That was absolutely amazing, from beginning to end. Crazy, strange, exciting but absolutely brilliant. The most intense hour and a half of my life. I can't barely feel my legs right now. It was the best psychological episode so far. I got Saw vibes. Sawlock. I was waiting for Moriarty's video saying "Hullo, Sherlock. I want to play a game" in that Irish accent.
Why does it have to be clowns? Poor Mycroft! In the first five minutes, he was in every scene of every horror movie ever made. This episode taught me that security is not Mycroft's strong suit. That and that I want his umbrella sword gun. The ultimate combo weapon.
This episode was beautifully shot. That first scene was magnificent and so was Moriarty's great flashback entrance. Gotta love the guy. And Mycroft, he was amazing today. And Mrs Hudson gets more badass every week. She's a fucking legend. "Would you like some tea?" Mycroft nods. "The kettle's over there". she's a boss. I could hear the microphone hitting the floor.
Every time Andrew Scott is on screen I'm mesmerized. I can't keep my eyes off the screen. His Moriarty is just so perfect. I get goosebumps every time he's on screen and that nervous giggle. Jim Moriarty and that red screen are going to haunt me forever. But I don't care, it's Moriarty. I really missed Andrew. And Queen, Oh my God! I'm hyperventilating again. That's the villain I love.
I worked out that Redbeard wasn't a dog, but I thought he might have been a fourth sibling after the "why does everyone stop at three" hint last week. And the symbolism. Redbeard being Sherlock's first Watson was lovely. I'm horrified by the fact that he died alone in that well. I love how Watson's limb and cane in season 1 was connected to the pirates.
Sherlock a pirate. Who would've thunk it? Now I want Ben to in Pirates of the Caribbean: The vengeance of Redbeard.
Hats off to Moffat and Gatiss for making such a delight for my eyes. Hope I'll be here in 3+ years. Until then, the game's still on!
I agree with a lot of the criticism this episode received: it was unorthodox (not having a proper case/deductions and happening mostly in an island), the ending felt very rushed/convenient, plus Eurus being almost a supernatural being and yet another recording of Mary (though I get they were playing on the "miss me" and Moriarty).
However, other than that, I was really impressed and moved by this episode. I was just speaking with a friend the other day about favourite TV episodes and moments and we concluded that sometimes there are scenes that work in a certain way, a combination of the story, the acting, the music, it simply creates pure art. I immediately think of shows like Breaking Bad, Lost, Person of Interest, where some things just click and you are immersed in what you're seeing. This, to me, is Sherlock breaking that coffin when he reaches his breaking point, it is Moriarty's flashback entrance, it is Sherlock having to shoot someone and Mycroft getting ready to die... and probably my favourite here: Sherlock playing the violin with his sister, Eurus.
Most people don't consider that Eurus actually had a mental illness since she was born and did the things that she did because of it, her brain doesn't work like most of ours. That plane was her mind palace, which is chaos compared to what we've seen before, and she is so clever that what Sherlock said in the previous episode (doing things without knowing because he couldn't keep up with his brain at the time) seems to be a constant truth to Eurus, who is both preparing this cruel evil plan and suffering at the same time. It did feel like a bit of a stretch when she was simply in her room, but the more I think about it, the more sense it makes.
As for the backstory that was explained, I was pretty satisfied. It was already sad when we thought Redbeard was a dog, but it being Sherlock's best friend made it so dark that it explains better why he would have been traumatized and forgot all about this time of his life. Combined with the fact that it was the first riddle, the first "case" investigated by Sherlock that went unsolved, it explains a lot about his attitude regarding running around being a detective. And of course his best friend now, Watson (even regarded as family in this episode) was down the well. (Throwing the chain at him was lazy, I have to admit - it would have been better if the water had stopped falling and then we saw the police)
As for Moriarty, I never expected him to be alive. For a while I thought "the final problem" would be a posthumous case he prepared from beyond the grave, but this episode shows us that it was all Eurus. I don't appreciate baiting the audience like that (in particular with that intro, "I'm Moriarty, welcome to the final problem") but it was good to see him being Moriarty in that flashback entrance scene and I personally liked the presence he had in this episode, with his face haunting Sherlock, Watson and Mycroft on top of the already crazy situation they were involved in.
All in all, this might just be one of the best TV episodes I've seen. Perhaps it would have fit in better if we didn't have this "series finale" feeling and continuation was assured, because the jump to the final montage was rather quick... but I just really enjoyed it. I don't believe this is the end, though we might have to wait longer than usual for the east wind to come our direction again.
