"Paul Levinson's It's Real Life is a page-turning exploration into that multiverse known as rock and roll. But it is much more than a marvelous adventure narrated by a master storyteller...it is also an exquisite meditation on the very nature of alternate history." -- Jack Dann, The Fiction Writer's Guide to Alternate History

Sunday, August 20, 2017

Game of Thrones 7.6: Two to One

I thought tonight's Game of Thrones 7.6 was the best episode so far in the entire series.

We finally got to see the battle between the dragons and the dead. Dragon fire versus dead ice and everything that led up to it tonight was peak Game of Thrones, profound and breathtaking.  And the battle itself ...

Well, we've already seen that the dragons are not invincible.  The Lannister auto-spear almost brought one of them down a few weeks ago.  The Night King's aim and weapon of course was much better.  Calmly throwing throwing that life-ending spear.   I knew as soon as Viserion was shot down that we'd see blue eyes in that fearsome head before too long.  And so we did.

So now, at least as far as dragons go, the forces of fire and humanity have a two-to-one advantage over the dead.  That's a lot worse than three to zero.  But we still do not completely understand the relationship between Daenerys and her children.  Perhaps Viserion, even dead, will still have some recognition of, some loyalty to, some love of, the woman who it (not sure of its gender) regards as its mother.  And that could, of course, be decisive in some ultimate battle.  (Similar questions have long been raised in The Walking Dead, and the answers have never been on the side of life.  But that's a different series.)

Almost as significant as the battle, in its own way, was the hand-holding of Daenerys and Jon.  With all the speculation on the Internet that they might be closely related, that sure looked like an early expression of a different kind of love.  I wouldn't be surprised at all to see the two together, though likely not as soon as the season finale next week.

And that conversation between Sansa and Arya - one of the best conversations between any two Starks in the entire series.  I really thought for a moment that there was a chance that Arya would kill her sister.  More was accomplished this season than in all the previous seasons put together.  Bring on that 81-minute season finale.


And see also Game of Thrones 6.1: Where Are the Dragons ... Game of Thrones 6.2: The Waking ... Game of Thrones 6.5: Origin of a Name ... Game of Thrones 6.6: The Exhortation ... Game of Thrones 6.7: Giveth and Taketh ... Game of Thrones 6.8: Strategic Advantage ... Game of Thrones 6.9: A Night for the Light ... Game of Thrones Season 6 Finale: That Library

And see also Game of Thrones 5.1: Unsetting the Table ... Game of Thrones 5.8: The Power of Frigid Death ... Game of Thrones 5.9: Dragon in Action; Sickening Scene with Stannis ... Game of Thrones Season 5 Finale: Punishment

And see also Games of Thrones Season 4 Premiere: Salient Points ... Game of Thrones 4.2: Whodunnit? ... Game of Thrones 4.3: Who Will Save Tyrion ...Game of Thrones 4.4: Glimpse of the Ultimate Battle ... Game of Thrones 4.6: Tyrion on Trial ... Game of Thrones 4.8: Beetles and Battle ...Game of Thrones 4.9: The Fight for Castle Black ... Games of Thrones Season 4 Finale: Woven Threads


And see also Game of Thrones Back in Play for Season 2 ... Game of Thrones 2.2: Cersei vs. Tyrion

And see also A Game of Thrones: My 1996 Review of the First Novel ... Game of Thrones Begins Greatly on HBO ... Game of Thrones 1.2: Prince, Wolf, Bastard, Dwarf ... Games of Thrones 1.3: Genuine Demons ... Game of Thrones 1.4: Broken Things  ... Game of Thrones 1.5: Ned Under Seige ... Game of Thrones 1.6: Molten Ever After ... Games of Thrones 1.7: Swiveling Pieces ... Game of Thrones 1.8: Star Wars of the Realms ... Game of Thrones 1.9: Is Ned Really Dead? ... Game of Thrones 1.10 Meets True Blood

And here's a Spanish article in Semana, the leading news magazine in Colombia, in which I'm quoted about explicit sex on television, including on Game of Thrones.

And see "'Game of Thrones': Why the Buzz is So Big" article in The Christian Science Monitor, 8 April 2014, with my quotes.

Also: CNN article, "How 'Game of Thrones' Is Like America," with quote from me



"I was here, in Carthage, three months from now ..."

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