*WARNING for Game of Thrones episode 5
If you're trying to avoid spoilers for "The Bells," the penultimate episode of the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones...
...then we advise you to hit the "back" button immediately because there are SPOILERS afoot!
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau posted an ominous video ahead of the premiere of "The Bells" and... well, it has to be seen to be believed.
That face!
Those expressions!
That uncomfortable silence!
It all makes sense now, doesn't it?
Let's recap: Last week, we saw Coster-Waldau's Jamie Lannister leave Winterfell—and Brienne of Tarth—to return to King's Landing. At the time, we had no idea if he meant to kill his twin Cersei or reunite with her romantically, though evidence hinted at the former.
Jamie did reunite with Cersei, but there was no murder-suicide as expected. They died together, the whole of the Red Keep collapsing on top of them.
Their deaths highlighted the utter futility of the conflict at the center of this show. It might have disappointed fans who wanted to see the tyrannical Cersei die violently, but it was a poetic end nonetheless.
And fans think Coster-Waldau's video makes perfect sense in hindsight.
But others think Jamie's return to Cersei signaled the death of years of excellent character development.
"The Bells" was never going to please everyone, and the decision to truncate the last two seasons of the show did not help matters. Character development was bound to take a backseat.
We have one more week until Game of Thrones ends for good, but we're bound to debate whether the pursuit of the Iron Throne was worth it for years to come.
If you're a fan of Coster-Waldau but only know him from GoT, you can also see him in action in the film Shot Caller, available here. Coster-Waldau stars alongside Omari Hardwick, Lake Bell, Jon Bernthal and Benjamin Bratt.
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