I have chosen to analyse this chosen episode as practise for the longer and more in detail clip my group will have to produce after completing our prem task. However, this analysis does help will creating the plot and story line of our prem task. As well as this the episode shows many unique ways of using sounds and camera movements to create emotion and suspense this is very useful to my group and myself when editing our prem task.
But for every “happy” ending in this finale, a shadow looms. The largest shadow, of course, was the one cast by the first half an hour of the program, dedicated to King’s Landing. The show, which has always operated in a certain format, switched things up a bit, with the opening scene taking up around a third of the hour. We’ve had episodes dominated by long sequences before such as “The Lion and the Rose” and “Hard home”, but never at the bottom of the hour rather than the top. The music in the opening scene was striking and intense. The track sounded like nothing we had heard under our scenes in Westeros before, and with good reason. Even as we contrasted Margaery’s hair being braided for her with the High Sparrow shrugging himself into his plain shift, something already seemed very wrong. Cersei: “Confess it felt good beating me, starving me, frightening me, humiliating me. You didn’t do it because you care about my atonement, you did it because it felt good.” In one fell swoop, Cersei took out everyone in King’s Landing who stood in her way, in the show’s largest bloodbath to date. (Olenna asked her sneeringly the last time she saw her: “What are you going to do, kill them all yourself?” Turns out the answer was, “Well actually…” The High Sparrow. Margaery, Mace, and Loras Tyrell. Kevan and Lancel Lannister. Pycelle. Even Tommen. His absence, more than Cersei’s, seemed to be what triggered Margaery’s certainty that something terrible was about to befall them all.
By leaving her son in his chamber to watch the destruction of the Sept, she revealed to him who would really be running things from here on out, and Tommen, knowing that he could never stand up to such a horror, did the only thing he could. He took off his crown, threw himself out the window, and joined her death toll. Ten episodes ago, it would have been the ultimate punishment for her. Now it was just another notch on her belt, and with him gone, there was nothing to stop her from sitting on the Iron Throne herself: Cersei Lannister, First of Her Name, the Mad Queen. But although Cersei might have achieved her happily ever after, the shadow lies in wait. Down south, Olenna and Varys have finally come together to solve a problem like Dorne. In doing so, they also join forces with Daenerys Targaryen and her oncoming army to take out the Lannisters. Jaime rides to King’s Landing, thinking he will rescue Cersei from her trial, only to discover she’s moved beyond his help. The horror he once worked so hard to prevent, the horror that drove him to slay his own king, forever ruining his name, had been perpetrated by his own flesh and blood, at least in part. Walder Frey: “Here we are now, two Kingslayers!” When Jaime was feasting with the Frey's the serving girl smiled coquettishly and looked away, caught staring at the highborn lord. But that face was merely one she wore. Underneath, we learned that serving wench had minced Walder Frey’s sons into the pie. Underneath that face was Arya Stark.
Following Arya, the girl who left Winterfell so long ago is a cold-blooded killer now, and one that should frighten anyone she meets. Not that Sansa is much warmer. The scene between her and Jon earlier in the episode was one of the few sweet spots in the episode, as they cheer on the official arrival of winter. But although Sansa says that only a fool trusts Littlefinger, the man still poured poison in her ear about how she was the trueborn Stark, while Jon is “a motherless southerner.” The way the smile slowly slipped from her face as she caught Littlefinger’s eye, surrounded by chants of “King In The North,” is worrisome. It is he who sits upon the Iron Throne, not her. Tyrion: “I’ve been a cynic for as long as I can remember. Everyone’s always asking me to believe in things: family, gods, kings, myself. It was often tempting until I saw where belief got people. I said no thank you to belief. Yet here I am. I believe in you.”
If Littlefinger and Sansa take Jon Snow down, there will be no resurrection. Jon Snow has gone and done the honourable thing again, dismissing Melisandre from his service after learning she burned Shireen at the stake. It may be true that these are the sorts of things he does not expect to be happening in his name. But we already know that doing the “honourable” thing is also usually the stupid thing, as discussed in my character analysis of Ned Stark. Daenerys Targaryen is finally turning her back on Essos, Meereen, and even Daario Naharis. She has no need for love. She only needs the best of those around her, be it their swords, their ships, or their wisdom. From Theon to Yara to Grey Worm to Missandei to newly appointed Hand of the Queen Tyrion and Varys. Of course not forgetting her three dragons. Daenerys Targaryen is not the only Targaryen in the world. Littlefinger may call him a motherless southerner. Lyanna Mormont may have just crowned him King in the North. After this episode, after nearly 20 long years since A Game of Thrones was first published, we finally saw what happened inside the Tower of Joy. We finally saw Lyanna whisper to Ned Stark, and hand him a baby, the one he took back to Winterfell and told everyone was his bastard. This was skilfully revealed through a shot from the baby to Jon Snow's face.
This post will help with my preliminary task as when analysing the episode I was able to take away from it unique camera angles that triggered emotion. This could be very useful as the aim of my groups video is to provoke a reaction from the audience. Also the story line and plot of the episode was jaw dropping and highly detailed which made for an amazing finale in my opinion. This is also useful when shooting our video.
No comments:
Post a Comment