GOT Recap: The Bells
Airdate: 5/12/19 Season 8, Episode 5
I know it’s not good form to start off a post with “What in the actual hell just happened?!” but that’s all I have at this moment. How do I phrase this, exactly, without giving away everything right at the beginning of my recap? All I can say is that this past episode of Game of Thrones was an epic and visually stunning piece of work and it also left me livid and disappointed in the turn that the creators have taken for the show. We knew big things were coming, and come they did. So without further ado, let’s dive in to the recap of “The Bells”:
Lord Varys sits at his desk at Dragonstone penning some letters – we get a glimpse of the scroll he is working on and it appears that Varys is spreading the word about Jon Snow’s true lineage as Rhaegar Targaryen’s legitimate son. Wowzers, the master of whisperers is wasting no time with his agenda to rally the kingdom behind Jon’s claim to the Iron Throne!
There’s a knock on the door, and Varys quickly stows away his stationary. A little girl of about 9 years enters to inform him that Queen Daenerys still isn’t eating and Varys says they’ll try again at suppertime. Apparently it’s been two days now and Daenerys Targaryen has holed herself up in her room, refusing to see anybody and turning away all meals. The girl expresses worry that the guards keep watching her and Varys says “What did we discuss?” – “The greater the risk, the greater the reward.” He sends his little bird off to the kitchen where she works. Hmmmm, the nuanced conversation makes it unclear, but I’m wondering if Varys is trying to poison Queen Dany. After last episode, it wouldn’t surprise me. Yikes, Varys the spider is weaving a dangerous little web here. His days are numbered for sure.
Later in the day, Jon Snow arrives via boat at Dragonstone and Varys greets him at the shore – Tyrion Lannister watches from a distance with a mix of concern and trepidation on his face. As they walk together, Jon lets Varys know the Northerners are two days away from King’s Landing. Varys hints that he thinks Dany may be going crazy, and that Jon would be a much better Targaryen ruler. As usual, Jon rejects the notion of ruling the realm – the dude doesn’t want it, ok? - and he professes his loyalty to his queen before he trots off, leaving Varys behind.
Tyrion manages to pay a visit to Daenerys in her room. She looks out her window as she speaks in a disconcertingly detached and monotone voice. “Somebody has betrayed me.” -“Yup.” Without turning around she says, “Jon Snow.” When Tyrion corrects her that it’s actually Varys, Dany does some creative deductive reasoning: Varys knows about Jon’s parents because Tyrion told him – and Tyrion in turn found out from Sansa Stark whom Jon told. Boom! Jon’s the traitor. Case closed. Only wait, it’s not closed, because guess what? Queenie ain’t happy that Tyrion spoke with Varys without consulting her first. She also points out that Sansa was playing Tyrion because she knew she could count on him to blab the info to Varys, which may as well translate to leaking the news to the Westeros Enquirer. Tyrion attempts to defend his actions – he asserts that, as Hand of the Queen, he needs to know about information that is a threat to his boss, and yes, he made an error in judgment by not consulting her first. When he points out that Dany’s advisors are all trying to do what’s best for the world – Varys more than anyone- he realizes it doesn’t really matter. Daenerys agrees, it doesn’t. Ruh roh, Varys! I think we all were pretty certain he was gonna bite it soon – especially after Melisandre told him last season that he’d die in Westeros. Looks like his time has officially run out.
It’s evening and Varys sits in his chambers, once again composing rebellion letters to his Westerosi – and maybe even Essosi – pen pals. He hears footsteps marching down the hall and hastily burns his letter, then calmly removes his rings. Dude knows what’s coming. Unsullied guards enter his room and Grey Worm holds manacles in his hands.
