes. If you’re going to act like a know-it-all then the least you could do is get the basics right.
This article is about choosing your favorite death scene. I proceeded to post the nominees and my reasons for why I would or wouldn’t vote for it. That’s about as on-topic as it gets. You just didn’t like my reasoning, which is your problem, not mine. Consider your Westeros.org criticism debunked.
So, because I mentioned a flaw in season 8, you think I was somehow supposed to also conjure up every single criticism of the entire run of the show in order to justify my opinion here? Besides, I thought this wasn’t the time to turn this place into Westeros.org part 2, so any such criticisms would be unwarranted anyway? I like how you attempt to create your own rules of engagement, and then break them when it suits you.
I really have no interest in punching D&D in the nose. Or anywhere else for that matter. That’s something that you just threw in there unwarranted. I’ve said countless times that I respect them and appreciate them, but I think they could’ve and should’ve done better to close things out. That’s just my opinion. Just because I am critical of season 8 doesn’t necessarily have to mean that I have to hate D&D. You really should try paying more attention to my posts if you’re going to nitpick them.
Euron is a master of his own domain.
Ten Bears,
King of the Castle
Mr Derp,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUtJBqgwNgo
0:28 “Euron” … I mean “You’re on.”
Ten Bears,
I love how George won the contest, but it was revealed later in the series finale that he cheated. Great callback to one of the greatest episodes in tv history.
Mr Derp,
• I never watched the series finale, and never knew George had cheated… until today.
• At 12:17 pm, right after I wrote “Euron is a master of his own domain” and pressed Post Comment, I was afraid nobody would get the reference. I’m glad you did. 🙂
Ten Bears,
Sorry for the lack of spoiler alert there TB, but I think the statute of limitations expired on this one like 20 years ago 🙂
FYI, Elaine does not become the mad queen, but there are prison sentences handed out.
There is rarely a Seinfeld reference that can slip by me unnoticed.
Mr Derp,
This discussion had already reached the peak of its stupidity the moment you inquired as to how a healthy dragon who saw the attack coming was able to dodge said attack but an injured dragon who was unaware of the attack wasn’t able to dodge it. And you’re wrong. This is one of the last times we’ll be able to reward the show for its amazing cast, writing, and visual effects. This is not the place to bring up tired criticisms, especially those that have already been debunked. I’m glad that you brought up the curtain calls, because people brought criticisms into those articles as well rather than show their appreciation for the effort the actor/actress has put into their character, and I told them the same thing I’m telling you.
I see you’re making a feeble attempt to turn the argument back on me. Too bad you’re so bad at it. No, I’m not the one turning this place into Westeros.org 2.0, because I find all those complaints as ridiculous as the one you brought up. The only reason I mentioned them was because you yourself said you don’t like to nitpick, but GOT used to follow logic. Well, you could have nit picked the earlier seasons just as much as season 8, but you didn’t. Why? If you truly don’t have any wish to punch D&D in the nose, why go out of your way to criticize something that you let slide in the earlier seasons? It’s not the show that changed, it’s you.
I answered this already. Besides, I thought we were supposed to stay on topic, yes? Bringing up things from past seasons has nothing to do with this thread. If you’re so tired of these criticisms then how is it that you seem to revel in constantly bitching about them? Please actually read my posts and stop trying to insult me because you’re grasping at straws at this point. Your self-declared victories are embarrassing and juvenile. Just stop.
Mr Derp,
“I don’t normally like to nit pick these things, but part of the appeal of Game of Thrones was that it cared more about logic than spectacle.” This is a direct quote from you that brought the previous seasons into the topic of conversation. You opened that door, not me. And you didn’t answer the question at all, you just said that the previous seasons had nothing to do with this, except, as I pointed out, you made them have something to do with this. Again, you say you don’t like to nit pick, yet that’s exactly what you’re doing with season 8. You could have done that with the previous seasons or any other show for that matter, yet you chose to do it with season 8, and I already gave my reasonings. If you disagree, I’m all ears.
