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Hello, fellow moviegoers! Once again, I’d like to take one of these articles to talk about something that isn’t movie related, and that’s what I consider to be my favorite TV show, Game of Thrones. You’ve all heard of Game of Thrones. People are literally always talking about it, and chances are, if you’re reading this article, you watch the show yourself. The reason I wanted to talk about it today is that the finale for season seven aired last night, and there’s a lot to discuss as a result of it. So here are my thoughts regarding the season seven finale of Game of Thrones. Spoiler Alert for those not caught up through Season Seven, Episode Seven, “The Dragon and the Wolf”  At the end of last season, I had an idea in my head as to how the rest of the show was going to play out. At the time, there were only two seasons left in the show, and two major storylines (Daenerys invading Westeros, and the White Walkers attacking) to finish up. So naturally, I assumed they would tie up one of these this season, and the other next season. In my head, I figured that they would have this season be all about Dany taking Westeros, and it would end with the death of Cersei Lannister. That would leave the entirety of season eight to deal with the White Walkers. As we saw in last night’s episode, and this season as a whole, that’s not what's happening. The White Walkers aren’t patiently waiting for the wars in the South to finish up until they invade. They have their own agenda, and they’re not going to just sit around until it’s a convenient time for them to attack Westeros. So, over the course of this season, we saw the White Walkers coming closer and closer to the Wall. Last week they scored a major victory when they killed and resurrected Viserion, one of Dany’s three dragons. Last night, we glimpsed the result of that. The Night King riding a dragon is something I never thought I’d actually see on this show, but I’m so glad I did. Also, seeing that dragon destroy part of the Wall to let the army of the dead through was incredible. I was at a loss for words when that happened, and it’s still so crazy to think about how far this show has come. There was a lot that happened in this season finale, but there were two things that surprised me the most. The first of which was the death of Petyr Baelish, better known as Littlefinger. They handled that scene very well when it came on. I legitimately thought that Arya and Sansa were about to go at it, but then the focus turned towards Littlefinger. Suddenly you realize that they had both been playing him the whole time, instead of the opposite way around for once. As much as it was fun to have Littlefinger in the show, I think they were right in killing him off now. He had run his course, and I don’t think there would’ve been room for him in the final season. Petyr Baelish was one of the most interesting characters to watch in this show, but it was time for him to go. The other big surprise, to me, was the turn that Jaime and Cersei’s relationship took. When Jaime approached Cersei in an attempt to make her change her mind about how to deal with the White Walkers, and Cersei threatened to kill Jaime, I legitimately believed her. They had the Mountain there ready to do it, and he even began taking his sword out. I was freaking out. They really made it look like Jaime was going to die. Jaime, however, called her bluff and just walked right past the Mountain and out of the room. We then see him leaving King’s Landing. I’m assuming he is going to head North to help with the war against the White Walkers, so I’m really curious to see how that’ll play out for him. Maybe that “Jaime is Azor Ahai” theory has some weight to it after all? Even though it was basically confirmed during last season’s finale, last night we got the official confirmation that Jon Snow is the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen. Not only is he their son, but he’s their legitimate son, as they were secretly married before he was born, which makes Jon the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. This was all pretty heavily hinted at and speculated about throughout the season, but now we have official confirmation. The one thing I didn’t see coming was the reveal that Jon’s actual name is Aegon Targaryen. While it doesn’t really change a whole lot, that’s still a really cool thing to throw in there. It is a bit confusing though because Rhaegar already had two children with his first wife Elia Martell, one of which was already named Aegon. Elia, Rhaegar's first son Aegon, and his daughter Rhaenys were all killed during Robert’s Rebellion. If I’m looking at the timelines correctly, Jon was born shortly after the death of Aegon, Rhaegar’s first son. So Rhaegar had another son (Jon), and also named him Aegon right after the first one died? That seems kind of weird to me. I’ve never really been rooting for Jon and Daenerys to get together. The idea always felt like something out of a Game of Thrones fan-fiction, rather than the actual story. However, that is the direction they are going with the show, and admittedly, they are handling it quite well. I’ve found Jon and Dany’s relationship and how it has progressed to be extremely believable. Now that we know that Jon has a more legitimate claim to the Iron Throne than Dany, I’m really curious to see how that is going to affect their relationship moving forward.  So what did you think of the season seven finale of Game of Thrones? What are your predictions for season eight? Let me know by commenting on this post! Also, if you enjoyed this article, share it on Facebook and Twitter! It really helps! Don’t forget, I post every Monday and Friday, so check back then for more movie reviews and other miscellaneous movie thoughts!
