Game of Thrones relies too heavily on big moments that make no sense

Viewers are being asked to suspend their disbelief a little too much this season

Jon Snow in Game of Thrones (HBO)

“The whole path of the show, in some way, has been trying to map out all the episode end points,” Game of Thrones showrunner David Benioff said while discussing the resurrection of Daenerys’s dragon, Viserion, by the Night’s King.

While meant as an off the cuff comment, not to be dissected by fans and critics across the world, the statement has struck a chord with me; Game of Thrones really has become about these Big Moments. Unfortunately, most of them make no sense.

First off, I should note that I thoroughly enjoy the show. The first four seasons are incredible batches of television, featuring ingenious characters and gruesome, thrilling twists. You would be hard pressed to find someone not riveted by those early episodes. Of course, things went down hill for season five, where the pacing fell through the floor, picking up for the mostly excellent sixth season.

Last season, though, already felt beholden to Big Moments. With George RR Martin’s books long gone, the dialogue began to suffer. Look, for instance, to Meereen, where Tyrion was held captive by the plot. There were some absolutely terrible scenes shared between himself, Grey Worm, and Missandei. Luckily, Hodor’s ‘Hold the Door’, the entire Battle of the Bastards, and Cersei sparring with the High Sparrow were all more than enough to make up for the wasted Lannister.

For season seven, the fat has been trimmed, but so has everyone’s common sense. Characters are making stupid decisions more frequently than ever before, all to set up the next Big Moment. Let’s looks at everything that led to Viserion transforming into an Ice Dragon as an example.

First, the showrunners needed to give Dany a reason to travel North. Being a headstrong, smart, self-determined Queen, there’s are very few possible reasons for her to fly North before taking the Iron Throne. However, love triumphs over brains, and after four episodes together, Jon and Dany are in love. Ser Jorah — who just spent months curing himself of Greyscale to be by Dany’s side, only to leave after five minutes — doesn't matter that much, Jon’s the one she wants to save, being the first person she reaches out to help.

Ignoring their rushed relationship (which will probably be another Big Moment during the finale), the showrunners needed Jon to once again go beyond The Wall to lure Dany away from Dragonstone. Jon knows there’s an entire army of White Walkers out there and that certain death awaits, so what possible reason could there be to basically commit suicide? Convincing Cersei that White Walkers exist, of course!

But wait, won’t the Mad Queen try and kill them no matter what? Almost certainly.

And Tyrion understands that she will never listen? Apparently so.

And could they have just captured Jaime at the Loot Crate battle and used him as a pawn? Well, maybe… But he miraculously escaped (another Big Moment that's ridiculous). Plus, that doesn’t solve everyone believing in White Walkers.

So, shouldn’t they at least travel with horses and get kitted out with Dragonglass? That may have been smart.

Actually, wouldn’t the White Crawlers already be at The Wall by now, seeing as Bran made it there months ago without the ability to walk? They were slowed down by the water, obviously.

Instead of a Wall, they should construct a giant moat then? Good idea, I’ll send the Night’s Watch a raven - one of those turbo-boosted ones that made it to Dragonstone overnight.

Even after you establish each character’s very thin motivation for being there — why The Hound again? Has he really become a follower of the Lord of Light that quickly? — the events of episode six were utterly batsh*t anyway. They were lucky that only one White survived that ambush, right? If Ser Jorah had taken Longclaw back, what would Jon have fought with? Jorah’s daggers? How the hell did Gendry run that far? Why didn’t the third dragon save Jon, rather than suddenly have Benjen appear? He's a Targ, so it makes sense.

Characters are making rushed, silly decisions so that more Big Moments can happen, whether that be battles beyond The Wall, underwater cliffhangers, out-of-the-blue sea battles, or secret King's Landing meetings. (Let's not get started on Arya and Sansa's reunion; for all Arya's talk about doing anything for family, she's now threatening to take her sister's face?)

That’s not to say Game of Thrones is bad. These Big Moments are fun and supremely entertaining television. That battle with the White Walkers was riveting. It just makes very little sense. For a show that once prided itself on clever twists and turns, viewers are being asked to suspend their disbelief a little too much this season.