Game of Thrones Season 8 (NO BOOKSPOILERS) thread

[ChiTownDoc 21151]

Overall I liked it bc I love the series.  But I kept expecting Bran to do some badass shit.  Talk about disappointing.  It was actually comical looking back on it.  

[Quasimofo 406]

Yeah, he could at least have those ravens dive-bomb and pester the shit out of him like scissor-tails do dogs and cats. Take away his focus while he's swatting at them.

 

 

 

 

[Disco Missile 456]

This episode won't age well. It was a visual spectacle and advanced the necessary plot points, but it was a massive departure from previous GoT episodes.

Here's just one detail among the multitude, some which have been mentioned already. 
Let's look at some major character death scenes and see if you can spot the difference between them and the ones from Ep 3:

Deaths before S8:

- Jon Snow: in a surprise twist, murdered by his friends. Dies silently while his blood darkens the snow.
- Oberyn Martell: In a surprise twist, murdered by a nearly defeated Mountain. Dies screaming.
- Rickon Stark: In an mild twist, murdered by Ramsay Bolton. Dies gasping and clutching for air while Jon Snow watches just a few feet away.
- Ygritte: In a twist, killed by Olly in battle. Dies in Jon Snow's arms.
- Robb/Talisa/Catelyn: In a huge twist, murdered by the Freys at the Red Wedding. All die horrible deaths.
- Ned Stark: In a huge twist (the first of many), sentenced to death by King Joffery. Dies worried about his kids.
- Shireen: In a twist, burned to death by her parents. Dies screaming.
- Littlefinger: In a twist, sentenced to death by the Starks. Dies choking after Arya cuts his throat.
- Hodor: In a huge twist, killed by wights while holding a door to let Bran escape. Dies a horrible death as he's torn slowly to pieces.
- And so many more. Tommen, Myrcella, Renly, Balon, Ramsay, Roose. You get the point.

Now let's look at S8 deaths:

Ep 1 
- Lord Ned Umber: In a twist, murdered and turned into a wight by the Night King. Dies screaming when Beric burns him back to death.
Ep 3
- Edd: Killed in battle by a wight while heroically saving Sam.
- Beric: Killed in battle by wights while heroically saving Arya.
- Lyanna Mormont: Killed in battle by a wight giant after heroically stabbing it in the eye with a dragonglass blade.
- Jorah Mormont: Killed in battle by wights after heroically saving Daenerys.
- Theon: Killed by the Night King after heroically defending Bran. (edited to add him. Guess I forgot this one already)

It's clear. This isn't the GoT that existed for the first 7 seasons. The first three episodes of season 8 have completely subverted everything the previous seasons have established.
The overarching menace of the Night King, which Jon Snow harped on about for years, was defeated in a single night. Instead of tragic awful deaths we get glorious hero deaths. Wars are no longer simply miserable endeavors full of unintended consequences and multitudes suffering for the selfish desires of a few. Now they're heroic and virtuous. And to top it off, Cersei was right all along and now she has the larger army after Dany and the Northerners did the dirty work for her.

This episode was just a traditional tv battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil. The only thing surprising about it was how quickly the evil was defeated.

Edited April 30, 2019 by Disco Missile

[BluTechsan 393]

My take on the lack of "major deaths" taking place.

There was a point where you thought to yourself - and don't say that didn't because we know you did. All of you thought this...

 "Well, I guess this is the one that gets it" and then a few seconds later, "oh snap, they aren't gonna make it either"

ALL of them were dead. They had no way out.

 

And then Arya saved them. 

[Superhero 8828]

12 hours ago, Jerry Callo said:

Varys is not finished.  I suspect he has an important role to play - maybe even sitting on the Iron Throne.

Does anyone know if Littlefinger is actually dead?  Saw a conspiracy video where he gave a coin to a girl in a farmhouse before his execution. Maybe we'll see him in King's Landing again.

 

[RPM 26318]

To the Bran haters/truthers: He. Was. Bait.

He bore the NK's mark. He was never tactical, he was psyops. The plan was laid out (minus a few Arya details) in the previous episode. He sent his ravens to find the NK and get on his radar. Once he had the NK in position, he gave Theon his redemption and you know the rest.

I think Bran will play a crucial role in the battle against Cersi. T3ER is unknown to her. Stealth recon. A sister with no name might find that useful.

