What I’m Watching: Game of Thrones (Season Finale)

Game of Thrones: Season 5, Episode 10 “Mother’s Mercy” (B+)

This show always stacks its most intense episodes towards the end of each season to the point that the finale can’t possibly address everything, not than any given episode of this show actually features all of its characters. I suppose most threads were wrapped up in this hour or at least launched into their next iterations, but some were far from dramatic, particularly the city left behind by Daenerys. Tyrion serving as a governor of sorts is certainly appealing, and he scored in a big way by revealing an unexpected fluency in Valleryian. Daenerys doesn’t seem headed for anywhere good, and her ascension to the top throne has hit a considerable stumbling block. Stannis did really great with his preemptive siege, though Brienne’s execution happening offscreen makes it seem like it may not have happened at all. Jaime sharing a moment with his daughter was sweet, but Ellaria’s revenge was similarly so, a cruel gift for the now kindhearted one-armed Lannister to go home with. Nothing was as harsh as what happened to Cersei, who had to be paraded naked for an endless march through the city, finally arriving home to some form of comfort and hopefully to a chance to feel whole and human once again. Who would ever have thought we would wish something like this on Cersei – that’s a credit to the show. I don’t even know what to say about what’s going on with Arya and her apparent blindness, and we’ll leave that unpacking to next season. Jon being the big casualty of the episode is hardly a shock given how this show likes to kill off its noblest leaders, and I suppose he had a good run. This was a strong season but, as always, feels too short and scattered, and it’s hard to know where season six will pick up.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Peter Dinklage