Thanks for stopping by! Hello, fellow moviegoers! Game of Thrones is probably the most watched and talked about show on television right now. The fan base for that show is growing not only in number but in passion as every day goes by. It’s certainly my favorite show, and I’m sure it’s many of yours as well. Today, I thought I would talk a little bit about the current season so far. Season seven only has a couple episodes left, and I’m sure there will be plenty to talk about from those two episodes alone. So I thought I’d take the chance to discuss the best thing about this season so far. The thing that I believe they have handled the best this season is anything surrounding Jon Snow, and here’s why. Spoilers ahead for everyone not caught up through Season 7 Episode 5 ‘Eastwatch’  I believe that the most interesting thing about this season so far is the dynamic that has been built between Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen. First of all, it’s really exciting to get to see these two main characters interact after six seasons seeing them do their own things (and Tyrion is there too no less). I suppose it was naive of me to expect them to get along right away, but I was honestly surprised when they didn’t. Although, it did make complete sense why they didn’t. They each had their own agenda. They each had something that they felt they needed to do, and on top of that, they were both very wary and apprehensive to trust one another. At the point we are at now in the season, it seems like they’re finally beginning to respect one another, and it even seems like the show might be setting up a romance between them at some point in the future. My favorite scene from the season so far comes from last night’s episode ‘Eastwatch’. That scene is the one in which Daenerys approaches Jon while riding Drogon. Then Jon proceeds to hold out his hand and touch Drogon along his snout, similarly to the way you’d see someone do with a horse. On the surface level, that scene is just really cool. However, the more you think about it, the better it gets. Especially, when you consider the reveal last season that Jon is not Eddard Stark’s bastard son, but rather the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen. Jon’s Targaryen lineage hasn’t really been explored this season, but it’s scenes like this one that really drives it home. It seemed as if it was very natural for Jon to be around dragons, and I’m very excited to see how they build on that in the future. The decision to finally bring back Robert Baratheon’s bastard son Gendry was a very welcome one. We haven’t seen Gendry for several seasons now, and it’s good to see him again. Especially now that he is really owning his heritage. His decision to wield a war-hammer instead of a traditional sword is a very nice callback to the stories we’ve heard about his father wielding a hammer during Robert’s Rebellion. From what we saw of Gendry in last night’s episode, he is very reminiscent of what you would expect a younger Robert Baratheon to be. Since Jon in many ways is like his father (actually uncle), Ned Stark, it makes sense that Jon and Gendry would get along well. Robert Baratheon and Ned Stark were best friends, and they often fought side-by-side. It’s interesting to see their bastards (even though Jon is really Ned’s nephew) doing the same. Probably the biggest thing to come out of last night’s episode was actually a very small thing. In fact, if you’re not looking for it, you might’ve missed it. I know I did. The big reveal though came from the scene where Gilly was talking to Sam, and she asks him what an annulment is. Sam explains it to her, to which she responds “Meynard says here that he issued an annulment for Prince Raggar and remarried him to someone else at the same time, in a secret ceremony in Dorne.” It can be assumed that she meant to say Prince Rhaegar, not Raggar, which is a huge deal. The reason being, if Rhaegar had his marriage to Elia Martell annulled, then he was remarried to Lyanna Stark in secret in Dorne, that makes Jon the legitimate child of Rhaegar and Lyanna. Since Rhaegar was the eldest of the children of the Mad King, he was supposed to be the next to rule from the Iron Throne. If Jon is the legitimate child of Rhaegar, then that gives him a very strong claim to the throne, even stronger that Daenerys’s. So it is definitely a possibility that at the end of the series, we might see Jon Snow on the Iron Throne. The fact that I’ve spent this entire article discussing things related to Jon Snow is a testament to how amazing Game of Thrones is. Jon is only one part of the show. I haven’t even touched on the Loot Train Attack from the end of last week’s episode, or the reunion of Sansa, Arya, and Bran in Winterfell, or the growing tension between Jaime and Cersei, and most importantly, the biggest threat to Westeros, the White Walkers. There is so much to talk about and dissect in this show, and I believe that is a big reason why it is the best show on television. If you don’t watch this show (first of all, why are you reading this article?), you definitely should. You’re really missing out.  So what do you think of this season of Game of Thrones so far? Are you rooting for Jon to sit on the Iron Throne? Let me know by commenting on this post! Also, if you enjoyed this article, share it on Facebook and Twitter! It really helps! Don’t forget, I post every Monday and Friday, so check back then for more movie reviews and other miscellaneous movie thoughts!
