“For the Watch”

It was about two years ago, but I still remember it clearly. The night was late, I was sleepy, and I had work the next morning. Still, I couldn’t stop reading; I had three chapters left in George R. R. Martin’s sprawling fifth book A Dance with Dragons. Plot twists were being revealed, bombshells were being dropped, and Cersei just took an infamous walk. I simply couldn’t hold off reading, so I turn the page to the book’s final Jon chapter. It’s a chapter filled with tension and uncertainty due to the arrival of droves of wildings to the Wall, and on the chapter’s last page “For the Watch” happens. As Jon succumbed to his injuries, I threw my book across the room in a fit of rage and shock; cursing George for smashing his readers’ emotions. Ever since that time, I was looking forward to see that iconic book moment adapted to screen so that TV viewers would go through the same blood-boiling frustration (a reaction that has become a trademark of Game of Thrones). Finally, the moment arrived this week and it was equally brutal as the book counterpart. The show’s fifth season ended in a bang with the shocking and sad death of Jon Snow concluding an eventful finale that was filled with defeat, backstabbing, confrontations, and one particularly memorable atonement.

One after the other, the brothers of the Night’s Watch buried their daggers in Jon. What an ugly and despicable betrayal that was! But what was uglier was their petty motivation. Their hatred towards the wildings blinded them and ripped them of any common sense. Their narrow-minded stubbornness in refusing to see that the mythical Others are the real danger led them to assassinate one of the show’s most beloved characters. Killing Jon was very shocking, but were the reasons that led to his demise logical and justified? As has been the case multiple times this season, the writers took some story shortcuts. Nobody in their right mind would assassinate Jon after witnessing Hardhome. The lessons learned from the battle were loud and clear: the wildings need to be shielded and protected, otherwise they will rise as part of the Others army in their upcoming invasion during the long winter (as the prophecy goes). So the motivations of the betrayers is a shaky one. They claimed that they killed Jon “for the watch” where in fact they should’ve said they killed him “for selfish reasons”. In the books, the circumstances are different and much more powerful. Jon is provoked by a letter sent by Ramsay Bolton, so he hastily decides to run to Winterfell to rescue his sister. Effectively, Jon deserted the Night’s Watch which is a crime punishable by death. His assassination in the books was truly “for the watch” while on the show this expression came off as out of place given the events that led to it.

The betrayal and stabbing came in the final minute of the episode leaving viewers hanging. However, the fate of Jon is made clear: he's dead. Still, savvy viewers are able to piece some hints together regarding his ultimate fate. Think about it: it is no coincidence that Melisandre's return to the Wall happened in time for the assassination. Recalling that Melisandre's Lord of Light is able to resurrect the dead, there's hope for a Jon resurrection. His death at this point would be premature, it is almost certain that Jon still has part to play in the ultimate battle against the Others. His showdown with the Night's King still needs a resolution. So for angry fans still reeling from Jon's "death": don't lose hope just yet! Think about the show's overall mythology and if you're not convinced go back and watch episode 5 of season 3 where resurrections by the Lord of Light are discussed in detail. In summary, keep your eyes open: Jon might return and surprise us all.

In Dorne, the storyline continued to be a snooze fest up until its conclusion. The writers messed this one up pretty bad. The finale was devoid of any shocking reveals or revelations regarding the Martells. There were two opportunities to drop some bombshells regarding the Martell’s true agenda. In particular, the two famous speeches from Doran Martell (“Vengeance. Justice. Fire and Blood”) and (“Viper in the grass”) were mysteriously dropped from the TV adaption. Their inclusion would’ve made TV viewers pumping their fists in excitement; instead, we got another poorly thought-out move from the Sand Snakes and their mother. Don’t they realize that by killing Myrcella they put Trystane, the crown prince of Dorne, in harm's way? Effectively, Trystane is now a hostage with Jaime Lannister on his way to King’s Landing. Also, why was Oberyn’s famous statement from last season (“we don't hurt little girls in Dorne”) thrown out of the window? Apparently, we don’t hurt little girls in Dorne, we just kill them a couple of miles offshore. Agh! My final disappointment in Dorne is how utterly under-utilized Alexander Siddig was as an actor. He was a great casting choice to play the Doran Martell persona but he was given so little to showcase his acting and amaze us all.

In the North, after a long buildup for the battle, the day of reckoning finally arrived with Stannis marching forward on Winterfell. I had extremely high hopes for this battle, however things turned out to be extremely one-sided in favor of the Boltons. Stannis was hit by a series of unfortunate events almost to a comedic level including his wife committing suicide, half his forces abandoning his cause, and Melisandre turning her back on him. The writers really drove the point that burning his daughter was a big no-no. I was so disappointed that we didn’t get to see a real battle - especially that Stannis is considered to be one of the best military figures in Westeros. After the dust settled, we learn that Stannis has lost it all; the look of surrender and hopelessness on his face was priceless. To bring his story full-circle, his long-in-the-making confrontation with Brienne of Tarth was a fitting conclusion. Although it was strangely out-of-character for Brienne to casually abandon her oath of protecting Sansa. The stubborn Brienne I know would’ve waited for the candle to light up and never abandoned her post (yet another annoying story shortcut!). Anyways, Brienne was finally able to extract some revenge for the death of Renly by killing Stannis. In a poorly edited scene, the camera cuts before we learn the destiny of Stannis; though the official statement from HBO states that Stannis is dead. You know the scene was badly executed when HBO had to issue a statement off-screen to clarify the intent to viewers. They really dropped the ball on Stannis’s character the last couple of episodes, degrading him from a tough military commander driven by a strict sense of morality and duty to a lousy battle commander who couldn’t plan a battle and a siege (not to mention being black stained with ‘kin-slaying’ by killing his daughter).