At the shore, Varys is escorted by armed guards to face Daenerys, Jon and Tyrion. Tyrion gives him the decency of letting him know it was he who snitched on Varys – in response Varys just nods. “Yeah, that tracks. I just hope it turns out I was wrong about Dany and that I deserved this.” I’ve gotta say, Varys who used to be so good at stealth and sneaking around has done a horrendous job at keeping his intentions a secret, so none of this is terribly surprising, even to him. He bids Tyrion farewell with a warm squeeze to his arm. Man, it’s so bittersweet. Varys and Tyrion’s friendship and banter was something that was always super enjoyable in earlier seasons. It’s sad to see it end like this, but he did have it coming. Daenerys steps forward, and in that same detached voice from earlier, she informs Varys that he’s been sentenced to death. She drones, “Dracarys” and out of the pitch dark behind her appears Drogon’s giant face. Her dragon steps forward, stretches himself up and takes a deep breath, baring his teeth. Then, POOF! Varys is engulfed in flames. Yowzers, that was tense. Jon just looks at Dany like “Khaleesi, you’re scary.”
Later that night, Dany sits sullen in a chair by the fireplace in her room, as Grey Worm stands nearby. Daenerys hands Grey Worm a slave collar and tells him it was the only possession that Missandei brought with her when they crossed the Narrow Sea to come to Grey Worm. With a stoic frown, Grey Worm takes the collar and tosses it in the fire.
Jon approaches and Daenerys dismisses Grey Worm so they can speak in private. He waits for Dany to speak first, and the monotone words that pop out of her mouth are “What did I tell you would happen if you told your fam? Ya know, Sansa is just as much to blame for Varys’ death as I am, because she couldn’t keep her big mouth shut. She betrayed you.” She goes on to lament that she was beloved back in Essos and here nobody loves her – all she has is fear. Feebly, Jon hits his soundboard button that bleats out “I love you. You’re my queen.” But it’s not the kind of love Dany wants. And somewhere in heaven Ser Jorah is probably saying “See what it’s like, Khaleesi???!!! It ain’t fun, is it?” She leans in to kiss him, but when Jon pulls back she scowls and mutters “Ok, fear it is.” What the heck? May I ask why Jon even bothered to come back if he isn’t going to at least try to talk Dany down from the bad place she is in?
Also, I’m thinking if Daenerys made more of an effort at Winterfell, she probably could have won some people over. Really, she just needed to do a few shots with Tormund during the feast, dance with Jon in a Scottish reel and then balance on her tippy toes and I’m sure the entire North would’ve gotten behind her. Maybe not everybody will get my Titanic reference, but for the 4 people who do, it was worth it.
The next day in the throne room at Dragonstone, Daenerys talks battle strategy with her only two remaining advisors: Grey Worm and Tyrion. After Cersei killed her bestie, and Grey Worm’s girlfriend, they both are ready to torch King’s Landing. Daenerys even goes as far as to blame the people of King’s Landing for not turning on their queen, as a justification for wanting to burn the city. In a last ditch effort to reason with her, Tyrion tells Daenerys that the people of King’s Landing are scared to fight Cersei, because she’ll kill them and their families. “Lame excuse! Well, guess what, Cersei thinks she can exploit my mercy as a weakness, but she doesn’t realize that my mercy extends to mercy killing future generations so they don’t have to live under a tyrant.” “Ummmm, I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works, Crazy. Would you please consider a route that doesn’t involve killing thousands of innocent men, women, and children? If they ring the bells, that means they surrender. Listen out for the bells, ok? Please???” Dany gives a grudging nod to Grey Worm and then tells them to wait outside the gates of King’s Landing until she gives them the signal to attack - they’ll know it when they see it.
Before Tyrion leaves the throne room, Dany goes “Oh, and by the way, my guards stopped your bro Jaime – he was on his way to King’s Landing. So guess what, you were wrong AGAIN. He hasn’t abandoned Cersei. If you fail me one more time you’re toast. ” –“Ok, I got it.” –“No dude, like, literally. I will toast you with my dragon.” –“Yeeeeah…I got that part.” –“But really. You’re gonna die. With dragon fire. M’kay, byyeee, see ya at happy hour!”
That evening, Jon and Tyrion arrive by boat to join Dany’s and Jon’s forces camped outside King’s Landing. The rear guard for the North won’t get there till morning and Tyrion says that Dany wants to fight asap, but Jon confirms, nothing’s gonna happen till daybreak. Tyrion pulls Davos aside and asks “Davos, my man…I need you to do me a solid. You’re the world’s best smuggler, right?” Davos knows he’s going to regret whatever comes next.
