I was less fond of our first glimpse of Rhaegar. Did the showrunners really need to make him the spitting image of his younger brother, Viserys? The creep who told Dany he'd let 40,000 Dothraki and their horses rape her if it would get him his crown?

I mean, they're brothers and all, but I always pictured Rhaegar looking different than his psychopathic little brother. While it's not the biggest deal in the world, this really bothered me. They weren't twins. The show could have given us a Rhaegar that didn't immediately remind us of one of the most loathsome characters in the entire seven seasons.

Ah well. What's done is done. We have confirmation of Jon's true parentage and birthright, and we have Bran stating very clearly that Jon needs to know. So in 18 months, or however long it takes for Season 8 to come out, I guess Jon will learn the truth. I'm curious to see what happens next.

Let's leave this secret wedding behind us, and return to Bran. He sits now beneath the Weirdwood tree in Winterfell. Red leaves like blood against white snow. Once again, he's sent his ravens, so we'll hitch a ride with them, east and north, hundreds of miles to...

Eastwatch by the Sea

As we all predicted, the Wall has finally come crashing down, thanks to the Night King's clever (if inexplicable) plot to kill and turn a dragon and then use its blue fire to destroy it.

I don't think Tormund and Beric are dead if only because we didn't see them die, but it's anyone's guess until Season 8.

This entire segment was riveting and glorious. The dragon cutting through the Wall like a blowtorch; the massive army of the dead sprawled out below; the hulking giants lumbering through the wreckage.

At the same time, it's kind of frustrating how the Night King actually came by his dragon. On the one hand, we can see clearly that the reason the undead hadn't marched on the Wall yet was because they lacked the means to tear it down and move south. On the other hand, they only got a dragon because of a convoluted, stupid plan devised by Tyrion.

I'm sure I'll have many readers telling me how I was fooled by the cleverness of this twist, how all my gripes about last week's episode have been undone (both in terms of this plot and the Winterfell storyline, which we'll get to soon.) I maintain that the events leading up to this very cool finale were all preposterous and poorly executed.

Tyrion's plan was terrible. Anyone with half a brain could see that capturing a wight and showing it to Cersei was a waste of time. She was always going to betray them, and it's no surprise that she did. Even worse, it still baffles me what they hoped to gain out of this in the first place. Cersei tells Jaime they can 'retake all the lands they lost.' But those lands are of little to no significance, at least strategically. And compared to the value of a flying, fire-breathing dragon nothing Dany and Jon and Tyrion hoped to gain from Cersei even compared.

I mean, stop and think about this for a second: What good would a truce or an alliance with Cersei actually do for Jon and Dany? At the very best, an army of Lannisters would go fight alongside them. More likely, however, they'd just not fight each other for a while...which would be the outcome of not making a truce also. Neither of these possible outcomes make up for a lost dragon or even a lost Jon Snow (had Dany not gone to rescue him.)

So it's all well and good that the Night King had his tricks and got his dragon and toppled the Wall, but the whole series of events leading up to that remain preposterous and silly. I can't wash that taste out of my mouth no matter how much I enjoyed the season finale.

So the dead are marching, and now it's just a matter of who has the best fast travel devices. We'll leave the fancy marching to the armies and take to the cloudy skies. Let's fly back to Winterfell, but not to spy on Bran and Sam. We have other Stark children in mind.

The Fall of Littlefinger

So long Petyr Baelish. You'd outworn your welcome.

I've had many unkind words about the Winterfell storyline. I've also discussed the possibility that it was all a ruse, that the Starks were playing Littlefinger at his own game. I maintain that both these things remain true, even after tonight's reveal.

It was enormously frustrating to watch as Sansa was apparently manipulated even more by Littlefinger. She even had Arya brought before her and Bran (that Bran was there was the first giveaway that it was, indeed, a trap for Baelish.)

It was great and satisfying, or at least a huge relief, to discover that it was all Arya's plot to unveil Littlefinger as a traitor. Sansa reveals his crimes. Bran throws Littlefinger's own words to their father at him. Littlefinger cries like a baby and Arya slashes his throat. What a relief that that's all done with.

Except, I can't help but feel like it was all done for our sake, rather than for Littelfinger's. After all, why even bother with the charade if they could just accuse him at any time? If they knew he had betrayed Ned and Catelyn, why go to all this trouble to trick him? Why not just accuse him and execute him right away?

I know! I have the answer!

It wasn't done because it made sense. Nothing about the past few episodes between Arya and Sansa were done to cleverly fool Littlefinger. The Stark girls learned nothing and gained nothing from this deception. The entire thing was done to fool us, dear reader. It was done to mess with us and to toy with our emotions.

So again, as much as I love the fact that Littlefinger was ultimately unveiled as the mastermind behind most of the events that transpired over the past few seasons, in the end it was all a big farce that never needed to happen. Filler, and worse than that, the kind of filler designed to screw with viewers in the most hamfisted of ways. I maintain that, in spite of it all, this was a dirty trick and nothing more. If there were some greater 'game of thrones' behind it all, I'd eat my hat. Alas, it was all a cheap mummer's play with no substance.

