(Feel free to agree or disagree with me and post your own favorite films of the year on the BSL Board here.)

Best Picture:

Ford v Ferrari – 4 Nominations

The ultimate dad movie. And I say that as a father of two. I enjoyed it. But it feels very out of place among the other best picture nominees (even if I did like it more than ‘Joker’). To me its simply a competently made box office success with two very fun movie star performances at the center of it. About what you would expect after watching the trailer for a movie centered around car racing. Not to take away from all of its nominations, it deserves to be there for both sound mixing and sound editing. The problem is that without being nominated for best picture I would’ve came out of the movie saying “yeah it was a lot of fun, you should check it out!” but instead it alters the perspective I get to look at it from. During the racing scenes I didn’t feel the sense of speed that a movie like ‘Rush’ did. It is also filled with cliches, completely under-utilizes the wife character, and is entirely way too long. But to end on a high note there are two stand out scenes worth mentioning. One is Matt Damon’s character taking Henry Ford II on a test drive and the other is when Damon’s Carroll Shelby and Christian Bale’s Ken Miles get into a fight and Miles’ wife pulls up a chair to watch. It does a good job of showing their dynamic in one funny scene.

The Irishman – 10 Nominations

I will admit that it took me a couple sittings to get through ‘The Irishman’ (the beauty and the curse of Netflix) and that I didn’t love it after first viewing. But it has stuck in my mind and grown in my estimation in the months since. There is no denying it is an incredibly long movie but at the same time I don’t believe that its ever boring. It must be a feat of editing that it is able to keep such a forward momentum despite a fairly slow pace and so much to get through. It is certainly another example of great direction from the legendary Martin Scorcese as he once again tackles the themes of masculinity in the mafia, revisiting the world he knows so well from such classics as ‘Goodfellas’ and ‘Casino’. Hes able to look at the same themes but from the perspective of someone further along in life, closer to the end and looking back. Robert DeNiro reaches back in time to give his first fantastic performance in over 20 years (hes been good more recently in things like ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ to be fair). Joe Pesci and Al Pacino each give award worthy supporting performances as well. It doesn’t look like the film is going to walk away with many, if any, awards but in 10+ years that may look like a mistake as I think it is going to age very well unlike Frank Shereen.

Jojo Rabbit – 6 Nominations

I wasn’t sure what to make of ‘Jojo Rabbit’ as I sat down in the theater to see it. Critics whose opinion I respect were all over the map with their reactions to the film. Some loved it, some hated it, and everywhere in between. I was a fan of director Taika Waititi’s previous work ‘What We Do in the Shadows’, ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’, and especially ‘Thor Ragnarok’. Turns out I was mostly positive on the film but had some reservations that kept it from being one of my favorites of the year. As expected it was funny but not in the way you might expect from the trailer. The imaginary best friend being Hitler mostly left me unamused, only because the attempts at humor didn’t work the majority of the time. What did work were the interactions between the titular character and his best friend as well as Sam Rockwell’s character. On the serious side of the story it did a good job of landing the big moments and I really liked the way Jojo’s relationship with Thomasin Mackenzie’s character developed. There are plenty of plot contrivances to make the story work and a lot of the commentary is hitting the nail on the head but it gets its point across. All of the controversy surrounding the film is overblown but so are its chances of winning best picture.

Joker – 11 nominations

Somehow a superhero movie leads all 2019 movies with 11 oscar nominations. ‘Joker’ also won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival and took home a bunch of other awards this winter. I liked the movie for what it was – a Scorcese rip off centered around a typically great Joaquin Phoenix performance. Director Todd Phillips clearly watched ‘Taxi Driver’ and ‘The King of Comedy’ a lot in the lead up to making ‘Joker’. Its fine. To me the detractors are being too harsh and its fans are over-praising it. Its competently made. It looks and sounds pretty good but theres not a lot of heart to it. Zazie Beetz is wasted, its obvious where the story is headed (of course that is on purpose but its too linear), and there is too much Batman mythology wedged in for fan service. On one hand the comic book fan in me is glad to see some legitimacy added to the superhero genre but at the same time I think it would be ridiculous if ‘Joker’ won best picture.

Little Women – 6 Nominations

I never read the book this was based on. Embarrassingly I had never even heard of it until I started hearing the buzz around this movie and what it was about. But I did enjoy Greta Gerwig’s first film ‘Lady Bird’ even if it wasn’t one of my favorites of that year like it was for a lot of critics. To me it was a solid directorial debut that showed a lot of promise and she has delivered on that with ‘Little Women’. Gerwig put together a great cast with Saoirse Ronan at the helm earning a nomination for lead actress and the breakout star of 2019 Florence Pugh getting nominated in supporting actress. You also have Meryl Streep, Timothee Chalamet, Laura Dern, Tracy Letts, and Chris Cooper doing their typical good work. It was also nominated for best adapted screenplay, best costume design, and best score – all deserved. I won’t say Gerwig was snubbed for best director but there is no way Todd Phillips should be nominated there with many more deserving options including her. This movie also stands out from the pack of best picture nominees because it is one of two that isn’t rated R and has a more pleasant feeling to it. (The other being Ford v Ferrari.) There are some dark moments but its really just about a family of four sisters and how their relationships and ambitions change as they enter adulthood.

Marriage Story – 6 Nominations

Noah Baumbach has long been a favorite director of mine with 2005’s ‘The Squid and the Whale’ being a real standout but his last two movies have felt like a real progression in putting his talents to good use. Maybe that has something to do with getting in a relationship with actress and director Greta Gerwig, who was snubbed in the director category for her work on ‘Little Women’. 2017’s ‘The Meyerwitz Stories’ was one of my favorites of that year and ‘Marriage Story’ is even better. Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson give stellar performances as a married couple going through the process of a divorce. Ray Liotta, Alan Alda, and Laura Dern (who will almost certainly win best supporting actress) are each great as different kinds of divorce lawyers who show off how ugly of a process it is no matter how you’re represented. While it is depressing in the realistic way it shows the struggles and end of a relationship it also manages to be hopeful that love and life can go on afterwards. It is also a very funny movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously. There is one scene in particular involving a lot of blood that had me in stitches (and probably involved one character getting them).

1917 – 10 Nominations

The best video game movie ever made. That sounds snarky but I really mean it as a compliment. It puts you in the perspective of two specific soldiers on a mission during World War I. The camera angles and exposition reminded me of playing Call of Duty at times as did the cameos from more famous actors popping up at each “checkpoint”. From a technical standpoint 1917 is a marvel. The cinematography and visual effects are top notch and really immerse you in the experience. The visual design of the trenches really stood out in a striking way with each faction having their own distinct look. There are a few standout set pieces including the one that is featured in all of the commercials for the film. Despite all this praise there was still something holding the movie back from reaching that next level. I’m not sure why but I never felt a real connection to the characters so the emotional beats didn’t land in the way that I’m sure they were intended. But clearly that wasn’t a problem for a lot of other people because it is currently the slight favorite to win Best Picture on Sunday.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – 10 Nominations

Quentin Tarantino is one of my favorite directors. He hasn’t made a movie that I didn’t like, ‘Inglourious Basterds’ is my second favorite movie of all time, and he has four movies in my top 100 including another one that he wrote (True Romance). As much as I liked ‘Django Unchained’ and ‘The Hateful 8’ ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ is in his top tier along with IB and ‘Pulp Fiction’. The performances are great across the board, it has an amazing soundtrack, and as usual for QT the screenplay is almost flawless. Its one of those movies where every scene is like a standalone short film but they mesh perfectly together to make the sum even greater than its parts. Tarantino even plays around with some horror themes for the first time I can remember with the scene set on Spahn Ranch. He should win the Oscar for best original screenplay and it looks like Brad Pitt has best supporting actor in the bag, deservedly so. It has an outside chance at the big prize if ‘1917’ and ‘Parasite’ split votes. Some people had an issue with the gratuitous violence at the end of the film but I thought it worked perfectly for what Tarantino was going for very similarly to the theater scene in ‘Inglourious Basterds’.

Parasite – 6 Nominations

Bong Joon-Ho is trying to become the first international director to have his foreign language movie win best picture at the academy awards and I think thats exactly what is going to happen. It hasn’t been winning all of the important precursor awards but it did win the Screen Actors Guild award for best ensemble and SAG is a big part of the Oscar voting body. It has clearly been getting the best reception from the audiences in attendance at these shows including standing ovations. The film is expertly crafted to be an entertaining watch that dips its toes into multiple genres (drama, heist, horror, thriller, etc.) but at the same time has something to say about class inequality. It is speaking specifically about South Korea but it is a theme that resonates throughout the world including in America. Its a shame it didn’t receive any acting nominations because I believe there were three standouts that deserved recognition (Song Kang-Ho, Park So-Dam, and Cho Yeo-Jeong). I have to think the language barrier hurt it there but hopefully it can make up for it by coming home with victories in some other categories.

Should Win: Once Upon a Time In Hollywood

Will Win: Parasite (Which I would still be very happy about)

Lead Actor:

Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”
Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”
Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”

Should Win: Leonardo DiCaprio

Will Win: Joaquin Phoenix

Lead Actress:

Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet”
Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”
Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”
Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”
Renee Zellweger, “Judy”

Should Win: Scarlett Johansson

Will Win: Renee Zellweger

Supporting Actor:

Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”
Al Pacino, “The Irishman”
Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”
Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Should Win: Brad Pitt

Will Win: Brad Pitt

Supporting Actress:

Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”
Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”
Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”
Florence Pugh, “Little Women”
Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”

Should Win: Florence Pugh

Will Win: Laura Dern

Director:

Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”
Todd Phillips, “Joker”
Sam Mendes, “1917”
Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite”

Should Win: Bong Joon Ho

Will Win: Sam Mendes

Animated Feature:

“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” Dean DeBlois
“I Lost My Body,” Jeremy Clapin
“Klaus,” Sergio Pablos
“Missing Link,” Chris Butler
“Toy Story 4,” Josh Cooley

Should Win: Toy Story 4

Will Win: Toy Story 4

Adapted Screenplay:

“The Irishman,” Steven Zaillian
“Jojo Rabbit,” Taika Waititi
“Joker,” Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
“Little Women,” Greta Gerwig
“The Two Popes,” Anthony McCarten

Should Win: The Irishman

Will Win: Little Women

Original Screenplay:

“Knives Out,” Rian Johnson
“Marriage Story,” Noah Baumbach
“1917,” Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Quentin Tarantino
“Parasite,” Bong Joon-ho, Jin Won Han

Should Win: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Will Win: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Cinematography:

“The Irishman,” Rodrigo Prieto
“Joker,” Lawrence Sher
“The Lighthouse,” Jarin Blaschke
“1917,” Roger Deakins
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Robert Richardson

Should Win: 1917

Will Win: 1917

“American Factory,” Julia Rieichert, Steven Bognar
“The Cave,” Feras Fayyad
“The Edge of Democracy,” Petra Costa
“For Sama,” Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts
“Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov

Should Win: Honeyland

Will Win: American Factory

Best International Feature Film:

“Corpus Christi,” Jan Komasa
“Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov
“Les Miserables,” Ladj Ly
“Pain and Glory,” Pedro Almodovar
“Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho

Should Win: Parasite

Will Win: Parasite

Film Editing:

“Ford v Ferrari,” Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland
“The Irishman,” Thelma Schoonmaker
“Jojo Rabbit,” Tom Eagles
“Joker,” Jeff Groth
“Parasite,” Jinmo Yang

Should Win: The Irishman

Will Win: Ford v Ferrari

Production Design:

“The Irishman,” Bob Shaw and Regina Graves
“Jojo Rabbit,” Ra Vincent and Nora Sopkova
“1917,” Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh
“Parasite,” Lee Ha-Jun and Cho Won Woo, Han Ga Ram, and Cho Hee

Should Win: 1917

Will Win: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Original Score:

“Joker,” Hildur Guðnadóttir
“Little Women,” Alexandre Desplat
“Marriage Story,” Randy Newman
“1917,” Thomas Newman
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” John Williams

Should Win: 1917

Will Win: Joker

“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” “Toy Story 4”
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” “Rocketman”
“I’m Standing With You,” “Breakthrough”
“Into the Unknown,” “Frozen 2”
“Stand Up,” “Harriet”

Should Win: “I’m Gonna Love Me Again”

Will Win: “I’m Gonna Love Me Again”

Makeup and Hair:

“Bombshell”
“Joker”
“Judy”
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”
“1917”

Should Win: Joker

Will Win: Bombshell

Costume Design:

”The Irishman,” Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson
“Jojo Rabbit,” Mayes C. Rubeo
“Joker,” Mark Bridges
“Little Women,” Jacqueline Durran
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Arianne Phillips

Should Win: Little Women

Will Win: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Visual Effects:

“Avengers Endgame”
“The Irishman”
“1917”
“The Lion King”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”

Should Win: Avengers Endgame

Will Win: Avengers Endgame

Sound Editing:

“Ford v Ferrari,” Don Sylvester
“Joker,” Alan Robert Murray
“1917,” Oliver Tarney, Rachel Tate
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Wylie Stateman
“Star Wars: The Rise of SkyWalker,” Matthew Wood, David Acord

Should Win: 1917

Will Win: 1917

Sound Mixing:

“Ad Astra”
“Ford v Ferrari”
“Joker”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Should Win: 1917

Will Win: 1917

Animated Short:

“Dcera,” Daria Kashcheeva
“Hair Love,” Matthew A. Cherry
“Kitbull,” Rosana Sullivan
“Memorable,” Bruno Collet
“Sister,” Siqi Song

Should Win: N/A

Will Win: Hair Love

Best Documentary Short Subject:

“In the Absence,” Yi Seung-Jun and Gary Byung-Seok Kam
“Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone,” Carol Dysinger
“Life Overtakes Me,” Kristine Samuelson and John Haptas
“St. Louis Superman,” Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan
“Walk Run Cha-Cha,” Laura Nix

Should Win: N/A

Will Win: Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone

Best Live Action Short Film:

“Brotherhood,” Meryam Joobeur
“Nefta Football Club,” Yves Piat
“The Neighbors’ Window,” Marshall Curry
“Saria,” Bryan Buckley
“A Sister,” Delphine Girard

Should Win: N/A

Will Win: Brotherhood

My Personal Top 15 Movies of the Year

1. Once Upon a Time In Hollywood
2. Parasite
3. Marriage Story
4. Midsommar
5. Uncut Gems
6. The Lighthouse
7. Us
8. Ad Astra
9. 1917
10. Little Women
11. The Art of Self Defense
12. Avengers: Endgame
13. Knives Out
14. The Farewell
15. The Irishman

The post 2020 Oscar Preview appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

The episode begins with Tyrion walking through the rubble of King’s Landing in the aftermath of Dany’s decimation. The air is filled with smoke and ash and the viewer gets a sense of the carnage inflicted upon its city and its survivors as Tyrion silently walks amongst burnt survivors, burnt corpses and destroyed buildings. He sets his sights on two things: 1. Trying to find what happened to his siblings and 2. Figuring out what the hell do we do now.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

Jon and Grey Worm get in to a near skirmish before Davos cools the air as Grey Worm commands the Unsullied to kill more Lannister soldier prisoners of war. It has been clear since Episode 5 that these two have been teetering on the edge of battle, and I was frankly hoping for a Jon vs. Grey Worm showdown at some point during this episode.

Later, we find Tyrion managing his way through the remains of the Red Keep’s cellars. It is a little (and by little, I mean a lot) unbelievable that he had to move maybe two bricks to find the surprisingly not-destroyed remains of his two siblings, Jaime and Cersei as he cries out in what did end up to be one of the more emotional scenes of the episode.

Outside, Dany’s Targaryen banner hangs on the Red Keep’s remains as her always-multiplying Unsullied and Dothraki forces await her entrance. In what was easily one of my favorite shots of the entire series (likely right behind the Dothraki’s fiery charge into the Long Night outside the walls of Winterfell), Daenerys approaches her army as Drogon’s wings unfurl behind her, creating an incredible but eerie illusion.

Jon is approached by Arya, who mysteriously is now horse-less and exclaims that she “knows a killer when she sees one.” We’re left with wondering if it will be Arya who kills the Queen, since she was robbed of her chance to kill the last name on her list, Cersei. Meanwhile, Dany exclaims thanks and admiration for her Unsullied and Dothraki forces in their conquest of the city, and vows to continue liberating all of the world, from Dorne to Winterfell, and all across the Narrow Sea.

As she finishes her exuberant speech, her Hand, Tyrion approaches, and clearly, he is none too happy (as expected) with what his Queen has done. He admits to freeing Jaime, but he also rightfully accuses Dany of slaughtering a city. He tosses the Hand’s pendant to show his disdain and is quickly taken into custody by the Unsullied forces.

Now imprisoned yet again, Tyrion is visited by Jon in his cell, who is still clearly distraught over the events that have transpired in King’s Landings as thousands of innocents have suffered and perished. I felt that this scene, and the one immediately following, might have been one of the first times that I felt that Jon truly loved Dany. In the previous two seasons, their connection always seemed a bit forced on me (clearly due to the rushed pacing of the show, but more on that another time). In speaking with Tyrion, it is clear that Jon is trying to come up with any justification for the atrocities that the woman he loves just committed.

It’s also apparent that Tyrion is still struggling with the aftermath of these events, as he did truly believe in what Dany was trying to accomplish. But he points out the many other incidents (i.e. in Astapor, Meereen, Vaes Dothrak) where Dany has committed violent acts, and perhaps her warped views of what is done for the greater good is more destructive than beneficial. In the end, it does appear that Tyrion has convinced Jon what is needed to be done. Tyrion is able to persuade him by reminding Jon of his Night’s Watch words, that he is the shield that guards the realms of man. Jon remembers Maester Aemon’s wise words from many years ago that “love is the death of duty.”

In what remains of the throne room, Dany discovers the Iron Throne and touches it, and even with all of the horrible acts she has committed, you can sense her pride and happiness in accomplishing her life-long goal. And then Jon arrives. Jon interrupts her as he demands answers for her war crimes and her burning and destruction of the innocent in King’s Landing. He asks her to forgive Tyrion, he wants to hear some sort of forgiveness or reasoning behind what Dany has just done, but she is unable to do so. We finally see what I consider one of the first instances of her “madness” as she mentions that she will be the ultimate arbiter of what is right and good and wrong and bad in the world. Jon wants to believe her and make amends, but with this last proclamation, Jon knows that she (and they as a couple) are past the point of no return. As they embrace, Jon sticks her with the pointy end.

As Jon is filled with emotion as Dany dies in his arms, Drogon flies in to the throne room and we really see the dragon’s personality (aside from fire-breathing powers) for the first time in many seasons, as he desperately tries to wake up his mother. Jon senses the end as Drogon rears up to incinerate him, only to turn his head and melt the Iron Throne, the metaphorical and literal cause of this eternal power struggle of the game of thrones. Drogon gently carries Dany’s body and flies away as the screen turns black.

And in my opinion, here’s where the episode gets straight up fucking loopy. The second half of this episode almost comes off as a parody to me with some abjectly bad dialogue. Aside from the smallest of quibbles in the first half of the episode, I really enjoyed it; the cinematography and the tone were phenomenal. You could feel the dread of some of the characters after Dany’s destruction, as you could with the struggle of Jon as he contemplated, and ultimately succeeded in ending Dany’s life.

But now we head back to the Dragonpit, where it has been several weeks since the killing of the Queen. Tyrion is brought to trial by Grey Worm in front of what is to be considered the new leadership of Westeros: Bran, Arya, Sansa; Davos, Brienne, Samwell; Gendry, a post-puberty Robin Arryn, Yohn Royce; Yara Greyjoy, the new Prince of Dorne, Edmure Tully; a few other lords that will forever be nameless.

And yet, it wasn’t really a trial at all? Because the defendant, Tyrion, somehow completely changes the point of their meeting and persuades the new leadership that they need to determine a new king to rule over them. Sam tries to bring up the idea of democracy only to be mocked and laughed at. Edmure Tully, always the fool, tries to throw his name in to the ring only to be quickly shut down by Lady Sansa. Finally, Tyrion presents the surprise candidate, the one with a great story, Bran the Three-Eyed – err Broken. He suggests to the other lords that future councils of noble leadership will elect future kings, in the hopes that familial rulers based on inheritance will cease to exist. Bran notes “why do you think I came all this way” if it wasn’t to be nominated as the King, which leads me to believe he knew everything that would happen up until this point happened, which is certainly a frightening thought. Surprisingly, every lord goes along with Tyrion’s nomination of Bran with little resistance. Only Sansa announces that the North will not kneel (to a Stark…) and will remain an independent nation. And surprisingly again, it seems that no one has any qualms about the matter. Bran names Tyrion his Hand after he is proclaimed King Bran the Broken.