I can read your posts perfectly fine, it’s you who seems to be having trouble. Remember how you said I was changing my argument when I really wasn’t?
I’m not insulting you, I’m insulting your argument. There’s a difference. Just like you’re not saying I’m “embarrassing” and “juvenile,” only my “self-declared victories.” I’m not taking it personally. They’re not self-declared, though. My victories are declared by the facts I presented, facts you haven’t even come close to disputing.
I always love when posters ask me to stop. It reveals that they see how weak their position is, but they’re too proud to admit it.
I get it now. You’re actually blind. You changed your argument from saying that Rhaegal died simply because he was injured, to then saying he died because it was an ambush. That is the definition of changing your argument, but that’s ok.
First you complained that I didn’t like Rhaegal’s death, and now you’re complaining that I’m not complaining about the other seasons. Can you be consistent for two comments?
It’s clear that my dislike for Rhaegal’s death really gets under your skin…which is sort of funny on it’s own. I have my own criticisms of previous seasons, but I enjoyed most of them more than season 8 and IMO the criticisms for previous seasons are less intrusive on the show as a whole. Besides, as I’ve pointed out at least twice, which you claim I haven’t addressed, this article is about season 8, so I’m trying to stay on topic. The butthurt that my dislike for Rhaegal’s death is providing you is bizarre. You really should go put some cream on that before it festers. You think I have to share the same opinions as you? That’s such a childish way to look at things.
Everyone gets it, champ. You’re the coolest kid to ever come out of the GoT fandom, and you got your wittle feewings hurt when I didn’t share the same opinion as you regarding a fictional tv show. Now you’re the edgiest dragon on WOTW desperate for everybody to tell you how right you are all the time. I see you. You can calm down now, guy. Maybe try some decaf and a nap.
And don’t forget to declare victory for yourself again so you can really drive home to the rest of us how superior you are, buckaroo 🙂
Stay edgy, my friend and enjoy those self-declared victories. You must have a trophy wall full of them by now.
“Rhaegal was injured and didn’t see the attack coming, so he was an easier target to hit.” Those are my exact words. The reason Rhaegal didn’t see the attack coming was because he was ambushed, so I didn’t change my argument at all. I had already discussed this the first time you claimed I changed my argument. Do you see now? Not only were you not paying attention with my first post, you didn’t even pay attention with my second post. You should think twice before you call somebody else blind.
First of all, you can complain about two different things. That would only be inconsistent if the two things contradicted one another. Second, I’m not complaining that you didn’t criticize the previous seasons, I’m pointing out your hypocrisy in saying that you don’t like nit picking when that’s exactly what you’re doing with season 8.
Yes, you’ve pointed out twice that this article was about season 8, but I pointed out that you brought up the past seasons first. You entered them into the conversation, not me. You have no one to blame but yourself. And honestly, I couldn’t care less what you thought of the final season. Those of us who loved it are the real winners. If you want to cry and sulk about how the season didn’t go the way you wanted it to, that’s your business. But this thread is about awarding the show for its accomplishments and isn’t the place for your drivel. There are multiple articles to serve as an outlet for your hate. There’s no reason for you to do that here, other than bitterness that most of us didn’t hate the ending like you did.
I commented earlier how I didn’t take your insults personally because they were aimed at my argument, not me. Now, though, you’ve crossed the line with your condescending tone. If you look back at our posts, I’ve conducted myself in a much more reasonable manner than you.
Again, I don’t have to declare victory myself. The facts and evidence I’ve provided have done it for me, facts and evidence you’ve even stopped trying to dispute because even you know how weak your argument is. And I don’t feel superior at all. Your entire argument was, “How can a healthy dragon who saw the attack coming dodge said attack but an injured dragon who was unaware of the attack wasn’t able to dodge it?” I mean, a five year old could have won that argument, so it’s really nothing to be proud of.
