Die Schlacht der Bastarde (S06E09)

The unsurpassed Battle of Winterfell, probably the best shot historical battle ever – yes, it’s even better than that one in Braveheart, which may be a little clearer for the viewer in terms of editing, but this one brings it down a little lower in terms of pure experience. The actual turmoil is anything but uncluttered, and if anything can reflect it best, it was here. I might compare it to Stone's battle of Gaugamel in Alexander. It was properly brutal and bloody, but that one didn’t have literal mounds of dead bodies and horses beating against each other. Very dirty, suggestive and dramatic. Some moments are even reminiscent of the best of Saving Private Ryan and the landing in Normandy with the handheld camera behind the main character. And the episode’s ending is again flawless, a total emotional catharsis not only for the main characters but also for the viewer. (11.06.2017)

In the ninth episode, I give my record rating of this season because the creators packed two battles into one episode, so something finally happened, but at the same time, I cannot add any additional star because there were again a lot of nonsenses. For example: Why didn't I see those bulldozers that someone used to pile up corpses into neat heaps during the battle? Why did Daenerys burn half of the city before destroying the enemy ships? Why did Jon behave like an idiot in the battle? Yara and Theon sailed from the Iron Islands with a hundred ships, if I am modest, it would take 25 men/women to operate one ship, so the fleet has at least 2500 men/women. In that case, the Greyjoy family is the most powerful in Westeros because I assume that the majority of the population stayed with Euron. I would summarize Sansa's speech to Jon like this: "Why don't you ask me for advice when I know nothing about war?" (17.12.2017)