Sunday’s episode of ‘Game of Thrones’ sparked a sea of conversations. From HBO’s hacking dilemma, to the death of a much beloved dragon, to the convenient timeline, fans have been talking.
The latter discussion has received a lot of attention, with fans questioning how the events surrounding the battle between Jon Snow’s army and the White Walkers could be resolved so quickly.
Via HBO
The episode spent a good amount of time tracking the long and arduous journey of Jon Snow and his men as they sought out a Wight to bring to Kings Landing. As they journeyed pretty far beyond the wall, it seemed rather convenient that Gendry got to the wall relatively quick on his way back to find help.
After his return, he sent a raven to Daenerys who in turn set out with her dragons to rescue Jon Snow. Just when the wights were closing in on Snow and his men, Dany miraculously arrived in the nick of time to reclaim her heroic title, setting fire to hoards of wights.
Via HBO
It was insane. The cinematography was incredible, the power of the dragons illuminating, and the electrified connection between Dany and Jon made all shippers swoon. While many viewers were overjoyed, others criticized the writers for their rushed treatment of the plot, comparing it to amateur fan fiction.
Game of Thrones is being rushed to a finish in the same way you do when the bird you’re shagging’s husband has just pulled up on the drive.
— Jon (@TheFenny) August 22, 2017
Travel time between places is starting to feel like whatever the writers need that episode. #GameOfThrones
— David Byrd (@Blkbyrd) August 21, 2017
Game of Thrones been so trash ever since it got past what was written in the books. Straight up lazy fan fiction with high production value
— Sankha Ghatak (@BabujeeUnit) August 21, 2017
I don’t know where ‘Game of Thrones’ ends and the fan fiction begins anymore
— Cam Williams (@MrCamW) August 21, 2017
Luckily for us, we weren’t the only ones who thought the episode was rushed. In an interview with Variety, director Alan Taylor acknowledged the expedient timeline of Sunday’s episode.
“We were aware that timing was getting a little hazy…We tried to hedge it a little bit with the eternal twilight up there north of The Wall. I think there was some effort to fudge the timeline a little bit by not declaring exactly how long we were there. I think that worked for some people, for other people it didn’t. They seemed to be very concerned about how fast a raven can fly but there’s a thing called plausible impossibilities, which is what you try to achieve, rather than impossible plausibilities. So I think we were straining plausibility a little bit, but I hope the story’s momentum carries over some of that stuff.”
Via HBO
In defense of Taylor, there is limited storytelling time in the series. The finale of this season airs next Sunday and its been confirmed that there will only be one season remaining with a handful of episodes. Though fans are used to waiting years to find resolutions, homecomings, reunions, etc. the limited time means that the plot is going to pick up more than usual.
While we can lament the time gaps and detailed character development, we can look forward to the much-awaited reunion of the show’s leaders as revealed in the trailer for the finale.
Featured image courtesy of HBO.
