Poll: Winter Is Coming - HBO's A Game of Thrones [READ WARNING]

[Kyo]

This season just turned into a generic fantasy script when we are expecting full on GOT politics, murders and assassinations and surprises. Its almost like they just wanted rid of the thing and to put it all to bed. Soo many missed opportunities with the big characters gone. Like I said there should have been a big surprise plot twist 15 mins before the end with some clever story and even putting Bran on the throne using some special power. Not kill off Dany 15 mins in after doing the Star Wars new order scene then run down the clock just filling in peoples stories to make sure it there was no doubt that either the characters were dead or doing a happy ever after.

Missed oppotunities

Bran - no idea what his raven gifts are - just a fairly boring character
Jon - has a fully fleshed out heritage that was just ignored in the end
Dany - had about an hours worth of going full mad before being done in
Arya - they gave up on her story after episode 3

I could probably go on for each character but they went for the blandest of bland endings - I wonder if G Martin signed that off because you can bet he wont write that if he ever finished the books

Exactly just flush all of the major plot points and make up some half heart clumsy **** as we go along. Oh we got our zombie bear though
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Martin is a sneeky sod- Its a marketing ploy imo, Why would anyone want my read books if they know the end. He will let the dust settle and let the disappointment set in. Then grand reveal, read my books for the "proper" ending to GoT. It will sell like hot cakes.

 

[Washout]

how did the Winterfell crew make it to KingsLanding in a couple of weeks when it took Robert and Co. 3 months in the first episode?

Was more like a month? Plus Robert went at Robert speed and would spend days at a time taking advantage of some lord or another's hospitality (much to their annoyance) - from the books.

 

[Tombstone]

Seems that it was a surprise that even the three eyed raven didn't see coming..

"He told Entertainment Weekly: 'I genuinely thought it was a joke script and that showrunners [David Benioff and D.B. Weiss] sent to everyone a script with their own character ending up on the Iron Throne. Yeah, good one guys... Oh ****, it's actually real?"

 

[Vern1961]

Well that was all a bit... anti-climactic.

Had tried to avoid spoilers other than who became King but the story telling just seemed to fall away. As one of the daily papers stated today in their review, when several minutes of screentime had to be devoted to Tyrion arranging chairs for the Cabinet meeting and Brienne writing up the story, the writers must have been struggling. Actually Tyrion was the only character I was genuinely concerned for and sure his head would be removed by the episode end but, no, his "treason" kind of just fizzled out and even Grey Worm could only muster a hard stare, despite earlier summarily executing prisoners on very shaky ground.

In fact he was so busy cutting throats, he neglected to assign any bodyguards to Danni, who must have realised Jon would be coming for her. Even Drogon seemed stoned and couldn't muster any enthusiasm to protect or avenge his wayward mother/mistress.

Could have been so much better, the winding down should have been confined to the last 10 or 15 minutes of the episode.

 

[tyler_jrb]

You watched ep8, right? The bit where she announced to the armies 'We've freed Kings Landing, it's not over though, we need to free Winterfell and {all those other places}' Clearly she wasn't done. She literally said she wasn't done.

She certainly had more empathy in her voice than I was expecting. It’s dependant on what freeing meant I guess. Killing the masters and freeing the slaves as with the rest of the series or killing everyone who opposes her as in kings landing.

I can’t help but think that with bran king. It won’t be long before someone else decides they want/deserve the job and it’s back to the old ways and the wars start all over again.

All speculation of course.

 

[Yas786]

More importantly, where do we go and what do we watch now

Something that is much better written than this steaming pile of dog crap. Something like Chernobyl mini series is immense with half the budget that GOT had but in essence is much much better.

 

[Scam]

Martin is a sneeky sod- Its a marketing ploy imo, Why would anyone want my read books if they know the end. He will let the dust settle and let the disappointment set in. Then grand reveal, read my books for the "proper" ending to GoT. It will sell like hot cakes.

What a daft way to think about it. GRRM knows 99% of people that know GoT know it from the TV show rather than the books. They equate him with the TV show. Sullying that reputation to sell more books would be utterly, utterly daft. And you think a man that makes $15m/year would really do that to sell more books? He'll make more from the TV money (prequels etc.) than he could ever fathom from selling books.

 

[CliffyG]

I quite liked all of season 8 but thought the ending was disappointing as a few things didn't make sense to me.

• Jon spends quite a while defending Dany's actions, even taking his love of her into account he is literally the least likely of all characters to defend them. It's ok though, quick change of heart and he stabs her.
• Why does the dragon melt the throne, I get the symbolic effect but the dragon wouldn't have a clue.
• Tyrian comes out and is told to not talk as he is a prisoner, 1 minute later he does a massive speech and makes a decision for the whole kingdom on how future kings will be chosen.
• Sam being at that meeting.
• Bran as king.....
• Jon sent to the Nights Watch after agreeing to the terms of it (which seems pointless now) yet buggers off with all the wildlings.
• Sansa being allowed to have the north yet no one else asks the same of their land.
• What on earth has turned Arya into Christopher Columbus?

