Game Of Thrones Season 8

[phantom_power]

"But he fucked me and left me so #cancelled"

Bran did prove the theory that Jon was always just there to distract the dragon, even if he didn't know it

[Head Gardener]

[NoSleep]

What the hell was that.

When the fucking book appeared and Sam was all "look its A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE" I wanted to cunt my TV through the wall.

That was a reference to the fact that he's named after Sam from LOTR (and was its author). Sam Tarly only came up with a title for this new book. Arya sailing west was another LOTR nod.

[NoSleep]

Drogon's smart enough to understand symbolism, bit not clever enough to work out Jon killed his mum?

It doesn't necessarily have to be interpreted like that. Daenerys had a vision in Qarth, while saving the three dragons from the magicians in the tower. The vision is set in the Iron Throne room. The Dragons are magical beings (hence why the magicians stole them) and have a connection to Daenerys; perhaps enough to know what motivates her (like sitting on the Iron Throne). She may have power over them, too, which is gone now that she has died. So Drogon (now free from her grip) destroys the object that twisted his mother's mind and doesn't kill the bloke that freed him from her madness.

[wooders1978]

Also Jon is a taegeryon so the dragon thinks he's his uncle or something

[NoSleep]

Yeah, Jon probably smells good to him. Targaryens are meant to have dragon blood.

[Beagle 2]

I actually liked the final episode just fine. In terms of leaving everything in a satisfying place, I think it did the job, just the right amount of situations set up and story arcs resolved. What I actually would have liked to happen is another series which began just after Daenerys' badass Nazi speech, but you have to end it somewhere. Also, for Jon to finally grow a pair and then immediately be shuffled off as a bit of an embarrasment seemed a bit rum, but Tyrian scheming his way to self-preservation was nice.

Yes, the last twelve or so episodes were increasingly terrible and rushed, but now it's over and you can look back at it as a whole, I think it's up there with the greatest TV shows of all time.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

That was a reference to the fact that he's named after Sam from LOTR (and was its author). Sam Tarly only came up with a title for this new book. Arya sailing west was another LOTR nod.

Yes we were saying all this while it happened. How many nods before something just becomes inexcusably unoriginal?

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Also it wouldn't have been so rushed if they hadn't wasted probably 15 episodes worth of time, easily, of material that obstructed the timely progression of the core stories.

If there had been a Series 9 they would still have found a way to waste time in them. Even in this 6 episode series there was at least 90 minutes of stuff no-one needed. They had the chance to move things on during Series 4-6 but dragged stuff on and on.

[NoSleep]

Yes we were saying all this while it happened.

Couldn't hear you from here. Didn't even know we were all watching it at the same time.

How many nods before something just becomes inexcusably unoriginal?

"A bit obvious" would be more accurate. GoT has hardly walked in LOTR's shoes, despite owing its existence to the genre created in its wake.

[Thursday]

There was the very slow beginning of Tyrion, Jon, and Arya stalking the ruined streets, which in isolation I enjoy, but it seems mad to do so many drawn out things like that when there's so much more they could be spending time on.

Really, it's not even as GRRM says, it didn't need to go beyond 10 seasons, it just could have done with full 10 episode seasons for 7 and 8.

[NoSleep]

I have a feeling there are going to be spin-offs from some of the seeds sown in the finale. I know they currently have plans only for prequels, but it seemed obvious to me; more than a "life goes on" vibe.

[greenman]

There was the very slow beginning of Tyrion, Jon, and Arya stalking the ruined streets, which in isolation I enjoy, but it seems mad to do so many drawn out things like that when there's so much more they could be spending time on.

Really, it's not even as GRRM says, it didn't need to go beyond 10 seasons, it just could have done with full 10 episode seasons for 7 and 8.

Honestly though after season 4 I think a lot of what the show has done best has been based on more cinematic building of atmosphere whilst most of what has been least successful has been attempts to revist the better remembered moments of those earlier seasons. I'd say its ment that very literal readings of the story only focused on whats in the dialog will give a progressively worse reflection of whats onscreen.

I would say as well that after season 4 the less successful subplots have tended to be those struggling with more static characters. I mean previously we could have very drawn out plots in terms of events such as Arya and the Hound or Brienne and Jamie that made for great TV because they were really focused on character progression. Stuff like Jamie in Dorne or Tyrion and Varys in Mereen ended up less interesting partly because there wasn't much progression in character within them, just depending on characterful dialog wasn't enough and often rang false.

I suspect that the big choice that was made for season 7 onwards was to focus on character rather than plot, tell the stories they thought could be sustained by the former rather than the latter.

[sevendaughters]

the more I think about everything that happened after Jon killed Dany the more it falls apart, nearly everything up to there makes sense but to me this was a full Devon Loch moment.

[Beagle 2]

I would have been happy for it to end at the point the knife went in but I'm sure there would have been riots.

[AsparagusTrevor]

Or Dany looks towards the door then cut to black.

[hermitical]

Arya sailing west was another LOTR nod.

I think it also mirrors a historical Westeros high born woman who was very much like Arya?

[Poobum]

This is all the ending needed really. https://twitter.com/FoldableHuman/status/1130581319593783296

[Mister Six]

I wonder how the lad in the flappy coat felt by the end of it all? He votes for Tyrion's suggestion that Bran be king, Bran then picks Tyrion as Hand, and Tyrion tosses out flappy lad as Lord of Highgarden in favour of a grubby, foul-mouthed, morally questionable bodyguard (I mean, I think Bronn would have gotten on well with the Queen of Thorns, but still).