Coming full circle and despite literally not needing a Night’s Watch, Bran sentences Jon to the Wall as a compromise to Grey Worm and the Unsullied. Switching roles from previously in the episode, Tyrion visits Jon in the cell as they wonder if Jon did the right thing in killing Dany. He will have his whole life to ponder this choice he made. He heads to the docks to say goodbye to his Stark family as we learn Grey Worm and the Unsullied are headed to the Isle of Naath, in a touching tribute to Missandei (good luck with those killer butterflies).

We learn that the Starks are again parting ways, and likely for good. Bran will rule in the capital; Arya is heading out to discover what is west of Westeros; Sansa is heading home to rule as Queen of the North in Winterfell.

After another time jump, we see Brienne of the Kingsguard sifting through the White Book that notes all of the accomplishments of previous Kingsguard members. In a touching tribute, she writes the multitude of Jaime Lannister’s heroic deeds, ending with a note that he “died protecting his Queen.”

In what is easily the worst scene of the entire episode for me, the new Small Council meets and it back to the day to day ruling over the vast Six Kingdoms. Tyrion is joined by the new Master of Coin Bronn (who did not know how a simple loaning of money worked just four seasons ago), new Master of Ships Davos, new Kingsguard Brienne and new Archmaester Sam (who never actually finished his maester studies at the Citadel). The tone of this entire scene is entirely off from the rest of the episode and plays more like a skit, as it begins with Tyrion arranging chairs (in a callback to Season 3) only for them to be rearranged as soon as everyone joins him. Sam presents the not-so-subtle nod of A Song of Ice and Fire book to Tyrion, only for him to realize there is no mention of the imp who has had such an impact on the story of the last several years (including being the Hand to 3 monarchs, being framed as the kingslayer of Joffrey Baratheon and literally killing his own father, the great Tywin Lanniser. Ugh.). King Bran, the Three-Eyed Raven who is omnipotent and all-seeing, asks his Small Council when they will hire a new Master of Whisperers, completely forgetting about his incredible power.  The final conversation of the entire series ends in a back-and-forth about money, brothels and other nonsense.

I enjoyed what can be considered the final scene of the Game of Thrones saga as it shifted from Jon’s arrival at the Wall, to Arya sailing on her new ship, to Sansa back at Winterfell. We see Jon reunite with Tormund and Ghost while Arya looks over her ship, emblazoned the direwolf Stark sigil. Sansa is crowned Queen in the North as she sits on her direwolf throne. The series ends with Jon Snow; the Bastard of Winterfell, the 998^th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, the King in the North, the Resurrected, the Prince That Was Promised; leading his wildling people past the Wall and back in to the true North.

Random Thoughts:

1) I’ve been saying this ad nauseum for weeks now, but the rushed pacing of this season (and retrospectively, season seven) continues to hurt my feeling on the end of this saga. I really am looking that much more forward to the final two books of George RR Martin’s tale as I would expect a lot of the stories to be further fleshed out and explained. This season’s saving grace for me was the acting, the cinematography, Ramin Djawadi’s score, and the special effects.

2) I don’t hate the idea of Bran becoming King, but that scene had so, so many issues with it. Not only that a prisoner was able to convince the lords of Westeros to go along with it, but also that no one, especially Yara and the Iron Islands (or Dorne who has a long history of independence), had any issues with the North remaining independent (or even that Sansa wouldn’t accept rule from the last trueborn son of Eddard Stark, Bran). I’m also surprised that Varys writing letters to the lords of Westeros in the previous episode served literally no purpose as no one suggested Jon to become King, even if he was a prisoner. He was still likely beloved by the Northmen and potentially others (i.e. King’s Landing) since he “ended” the quick, destructing rule of Daenerys.

3) I was waiting for it all season long, but it appears that Arya’s Faceless Man training was all for naught. She did not use it at all this year.

4) I only had a few minor issues with the first half of the episode: Grey Worm and Jon facing off and then Jon walks away to immediately see Grey Worm at the top of the stairs waiting for Dany? Haha. I also am indifferent or maybe even unsupportive of Drogon not roasting Jon and instead melting the Iron Throne. We also got no outcome of Arya’s savior white horse from the prior episode which just shows how pointless it was.

5) We got a Ghost pat! I am fully convinced this was added post-production after all of the criticism a few weeks ago.

6) Prophecies smrophecies. We’ll see if GRRM has the same thoughts, but practically every prophecy turned out to be a dud, none more so than the Prince That Was Promised and Jon’s heritage being a total non-factor, other than a device to drive Dany to the point of her going ballistic on King’s Landing.

7) I really cannot believe it’s over. More thoughts on that in the coming days/weeks.

The post Game of Thrones: Recap of Season 8 Episode 6 – The Iron Throne appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

Last night’s episode opens with Varys writing a letter proclaiming Jon as the rightful heir to the Seven Kingdoms. Ironically, this parallels Ned Stark’s writing to Stannis that he is the rightful ruler way back in Season 1. Both characters would ultimately meet their death, as Varys is later roasted by Drogon at Dany’s command for treason. I still can’t help but feel that his character, one who was so cunning and deceitful but careful to a fault in his machinations, would be so brash to discuss not only treason to Tyrion, but also Jon as he arrives at Dragonstone. We will learn of course that Varys was right in his hypothesis of Dany’s character.

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It was clear from even before the title sequence began that the audience was led to believe that Dany was descending in to madness after the death of her beloved friend and confidante, Missandei, at the hands of Cersei. In the “Previously On” sequence, we hear a montage of voices (including Aerys, Viserys, Missandei, Olenna and others) calling for Dany to awaken her Targaryen roots as she watches Missandei’s beheaded corpse fall from the King’s Landing gates. This descent in to madness continues as we first see her disheveled and brooding as she refuses to eat back at Dragonstone. It reaches what I find to be its critical blow when Jon refuses her plea for romantic love, as Jon vows to fight for his Queen, but not anything more than that, possibly still having not come with the terms of his previous romantic relationship with his aunt.

At the War Council, Tyrion pleads again for a peaceful, merciful attack on King’s Landing; if the bells toll, the city will have surrendered, avoiding mass bloodshed. During this council, Tyrion also learns that his “stupid” brother Jaime has been taken captive by the Northern/Unsullied forces in an attempt to return to Cersei. With this knowledge, Tyrion decides to free him in the hopes that he can convince Cersei to give up the city and flee. The goodbye (and nod to Season 4’s freeing of Tyrion prior to his death sentence) might have been my favorite moment of the episode in terms of emotion. Peter Dinklage and Nikolaj Coster-Waldeu played this perfectly. With the release, I cannot imagine Tyrion is long for this world, given Dany’s current state of mind. However, my one (big) gripe with this scene is the character arc of Jaime continues to be wrecked. He mentions that he has never cared about the commonfolk, despite literally killing the Mad King Aerys so that he would not unleash wildfire and destroy King’s Landing many years prior to the show’s beginning. This and his passion for Cersei is a surprising change and one that I don’t find very believable, as we had seen Jaime give up on his sister to join the Northern fight last season, only to go all the way back to his roots in Season 1.

We are at the precipice of the battle as more and more commonfolk rush in through the gates of King’s Landing and later, the Red Keep, for protection. Arya and the Hound arrive, as does Jaime who attempts to get to Cersei before the fighting begins. The scene shoots towards the water where we see Euron look above as Drogon comes swooping in. A lot of people have criticized the show since last night given the scorpions’ complete lack of success in Episode 5 (compared to Episode 4 when they killed Rhaegal), but I thought that Dany utilized some new maneuvers to combat the abilities of the scorpions (i.e. diving quickly, swooping between low and high, etc.). The effects of Drogon’s carnage is magnificent viewing, very similar to when the three dragons destroyed the slavers’ ships in Meereen several seasons ago.

With the naval fleet of Cersei and Euron aflame, the action heads back outside the city walls as the Northmen, Unsullied and Dothraki (who have continued to spawn to greater numbers) face off against Harry Strickland and the Golden Company. (I still do not understand how these armies this season continue to disregard siege tactics and leave the safety and advantages behind a wall to face their opponent in open battle, but alas.) The Golden Company meets its fiery doom as Dany and Drogon blast through the city’s walls behind them as Dany’s forces rush to attack and enter the city. Dany continues her destruction as he lights up every scorpion as Cersei watches from afar as her only opportunity for victory goes up in smoke.

With the Lannister ground forces surrendering their weapons to Jon, Grey Worm and Davos, it appears that the battle is over, and our heroes have won King’s Landing with minimal bloodshed and violence. As Tyrion predicted, the city’s bells toll as it announces its surrender to Queen Daenerys. The camera cuts to her aboard Drogon, her face and expression almost boiling with a look of paranoia and fury as she takes in the surrounding city. Clearly unsatisfied with such an easy victory and still demanding, perhaps craving fire and blood in her conquest, her and Drogon incinerate the surrounding areas, innocent men, women and children too. With one fell swoop, the “Dany as the Mad Queen” theory is confirmed as the dragon’s flames erupt across the city, killing thousands. Seeing his queen act, Grey Worm and the Unsullied continue their march and fight, all while Jon looks bewildered at this horrifying sight.

Elsewhere, Tyrion is horrified at what lies ahead of him as the dragon’s flames continue to engulf the city. Cersei stands atop the Red Keep watching the carnage as Qyburn and the Mountain stay with her. Below the castle, Jaime tries to enter through a secret tunnel only for Euron to come crawling out of the water to attack him. I personally didn’t really feel much emotion at all during this exchange, as I feel like Euron’s character has been horribly misrepresented since his unveiling in Season 6. So after a much-too-long sword fight and what should have been several mortal stabbings to Jaime, Jaime finally kills Euron as he clambers up the hidden entranceway to find Cersei.

In the castle, Arya and the Hound pass through the Map Room as the surrounding walls and archways crumble around them from Drogon’s destruction. Seeing what surrounds them, Sandor tries to convince Arya to leave, mentioning that Cersei will likely die here and it is not worth her young life. Seemingly convinced as Clegane heads up the steps, Arya thanks Sandor for all of his help, which I thought was a touching tribute by thanking him by his trueborn name.

Meanwhile, Qyburn finally convinces Cersei to leave after all of their defenses have fallen as Dany and Drogon begin to attack the Red Keep. The Queen, her Hand, the Mountain and some Queensguard rush down the steps for safety, only to be met by Sandor. He easily dispatches the Queensguard knights and has his eyes set on revenge with his brother. This is it folks – CleganeBowl hype incoming. As soon as Qyburn instructs his creation to continue to defend his Queen, Gregor crushes Qyburn’s skull against the stone, killing him immediately. Cersei casually walks around the two brothers as they face off for the last time. The brothers immediately fight and viewers finally get their first look at what lies underneath the helm as an undead, disgusting face looks outward.