Staying in the North, I was cheering for Theon. He’s back! He was finally able to shed his fears and take matters into his own hand. Both he and Sansa are finally able to break free from Ramsay - the only problem is that they have to take a leap of faith, LITERALLY. I am hoping that the snow layer is thick enough to break their deadly fall. We’ll have to hold our breath until next year when the cliffhanger is resolved (although I highly doubt their jump was deadly).

Across the narrow sea, Arya can proudly cross off a name from her revenge list. The way she preyed on Meryn Trant was so badass. I don’t have an ounce of mercy for this horrible character so I was ecstatic with Arya torturing him to death the way she did. I was cheering for her as she went full out savage mode on Ser Meryn. Sadly, her rebellious behavior came at a price. Apparently, messing up with your faceless training is met with severe punishment. Arya has lost her sight, she’s now blind! Of all the horrible things that befell on characters in this eventful finale, Arya’s blindness is up there with Jon’s assassination as the two most heartbreaking moments. Both events were equally painful to watch.

Further to the east, Meereen is now a city without a queen. There is an atmosphere of helplessness and uncertainty as Dany’s close circle of friends and confidants scramble to adapt to a post-Daenerys Meereen. Mostly, the scenes serve as a set up for the story next season instead of standing on their own. It seems that Tyrion now is the defacto ruler of the city. The Imp has gone a long way from a being slave to assuming a position of power; what a ride! Also, it seems we’re getting a new pairing Jorah/Daario who will be searching for the lost queen. Sigh, we have to endure yet another pair going on a scavenger hunt. Hasn’t been this trope used enough times already on the show?

Speaking of Daenerys, we didn’t have to wait a long time to learn where her dragon ride took her. It was a familiar locale: the lands of the Dothraki! We are quickly thrown back to a season one vibe with the arrival of a full-fledged khalasar. We now have an idea of what Dany’s season six storyline will entail. So will next season feature the return of the Khaleesi?

In King’s Landing, the much anticipated Cersei scene finally unfolds on our TV screens in all its glory. It was a bold affair that bordered on surrealism: a nude Cersei parading the crowded streets of the city. Cersei’s series of political blunders came back to bite her in the most humiliating and revealing way. I bet she now regrets giving all this power to the Faith or plotting against the Tyrells. Her shocking walk of shame was such an extreme punishment to absolve her sins but was definitely a fitting and strong conclusion. As viewers, we were rewarded with a scene like no other in the history of television. This is such a crucial event in Cersei’s life so I am curious to see if it will actually make her a better person. Also, the scene highlights the effective use of nudity in storytelling. This is a case where nudity was not gratuitous but was used to give the scene more weight and impact, successfully so.

That’s a wrap - folks! The fifth season of Game of Thrones is behind us. Overall, it was an uneven season filled with many missteps as well as story choices that I didn’t particularly enjoy. Still, the conclusion took our favorites characters into new unchartered territories. So, I am very excited to see how the storylines will unravel next season. It’s shame we will have to wait for another year to get our resolutions. SHAME! DING DING!

Slices of Westeros
● Game of Thrones is no stranger to killing off characters, however this episode took it to another level and probably broke some kind of record in terms of character deaths. In a span of an hour we lost Queen Selyse, Stannis, Ser Meryn Trant, Myranda, Myrcella , and Jon Snow.
● Cliffhanger ending was the name of the game in this finale. Most stories left us hanging with the fate of characters unknown. This contrasts with other seasons where the finales were low on cliffhangers and story conclusions were self-contained within the season.
● Has Brienne ever successfully completed a mission she set out to accomplish? She failed to protect Renly’s life. She failed to exchange Jaime for the Stark girls. She failed to protect Arya. And now she failed to protect Sansa. Her series of failures is almost laughable. At least she got her confrontation with Stannis - for once things went her way!
● Did you guess the identity of the masked giant that carried Cersei at the end of her walk? Yup, that’s the Mountain (or some Frankenstein version of him). He is going to be her champion in the upcoming trial by combat. This will definitely give Cersei an upper hand.
● Sam and Gilly are going to Oldtown next season! Oldtown has not been shown on the TV show before but is one of my favorite places in the book. It is a historic city and home to the Citadel where maesters get their education. Basically, this is Westeros’ version of a university campus.

Kingly Exchanges
● Stannis’ final words as Brienne is about to execute him: “Go and do your duty.”
● Arya getting her revenge on Ser Meryn Trant: "You were the first person on my list you know."
● Sansa refuses to give up: “If I’m going to die, let it happen while there’s still some of me left.”
● Varys reunites with Tyrion: “Information is key. You need to learn your enemies’ strengths and strategies. You need to learn which of your friends are not your friends.
● Maester Qyburn introducing Cersei to a mystery character: “He’s sworn that he will not speak until all his grace’s enemies are dead and the evil has been driven from the realm.”
Conclusion
A packed hour filled with shocking developments and a slew of cliffhangers concluding a so-so season.