This season finale of Game of Thrones was a case of the sum not equaling the value of the parts.
The White Walkers provided the biggest cliffhanger of the season.So, this is it. The outstanding second season of Game of Thrones came to a close last night. The finale had a lot to accomplish, and it also needed to impress after the amazing ninth episode last week. Did it succeed? Read on to find out.
The effects of following up an episode that focused on a small amount of characters were immediately felt. We still had to spend time with the Lannisters - probably too much time - and then the show needed to jump around quite a bit to remind us of all of the stories that were still active leading into the episode. This lead to quite a few sections of show that didn't feel necessary. Couldn't we have waited until next season to actually see Robb (Richard Madden) and Talisa (Oona Chaplin) get married last season?
Furthermore, there were some odd diversions from the book that raised more questions than provided me with confidence that the show was changing all the right things. No Jojen or Meera Reed by the time Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) leaves Winterfell? And, as good as Daenerys' (Emilia Clarke) time in the House of the Undying was, this was a pretty meaty part of the book that gives Dany most of her motivation later in the series. Both of these notable absences have taken away some important aspects of the respective characters, which is something the writers will have to add in the third season in some capacity if the payoffs later in the series are going to make sense.
All of these issues are fairly minor, and something that isn't necessarily new to the series. What hurt this episode even more, though, was the lack of any real urgency. The writers know that we know that we have only scratched the surface of this epic tale, and they were clearly in no rush to give us much of anything this week. What we did get, though, was pretty good.
It wouldn't have been a season finale without losing another character. This time, it was poor Maester Luwin (Donald Sumpter), who had become much more of a presence this season. His death was sudden and unceremonious, which is fitting for a show like this. His final moments with the Stark children were touching, and it also served to signify the fact that Bran and his companions no longer have a home in which to remain safe.
The other character involved in the Winterfell storyline, Theon (Alfie Allen), got an equally unimpressive end here. His early moments with the late Maester were pretty good, and worked to infuse a little more humanity in one of the evilest characters of the season. He did manage to deliver a rather impressive speech before his glory was cut short by his own men. Theon's fate remains to be seen, but we did see that Winterfell was completely sacked, and many people were killed in the process.
Our time with the Lannisters was as bittersweet as things come. On one hand, we watched as Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) forsake Sansa (Sophie Turner) for Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer). This was a great moment for a few reasons. We know Margaery is a very intelligent woman with grand ambitions, and I think the Lannisters believe the Tyrells to be very unassuming. Margaery will be able to manipulate and outsmart her newly betrothed, which should be fun to watch for all of us who hate the young king. On the flip side, though, we watched as Sansa was able to enjoy a brief moment of bliss. That is, until Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) had to go and rain on her parade. Unfortunately, the man was right to point out that Joffrey isn't done with Sansa, even if he isn't going to marry her anymore. Perhaps she'll take him up on his offer to take her out of King's Landing at some point.
Building on that theme, we learned that Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) survived the attempt on his life, which was most likely orchestrated by Cersei (Lena Headey). Nothing else seemed to work out for the fan-favorite character, who lost all of his titles, received no recognition for his work in the battle, and earned a fairly gruesome scar to boot. It'll be interesting to see if Tyrion is respected and protected while Tywin (Charles Dance) is Hand, or if Tyrion truly does only have Shae (Sibel Kekilli) on his side.
Considering the fact that her story tied directly into the title of the episode, Arya (Maisie Williams), didn't have too much to do this week. We got our final scene with Jaqen (Tom Wlaschiha), who gave Arya some advice, and told her to utter the words "Valar Morghulis" if she ever wanted to learn his craft. Which, apparently, is the ability to change faces. He claims his powers are greater than that of Syrio from last season, and we've seen some compelling evidence that this may be true. It is certainly an enticing thought for Arya, who still has a long list of people she wants dead.
We also briefly touched base with Stannis (Stephen Dillane), who was understandably upset with Melisandre (Carice van Houten), who promised the rightful king that he would win his battle. We saw just how much power Melisandre holds over Stannis, though, as she was able to talk him down from strangling her, and convince him that he could see something in the flames. I don't think Stannis actually saw anything, but I do think he wants to believe he did. It seems like Melisandre who truly holds the power in the Baratheon house at this point.
And then there is Daenerys, Her visit to the House of the Undying was, visually, amazing. Watching her traverse some of the Westeros locales that she isn't even aware of was cool, but even more interesting was watching her reunite with Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa). It should be noted that during this segment, Dany both walked away from the love of her life, and the Iron Throne itself, in order to find her dragons. It turns out that the dragons have gotten stronger, as well, as they got their first true shining moment when the burned the warlock alive. Most importantly, though, Dany got her big growth moment when she locked up Xaro (Nonso Anozie) and Doreah (Roxanne McKee) in the vault. This is the Dany many people want to see; the one who could rule a kingdom.
Finally, we caught up with Jon Snow (Kit Harington), and the other members of the Night's Watch. Make no mistake that Jon was only able to kill Qhorin (Simon Armstrong) because he believed Jon could be the one to infiltrate the Wildlings' camp. Whether or not Jon can hold to his vows is something for next season, but he's got more than a few temptations waiting for him. T
Then, we got the final scene of the series, which culminated in Sam (John Bradley) encountering an army of White Walkers. The CG could have been better here, but the images were great regardless. We got a zombie horse, and more than a few wights that were functioning without a few important body parts. This was the most urgent and ominous part of the finale, and unfortunately that is the cliffhanger we were left with for the next year.
This season finale of Game of Thrones was a case of the sum not equaling the value of the parts. We got the same old great acting we were used to from just about every character, and the storylines are still strong heading into the third season, but nothing elevated this episode above being a glorified set-up episode. Of course, the show is still oustanding, and next season promises to bring some of the biggest moments from the books to the small screen. Despite feeling underwhelmed by this final episode, nine out of ten is not bad, and I still can't wait for next season.
What did you think of the finale? Sound off in the comments below. Thanks for reading this season!