Thanks for stopping by! Hello, fellow moviegoers! Though, once again, the term "moviegoers" doesn't really apply to this article. That's because today we're talking about television. Specifically, we're talking about my (and many of yours I'm sure) favorite TV show, Game of Thrones. The first episode of the highly anticipated seventh season premiered last night, and there's a lot to discuss, so let's just jump right into it. Spoilers ahead for anyone who is not caught up through Season 7, Episode 1, 'Dragonstone'  As with the first episode of almost any season of any show, 'Dragonstone' was pretty much just all set-up for the season to come, however, there were still some really interesting things that happened. Game of Thrones is into the final stretch of its epic story. There may be two seasons left (including this one), but those two seasons will be shorter than those we have seen before. There's still a lot of story to tell, so I expect the pace of this seven-episode season, and even more-so the six-episode final season, will be much faster and more intense than we're used to. Game of Thrones has always been good at setting up "dynamic duos". In previous seasons, there has been Arya/The Hound, Tyrion/Bronn, Jaime/Brienne, and many more. This season they seem to be setting up a really interesting relationship between Jon Snow and Sansa Stark. As you know, Jon Snow has recently been declared the King in the North. He's now in control of Winterfell and is leading many of the northern houses. However, of the two, Sansa is the only legitimate child of Ned Stark, and she knows a lot more about the way the world works than Jon. We see the two of them struggle in this episode. Sansa questions Jon's decisions, but Jon believes his decisions should be final. There's seems to be a bit of tension between the two of them, but they both agree that they need to work together to survive. I'm very excited to see what happens between the two of them, even more so if they end up reuniting with Bran, Arya, or both. Speaking of Arya, the cold open in this episode really highlights how far she has come as a character. She's gone from accidentally killing a boy in season one to straight-up murdering the entirety of House Frey in vengeance for the Red Wedding. The acting from David Bradley, who plays Walder Frey, was fantastic in that opening scene. We've seen him as Frey before, but in that scene, he did a variety of little things that clued in that it wasn't actually him. It didn't feel like Walder Frey, it felt like somebody pretending to be him, which is a great testament to Bradley's performance. While on the topic of Arya though, that brings me to one of my two complaints about the premiere, and that's Ed Sheeran's "cameo". I understand that having cameos in TV shows and movies can be fun. Game of Thrones has even done it in the past, the drummer of Coldplay and the entirety of the metal band Mastodon have appeared previously. However, none of those cameos actually became small roles in the episode, and none of them were as instantly recognizable as Ed Sheeran. His role became more of a distraction rather than a cameo. It was an odd thing to be watching such a show as Game of Thrones, and then being randomly taken aback by thinking "Hey, that's Ed Sheeran". My other complaint with the episode was a lot of the stuff with Sam. I understand the need for Sam's character in the show and the importance of what he discovers at the Citadel, but I can't help but feel like that whole segment wasn't handled very well. Whenever a scene with Sam started, it really seemed to drag down the whole episode. His character, when compared to the rest of those in the show, is just so bland and uninteresting. At this point, I think I would rather just not have Sam in the show, except for maybe very briefly every few episodes. The set-up for every other storyline in this episode was incredibly exciting. One of my favorite scenes in the episode was Jaime and Cersei talking about their children and what they plan to do about their enemies. That scene really shows what Cersei has become over these past few seasons. Her children were the one thing keeping her grounded, but now they're all gone and she's the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. There's no telling what she's going to do now, especially since Daenerys Targaryen has landed at Dragonstone. As for Daenerys, I don't have a whole lot to say about what she did. She arrived at Dragonstone, that's about it. I get that they were going for an emotional moment of her landing in Westeros, but it just didn't really work all that well for me. I'm excited that she's there, and I'm looking forward to seeing what she'll do the rest of the season, but the actual scene of her arriving didn't do much for me. The biggest surprise to me in this episode was everything that happened with The Hound. As I recently mentioned in my review for War for the Planet of the Apes, I'm a sucker for a good character arc, and the one that The Hound has been going on recently is absolutely fantastic. Bringing him back to the house where he left that family to die in season four was a fantastic contrast between who he was and who he's become. Roy McCann's performance in this episode was arguably the best of the entire cast in my opinion. The Hound is very quickly becoming one of my favorite characters, and I cannot wait to see what they do with him in the rest of this series.  So what did you think of this season premiere of Game of Thrones? What are you most looking forward to about season 7? Let me know by commenting on this post! Also, if you enjoyed this article, share it on Facebook and Twitter, it really helps! Don't forget, I post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so check back then for more movie reviews and other miscellaneous movie thoughts!