The Hound and Arya arrive outside King’s Landing that night and they make their way through the Northern camp. When a soldier stops them, the Hound tells him it’s Arya Stark, the hero of Winterfell and she’s gonna kill Cersei. The confused soldier goes to talk to his manager - and the Hound and Arya just traipse past.
Meanwhile, Tyrion approaches a tent guarded by Unsullied soldiers – he pulls rank and dismisses them, then walks inside the tent to find Jaime Lannister tied up. Tyrion tells his brother he’ll only free him if Jaime agrees to get Cersei out of the Red Keep. He informs Jaime of a secret passageway that runs from the basement of the Red Keep outside to the shore, and he’s arranged for a boat for them to escape. Tyrion makes a big deal about telling Jaime to be sure to ring the city’s truce bells before he and Cersei make a run for it. When Jaime asks him why he’s risking his life, Tyrion tells him he’s repaying the favor, if his death means saving the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent people, it’s a fair trade. Then Tyrion gives us all the feels when he tells Jaime that he was the only person that was ever kind to him when they were kids. They hug and Tyrion sobs. Awww, this is a really touching moment! I may have shed a tear or two.
The next morning, Euron and his Iron Fleet, lay in wait in the bay and ready their dragon-killing spear launchers – fun fact: that weapon is called a Scorpion. You learn something new every day, folks! Team Cersei’s army prepares for the battle and it’s an overall tense scene with people clearing the streets – lots of shots of small children and babies being whisked indoors. Among the frenzied crowd, Arya and the Hound walk into town. They join a mob of commoners frantically running to the gates of the Red Keep to seek safety inside its walls. The Golden Army marches outside the city gates and stands in formation.
Across from the Golden Army are the Northerners and Dany’s army, ready for battle. Tyrion reminds everybody again to listen for the bells, as that is the sign that King’s Landing has surrendered.
From her tower balcony in the Red Keep, Cersei smiles smugly as her courtyard fills with innocent citizens – aka dragonfire fodder. The guards start to close the gates – Arya and the Hound manage to squeeze in before the gates are shut. Jaime is among the crowd of people who didn’t make it in. He waves his golden hand around like a backstage pass, hoping the Lannister guards will see it, but they don’t. Finally, he ducks down an alley, presumably to find another way into the castle.
The suspense builds as we get multiple shots of people on both sides waiting silently for the fight to start. All’s still as the Iron Fleet looks out to the horizon for a glimpse of Daenerys and her dragon. Euron suddenly turns to look up into the sun and sees a dragon coming down in a divebomb. The Iron Islanders scramble to aim their Scorpions at Drogon, but they’re too slow and a stream of dragon fire obliterates a line of ships. It’s incredibly satisfying to see Dany and her dragon lay waste to the entire Iron Fleet in a matter of seconds.
Daenerys then switches course for the walls of King’s Landing. It’s really nice to see her actually using some type of strategy here – she keeps her dragon low along the water, then pulls up suddenly, expertly avoiding any incoming spears and again, she takes out a ton of Scorpions.
On the other side of town, the Golden Army stands at attention outside the city gates – Captain Strickland stares off at Grey Worm and the rest of the Unsullied, Dothraki, and Northerners across the way. Everybody waits in anticipation. The Golden Army hear distant explosions from behind them when suddenly: BLAST!!! Dragonfire obliterates the wall and engulfs the Golden Army. Dany’s and Jon’s forces charge into the city.
The action plays out like a horror movie as we see glimpses of a dragon’s tail followed by more dragon fire and scorpions being torched. It’s chaos in the streets as civilians run in a panic. Cersei’s soldiers fight the advancing Dothraki, Northerners and Unsullied.
Cersei watches it all from her balcony and her smug confidence wavers just a smidge. Things aren’t going quite as expected.
Tyrion makes his way through the burning carnage outside the city walls.
