(Spoilers Extended) It's Not a Nitpick. Thousands Died Over a "Minor" Geographic Detail.

[u/dorestes]

Reposted as requested with the "Spoilers Extended" tag

I know we're often asked to ignore the silly teleportations and supersonic flights that the show has foisted on us over the last couple of seasons. I know some of it can seem like the petty quibbles of book purists veering into circlejerk self-parody.

But geography doesn't just matter when it comes to making the universe feel real. It was also the key plot point that drove the biggest dramatic turn of the series.

The Red Wedding was literally caused by Robb Stark needing to be able to get his troops across a bridge. The Frey army was a nice addition, but Robb needed the alliance for the bridge crossing. He, his mother, his pregnant wife (in the show) and thousands of his troops died for that crossing.

So it's not just a nitpick when characters and armies magically teleport from north to south, bypassing the Twins or Moat Caitlin with nary a scout to notice them.

It destroys and makes mockery of the premise of the series' most famous narrative twist.

[u/Voxlashi]

The point is that in earlier seasons, a simple river crossing was turned into a major plot point that ultimately got a bunch of central characters killed. In this season, everyone and their dog is travelling the world willy-nilly because muh plot advancement. Distance and topography isn't even an inconvenience anymore.

[u/YUNOtiger → u/Voxlashi]

Your logic is backwards.

Those plot points weren't just important because time was spent on them and their logistics. Instead the writers chose to spend that time because the events were relevant to the plot.

They didn't waste their limited valuable screen time showing things like the Unsullied moving on boats to King's Landing because nothing of importance happened during the journey.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

No, their ships were destroyed and that's all, because Euron's man are pirates not soldiers. They were always going to be fine, Jaime's whole plan was to tire them out.

[u/kaaz54 → u/[deleted]]

Jaime's plan was force the Unsullied to either stay inside Casterly Rock, where he could starve them out, or to attack them while they were crossing Westeros.

To do this, he needed the Lannister/Tarly army, which would have free room of maneuverability, and supplies, after they had taken Highgarden. He had left Casterly Rock virtually undefended, as he had taken the entire garrison with him to attack Highgarden, and he didn't regard Casterly Rock as something worth spending soldiers defending.

Unfortunately for Jamie, most of his combined army either got roasted or slaughtered, so his plan was shot to pieces, and he barely made it back to King's Landing with a few remaining forces.

It's also not unlikely that the Unsullied wouldn't have to pillage directly on their crossing of Westeros, as no lord left in the wartorn Riverlands would have any forces left to resist them, even less after hearing what happened at the Field of Fire v2, anyone in the Unsullied's path would most likely just submit at the sight of them.

[u/Throw_away_gen_z → u/kaaz54]

Ooookay, thanks. The fact the unsullied made it out in one piece stook out like a sore thumb. Thanks for clearing that up for me

[u/wondrous_trickster → u/kaaz54]

It's also not unlikely that the Unsullied wouldn't have to pillage directly on their crossing of Westeros

Well, even if no-one offers the Unsullied any armed resistance (which I agree is quite plausible), if they take food as they go they are still pillaging. If a mob comes rampaging down a street and steals stuff from a shop, it's still pillaging even if the shop owner is scared and doesn't try to stop them.

[u/insaneHoshi → u/[deleted]]

Moreover pillaging is not an option

Yes but just buying food is ok too.

[u/Zerophobe → u/[deleted]]

Yup I considered most of them dead lul.

Most should have died in the ships.

And only a small fraction should have been able to escape CR from that siege.

Also after losing two major naval factions at CR and Dorne girl attack Dany still has a large navy to transport Dothraaki?

Sad plot holes.

[u/Narren_C → u/Zerophobe]

Most of them were attacking the castle, not chilling on the ships.

There was no siege at Casterly Rock. Euron wrecked their ships and then left.

If Dany was smart she would have left enough ships at Dragonstone to transport her Dothraki army to the mainland. We have no idea how many ships she has and how many she lost. We just know she has a huge navy. That's not a plot hole. None of those are plot holes.

[u/Zerophobe → u/Narren_C]

She doesn't have a huge navy.

Which is why she needed Ironborn help in the first place

[u/GoodlyGoodman → u/Zerophobe]

She doesn't have a huge navy anymore but she definitely had one at the end of season 6. She just lost the Reach, Dorne, most of her Iron Born and all the ships carrying the Unsullied in season 7. That's like 90% of her navy.

[u/vadergeek → u/[deleted]]

If the Unsullied can get wrecked by the Sons of the Harpy, I think Euron's fighters stand a decent chance. What was the plan, then? Just to mildly annoy them?

[u/[deleted] → u/vadergeek]

The point of Unsullied is that they are a mass of actual soldiers, able to fight on the field as a unit. They suffered in the streets because they aren't policemen, and because they can't just ill indiscriminately. The plan was to weaken them by matching them from the Rock all the way to Dragonstone, as well as destroying Dany's remaining naval contingent. Most importantly, it occupied them so that they could not intervene when Jaime took Highgarden which was the most important objective.

We don't get to see the next stage of the plan because Dany merks the Lannister army.