Game Of Thrones Season 8 Finale Let-Down

[justa16yearoldaussie]

what did you guys think of the game of thrones season 8 finale, i personally thought the entire season was rushed and poorly concluded 7 seasons of TV, especially the last episode which was shockingly bad, particularly in comparison to other seasons.

[ShineintheDark]

I feel like the show could have probably hit all the same beats a lot better if it was given at least another season or at least a full season of 10 episodes but I don't actively HATE how it ended either. However, we also have to realise that it's not PURELY Dan and Dave's fault: of all the things they've mentioned that GRRM has told them that he wanted, it was who he wanted on the Iron Throne (and likely what his overall plans were for Dany) meaning actually the show did hit some of the same beats GRRM plans to. However, there are some major differences: for one, George plans to go about it in a different way that is likely way more gradual and worked out than a single season of TV; also, he could and probably will now that he's seen the public reaction, change his mind and go in a different direction at any time, which he has the luxury of doing thanks to spending years writing and rewriting his books before he publishes them.

We also have to put some blame on HBO: Game of Thrones was one of the most expensive TV shows ever and I bet you any money that the execs told the showrunners exactly how many episodes they were allowed to film back when they were writing S7 (when they announced the shorter 2 last seasons) because the budget was getting too big for the network's liking. Add that on top of heavy public demand for a well-written yet quickly-delivered ending to a hugely complex story and you get S8.

[LiberalTurboprop]

Spoilers Below!

Definitely far too rushed. I thought the first twenty minutes of the last episode, up until Jon Snow takes out Dany, and episode 2 were pretty good. The rest of the season was shoddy as hell. It's just a shame that such good action, CGI and music had to be let down by the most important thing of all, the writing.

I didn't find it believable at all that all these lords would proclaim Bran as leader - what's in it for them? A lot of them haven't even met him, let alone trust him. And then he let's the North secede. No way that Dorne and the Iron Islands don't immediately declare independence too. Also, not exactly sure how Jon's exile beyond the wall (because there's no point to the Night's Watch anyway now) is in any way workable given that his cousin now runs an independent kingdom to the South and it's not like anyone is going to care now the Unsullied have gone off. The Dothraki seem to have evaporated or something given that they don't immediately go raiding, looting and raping like Dothraki do without Dany. Giving the Master of Coin job to Bronn is just blatant fan-service, given that he'd financially destroy the realm through corruption and incompetence (he didn't even understand how loans work in Season 2).

I mean those are plot holes, not real criticisms, but they do demonstrate that it was so rushed that it lost the depth that made the show at least somewhat logical. The single biggest problem was that there wasn't enough time between the characters to develop them. Dany didn't have enough time to transition into the mad queen. There wasn't enough time to develop Arya as the killer of the Night King. There wasn't enough time to make the romance between Jon and Dany believable. And the character moments that are there are often wasted on lame dick jokes or fan-servicing call-backs ("haha, he said the thing that he said before back in Season 4"). Big moments like Jon telling Arya and Sansa his parentage are rushed and we aren't allowed to properly see them come to terms with how they feel about this and how it affects them. It's like the writers just end scenes without character reactions because they can't properly write the characters reaction.

[InternetTeen]

Season 7 and 8 were both rushed. They should've been made into 20-30 episodes. The first half is all about the war against Cersei and the second half is all about the war against the Dead.
I enjoyed the first two episodes especially the final of episode two. Podricks song was just beautiful and it was really nice seeing all our favourite characters together one last time. The third episode was very. The war should've been a full season not one hour. I wanted to see a duel between Jon and the NK, a retreat from Winterfell and a major character death.
In episode 4/5 I hate that we didn't get to see Sansa and Arya's reaction to Jons true parentage. Jon's parentage also had no affect on the story at all. Varys also wrote a letter for no reason.
The final episode was quite nice. I loved that Ned Starks children won the Game of Thrones and the final scene was really sad. Seeing Dany die wasn't surprising but it was upsetting especially for Jon and Drogon. Dan and Dave forgot that the whole tunnel collapsed over Cersei and Jaime and that most the Unsullied/Dothraki died at Winterfell.
Bran shouldn't have been made King. He has no emotions and wouldn't care about the people, he can't reproduce and he is a cripple who would be seen as weak. Sansa should've been made Queen and Winterfell made the capital.

