This is how it ends, friends.

And you know what? I am okay with it. I am ready to let go.

Going into the last episode of the series, I expected to be disappointed. Already, season 8 provided plenty of disappointment with its insistence on abandoning good story-telling in favour of breakneck speed and empty spectacle. I had read the spoilers/leaks, which confirmed that the show would not be ending in any one of the ways I had imagined, and that its ending was very much in line with the rest of the season; it required a lot more build-up to feel authentic than the show was willing to invest.

As a result, I watched episode 6 with a lot of detachment. The only times I felt emotionally engaged were watching Drogon mourn his mom (RIP, Dany) and Ghost reuniting with his dad (and finally getting his much-deserved petting). But, funny thing. The more I think about the ending, and try to imagine how GRRM himself might have arrived at it, the less I hate it. Don’t get me wrong; the show did a sh*t job of selling it and the writers deserve all the outraged reactions they’re getting. But I am starting to see how it maybe makes sense in the context of the world that GRRM built. Written properly, this might actually have been the beautiful, bittersweet story we were all promised.

But that is not the story we currently have, so for now let’s talk about what we did get … and how little sense it all made.

• I covered my distaste for the Dany-goes-mad plot line last week. The finale did nothing to bolster this story, so it still feels like the show did a complete character assassination in 3 episodes. Yes, there was always foreshadowing that this might be Dany’s ultimate path; but until about 3 episodes ago, she was presented to us as a heroine, as someone for whom to root. Can you blame those fans who did, and continue to root for her? It doesn’t make them toxic fans; to me, it means that the writers failed to make their writing emotionally connect. It’s legitimate to say: look, just because Dany is a woman doesn’t mean that she can’t be a tyrant. But you have to show us that; you have to make us believe it, in our hearts. The fact that you have to rely, at the eleventh hour, on a bunch of (male) characters explaining to us how mad she is … well, it means that you haven’t done your job properly.
• Jon acted completely out of character. Again, the only context we had for his decision was a short conversation with Tyrion and an even briefer one with Arya. And, bam, he’s ready to kill the supposed love of his life. Just like that. Show me 2 seasons of Dany slowly succumbing to blood lust, and Jon agonizing over his divided loyalties. Make me believe he’s in love with her AND afraid of her. Make me believe he’s feeling something, anything.
• The aftermath of Dany’s murder makes no sense. Dany was a queen by lineage (arguably) but mostly by conquest. Jon has a better claim to the throne by lineage; having killed the conqueror, he should automatically have been king. No?! Am I taking crazy pills? The Unsullied have no authority in Westeros except whatever authority Dany gave them. I suppose Grey Worm could have killed Jon as a matter of personal revenge, but to arrest him?! WTF? I can understand getting to the eventual council-to-decide-the-next-king plot line via Jon refusing to accept the throne but this was just dumb. Also dumb was the exile-to-the-Night-Watch business. First, this was unnecessary. If the issue was appeasing the Unsullied long enough to get them out of Westeros, then the order could have been rescinded immediately upon their departure; it’s not like they’re coming back, right? Second, the Night Watch has no purpose anymore, so if it still exists let’s just call it what it is: a gulag for undesirables. I’m actually not mad that Jon ended up going North; it’s where he can be happiest, I think, and that’s fine. The last scene made it look like he’s going north of the Wall with the wildlings – abandoning his post?!? – which is even better. Maybe he’ll run into another feisty redhead while he’s there.
• Bran as king is … sure, whatever. In principle, the idea that the kings of Westeros are now going to be selected by committee (of nobles, of course) is kind of interesting. It’s like a cross between an oligarchy and a very embryonic form of representative government. Baby steps. But has the show established just how long Bran-not-Bran is going to live? The last Three Eyed Raven was centuries old, no? Is Bran going to be king forever?
• The independent North is cool and all but I can’t believe that no one objected. Both Dorne and the Iron Islands have a history of not wanting to bend the knee, but they didn’t say a peep when Sansa was all “love you brother, but I’m outies”. I also have to wonder whether Sansa will go all Elizabeth I (as the visuals of her coronation would suggest) or whether she will take steps to continue the Stark dynasty of the north. Speaking of which, little Robin Arryn was all *surprise!* grown up and glowed-up, no?
• Don’t get me started on Bronn as Lord of Highgarden/Master of Coin. No, seriously, please don’t.
• On the other hand, Brienne as head of the Kingsguard and Davos as Master of Ships warmed my heart. And Pod is Ser Podrick now! All of this is fan servicey as hell, but I’ll take it.

Overall, the theme of the show – if there is one – seems to have been: plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. The game of thrones goes on.

