[headfax]

Moment to Moment

The 7th season finale of Game of Thrones was magnificent. It told a good story, it reunited a lot of characters that had been absent from one another for a long time, and it provided a very worthy ending for what I consider to be an excellent season.

But on top of the rampant badassery that we witnessed last night, I believe the episode was elevated by a series of small moments contained within larger scenes. The production team discussed this concept at some length during the associated "Inside the Episode" short; these moments might have been plainly obvious or subtle, could have been vocal or visual, etc. They're necessary to progress the current scene's narrative, and to maintain continuity in the innumerable threads of plotlines and relationships that twist and tangle through every scene. Sometimes they're hardly noticeable, but without them, episodes would feel flat and uninteresting.

Here is my list for best "moments" in last night's finale:

Honorable mention: Tyrion chugs a glass of wine

The scene inside the Red Keep between Cersei Lannister and Tyrion Lannister was utterly marvelous. Cersei's unbridled hatred and loathing for her brother was on full display, and The Mountain's looming presence in the background definitely underscored the fact that Tyrion was on very shaky footing. You might even say that the atmosphere in the room was...ahem...pregnant with tension. For most of the conversation, Tyrion is speaking passionately in his own defense. But after that falls on deaf ears, there's a brilliant moment when he just snaps and decides to call Cersei's bluff about killing him. The audience is then on the edge of its collective seat, because everyone knows how unpredictable this show can be about slaughtering beloved characters. Eventually Cersei flinches and the tension breaks. Tyrion breathes an enormous sigh of relief...and then heads straight over to the side table where he shakily pours himself a generous helping of wine and downs it in one gulp. I'd like to think that would be my reaction as well if I had come within inches of being murdered by a zombie roughly the same size and shape as a vending machine.

5. The Hound's "proud papa" moment

While walking to the Dragon Pit, Brienne of Tarth gives Sandor "The Hound" Clegane a somewhat unnecessary apology for nearly killing him a few seasons back. Clegane shrugs this off; after all, both he and Brienne are sworn swords (to varying degrees) and they were both doing their duty. Their conflict was never personal. However, Brienne caps this off by telling The Hound something that IS personal: Arya Stark is alive and well. She then goes on to label Arya a badass (not in so many words), and the significance of such a compliment coming from a highly skilled warrior clearly resonates with The Hound. You can almost see the surly man smile!

4. The Hand grabs an arm

The biggest, most significant scene in this episode was the gathering at the Dragon Pit, featuring the world's most grotesque jack-in-the-box. During the course of this scene, The Hound and Jon Snow demonstrate that the Army of the Dead cannot be killed through conventional means (like dismemberment), but only via fire and dragonglass (why Jon didn't disclose the effect of Valyrian steel is beyond me, but that's for another discussion). After The Hound, ah, disarms the wight, the zombified appendage still continues to writhe and crawl toward the nearest potential living victim. While most of the attendees bristle nervously, the Queen's Hand, Qyburn, is all over that. He's fascinated, and you can see the wheels turning in his head as he realizes everything he could possibly do with that kind of technology. If Jon Snow hadn't taken the arm from him, I think the next words out of Qyburn's mouth would have been "Can I borrow this? For science?”

3. Lord Baelish is caught off-guard

This season has involved a lot of people falling flat on their faces, figuratively speaking. Some of the most competent and promiment characters came up utterly short in their respective fields of expertise: Tyrion was outmaneuvered by his brother during the sacking of Casterly Rock, Theon and Yara were out-Greyjoyed by their uncle, Euron, and a pre-teen girl fought Brienne of Tarth to a standstill. Most notable, however, was the scene that led to Littlefinger's demise. Petyr Baelish has been a tremendously influential character. Entire books could be written about the significance of his actions (side note: they have been written, you can buy them here). He has consistently been portrayed as a scheming opportunist with an unparalleled ability to control events and influence other characters' actions, and this portrayal was on full display in the episodes leading up to the finale. He systematically drove a wedge between Sansa and Arya for the purpose of preventing a potential sisterly allegiance, and Sansa's words and actions under his influence were consistent with what he expected from her. To all appearances, he was in complete control of the situation. When Sansa summons Arya to the Great Hall to discuss treachery, Littlefinger stands on the sidelines with a well-deserved air of smugness about him. After all, he had just orchestrated the preemptive removal of a threat from his chess game and was about to witness it firsthand. But that smugness is shattered when Sansa calls out charges against him instead. For someone who prided himself on always anticipating every possibility, he definitely DID NOT see this coming. And then his incredulity gives way to panic when he realizes exactly what is about to happen. For me, though, the "I'm sorry, what?" expression on his face spoke volumes about just how completely unaware he was that events had moved well beyond his control.