I always thought Mary was rather boring and turning her into a spy seemed so over the top, but it seemed to be part of her past, so I thought I could get over it. But this episode... They added Mary, John married her, they got a child and then she died. It didn't even feel fleshed out. It felt extremely rushed and absolutely unnecessary. I would just like to ignore that all this even happened.
And Moriarty... Let me say first that I really, really enjoyed Moriarty, but they killed him off. It's okay if Sherlock thinks about him from time to time, but he's dead and there can be more than one great villain. It feels like Batman and the Joker - Every Batman merchandise is throwing the Joker in your face and it just gets annoying at some point because there are other villains. You don't need to use the same one over and over again.
I was a big fan of this show during season 1 and season 2, but at some point I read way too many good fanmade stories/theories and the actual show will never be able to catch up with it. And the long waiting between each season is not helpful at all because people change, their tastes change and they stop caring about shows if there's no update for years.
I'll continue watching it, but it's more of a habit than actual excitement. They might be able to produce a few really good episodes, but I know I'll never feel the same love I used to have for this show which is a shame because it had great potential :/
This episode was not bad, BUT..it continued a recently developed trend of not believable circumstances. I suspect the writers are trying to create a lot of drama for the season end and are loosing (even so slightly) sight of what made the books and the series so loved. The cynic unforgiving realism of circumstances (even within a fanstasy/magical world). If you saw my comment for the previous episode I was in the same line. So here it is, the moments that bothered my square logic and took something away:
Moments I enjoyed:
Moments I didn't enjoy but I found realistic even though unexpected:
1. Tomen committing suicide (don't underestimate teenagers in heat ...for margery in this case)
2. Cersei taking the throne. Loosing all her children, all that she has is her evil drive for power. I expect her to make season 7 even more interesting
3. Is Sansa and little finger are going to cook something? Sansa showed us a bit of a character in the last few episodes that is very remote from a sensitive, good side of her. Do we have a cersei in the making? She has been traumatised enough.
Overall 7/10
Best episode of the season was No 5
I loved how this episode was all about repeated history with a twist
Pros
+Cersei doing her best impression of the Mad King
+Jaime being forcibly compared to the Freys as Kingslayers with the beautifully written line where Walder Frey says he loves that people hate him and Jaime clearly despises it. Also Jaime looking on during Cersei's coronation and just being absolutely horrified was an excellent moment
+Jon doing his impression of Rob
+Sam gets to Oldtown and it is a city I have been waiting to see and it looks beautiful It is going to make for a wonderful contrast when the Ironborn assault takes place and this pillar of scholarly learning is trashed I like how they mention that the leadership in the Night's Watch has changed drastically, clearly a point emphasizing the changes that happen throughout this episode
+Bran seeing the rest of the Tower of Joy and saying goodbye to Benjen
Neutral
*Arya killing the Freys after feeding him the pie was okay. Not as satisfying as Manderly doing it, while having the musicians play a song about it over and over, and hooting and hollering before probably betraying them in the 1st Battle of Winterfell. It'll be interesting to see who she goes after in the future but there really isn't a whole lot of things that impressed me about this. Again cool that it's a twist on the Red Wedding with Walder as the victim when he least expected it.
Cons
-Dorne apparently is now run by the fucking idiots who kinslayed the former prince and his son for literally no reason and the dumb fucks have a typical conversation with Olenna Tyrell where she talks shit about them and then they convince her to join the Dany camp
-Littlefinger talks with Sansa about wanting to bang her and then pouts for the rest of the episode because she turns him down
-Dany's weird breakup where she gives the dude Slavers Bay as compensation for being a good fuck and killing some people for money
Pros
+Sandor Clegane's hunt
+Jaime and Brienne's negotiation. This part is really the big reason this episode wasn't rated lower. It should be interesting if Brienne (or possibly even Sandor Clegane) gets back to the North in time for them to perform their version of the Spearwives/Mance Rayder hostage rescue except with Rickon being rescued instead of "Arya" although judging from the next episode's title, it may be a little late for that.
Cons
-Cersei stuff was just there. It was kind of important but it was done in such a boring way that I couldn't give a shit
-Meereen being assaulted by the slavers. It should lead to a cool closing to the season but it was really, really rushed and to be honest the backpedaling at this point doesn't make any sense other than to allow the Iron Fleet to come in and prove their allegiance, but even that doesn't make any sense since Dany has Drogon now and can easily set their fleet on fire and then kill the land armies with her Dothraki horde. Tyrion's already there, Quentyn doesn't even exist, Asha and Theon don't have the Dragon Binding Horn like Victarion does, and Barristan is dead. What exactly is the purpose of this other than to add more action to spice up the ending?