The ending really did prove that Scientific American article's point about latter-day Game of Thrones being psychological rather than sociological - or, as the writer really meant, being focused on individuals rather than the grand scheme of things. Highgarden and Dorne spontaneously generate leaders (yeah I know the Dorne one was mentioned last episode) neither of whom express any opinion or personality, one of whom is deposed offscreen, apparently without a fight, so his entire family can be sacrificed to Bronn's happy ending.

In old GoT that would have been an entire subplot of negotiations, arguments, threats and appeals. In fact, old GoT would probably have got a good season or half season out of Dany trying to impose her will on Westeros, and the effects it would have on the political landscape and society at large. But the show now has zero interest in any of that - the world barely exists outside of our heroes and villains, and can be bent, broken or forgotten to accommodate whatever impact needs to be made on them.

That's also why Dorne and the Iron Islands don't leave the Seven Kingdoms even though they're as fractious as the North. It's why all the stuff in Mereen/Essos, which took up most of seasons two to six, and the fate of Daario and Dany's empire, hasn't been mentioned these past two seasons. It's why there are Crows again even though there's no reason for them to exist. It's why Euron was able to build a new fleet without any trees in season six, and why Arya is able to spontaneously generate an ocean-worthy ship and crew without any money (or was Winterfell willing to stump up the cash for that instead of focusing on reconstruction?).

The world is just an easily changed backdrop for the hastily dashed-off character arcs; it's not an entity in of itself any more.

Peter Dinky seemed very keen to stop doing the show. In one interview he said something like "Oh it's the right time, it's time to stop" he had quite a cunty look on his face when he said it too.

Maybe if he'd been given anything good to do in the past four years. I think most of the cast are aware of a precipitous drop-off in quality, and feel rightfully embarrassed about it. There's s supercut on YouTube of them looking awkward when asked how great the ending is.

[Hey, Punk!]

I liked that Jon leaving the Kingdoms to head North was the last shot. Also, the transition towards an elected Monarch still leaves room in the imagined future of the series for a return to the intrigue of the past. Things slowly get better, but bad things still manage to occur.

Although I admit that is an effort on my part to imagine the finale as better than it really was, there was too much sweetness, not enough actual bitterness near the end.

[phantom_power]

I am down for an Arya spin-off. Like The Littlest Hobo but with more evisceration

[Mister Six]

It doesn't necessarily have to be interpreted like that. Daenerys had a vision in Qarth, while saving the three dragons from the magicians in the tower. The vision is set in the Iron Throne room. The Dragons are magical beings (hence why the magicians stole them) and have a connection to Daenerys; perhaps enough to know what motivates her (like sitting on the Iron Throne). She may have power over them, too, which is gone now that she has died. So Drogon (now free from her grip) destroys the object that twisted his mother's mind and doesn't kill the bloke that freed him from her madness.

Bit odd of Drogon to object to genocide now, and not while it was being used to burn civilians to death. Also a bit odd of it to not be angry at his stepdad for killing his mum, regardless of how good he smelled.

You may well be right, but it's shit writing to have something that pivotal rest on fanfiction. Couldn't the dragon have just tried to burn Jon, except he's a Targaryan so it doesn't do anything, or Bran wargs into it and drives it off - finally doing something useful - or summat?

Ah sod it.

Also - to chime in on the elected king thing, wouldn't it make more sense for Bran's replacement to be the next Three-Eyed Raven? I assume he'll be passing it on when he's close to death, given all the chatter about the importance of man's stories etc. Which never really convinced me, since it was never one of the themes of the show and only showed up right before the Battle of Winterfell, but whatevs.

[NoSleep]

I reckon they've kept the potential for a sequel there by having Drogon fly off with her; barely alive or resurrected by a Melisandre-alike.

[wooders1978]

Another pointless poor device was we spent 5 or 6 seasons building up to the big reveal that Jon is true heir to the throne and it just seemed to be out to the side this season - utter shambles to be honest

[Head Gardener]

[Poobum]

Bran on about finding Drogon, the implications. Super warg Bran, dragon, what an enticing off screen mystery.

The worst thing about this show is that it undoes the drama of previous episodes. "Remember the dothraki being wiped out dramaticaly almost to a man? Remember how chilling that was as their flaming swords were extuinguished to the last? Well actually loads of them survived somehow so that's that."

I think Naath's in for surprise when a load of unsullied turn up cause Grey Worm's girlfriend was from there.

"Who you?"
"Unsullied. We live here now."
"Well you seem a lovely bunch but it's a small island and..."
"We've all killed a baby."
"Must of been nothing left of the poor thing... Oh wait, I see, and that's actually much worse."

[Custard]

I hope one of the spin-offs is Joffrey: The College Years

Been rewatching season one, and Joffrey was great. Amazing little cunt

[Mister Six]

Tell you what's great and knows how to pay stuff off: Doom Patrol. Everybody go watch Doom Patrol!

[Thursday]

I am down for an Arya spin-off. Like The Littlest Hobo but with more evisceration

See in some ways this makes sense, but then again... surely they have to come up with a new and interesting thing for her to discover each week, going to be a bit weird fitting this in with Game of Thrones lore, but I guess it'll be non-canon.

[phantom_power]

See in some ways this makes sense, but then again... surely they have to come up with a new and interesting thing for her to discover each week, going to be a bit weird fitting this in with Game of Thrones lore, but I guess it'll be non-canon.

She is going to undiscovered lands so it doesn't need to fit in with anything we know about Westeros