Game of Thrones Season 8 {possible spoilers}

They haven't run out of time.

HBO had already made it clear to them in 2015 that they were on board for producing more seasons and giving them the means to do them properly. George RR Martin told years ago to the showrunners Benioff and Weiss that they would need more episodes than what they had in mind, to properly tie off the different plot lines.

Reading about the reactions of the actors when asked what they thought of season 8 (Emilia Clarke clearly hated it, and Kit Harington even said in an interview that it was disappointing), I believe they would have been fine doing more episodes for seasons 7 and 8, maybe another season if it would have meant getting it right. There's an interview on Reddit with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in which he clearly says he wasn't feeling the plot lines Benioff and Weiss had in mind for Jamie Lannister in season 7. You can imagine what he really thought of season 8.

https://www.reddit.com/r/freefolk/comments/bp5izk/nikolaj_costerwaldau_on_dd/

Benioff and Weiss made up their minds that they wanted the series to wrap up in 73 episodes, no matter what. Now we're stuck watching this mockery of what the series used to be. There's a petition on change.org calling for HBO to redo season 8. Of course, it's not going to happen but it says a lot about how fans are pissed off.

It's a shame because it's doubtful (to me at least) that there's going to be that much effort put into a series like that on TV ever again, given how the economic and distribution models are changing in the industry. There was obviously great craft put into this season, so it's sad that to see that much time, effort, and resources were put together to bring to life such a half-baked, rushed conclusion.

I think everyone on Terb should bend the knee :hail:

Speirs said:

They haven't run out of time.

HBO had already made it clear to them in 2015 that they were on board for producing more seasons and giving them the means to do them properly. George RR Martin told years ago to the showrunners Benioff and Weiss that they would need more episodes than what they had in mind, to properly tie off the different plot lines.

Reading about the reactions of the actors when asked what they thought of season 8 (Emilia Clarke clearly hated it, and Kit Harington even said in an interview that it was disappointing), I believe they would have been fine doing more episodes for seasons 7 and 8, maybe another season if it would have meant getting it right. There's an interview on Reddit with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in which he clearly says he wasn't feeling the plot lines Benioff and Weiss had in mind for Jamie Lannister in season 7. You can imagine what he really thought of season 8.

https://www.reddit.com/r/freefolk/comments/bp5izk/nikolaj_costerwaldau_on_dd/

Benioff and Weiss made up their minds that they wanted the series to wrap up in 73 episodes, no matter what. Now we're stuck watching this mockery of what the series used to be. There's a petition on change.org calling for HBO to redo season 8. Of course, it's not going to happen but it says a lot about how fans are pissed off.

It's a shame because it's doubtful (to me at least) that there's going to be that much effort put into a series like that on TV ever again, given how the economic and distribution models are changing in the industry. There was obviously great craft put into this season, so it's sad that to see that much time, effort, and resources were put together to bring to life such a half-baked, rushed conclusion.

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Wow, very well said.....I knew I was not the only one feeli6 disappointed.

In all honesty I find shows like Billions, The Good Fight and Peaky Blinders more enthralling than GoTs. It was always a fantasy without logic.

I don't find S8 all that disappointing, it going to its natural conclusion. The only question remaining is will Daenreys be deposed. This is the worst atrocity she's committed, she was always insane. Why would anyone think she would spare the citizens of King's Landing. And Gray Worm has become her loyal henchman, with Jorah gone he will become The Hand. Jon Snow's naivety is his undoing, he is an accessory to the slaughter. I'll be watching the final episode, the other shows mentioned are best streamed.

The showrunners have been picked by Disney to revive the moribund Star Farts franchise. They want to squeeze every drop of blood from stone...I don't envy them the task. Vanessa Taylor is developing a film version of Bad Blood, starring Jennifer Lawrence.

Does anyone remember when they showed the series finales for both "Cheers" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation" at Skydome's giant jumbotron? Ah the good old days, I miss the 90's and wish they would have had a huge public screening for GOT there as well. I'll bet if I google there is something like that for "The Big Bang Theory" series finale tonight.

