Disclaimer: If you haven’t watched Game of Thrones through the current episode, Season 8 Episode 2, then you may not want to continue reading this article. There may be spoilers contained within. Also, this is not a sponsored post. I am participating in a Marinade Designs GoT KAL at my own expense and just want to share my progress with our readers. No compensation is being received from the KAL designer.

Previous GoT Show Thoughts/KAL Progress Posts:

Week One

So, winter is here. The Night King and his undead army loom large on the horizon. And I know many people have expressed some concerns about the first two episodes of this final season being slow. Well, I for one, am really digging all the characters coming together again. Many of them have been flung to the far reaches of the landscape for multiple seasons and have gone through a lot of growing and changing. So, I think it’s good to see them come back together again.

If you’re looking for an in-depth analysis, this ain’t the place. I love the show, but I certainly do not portend to be the most knowledgeable. For crying out loud, I haven’t even read the books! Not that I won’t. I have them. But, I didn’t hear about them in time to delve in before the TV series started. So, I decided to wait a while before reading them so that I wouldn’t get the book events confused with the series events, since they quite often can differ.

Now that the end of the series is near, I will be picking up the books and having a grand old time rediscovering the characters all over again.

So, what do you all think of the final season so far? Brienne got knighted! Yay! Jamie was forgiven (sort of?) for tossing Bran out the window. (Meh. Ok.) Arya became a woman, all the way. (Some viewers are confused by this turn of events — and I mean, it was a tiny bit awkward, I guess. But, in my view if you are developed enough to become a world-class assassin, you go get yours girl!) And Pod can SING; who knew???

Sansa’s backbone is steel in the face of Dany’s thirst for the throne. (I always knew it would be.) And Dany is …finally… thrown off kilter by learning Jon has a stronger claim to the throne than she does, should he choose to pursue it. Confusion isn’t becoming to Dany as a potential kingdom ruler, but they do love each other so if they survive the Night King (and Cersei) I think they’ll work it out to rule together. I really do.

Tyrion is clever and intelligent. But, annoying, too. Let the Night King have him. (gasp, my husband would be mortified to hear that. He loves Tyrion!) And then there’s Theon. Theon, Theon, Theon… I’ve loved him, I’ve hated him, and I’ve pitied him. But, he’s here to defend Winterfell (after everything he did to destroy it) and I think I like him all the more for it.

I’m totally with many others when it comes to Bran. He’s creepy now. Way creepy. And NO ONE uses his gifts in a way that is helpful or strategic or intelligent. Like, no one. Maybe he creeps them out, too, but damn, dude! The Night King. Human annihilation. The end of the Seven Kingdoms as we know it. Get over yourselves people and use this guy to your advantage!!!

I can not wait for the battle to end all battles to begin in the next episode. Who will rise to the occasion and who will wimp out? One theory I’ve not heard mentioned is one that has crossed my mind a time or two. Will Jamie deserting Cersei change her mind about joining the battle? Will she ride in to lend her army to everyone at the last minute like the Knights of the Vale did in the Battle of the Bastards? I doubt it. But, it could happen, right?

I don’t even want to think about who’s going to die and who (if anyone) might survive. It’s massively overwhelming to think that even if our heroes win the battle and vanquish the Night King and his army, the landscape of the power dynamic is likely to be forever changed by which people survive.

So, I (like every other GoT fan) wait with bated breath to see what happens next. I have high hopes and expectations for the remaining episodes.

On to the knit along I’ve been participating in that is themed for the final season of GoT. It’s the Ice & Embers Shawl from Marinade Designs. The above pic is from the article I posted last week about episode 1 of GoT and shows the very beginning little bit I’d completed of the shawl. It’s not much, but I had to do some prep work to ball up the yarn from hanks, knit the gauge swatch to make sure I had chosen the correct size knitting needles, etc.

Also, during that week, I’d been dealing with having the stomach flu. So, I’d been pretty well sidelined in terms of having energy and frame of mind to get much done on it.

This past week, immediately on the heals of getting over the stomach flu, I was slammed with a fierce sinus infection. I mean, come… on… ! For someone who doesn’t get physically ill much, this has been a crappy month healthwise for me.

Still, I did manage to get some more work done on the shawl.

Even with being sick and also working on a few handmade knitting and crochet items for my daughter for Easter gifts, I’m pretty pleased with the progress I made overall.

I really love the edging of the shawl that is created with Make 1 Left stitches. I think it really sets it off with this line of V’s along the edge like that.

Still got a long way to go on the shawl, but it’s introducing me to a new project type and some new stitch skills. Plus, it’s just fun. And I think that’s the most important thing.

So, share! What are your thoughts about the final season of Game of Thrones so far? How do you think it’ll all turn out? What fun activities are you doing to make the most of it? Are you crafting GoT-themed items, attending GoT watch parties, gnawing your fingers to the bone in anticipation? Let us all know!!!