The best television series rarely take into account audience opinions. Think about it: What would have happened had "The Wire" caved into public pressure during a poorly received second season? We likely would have never received the heartbreaking fallout between Avon and Stringer later on, one of the highlights of the entire show.
For the most part, writers know what they're doing, and following a conventional path that conforms to audience expectation would be detrimental to a show's quality. But sometimes, in rare occasions, providing a healthy dose of fan service is not only welcome but also actually necessary for the story.
Though "Game of Thrones" is one of the most enthralling series in recent memory, we can all agree that certain story lines have moved at the slow pace of Grand Maester Pycelle attempting to leave a room. In fact, you can argue that the last four seasons of Daenery's story has been a complete waste of time. "Game of Thrones" has been in need of a fat trimmer for some years.
Last night's episode, "Book of the Stranger," saw a handful of arcs converge in rapid succession to the delight of "Thrones" viewers everywhere. It wasn't just that the show was giving us what we've always wanted. It's that these moves were necessary to focus the narrative and set the show up for its stretch run (there may only be 19 total episodes left in the series).
We've always wanted Jon Snow to depart the Night's Watch and become a conquering hero of Westeros. We've always wanted Daenerys to leave Mereen and become a conquering hero of Westeros. We've always wanted Sansa to...do absolutely anything. We got all that and more last night.
"I'm tired of fighting," Jon explains to Sansa. "I fought and I lost."
Jon's always been a Boy Scout who did the right thing. Now, he seems himself as a defeated man, a failure. He has no grand plans involving the Iron Throne or the White Walkers. As he said, all he wants to do is go South and "get warm." But Sansa, who has arguably undergone the most change of any character this year, wants to take back Winterfell. For her, for her family and for the North. Their reunion is a touching one, a rare win in the otherwise constantly depressing Seven Kingdoms.
It's interesting to see how Sansa is the stalwart one in this scenario who provides her sibling with strength, similar to Margaery and Loras later in the episode. Tragedy has molded her into something very different and very dangerous.
Ramsay's letter is meant to intimidate Jon and company, but with Sansa present, it just fans the flames of revenge. Our heroes may only have 2,000 men capable of fighting, but I'd back a Small Council consisting of Jon, Sansa, Davos, Tormund, Brienne, Podrick and Melisandre any day. The game is on in the North, and the benefits of this change from a storytelling standpoint loom larger than The Mountain.
Speaking of Small Councils, Dany's advisers are doing the best they can to keep Mereen together while she's on, err, sabbatical. Tyrion's proposal to the Masters of Yunkai and Astapor to gradually end slavery over seven years may not be the absolute moral victory Dany's regime has been known for, but it is likely the most realistic political solution. However, as Missandei and Grey Worm point out, Tyrion was not a slave long enough to "understand" the toll that slavery takes.
Fortunately, it doesn't look as if that seven-year plan is going to go forward. Daario and Jorah show up in Vaes Dothrak to rescue Dany, but she's got a much better idea in mind. During her trial with all of the Khals, she puts her Unburnt title to the test.
Honestly, this sequence came off a bit over the top and, well, cheesy for me. But the after effect was well-earned and impactful. Dany has just added as many as 100,000 Dothraki screamers to her cause; that's a lot of firepower (pun intended). Melisandre believes Jon is the Prince that was Promised, and Dany is looking more and more like the Stallion Who Mounts the World. Imagine what they could accomplish together. ...
"Book of the Stranger" was all about strategically eliminating distractions and roadblocks that had previously impeded the progress of our main characters. The episode tightened several circles thanks to timely reunions and finally put almost everyone of importance on a collision course. This is forward momentum at its dramatic finest. This is fan service at its most well-constructed. This is "Game of Thrones."
Some Other Thoughts...
- There's a great dynamic brewing between Brienne, Davos and Melisandre right now. At this moment, they are united under a common cause. But the deaths of Renly and Shireen threaten to cause enormous internal strife. It's a ticking time bomb.
- Finally, Littlefinger is "joining the fray." Baelish has set himself up extremely well, and with the power of the Vale supporting him, he has the potential to be a major player in the wars to come. Right now, it's in his best interest to join forces with Jon, Sansa and whatever Northern support they can rally. After that, all bets are off.
- The show is setting up the Iron Islands' Kingsmoot to be a big deal. But at no point in recent history have the Iron Islanders ever emerged as a true threat to the Iron Throne. Their rebellions have been put down with ease. If they really want to make some noise, they're going to need a powerful ally. ...
- Tormund + Brienne just instantly became my favorite would-be couple in the world. Make this happen, HBO. Make this happen.
- Cersei has effectively invoked the "enemy of my enemy" strategy and her control of Tommen to put herself back into a position of influence. That can only mean bad things for the realm.
- The High Sparrow's origin story is...I don't know. I can't tell if he's a man truly motivated by faith or just an intelligent individual who is exploiting religion and true believers for power. All I know is that Margaery is royally screwed.
- Where did Jon get the Stark cloak? Did he just put it in his Castle Black locker when he first got there?
Follow Brandon Katz at @Great_Katzby
