A Look At The Final Season Of Game Of Thrones
So here we are...are you as beat up about it and as lost as I am? Perhaps feeling like it was all a dream and none of that actually happened? Well unfortunately we both have to face the truth...the best TV show of all time has came to a close children and for most it has came to a disappointing close sadly and as much as I wish I could say I wasn't in that camp who feel that way I sadly....am.... let's dive into some of my personal frustrations.
Episode 1 - this was quite the catch up episode and boy was it good to be back. While most were complaining that there wasn't enough going on I on the other hand was puzzled by these remarks because it ultimately felt fitting. After the seemingly never ending break here we were and just seeing our beloved characters faces and having a refresher course was more than enough for me.
Episode 2 - seemed to get the same backlash as episode 1 as well because it was more of the same but that's what this show is all about in case you hadn't been paying attention to the last 7 seasons. Sometimes it can be a slow burn but it always seemed like no matter how slow the build was it always paid off x 10 later on down the road. About the only downfall for me was Arya getting it on with Gendry and showing off some side boob! Look it's halfway just a joke and I know she's more than old enough now for that kind of thing but it's still odd because I watched her grow from being a little kid till this point as an adult so don't make me go get my belt little lady! Also can we pretttttyyyyy please get a Arya Stark spinoff!?!? I adore this character! I did name my very own first born daughter after her after all.
Episode 3 - some may argue needed to be the main event and I can't necessarily say I blame them. As much as I love the politics of Game of Thrones I'll be damned if I don't admit the build up of the White Walkers was always the most interesting thing to me and if that's strange to some I guess I'm guilty as charged.
This episode had a few flaws to me but dammit if it wasn't the most on edge of my seat I've possibly ever been watching anything! One flaw people pointed to was the lighting/darkness of the episode but I honestly had zero problems with it, it almost felt like it's own character in the episode in my opinion and added to the hopelessness for me personally. The one huge flaw for me was Jon Snow not engaging in battle with The Night King. Now I know they had a chance to fight but The Night King bitched out and raised the dead when Jon got close and I know there was nothing "technically" that said they had to fight at some point in the series but ever since that surprise battle at the end of the episode "Hardhome" when Jon and The Night King locked eyes as Jon sailed away with Tormund not sure what to think of what he was looking at and discovering the tales of the White Walkers were even worse than you could ever imagine all while The Night King was quite epicly raising all of the recently deceased to join his army not even blinking from there epic stare down I knew right then and there...it might not be today but one day these two are going to meet and when they do it's going to be a fight to the death of epic proportions. I mean how could you pass something up that would be on that grand of a scale? That would be impossible right? WRONG! They sadly did and as GREAT and I mean as GREAT as that episode was in my book that will always drive me crazy that that never came to fruition and then The White Walkers doing nothing as well, while admittedly as cool as it would have been to see them tear things up it made sense for them to hang back because of how many whites would be vanquished with each death to a White Walker since whatever White each White Walker turned immediately dies along with the White Walker who turned them.
But if you can't tell guys I'm still all along for the ride. Did that change in episode 4?
I'm pleased to say nooooo it did not!
Episode 4 - this is a contender for favorite episode of the season. It is everything I love about Thrones from the Characters to the Darkness that flipped you on your head at a moments notice. I mean you couldn't have thought the Dinner party celebration of defeating The Night King and his army would lead to a happily ever after forever right? Good times if you haven't noticed are very short lived in this series.
And then it happened....
Episode 5 - as a viewer with no context this would have been a phenomenal episode but as a devoted Thrones fan with context you can go ahead and get this the hell out of my face and the biggest Reason why is Dany.
I know what some will say, it was always meant to be, I mean her Father was The Mad King after all, but but but....there were subtle nuances throughout the series, did you not see the build up over this season?
And the answer is yes...yes...yes...but....
A - Who cares if her Father was evil she was out to prove she was different and so much more than that
B - there were a few hints in there that most can definitely take as foreshadowing but a couple moments over the course of 7 Seasons doesn't dictate who she was as an overall not only good human being but a good leader who always genuinely tried to make her best judgement on what was right
C - there just wasn't enough episodes and it quite simply didn't have enough substance for this drastic turn for me to buy it or break it.
