GOT SE8, Episode 4

Game of Thrones

Beware, "the post is long and full of anger".  There are quite a few spoilers for this episode in my rant, so if you have not seen "The Last of the Starks", just stop and come back later.

After an epically awesome Episode 3, "The Long Night", the latest episode is an icy mess! I initially watched with heart in hand, anticipating preparations for the next battle.  Instead, it starts off with remembering those who gave their life and goes downhill fast with totally sloppy writing and bad editing, (see above, known as the Starbucks easter egg). Putting it plainly, it was a virtual s**t show. 😒  Needless to say, I am not a happy camper.

I rewatched the episode three times, with each time getting more and more confused about the twisting plot lines.  Perhaps the writers were exhausted from the hours put into the previous episode to think clearly about how to present this prequel to war.

Here are a few of the obvious bad eggs...

• What the hell is going on with the off screen plot plants? They left us with such gaps in the storyline.  How did Missandei get captured? How did Euron know she was a valuable asset to Cersei?  Fade to black?!? How did the Stark girls react to Jon's reveal about his parentage? Another fade to black??  The least we could have gotten was a 2 minute reveal of both plot twists. Wow...imagine that...adding an additional 2 minutes to the show.😠
• Ghost??? Ghost was such an important part of Jon's world for many seasons. How does he just send him off with Tormund without even giving him a pet on the head goodbye?  Ghost literally looks like he fought a good fight, missing part of his ear and several bloody trails over his body. They couldn't put some emotion into that scene?  What a horrible end of the storyline for Ghost. Literally sent to the wall without a proper belly rub and whisper of,  "good boy, go with the big red haired man now...I don't need you anymore." Just one look from Jon and a whimper from Ghost.  Based on the writing of this scene, Jon truly doesn't deserve Ghost or Rhaegal.😢
• The writers turning Sansa's character into "Littlefinger Part 2", the very person she despises.  She has now betrayed Jon's trust and her family in one fell swoop. This was a WTF moment I had no idea was coming.  Sansa has now become much like Cersei, a power hungry and basically bitter woman. Hmmm...for some reason I believe the character should have shown more grace and strength...again, terrible plot line and the writing of the scene between her and Tyrion was awkward, to say the least. 
• The whole episode's main plot was focused on rendering Dany as the "mad queen". Dany is at her best when she is down and her Targaryen nature blossoms. She has been in worse situations and always come out on top. I understand how the writers are trying to show she might have gone over the edge into madness, but again...she isn't crazy. She wants justice, not vengeance. Terrible plot twist and of course, the writers focused too much on the anger reflected in her face. I am with Olenna Tyrell, "You are a dragon, be a dragon". 
• The killing of Rhaegal was purely for shock value. Nothing more, nothing less. It lead me to  confusion on why Dany did not see Euron's ships as she approached Dragonstone.  In fact during the scene, they both flew right over Dragonstone. With Rhaegal injured, wouldn't he land to rest upon reaching the castle? How did Dany miss seeing such a large fleet from her vantage point, flying high above the channel? Was Euron hiding? And IF Euron was hidden, how did he manage to hit Rhaegal dead on, several times, while totally missing the larger and closer target, Drogon?  So the writer's have taken another piece off the chess board, along with Missandei, to even the battlefield?  This whole scene didn't make any sense.  😕
• Oh...one more thing that blew my mind. How the hell does Cersei not shoot all those scorpions on the wall at Drogon, when he's just resting behind Dany and company at the gate of Kings Landing? That would eliminate the last dragon. All she would have left to do is take Dany and everyone else in that group out with her archers. 
• Wait!!!! Why would Dany even put her last dragon in possible danger? I know she wouldn't. She would go on horseback to negotiate, leaving Drogon safely at home. 

So many years of character development tossed out the window. This episode became totally nonsensical and way too focused on pushing the mad queen plot.  They sacrificed everyone's arc with such sloppy writing: Dany reduced to begging? 👀 Brienne to crying? 👎 Sansa to betrayal? 😡  Arya to sheer coldness? 😑

I agree with Missandei...."Dracarys....Fire and Blood, burn them all".  🔥