Opinion: This Controversial GoT Twist Needed to Happen
Warning: this article contains major spoilers for Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 5 "The Bells"!
The penultimate episode of Game of Thrones will almost surely turn out to be one of the most divisive in the series' history. This episode marked the exact moment where one of the greatest heroes in the entire Game of Thrones saga, Daenerys Targaryen, transformed from liberator to destroyer. When given the chance to spare thousands of innocent civilians from a destructive battle, Dany instead embraced her darkest impulses and burnt King's Landing to ashes. Dany has made it clear she isn't the ruler Westeros deserves. That's a bitter pill to swallow for anyone (fans and GoT characters alike) who's been a hardcore member of Team Dany for all these years. But that's exactly what makes it true to the spirit of Game of Thrones in the first place.
GoT: What the Showrunners Knew About the Hound’s Big Scene
Full SPOILERS ahead for Game of Thrones, Season 8, Episode 5, "The Bells"!
The penultimate episode of Game of Thrones finally delivered the rematch fans have been waiting years to see: The Hound vs. The Mountain! Or, as fans long ago dubbed the fight, Cleganebowl!
Sandor Clegane and his big brother Ser Gregor Clegane dueled to the death in the Red Keep as Daenerys Targaryen and her dragon-son Drogon destroyed King's Landing.
Game of Thrones: Who Died in the Battle of King’s Landing
Warning: full SPOILERS ahead for Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 5 “The Bells”!
Game of Thrones’ Battle of King’s Landing ended up being an entirely one-sided affair as Daenerys Targaryen used Drogon to make quick work of the Iron Fleet and the city’s anti-dragon defenses before laying waste to the city and its people -- citizen and soldier alike. As the chaos unfolded, several principal characters met their end.
Here’s who died in the episode.
Cersei Lannister
Cersei met her end in the arms of her brother Jaime. The pair tried to escape through Tyrion’s secret passageway, but the exits were all blocked thanks to rubble falling as a result of Daenerys’ dragon siege. All of the horrible things Cersei has done have largely been done for her children, so in her final moments she could do nothing but hope for her unborn child to somehow survive. Many fans theorized it would be Arya who would assassinate Cersei when she face-changed her way into striking distance, or that it would be Jaime who finally put an end to his sister based on the Valonqar Theory, but in the end it was the cave-in of King’s Landing's lower levels that finally killed her along with her brother. Though the falling rocks technically killed Cersei, it was Daenerys who caused it by savagely attacking King’s Landing in order to get revenge on Cersei both for betraying her and for beheading her best friend and trusted adviser Missandei.
Game of Thrones: How Jaime’s Scene Was a Major Callback
SPOILERS AHEAD for Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 5.
Jaime Lannister spent his final moments holding and comforting Cersei, the woman that meant the most to him, and the scene was a major callback to a previous episode that foreshadowed the deaths of two characters who have been with us since the beginning.
Speaking on HBO's Inside the Episode for episode 5 of the final season of Game of Thrones, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss discussed how Jaime's ideal path always had an ending similar to this.
"You know, there’s a scene, several years ago, where Jaime and Bronn are talking about how they wanna go, and Jaime’s talking about dying in the arms of the woman he loves. And this is it," Benioff explains.
Game of Thrones: Why Daenerys Made Unexpected Choice
Full SPOILERS ahead for Game of Thrones, Season 8, Episode 5, "The Bells"!
The Mother of Dragons, the daughter of the Mad King, finally went to the dark side on.the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones' final season, "The Bells".
Daenerys Targaryen destroyed King's Landing, killing nearly every man, woman, and child, combatant or not, and unleashing her dragon-son Drogon to utterly level the city in wave after wave of fiery destruction.
Many fans will no doubt be torn by this decision to have a character who had been so beloved by so many at times -- a protagonist that people in real life even named their own kids after -- committing such atrocities. On HBO's "Inside the Episode" aftershow, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss explained why Dany chose to destroy King's Landing.
Game of Thrones Teases a Bleak Series Finale
Warning: this article contains major spoilers for Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 5! Consider yourself warned!
Game of Thrones just gave us one of the darkest episodes in the show's eight-year run, but the ride isn't over yet. The upcoming series finale may be even darker still, at least if HBO's new promo teaser is any indication.
Read onto find out what this footage tells us about the show's final episode and why the cycle of death and misery isn't over yet.
The Survivors of War
A number of major characters died in Episode 5, but the focus of the promo is instead on those who survived. We can see both Arya Stark and Tyrion Lannister wandering the smoldering ruins of King's Landing dumbstruck by the pain and suffering around them. Arya saw countless innocent civilians die. Even those she tried to save were just more victims in Dany's savage conquest. Both characters are clearly disillusioned, and Tyrion has no doubt realized at last that he backed the wrong champion in the Game of Thrones.
Labor Promises to Restore the Australian Interactive Games Fund
Labor has announced plans to inject $85 million into Australia’s creative industries if elected in this weekend’s election, including $25 million to reinstate the Australian Interactive Games Fund that was axed by the Abbott Government back in 2014.
“Our creative industries have huge potential to deliver significant economic, employment, creative, cultural and other benefits for Australia and the world,” the party said in a statement. “But there are worrying signs that our local sectors are missing out on the global expansion in the creative industries, which are projected to grow exponentially.”
Ask Our Rage 2 Reviewer Anything
In case you hadn't heard, our Rage 2 review will go up for your reading pleasure tomorrow morning today at 5AM Pacific time. Even though it's quite thorough at almost 3,000 words, no review can address everything, so once you've finished reading it you may have questions. Well, this is your opportunity to get answers. Starting at 12PM Pacific time, I'll be in the comments of this article for two hours using my 25+ hours of Rage 2 experience to answer everything you can throw at me without completely spoiling it for everybody.
Battlefield 5’s Firestorm is Losing Duos Mode Due to Lack of Interest
Duos in Battlefield 5’s battle royale “Firestorm” mode has been officially removed by DICE. In a Reddit thread, originally reported by VG24/7, DICE community manager Freeman explained that the mode failed to consistently draw enough players, who instead preferred solos or squads.
Duos was originally launched as a limited time mode in April, and was subsequently removed not long after. According to Freeman, enough players voiced their interest in duos mode for DICE to implement it as a permanent mode.
Outer Wilds Will Be a Timed Epic Store Exclusive
Outer Wilds, the peculiar sci-fi adventure game that feels like “No Man’s Sky-lite,” will be a timed exclusive on the Epic Games Store, developer Mobius Digital announced Friday on the game’s Fig page.
Mobius Digital says that Outer Wilds will first come to the Xbox One and PC via the Epic Games Store, with other platforms “coming later.” No exact release window or roadmap was specified.
“Rest assured that we read all of your comments and our goal is to bring the game to your preferred platform as quickly as possible,” the developer wrote. “Throughout the development of the game, we’ve welcomed helpful partnerships with Annapurna Interactive, XBox, and Epic to support us and keep our small studio running long enough to ship the game at the level of quality that it is today. Each of these partnerships has enabled us to make the game better and more accessible for everyone who will play it.”