Nevertheless, we got lucky and scored free tickets to see the GOT series finale at the Cineplex big screen for Sunday. Can't wait, just gotta get back from the cottage on time since it's the long Victoria Day holiday weekend. LOL

https://www.cineplex.com/got

Grimnul said:

Alright, I think it’s time for another set of my patented “predictions that are probably dead wrong, but if I’m right will make me look like a genius”.

First off, Daenerys has to die after that little display, I think. Looking back, I now feel like she was always crazy but had good advisors tempering her worst impulses. Missandei, Jorah, and Ser Barristan are dead, Dario is back in Mereen, Varys betrayed her and is dead, Tyrion no longer has her trust since failing her several times and letting Jaime go, and Jon Snow is a potential usurper, so she’s now left alone with said impulses. We’ve seen her burn people in the past, but it was always framed as “they were bad, so it’s ok”. Now I question whether she did it because they were bad or because they opposed her. I think she’s not the benevolent figure we’ve been led to believe. I think all the “good” things she did were simply incidental or a means to an end. I think Jon will have to kill her. After that, I think he goes back to Castle Black. I think he feels responsible for the slaughter at King’s Landing because he supported Daenerys, so he feels unfit to rule. He may also feel like the north won’t support him anymore. So Jon Snow, back to the black, not king.

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Don't forget that Arya has a pair of green eyes to kill. We didn't know until now if that meant Cersei or Daenarys. Now I think we know the answer. I think Arya attempts to kill Daenarys, but is thwarted. There's also a good chance she dies in the attempt.
But I agree, Jon likely will be the one to kill Daenarys. He may save Arya in the process. He may die himself in the process (seems anti-climatic for him to go back to the Wall).

Grimnul said:

So who will sit on the throne? Not Sansa. She rules in Winterfell, I think. I don’t think she has any interest in the throne, she wants to stay in the north. Not Arya. She’s made it clear that being a ruler is not for her. That’s why she turned down Gendry. Gendry, I don’t think wants to be king, and I don’t think people will support a bastard, plus he was only made “legitimate” by Daenerys, who, we’ve established, is probably going to die, so I doubt her proclamations hold any weight.

Here’s my guess: the throne goes to Bran. I think Bran rules with help from Tyrion, and maybe Sam.

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I don't see Bran ruling the Seven Kingdoms. I don't think he'd make a good king either, as emotionless as he is.
I'm actually leaning towards Tyrion taking the throne now, with Jon a relatively close second pick. Whether Tyrion or Jon, I think Davos will be Hand. Sansa's a distant third, but still a possibility in my mind.

Still sticking to Sanza turning Jon vs. Mad Queen...Tyrion is already in her side...North still has an army...Greyjoys are still loyal to the North...

I was right about the feminist, when did such a beautiful movement go the same way as GOT.....


Why I'm furious about (and obsessed with) 'Game of Thrones'
By Kate Maltby

Posted at 5:53 PM ET, Wed May 15, 2019

Play Video
How Daenerys claimed her power on 'Game of Thrones' 01:28
Editor's Note:Kate Maltby is a broadcaster and columnist in the United Kingdom on issues of culture and politics, and a theater critic for The Guardian. She is also completing a doctorate in Renaissance literature. The views expressed in this commentary are her own. View more opinion articles on CNN.
(CNN) — Once upon a time, millions of people around the world worshipped the television show "Game of Thrones." It seems like another era. But, in fact, only a month back we were all eagerly waiting to see how the eighth season would wrap up the series.
Disappointment and fury are now the status quo for longtime fans.
USA Today's review of Sunday's penultimate episode was headlined "The series just burned itself to the ground." In the UK, leading TV critic Michael Deacon titled his "The series has been ruined beyond repair." And BuzzFeed is running a slew of articles with headers such as "The New Snapchat Filter On The 'Game Of Thrones' Cast Will Make You Forget How Terrible Last Night's Episode Was."
They're not wrong.