Out on the streets of King’s Landing, chaos and war continue. The Unsullied continue to attack as Drogon emits enormous flames overhead, destroying anything and everything in his path. We even see the Northmen, Jon’s Northmen, consumed in the violence and destruction, as Jon kills one of his men trying to rape a woman. I think this was a nice motif of the episode, and perhaps even the entire show, as war consumes everyone and anyone in its grasp. As Jon and Davos command his forces to retreat outside the capital’s gates, we see Grey Worm giving Jon the stink eye, which I’m sure will be revisited in the series finale next week. Elsewhere and for much of the rest of the episode, viewers watch Arya and hundreds of other innocent commonfolk struggle with the trauma and bedlam that surround them, as Drgoon continues his onslaught from above.

Back in the Red Keep, Sandor is struggling with his undead brother, as no stab or sword piercing seems to affect the elder, bigger Clegane. As he begins to get his eyes gouged out akin to Oberyn in Tyrion’s trial by combat, Sandor is able to stab Gregor in the eye, causing him to pause and step back. This allows the Mountain to quickly take his chance, tackling his older brother through the crumbling Red Keep’s walls and into the fiery abyss below.

Cersei finally discovers that Jaime has come back for her, despite all of her previous misgivings. I guess we are led to believe that their incestuous love is true, though I still do not believe this change in Jaime’s arc given his past. Jaime, somehow now fresh and healthy enough to walk without pain, guides Cersei to the dungeons only to find that their escape route has been blocked by rubble. We see Cersei, shaking with fear, embrace her brother for the last time as the castle comes crumbling on top of them like an avalanche. It is an abrupt and disappointing end for both characters for me, as I was hoping for a better, more pronounced death for both, particularly Cersei.

As Arya awakes from the last of her several KO’s due to Drgono’s wrath, she looks around to find fires, burnt corpses and ash surrounding her everywhere. The episode ends with her discovering a white horse, covered in blood and ash, as she escapes the rubble of King’s Landing.

Random Thoughts:

1) Big time YIKES to all those real-life parents who actually named their kid Khaleesi or Daenerys. I imagine court houses around the country are getting some phone calls on how to legally change a child’s name this morning.

2) If you recall from my S8E3 recap, I wrote “I keep going back to what an utter disservice the writers did with Jon [as it relates to the Night King’s demise and the White Walkers in that episode].” Well folks, it happened again. It just seems like Jon’s character has been neutered this entire season. The only important things he has really done is the funeral speech at Winterfell and telling Dany over and over that she is his Queen. The man (he is literally the Song of Ice and Fire) needed/needs more screen time, and I can’t help but think we should have seen more of him last night than the numerous Arya montages running dazed through the chaotic streets of King’s Landing.

3) RIPs to many characters (much more so than The Long Night), including Varys, Cersei and Jaime Lannister, Euron Greyjoy, Sandor Clegane, Gregor Clegane, Qyburn, Harry Strickland and the Golden Company, and the commonfolk of King’s Landing

4) Every issue that I have had with this show for two seasons (S7 and S8) is a direct result of show creators DB Weiss and David Benioff choosing to rush the conclusion of this series. I have long been a proponent of Dany becoming the Mad Queen (I had long believed her vision of the Iron Throne in Season 2 was her walking amongst ash, not snow). But the way they have seemingly cut every corner, from dumbing down characters to having insane plot “twists” that aren’t truly believable, continue to disappoint me and millions others who consider much of Game of Thrones’ series arc to be one of the greatest in television history.

5) I want to mention it again but what we saw on-screen last night was visually stunning. I thought the acting, the CGI and the cinematography of the episode was superb. Even Emilia Clarke, despite Dany’s abrupt descent in to madness, played the part tremendously. Another crucial aspect to last night’s episode was the score by Ramin Djawadi. He hit it out of the park with the music again, from the Reynes of Castamere interspersed with Dany’s official song as well as the completely eerie score from the Wildfire Explosion at the Sept of Baelor in Season 6. Well done all around. There are still momentous issues that I have with the script and writing design but I can still enjoy what they decided to put on-screen.

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The story pans to inside Winterfell’s Great Hall where a sort of celebration feast is occurring, though happiness certainly has escaped this lot. It is awkward silence until Queen Daenerys proclaims Gendry as Lord Baratheon of Storm’s End for his heroics and accomplishments during the battle. For Gendry, this is certainly a golden ticket but for Dany, this allows her to show off some shrewd political maneuvering, which will surely put Gendry in her debt for his life. Gendry quickly runs off to find Arya and ask for her hand in marriage, but she politely declines and tells her “that’s not me,” a nice call-back to Season 1 when Ned says she can be a Lady of a large castle and Season 7 when she sees Nymeria’s pack of wolves.

Heading back to the Great Hall, the festivities and mood have picked up as the drinking has increased.  Tormund has his heart broken as Jaime heads off to visit Brienne in her chambers, though luckily it appears he is too drunk to let this news crush him. After many episodes together for over six seasons, we finally see Jaime and Brienne end their sexual tension. It’s the first time sleeping with someone (or in Jaime’s case, sleeping with someone that isn’t his sister).

My favorite scene from this celebration montage though was the conversation between Sandor Clegane and Sansa. Honestly, it was a reunion that I had forgotten about, though the two certainly had a history back in King’s Landing many seasons ago. Both have taken a long journey to be back together, and it certainly would have been wildly different for Sansa if she would have left with The Hound during the Battle of the Blackwater.

I felt that much of the Winterfell plot (during the first half of this episode) circles around the tenseness between Jon and Dany and whether Jon’s secret will be revealed and who will rule Westeros. There is no scene that captures this more than when Tormund and other fighters are rallying around Jon as the savior of the world as Dany looks on. Their struggle comes full on as they argue in their chambers as they discuss what is next for the both of them.

Jon does not want the Throne nor to rule, but he feels a sense of duty to tell Arya and Sansa about his parentage. Dany is clearly anxious (for good reason) that the North and others will rally behind Jon instead of her because he now has a claim (and frankly, it is obviously the better claim than hers). The revelation is still shocking to her, though her entitlement to power outweighs the thought that they could rule together, side by side, as she begs him to tell no one. Having never been a true fan of Dany (I’ve always been more of a Jon stan myself), the writing is clearly on the wall as their relationship starts to fracture and hints of the Mad Queen start developing.

Of course, Jon’s honor that he got from his fath-…uncle, rings true. After the decision to have Jon and Davos lead some Northern forces and the remaining Dothraki on the kingsroad while Dany, Tyrion and the Unsullied head to Dragonstone, Jon meets with Bran, Sansa and Arya in the godswood to tell them about who he really is. Frankly, this was easily the most disappointing part of the episode for me as I would have clearly preferred to see Sansa’s and Arya’s reactions to the news. It was disheartening to see that we did not get their initial reactions (nor Tyrion’s nor Varys’ reactions later on).

As Jon is about to depart Winterfell, we see him giving several goodbyes in what is very possible our last time seeing these characters. Tormund is taking the Free Folk back north of the wall, to home, while Sam and Gilly announce that she’s pregnant and they’d like to name their child after Jon if it is a boy. Jon also asks Tormund to take Ghost north of the Wall, seemingly ending a criminally-underused character. I’m not that big of a dog guy, but come on writers, at least give Jon one more scene petting Ghost and saying goodbye!

As we cut to the Targaryen navy arriving to Dragonstone with Dany, Drogon and Rhaegal flying overheard, I couldn’t help but say out loud last night, “geez, let’s continue to waste the CGI budget on boring flying dragon montages.” Boy, was I wrong! This is where the episode has a tonal shift as the story is put back in to high gear, similarly to much of the Season 7 plot (which isn’t a great thing obviously).

No less than five seconds later, we see the scorpion pierce Rhaegal as its lifeless body freefalls in to the ocean. While the fact that Euron’s fleet can sneakily arrive without notice is a bit suspect, the shock value of Rhaegal being killed out of nowhere is enough to make me forget. Dany’s naval fleet is decimated, and Euron takes Missandei captive and brings her back to the capital. We discover that Cersei shrewdly allows the commonfolk of King’s Landing to enter in to the Red Keep for safety, as it now forces Dany to undoubtedly risk the lives of the innocent if she wishes to take the castle and city by force.

Feeling the range of emotions that come with Missandei being captured and Rhaegal dying, Dany now wants to win the Iron Throne with “whatever the cost.” Worrying about her emotional descent, Varys pleads with her to not put the innocents’ lives in jeopardy, but it appears that Dany will likely and ultimately have to use Fire and Blood to get what she thinks is rightfully hers. Varys urges Tyrion that something must be done with the Queen, especially armed with the new-found knowledge that there is another that could lead the realm; someone just, honorable, level-headed and a man with a solid claim. What he speaks of with Tyrion is of course treason, and the pollical maneuverings will certainly continue in to the penultimate and final episodes of this show.

The final ten minutes are certainly tense as Dany and her forces arrive outside the capital’s walls demanding Cersei’s surrender and the release of Missandei. Tyrion almost pleads with his sister by discussing her motherly attributes and surrendering for the benefit of her child’s future well-being. But instead, she wants to continue the war to decimate Dany and her enemies, and has the Mountain decapitate Missandei – obviously enraging Dany and Grey Worm and making the ensuing battle even more personal.

While there was a clear, jarring tonal shift in this episode, I did enjoy it much more than Episode 3. The episode got back to the roots of what has made Game of Thrones great; shocking twists and character interaction. Let’s hope that that continues as our characters continue to clash as we look forward to what should be another jam-packed episode next Sunday.

Random Thoughts:

1) The Bronn scene really didn’t do it for me. I never expected him to kill Jaime or Tyrion, but the whole scene just felt off and a bit too rushed for my liking.

2) Are we ever going to see Meera Reed and the crannogmen again? At this point, it is unlikely, and I’m still surprised they did not help the Winterfell forces in Episode 3.

3) I guess there’s a new Prince of Dorne who may come to the aid of Dany and Jon? We’ll see what happens here, but I cannot imagine this will be a named character given that there’s just not enough time to introduce someone new.

4) I am looking forward to Arya and the Hound in the capital, as they have surely already arrived given the time jumps that occurred in this episode. I am fully expecting some great action sequences with the two, and hopefully we will finally be getting CleganeBowl as well as a chance for Arya to take down the last name on her list (Cersei).