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To make matters worse, Littlefinger hasn't made sense in several seasons now. There was no reason for him to leave the Vale, to sell off Sansa to the Boltons, to break faith with the Lannisters, or to stick around in the North after all was said and done. Whatever brilliant scheming Baelish achieved early on, he lost his gift some years ago now. It was only a matter of time before he was checked off Arya's list.

Alas, I think the great schemer deserved more. I'm not sad he's dead, I'm just sad this is how it all played out.

Let's leave his body rotting on the cobblestones. Let's fly south, hundreds upon hundreds of leagues, to the slowly chilling walls of....

King's Landing

It was nice to see some old faces either reunite or come into contact for the first time. Brienne telling the Hound that Arya was alive was a nice bit, especially since she thought he was dead to begin with. (Why didn't she tell Jon his sister was alive, though? Edit: I mean before, when they were both in the North together, why didn't she ever tell him she'd seen his sister alive and well?)

Bronn and Tyrion's banter was also nice, and I could keep checking off boxes. Pod and Bronn off to have drinks! Everyone telling Euron to sit the hell down and stop taunting Tyrion! Cersei almost ordering zombie Gregor to kill both her brothers!

Lots of great moments, though (unsurprisingly) all of it was for naught. Cersei was never going to help them and never going to keep her word. The big, important moments did happen, though.

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The first was Sandor confronting his brother. He tells him it's not a matter of how or when he dies, the only thing that matters is that he's coming for him. That's as good as confirming that Cleganebowl is happening. Just not until Season 8. Sigh.

Jaime finally saying 'to hell with you' to Cersei was also a pretty big deal. Finally he's left her to do the right thing, baby or no. He's headed north to fight alongside the good guys. I did think, for a moment, that Cersei would have him killed. I breathed an audible sigh of relief when he said 'I don't believe you' and walked away, unscathed.

The Dragonpit was cool, and the scene with the wight charging Cersei was pretty intense. I do like how Euron lied about taking his fleet back home as well. Dany and Jon just aren't as good at this whole deception thing as Cersei and her allies. That Cersei and Euron plotted all this behind Jaime's back is even more telling.

What I liked less were the two meetings...the fact that Cersei and company all took off and walked all the way back to the Red Keep and then Tyrion followed them and 'convinced' Cersei and so they all marched right on back. It was kind of weird. That's a lot of walking.

Also, everybody wore black to this meeting. Was it a funeral?

In any case, let's take a quick break on the pristine shores of one of Westeros's most coveted vacation destinations....

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Dragonstone

Here we find Theon, first talking to Jon who gives him what absolution he can, then confronting his dozen or so Ironborn. He wants to save Yara; they're typically awful and macho and won't help him. He wins out by beating his biggest detractor in a fight because he isn't hurt when the guy knees him in the groin.

I guess this is all a bit of a sideshow for me. I don't really care about Theon that much anymore, and show Yara (Asha in the books) just doesn't interest me much.

Oh well, at least Theon found his stones in the most ironic way possible. I guess it will be nice if he kills his uncle and saves his sister. I guess I just feel mostly apathy at this point to that entire storyline.

Anyways....

Verdict and final, scattered thoughts.

Overall, I think this was a good episode. It was a Big Deal sort of episode and it tied up nicely all the disparate strands leading up to this point. Some brilliant CGI, gorgeous music, and fun meetings between long-separated characters made it a joy to watch. What I liked less was how preposterous so many of the things leading up to it were, and how rushed this entire season felt. I'm serious when I say that two or three more episodes would have helped make this entire season feel less chaotic and janky. Oh, and a better reason to get those dragons beyond the Wall. Even if it had just been Daenerys going up there to see for herself (minus the capture-a-wight silliness) and the Night King had nabbed Viserion, that would have been fine.

Oh well. I'm praying to the Old Gods and the New that Season 8 is better.

Here's some final, scattered thoughts as we wrap up the season:

• 'You're still very strange and annoying.' Great line from Sansa to Arya. I chuckled audibly.
• All those Unsullied and Dothraki should do a pretty good job against the dead.
• I hope Bronn joins Jaime on the road north.
• Tyrion calls Cersei 'The Most Murderous Woman In The World.' Both true and, I suspect, she'd take it as a compliment.
• Cersei has hired the Golden Company. That's a mercenary company from the books. I'm not sure having 20,000 mercenaries is as formidable as she makes it sound given the hundreds of thousands of enemies, both living and dead, they face. Ah well.
• Bran's nose and the Night King's nose are literally identical. That theory is totally true because of their noses.
• I'm sad this season was only seven episodes. It definitely would have been better with ten.
• I'm also sad the next season is only six episodes long.
• Finally, finally, finally. Dorne still has tens of thousands of troops that Dany could very easily muster.
• WHERE IS GHOST? ALL THE CGI DRAGONS IN THE WORLD DON'T EXCUSE AN ENTIRE SEASON WITHOUT GHOST.

I'll have more thoughts tomorrow when I've had more time to digest and let all this sink in.

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In the meantime, I'm very curious as to what you all think. Let's finish this review with some glorious shots of Viserion the Ice Dragon:

The dead march into the North, from further north.

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And here's my latest discussion of the season. I'll have a new one up soon.