2."Fuck loyalty!"

After the negotiations at the Dragon Pit go sideways, Brienne of Tarth pulls Jaime Lannister aside for a moment to try to put things back on track. Brienne and Jaime have always had a positive relationship, and it was partly Brienne's influence that has helped shape Jaime into a principled, stand-up guy. Brienne's idea here is to speak to someone whose heart isn't as blackened as Cersei's, and who she feels must understand the gravity of the impending war. But when Jaime rebuffs her out of loyalty to Cersei, what does Brienne say? "Fuck loyalty!" This is a defining moment not only for Brienne, but for the show at large. Loyalty is a dominant theme in Game of Thrones, and it practically defines Brienne's character. For her of all people to discard something so fundamental to her character is a major departure, and its significance cannot be overstated. This reaction in Brienne is designed to represent the catalyzing effect that seeing the army of the dead firsthand should have had on all of the attendees present in that scene, which was the original intent behind bringing the wight to King's Landing. It was supposed to cut through all of the intrigue, all of the emotions, all of the allegiances, and to unify the continent against the Night King. Brienne reacts precisely in the way that Jon and company had intended, and I believe her personal reaction was included to demonstrate what should have happened on a larger scale.

1. Bran draws a blank

The scene between Samwell Tarly and Brandon Stark was of astounding importance, but the revelation of Jon Snow's true parentage isn't why I want to write about it. Nor is Sam's genuinely perfect reaction to Bran's "I am the three-eyed raven" schtick ("Oh! ...I don't know what that means."). No, what I want to mention here is the moment when Sam tells Bran something that catches him completely unawares. Bran knows who Jon's parents really are; he's probably watched his dad climb the steps to the Tower of Joy a hundred times now, and he knows very well what's waiting at the top. But what he apparently doesn’t know is the history behind why Lyanna Stark was in that tower, and it is this gap in knowledge that reveals a bit about Bran's mysterious abilities. We know that Bran has complete, unfettered access to historical information. He can insert himself as a witness to any event that had ever happened, but he evidently needs to know where to look, or at least what questions to ask, in order to find something. Bran doesn't have perfect knowledge of the past; he is limited by his own inherent capacity to identify patterns and investigate the links between events. In other words, he needs guidance in order to be truly effective in his role. Samwell is the perfect foil for him. Sam's character is defined by his innate curiosity, and he possesses a keen investigatory capacity. If the two of them continue this partnership, and if they can be kept out of harm's way, they may well be the most powerful people in the entire kingdom.

What do you think? Did you see any other brief moments in the episode that warrant further discussion?

[headfax]

The Twelve Days of Trump’s Transition

Here's a little something to get you into the holiday spirit...

On the first day of transition, my president-elect gave to me A hundred thousand conflicts of interest

On the second day of transition, my president-elect gave to me A racist attorney general And a hundred thousand conflicts of interest

On the third day of transition, my president-elect gave to me Admitted charitable self-dealing A racist attorney general And a hundred thousand conflicts of interest On the fourth day of transition, my president-elect gave to me A neo-Nazi strategist Admitted charitable self-dealing A racist attorney general And a hundred thousand conflicts of interest

On the fifth day of transition, my president-elect gave to me A thousand FEC violations! A neo-Nazi strategist Admitted charitable self-dealing A racist attorney general And a hundred thousand conflicts of interest

On the sixth day of transition, my president-elect gave to me A twenty-five million dollar fraud settlement A thousand FEC violations! A neo-Nazi strategist Admitted charitable self-dealing A racist attorney general And a hundred thousand conflicts of interest