[PilotsError 2287]

Yes dude we all understand that. It was just an incredible letdown.

[Barry_McCokiner 160]

Watched it again last night.  Much better

[ChiTownDoc 21151]

4 hours ago, Disco Missile said:

This episode won't age well. It was a visual spectacle and advanced the necessary plot points, but it was a massive departure from previous GoT episodes.

Here's just one detail among the multitude, some which have been mentioned already. 
Let's look at some major character death scenes and see if you can spot the difference between them and the ones from Ep 3:

Deaths before S8:

- Jon Snow: in a surprise twist, murdered by his friends. Dies silently while his blood darkens the snow.
- Oberyn Martell: In a surprise twist, murdered by a nearly defeated Mountain. Dies screaming.
- Rickon Stark: In an mild twist, murdered by Ramsay Bolton. Dies gasping and clutching for air while Jon Snow watches just a few feet away.
- Ygritte: In a twist, killed by Olly in battle. Dies in Jon Snow's arms.
- Robb/Talisa/Catelyn: In a huge twist, murdered by the Freys at the Red Wedding. All die horrible deaths.
- Ned Stark: In a huge twist (the first of many), sentenced to death by King Joffery. Dies worried about his kids.
- Shireen: In a twist, burned to death by her parents. Dies screaming.
- Littlefinger: In a twist, sentenced to death by the Starks. Dies choking after Arya cuts his throat.
- Hodor: In a huge twist, killed by wights while holding a door to let Bran escape. Dies a horrible death as he's torn slowly to pieces.
- And so many more. Tommen, Myrcella, Renly, Balon, Ramsay, Roose. You get the point.

Now let's look at S8 deaths:

Ep 1 
- Lord Ned Umber: In a twist, murdered and turned into a wight by the Night King. Dies screaming when Beric burns him back to death.
Ep 3
- Edd: Killed in battle by a wight while heroically saving Sam.
- Beric: Killed in battle by wights while heroically saving Arya.
- Lyanna Mormont: Killed in battle by a wight giant after heroically stabbing it in the eye with a dragonglass blade.
- Jorah Mormont: Killed in battle by wights after heroically saving Daenerys.
- Theon: Killed by the Night King after heroically defending Bran. (edited to add him. Guess I forgot this one already)

It's clear. This isn't the GoT that existed for the first 7 seasons. The first three episodes of season 8 have completely subverted everything the previous seasons have established.
The overarching menace of the Night King, which Jon Snow harped on about for years, was defeated in a single night. Instead of tragic awful deaths we get glorious hero deaths. Wars are no longer simply miserable endeavors full of unintended consequences and multitudes suffering for the selfish desires of a few. Now they're heroic and virtuous. And to top it off, Cersei was right all along and now she has the larger army after Dany and the Northerners did the dirty work for her.

This episode was just a traditional tv battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil. The only thing surprising about it was how quickly the evil was defeated.

If that fatass ever finishes this I’m gonna be forced to read a book.  

But yes, great post.  Nails it.  

[Loco 3752]

8 hours ago, wild_turkey said:

 Seems like the Citadel is pretty good at recording history and the world would go on just fine without a 3ER.

yes the organization that forgot about the great threat to mankind or how to stop it...  sure

[Kevin O’Shea 279]

The Barry episode that followed GoT was much better

[Johnny Sack 8397]

8 hours ago, Dutchrudder said:

This episode lacks the true GRRM punch of killing someone important unexpectedly. A bit underwhelming in that regard, no where near as good as the wedding or other battle episodes, but technically it was amazing. Jorah is the only guy i will miss, but he's not that important to the story.

What was the point of the skeletons in the crypts waking up if nobody important even gets in a scuffle with them? That was disappointing. Was hoping the translator and Gilly would be eaten.

How many people are even left alive in Winterfell? 30? It felt like the end of The Last Jedi where only the big name characters survive, but they are supposed to go fight an impossible battle next episode without an army. It's a weird way to leave it, but maybe there are more people alive than they showed. The amount of dead bodies left rotting around the castle will make it uninhabitable for decades. Whoever ends up as Warden of the North is gonna need a army of Janitors of the North.

Didn’t the night king raise all the dead?  And then shortly thereafter Arya killed him?  Making all the dead disappear?