Oh well at least Tormund survived.

[AleksK]

The main problem of 2 last seasons is that they are too fast...

[Ashley2004]

I agree that the season was too rushed and honestly I think the producers screwed themselves. It took them over 2 years to make 6 episodes. That just made expectations way too high. If they just made season 8 in a year like normal and did 10 episodes, people wouldn't have expected something so unrealistic.
I didn't like the ending. I mean in what universe would I want some random guy with no leadership experience being king to everyone. Bran was probably the least deserving and capable to be king. And honestly, as long as Jon is alive, he's the true heir to the throne so whether or not some people like it, as long as he's alive, he should be king.

[hayley2003]

On HBO tonight they had a two hour documentary of the making of GOT. They showed a clip of the cast reading through last episode script, and in original the script the final episode ends with the death scene where John Snow kills Queen Dani. However, the final version that was shown on HBO lasted for about another 10+ minutes where they showed them picking a king and a bunch of other stuff.

What we don't know is if they added more the script later, or they just edited the final episode differently than the script.

[THE_D3_4D_3Y_35]

Apparently the last season was a big let down for many fans but not for me. Too short for sure but still great. Of course it would have been better if the season was based directly on The Winds of Winter (which should be titled A Wind of Winter if you ask me) but it was nowhere near as bad as some fans are claiming.

[ShineintheDark]

On HBO tonight they had a two hour documentary of the making of GOT. They showed a clip of the cast reading through last episode script, and in original the script the final episode ends with the death scene where John Snow kills Queen Dani. However, the final version that was shown on HBO lasted for about another 10+ minutes where they showed them picking a king and a bunch of other stuff.

What we don't know is if they added more the script later, or they just edited the final episode differently than the script.

It'd probably be worse if they just ended it with Dany's death since the whole narrative of the show is finding who wins the throne - if they just ended the show with Dany's death, sure it ends her whole arc but it doesn't complete the overall show's arc. It is Game of Thrones, not The Chronicles of Daenarys Targaryen.

[LiberalTurboprop]

It'd probably be worse if they just ended it with Dany's death since the whole narrative of the show is finding who wins the throne - if they just ended the show with Dany's death, sure it ends her whole arc but it doesn't complete the overall show's arc. It is Game of Thrones, not The Chronicles of Daenarys Targaryen.

Or A Song of Ice and Fire ;)

[Jessica.lang19]

I was very very upset by the ending. Throughout the whole series we are rooted and wanted Danny to sit on the throne as she was a just and fair ruler. She wanted a better world for everyone. I was truly hoping for a Danny and Jon pairing as the Targaryen house never had a problem with interfamily marriage. They would have made the perfect pair.

Bran seriously? King? Yeah right....

To say the ending was disappointing is an understatement. Why would Arya undergo such intense training for so long to leave her list unfinished? The ending to Jamie and Cersei was truly disappointing, I mean weren't we all waiting for an epic death for her?

[THE_D3_4D_3Y_35]

Bran seriously? King? Yeah right....

https://www.google.com/amp/s/ew.com/tv/2019/05/30/game-of-thrones-bran-george-r-r-martin/amp/

[LiberalTurboprop]

To say the ending was disappointing is an understatement. Why would Arya undergo such intense training for so long to leave her list unfinished? The ending to Jamie and Cersei was truly disappointing, I mean weren't we all waiting for an epic death for her?

Jaime is the worst done of all of them. His character development is just thrown away. He becomes a more moral person and more independent of Cersei, only to go back and die with her? And he says "I never really cared about the people, innocent or otherwise." when he broke his oath and suffered years of shame for killing the Mad King specifically to PROTECT THE INNOCENT. Just terrible.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/ew.com/tv/2019/05/30/game-of-thrones-bran-george-r-r-martin/amp/

The basic plot points could make sense. It's just that the show didn't develop the characters or the plot to make them actually make sense and be satisfying.

