Even things like MissandeiвЂ™s inexplicable capture and death are feeding into this, trying to conjure up personal stakes for the final clash, regardless of logic. BrienneвЂ™s character has been sacrificed to give Jaime some more drama as he heads off to confront his sister. That same reasoning explains EuronвЂ™s improbable ability to take down Rhaegal and CerseiвЂ™s sudden reinforcements from the Golden Company.

After a decade-long buildup, the Great War became a brief plot device on the way toward a true ending. In order to level out the playing field for the Last War, the entire White Walker threat was reduced to a simple device to thin out DaenerysвЂ™ army so Cersei wouldnвЂ™t get steamrolled. The decision to focus on the war with Cersei for the Iron Throne is the source - directly or indirectly - of a lot of this seasonвЂ™s larger problems. While Daenerys versus Cersei (versus Jon Snow?) is packed with more personal drama than the White Walker war - for all the Night KingвЂ™s power, he wasnвЂ™t exactly much for character motivations or even dialogue - the current stakes feel anticlimactic, far lower than the Battle of Winterfell. Then, at the 11th hour, the focus of the show is shifting back to an earlier iteration of the story that it had previously abandoned in favor of a seemingly much larger and more significant вЂњice zombies versus the forces of mankindвЂќ fight. But for years, Game of Thrones seemed to be promising something more. вЂњNow we will win the Last War.вЂќ Image: HBOДЇocusing on the battle for the Iron Throne isnвЂ™t a bad thing or even bad storytelling. вЂњWe have won the Great War,вЂќ Daenerys proudly announced in last weekвЂ™s episode.

After years of teasing the ultimate battle for the fate of Westeros and the existence of humanity - and even after being told over and over again that the Iron Throne just wasnвЂ™t important compared to the battle against the coming dark - Game of Thrones blitzed through the long-gestating war against the undead in a single night. That contraction of the story has left some fans feeling cold (pun intended) toward the final season. As we approach the final two episodes of the series, that idea - not the war with the White Walkers, not carefully considered character stories, not even a more nuanced look at the power structure of Westeros - has become the showвЂ™s focal point: who will sit on the Iron Throne when the dust settles? In retrospect, Game of Thrones warned us that it was all #ForTheThrone at the beginning of the months-long hype campaign for the final season.

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