[heso 2791]

7 hours ago, DanTheHorn said:

Just finished watching the show again. Maybe it has been mentioned, I noticed Bran lowers his vision for split second and takes a look behind the Night King. Then the music livens up when he looks up again. My guess is he sees Arya an knows what is coming. Nice detail by the director.

I saw that and it seemed like the NK  noticed it as well and that was why he was able catch Arya out of the air. 

Edited April 30, 2019 by heso

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4976]

Two hours of buildup to the longest sustained battle in TV or movie history and it was over too fast. 

[RPM 26318]

3 minutes ago, Kevin O’Shea said:

The Barry episode that followed GoT was much better

You obviously have not followed that thread. Surly gonna Surly.

[RPM 26318]

5 minutes ago, heso said:

I saw that as well and it seemed like the NK  noticed it as well and that was why he was able catch Arya out of the air. 

I think the NK turned when one of his Generals felt her whisp past. Group telepathy and shit. Bren was total decoy and was all in on drawing NK for the kill.

Edited April 30, 2019 by RPM

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

I think it’s obvious now that the Night King was a pedophile. 

[RPM 26318]

3 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

I think it’s obvious now that the Night King was a pedophile. 

[Mojo Hand 4580]

7 hours ago, DanTheHorn said:

Just finished watching the show again. Maybe it has been mentioned, I noticed Bran lowers his vision for split second and takes a look behind the Night King. Then the music livens up when he looks up again. My guess is he sees Arya an knows what is coming. Nice detail by the director.

Interesting idea.  I noticed that but thought that Bran was looking at the opening in the NK's armor.   I'll have to watch again to see if he could have been looking to the side of the NK. 

[Doc Sam Beckett 5792]

Before turning south, I would put Bran on trial for being the fucking worst. How many people has he gotten killed while in VR? The NK took down the wall because of Bran. I doubt he could even find a champion to defend him at this point. 

[heso 2791]

11 minutes ago, Doc Sam Beckett said:

Before turning south, I would put Bran on trial for being the fucking worst. How many people has he gotten killed while in VR? The NK took down the wall because of Bran. I doubt he could even find a champion to defend him at this point. 

He could worg into a champion for himself. 

[Pig Bellmont 8712]

51 minutes ago, ChiTownDoc said:

Wars are no longer simply miserable endeavors full of unintended consequences and multitudes suffering for the selfish desires of a few. Now they're heroic and virtuous

This is a function of unifying and fighting the dead to save humanity. It’s war for a completely different purpose 

[Loco 3752]

So what's the verdict on the Dire wolf...   dead, alive, undead ???   As others have said, I would think it's death would have been on camera.

[UT_OB1 2218]

5 hours ago, Disco Missile said:

This episode won't age well. It was a visual spectacle and advanced the necessary plot points, but it was a massive departure from previous GoT episodes.

Here's just one detail among the multitude, some which have been mentioned already. 
Let's look at some major character death scenes and see if you can spot the difference between them and the ones from Ep 3:

Deaths before S8:

- Jon Snow: in a surprise twist, murdered by his friends. Dies silently while his blood darkens the snow.
- Oberyn Martell: In a surprise twist, murdered by a nearly defeated Mountain. Dies screaming.
- Rickon Stark: In an mild twist, murdered by Ramsay Bolton. Dies gasping and clutching for air while Jon Snow watches just a few feet away.
- Ygritte: In a twist, killed by Olly in battle. Dies in Jon Snow's arms.
- Robb/Talisa/Catelyn: In a huge twist, murdered by the Freys at the Red Wedding. All die horrible deaths.
- Ned Stark: In a huge twist (the first of many), sentenced to death by King Joffery. Dies worried about his kids.
- Shireen: In a twist, burned to death by her parents. Dies screaming.
- Littlefinger: In a twist, sentenced to death by the Starks. Dies choking after Arya cuts his throat.
- Hodor: In a huge twist, killed by wights while holding a door to let Bran escape. Dies a horrible death as he's torn slowly to pieces.
- And so many more. Tommen, Myrcella, Renly, Balon, Ramsay, Roose. You get the point.