-The Arya chase stuff was really cheesy, like fucking comic book villain tier cheese.
This episode was kind of disappointing. It may have to do with the fact that the previous one was possibly the best episode in the series, but regardless it didn't further the plot much, and it gave us an unexpected twist in the kings landing plot, where it seems that Margery has turned to support the faith that imprisoned her and her brother. This doesn't make sense as an action from this character, unless of course in a future episode this proves to be the case of using the faith to further her cause (that I admit would redeem this episode somehow). That the teenage king do whatever she says makes sense. Daenerys plot hasn't been furthered much. The re-appearance of the dragon is always dramatic, but she already had enough loyalty from her men, after they witnessed the unburned in action. She didn't really need the dragon to convince them to ride the wooden horses. Finaly Brans plot remains de attached from the rest, although we are finally starting to suspect that he may play a part in the battle against the white walkers. The return of Benjen has potential, and he can possibly act to unite the north under the Starks, as he could possibly fill the need for a strong lead in the Starks plot line.
Pros
+Jon and Sansa along with the "Bastard" letter
+Drogo pyre re-enactment
+I'm excited to see how Jaime and Cersei's plan is going to work out, there's definitely going to be some unexpected twist that happens
Neutral
*Theon and Asha (Yara) reunion, wasn't bad and Theon's actor did great but I was not blown away by it. Still, it should make the Kingsmoot a little more shocking. It's going to need as much help as it can get since Damphair and Victarion probably won't be telling us why Euron needs to be prevented from getting the Throne like they do in the books.
Cons
-Ramsay killing Osha seemed a little out of place. I think it made sense but it was weird that he just has that one small scene and then nothing else. Just a nitpick really.
Danaerys finally had her first good episode in 1 and a half seasons, even though those buff ass dudes would've definitely killed her as soon as they realized how screwed they were, and if not them then the falling rafters probably would've gotten her. Also not convinced that the Dothraki would immediately back her after seeing their leaders burned alive and they obviously didn't give too much of a shit when she walked out of the first fire with her dragons. An argument could be made for them seeing it happen and having literally no leaders left but this is an ultra male-centric society and it's hard to think they'd change their minds after living their entire life in that way especially considering how much they despise magic. Still, it was a cool Odysseus like massacre and the parts before and after were all solid.
Okay, those worm implant things are gross as hell. My whole face is itching right now. But how come Sarah didn't feel it earlier? In the previous episode the guy could feel it moving in his cheek and the one in Sarah's jaw looks pretty big.
My poor baby Cosima missing Delphine. I'm so sad for her, she's such a sweet ray of sunshine but she's been through so much. I just want her to be happy...
Helena's having twins! Finally we're getting something nice and positive instead of constant suffering! She was so excited when she found out. And Donny's a real treasure. So kind and supportive and genuinely happy for Helena. I feel a little sorry for Alison, though. This whole situation must be difficult for her, especially since she's the one who wanted to have a family and struggled with her inability to get pregnant.
Felix looking for his biological parents will be an interesting storyline. It's nice that they adressed the fact that S and Sarah are basically related and that Felix might feel left out because of that.
The scenes where the story switched between Sarah and Beth were the highlight of the episode for me. They were very cool visually and I like that we finally got to learn more about Beth, since Sarah witnessing her suicide was what set the events in motion in the first place.
Game of Thrones might be too familiar, too expansive, to have the same force it once did. When a show's been on the air for five years, it's harder for it to surprise you; you know many more of its tricks, and you've seen much of what it's good and bad at. And Game of Thrones is good at a lot of things--humorous asides, daring rescues, and striking character moments--so that even when it's simply chugging along, it's still a very enjoyable show.
But for a season premiere, "The Red Woman" was underwhelming. It wasn't bad, mind you--there were plenty of exciting moments and interesting developments--but little to make you stand up and take notice of a series at the height of its powers moving toward the end game, save for perhaps one scene.