5) Are we going to talk about Cersei’s pregnancy and how Tyrion knows? I thought we would have gotten a look at Euron, who should realize that Tyrion knew about the pregnancy (obviously from last season) which means that the child isn’t his. It’s something to consider as the madness will be turned up to eleven next week. Does the Crow’s Eye have one more wild card in him?

6) As soon as Jaime learns of what has transpired in the South, he of course headed out. He clearly still has conflicting emotions towards Cersei, and I think the show-runners were trying to convey that Jaime had to head south to be there, whether that means defending his sister or ending her. It is still clearly up for debate and up to the viewer to figure out what hem plans to do next. Brienne is obviously heart-broken but I would assume she quickly follows him south to be part of the action, one way or another.

7) I keep thinking back to Jon and Dany and how they could solve their situation so much better if she wasn’t so insistent of being a single ruler. She clearly loves Jon, so I don’t understand why the notion of a marriage and ruling together, side-by-side, has not been brought up. I think it is becoming increasingly clear that we are led to believe that Dany will go full-Mad Queen, and one of, if not both of Jon and Dany will not survive. As a Jon fan, it was a bit worrisome how he had so many goodbyes when leaving Winterfell.

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You won’t see me complaining about the darkness of the battle; it’s night out, it’s the Long Night (despite it only lasting a few hours), get over it people. I thought Director Miguel Sapochnik (who also was behind Hardhome and the Battle of the Bastards) really made you feel like you were in the battle fighting alongside our heroes and favorite characters with the way the action was shot. To start, we jump into the episode with a fantastic tracking shot that was shot in one clip featuring Sam, Tyrion, Theon, Bran and the Winterfell forces preparing to battle.

As Jorah leads the Dothraki, Unsullied and other forces outside the castle’s fortifications, a lone rider appears and it is Melisandre, who as promised, has come to Winterfell on her final day. She chants a spell that lights every Dothraki’s arakh in flame, which is the beginning of one of my favorite scenes of the episode. The forces charge into the darkness, accompanied by Ghost who we surprisingly do not see for the rest of the episode until the previews for Episode 4. The filming of this scene is fantastic, especially from Jon’s and Dany’s points of view from afar. We were treated to some hope as the Dothraki charged only to have our heroes’ optimism literally extinguished as each arakh slowly getting smothered by the undead army.

And the dead then attack the remaining Winterfell forces. Like a crushing wave, they attack and attack, never tiring, never slowing down. It’s getting ugly for Brienne and Jaime until Dany and Drogon light the place up with some dragonfire. Our first character death occurs out in the battlefield as Dolorous Edd Tollet saves Sam only to be stabbed through the head a moment later.

Elsewhere, Arya tells Sansa to head to the crypts for safety, arming her with a dragonglass blade. I was a bit disappointed later on that we did not see Sansa wielding it in the crypts, but that is the smallest of quibbles. Tyrion tries to convince Sansa that he might be of some use in the battle, but Sansa disagrees and says it’s more heroic to stay in the crypts. They discuss their marriage and Sansa says it won’t work given Jon’s and Dany’s relationship; Missandei defends her Queen, and this political struggle will surely continue in future episodes.

It’s clear that winter has arrived as Jon and Dany are struggling to fly their dragons throughout the battle amidst the fog, snow and storms. The chaos continues on the ground when everyone is forced to retreat back through the trenches and in through the Winterfell gates. Dany can’t see the signal to light up the trench given the weather conditions, but Melisandre’ fire abilities allow her to light it in the nick of time. The engulfed trenches are only a brief reprieve buying them time, as the Night King commands some of his army to lay down on the trenches to act as bridges to the other side.

The undead army continues their attack as they swarm Winterfell’s walls. We see Gendry, Jaime, Brienne, Pod, Jorah all struggle with the masses. Sandor Clegane is clearly struggling with the flames, but he is reinvigorated as Beric points out Arya, running through and whipping some undead ass and the Hound rejoins the fight.

It what is surely a fan favorite scene, an undead Giant rips through the Winterfell courtyard and takes out some Mormont men. Lyanna Mormont, already injured, bravely runs toward the giant in one last hurrah, only to be scooped up, literally crushing her to death. With one last attempt, she stabs it in the eye with dragonglass, as both giant and little girl fall to the ground, dead.

We then go to easily one of the eeriest scenes of the series as Arya is surrounded by the undead in the Winterfell library as she slowly, quietly makes her way around the area. The tension in this scene was palpable and my heart was racing a mile a minute, especially because I am not the world’s biggest fan of jump scares and horror movies, to say the least. She luckily escapes but is followed by a quickly-enclosing horde before she is saved by Beric and the Hound. Beric takes many stabs and collapses as they enter Winterfell’s Great Hall. Melisandre tells Arya that Beric was raised by the Lord of Light for this exact purpose; to keep her safe. As Mel reminds Arya of the prophecy that she will close many eyes for good (including blue ones…and green ones that may refer to Cersei??), Arya runs off for her next victim.

Back in the skies, we see Dany/Drogon and Jon/Rhaegal clawing at the undead Viserion and the Night King. I for one thought Rhaegal was a goner until the E4 previews as Jon lands on the ground, as does the Night King soon after. Daenerys has her one shot of an exposed Night King, unleashing hellfire on him but, as Bran was worried about, dragonfire is useless against him. In a similar reckless endeavor as Jon was in the Battle of the Bastards, he rushes to the Night King on foot. One small problem: he’s already raising the dead. Unsullied, Dothraki, Northern soldiers; Lyanna, Dolorus Edd, all blink open with icy blue eyes as Jon is only a few feet from closing in.

The new wights are attacking everywhere. Jon outside, in the godswood as the Ironborn protect Bran, and even in the crypts where the women and children have just entered in to a horror situation as undead Starks escape their graves. We never got a famous undead character (I could have sworn we’d see Ned, Catelyn or Rickon attacking when Tyrion and Sansa are hiding behind one of the crypts), but alas.

The tension and stress continued to mount for me as the desperate fighting continued. Dany is now on foot with Drogon being weighed down by wights. She is on the brink of death only for Jorah to save her. Without his mount, Viserion unleashes blue flame throughout the Winterfell courtyard, where Jon is trapped and unable to get to the godswood to protect Bran.

As the Night King and his fellow White Walkers enter the godswood, we see a montage of the rest of our beloved characters struggling for their life. Jorah is taking heavy heat defending Dany, Jon is struggling with the blue-eyed dragon, and the rest are trapped with no where to turn. Theon makes one last rush at the Night King who quickly dispatches him with a strike through the heart. The Night King approaches Bran, very similar to how he entered the Cave and ended the previous Three-Eyed Raven’s life. As viewers hearts continue to race through this scene as the music mounts, we see Arya leaping in to stab the Night King from behind. He turns to catch her at the neck and I thought she was dead right then and there. But she drops her Valyrian steel dagger (the same one that Bran gifted to her under the very same godswood tree last season) into her other hand and plunges it in to the Night King, shattering him to bits. Every White Walker follows suit and every wight across the landscape drops to the ground.

Survivors throughout the castle are shocked at the result. The inevitable claws of defeat mere moments ago is undone as quickly as the dead came for them. Outside, Jorah falls to the ground as Dany cries out for the man that protected her for so many years. As dawn arrives, we see Melisandre leave the castle and walk out amongst the mountains of dead men. She unclasps her magic broach and dies as the sun comes up and shines on Winterfell.

Some random thoughts:

1) What was Bran doing when he warged away from Theon for what ended up being most of the battle? I was hoping to learn something from that, and I hope that the show will touch on that later on. I imagine that it is confirmed he can see in to the future, which should be confirmed by him giving the Valyrian steel dragonblade to Arya, which proves to be the weapon to kill the Night King.

2) We’re obviously going to see Ghost see he was in the E4 preview, but that was surely a personal disappointment of mine to only see him for a few minutes.

3) It was great to see Theon’s character arc come full circle. As Bran put it, Theon is a good man, and he was able to die heroically at his true home, defending his true family.

4) The music that Ramin Djawadi produces for Game of Thrones continues to be fantastic. His scores throughout the episode were the perfect addition to the stress induced by the acting on screen.

5) I keep going back to what an utter disservice the writers did with Jon. Jon’s entire character arc and storyline has been about the White Walkers. Ever since the first season when he saved Jeor Mormont’s life. Even before his Targaryen lineage (and thus, the Azor Ahai and TPTWP prophecies) was outlined to us and eventually him, he had one sole enemy: death. He was even resurrected from it for a reason, one that I would imagine was to end the White Walkers. Sure, he served a purpose in bringing together an incredible army made up of northmen, wildlings, Knights of the Value, Unsullied, Dothraki and dragons, but his role last night was severely, criminally even, lacking. I don’t even really hate the idea of Arya killing the Night King given her experience confronting death and killing people. That also makes sense to me. But, coupled with the fact that this is Jon’s entire story-arc, it just confuses me that this was their story choice and how they wanted to wrap up the White Walker storyline. I would have much preferred a scene where Jon is able to get in to the godswood to fight with Theon to protact their brother, only for Jon to fall and Arya to swoop in (as she did) saving both her brothers and ultimately the entire world.

6) The other thing I still struggle with is that this is supposed to be the Great War between life and death. Now, there are always certainly arguments between “what makes Game of Thrones the show it is: the impending doom of the White Walkers or the political struggle for the Iron Throne”? While the Iron Throne is certainly important, the White Walkers are literally viewers’ first introduction to this show in S1E1. In the grand scheme of things, the conclusion to the Great War, the Long Night, etc. etc. was in a way, just finalized in one singular episode. I’m not sure how I feel about that just yet.

All in all, it was a monumental episode that we saw last night. I have several issues with the story and the writing, but in terms of watching the episode and seeing what was on screen (which includes the acting, direction, cinematography and music), I would consider it a success. I do anticipate liking it more on my second (and third and fourth) rewatch(es); it was just that I didn’t full line up with the story that David Benioff and DB Weiss were trying to tell. We are still talking about what is likely the greatest epic in television history; a show that is easily in one of my top five hobbies (hell, I’m writing 2+ single-spaced pages worth of recaps/thoughts weekly for a Baltimore-based sports website for goodness sakes). But I think it is still OK to immensely enjoy an episode while also be able to critique it as well.

From here, we shockingly only have three more episodes in this epic saga. Now that the Great War has been won, we will surely see our characters turn south to face Cersei and her armies. There are still so many questions and unresolved conflict that needs to be settled, and the countdown is on for next Sunday at 9 PM.