Now let's look at S8 deaths:

Ep 1 
- Lord Ned Umber: In a twist, murdered and turned into a wight by the Night King. Dies screaming when Beric burns him back to death.
Ep 3
- Edd: Killed in battle by a wight while heroically saving Sam.
- Beric: Killed in battle by wights while heroically saving Arya.
- Lyanna Mormont: Killed in battle by a wight giant after heroically stabbing it in the eye with a dragonglass blade.
- Jorah Mormont: Killed in battle by wights after heroically saving Daenerys.
- Theon: Killed by the Night King after heroically defending Bran. (edited to add him. Guess I forgot this one already)

It's clear. This isn't the GoT that existed for the first 7 seasons. The first three episodes of season 8 have completely subverted everything the previous seasons have established.
The overarching menace of the Night King, which Jon Snow harped on about for years, was defeated in a single night. Instead of tragic awful deaths we get glorious hero deaths. Wars are no longer simply miserable endeavors full of unintended consequences and multitudes suffering for the selfish desires of a few. Now they're heroic and virtuous. And to top it off, Cersei was right all along and now she has the larger army after Dany and the Northerners did the dirty work for her.

This episode was just a traditional tv battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil. The only thing surprising about it was how quickly the evil was defeated.

So more people died in the first 7 seasons than in the first half of the 8th season, and most of those deaths were in the battle that we've been building on since episode 1 rather than in plot twists?  WTF is your point?  

You also left out plenty of deaths in battles by characters as heroic sacrifice for the rest of their crew/army.  

Yes, it'd been nice if the 3ER did something more than sit in a chair.  And maybe it would have been nice if the NK was more than just a mindless monster, but the show isn't about him.  It is about the throne, in the end.

[MoJames 8244]

So what's the verdict on the Dire wolf...   dead, alive, undead ???   As others have said, I would think it's death would have been on camera.

Hes alive and in the preview.

But of miserable cunts in here.

[Thiefery 4995]

19 minutes ago, Doc Sam Beckett said:

Before turning south, I would put Bran on trial for being the fucking worst. How many people has he gotten killed while in VR? The NK took down the wall because of Bran. I doubt he could even find a champion to defend him at this point. 

He's not Bran anymore.. The last three eye Raven didn't exactly help his fellow man, just hid underground in a tree root. Get mad at Bran all you want but he is what he is now..there's no more emotions

[lonestar3 274]

4 minutes ago, Loco said:

So what's the verdict on the Dire wolf...   dead, alive, undead ???   As others have said, I would think it's death would have been on camera.

Posted a few pages back. He's in the previews for the next episode.

[Thiefery 4995]

Just now, MoJames said:

Hes alive and in the preview.

But of miserable cunts in here.

Wonder if Arya's wolfe will return to her on the march south?

[MoJames 8244]

imgur

[Loco 3752]

6 minutes ago, MoJames said:

Hes alive and in the preview.

But of miserable cunts in here.

uhhhh  I just watched the pre-view again.  I didn't see the Dire Wolf.   Was it in some reddit GOT fan breakdown?? 

I just saw your post...   maybe?  

Edited April 30, 2019 by Loco

[Goo Punch 4275]

5 hours ago, Disco Missile said:

This episode won't age well. It was a visual spectacle and advanced the necessary plot points, but it was a massive departure from previous GoT episodes.

Here's just one detail among the multitude, some which have been mentioned already. 
Let's look at some major character death scenes and see if you can spot the difference between them and the ones from Ep 3:

Deaths before S8:

- Jon Snow: in a surprise twist, murdered by his friends. Dies silently while his blood darkens the snow.
- Oberyn Martell: In a surprise twist, murdered by a nearly defeated Mountain. Dies screaming.
- Rickon Stark: In an mild twist, murdered by Ramsay Bolton. Dies gasping and clutching for air while Jon Snow watches just a few feet away.
- Ygritte: In a twist, killed by Olly in battle. Dies in Jon Snow's arms.
- Robb/Talisa/Catelyn: In a huge twist, murdered by the Freys at the Red Wedding. All die horrible deaths.
- Ned Stark: In a huge twist (the first of many), sentenced to death by King Joffery. Dies worried about his kids.
- Shireen: In a twist, burned to death by her parents. Dies screaming.
- Littlefinger: In a twist, sentenced to death by the Starks. Dies choking after Arya cuts his throat.
- Hodor: In a huge twist, killed by wights while holding a door to let Bran escape. Dies a horrible death as he's torn slowly to pieces.
- And so many more. Tommen, Myrcella, Renly, Balon, Ramsay, Roose. You get the point.

