The bells have rung on the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones, and both the fans and Emilia Clarke have spoken. The verdict? No one’s really thrilled about the current season. And when the Mother of Dragons herself isn’t pleased, you best watch out.
“The Bells,” the fifth episode of the final run of GoT aired this past Sunday and viewers have been taking to social media to share their thoughts on it. Whether they’re mourning the deaths of their favorite characters or criticizing the writers for the decisions they made in the latest episode, the feelings have been pretty strong. We saw not only the death of Jaime and Cersei Lannister, but apparently, the brutal murder of Jaime’s character arc as well. Not to mention that hugely controversial moment with Dany.
Again, the outing didn’t exactly go over well with the fanbase and now, “The Bells” has earned the distinction of being the lowest rated episode on Rotten Tomatoes in series history. Based on 52 reviews, it’s earned an average rating of 6/10, with the critical consensus reading as so:
“Death, destruction, and the deterioration of Daenerys’ sanity make “The Bells” an episode for the ages; but too much plot in too little time muddles the plot and may leave some viewers feeling its conclusions are a little unearned.”
As the consensus mentions, it was certainly an episode for the ages in that it’ll be remembered for all of its many shocking moments, but “The Bells” was simply too problematic to go down as one of the show’s finer hours. Thankfully, then, it’s not over just yet.
Game of Thrones still has one last outing left to air this Sunday and with any luck, the season – and series – finale will be able to turn things around and properly wrap up what’s been a truly incredible run for one of TV’s most impressive and beloved shows. The only question that remains, is, will you be tuning in to see what HBO has planned for us? Or have you given up on the series after that problematic episode last week?