The chains actually didn’t bother me too much because when I paused to consider where the dead had obtained them, I assumed they might have been swiped from people they’d added to their numbers…as potentially useful items, I guess? xD Which they turned out to be, lol. So they left them someplace, or remembered seeing them somewhere and fetched them to drag Viserion up…? I doubt the army had just been pulling the huge chains around, unless certain wights were tasked with that because they don’t tire anyway…Idk, I tried to make sense of it! Honestly, there was really nothing that went too far for me until S8. Even Arya’s somewhat dubious stab wound-healing I was able to reasonably buy.
But I still agree much, much more with Mr. Derp and mostly with TormundsWoman (& Chilli.) Euron’s a master of the seas, sure. But how very fortunate he was to be able to go unseen by two flying dragons and their human (who was all too aware of the danger posed by the fleet), and stick out just enough to get flawless aim at that distance–only to have his luck run out when the other dragon flew close and neglected to take the opportunity to burn them all. Yes, Drogon could dodge and do what Rickon should’ve tried to, but the multiple scorpions still stood a pretty good chance of striking him. Maybe Dany really didn’t think Euron would dare attack her…confound that useless Bran, sitting there doing nothing instead of spying on him and Cersei…
Just today I read a suggestion: Rhaegal should have been killed after the bells rang. Then Dany’s spontaneous descent into madness would’ve made more sense (*especially* if there were cheers to be heard when her son fell…) Would’ve made it that much more difficult to decide what to do about Neo-Dany, too.
shelle,
”… Even Arya’s somewhat dubious stab wound-healing I was able to reasonably buy.“
_______
The dubious stab wound-healing and other aspects of those Arya/Waif Braavos scenes were attributable to questionable directorial decisions by Mark Mylod, not bad writing:
At the end of one episode, knowing the FM would come after her, a vigilant Arya was shown ensconced in a hideaway sharpening her sword. Yet in the next episode she was strolling around the streets of Braavos, defenseless, like a carefree tourist when the Waif stabbed her.
In an interview, Mylod asserted that Arya was still a naive young girl and got careless (to which a WoW commenter responded “what show have you been watching these last five seasons, you twat?”) Mylod said he purposely exaggerated her gut wounds so the viewer would seriously believe Arya might die: cynical manipulation instead of realistic portrayal.
_____________
Mark Mylod interview about S6e7 & e8:
Q: The past two episodes have had a certain ambiguity with Arya’s storyline, both with her being stabbed by the Waif and her leading her to the final fight. Did you make that intentionally ambiguous? What were you trying to convey with those sequences?
Mylod: “Yes. In terms of the ambiguity of tone in the chase, yes, that was very deliberate. My dearest wish, I suppose, the endgame there was for the audience to watch the chase for as long as possible thinking, “Oh my God, I’m watching Arya Stark’s death,” to be carried away on that emotional beat.
***
In terms of ambiguity at the end of episode 7, in terms of “Why is Arya stabbed then? How does she allow herself to get stabbed?” — again, one of the wonderful things about Game of Thrones is that there is so much, because it’s so tonally complex and myriad that people can make a lot of their own choices. A lot of the time I’ll make choices in my own head that I don’t even wish to be pushed out into the world, and people can make their own choices. But for me I played it that the character let her guard down.
I played it that she made a mistake, that having made that choice to get the heck out of Braavos and almost the relief, that the character has a moment of just relaxation— not quite relaxation, but at least a little kind of existential moment of, “Okay, you know what? This place is cool. I’m going to miss it. For all that’s gone on here, it’s a beautiful city. You know, there’s that great statue out on the harbor, it’s a beautiful place. I’m going to miss it,” and that little moment of revery, because, she’s a warrior, but she’s still a young woman, and she lets her guard down, and she almost pays with her life. That was my choice in that moment.
