The eighth episode of Game of Thrones was all about homecomings. We had Daenerys returning to Meereen from her exile with the Dothraki, Edmure Tully reclaiming his rightful seat as the lord of Riverrun, the Hound finding a new home with the Brotherhood Without Banners, and Arya Stark finally prevailing against the nameless girl and vowing to return to Winterfell.
At least that final homecoming (or at least resolution to return home) was exciting. There was a grisly death, an excellent chase scene, horrible things happening to unsuspecting orange dealers on the streets of Braavos and finally a showdown in the dark that we didn’t get to witness. After all the times the nameless girl has kicked the tar out of Arya, we weren’t allowed to watch her final triumph? We also didn’t get to see Brynden the Blackfish Tully’s last stand at Riverrun, or just what Dany’s beast Drogon did to slaver’s ships outside Meereen before it dropped the Khaleesi off on top of a pyramid like it was no big deal. Celebrity breakers of chains – they’re just like us.
That frustration of missing all the good stuff is something I’ve been feeling for much of this season. Part of the reason is that each episode has a very predictable structure, beginning in one place, then flitting about the Seven Kingdoms checking in on a few storylines before ending where we started for a big plot advancement. But it’s also because the show doesn’t seem to know how much time to invest in each strand. Did we really need to wait all that time for Jon Snow’s inevitable resurrection? Likewise, did we need all that screen time before Daenerys torched the Dothraki and took their authority for her own? And who needs to watch Ramsay Bolton commit yet another atrocity?
The biggest waste of time, however, was the siege at Riverrun. Not only was it full of tertiary characters who had barely appeared before, but it led nowhere. We spent two whole episodes there and it ended with an off-screen death, a nearly bloodless revolution, and Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth once again going their separate ways. The Lannisters and Freys still guard the castle and nothing of note happened to tip the balance of power. What was the point?
The real difference this season, of course, is that it is the first where David Benioff and DB Weiss didn’t have George RR Martin’s blueprint as they were writing; the show has certainly been the worse off for it. For the first five seasons, their problem was one of subtraction. They had an overabundance of story that had to be honed. Now, they have the problem of addition. They have a scant amount of story and must figure out how much to insert to keep the momentum up and include characters that will be needed down the line. That has resulted in long diversions into plots that feel inconsequential and reveal the showrunners’ fears.
Creatively, it’s the difference between whittling a sculpture out of a block of granite and sculpting something from a formless ball of clay. Benioff and Weiss proved themselves excellent whittlers, but are finding it difficult to sculpt. For the first time ever, Game of Thrones feels like it has a bit of filler.
The great thing about this show historically is that even though there was a wealth of source material, it always managed to surprise us with a well-placed death like Ned Stark’s, a shocking change of fortune like Oberyn Martell in his last moments, or an excellent ambush like the White Walkers when they attacked Jon Snow and the Wildlings. It seemed like every episode had a major event.
Now, the major events have stopped and it seems like we’re biding our time until the dead come marching south of the Wall and we can forget all about Riverrun just as we’ve forgotten all about Dorne. I don’t think the battle for Winterfell next week will really change the tides (watch for the Knights of the Vale to swoop in at the last minute and rout the Boltons in 3…2...1...). That leaves just the finale to give us something great. I hope Benioff and Weiss are saving up a gorgeous sculpture to stun us in the final hour.