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The title of the episode (“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”) clearly is a nod to Brienne being knighted (more on that later) but I would argue that much of the episode’s focus (particularly the first third or so) alludes to the redemption of Jaime Lannister.

Right after the title sequence rolls, we immediately enter in to Winterfell’s Great Hall where Jaime Lannister is facing trial, most notably for his killing of Aerys Targaryen, Dany’s father, but also for Cersei’s lies about bringing the Lannister forces north to combat the dead. The Mother of Dragons also mentions her continuing levels of distrust in her Hand (Tyrion) as he vouches for his brother. The matter on Jaime is settled when Brienne comes to his defense, which convinces Sansa enough to let him fight for the living.

A bit later, Bran awaits Jaime in the godswood, where Jaime attempts to apologize to Bran. Jaime is still shocked that Bran did not mention that it was he who crippled the boy many years ago, but Bran points out that they need his help in the fight against the White Walkers. In what has everyone discussing the foreshadowing of Jaime, Bran mentions to him “How do you know there’s an afterwards?” which is certainly a bit unnerving for Jaime.

Jaime later comes upon Brienne who is watching men practice sword-fighting (including Pod who has clearly improved) and he asks if he can fight under Brienne’s command in the war to come. This is particularly notable for the two characters: for Brienne, she has always wanted to be a follower and someone who is bound by honor to perform the duties set out to her by her lord or commander. With her command of a defense unit, she is now a leader of men and giving orders instead of taking them. On the flip side, all his life Jaime has been the golden child and the commander of armies. With his injury, he has become humbled and wants to fight behind and for the woman that he (likely) loves.

After Jorah convinces Dany to forgive Tyrion and continue to trust his advice and counsel, the Queen meets with Sansa to discuss their early discord. They seem to be coming to an agreement of sorts, only for Sansa to remind Dany that it is the North’s intention to remain independent following the Great War. Due to Theon’s abrupt arrival to announce his intentions to defend the Starks and Winterfell, the two women’s conflict is left unfinished for now.

Prior to the arrival of Tormund, Beric and Dolorous Edd Tollett, we see Davos and Gilly feeding the common-folk and telling the young and old to seek safe haven in the crypts when the fighting begins. This feels like at least the fifth time where characters have been describing the crypts as safe, which obviously leads me to believe that this is massive foreshadowing to some very horrible things that will occur down there next episode. It’s Game of Thrones after all; perceived safety and happiness seemingly always ends up being the exact opposite. I mean, let’s remember: every previous Stark Kings remains are buried in the crypts of Winterfell; as are (at least) presumably the bones and/or remains of Ned, Catelyn, Brandon, Lyanna and Rickon. I’m expecting some serious callbacks and horror to persist in the crypts once the Night King raises them.

The next scene involves the War Council. Bran reveals that the Night King will be coming for him as the Three-Eyed Raven (as he has with “many” previous Three-Eyed Ravens – which is certainly interesting given The Long Night prequel spin-off series coming soon to HBO). I appreciated that Bran explained the Night King’s motive to essentially destroy life and his goal is to create a dark, lifeless, end-of-existence world. While I’d prefer to have a more gray reasoning/motive (which I still believe GRRM will ultimately arrive to in the books), I am satisfied with this explanation of the motive, at the very least. Bran does not know if dragonfire will kill the Night King (which I’m guessing is a “no” given that it was mentioned) but between that and Valyrian Steel and dragonglass, that’s all they have for now. After some debate, Bran’s plan to use himself as bait for the Night King in the godswood is accepted by the group; Theon and the Ironborn will protect him (as I’m sure Jon, Dany and the dragons will as well). the group disbands throughout the castle.

A quick scene that I feel has not gotten much discussion online at all is that Tyrion stays behind to chat with Bran. Always the knowledge-seeker, Tyrion attempts to connect with the Three-Eyed Raven and perhaps requests Bran’s predictions of the future of himself, the war, Winterfell, the Seven Kingdoms, and ultimately life? The fact that this remains a cliffhanger leads me to believe that it will be important down the road.

Additional great character-building scenes follow, starting with Missandei and Grey Worm who agree to return to her home island of Naath after the wars. The three Night’s Watch men (Jon, Edd, Sam) reminisce on the castle walls of Winterfell and we even get a Ghost sighting for the first time in seasons! I truly hope the show didn’t blow all of its CGI load on the dragons; I’d love to see some heroic actions by the direwolf (if they want to be real fan-servicey they can add Nymeria and her pack of wolves to the fight next episode and I’d truly love it). We also find Arya, the Hound and Beric quickly catching up before Arya leaves because she doesn’t want to spend her last night with those two.

In what is surely the most fan-servicey part of the episode, Gendry gives Arya her custom-made weapon and reveals his Baratheon heritage to Arya. Wanting to enjoy what could be her last night, she comes on to Gendry and what started as mild flirtation in Season 2 resulted in a cementing of the Gendrya romance that ‘shippers have been asking for for years. I thought it was a bit out of character for Arya, but when you might be dying in mere hours, perhaps she just wanted to go out with a bang.

One of the pivotal scenes of the episode comes in the fireside chat with Jaime, Tyrion, Pod, Brienne, Davos and Tormund. Tormund provides his patented comic relief as he explains his romance with a giant in an attempt to impress Brienne. The group contemplates their past as they each had (at one point or another) fought against the Starks and now find themselves defending their very castle. They discuss knighthood, and Jaime declares Brienne a knight of the Seven Kingdoms. You can truly see the look of joy and honor on Brienne’s face as she finally achieves what she has always wanted throughout her youth and adulthood.

Prior to Sam gifting his family’s Valyrian sword, Heartsbane, to Jorah, we saw a touching reunion between Uncle Jorah and Lyanna Mormont. Despite not really knowing her, I was excited to see this “reunion” as Jorah offers her advice and protection, only for Lyanna to show her true, strong spirit in wanting to fight the White Walkers.

Later, the multi-talented Podrick Payne sings a melody from the books, Jenny of Oldstones. For reference from the books, Jenny of Oldstones was the wife of Duncan Targaryen. Against his father’s wishes, Prince Duncan loved Jenny, a commoner, and abdicated his right to the throne to remain with her. A tie-in to the current show’s plot, she brought a woods witch/prophesier (likely a Children of the Forest) to the royal court who ultimately prophesied that the Prince that was Promised would be born from the line of Prince Aerys and Princess Rhaella. This ties in perfectly in to the scene where Jon tells Dany the truth: he is the trueborn son of Rhaegar (her brother) and Lyanna. Is it foreshadowing that Jon may abdicate his right to the Iron Throne (if of course they defeat the White Walkers)? Only time will tell but it’s certainly an interesting nod to the source material. Dany almost refuses to believe what she has just been told, given Jon’s best friend and brother have claimed this, and because it would mean her right and desire to be on the Iron Throne would be quashed. As it appears Jon is about to reason with her, we hear three horns.

The countdown officially begins for what is easily the most anticipated episode in Game of Thrones history. Episode 2 was a great tease as it continued to build tension and momentum for the pivotal battle against the White Walkers. I’m fully expecting to be on the edge of my seat for all 82 minutes of next Sunday’s episode as every character will be facing life-or-death in every scene.

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As soon as the music began, we were treated to a fantastic new opening title sequence that featured new graphics and imagery. With the scope of the plot and the locations of the story continuing to decrease, we were treated with additional detail at Winterfell and King’s Landing, as well as a quick look at Last Hearth, which ominously showed the White Walkers’ path through it. In Winterfell, their was emphasis placed on the crypts below the surface, while in King’s Landing, we saw Qyburn’s scorpion and a decidedly-Lannister throne room.

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Like many other Game of Thrones’ season premieres, the Winterfell episode featured many call-backs and reunions, none of which were more pronounced than Jon and Dany parading through Winter’s Town en route to Winterfell. The young boy eagerly finding a place to watch the spectacle called back to Arya and Bran doing the same as King Robert and his band traveled to visit the Starks in the series opener. The northern common-folk are seen with concerned faces as they face Daenerys, who will continue to face struggles and backlash throughout the episode as she is in new territory.

Jon is able to reunite with two of his family members, first Bran (rather, unemotionally to say the least) and Arya, which we’ll get to in a bit. As the leaders of the north meet in Winterfell’s Great Hall to discuss next steps in preparation for the Night King’s army, Jon commissions young Ned Umber to return to Last Hearth to gather his remaining people and bring them south. As we find out later, that plan goes terribly wrong. Lyanna Mormont calls out the issue with Jon bending the knee, which continues to be a focal point throughout the episode. You can sense Jon’s frustration throughout as he truly does not care about kings or lords or kneeling; he only wants what is best for the North and that is defeating the undead army and ultimately, survival.

The Dany-Sansa confrontation actually feels believable, contrast to what we saw from Sansa and Arya last season where it just seemed forced. Sansa clearly does not trust an outsider, because frankly, she hasn’t had great luck with any strangers in the past. It will be interesting to see if this contention between the two continues through the final five episodes, or if they are able to set aside their differences for the common cause.

There were many reunions during this episode: Sansa-Tyrion, Jon-Arya, Arya-Gendry, Arya-Sandor, just to name a few. I think everyone’s favorite would be Jon seeing Arya at the godswood again, in what has truly been a wild path that each took to return to Winterfell. I believe that Arya reminding Jon about family will continue to be a focal point later in the season.

Turning South, we head to King’s Landing where Cersei meets Euron and Harry Strickland, leader of the Golden Company, a sellsword group from Essos that Cersei has commissioned to join her army. To the dismay of book readers, it’s clear that the Golden Company’s famous use of elephants just didn’t fit into this season’s CGI budget.

I thought that much of the King’s Landing plot was a bit lacking, compared to its Northern scenes’ counterpart. I think that is mainly due to much of the action involving Winterfell and not many people caring about Euron Greyjoy just yet, though he does finally get his wish to sleep with Cersei. The rescue of Yara by Theon seemed absolutely rushed, though we continue to see Theon’s redemption arc continue, as I’d expect he will join the fight in Winterfell at some point in Episode 2. In King’s Landing, we also see Qyburn pass along Cersei’s message to Bronn asking him to kill both Lannister brothers for a king’s ransom of gold. Does Bronn the sellsword “uphold” his sellsword duties or do his loyalties and friendships to Jaime and Tyrion ultimately prevail?