That scene is Brienne saving Sansa, and pledging fealty to her, while Podrick feeds his master's new lord the appropriate reciprocal words and Theon nods in approval. There's several things that make that moment stand out. There are real stakes to Sansa and Theon's attempt to escape from Winterfell, both from the hounds barking in the distance and their clear fatigue and stress from traipsing through the snow. There's genuine character development, in the cold giving the two of them reason to embrace, and Theon's attempt to sacrifice himself in order to save his near-sister. Brienne's daring rescue is a thrill, giving solid moments to Brienne, Podrick, and Theon, and having the action feel anything but gratuitous given what's at stake. The aftermath is triumphant, with Brienne finally fulfilling her oath, the poor, constantly embattled Sansa finally having a true protector, and their seconds each having a hand in the result.
But it also stands out because it's one of the few parts of "The Red Woman" where the story is moving inward rather than continuing to expand or running in place. While I'm sure there's much more to come in each of their stories, this is a major landmark in Brienne's quest to fulfill her promise to Catelyn Stark, to Sansa's endeavor to be safe and in charge of her own destiny, to Podrick's desire to help his master rather than hold her back, and to Theon's quest for redemption. Each of these story threads is tied together in one tremendous scene.
That stands out in comparison to the rest of the episode, which has some moments and scenes that are better than others, but for the most part, feels scattershot. A season premiere for a show like Game of Thrones is difficult, because as the series's plot has telescoped out to encompass so many different stories and characters, there's a sense that at the start of a new chapter, it has to check in with each of them (give or take a warg).
The result is something of a hodgepodge of tones and atmospheres and settings, most of them glancing, many of them pretty good, but few of them truly cohesive in any way. There's not necessarily anything wrong with that. Game of Thrones is a series known for its scope, and by definition that's going to require some jumping around, especially as a reintroduction to all of the ongoing conflicts. It just makes it hard to judge an individual episode like "The Red Woman" as anything other than the sum of its parts.
Three of those parts all stem from the aftermath of last season's adventure in Mereen. The best and most promising of them is Tyrion and Varys's journey through the streets of their new home. I could watch an episode of just the two of them bantering back and forth for an hour and be entertained, but "The Red Woman" uses Tyrion's attempt to get to know the place he intends to govern both to illustrate how he, unlike Varys, is not a man of the people however much he may try and care, and that a civil war is brewing in the contentious land they're trying to keep in order. The worst is Jora and Daario's little horse ride to find their queen, which does little other than repeat character beats we're already familiar with, remind the audience of Jora's cheesy stone infection, and move the rescue plot a few spaces forward.
Somewhere in the middle is Daenerys's encounter with another group of Dothraki. The journey to meet the new Khal is a bit silly and crude, but generally amusing, as Dany's captors appear to be the Dothraki answer to a pair of leads in Kevin Smith movie, and Dany's look of palpable discussion when listening to a conversation they don't think she can understand is perfect. That scene, and the ensuing one where the Khal declares his intentions to lie with her regardless of her wishes will no doubt launch a thousand thinkpieces, but each of them lean into a venerable idea when it comes to the mother of dragons -- the way she is at once attempting to project strength and power, but still quite vulnerable, uncertain, and even frightened at what fate might await her. Emilia Clark does a superb job of showing the many shades of her character as her fortunes wax and wane during her conversation with this new Khal. The promise to transport her to what sounds like the Dothraki homeland is a foreboding one, that threatens to add yet another spot on the map for the show's intro.
The least interesting of the stories in "The Red Woman" centered around the events of Dorne. There's something of a shock to the Sand Snakes' coup at the Dornish palace, but we barely know most of these people, so the impact is blunted. Admittedly, there's intrigue Dorne being ruled by someone who's directly antagonistic to the Lannisters, and to the idea that the people of Dorne resented their leaders and yearn to stand against those who hold sway over King's Landing, but there's more promise in the concept than in the execution thus far. (No pun intended.) Similarly, the hokiest two Sand Snakes taking out the Dornish Prince on the boat only served as a reminder of how pointless he was as a character and how annoying, dare I say Poochie-esque his assassins are.
That said, there was more meat on the bone in Cersei and Jamie's reunion. The excitement in Cersei's voice when she heard of a ship on the horizon and said her daughter's name, and the attendant way her expression slowly but surely fell when she saw the floating shroud heading toward her, and the grave look on her lover's face was devastating. The death of Joffrey brought Cersei to anger, to her most bitter and vindictive, but Marcella's death has a much different effect. She is, instead, simply crestfallen, brought as low as she imagined she could be, slowly but surely losing the most important things in her life. The idea that Marcella perishing is particularly devastating to Cersei because she saw her daughter as pure and good, and it made her feel better about herself and all she's wrought, is one that adds yet more depth to one of the show's most complex characters. Jamie's response that they are neither cursed nor bound by fate, but should respond to this horror by lashing out at those who brought it to their doorstep does more to warrant interest and excitement as to where the conflict with Dorne will lead than all the bloody coups and painful attempts at bon mots that preceded it.