Kate Maltby
Kate Maltby
I can't remember the last time I invested as much in a TV show as "Game of Thrones." Over 71 hours watching 72 episodes; extra on behind-the-scenes featurettes; wasted afternoons poring over fan websites like WinterisComing.net and A Wiki of Ice and Fire. (And no, I'm not proud.) Like many of the show's fans, I dreamt up (so I thought) sophisticated ways the show could finish, close-reading the language of prophecies to predict characters' fates. Now it feels like the writers left in custody of my fantasy world have been slipshod in their care. The process is a bit like grief.
But aren't we all getting a little bit carried away? It's been reported that super fans have "google-bombed" the series' showrunners, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, rigging internet search results so that their pictures appear when users search for "bad writers." Which feels, frankly, a bit like bullying.
Yes, there's plenty to be angry about. The storylines of women and non-white characters have collapsed into cliché.
Benioff and Weiss seemed to have learned their lesson when the rape of a major character, Sansa Stark, was framed foremost as a traumatic experience for the man forced to watch it. As Vanity Fair's Joanne Robinson put it, "the last thing we needed was to have a powerful young woman brought low in order for a male character to find redemption."

Related Article: Theon's redemption shows the flaw in 'Game of Thrones'
Despite that outcry, in the current season Benioff and Weiss made an almost identical mistake handling the storyline of a woman of color. The final shots of Episode Four closed in on the tortured face of Daenerys Targaryen, a powerful white woman, as she reacted to the execution of her black aide Missandei.
Missandei, a former slave, might have had a real story arc of her own, but first she inhabited a classic "black best friend" trope and then she became a plot device to spur a white protagonist's revenge. As Sansa to Theon Greyjoy, so Missandei to Daenerys.
Daenerys' own arc has been similarly frustrating. In a fantasy culture short of complex heroines, Benioff and Weiss spent seasons building Daenerys into a woman with whom we could identify. Yes, she demanded absolute loyalty. Yes, she was vengeful to those who had wronged her. But she consistently protected the weak. Her first experience of warfare, as a child bride, saw her berate her husband's soldiers for their rape of civilian women.
Suddenly, last episode, Daenerys embraced the thrill of genocide, specifically targeting civilians with dragon fire. Personality changes happen in fiction, but not with such lack of subtlety -- not to characters the writers respect and understand.
We'd been promised that "Game of Thrones" had become a feminist show, but the corruption of Daenerys played into the oldest sexist tropes in the book. The idea of the woman ruler as inconstant goes back to old fears about women's changeable menstrual cycles. Just consider Virgil's "Aeneid," where the unpredictable goddess Juno, bringer of storms, repeatedly contrasts with the rational Jove.

Wouldn’t these people be happier if they just shut the fuck up and enjoyed life, rather than nitpicking everything to the point that nothing is fun to them anymore? Why does everything have to be “problematic”, because it involves evil white people somehow oppressing poor, innocent POCs? Shut up. Enjoy the show. Stop making everything into something it’s not. You people are why Trump won.

richaceg said:

Still sticking to Sanza turning Jon vs. Mad Queen...Tyrion is already in her side...North still has an army...Greyjoys are still loyal to the North...

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Greyjoys are still loyal to the North? The only Greyjoys who fought for the North were the ones who came with Theon. And they're all dead. The remaining Greyjoys are with Yara who, last we knew, was pledged to Daenarys. Not saying that can't change, though.

Grimnul said:

Alright, I think it’s time for another set of my patented “predictions that are probably dead wrong, but if I’m right will make me look like a genius”.

First off, Daenerys has to die after that little display, I think. Looking back, I now feel like she was always crazy but had good advisors tempering her worst impulses. Missandei, Jorah, and Ser Barristan are dead, Dario is back in Mereen, Varys betrayed her and is dead, Tyrion no longer has her trust since failing her several times and letting Jaime go, and Jon Snow is a potential usurper, so she’s now left alone with said impulses. We’ve seen her burn people in the past, but it was always framed as “they were bad, so it’s ok”. Now I question whether she did it because they were bad or because they opposed her. I think she’s not the benevolent figure we’ve been led to believe. I think all the “good” things she did were simply incidental or a means to an end. I think Jon will have to kill her. After that, I think he goes back to Castle Black. I think he feels responsible for the slaughter at King’s Landing because he supported Daenerys, so he feels unfit to rule. He may also feel like the north won’t support him anymore. So Jon Snow, back to the black, not king.