[THE_D3_4D_3Y_35]

The basic plot points could make sense. It's just that the show didn't develop the characters or the plot to make them actually make sense and be satisfying.

It was war. Not character development 101. Sure, if they had 4 more episodes to do that it could have been nice but they ran out of a budget. I was alright with the show cutting off battle scenes in earlier seasons, but not in the end. We knew Dany was going to become the mad queen. We knew The Night King was coming for Bran. That was enough.

[LiberalTurboprop]

It was war. Not character development 101. Sure, if they had 4 more episodes to do that it could have been nice but they ran out of a budget. I was alright with the show cutting off battle scenes in earlier seasons, but not in the end. We knew Dany was going to become the mad queen. We knew The Night King was coming for Bran. That was enough.

They were offered like two more seasons. They did not run out of budget. The writers just wanted to move onto other projects and refused to let other writers take over. It was enough if all you wanted was big dumb action scenes. Game of Thrones used to have political manoeuvring and interesting character motivations. I think it is far less compelling to do away with that and just rush through a bunch of plot points which no longer flow properly because they don't have adequate character development and plotting to make them satisfying.

[THE_D3_4D_3Y_35]

They were offered like two more seasons. They did not run out of budget. The writers just wanted to move onto other projects and refused to let other writers take over. It was enough if all you wanted was big dumb action scenes. Game of Thrones used to have political manoeuvring and interesting character motivations. I think it is far less compelling to do away with that and just rush through a bunch of plot points which no longer flow properly because they don't have adequate character development and plotting to make them satisfying.

They ran out of budget for season 8 which cost 95 million. The writers ended the series because there were no more books to base it on anymore. Epic battles are key to fantasy. As I said before, the politics were there to set wars to come.

[LiberalTurboprop]

They ran out of budget for season 8 which cost 95 million. The writers ended the series because there were no more books to base it on anymore.

Well, that's their fault for not budgeting their season properly. But they were still offered more seasons and chose not to take them. They ended it because they wanted to end it quickly and as a result it's horribly rushed.

Epic battles are key to fantasy. As I said before, the politics were there to set wars to come.

I disagree completely. Fantasy is an extremely broad genre. And the ASOIAF books and the early seasons of Game of Thrones are great and don't focus on battles. They mostly focus on political manouvres, exploring lore and character drama. And they're great for it. That's why it's so much better than a lot of the more generic and unintelligent fantasy works. Like there's a battle which can be cool to look at but it's just unsatisfying as plot when there isn't the character development and internal logic to back it up. Like the Battle of the Blackwater in Season 2 was built up, had major plot implications and had characters who were interesting and had interesting motivations. I don't care as much about the battles in the later seasons. There is no internal logic any more. The characters are now husks where there was once complexity. And the tone is all over the place in a way that reminds you of a much more generic fantasy TV show. The writing just isn't up to scratch.

[THE_D3_4D_3Y_35]

Well, that's their fault for not budgeting their season properly. But they were still offered more seasons and chose not to take them. They ended it because they wanted to end it quickly and as a result it's horribly rushed.

I disagree completely. Fantasy is an extremely broad genre. And the ASOIAF books and the early seasons of Game of Thrones are great and don't focus on battles. They mostly focus on political manouvres, exploring lore and character drama. And they're great for it. That's why it's so much better than a lot of the more generic and unintelligent fantasy works. Like there's a battle which can be cool to look at but it's just unsatisfying as plot when there isn't the character development and internal logic to back it up. Like the Battle of the Blackwater in Season 2 was built up, had major plot implications and had characters who were interesting and had interesting motivations. I don't care as much about the battles in the later seasons. There is no internal logic any more. The characters are now husks where there was once complexity. And the tone is all over the place in a way that reminds you of a much more generic fantasy TV show. The writing just isn't up to scratch.

