Jaime being rushed yes... Dany I don’t really think it was.

See, I kind of expected this of Jaime... he is/was obsessed and controlled by his sister. She had a grip on him and controlled a lot of what he did. He never seemed to be in control of himself, it was either his Father, or Cersei...

Thank you. I’m pretty baffled at the thousand “I’m so smart for knowing she would turn heel, everyone else is an idiot for being surprised comments.” The backlash has really very clearly been against the execution of her villainous turn, not the fact of it happening. It’s mind-blowing to see the contrarians so…

This comment is your second star.

I don’t know why so many people seem to think that the enraged are upset about her being a Mad Queen. I think that’s a beautifully tragic outcome for her, and am totally okay with it. What I’m not okay with is how they got there, because it was not earned. At all.

I agree with everything except the inclusion of Jon as a “mad Targaryen”. The rest is solid.

This would feel more organic

“a reveal that Varys was indeed trying to poison her”

“a reveal that Varys was indeed trying to poison her”

Or, if they were sticking with the same timeline, re-editing the order of things so that the Varys betrayal happens before Missandei’s beheading, and this attack comes nearly immediately after that. Also, taking the Red Keep out as soon as the scorpions and Iron Fleet are no longer issues. 

I actually really like the idea of Cersei sitting in her high tower and sending out proclamations and whispers to smear Dany. That’s the actual Game of Thrones, and Cersei is pretty good at it (not quite as good as she thinks she is, but still pretty good), whereas all Dany knows is conquest, so she’s completely…

Would have helped a lot, I agree. And they could have made Varys turning uncharacteristically stupid/uncautious into something halfway believable too. Instead of just blabbing his plans to Tyrion AND Jon, he could have maneuvered like he always used to, and gotten caught in some much more subtle way. Fast-forward mode…

I think people ultimately just got worked up about Daenerys and Jaime not turning out to be “heroes” after people got emotionally invested in them. While I agree the execution and pacing could have been better, I suspect that they would have been disappointed regardless.

Fuuuuuuck...

Pretty much this. 

The Cleganebowl was the only storyline that worked. Arya’s almost did, had she died instead of magically surviving 17 different walls collapsing on her.

I am clearly not saying anything bad about Mr. Lee.

i think the westermarck effect comes into play, though, when you consider that they were raised as siblings. half-siblings, sure, and catelyn definitely tried to poison everyone against jon and make him feel like he wasn’t really part of the family, but they viewed each other as siblings nonetheless. it’s different…

But even Ned kept the secret about Jon! And he was still considered honorable by the show!!

ugh I know I was shouting about this. Marrying a first cousin has been totally normal for most of human history, and IS NORMAL IN WESTEROS! An aunt/nephew relationship is basically the same thing, but more of a remove. It wouldn’t be a problem.