Spring to Summer

The weather has been all over the place lately; sometimes it feels like summer, sometimes it … doesn’t. I’m not complaining, for once, because this year I realized that as much as I am a summer person in spirit, I prefer spring/fall when it comes to sartorial matters. Layers, you guys. I love me some layers.

But when the weather can’t make up its mind about which season it is, you have to get creative with the hybrid combinations. In this case: sweater on top, summer skirt & sandals on the bottom. This rainbow stripe sweater always makes me happy, and the skirt is a compliment magnet. I’m not mad about it.

Notes: Gap sweater (thrifted, $5); Floreat skirt (thrifted, $12), Madewell shoes (thrifted, $8.50); Rebecca Minkoff bag (thrifted, $10)

Camel, Take Two

Still loving this cashmere camel coat; it feels like the right amount of luxe to dress up what are, essentially, fancy leggings. I’ve been dealing with IBS-related symptoms for the last month or so, which has made me prioritize comfort; jeans can be a challenge some days, and on weekends it’s nice to have another option. With a polished but still relaxed/loose-fitting top half of the outfit, this looks quite nice even with minimal effort.

Notes: Jil Sander coat (thrifted, $10); Equipment shirt (thrifted and gifted); Line sweater (thrifted, $8.50); Iris Setlakwe leggings (thrifted, $9.50); Coach bag (thrifted, $30); AGL shoes (thrifted, $10).

Midnight Floral

This Ted Baker-esque print caught my eye immediately; turns out the dress is Pink Tartan, which is a Canadian mid-level designer brand. Based on the quality, I think this might be some kind of diffusion line; the quality is not as great as the items I’ve tried at Holt Renfrew before. Because the fabric is a rather odd, plasticky-feeling polyester (like raincoat material), I layered this over a silk slip-like dress for extra comfort. It worked out well, and reminded me that I should look into buying a proper slip one of these days.

That being said, the aesthetic is very nice. It’s the kind of dress that never fails to get compliments. Still, I don’t think this is my style. The cut is classic and flattering, but it feels wrong for my avatars. I enjoyed taking this particular risk on a pretty dress, but it’s not going be a keeper for me, so I’m gonna try to find it another home.

Notes: Pink Tartan dress (thrifted, $18); J. Crew shoes (thrifted, $10).

Eclectic Casual

I wore this outfit on one of our warmest days this year, and I’m not gonna lie: it was fun. There’s nothing like some good Sleeve Drama, and this kimono-inspired topper has lots of it. Please admire my restraint in not posting a dozen photos of my twirling/tilting-at-windmills attempts. It might seem weird to wear pants on a warm day, but (a) I can’t do shorts anymore, and (b) these are the softest linen and comfy as heck. They also have a cool, shimmering texture which is hard to capture; the fabric looks a bit like a moth wing, especially in sunlight.

Notes: Postmark top (thrifted, $7); Floreat topper (secondhand, $26); Lida Baday pants (thrifted, $4.50); Stella & Dot necklace (thrifted, $5); Indigo Rd shoes (thrifted, $10).

The leaks were true.

I watched Episode 5 knowing every beat that was coming and hoping against hope for a surprise (un-leaked) twist that never came. Visually, it was a stunning and well-acted episode. As a book reader, it felt like a gut punch.

The fact that the show writers are calling the ending “bittersweet” feels like a slap in the face. But we can talk about that next week, I guess.

Look, I know that “book fans” are a vocal and perhaps hard-to-please subset of the GoT audience. And I know that plenty of people (book fans or not) had their own pet theories about their favourite characters’ storylines, myself included. On one hand, it’s human nature to be salty if your theories don’t pan out, but on the other hand, that doesn’t create any obligations on the writer’s part, nor does it invalidate the writer’s own choices.

For me, what invalidates Episode 5 (and, if I’m being honest, all of Season 8) is the dumpster-fire-level sh*tty writing.

Up to a certain point (cough, until the show ran out of book material, cough), the characters as written made sense. I didn’t always like them, I didn’t always agree with their choices, but they were coherent and plausible. I am not here to say that there is no way that we could go from Point A (the characters, as originally written in the books and early seasons) to Point B (Episode 5). But watching Season 8 unfold, I can’t help but feel that the show writers had (a) no idea how to get from Point A to Point B, (b) no real interest in making it a plausible journey; and (c) no actual story-telling talent.

Let me give them their due: Episode 5 was a satisfying spectacle in the way that, say, a Michael Bay movie can be considered satisfying. There were bells (hah!) and whistles, and all kinds of cool-looking explosions.

It was also absolute garbage storytelling.

The easiest way to tell? Consider all the time that’s been spent telling the audience about critical developments, as opposed to showing us those things.