Meanwhile, Qyburn fills Queen Cersei in on the state of the city and it ain’t pretty: All the Scorpions have been destroyed. The Iron Fleet can’t defend them because…they don’t exist anymore. And that fancy Golden Army? They’re dunzo. Qyburn suggests they move on to Plan B and get the hell out of Dodge, but Cersei refuses and states that the Red Keep has never fallen before, and it won’t today.
Grey Worm, Jon Snow, and Ser Davos Seaworth lead the charge of men through the city until they come upon Cersei’s army barring the way. Both sides stand in tense silence – neither one makes the first move.
Tyrion’s desperate gaze is fixed upon the bell towers in the distance. They stand still and silent. Jaime Lannister, in the meantime, has found a back way around the castle walls.
Daenerys and her dragon swoop over King’s Landing as the civilians below gasp in fear. Drogon lands on a wall and lets out a ferocious roar. The crowd below is terrified. Dany waits. After a long moment, Cersei’s army drop their swords. A voice calls out “Ring the bells!” Then another voice. Over and over, people call out “Ring the bells!” Cersei looks out at the city, she doesn’t give word.
From Dany’s perch on her dragon, she looks down across King’s Landing and then up at the Red Keep where she just knows Cersei is looking back. It’s a 5-mile stare-off y’all and it’s super intense.
After what feels like an eternity, the truce bells finally chime. Jon heaves a huge sigh of relief, as does Tyrion. Dany glares at the Red Keep. She sobs and there’s a brief internal struggle. Hatred burns in her eyes and her dragon takes to the sky and flies toward the Red Keep. Cersei watches as the dragon swoops overhead a crowd of civilians scrambling in a panic. And then…Drogon unloads a stream of fire, torching men, women, and children. Are you effin’ KIDDING ME?! How is this happening???
What ensues is a senseless massacre as Dany and her dragon continue to burn street upon street of innocent citizens. Back where Grey Worm and Jon Snow stand, the Lannister army hears a commotion behind them. The captain looks at them like, “Hey, what load of crap are you guys pulling?” As the Lannister soldiers look behind them to see what’s going on, their captain turns back to face his enemies and Grey Worm launches his spear into the unarmed man’s chest. Whoa, this is some serious foul play.
The Unsullied and Northerners charge into the unarmed soldiers. Slow mo Jon Snow is NOT down with what’s happening. I feel ya, Jon. I feel ya. He stops his guys from advancing and Grey Worm shoots him major stinkeye “You’re gonna betray your Khaleesi like that?” and continues onward with the Unsullied army.
The rest is a 40 minute long sequence of unspeakably horrific and brutal genocide as Dany and her dragon lay fiery waste to King’s Landing. The streets have been turned into rivers of fire. Cersei is STILL in her tower and looks on with the nervous realization that things are looking pretty bad for her. Ya think?
On the ground, Ser Davos helps to steer the panicked crowd in a safe direction. Women are raped and murdered in front of their children as Northerners, Dothraki and the Unsullied ravage the city. Jon is still watching everything around him on the slow mo channel. What is even going on here?!
Dany’s dragon reaches the Red Keep and takes out a tower. Meanwhile, Jaime has made his way to the secret entrance into the Red Keep, but guess who’s also there for absolutely no reason whatsoever? Euron Greyjoy. Yeah. All Euron wants to do is be a d-bag and fight Jaime. The two go at it, and eventually Euron critically wounds Jaime with a stab to the gut. Spurred on by love, adrenaline, and lame writing, Jaime manages to fight back with a fatal blow to Euron and then Jaime continues on his way to save Cersei. As Euron bleeds out on the ground he cackles like a madman that he got Jaime good. Really? We can’t spare any screen time for Daenerys’ descent into total madness but we can show this pointless scene? Ok.
Even though the Red Keep is under fire, Cersei is holds on to the notion that things aren’t totally over for her – ahhh, denial! Qyburn finally gets her to go with him to try their chance at escaping into exile. As they head down the winding stairwell, we see the burning city and intermittent green explosions go off. Wildfire reserves? Were these remnants from the Mad King’s rule or did Cersei plant them as booby traps throughout the city? I guess we’ll never know!!
