This article contains spoilers from “Game of Thrones” Season 8 Episode 4: “The Last of the Starks.”
Really, though, if you haven’t seen “The Last of the Starks” go watch it, call a loved one, and then come back because we’re going to break down the military failures tactics from the episode. You should know going into this that I’m pretty pissed off about it.
Here we go.
King’s Landing would later be built upon the site of the Aegonfort, but this map shows the distance from there through Blackwater Bay to Dragonstone is estimated at under 500 miles.
In the final twenty minutes of last night’s episode, Euron Greyjoy’s fleet managed to ambush Daenerys Targaryen in broad daylight about 400 miles from the last known location of her enemy. Worse, Greyjoy’s first volley took out Rhaegal, one of her surviving two dragons. This should never have happened. Ever.
At the very least, Daenerys should have prepared for an ambush from the castle of Dragonstone or its surrounding waters.
She knew her enemy would expect her to return there to stage her attack on King’s Landing.
She knew her enemy had developed weapons capable of attacking the dragons.
She knew her enemy not only had access to wildfire, but the will to use it at sea and against the population as needed.
Advancing on Dragonstone should have been conducted with caution. Where the f*** were her advanced scouts? And more importantly, where was her ISR???
Euron Attacks Daenerys | Rhaegal Death | Game of Thrones S08E04
Euron Attacks Daenerys | Rhaegal Death
From 100 feet high, Daenerys and her dragons could see twenty miles in the distance. They didn’t think it might be important to do some aerial reconnaissance from a safe height and keep a weather eye for the Iron fleet which has already ambushed their allies once before?
This stupid WW1 pigeon is more useful than two of the most dangerous predators on the planet and a cognitive human with ancestral powers and multiple battles under her belt…
Intelligence, Reconnaissance, and Surveillance are some of the most critical military components if one hopes to achieve victory against the enemy. You have to know where your enemy is if you want to defeat them.
Daenerys has global air superiority and she can literally see her enemy from dozens and dozens (if not hundreds — I don’t know how high the dragons can fly) of miles away — well beyond the range of medieval SAMs.
I would think that after the scorpion missile struck Drogon during the Loot Train Attack, Daenerys would have been more cautious against the Lannister threat.
She should have surveilled Dragonstone and Blackwater Bay from a safe distance for the Iron Fleet and scanned Dragonstone for signs of scorpion sites or occupation. Then an amphibious insertion of Unsullied should have infiltrated Dragonstone under the cover of darkness and cleared every damn room and cave of personnel and wildfire.
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Or here’s an idea! Bring this Greensight goober along with you and get real-time updates on the position of your enemy.
“Hey creepy version of Bran? Where’s Euron rn?”
“Oh that guy? He’s around the corner waiting to shoot your pretty green dragon in the f***ing throat and ruin your Sunday.”
You know what two dragons could have done to the Iron Fleet? Baited them like velociraptors and blown them to the bottom of The Gullet with dragonfire up their ass.
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Yes, I am.
Here’s why this episode doesn’t sit well:
When Tyrion was outmaneuvered at Casterly Rock and Highgarden was taken, his enemy defeated his good plan with a better one.
When Yara’s fleet was ambushed by Euron’s, it was because he built a stronger naval force and attacked her when she was overconfident and vulnerable.
When Viserion was killed, it was shocking and painful — but earned. It established the White Walker’s physical strength and the threat they posed to the dragons — just as the scorpion did in the highlands.
But this? Eleven ships sitting in the open on a clear day in contested waters somehow managed to sneak up on an air force? It’s cheap. It does a disservice to clever characters and it makes the viewing experience unsatisfying.
Still, I remain hopeful that the showrunners have set up our heroes as the underdogs at their lowest so their upcoming victory will feel that much more gratifying.
Then again, it’s Game of Thrones and we’re not allowed to have nice things.