We have been told that Jon and Dany have some great love story. We have been told that Tyrion is the cleverest man in Westeros. We have been told that Jaime is a man wanting to change, until he wasn’t. We have been told that Dany is forever on the precipice of madness. And some of those things may have been true, or may have been potentially true had there been some actual effort made to ground them in the storytelling. Last week, I read that GRRM had said that he thought the show would have to be 12 seasons long in order to accommodate his story. You may joke about GRRM’s propensity to drag things out, but this makes so much sense to me. You want to end the story with Dany’s descent into Targaryen madness? Fine. SHOW ME! PUT IN THE TIME TO GET US THERE!

Ugh.

The funny thing is, I don’t think I would be nearly as disappointed if the books had already been written at this point. Then the show would simply be a crappy adaptation. But because this is the first time that we get to experience the ending, it feels like a much worse betrayal. The negative feelings engendered by the show’s terrible handling of the story will probably always be entwined with the story itself. And for that, I feel bad for GRRM.

Other random thoughts:

• Ok, some things I liked about the episode. I wasn’t invested in Clegane Bowl like some, but that was an appropriate send-off for those two characters. It also provided one of my fave moments of the night – Cersei side-stepping the Cleganes like “uh, don’t mind me, carry on”. Poor Qyburn, though – he was a creep, but he was loyal to his queen.

• Speaking of whom, I also thought Cersei had a good ending. A karmic one, even: destroyed under the weight of her terrible choices, foremost of which was hanging on to ill-gotten power (symbolized by the Red Keep) by any means possible. And it was in character, so to speak. Deep down, Cersei wasn’t mad so much as utterly selfish and cruel; when she realized she’d lost, her only thought was for herself and the fear of her own demise. She was never going to go out guns blazing just for the hell of it. Heck, I could even accept this ending as part of her prophecy – it was Jaime, her younger brother, who led her down to the crypts (or whatever) thereby, not intentionally, sealing their fate. It’s a stretch, but I will take it.

• One of my fave social media responses to the episode was something to the effect of “Jaime throwing Bran out of the window in episode 1 was foreshadowing for how the writers would throw Jaime’s character arc out of the window in season 8.” It’s true. But even assuming that the goal all along was to show that some people just can’t change, or will always revert to their true nature or whatever, tell me this: what was the point of the Jaime-Brienne hook-up? Their relationship as portrayed in episode 2 (when he knighted her) represented the best that Jaime has ever been or could aspire to be; that was the height from which he had to fall again, and it would have been poignant enough. The romantic stuff with Brienne now feels especially gratuitous in a way that just doesn’t sit right with me.

• Gosh, what a waste of screen time Euron proved to be, right until the end.

• They have turned Tyrion into a complete idiot. I guess they are once again pushing the narrative of “I never bet against my family” even though it just makes no sense anymore. I always took Tyrion’s perspective to be “I don’t bet against my family because they’re evil and will always get the upper hand”, which would not seem like motivation to act as he did in Episode 8 when he knows that Cersei is going to lose. I can maybe – MAYBE – see him put his neck on the line for Jaime by intervening on his behalf with Dany … but going behind her back after Varys had already been executed just so that Jaime could go off and save Cersei? No way.

• Jon and Dany have zero chemistry. They are a black hole of chemistry. I don’t buy that Jon is conflicted between his love for Dany and his growing realization that she might be the bad guy. Or even between his love for Dany and his knowledge that she’s his aunt. I get no “conflict” from Jon, only “cringe” and “stoic face”. I will put this down to Kit Harrington’s mediocre acting not being able to make up for the sh*tty writing.

• I can see now why the writers had Arya kill the Night King. Had she not done that, she would have been entirely superfluous this season. I’m not sure why we needed an “audience stand-in” during the massacre-by-dragon; it felt sickening regardless. And now I don’t know what is left for Arya. If this experience turns her away from the death business for good, what else does she have left?

• This is a minor point, but I cannot believe that Grey Worm would violate the rules of combat and strike a soldier who had just surrendered. Or that Dany’s entire army would turn to raping and pillaging in a split second.

• And, finally, Dany. Listen, I was never a Dany stan. I am perfectly willing to believe that she had the capacity to end up the Mad Queen, like her father. But foreshadowing is not character development. If she’s done terrible things in the past, those things made sense in the context – sense not in terms of morality, but in terms of character development. Burning King’s Landing after the surrender makes no sense for a character who was willing to die to save humanity TWO FREAKING EPISODES AGO. As others have said, this was one heel turn that the writers didn’t earn. Not even close. But congrats, because it worked. As a show viewer, I am done with Dany. As a book reader, I mourn the lost opportunity for a beautiful, heart-breaking character arc.