Daenarys Targaryen did not deserve this fate but hey you know what that's just kind of how things go in Game of Thrones and hey you know what I could learn to live with it if the execution was better and it didn't feel so damn rushed.
And D&D...what if I told you you could have shocking/compelling moments all not at the expense of bad writing?
I watched Dany make sure she did everything the correct way out to prove people wrong no matter the obstacle and then for the first time on her journey to fulfill her destiny where there was nothing in front of her for a change to get to the iron throne, some bells ring and THAT'S WHEN SHE CHOOSES TO THROW OUT HER MORALS and go all Mad Queen on everybody?!?! Not only is it rushed as I said. THIS execution was god awful and as I also said before it just didn't feel earned at all in any way shape or form.
And don't even get me started on Jaimie and Cersei. Jaimie Lannister, a guy with quite possibly the greatest character arc of all time just has it shit on and reverted back to next to nothing after all these years. We were on a new high when he finally abandoned Cersei's clutches at the end of Season 7 and he then tracks her down while The Red Keep is slowly caving in. When she cried out Jaimie and they hugged and embraced each other I literally almost threw up in my mouth. No No NOOOOO! And then to top that off this gives oh you know the most diabolical bitch in the show Cersei Lannister someone to give her comfort while she dies from falling bricks??? This is undoubtedly a WAY lesser fate than she deserved. "The Bells" definitely left me with a headache to where I felt almost like my head was inside of them while they were going off. At least they delivered on Clegane bowl! See...there! A positive!
Episode 6 - I'll be damned if when Dany was giving that powerful speech to her army that you weren't like this all resolves within the next hour? It honestly felt like that should have been the last part of the season going into a very eventful Season 9 but nope! Let's resolve this in an hour. Scratch that let's resolve this new reign in the next 10 mins.
Jon Snow killing Dany was the right choice but I couldn't believe that I felt ABSOLUTELY nothing in that moment when I should have felt the culmination of one of my favorite characters in television history going up and down my heart strings like Hendrix on a electric guitar but instead I felt empty. I felt nothing! And the even bigger question I would pose to the ones defending the Dany change is was it worth it? Sure if we had another Season with her reign it could have been well worth it but was it worth character assassinating her to have her as Mad Queen for all of 40 minutes show time? To the point where when we inevitably rewatch the series cause we love it so much we're forced to see her in a new light because we now have an understanding of the truly evil person she becomes for a just a 40 minute stretch over the course of the last 2 episodes?
Bran as King? He didn't want it but knew this would happen and The Three Eyed Raven never being fleshed out to it's interesting full potential is also infuriating to me.
Arya becomes this faceless woman and doesn't use it to her advantage or for something very critical to the show in The Final Season? C'mon!
Jon Snow going back to The Night's Watch? He could do literally anything. I get the whole not wanting to be King thing but ANYTHING but The Night's Watch. Do not revert him back to square one!
So overall it came down to one thing and that was the writing for me personally.
D&D were offered 10 Seasons from HBO and they claimed to be able to do it in 7 Seasons. HBO and D&D met in the middle for 8 Seasons but with shorter episodes for 7 & 8 so was it really even meeting in the middle?
They were clearly ready to be done and over with the show. Their heart wasn't in it anymore from the looks of it and were ready to move on which is fine and dandy but they had too much pride to hand the reins over to some new/fresh writers that would have fully embraced the project the last few seasons and I'll never forgive them for it.
If you enjoyed The Final Season I'm truly happy for you but for the ones who didn't enjoy it like me overall don't lose sight of the journey the show took us on as a whole OVERALL.
Botched landing or not Game of Thrones was something legendary that comes around only ever so often if not ever.
Let's hope some of these spinoffs can even be a fraction as good as Game of Thrones was and here's to Hoping George R.R. Martin has a great ending up his sleeve... IF he ever releases Winds of Winter. Come on George we're losing our minds over here.