The Bells (Game of Thrones)

"The Bells" features the final battle for control of the Iron Throne, with an army led by Daenerys Targaryen commencing its assault on Cersei Lannister and the people of King's Landing.

The pacing and logic of the story, as well as the writing of the character arcs of Tyrion, Jaime, Cersei, Grey Worm, Varys and particularly Daenerys garnered criticism, while praise was given to the episode's visuals, performances and direction.

However, Daenerys, ostensibly driven mad by rage, does not accept the surrender and, atop Drogon, burns the city while her army participates in the massacre on the ground.

The critical consensus reads: "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 story and may leave some viewers feeling its conclusions are unearned.

[11] Lenika Cruz of The Atlantic wrote that although she found the visual effects "stunning" and the acting "spectacular", this was "the worst Game of Thrones episode ever" because the plot was either too obvious or illogical, with the massacre seeming "an unearned negation of the identity [Daenerys] had spent years building for herself".

[12] Emily VanDerWerff of Vox found the episode grim and absent of sense, but credited director Miguel Sapochnik for "the gorgeous visuals [that] extended beyond the battle scenes."

VanDerWerff praised the acting of the cast such as Maisie Williams, Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage, and Emilia Clarke; the latter two, she wrote, made their characters' actions believable even when they were illogical.

Club wrote that the episode successfully demonstrated that "the chaos of war makes villains and victims of us all", with the "progression from exhilarating hope to tragic denouement [being] skillfully executed by director Miguel Sapochnik" with better large-scale choreography than in "The Long Night".

[13] Kelly Lawler of USA Today, saying that the episode lacked substance and was an "absolute disaster", argued that Grey Worm, Daenerys and Varys took actions which were wildly out of character.

[16] Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone wrote that the episode's "technical genius" and "the visual clarity only made it easier to see how muddled the show has been, from both a narrative and character standpoint, in this home stretch", with the scorpions turning from accurate to useless, Euron surviving Drogon to have a "pointless fight with Jaime", the setting of Cleganebowl being invulnerable while the castle fell, Jaime easily entering the gated Red Keep, and the appearance of "seemingly hundreds of Dothraki" despite most of them apparently dying in 'The Long Night'.

"[20] Daenerys's turn from hero to villain was especially criticized, with many reviewers and fans feeling that, because she was built up as a morally good protagonist for seven seasons, it made no narrative sense, or that it was not executed properly within the provided timescale.

"[25] Zack Beauchamp of Vox argued that Daenerys's previous cruelties were somewhat logical because she killed people who "committed crimes deserving of punishment" and Samwell Tarly's father and brother because they "refused to submit to her rule," but that there was no reason to go after harmless civilians.

[21] The Atlantic staff opened, "Game of Thrones could have easily demonstrated the nasty reality of [Daenerys's] fight for Westeros without putting the choice to massacre innocents directly on her shoulders.

Instead, 'The Bells' ended up painting one of the most pivotal plot points in the final season as an emotional lashing-out from a tired, lonely, paranoid young woman.

"[27] Kathryn VanArendonk of Vulture also criticized the episode for "ultimately hing[ing] on a trope as painfully stale as 'and then the scary powerful woman goes crazy'.

[29] Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone stated that Daenerys's descent into madness is the kind of development that requires "at least another half of a regular-length GoT season to feel earned.

He said Daenerys burning down King's Landing is a logical and effective way of ending the story on a thematic level, adding that how "it reshapes the rest of the episode is a striking reframing of the violence that has defined the show."

[32] Also stating that "there are many ways to interpret" Daenerys's decision to burn the city, Megan Garber of The Atlantic said that maybe it was the Targaryen madness having settled in, or her ruthlessness taking over, or a "crazy edit" by the writers, or a decision "that some innocents must die in the present so that many more can live peacefully in the future," or maybe that Daenerys "having recently lost her second dragon and the apparent loyalty of those left in her orbit, she simply made a blunt calculation about power and what will be required to attain it."

"[33] Showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss attributed Daenerys's decision to burn the city to having lost almost all of her friends and advisors, no longer trusting Jon Snow, and wanting to reclaim the home that her family built.

"[35] People magazine's Aurelie Corinthios said, "Despite the major plot developments, viewers were left wanting more from a series that has spent the last eight seasons meticulously building up complex characters."

[39] The Hollywood Reporter staff stated that "many Game of Thrones viewers see Daenerys' acts as nothing short of a character assassination, laying blame for the treatment of the Dragon Queen, Cersei and the series' other powerful women at the feet of creators David Benioff and Dan Weiss.

"[24] Mehera Bonner of Cosmopolitan wrote that "fans are absolutely devastated" by the episode and that they bemoaned "how the show has been completely ruined by sloppy writing and terrible decisions."

"[40] A petition to HBO for a remake of the eighth season of Game of Thrones "that makes sense" was started on Change.org after the preceding episode "The Last of the Starks" aired, but went viral following the initial broadcast of "The Bells".

[45] Sophie Turner (who plays Sansa) said that "there's always been crazy twists and turns" on Game of Thrones and "so Daenerys becoming something of the Mad Queen — it shouldn't be such a negative thing for fans.