Thanks for stopping by! Hello, fellow moviegoers! Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg. It stars Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, and Javier Bardem. It follows Captain Jack Sparrow once again in his misadventures on the high seas. This time, Jack is searching for a legendary item known as the Trident of Poseidon in an attempt to stop the undead Captain Salazar and his crew from exacting their revenge on him.  I would like to start by saying that, unlike most critics out there, I'm a pretty big fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Growing up, the first three were a trilogy that I found myself watching over and over again. As a result of this, I have a lot of nostalgia surrounding those movies (except for the fourth one which I wasn't a big fan of). Recently, I rewatched the first three, and though the first one is the best by far, I thought the second two were still pretty enjoyable. This fifth Pirates movie has some really good moments in it, more in line with the kind found in the first film. Despite this, the film does seem to run into some of the same issues that the fourth one did. For every really good moment, there's an overly silly one to balance it out. This back and forth is most evident in Depp's performance as Jack Sparrow. At times, he seems to really be getting back to the Jack of the first film, the Jack that got him an Oscar nomination. However, there are many moments where it really feels like Johnny Depp playing his kooky Johnny Depp character that we see in almost all of his films now. At times, he feels like more of a drunk Mad Hatter than Captain Jack Sparrow. The most surprising thing about this film was the new cast. The additions of Brenton Thwaites as Will Turner's son, Henry, and Kaya Scodelario as Carina Smyth were actually really good ones. The gave decent performances and had some chemistry together. I was afraid these two were going to be like the mermaid and the other dude from the fourth movie (the fact that I don't remember their names shows how forgettable they were). I was pleasantly surprised by how interesting their characters were. Unlike the young characters of the previous installment, I'm actually a little interested to see where these characters go in the future. By far the best thing about this new Pirates of the Caribbean was also the most underutilized thing, and that was Javier Bardem as Captain Salazar. Bardem gave a very good performance as the villainous ghost pirate in this movie, but he didn't have a whole lot to do. His character felt sort-of forced into the film to make sure it had an antagonist. The plot involving him chasing Jack felt entirely separate from the rest of the movie, which is odd considering that should've been the movie. When Bardem is on screen in this movie, it almost feels like a pirate horror film. There is a lot that they easily could've done with his character to make him more compelling, but unfortunately, they sacrificed that time for more silly laughs with Jack Sparrow. For the most part, this film was good, not great. However, it finishes really strong. I would argue that the last fifteen minutes or so of this movie is the best part of the movie. Surprisingly enough, I actually got a little emotional in one scene towards the end of this movie. If they can make future films in this franchise (because there will undoubtedly be more) feel more like the end of this movie, then we could be in store for some more really great Pirates movies. Overall, I thought Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales was pretty good, but it wasn't amazing by any means. It wasn't as good as the first three, but it was undoubtedly better than the franchise's fourth outing On Stranger Tides. The new additions to the franchise actually worked surprisingly well, and I'm curious to see where they will go moving forward. Johnny Depp has great and not-so-great moments as Captain Jack, and that was indicative of the film as a whole. If you're a fan of the Pirates franchise (like I am) I'd recommend this one. If you weren't a fan of any of them but the first, this isn't going to be the one that brings you back on board. 6.5/10  So what did you think of the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean? Would you want to see a sixth one? Let me know by commenting on this post! Also, if you enjoyed this review, share it on Facebook and Twitter. It really helps! Don't forget, I post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so check back then for more movie reviews and other miscellaneous movie thoughts!
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Kyle Kruse
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