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| - Jon didn't purposefully charge at Ramsay's army alone. He had a choice between forging forward or trying to retreat. If he did the latter he would've been shredded by the Bolton archers just like Rickon, so he made the only play he could. It was the whole point of Ramsay's Rickon ploy, to lure him out into that impossible situation and in turn throw his whole army off |
I disagree, it would have been the far saner option to run back to his army. Weighing up the odds of charging at a bunch of cavalry alone, or running back to my own army and getting shot at by a few arrows, I know what I'd pick. Whilst running back, I'd be getting ever further out of range. Anyway, Jon still got shot at by Bolton arrows when he got up and started fighting, so he only doubled his chances of getting killed by charging towards them.
That wasn't the idea they were going for anyway. Basically, Jon got so angry that he lost his cool completely and charged at the enemy in a blind rage. I see no indication that they were aiming for anything else with that scene. And it's a disservice to the character they have built up for the last 6 seasons. Is this the same Jon who was persuaded to return to the Night's Watch after his father got beheaded? Is it the same Jon who mourned his brother getting killed at the Red Wedding but refused to go out and seek revenge? I get that he has left the Night's Watch now, but the point is that this is someone who has learned to control his emotions in difficult situations. Now, after 6 seasons of that, they throw it all away and have him lose his cool after a really obvious ploy by Ramsay, which gets him worked up and leaves him running towards what would have been certain death, were it not for his plot armor.
It was this point that the episode started sucking imo. It would have been far more powerful and rewarding and consistent with the character if Jon, after seeing his brother killed before his eyes, had controlled his emotions and gone back to his men, knowing that he had to keep a clear head and use superior tactics if he was to beat Ramsay and ultimately avenge Rickon. Ramsay's ploy failing would also have added some push and pull to the battle, something the whole sequence sorely lacked which previous 'battle episodes' had aplenty.
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| - Ramsay firing arrows at his own men shouldn't be surprising at all considering he's probably the most ruthless/sociopathic person in all of Westeros |
But he expects these men to fight for him, so he has to inspire at least some loyalty. Ramsay primarily does that by fear, but I don't think many men would serve too long under a commander who willingly orders arrows to be fired at them whilst they are in the field. Wouldn't be long til they got tired of that shit, no matter how ruthless/sociopathic you are. But then again, I don't think this is something that consciously occurred to whoever wrote this episode. I think it's simply a plot hole.
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| - The Littlefinger "rescue" is no different from how Blackwater ended, or how the battle at the Wall ultimately ended, or how most of the battles in LOTR ended. True, they could've subverted the trope this time, but I think the fact that Sansa hid it from everyone at least adds some intrigue to it going forward. Even though it was super predictable, I think the execution of the battle more than made up for it. Predictability doesn't automatically equate to being bad |
Except the Blackwater and Wall rescue's worked and genuinely were surprising, despite the clues leading up to them. This was just plain obvious from the beginning. Predictability doesn't automatically equate to being bad, I completely agree, but here's the thing...they portrayed it like it was a surprising moment. And the battle execution was terrible imo.
The entire episode was set up around Littlefinger's rescue. Characters were made to do completely stupid things in order to set it up too.
I agree that Sansa hiding the plan from everyone adds a layer of intrigue, but that's another thing...
why didn't Sansa tell anybody?
Okay, I get maybe at first why she didn't say anything (maybe...) but to not say anything on the eve of battle when she knows they are about to face a far greater force? What did anyone, including her, benefit from not telling Jon that she had a bunch of Knights of the Vale on the way? There is no discernible advantage. Her silence almost got everyone, including Jon, killed! She is either really dumb, or really paranoid. But even if it's the latter, it still makes no sense. If Littlefinger is coming, she will have to explain it to Jon at some point. Why not tell him before the battle so he can change his plans accordingly?
The answer, I believe, is that D&D wanted to portray the battle in a way that made it look like Ramsay would win, right up until the last minute. But to do that Sansa had to not tell anyone that she had requested reinforcements from Littlefinger, which would be a game changer and might make Jon hold back before attacking, and also Jon had to lose his cool despite that going against his character, and charge along with his men to certain death, so that Ramsay would have the upper hand and look like he was going to slaughter them all.
So basically, we have characters making illogical decisions for the sake of the plot. It's lazy writing.
This isn't the show it used to be. It's like Lost S6, I'm too invested to stop watching, but this show definitely peaked at Season 4, and has been on a downward spiral ever since.
In my opinion anyway!