Now let's look at S8 deaths:

Ep 1 
- Lord Ned Umber: In a twist, murdered and turned into a wight by the Night King. Dies screaming when Beric burns him back to death.
Ep 3
- Edd: Killed in battle by a wight while heroically saving Sam.
- Beric: Killed in battle by wights while heroically saving Arya.
- Lyanna Mormont: Killed in battle by a wight giant after heroically stabbing it in the eye with a dragonglass blade.
- Jorah Mormont: Killed in battle by wights after heroically saving Daenerys.
- Theon: Killed by the Night King after heroically defending Bran. (edited to add him. Guess I forgot this one already)

It's clear. This isn't the GoT that existed for the first 7 seasons. The first three episodes of season 8 have completely subverted everything the previous seasons have established.
The overarching menace of the Night King, which Jon Snow harped on about for years, was defeated in a single night. Instead of tragic awful deaths we get glorious hero deaths. Wars are no longer simply miserable endeavors full of unintended consequences and multitudes suffering for the selfish desires of a few. Now they're heroic and virtuous. And to top it off, Cersei was right all along and now she has the larger army after Dany and the Northerners did the dirty work for her.

This episode was just a traditional tv battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil. The only thing surprising about it was how quickly the evil was defeated.

Great post, couldn't agree more. I remember saying to my mom before the season premier, "What if a major character goes out tonight? What if by the end of episode one someone like Tyrion, Dany, or Jon died?! We know how GoT likes to catch us all off guard." Nope. Not even close. Three episodes in and the only surprise is how formulaic and non GoT-like this season has been. No surprises, no twists, no death scenes that will stick with you forever (i bawled like a little baby watching Shireen screaming for her mother), just Good winning vs Evil, and not even in any sort of original way. They're all just off in a corner somewhere, fighting off dozens of zombies at a time. Very disappointing 

[lonestar3 274]

Messing with the discussion timeline, but thought this was cool:  Went back and started watching from season 1 and in episode 2, when Ned is riding south to be the hand and Jon is riding north to go to the wall they have a tearful goodbye where Ned promises that the next time they see each other he would reveal who Jon's mother is. When Jon finds out from Sam that he's a Targaryen he has just finished paying respects at Ned's statue/tomb down in the crypt.

[Llano Estacado 1257]

He's not Bran anymore.. The last three eye Raven didn't exactly help his fellow man, just hid underground in a tree root. Get mad at Bran all you want but he is what he is now..there's no more emotions

I am 3 eyed raven.

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4976]

9 minutes ago, lonestar3 said:

Messing with the discussion timeline, but thought this was cool:  Went back and started watching from season 1 and in episode 2, when Ned is riding south to be the hand and Jon is riding north to go to the wall they have a tearful goodbye where Ned promises that the next time they see each other he would reveal who Jon's mother is. When Jon finds out from Sam that he's a Targaryen he has just finished paying respects at Ned's statue/tomb down in the crypt.

Should have had zombie Ned come at Jon in the crypt in a way that reveals who his mother is, but first Jon has to kill zombie papa. Would have been Metal.

[wild_turkey 3159]

And maybe it would have been nice if the NK was more than just a mindless monster, but the show isn't about him.  It is about the throne, in the end.

Not sure how you can say that when the very first scene of the show involved White Walkers north of the wall. Not to mention Jon has spent 3+ seasons telling everyone to forget about the Iron Throne and focus on the true threat in the North.

I would say the show is probably 50/50 White Walker threat and the fight for the Iron Throne.

[Thiefery 4995]

7 minutes ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

Should have had zombie Ned come at Jon in the crypt in a way that reveals who his mother is, but first Jon has to kill zombie papa. Would have been Metal.

he's headless

[Loco 3752]

27 minutes ago, Thiefery said:

he's headless

yeah but how RRMartin (sp?) would it have been to have Arya have to fight and kill her fathers dead corpse...  maybe with his rotted head sewn onto his body and she has to cut it off again ala sir pain

[TexArcher 37774]

1 hour ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

Two hours of buildup to the longest sustained battle in TV or movie history and it was over too fast. 

I mean, this.

People are saying it was over too fast or the NK was defeated too easily?

