Literally major spoilers ahead. If you haven't seen the last ever Game of Thrones episode, seriously, look away. Abandon all faith, ye who enter.
I started watching this show in 2012. I was doing a media studies A-Level, and as part of the course we were studying representation in TV. I can't even remember what we were looking for, whether I even used it as an example in the exam or not, or what I even thought of it that day. What I do remember is sitting in the classroom with the blinds pulled down, trying to see what was happening whilst sat behind a boy who was vaping because he was the cool stoner type. Cue eye roll. I remember the same boy begging the teacher to put on the second episode (because he'd already seen all of the first season and as I sit here, I wonder what he thought of the last episode, and whether he even still watches it. I don't even remember his name so I have no way of finding out) and I think we watched about three episodes over the week's lessons. I remember the girl I was friends with at the time cringing that Daenerys needed a wheelchair after her wedding night with Drogo. But I don't remember much else. All I remember is at some point after season two was released, I caught up and re-watched season one. Even then I wasn't completely into it. I'd watch the new seasons and re-watch every time Sky put the boxset on their On Demand service. But I was never obsessed. Never really counting down the days till the next season. I was here for baby dragons, Kit Harrington, and Tyrion's one liners.
That all changed in the last episodes of season seven, I think. When the Night King acquires a dragon, where the wall comes crumbling down, where the army of the dead stride over the rubble and into the lands of men. That's where my jaw dropped, and that's when I got excited for season eight. The first few episodes of this season had me buying the cheap merch they sell in Primark: 'You Know Nothing Jon Snow' pyjama tops and matching mugs that say Moon of my Life and Sun and Stars. I was never overly into this show until season seven, and the first episodes of this season really didn't let me down. I maintain that episode three, The Long Night, is the best episode in all of television history. The most intense thing I have ever witnessed, the single most breathtaking feat I've ever seen on any show ever. When Arya killed the Night King, I couldn't stop laughing. The music, the lighting (terrible though it was through most of the episode), the drama made me literally burst into surprised laughter, grinning and shouting "She's done it! She's only gone and bloody done it!". I literally felt like I needed to lie down after that episode. Truly incredible. And so we come to Sunday's episode. The last ever.
Last night I was disappointed. The credits rolled and I couldn't help like feeling I'd just waited hours for a stupidly scary and intense rollercoaster, only to be presented with a merry-go-round when reaching the front of the queue. It was all a little anti-climactic. So many questions left unanswered. So many plot holes. So many things that have been built up for eight seasons just... abandoned. Who is the Lord of Light? Why was Jon Snow brought back? Why is the Nights Watch still a thing when the dead are defeated? Who are the Children of the Forest? Who was the Night King? What about the prophecies that didn't come true? Who was the prince that was promised? Is Ellaria Sand still in the dungeons in King's Landing or did she die? Why did Arya ride away on a white horse?
So many questions. So many moments I wish we'd seen. I wanted Brienne's reaction to Jaime's death. Yara's reaction to Theon's. I wanted Tyrion to stand trial in front of Daenerys. I wanted to see her rule, I wanted to see Jon Snow take her down after she'd done more than just burn King's Landing. I wanted her to be ruthless, to ignore counsel. To really be a tyrant, to develop that part of her 'Mad Queen' identity before she had to be killed. I wanted more for Jon Snow (even though he's been fucking useless this season). I wanted to see Sam's joy at being a maester. I wanted to see his baby with Gilly. I wanted to see them rebuild King's Landing. But there just wasn't enough time. This entire season could have - should have - been two seasons. The writing was poor, and rushed, and that has been its downfall. Six episodes of half-assed shock tactics with only two really outstanding episodes. They didn't develop Dany enough for her to turn into the Mad Queen. It doesn't make sense for her character. They didn't develop Jon enough for him to suddenly be so... weak. It was inevitable that Jaime would go back to Cersei in the end, but within minutes of him jumping into bed with Brienne, he was gone. I wanted him to agonise over his decision. I wanted him to struggle to leave - but he didn't. I wanted him to be the one to kill Cersei and fulfil the prophecy - but he didn't, and that begs the question why the writers made sure that every other aspect of that prophecy came true, but not the part where she was killed by her younger brother. Again, half-assed writing.
And yet. The more I think about it I don't think they could have ended it any other way. Dany had to die. I knew that as soon as she started to burn the place down. But the things that the writers told us to love her for in past seasons - killing the masters, liberating the slaves - we were all of a sudden told to resist. They made her a different person this season, so much that you could see her death coming from a mile off. It was predictable that she had to die. It was predictable that Jon Snow killed her. It was never going to be Dany ruling the South and Jon the North, because even though that would have made many people happy, that isn't this show. We knew that the moment Ned Stark was executed. Cersei couldn't be allowed to live, because she's been the villain for ages now, so who was left? It had to be someone unexpected, and who's more unexpected than Bran? I don't like it, but then, again... who's left? After sleeping on it, it's not as bad an episode as I initially thought. There are some moments that I loved. Brienne making sure Jaime was remembered. Tyrion mourning his siblings. Sansa being crowned Queen in the North and Arya setting off on an adventure on her own ship. It's just... so lacklustre compared to the two massive battle episodes we've had this season. Dany and Cersei both deserved bigger deaths, more dramatic deaths. They needed more time. The ending left me feeling uneasy, but I suppose we wouldn't have been happy with a happy ending, because when has this show ever had a happy ending? This is imperfect and brutal and making the best of a bad situation, just like real life, but I wanted a bigger twist. I wanted a clever reason why Bran was the Three Eyed Raven. I wanted to be shocked, not because someone died, but because there was something so huge and so unexpected that I was rendered speechless. I wanted Bran to reveal something, something about the Night King that tied everything together. I wanted there to be more of a reason. So yeah. I remain disappointed but slightly less than I was yesterday. Maybe tomorrow I'll be even less. Maybe after a re-watch I'll feel better about it. I might even be able to get behind Bran as king, but I still think we needed more. More episodes, another season. Too much was crammed into this season and it suffered for it. Character development was left by the wayside in favour of shock deaths, and clever plot lines were cast aside to focus on the drama. But hey - at least Ghost got the attention he deserved in the end, right??
ns 172.71.254.144da2
and then Add to home screen.