While Drogon makes his rounds over the Red Keep, the Hound and Arya have snuck inside the castle and are in the map room where the walls are crumbling down. The Hound gives Arya a quick chat about revenge and what it does to people – he’s been after it his whole life. “Do you want to turn out like me? If you go with me, you’re going to die here.” His words strike a chord and Arya realizes she chooses life. She thanks him and hightails it out of the Red Keep. Wait, what? I was promised some Arya-Cersei revenge killing, with the possibility of face swaps, are you telling me that’s not going to happen?
Cersei and Qyburn scramble down the staircase with the Frankenmountain while the roof falls in around them. As large boulders crash down, Cersei presses up against the wall and she is miraculously unscathed. As the rubble and dust clear, they notice the Hound blocking the way. It’s Cleganebowl time, y’all! The Mountain is suddenly in Hound fighting mode – he doesn’t even listen to his queen’s commands and he smacks Qyburn out of the way, instantly killing him. As both men stare each other down, Cersei nervously walks past them. “So…I can see you two have some unfinished business, Imma just squeeze by here and leave you to it. K, bye!”
When she gets to the map room, Cersei looks around with no direction. She’s on her own. But wait…no she’s not because…ta daaaaa, there’s Jaime! Cersei falls into his arms, a sobbing mess. Ugh!!
The Hound and the Mountain go at it while Arya navigates her way through the chaos of King’s Landing. She encounters crumbling buildings, hysterical mobs and burn victims at every turn. At one point, Arya loses her footing and is trampled by the panicked crowd as dragon fire continues to sweep across the city. We get a lot of cutaways between Arya and the Hound – both seemingly going through the same pain. Everytime the Hound gets in a blow to the Mountain, it has no effect whatsoever. He manages to knock off Frankenmountain’s helmet in the fight and it’s like Darth Vader unmasked. As the Hound is brutally beaten by his big brother and pushed down to the ground, Arya is squashed by the running mob. She fights in vain to get back on her feet. Maybe the cutaway technique is supposed to be poetic storytelling, but at this point I just feel so manipulated by the showrunners that I can’t even appreciate it. A woman helps Arya get back up again.
The Mountain simply will not die, despite numerous wounds that would have killed anybody else. And then we are treated to his signature move: boring his fingers into his adversaries’ eyes. It’s so grotesque and I’m praying he doesn’t squish the Hound’s skull like a watermelon a la Oberin Martell. The Hound fights Frankenmountain off with a dagger to his skull – it barely phases the bigger, badder Clegane. In a last ditch effort, the Hound lunges at his big brother and they both tumble over the wall into the burning wreckage below. RIP Hound, we loved you! Sorry your bro is a weird undead zombie that can’t be killed! Sorry you didn’t actually stand any chance whatsoever of winning that fight! And sorry the writers suck!
On the ground, Jon Snow takes in the devastation around him. Explosions of wildfire go off here and there and he commands his men to fall back.
Elsewhere in the burning city, Arya has passed out from falling debris. She comes to, very likely concussed, and gasps for air. White ash is everywhere. More buildings crumble to pieces as she continues her escape out of the city.
There’s a short-lived attempt to rescue some cowering women and children – the only one who follows her is the same woman who helped her up earlier when she was being trampled. Hold on, hold on…might this woman be…Jaqen H’Gar in disguise??? They’ve been giving her a lot of screen time. But no, she’s just a random person we’re suddenly supposed to care for. She and her daughter get charred to smithereens in the next scene when Dany’s dragon unleashes another blast of fire – Arya ducks out of the way in the nick of time. Of course.