Overall it has been a brilliant series but like many before it the ending kind of detracts a little.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

Its pretty clear to me that Dany wasnt going to do any more mass genocide. Tyrion convinced Jon she was.

Did you miss her monologue atop the stairs?

NVM - already answered above.

 

[smr]

I quite liked all of season 8 but thought the ending was disappointing as a few things didn't make sense to me.

• Jon spends quite a while defending Dany's actions, even taking his love of her into account he is literally the least likely of all characters to defend them. It's ok though, quick change of heart and he stabs her.
• Why does the dragon melt the throne, I get the symbolic effect but the dragon wouldn't have a clue.
• Tyrian comes out and is told to not talk as he is a prisoner, 1 minute later he does a massive speech and makes a decision for the whole kingdom on how future kings will be chosen.
• Sam being at that meeting.
• Bran as king.....
• Jon sent to the Nights Watch after agreeing to the terms of it (which seems pointless now) yet buggers off with all the wildlings.
• Sansa being allowed to have the north yet no one else asks the same of their land.
• What on earth has turned Arya into Christopher Columbus?

Overall it has been a brilliant series but like many before it the ending kind of detracts a little.

Why the need to micro analyse everything?

I really don't get why we live in an age where this is such a big issue for people. Having to pick apart TV shows... I can't be bothered going through all the points but

1) It was obvious that Jon was torn between his love for Danny and doing the right thing, in the end he chose the right thing. It wasn't just a switch he quickly flicked from one second to the other like you imply. He had to be persuaded by the most persuasive character in the entire show and even then we weren't sure if he was going to do the right thing...

2) The Dragon melts the throne so out of anger, if his Mother can't rule, no one can claim the throne. Why wouldn't he know what it represents, just because they can't talk doesn't mean they aren't intelligent.

3) Why not Bran as King? Infact it was explained why he should be king, because he can't father any absolute ***** that may turn out to be evil and they're back to where they were. They're now going to be chosen democratically.

4) Jon did agree to the NW but then they followed him didn't they? Rather than the other way around.

5) Why Sam can't be at the meeting?

6) Arya just wanted to do her own thing, she's a statement of independence and heading west to seek new lands affirms that persona.

 

[McGray]

Yeah I hear Drogon actually had an excellent handle on the politics of Westeros.

 

[CliffyG]

I don't, have quite happily been watching the whole series but this episode felt a bit of a let down and the bits I listed just seemed contrived (forgot about Bronn being keeper of coins or whatever it's called).

 

[FrankJH]

I quite liked all of season 8 but thought the ending was disappointing as a few things didn't make sense to me.

• Jon spends quite a while defending Dany's actions, even taking his love of her into account he is literally the least likely of all characters to defend them. It's ok though, quick change of heart and he stabs her. I actually thought his defence of Danni ( to Tyrion) was pretty half-hearted. When he was walking the streets he was in utter shock/ dismay.
• Why does the dragon melt the throne, I get the symbolic effect but the dragon wouldn't have a clue.

needed some release, and didn't want to burn his other "parent" , probably knew the throne would melt......everything else was stone

• Sam being at that meeting. His father was hiborn remember, so he inherited his right to be there

• Jon sent to the Nights Watch after agreeing to the terms of it (which seems pointless now) yet buggers off with all the wildlings.

There is no Night King, No wall, and no wildlings (as an enemy) - whats the point of having a Nights Watch?

• Sansa being allowed to have the north yet no one else asks the same of their land. The North was historically a separate kingdom, a number of others had areas of land but were always part of Westeros / North etc
• What on earth has turned Arya into Christopher Columbus? to be fair she travelled as far afield as anyone , hated how her main story arc died out in the last two episodes or so but kinda made sense

Overall it has been a brilliant series but like many before it the ending kind of detracts a little.

My thoughts on some of those

 

[Washout]

I quite liked all of season 8 but thought the ending was disappointing as a few things didn't make sense to me.

• Jon spends quite a while defending Dany's actions, even taking his love of her into account he is literally the least likely of all characters to defend them. It's ok though, quick change of heart and he stabs her.
• Why does the dragon melt the throne, I get the symbolic effect but the dragon wouldn't have a clue.
• Tyrian comes out and is told to not talk as he is a prisoner, 1 minute later he does a massive speech and makes a decision for the whole kingdom on how future kings will be chosen.
• Sam being at that meeting.
• Bran as king.....
• Jon sent to the Nights Watch after agreeing to the terms of it (which seems pointless now) yet buggers off with all the wildlings.
• Sansa being allowed to have the north yet no one else asks the same of their land.
• What on earth has turned Arya into Christopher Columbus?

