#battleofwesteros

5/20/19 **spoilers**

Produced by David Benioff & DB Weiss (HBO)

It took me a few years to actually begin watching Game of Thrones after it came out, but once I did, I became a die-hard fan, and even started reading the books.  This series truly felt like a post-modern take on Lord of the Rings or any other high fantasy properties in the best possible way. The complex and gray morality, clever dialog, intrigue, backstabbing, dramatic character changes, and authentic production vales help make this one of the best TV shows of all time. Seeing the bad guys constantly get the upper hand on people much more honorable and virtuous has a strange addictive quality to it, I believe because it made you hunger for justice that much more. 

While George R.R. Martin is still working on the 5th book in the series, show runners David Benioff and DB Weiss quite literally ran out of material to draw from. This was the slow but eventual collapse of the quality of Game of Thrones. Everyone who worked on the show should be applauded for the amazing prop, set, costume design, music, cinematography, and great acting, but it was the dialog, intrigue, and subversion that truly made the show special. Pulling dialog from the books felt like the easy part when compared to casting, acting, and everything visual and audio that goes into making the show. I was a big fan of seasons 1-6 (topped off with the epic Battle of the Bastards), but season 7 and 8 have been nearly unbearable.

From the out of character dialog and choices, to disappointing resolutions, to outright illogical plot progression, Game of Thrones seasons 7 & 8 have been felt like a jarring shift in priorities for the producers. Spectacle and special effects seem to have taken over. Now, with season 8 finally concluded, the final season of one of the most successful and popular TV shows of all time, I can give my true thoughts to how this grand series has come to a close. Unlike many reviews of this show online, I will avoid all hyperbole and exaggeration in my opinions, so as to be as honest as possible.

Season 8 didn’t truly piss me off until episode 3 with the Battle of Winterfell. The Night King, White Walkers, and army of the dead have been the big overarching threat for the entire world, ever since the show began. Part of why Jon Snow was ostracized so much is because he was one of the few people who believed in the White Walker threat. Banding together the Seven Kingdoms seemed like the point of the show, in a way that the petty squabbling, greed, and power meant nothing compared to total annihilation. I thought this conflict would have taken place at the end of the season as well, symbolizing what truly matters means much more than, quite literally, games of thrones.

But apparently not. The White Walkers and wights entirely rendered extinct with one stab of a dagger, their leader, the oh-so-built-up Night King, had no personality, no motive, no explanation, and we didn’t even get to see him properly fight. On a more thematic level, he and Jon never got a chance to spar or have a heart to heart. Jon spent the entire battle either flying around on his dragon, then being pinned down behind some rubble. Arya, who I think is a very cool and capable character, defies all logic and thematic purpose, and flies out of nowhere, delivering the killing blow to the Night King. Not only does she instantly kill him, but every White Walker and wight. Effectively, the writers got themselves out of a logistical nightmare and just proclaimed all the bad guys to be defeated at once. 

I don’t necessarily mind Arya doing it, but I take huge offense to how it happened. Her entire story from the show’s inception had nothing to do with White Walkers or larger existential threats. She was all about training and getting revenge on the people who have so deeply wronged her and her family. It was Jon’s story that had everything to do with honor and being a good enough leader to gather the world together to defeat this mythical threat. From a more grounded standpoint, why also, even if Arya ran through a courtyard filled with White Walkers and leaped close enough to kill the Night King, why then when he spun around and grabbed her, did she not turn into a White Walker? We’ve seen this happen many times that the Night King simply has to touch you to instantly convert you. How cool would it have been if Arya, this epic badass, now was on the side of the enemy and had to be put down by the people she loved? 

Cleaning up after the battle, Jaime hooks up with Brienne of Tarth, only to immediately leave her for Cersi. Of course, in between episodes, the entire world thought it was a trick so he could get close to Cersi and kill her, fitting with his character and who he’s become to be. But nope, turns out he truly did hit it and quit it with Brienne, and not only did Jaime go back to Cersi, they both die under the crumbling keep. This is one of the biggest character assassinations (figuratively) I’ve seen since Luke in The Last Jedi. Jaimie went from being a scumbag knight to champion of the downtrodden, only to revert back to Cersi at the last moment at the height of his redemption. This season has so many idiotic moments I can’t even remember them all.

I actually don’t mind at all with the direction Daenerys’ character went. I felt it was always going to be her fate as a Targaryan and daughter of the Mad King to massacre people in her conquest for the throne. After she fights her whole life for what she wants and feels she is entitled to, Daenerys finds out she isn’t even the true heir, and that Jon is. The extra frustrating part for her, is that Jon doesn’t even want the throne, and now practically everyone knows she doesn’t have the right to be Queen. On top of all of it, Jon doesn’t even want to sleep with her, knowing she is his aunt, but she doesn’t care, as that’s never really stopped Targaryans before (and in fact I think most of the time they aim to keep their bloodline as pure as possible). All of this lead to her snapping and burning King’s Landing. I get it, and I think its a fitting arch for her character. 

I also fully expected Jon to kill Dany someday because she would grow too power hungry. The death itself was underwhelming, but why in god’s name did Drogon not then kill Jon? The Dothraki and Unsullied would have never let Jon live after doing that. And then after everything he’s gone through: resurrection, uniting kingdoms, becoming warden of the north, realizing he’s a Targaryan, he’s sent back to the Wall (and by his own brother!) And I suppose Arya is just Columbus now, sailing west until she hits the back side of Essos. The show wrapped up far more neatly and happy than I ever expected, and it makes me want to finish reading the books to see how the events “truly” happened.

I wont say it’s all bad. I was quite physically on the edge of my seat for every minute of this season. It had my full attention and engagement despite constantly subverting my expectations in the worst possible ways. The season did have some highlights and some stand-out moments, but not nearly of the same ratio as it used to. One of my favorite moments of all Game of Thrones was in the final episode when Tyrion describes stores as what turly brings people together, not war or banners or violence. And as he said this, I recalled all the friendships made or that have been evolved, not only because of Game of Thrones, but other TV shows, movies, video games, and so on. It felt like something right out of George R.R. Martin’s philosophy and I loved that message. But you’re only as good as your final performance and unfortunately Game of Thrones ended on an epic slow death. I love the show for so many reasons but it makes me less inclined to go back and watch it again knowing what it all accumulated to.