The long winter has come again, this time it’s the longest winter in the history of Westeros. Dragons have arrived in their ancestral lands once again and a new but familiar monarch has taken hold of the true seat of power in the land. Blood and strife continue to plague the lands to the south and only one man knows where the true war lies. The wheels of fate have only begun turning and so our watch continues.
Game of Thrones epic season 7 is the season of where the living’s greatest factions finally meet each other, whether it be on the battlefield, or in a pit. All the major houses come into play, the wolves, the dragons, the lions, and yes even the stag. Yes, the last remaining member of the house of Baratheon resurfaces after escaping death thanks to Sir Davos.
This penultimate season is where we see some of the most awaited reunions throughout the entire show’s history. The Starks start coming back to Winterfell, the Lannister siblings face off in diplomatic terms, the Hound sees old foes, and many more that gives quite a huge amount of tension that could easily be cut by a knife. We also get some of the best 1st time meetings that was destiny from the get go.
Amidst all this, there wasn’t as much death as the previous seasons had and there were only a few notable deaths that changed the dynamics, although not as much as the deaths from the previous seasons. One death in particular felt like it was done too quickly and could’ve really used more time to make that character’s death more memorable just like Joffrey’s. It was also surprising that the last episode had an underlying theme of cocks and dicks if anybody else noticed. And speaking of cocks and dicks, this season may not have had the hottest incest in the series but it did have the best incest.
The White Walkers have also been able to get significantly much closer to the wall as they ever have been and they even fought one more powerful party of humans before they begin their march on the Southern North. Jon Snow on the other hand is looking for allies as well as the much sought after Dragonglass that they all need in order to defeat the Night King and the rest of the dead.
Daenerys Targaryen has returned to Westeros and has finally brought in her vast armies and large children. Though she has the counsel of many great and wise leaders, Cersei Lannister proves herself to be a competent backstabbing queen who is ready to defend the kingdom she took from her dead children. While the Stark siblings see how much each has changed when they’re united once again in their home.
Lies and betrayal are also imminent just as it was in the previous season although the way season 7 uses it is different than what we are all used to, it led to a lot of confusion but it does provide a form of payoff in the end. However a few characters managed to stay true till the end even if it did cause them so much in the long run but it still won them the hearts of the other characters.
This season was shorter than the 6 seasons before it and it did suffer in some areas. The writing felt cheap at certain times and while it did give us some twists at the end of them, I couldn’t help but felt like it was done in a devious way that could have been done better. Another issue was that the pacing felt rushed compared to how slow the other seasons told the story. The development for certain characters felt lacking and could have really used that 10 episode count.
The most prevalent issue with the whole season was how predictable everything was. You can easily tell what will happen or take a wild guess what’s gonna happen in the next episodes and see that it actually comes true, especially if you played Warcraft and was into a certain expansion. Despite the level of predictability, it was still very enjoyable and the season delivered on some of the greatest moments in the series’ history. If anything the predictability just shows many of us fans have come to love the series and are creating a lot of our own fictional revelations only for them to become real and how the series is getting ready to end everything with the last season that will be set to air most likely in 2019. The good news about that is that we will atleast get feature lengths for all 6 episodes in Season 8.
The series is drawing to a close with an unexpected parting and a much expected union. All with the greatest revelation of the origins of one of the series’ most beloved and iconic characters. Season 8 will be where our watch ends so until then, we have to wait it out for the longest 2 winters of our time. Our watch has not yet ended my friends and enemies. The Night King comes soon, we shall never be truly ready for what the last season will bring but we will always embrace it with open arms.