Dude, all of humanity was lost.  The army of the dead was prime Mike Tyson invincible and they were cruising to a first round KO.  The only way to win was to get a single, perfect assassin to the NK himself.  In the end, it was his hubris that got them all killed, a classic motif in history and in fiction.  It ended the only way it could have.

They could have done a 4-week battle where every single person but Dany and Cersei died, then those two had a lesbian sex scene before fighting to the death naked in a tub of jello and some of y'all would be like, meh, I was expecting awesomer.

Edited April 30, 2019 by TexArcher

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

He's not Bran anymore.. The last three eye Raven didn't exactly help his fellow man, just hid underground in a tree root. Get mad at Bran all you want but he is what he is now..there's no more emotions

Fuck em both

[Loco 3752]

3 minutes ago, TexArcher said:

I mean, this.

People are saying it was over too fast or the NK was defeated too easily?

Dude, all of humanity was lost.  The army of the dead was prime Mike Tyson invincible and they were cruising to a first round KO.  The only way to win was to get a single, perfect assassin to the NK himself.  In the end, it was his hubris that got them all killed, a classic motif in history and in fiction.  It ended the only way it could have.

They could have done a 4-week battle where every single person but Dany and Cersei died, then those two had a lesbian sex scene before fighting to the death naked in a tub of jello and some of y'all would be like, meh, I was expecting awesomer.

you have any concept art?  Cause, ya know, I could be persuaded

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

....

[JimmyHoffa 1188]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nivek 16923]

1 hour ago, Loco said:

So what's the verdict on the Dire wolf...   dead, alive, undead ???   As others have said, I would think it's death would have been on camera.

hey do you know where Arya got that dagger?

[Jerry Callo 8700]

I was really anticipating being caught off guard when a major character died in the biggest fight in the history of GoT.  You know, something completely unexpected that had been predicted all week.

 

[Loco 3752]

7 minutes ago, Nivek said:

hey do you know where Arya got that dagger?

You mean the one she gave to your mom?

[Pato del Muerto 52489]

40 minutes ago, TexArcher said:

 

They could have done a 4-week battle where every single person but Dany and Cersei died, then those two had a lesbian sex scene before fighting to the death naked in a tub of jello and some of y'all would be like, meh, I was expecting awesomer.

Let’s story board this. Maybe in a twist, the “iron throne” is really the name of a Valyrian dildo. 

Kinda like steely dan. 

Edited April 30, 2019 by Pato del Muerto

[Barry_McCokiner 160]

1 hour ago, MoJames said:

 

 

Uhm, is that what they're going to bring to King's Landing?  There's like 500 people.

[Loco 3752]

5 minutes ago, Barry_McCokiner said:

Uhm, is that what they're going to bring to King's Landing?  There's like 500 people.

and operation Rolling Thunder (not Bran).

Recruiting probably going to be easy for the folks who just saved the world

[ChiTownDoc 21151]

51 minutes ago, TexArcher said:

I mean, this.

People are saying it was over too fast or the NK was defeated too easily?

Dude, all of humanity was lost.  The army of the dead was prime Mike Tyson invincible and they were cruising to a first round KO.  The only way to win was to get a single, perfect assassin to the NK himself.  In the end, it was his hubris that got them all killed, a classic motif in history and in fiction.  It ended the only way it could have.

They could have done a 4-week battle where every single person but Dany and Cersei died, then those two had a lesbian sex scene before fighting to the death naked in a tub of jello and some of y'all would be like, meh, I was expecting awesomer.

I’m good w this view but more of the significant good guys/gals should have died.  If they’re so badass, let’s see the bad dudes inflict some carnage.  

Also, the story line would be much more interesting going forward if they faced Cersei with a ragtag bunch vs the 1992 dream team minus Chris Mullin.  

[SuingToGetAMessageBoard? 3861]

26 minutes ago, Jerry Callo said:

I was really anticipating being caught off guard when a major character died in the biggest fight in the history of GoT.  You know, something completely unexpected that had been predicted all week.

 

It's not merely about surprise that something big happens.  It's that you remove the war-is-hell, life is dirty, reality that has been a hallmark of this shown when all you get are minor characters with heroic deaths that you could find in any cliched action flick.  And war is hell whether it comes from no where and surprises or whether you are staring at an inevitable overwhelming force.