I wouldn't say it wasn't managed properly. The Long Night and The Bells were the most important battles of the entire show, so they had to put most of the budget on them. The last 2 seasons suffered from not being based directly on the books, so 2 more seasons would have been a bad idea.

That's just silly. Epic battles are still key and Thrones is no different. Then again lore is key as well and the earlier seasons did a perfect job at establishing it. What are you even on about? The Battle of the Bastards had enough "logic" behind it. It had more than enough character development as well.

[LiberalTurboprop]

I wouldn't say it wasn't managed properly. The Long Night and The Bells were the most important battles of the entire show, so they had to put most of the budget on them. The last 2 seasons suffered from not being based directly on the books, so 2 more seasons would have been a bad idea.

That's just silly. Epic battles are still key and Thrones is no different. Then again lore is key as well and the earlier seasons did a perfect job at establishing it. What are you even on about? The Battle of the Bastards had enough "logic" behind it. It had more than enough character development as well.

They were some of the most important events in the show so should have been properly built up and the characters properly developed to give a good a payoff. And they simply weren't. The Battle of the Bastards was good and had some build up but even that was still rushed a bit.

[THE_D3_4D_3Y_35]

They were some of the most important events in the show so should have been properly built up and the characters properly developed to give a good a payoff.

I do have to agree with that. One season for The Long Night and another one for The Bells would have been better. Seems like they crammed 2 seasons in one and it would have been best to have GRRM himself write some episodes to develop the characters more but unfortunately he's too busy with the books.

[LiberalTurboprop]

I do have to agree with that. One season for The Long Night and another one for The Bells would have been better. Seems like they crammed 2 seasons in one and it would have been best to have GRRM himself write some episodes to develop the characters more but unfortunately he's too busy with the books.

I think the writers D&D are pretty good at adapting things - though Seasons 1-4 have their problems if you really pick apart some of the plot, they're overall brilliant television - but aren't very good when the material runs out. And they have seemingly lost interest in the project and want to move onto their Star Wars project. I wish they'd have had the self-awareness and graciousness to hand the project off to writers who are dedicated to the project and are better at creating original content. Because the broad plot strokes aren't really a problem (apart from Jaime going back to Cersei), they just need more time and better writing.

[THE_D3_4D_3Y_35]

I think the writers D&D are pretty good at adapting things - though Seasons 1-4 have their problems if you really pick apart some of the plot, they're overall brilliant television - but aren't very good when the material runs out. And they have seemingly lost interest in the project and want to move onto their Star Wars project. I wish they'd have had the self-awareness and graciousness to hand the project off to writers who are dedicated to the project and are better at creating original content. Because the broad plot strokes aren't really a problem (apart from Jaime going back to Cersei), they just need more time and better writing.

It would have sucked to have the two of them actually do some fan fiction and write character development for the last 2 seasons so it might have been best they were shorter then. I don't think they lost interest and wanted to wrap things up with those epic battles we had. I also don't think anybody else could have done better than Martin himself writing some episodes for the show.

[hayley2003]

I was very very upset by the ending. Throughout the whole series we are rooted and wanted Danny to sit on the throne as she was a just and fair ruler. She wanted a better world for everyone. I was truly hoping for a Danny and Jon pairing as the Targaryen house never had a problem with interfamily marriage. They would have made the perfect pair.

Bran seriously? King? Yeah right....

To say the ending was disappointing is an understatement. Why would Arya undergo such intense training for so long to leave her list unfinished? The ending to Jamie and Cersei was truly disappointing, I mean weren't we all waiting for an epic death for her?

Seems it was clear from the very first episode that Bran was an very important character and likely to survive to the end, but for what reason it was not easy to predict. Like any character, he could have suddenly died in any episode, but when a person dies, its because it serves the story. It was clear his journey throughout the series was leading to something important. I thought maybe he would be hand to the king, or maybe he would regain full use of body, and then who knows what might have happened next.

We presume that Dani is dead, but she was swept away by her dragon, which leads to the possbility that, like Jon Snow, she might rise from the dead (in the books).