So who will sit on the throne? Not Sansa. She rules in Winterfell, I think. I don’t think she has any interest in the throne, she wants to stay in the north. Not Arya. She’s made it clear that being a ruler is not for her. That’s why she turned down Gendry. Gendry, I don’t think wants to be king, and I don’t think people will support a bastard, plus he was only made “legitimate” by Daenerys, who, we’ve established, is probably going to die, so I doubt her proclamations hold any weight.

Here’s my guess: the throne goes to Bran. I think Bran rules with help from Tyrion, and maybe Sam. I think Bronn becomes an advisor as well, because he kinda just fucked off after the scene with Jaime and Tyrion, and we haven’t seen him since. I kinda doubt they just leave it at that. Bran was named after Bran the Builder, who built Winterfell, I think he lives up to his name by rebuilding Westeros.

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Funny but this reads like the leak released a while back and explained here:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p-IFm8WhNqg

VBB

VERYBADBOY said:

Funny but this reads like the leak released a while back and explained here:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p-IFm8WhNqg

VBB

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Huh, interesting. That does seem to hit most of my points. I doubt it’s real, though, most of these “leaks” seem to wind up being bullshit from nerds with nothing better to do. Plus, I’m pretty sure I read that they filmed multiple endings specifically to prevent leaks. It does seem like admittedly a bit of a wacky way to end things. Well, guess we’ll find out on Sunday.

Grimnul said:

Huh, interesting. That does seem to hit most of my points. I doubt it’s real, though, most of these “leaks” seem to wind up being bullshit from nerds with nothing better to do. Plus, I’m pretty sure I read that they filmed multiple endings specifically to prevent leaks. It does seem like admittedly a bit of a wacky way to end things. Well, guess we’ll find out on Sunday.

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Lol and so true.

Been disappointed this season with the quick wrap up but am still happy with some much of the content that was produced, probable backlash after this Sunday is expected as has been the case after almost each episode this season and it's been building more and more but I'm content to see an end whichever way they decide... it's been a long road for them all.

VBB

oagre said:

Haven't been watching the show, but isn't Daenerys turning into a version of her father, The Mad King simply just the ultimate plot twist ending?

It brings everything full circle and few or none saw it coming.

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The signs were there from the first season. She has always appeared detatched from violence and it's use. From the rather brutal death of her brother on through she has never expressed sorrow, only resignation or anger.

She also has never flinched from ordering it either. And in some rather brutal ways as well.

It's not a plot twist imo, the viewers just followed along with her justifications for the violence.

Butler1000 said:

The signs were there from the first season. She has always appeared detatched from violence and it's use. From the rather brutal death of her brother on through she has never expressed sorrow, only resignation or anger.

She also has never flinched from ordering it either. And in some rather brutal ways as well.

It's not a plot twist imo, the viewers just followed along with her justifications for the violence.

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But in the case of her brother, he had constantly abused her, told her that he would let the entire Army of Count D... rape her, if it meant him getting an army.

And just before he was killed he had threatened to kill her and her baby. So what happened to him was justified.

icespot said:

But in the case of her brother, he had constantly abused her, told her that he would let the entire Army of Count D... rape her, if it meant him getting an army.

And just before he was killed he had threatened to kill her and her baby. So what happened to him was justified.

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Yes, as were the slavers when she had them basically crucified. The Unsullied slaver she burned to death, Samwell Tarly's family burned for not bending the knee........

Those are just a few highlights. There are numerous more small examples. It was a continuing line f deaths all justified and becoming larger and more extreme. Because in the end when she was ruler she would stop and bring peace.

See the trap? Because the more brutal she becomes the more opposition that rises.

Seems like the signs were there since the beginning, we have just chosen to look past them, or not really clued in.

Given the last episode, the above video gives me pause.

Very good points.... We will find out in a few hours.