Overall it has been a brilliant series but like many before it the ending kind of detracts a little.

• He says there's no justification for what happened. He's just deluding himself that she won't keeping doing the same thing. Not until Tyrion says she'll go after his sisters that the penny drops. Even then, at the end he's still giving her chances but from what she says he knows she's lost.
• Who knows why a dragon does anything? His Targ blood, Dany was in love with him, he rode Rhaegal so maybe was like a brother to him too.
• Yeah Grey Worm does, but everyone else was willing to listen. I think Grey Worm is a little conflicted tbh.
• Sam is now the last surviving male member of house Tarly, one of the most powerful in the country...
• Bran as King actually makes sense story wise, even if show wise they could have done so much more with him.
• Said before, I think Jon joining the NW was all a ruse. Tormund being there kinda confirms it. The door coming down meaning they don't expect him to come back through. At least not anytime soon.
• Sansa becoming independent probably ruffles a few feathers and gives others the same idea. The game of thrones will no doubt continue, just in a different fashion.
• Arya wanting to wonder off travelling is I think from the books. The line, "what's west of westeros" is said by her there. Or was it in an earlier season?! Can't remember!

 

[smr]

You don't need to be a politician of westeros to understand what a chair symbolises. LOL.

 

[smr]

who's to say the Dragon didn't see Danny earlier on before that scene admiring the throne so much and then putting the "jigsaw" together as to why she was so in awe of the chair?

I think that's partly the problem here, those that have an imagination and can fill in the gaps and those that can only go on what they see.

 

[TheVoice]

She wasnt done but that doesnt mean mass killing and destruction. The Kings Landing event was fueled by Cersi anger.

Until the next thing sets her off. And the next thing, and the next. She doesn't present herself overtly as a murderous tyrant and that's the point of her character, but it doesn't mean she wasn't becoming one. Her fuse has been getting ever shorter as the series has gone on.

who's to say the Dragon didn't see Danny earlier on before that scene admiring the throne so much and then putting the "jigsaw" together as to why she was so in awe of the chair?

I don't think it needed to even "see" her to understand, there's a connection between her and the dragons, it knows she coveted the throne and what it represented to her. Just the same as a few episodes back where the dragons weren't eating because "they don't it here in the North" had nothing to do with the dragons at all.

 

[Werewolf]

Its pretty clear to me that Dany wasnt going to do any more mass genocide. Tyrion convinced Jon she was.


.

Wasn't she?
She had been doing some pretty terrible things throughout the series, just previously they were to terrible people so you ignore it.
She showed no remorse or understanding that she had gone too far basically burning a city filled with non combatants to the ground and refused to accept she might have done anything wrong "they supported Cersei" (so everyone including the kids obviously deserved to die, horribly).
There is the whole flip a coin to see if members of her family were mad or not.
She was expressing an expectation that she would "free" everyone else, and that her methods were correct and Just because her cause was Just (no matter how many innocents she killed to free them).

Jon killing her was basically the end of the struggle he's had all along with love or duty, in the end he chose his duty to protect the people over his love for her, having recognised that she was now no better than Cersei or Jophry and was entering mad king Aerys Targarian territory.

 

[Mark A]

I knew the actress that played Yara Greyjoy must have left the show for some reason as she just randomly disappeared and then appeared at the end looking weird. I'm sure she would have played some sort of role in season 7 if she hadn't been preggers.

Bran being king took me by surprise, but that whole scene and the outcome was very meh for a finale. I think Dany being killed by Jon was supposed to be this seasons shocker, but I was fully expecting something to happen after she sealed her fate by sacking the city. Then they did the cleche hug and stab with a brief period of not knowing who had stabbed who. I guess as rush jobs go, this wasn't too bad, but it's a shame they couldn't have ended on a high. I didn't finish the season still thinking about it like I did after the red wedding episode and for the finale I was expecting something more.

I think I'll give it a few years, then re-watch the whole thing as the earlier seasons are a blur now.

 

[Steedie]

The bit with Sansa demanding independence for the north just came off like she was throwing her toys out the pram that she wasn't being picked for the throne so she said that as a way of getting some kind of power, sure that's not how it was intended. Just with the dialogue as bad as it has been in the last two seasons, it's hard to interpret it in the way D&D intended.

Like Bran saying "Why do you think I came all this way", like...you tell me, mate? Are you saying "Why do you think I let all those bad things happen if I didn't want to be king?" or "Why do you think I left Winterfell and came all this way to the meeting?"

Just such bad dialogue when it could be quite clever if they were more clear