As the Red Keep continues to cave in and crumble around them, Jaime and Cersei head down to the basement only to find all exits blocked by rubble. There’s no way out. Cersei finally realizes this is the end. She blubbers that she wants to live and wants her baby to live and begs Jaime “Don’t let me die! Don’t let me dieee!” Ugh. Too little, too late, Cersei. Jaime holds her in his arms and comforts her. He tells her nothing else matters besides the two of them. The tune of The Rains of Castamere plays over the action and the ceiling crashes in on them. Ugh! That’s how they die? Lovingly in each other’s arms? No prophecy where her younger bro strangles her? Maybe I’m a spiteful jerk, but Cersei deserved much worse of a death. And also, it seems pretty inconsistent that Cersei of all people has been reduced to a sobbing damsel in distress looking for a man to rescue her. I’m so over this episode and the abominable writing that is going on throughout. Arya should have killed Cersei, wearing Jaime’s face. That’ something I think we all could have gotten behind. Not this lame death where we’re supposed to feel sorry for queen biatch Cersei.
Hey guess what? It’s time to watch Arya once again attempt to make it out of King’s Landing alive. She sees the burnt remains of the mom and daughter she was helping, and a tear falls down her cheek. As she looks around her, there stands a white horse just feet away. She carefully approaches it and takes the reigns. Maybe this is supposed to be some heavy-handed symbolism, but I’m not feeling it. Arya gallops off – presumably to safety. Roll credits.
Wow. What a heaping pile of you know what. The aren’t enough question marks or expletives in the world to capture the incredulity and disappointment I feel about this episode. Really, I was hoping this was just an elaborate Snickers commercial and at the end, Crazy Dany bites into a candy bar and turns normal again while a voiceover goes “You’re not you when you’re hungry.”
But seriously, what the eff? Screw you, Weiss & Benioff! What a betrayal of the viewers – the creators took years of complex character development and threw it all in the toilet with a cheap, lazy plot twist to turn Daenerys into a super villain with ZERO explanation of how she got there.
And making the audience watch 40 minutes of brutal slaughter and suffering was completely unnecessary. I’m so mad. In the past, with these sprawling epic battle scenes, the viewer always had an investment and a side they were rooting for. Just watching the genocide of an entire city with no chance of victory did not need to go on for as long as it did. Clearly the creators wanted to drive home the point that there is no coming back from this for Daenerys. We all have to hate her now and there is nothing redeemable about her.
Mostly I’m pissed because there was no transition from the Dany we saw to this monster who – after the city surrenders – torches all these people who are now her own subjects. It doesn’t compute. Sure, there were hints in the past that Dany could take brutal measures at times, but they at least had some kind of logic or rationalization behind them. Killing a bunch of innocent people after you have been handed over the city and the throne that you so badly wanted…I don’t get it. And it’s not my job as a viewer to fill in the huge gap of additional character development that needed to happen in order to get Dany from an angry, mourning queen, out for vengeance against Cersei into a psychopathic Hitler, killing everybody. This is the same woman who locked her dragons up for who knows how long because they killed a little child when they were hunting for sheep. Give me at least some way to understand how she could have changed other than just saying “She’s crazy everybody!!” Also, it ticked me off that they didn’t show Dany’s face even once after she went crazy. Hey, maybe Bran is actually evil after all and he warned into Drogon and did this all just to make Dany look bad!
All right, I’ll quit my whining. This episode has kinda ruined the show for me and I don’t have high hopes for the ending. My guess is that Daenerys has to be killed now. I don’t care if or how they do it. Maybe Bran will warg into Drogon and kill her? Maybe she’ll try to torch Tyrion and we’ll find out he’s a secret Targaryen and she’ll go even more crazy wondering just how many damned Targaryen sleeper cells are out in the world.
If Varys ever got any of his letters delivered, my assumption is those people will now back Mr. Jon “I hate responsibility” Snow. He’ll probably also bite it or run off to the North to become a Wildling. Then everybody will decide to put Sansa and Tyrion in charge, or better yet, they’ll break up into separate countries and Sansa can rule the North. It’s not like there is actually a capital left in Westeros to rule from.
At this point I’d also be totally fine with a Wizard of Oz ending where Bran wakes up after falling from the tower and tells everybody about his fabulous dream. Sorry to end this all on a downer, but as Mad Queen Dany would say “It’s not my fault. It’s the writers’. They have betrayed you, gentle reader, not I.” Just know, you’re not alone in your feelings. Hang in there and I’ll see you next week, my friends. It’s gonna be a doozy.