Turning back North, we find Davos, Tyrion and Varys discuss the future, particularly a marriage pact for Jon and Dany. I question why this wasn’t even brought up to the two yet, especially since there is a clear love interest that Tyrion (and perhaps others) already know about. A marriage would undoubtedly be a culmination of an alliance that the Northerners could get behind. As the three discuss, Jon and Dany embark on a flight on Drogon and Rhaegal. I was personally disappointed in this scene, as I thought Jon riding a dragon for the first time should have been more eye-opening, rather than what seemed to be a playful, flirty romance scene with Dany. I did enjoy the call-back to Ygritte asking Jon to stay in a cave for a thousand years, similar to what Dany said at the waterfall. Though still, I thought that him flying a dragon should have been more impressive to the Mother of Dragons.

In what was surely a fan-favorite scene, Arya reunites with the Hound who shows pride and approval in how his little sidekick grew up and survived. I also sense that we might be getting the re-kindling of a romance relationship between Gendry and Arya, which should continue to be interesting if the show does anything with his royal Baratheon roots.

In what was clearly the most cringe-worthy part of the episode, Daenerys thanks Samwell Tarly for him healing Jorah Mormont of greyscale, only to realize and tell Sam that she roasted not only his father but also his brother, Dickon (insert Bronn laugh). I thought John Braldey (Sam) stole the first episode as he reacted his Dany’s news masterfully. Despite his father never loving him, Sam still felt a deep loss from his, and Dickon’s deaths, at the hands of Daenerys. I think discovering this truth caused him to rush out to Bran in order to tell Jon as soon as possible about his true parentage. He finds Jon in the crypts, and surprises him with the news that Ned is not his true father, rather that he is the true heir to the Seven Kingdoms and the trueborn son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. It’s clear that even at the end of this scene, Jon hasn’t discovered the magnitude of the revelation (that he should sit the Iron Throne, that he is in a romantic relationship with his aunt, and more).

The next scene goes north as we join Tormund and Beric at Last Hearth, the most northern castle closest to the Wall. As soon as they enter the castle, it is clear that the White Walkers and their wight army has already been here. They surprisingly meet up with Edd Tollett and some Night’s Watch men on their way south from Castle Black, but in the hall they discover a horrible sight, as Ned Umber’s dead, impaled body is hung up on the wall, centered around the familiar WW circular swirling pattern. He creepily reanimates and attempts to stab Tormund, only to be burned by Beric as his piercing, child’s scream echoes in the empty halls.  The dead are marching south, and quickly.

The last scene of the episode features a hooded figure enter Winterfell, who can only be Jaime as he will bring some bad news from down south that Cersei lied and the Lannister army will not be marching north. And who is waiting for him but an “old friend” as Bran meets the man who crippled him so many years ago.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the episode and thought it was a nice start to the final season. A bit clunky here and there, but, like many Game of Thrones episode, it was a solid set-up to what will undoubtedly be many action-packed episodes moving forward.

What I’m excited to see in next week’s episode:

– How does Jon continue to react to Sam’s news of him being the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna? It wouldn’t surprise me if he keeps it to himself until the fighting is over. Or, perhaps he uses it as a catalyst to a marriage proposal to unite the Northern and Targaryen forces?

– Do Lyanna and Jorah Mormont share a scene as uncle and niece? How does she react to his return?

– Will we finally see a return of Ghost, Jon’s direwolf? It’s been several seasons since he’s gotten some screen-time and he is long overdue to make an appearance.

– How will Theon’s return to Winterfell develop? He has yet to see Bran, err the Three-Eyed Raven, since the taking of Winterfell in Season 2.

– What is Tyrion’s role moving forward? For the last season and a half, he has made countless errors in strategy and judgment (trying to take Westeros by peace through Casterly Rock and losing the Tyrell/Martell forces/navy, as well as inexplicably believing Cersei – if he truly did or if something else was in play). What is his next play? As we saw, Sansa clearly thinks she is the smart of the two now.

– Jaime arrives at Winterfell and he really only has one or two “friends” in the North, Tyrion and Brienne. Sansa hates him, he killed Dany’s father, everyone knows him as the Kingslayer. I suspect Bran (despite the fall from the tower) will actually come to Jaime’s defense but we shall see.

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The two-minute trailer starts with a close-up of Arya Stark, who appears dirty and almost scared and frantic as she runs through what appears to be a dark hallway, perhaps the crypts of Winterfell or another part of the castle? What is she running from? Perhaps White Walkers, the undead army, or (even worse and my personal suspicion) a horde of undead Starks risen by the Night King? Only time will tell.

Much of the trailer’s scenes appear to take place before the clash at Winterfell between the living (which currently features pretty much the entire cast, minus Cersei, Euron Greyjoy and their men) and the dead. Prior to the cut-away, we see Davos atop the castle’s walls while Varys and some other characters appear to be hiding in the crypts.

In the North, we see a boy overlook the Unsullied Army as they march through Wintertown as they head towards the Winterfell castle. On horseback, Jon and Dany ride side-by-side with the army as it approaches Sansa, who seems amazed at the sight of Drogon and Rhaegal. We get a glimpse of Jon and Dany in the crypts, which unsurprisingly should be a focal point of several episodes at the beginning of the season, as Jon will likely learn his true lineage and the fate of his mother. Arya has a dragonglass knife (or spear). We see glimpses throughout of Gendry, Jorah, and Grey Worm as they prepare for battle.

One of the more emotional parts of the trailer comes when we hear the voice of Jaime say “I promised to fight for the living.” By turning his back on Cersei and heading north in the season 7 finale, Jaime is trying to break the “oathbreaker / kingslayer” title he had obtained in his past. I expect this will be early on in the season as he pledges his life to the realm to fight for and with Jon and Dany.

I am not sure if it was intentional, but I found the trailer had a theme of “two” throughout as it related to Jon and Dany. We see various clips of the two dragons flying together. We even see the dragons amongst a plethora of charred bones as Jon and Dany walk towards them. This is particularly interesting to me given that they appear to be Beyond the Wall and it appears that it is a start of a sequence for Jon to learn how to fly a dragon. It is abundantly clear that Jon and Dany, along with their Targaryen lineage, should be a focal point in the show’s final season.

There are some scenes that are not from our Northern heroes. It appears that the Golden Company is being carried from Essos aboard Euron Greyjoy’s Iron Fleet to the Westeros action. Cersei is seen drinking wine in the Throne Room, which causes me to question the validity (or end?) of her pregnancy. I am intrigued with how the war against the dead will clash with the war for the Iron Throne throughout the final season. Will they be fought simultaneously? Or one after another? Given what we learned in Season 7 and the nature of the geography of Westeros, I would expect the large battle of Winterfell to occur, with the fight for the throne thereafter. But with Game of Thrones, you never really know until it’s shown on-screen (and even then, questions abound… still hoping for those Syrio Forel, Blackfish Tully and Stannis returns!).

The trailer concludes with the clip of Brienne, Poderick Payne, Jorah, the Unsullied and numerous other soldiers (from the North, the Eyrie and elsewhere in Westeros) awaiting the Night King’s army outside of the Winterfall walls as the undead horse’s hooves land on the icy tundra in the North. Many questions remain unanswered and more questions arose through the run of this trailer. The anticipation and desire for the final Game of Thrones’ season premiere continues to grow as we head into the final stretch of waiting for April 14!

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Best Picture:

“Black Panther”
“BlacKkKlansman”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“The Favourite”
“Green Book”
“Roma”
“A Star Is Born”
“Vice”

Should Win: ‘Roma’

Will Win: ‘Roma’

Best Actor:

Christian Bale, “Vice”
Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”
Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate”
Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”

Should Win: Bradley Cooper, ‘A Star Is Born’

Will Win: Rami Malek, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

Best Actress:

Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma”
Glenn Close, “The Wife”
Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”
Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”
Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

Should Win: Yalitza Aparicio, ‘Roma’

Will Win: Glenn Close, ‘The Wife’

Best Supporting Actor:

Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”
Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”
Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”
Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Sam Rockwell, “Vice”

Should Win: Adam Driver, ‘BlackkKlansman’

Will Win: Mahershala Ali, ‘Green Book’

Best Supporting Actress:

Amy Adams, “Vice”
Marina de Tavira, “Roma”
Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”
Emma Stone, “The Favourite”
Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”

Should Win: Regina King, ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’

Will Win: Regina King, ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’

Best Director:

Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman”
Pawel Pawlikowski, “Cold War”
Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite”
Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma”
Adam McKay, “Vice”

Should Win: Alfonso Cuaron, ‘Roma’

Will Win: Alfonso Cuaron, ‘Roma’

Best Adapted Screenplay:

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Joel Coen , Ethan Coen
“BlacKkKlansman,” Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee
“Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
“If Beale Street Could Talk,” Barry Jenkins
“A Star Is Born,” Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters

Should Win: ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’

Will Win: ‘BlacKkKlansman’

Best Original Screenplay:

“The Favourite,” Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara
“First Reformed,” Paul Schrader
“Green Book,” Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly
“Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón
“Vice,” Adam McKay

Should Win: ‘The Favourite’

Will Win: ‘The Favourite’

Best Cinematography:

“Cold War,” Lukasz Zal
“The Favourite,” Robbie Ryan
“Never Look Away,” Caleb Deschanel
“Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón
“A Star Is Born,” Matthew Libatique

Should Win: ‘Roma’

Will Win: ‘Roma’

Best Documentary Feature:

“Free Solo,” Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
“Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” RaMell Ross
“Minding the Gap,” Bing Liu
“Of Fathers and Sons,” Talal Derki
“RBG,” Betsy West, Julie Cohen

Should Win: ‘Minding the Gap’

Will Win: ‘Free Solo’

Best Animated Feature:

“Incredibles 2,” Brad Bird
“Isle of Dogs,” Wes Anderson
“Mirai,” Mamoru Hosoda
“Ralph Breaks the Internet,” Rich Moore, Phil Johnston
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman

Should Win: ‘Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse’

Will Win: ‘Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse’

Best Foreign Language Film:

“Capernaum” (Lebanon)
“Cold War” (Poland)
“Never Look Away” (Germany)
“Roma” (Mexico)
“Shoplifters” (Japan)

Should Win: ‘Roma’

Will Win: ‘Roma’

Best Film Editing:

“BlacKkKlansman,” Barry Alexander Brown
“Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Ottman
“Green Book,” Patrick J. Don Vito
“The Favourite,” Yorgos Mavropsaridis
“Vice,” Hank Corwin

Should Win: ‘BlackkKlansman’

Will Win: ‘Vice’

Best Original Score:

“BlacKkKlansman,” Terence Blanchard
“Black Panther,” Ludwig Goransson
“If Beale Street Could Talk,” Nicholas Britell
“Isle of Dogs,” Alexandre Desplat
“Mary Poppins Returns,” Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman

Should Win: ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’