The episode takes time to check in with the rest of those across Westeros and beyond. Arya's still blind and begging on the streets, being tested by Jaqen H'ghar in a bow-fight that seems headed toward a Karate Kid montage. Margaery Tyrell is still in prison, thoroughly cowed and shell shocked after her repeated encounters with her captors. The High Sparrow plays good cop/bad cop with her as she asks how her brother is, with little more than an ominous assurance for her to go on. And even Ramses has a brief moment of humanity, couched though it may be in his usual sadism, as he mourns the loss of the only lover who shared his deranged sensibilities, and feels the blowback from his father for how his extracurricular activities led to the loss of both Sansa and Theon, threatening both the Boltons' hold on Winterfell and Ramses' claim as his father's heir.
But the other major fireworks of "The Red Woman" take place at Castle Black. Ser Davos proves himself both for his kindness, his cunning, and his wits when he collects Jon Snow's dead body, brings in Ghost, and holes up with everyone in a storeroom before sending Edd to rally support among The Wildlings. Davos's dry wit carries the day in these scenes, that still take care to sweep across the desolate environment of The Watch and its guests.
At the same time, Thorne has an impressive moment defending himself in front of his fellow brothers after confessing to the murder of their Lord Commander. As I wrote in my discussion of the Season 5 finale, what makes Thorne's actions and his speech her interesting is that you believe he truly means what he says, that there's a certain noble impulse behind his choice even if it seems foolish or wrongheaded to the audience. Thorne's disdain for Jon Snow has been clear from the beginning, and he admits to the assembled that he had no love lost for the man. But there's something genuine when he says that he never disobeyed an order, that as harsh or self-important as he could be, his assassination, joined in with the other commanders, was about something bigger than him, a tradition and a brotherhood that he saw posed to be destroyed under Jon's care. I don't exactly admire the man, but I admire the show for making him more than the one-dimensional villain he occasionally devolved into in previous episodes.
Finally, there is the titular Red Woman. She sees Jon's dead body and has a moment of questioning. She saw him fighting and Winterfell in her vision, and yet there he lies, white as a stone. She promised Stannis that sacrificing his daughter would lead his side to victory against the Boltons. It becomes much more of a question, smoke monster or not, how much she has or had real power, and how much of her prophecies and persuasions are simply more of her admitted parlor tricks. Then, she undresses and reveals a much older, more withered woman, and the nature of her abilities is at once both more and less a question. It's a revelation, meant to be one of those trademark big moments in Game of Thrones, but for the time being, it just seems strange with little immediately obvious point at this juncture.
Perhaps it simply fits into what appears to be the animating principle for the rest of "The Red Woman" -- giving the audience just enough of a taste to rekindle their interest in the spiderwebbed plots that stretch across Westeros, while pointing us in the direction the balance of the season will follow. The episode feels more like a grand reintroduction, a preview almost, for what's to come than a unified story all it's own, and familiarity with the shape of the series' arcs takes some of the thrill away from events like that closing twist. But it's enough to keep us talking, and wondering, and tuning in next week, so I suppose it'll do just fine.
Overall, I'd say that this drama is one of a kind. It focuses more on the political side of society, but without making it super boring and also adding a lot of twists. There are a lot of action scenes that I find really entertaining and they were acted out really well by Minho and all the supporting characters.
However, I can't really say I feel the chemistry between the 2 main leads. Their romance was good at some parts, but overall it was really weird to me. It was kind of like an unrequited love, and so they didn't get to interact much with each other. I found it weird that I ended up rooting for the relationship between the 2 side characters, Young-joo and Sae-hee rather than Yoon-sung and NaNa.
The ending seemed really rushed, random, and wasn't a satisfying way for me to end the series. It was like they decided on a certain ending, but then changed the idea halfway through and just put it all together to make the ending. It was an "okay" ending. I'll just leave it at that.
I didn't like the ending, but the drama, as a whole, was nice to watch, and I found that it didn't drag on too much and each scene fulfilled its purpose. The show was interesting to watch from the beginning, but it gets even more intense near the end, and so I would recommend this drama to people who love to watch action or solve mysteries.
