Hey now everybody and welcome to my recap and review of Game Of Thrones Season 8, Episode 5: The Bells! Here we are, nearing the end of one of the best television shows of all time. After this week's penultimate episode there's only one left and then this eight year journey will be over. We've invested a lot of time into these characters and we all want a satisfying conclusion, but I had a feeling that wasn't going to happen. There just wasn't enough time to do things right and they could have easily fleshed things out more with a ninth season. Even though this ending feels rushed, it was still a tragically epic episode that was the length of a feature film. There's a lot to unpack here so let's jump right in.
After defeating the Night King at Winterfell Jon, Dany and the Northern Armies have traveled south to King's Landing so they can deal with Cersei once and for all. In last week's episode Dany was ambushed by the Iron Fleet, losing another one of her dragons in the process. This was a huge blow for her, but she still attempted to make peace with Cersei in order to spare the countless lives of innocent civilians. Of course Cersei would have none of it and turned down the offer. You could tell Dany was slowly becoming unhinged and people were starting to lose faith in her. On top of that, the secret is out on Jon's true lineage. Now that Verys knows Jon should be the one on the Iron Throne he makes a desperate plea for him to overthrow Dany, but Jon says he doesn't want it.
When Dany hears about this plotting behind her back it's the last straw. She's done playing nice and burns Verys alive with her remaining dragon. The next morning, at the break of dawn, she readies her soldiers and the attack on King's Landing begins. What I expected was another large scale battle, like the one at Winterfell, but what we got was a full on massacre. Dany unleashed the fury of Drogon, blasting the Iron Fleet right out of the water like it was nothing. She then moved on to the Scorpion Crossbows that sat along the castle walls, destroying them as well, leaving the city defenseless. Cersei just stands in her tower, watching King's Landing fall almost immediately.
Cersei's army knows they don't stand a chance at this point, so they throw down their arms and ring the bells to signal the city's surrender. It seemed like the worst was over, like Dany had proven her point, dominating King's Landing with ease, but she wasn't satisfied. She ignores the surrender and proceeds to burn King's Landing to the ground. Showing no concern for innocent lives, Dany swoops over the city burning everything and everyone without regard. Jon, being in the middle of all this, can't believe what he's seeing. He can no longer deny the fact that Dany has lost it. Jamie meets up with Cersei and the two of them attempt to flee, but they are surrounded and have nowhere to run. Dany's rampage causes the Red Keep to crumble, crushing and killing both Cersei and Jamie.
This was certainly one hell of an episode. On the one hand it was action packed, intense, brutal and visually spectacular. I was thoroughly entertained the whole time, almost in disbelief of what I was witnessing. The special effects were excellent, the duel between The Hound and The Mountain was unreal and getting to see Drogon fully unleashed was amazing. This season must have cost a fortune with how long each episode is, especially since they've pulled out all the stops this time. I guess what I'm saying is, there was a lot to enjoy here on a visceral level, but it was also very disappointing. The sheer scale and spectacle was impressive, it just felt so forced and rushed.
I knew it would be nearly impossible for HBO to create an ending that was satisfying to everyone. There were just too many characters and major plot points to wrap up with only six episodes. I suppose this is why it's taking George R. R. Martin so long to finish the books. It takes time to properly end something so grand, while keeping the integrity of the characters and lore in tact. This was a show that always took it's time, fleshing everything out, deliberately establishing it's plot. Now that we're at the climax all the payoff is being rushed through and none of this feels earned. Some characters don't even feel like the same people anymore and we spent no time at all building up to these drastic shifts.
This episode definitely delivered on over the top action and incredible visuals, but the quality of the writing is so far gone from what we all expect out of Game Of Thrones. As fans, we have invested so much time into this show and have become attached to many of the characters, so for things to end like this just feels hollow. I wanted the ending to be as powerful and clever as the beginning. That's what got us all hooked on the show in the first place, the excellent writing. But the people at HBO couldn't hit the high bar that George R. R. Martin set. I'm pretty torn to be honest, this was both a disappointing and a shockingly awesome experience. It'll be interesting to see how this all wraps up next Sunday. I'm going to give Game Of Thrones Season 8, Episode 5: The Bells, a grade of...................
B -
Thank you for reading my review of the 5th episode for the final season of Game Of Thrones, I hope you enjoyed it!