Will Win: ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’

Best Original Song:

“All The Stars” from “Black Panther” by Kendrick Lamar, SZA
“I’ll Fight” from “RBG” by Diane Warren, Jennifer Hudson
“The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns” by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman
“Shallow” from “A Star Is Born” by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt and Benjamin Rice
“When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch

Should Win: “Shallow”, ‘A Star Is Born’

Will Win: “Shallow”, ‘A Star Is Born’

Best Production Design:

“Black Panther,” Hannah Beachler
“First Man,” Nathan Crowley, Kathy Lucas
“The Favourite,” Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton
“Mary Poppins Returns,” John Myhre, Gordon Sim
“Roma,” Eugenio Caballero, Bárbara Enrı́quez

Should Win: ‘The Favourite’

Will Win: ‘Black Panther’

Best Makeup and Hair:

“Border”
“Mary Queen of Scots”
“Vice”

Should Win: ‘Vice’

Will Win: ‘Vice’

Best Costume Design:

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Mary Zophres
“Black Panther,” Ruth E. Carter
“The Favourite,” Sandy Powell
“Mary Poppins Returns,” Sandy Powell
“Mary Queen of Scots,” Alexandra Byrne

Should Win: ‘The Favourite’

Will Win: ‘Black Panther’

Best Visual Effects:

“Avengers: Infinity War”
“Christopher Robin”
“First Man”
“Ready Player One”
“Solo: A Star Wars Story”

Should Win: ‘Ready Player One’

Will Win: ‘Avengers: Infinity War’

Best Sound Editing:

“Black Panther,” Benjamin A. Burtt, Steve Boeddeker
“Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Warhurst
“First Man,” Ai-Ling Lee, Mildred Iatrou Morgan
“A Quiet Place,” Ethan Van der Ryn, Erik Aadahl
“Roma,” Sergio Diaz, Skip Lievsay

Should Win: ‘First Man’

Will Win: ‘A Quiet Place’

Best Sound Mixing:

“Black Panther”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“First Man”
“Roma”
“A Star Is Born”

Should Win: ‘First Man’

Will Win: ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

Best Animated Short:

“Animal Behaviour,” Alison Snowden, David Fine
“Bao,” Domee Shi
“Late Afternoon,” Louise Bagnall
“One Small Step,” Andrew Chesworth, Bobby Pontillas
“Weekends,” Trevor Jimenez

Should Win: ‘Bao’

Will Win: ‘Bao’

Best Documentary Short Subject:

“Black Sheep,” Ed Perkins
“End Game,” Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
“Lifeboat,” Skye Fitzgerald
“A Night at the Garden,” Marshall Curry
“Period. End of Sentence.,” Rayka Zehtabchi

Should Win: Shrug

Will Win: ‘Black Sheep’

Best Live Action Short Film:

“Detainment,” Vincent Lambe
“Fauve,” Jeremy Comte
“Marguerite,” Marianne Farley
“Mother,” Rodrigo Sorogoyen
“Skin,” Guy Nattiv

Should Win: Shrug

Will Win: ‘Marguerite’

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A Star Is Born – 8 Nominations

I’ve never seen any of the first three versions of this classic Hollywood story but I was surprised how much I liked this one. Bradley Cooper made a very successful directorial debut with Lady Gaga giving a breakout acting performance. Cooper was nominated for Best Actor but didn’t get the directing nod. The movie is very well shot, all of the performances are great (including Sam Elliot in a supporting role), and most importantly the music works. Everyone has heard ‘Shallow’ all over the radio and its going to win Best Original Song but there are quite a few other songs that are really well done as well. That includes a few sung by Cooper. The first half of the film is stronger than the back half but in the end the dramatic stakes worked for me even if there were some silly moments mixed in. Gaga has a chance to win for Best Actress but she isn’t the favorite (or The Favourite). I thought for a while this had a real chance to win Best Picture since it was well reviewed and did so well at the box office this fall but surprisingly I think it might have the lowest odds in the field. I’ll give it a 2% chance.

Ranking: 2^nd out of 8

BlackkKlansman – 6 Nominations

Spike Lee finally broke through and got his first ever Best Director and Best Picture nominations which is kind of hard to believe. Another dark comedy (‘Roma’ is the only movie nominated for Best Picture that could be described as a pure drama) and another look to the past regarding race relations. Only ‘BlackkKlansman’ puts ‘Green Book’ to shame when it comes to making a statement. Lee is able to make light of the true story about a black police officer who finds a way to infiltrate the KKK but not without injecting some startling reality checks about where we still are as a nation. I’m shocked that the Academy passed up an opportunity to reward Denzel Washington’s son with a much deserved nomination but instead of John David Washington getting in for lead actor, Adam Driver was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. He is great as well as the white officer who stands in as the avatar of Ron Stallworth. As a jewish person he has his own things he needs to hide from the awful people hes interacting with. The score is good and there are some real edge of your seat moments as the film nears its climax. I think its tied with ‘Black Panther’ as the third most likely movie to win Best Picture at 15%.

Ranking: 5^th out of 8

Black Panther – 7 Nominations

Not only did ‘Black Panther’ shatter expectations financially after its release almost exactly a year ago, making over $1.3 billion worldwide, but it also became the first ever superhero movie to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. And it has an outside shot at winning (15% in my eyes). Its not my favorite superhero movie or even my favorite movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but its still really, really good and deserves its nomination. As a fan of the genre and because of a lackluster group of Best Picture nominees, if ‘Roma’ doesn’t win I would be happy if this did. Ryan Coogler is a great director and he made the most of the opportunity to adapt this origin story. It has a tremendous score/soundtrack, great costumes, and production design. The special effects actually could’ve used some work in spots but its not much of a deterrent. Michael B. Jordan was a bit of a snub in Supporting Actor, I thought he was the best part of the movie. The Academy wanted to create a new ‘Popular’ Oscar to award exactly this type of movie so maybe they’ll just give it the real deal.

Ranking: 3^rd out of 8

Bohemian Rhapsody – 5 Nominations

This is easily my least favorite of the Best Picture nominees and I’m really confused as to how it got nominated. I can kind of understand why it did so well at the box office and has its fans, sure, but to be mentioned in the same breath as some of these other films (Green Book and Vice withstanding) as one of the year’s best is crazy. Queen made good music and they utilize that well here especially with the Live Aid performance for the climax. Rami Malek does a great job in the lead role and I can see the argument for him being nominated – but not winning, which he probably will. The problem with ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is that it falls into every musical biopic trope that ‘Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story’ roasted 12 years ago. Everything moves in fast forward like a feature length trailer. The movie takes no time to let a scene develop. Its always in a rush to get to the next plot point that is smoothed over since the film is produced by members of the band. It should do well on cable and/or streaming over the years but I only give it a 5% to get the big win.

Ranking: 8^th out of 8

The Favourite – 10 Nominations

Yorgos Lanthimos has become one of my favorite directors over the last few years. He first caught my eye with 2009’s ‘Dogtooth’ but has really come into his own since moving to English language features such as ‘The Lobster’, ‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer’, and now ‘The Favourite’. This time he finally received a Best Director nomination for his efforts. Its not my favorite movie of his but its still very much deserved for his most mainstream film to date. Its a dark comedy about a queen who has been unable to birth an heir and the battle between two ladies in her court to be her… favourite. All three of the actresses are at the top of their game. Olivia Coleman is nominated for Best Actress as the queen, even though realistically all three of them are supporting roles and if one of them was a lead it would be Emma Stone or Rachel Weisz who are both nominated for Supporting Actress. The cinematography is a little crazy with fish eye lenses but it works, the script is air tight, the costumes and production design are on point. It tied for the lead in overall nominations but to me it still only has a 10% chance to win Best Picture.

Ranking: 4^th out of 8

Green Book – 5 Nominations

There has been a lot of controversy with this one all throughout awards season yet it has continued to rack up wins from many different awards bodies along the way. Looking purely at the merits of the film, I don’t get it. The movie is fine. Its a candy coated version of a story about curing racism. ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ did this 30 years ago. Viggo Mortenson is nominated for Best Actor for playing a cartoon character, a New York stereotype who literally yells out “I’m working here!” at one point. Mahershala Ali is legitimately good in a supporting role and is in line to accept his second Oscar. Hes on fire right now between this, True Detective season three, and ‘Alita: Battle Angel’. The motives behind the script might be in serious doubt but the movie itself is harmless. Empty calories. But in one of the closest Best Picture races I can remember it is somehow the second most likely winner. I give it a 20% chance.

Ranking: 6^th out of 8

Roma – 10 Nominations

Netflix dipped their toes into the Oscar pool last year with nominations in Adapted Screenplay and Supporting Actress for ‘Mudbound’ but it wasn’t long before they dove in head first. All it took was a visionary director to create a near masterpiece for them. ‘Roma’ is my favorite movie that was released in 2018 and is most likely going to rate pretty high in my best of the decade list at the end of 2019. The black and white cinematography is stunning. The performances are natural and great. Particularly Yalitza Aparicio in the lead role. She plays a maid for a rich family in Mexico who gets pregnant by a karate obsessed loser who leaves town. The camera calmly but perfectly captures her journey through highs and lows. There is a little bit of ‘Forrest Gump’ in here as she brushes shoulders with some moments from history, only much more subtle. One of the best scenes of the year comes at the end of the film involving a beach, the ocean, and an impossible camera. Alfonso Cuaron is the favorite for Best Director and his film is the favorite for Best Picture. I’ll be rooting for it and the 30% chance that I give it of winning.

Ranking: 1^st out of 8

Vice – 8 Nominations

Adam McKay is two for two now with his more serious directorial efforts getting a Best Picture nomination. I’m not exactly sure why but he was nominated for Best Director once again. I like ‘Vice’ better than his previous effort ‘The Big Short’ but going in with lowered expectations surely helped in that regard. The Dick Cheney biopic has a few tricks up its sleeve, I thought a false ending around thirty minutes into the movie was pretty clever, but its not really telling us or doing anything new. The performances are all good, especially Christian Bale in the title role. If I’m being honest Amy Adams shouldn’t have been nominated. As always shes good but there were many other supporting actress performances that did more with their screen time. She has become young Meryl Streep. Sam Rockwell is fun as the president but again, not sure if it was nomination worthy. My biggest issue with ‘Vice’ and ‘The Big Short’ is that they’re so bland visually. Maybe that’s what McKay is going for but it doesn’t work for me and the too clever by half writing doesn’t make up for it. I only give it a 3% of winning Best Picture.

Ranking: 7^th out of 8

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