On the seventh day of transition, my president-elect gave to me A boot-licking Chief of Staff A twenty-five million dollar fraud settlement A thousand FEC violations! A neo-Nazi strategist Admitted charitable self-dealing A racist attorney general And a hundred thousand conflicts of interest

On the eighth day of transition, my president-elect gave to me A bribed Florida official A boot-licking Chief of Staff A twenty-five million dollar fraud settlement A thousand FEC violations! A neo-Nazi strategist Admitted charitable self-dealing A racist attorney general And a hundred thousand conflicts of interest

On the ninth day of transition, my president-elect gave to me A homophobic Vice President A bribed Florida official A boot-licking Chief of Staff A twenty-five million dollar fraud settlement A thousand FEC violations! A neo-Nazi strategist Admitted charitable self-dealing A racist attorney general And a hundred thousand conflicts of interest

On the tenth day of transition, my president-elect gave to me A climate-change denying EPA adviser A homophobic Vice President A bribed Florida official A boot-licking Chief of Staff A twenty-five million dollar fraud settlement A thousand FEC violations! A neo-Nazi strategist Admitted charitable self-dealing A racist attorney general And a hundred thousand conflicts of interest

On the eleventh day of transition, my president-elect gave to me A massive Twitter tantrum A climate-change denying EPA adviser A homophobic Vice President A bribed Florida official A boot-licking Chief of Staff A twenty-five million dollar fraud settlement A thousand FEC violations! A neo-Nazi strategist Admitted charitable self-dealing A racist attorney general And a hundred thousand conflicts of interest

On the twelfth day of transition, my president-elect gave to me A record-setting popular vote loss A massive Twitter tantrum A climate-change denying EPA adviser A homophobic Vice President A bribed Florida official A boot-licking Chief of Staff A twenty-five million dollar fraud settlement A thousand FEC violations! A neo-Nazi strategist Admitted charitable self-dealing A racist attorney general And a hundred thousand conflicts of interest

[headfax]

I do not believe that just because you're opposed to abortion, that that makes you pro-life. In fact, I think in many cases, your morality is deeply lacking if all you want is a child born but not a child fed, not a child educated, not a child housed. And why would I think that you don't? Because you don't want any tax money to go there. That's not pro-life. That's pro-birth. We need a much broader conversation on what the morality of pro-life is.

Sister Joan Chittister, O.S.B.

[headfax]

Alexander Hamilton Rises from the Dead to Whack America on the Nose with The Federalist Papers

As a rule, Alexander Hamilton didn't have a lot of confidence in the average American citizen. He saw them as uneducated (and as undervaluing of education); he saw them as selfish and uninterested in acting toward the common good; he saw them as politically apathetic and unqualified to govern themselves.

He wasn't wrong. These days, the criticisms he leveled toward the American citizenry are all the more applicable. The majority of Americans are politically apathetic (voter turnout is a great indicator of that). In general, we respond to intellect with a combination of disregard and derision. We are generally selfish and shortsighted, and we do virtually everything we can to promote ourselves at the expense of everyone else.

Hamilton's comments on the purpose of the Electoral College (which he established) are a wonderful indication of his opinion of his fellow Americans. From The Federalist Papers (#68):

“It was equally desirable, that the immediate election should be made by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station, and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all the reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice. A small number of persons, selected by their fellow-citizens from the general mass, will be most likely to possess the information and discernment requisite to such complicated investigations.”

My takeaway here is that he didn't think that the general mass of American citizens were qualified to perform the complicated analysis required to determine the next president. Thus, the Electoral College was born.

I've seen some commentary warning against the Electoral College supporting the national popular vote, suggesting that these "faithless electors" voting in accordance with their own counsel rather than in line with their represented states would plunge the country into a political morass that would be difficult to recover from. But that's their intended purpose! The Electoral College exists solely to protect America from the whims of average Americans, and the concept of "faithless electors" was established to prevent the election of a faithless president.

http://americannewsx.com/politics/hamilton-electors-end-trump-presidency/