—————
Despite its fantasy elements, GoT was still set in a medieval society in which even the strongest warriors can be disabled or die from infected cuts or bites (e.g. Khal Drogo; Sandor), or “sh*t themselves to death in a field somewhere” from drinking contaminated water (Sandor to Beric, S7e1). GoT had not resorted to reducing its characters to typical Hollywood action heroes who could get shot in the arm, but in the next scene are swinging through the air holding a rope in one hand and firing a machine gun with the other.
Moreover, the rationale that Arya “is still a young woman, and she lets her guard down” is inconsistent with everything about Arya’s character and story line. The director admitting that he “played it that she made a mistake” was unjustifiable, in my opinion.
Max,
”I think I am not gonna vote on this one.
It honestly made me really sad to read the amount of people who died because, honestly, I barely felt a thing….”
________
I am NOT questioning your lack of emotional response, or the propriety of your comment in this Preliminary Round voting thread. Allow me to just throw this out for your consideration:
I noticed that one thing all of the S8 deaths (and most in GoT) had in common was the conspicuous absence of “dying declarations”, i.e., some momentous speech with a character’s last breaths. (It’s my understanding that as originally scripted, Beric was supposed to beseech Arya: “Live!”, before expiring – but that was cut from the as-aired version of his death scene.)
In my own tinfoil head canon/fan fiction, I wanted Sandor to go out in a blaze of glory, braving his fear of fire to save Sansa and Arya before giving a final speech to the sobbing sisters, e.g., “Remember where the heart is” and “You’re alright, Little Bird, you’re alright.”
In reality, though, don’t mortally wounded people just kind of fade out without summoning up a grand deathbed speech? Their breathing gets shallow and then the light in their eyes dims…and they’re just gone.
So maybe the “speechless” deaths are more realistic – and lack the emotional punch we’d want?
Just wanted to share this; you’re welcome
https://uproxx.com/tv/game-of-thrones-memes-season-8-premiere-episode-1-winterfell/
if you cant find it scroll down to a picture of one of our favorite deceased characters riding on her dream
ash,
Ha! Very good! That vindicates my nomination of Cersei bemoaning the Golden Company’s failure to bring elephants as S8’s funniest quote.
ash,
Here we are…
Cersei & Harry Strickland, S8s1
***
CERSEI: “Twenty-thousand men, is it?”
HARRY: “Yes, Your Grace. A few died in transit.”
***
CERSEI: “Horses?”
HARRY: “Two thousand.”
CERSEI: “And elephants?”
HARRY: “Uh, no elephants, Your Grace.”
CERSEI: “That’s disappointing. I was told the Golden Company had elephants.”
HARRY: “They are excellent beasts, Your Grace, but not well-suited to long sea voyages.”
CERSEI: “In any event, you are most welcome here in King’s Landing, Captain Strickland.”
_____
S8e1 (Later, after sex with Euron, Cersei ignores him as he’s getting dressed. Looking away wistfully…)
CERSEI (sighs): “I wanted those elephants.”
Theon – This is the death that I felt most emotionally in the final season and it really crept up on me. Even though when Theon turns up in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms it really felt like he was coming home to die, I never thought I’d feel as emotional as I did about his end. Like Jon said, he’s a Greyjoy AND he’s a Stark.
Daenerys – This scene was beautifully shot and acted. It was stunning and completely necessary.
Melisandre – I couldn’t not pick this one. Carice may only have been in one episode this season, but it was one perfect performance.
Lyanna – If you’re going to go down, then taking a giant with you is really the only way to go.
Missandei – Again, this one had me very emotional. Missandei had come so far from the slave girl we first encountered at the beginning of season three and was such a peace-loving person (unless encountering slavers) – Another example of war butchering innocents.
Honorable mentions – Beric and Sandor.
Ten Bears,
Oh, wow. Thanks for all that info re: Arya’s stabbing. Totally with ya there. }8-/