GAME OF THRONES: THE IRON THRONE REVIEW (S8:E6)

The final episode of Game of Thrones aired over a week ago, and needless to say, the events of that episode left me with a bad taste in my mouth which left me quite apathetic towards doing a review (well, that and the fact that I haven't had the time). However, a couple of folk wanted to hear from me, so (being a man of the people) I simply had to give them what they want. Shout out to everyone who’s read my review series so far, thank you for reading and sharing, your support means so much.

After 9 years and eight seasons, the most popular (and arguably the greatest) show on television finally came to an end when the final episode of Game of Thrones aired on the 19th of April 2019. Albeit, doing so in less exceptional circumstances. The latter episodes of Season eight (starting from episode four) had suffered a noticeable dip in quality and while many fans hoped the finale would offer some sort of redemption (which it did for some), many found it utterly disappointing as evidenced in less than stellar critical reviews, chat room rants, fan petitions, internet memes and so on. So since you're here why don't you grab a seat, and read my take on the final episode of Thrones.

WARNING: THIS ARTICLE IS DARK AND FULL OF SPOILERS

THE DRAGON QUEEN

The handling of Daenerys in season 8 is probably the series’ greatest failure. While her story was always going to be a tragedy of some sort, it's execution is utterly dissapointing. Much like the Dark Knight, the Breaker of Chains does not die a hero but lives long enough to become a villain (a fate Jon Snow suffers as well, I’ll get to that shortly). The fourth episode of the season signaled the beginning of the end, as Dany’s descent into mental instability began, the problem really wasn’t that she went mad, but more of the why, when and how? While as a Targaryen, Daenerys’ propensity to madness is higher than your average Westerosi. There’s very little precedence for it, sure you can nitpick events through the show as Tyrion did to justify her ‘long term madness’ but there’s also many characters in Thrones who the same can be said for, yet we never thought oh “they’re mad now”. While the deaths of her closest advisors Jorah, Missandei, and the loss of her dragons are truly enough to make a person go nuts. Daenery's march to madness feels very inorganic and forced as the showrunners raced to a speedy conclusion, resulting in her uncharacteristic slaughter of the innocent people of King’s Landing - an irredeemable act, which marked her for death. A huge shame considering the many other directions they could have gone.

FOR THE GOOD OF THE REALM

After her, slaughter of the innocents of King’s Landing we all knew Daenerys would have to die, there was no coming back from that. The only question was who, how and when? While the who was seemingly obvious (at least to me), the latter questions were answered in less impressive means. After being a witness to his Queen's cruel act and being convinced of her incorrigible nature by Tyrion,Jon makes the hard but necessary choice to kill the woman he loves. While the concept of Death being dealt when least expected has been a hallmark of the show, Dany's death at the hands of Jon was devoid of any emotional reward or loss, a bland scene which came out of nowhere, hoping to ride on the shock value that Thrones had delivered so very well before. Drogon appears shortly after and destroys the Iron Throne in rage, a poetic nod to the origins of the iconic seat, which was forged by the fires of Balerion the Dread, Aegon I Targaryen's Dragon. There’s also the question of what happens next. As Jon presumably surrenders himself to Greyworm and the Unsullied. Now tell me ‘Is it really plausible that Greyworm would take Jon as prisoner for murdering his Queen?’ The same Greyworm who had gone Blood drunk a few moments ago, slaughtering unarmed prisoners on the street? come on now.

BRAN THE BROKEN, FIRST OF HIS NAME…

In a surprising turn of events, Brandon Stark emerged as the King of the Seven Six Kingdoms. In a cheap scene which felt so horribly done, Bran is elected to rule over the Seven Kingdoms before Sansa declares the North’s Sovereignty. There is little precedent for this outcome save for D & D trying to blow our minds with such an unexpected choice. He’s clearly stated that “He can’t be Lord of anything” pushing people away with his “I’m the Third Eye Raven” thing. But, suddenly he’s grinning and claims “why do you think I came all the way here?” when he’s offered the Iron Throne. In their need to put someone unassuming on the Iron Throne, the showrunners seemingly forgot everything that had transcribed before that episode. Even if it was Bran's plan all along or if he had known what was to happen, there's just so many loose ends, that made this outcome deeply unsatisfying.

THE KING BEYOND THE WALL

Another wasted character arc. For a character who had played such an integral part in the series since the first season it was so disappointing to see Jon Snow become nothing more than a boy toy whose vocabulary was limited to two sentences - “I don’t want it” and “You are my Queen”. I always predicted that either one of Jon or Daenerys would not survive the show’s end, and I never really expected either to rule as well, but like Daenerys, Jon's Dark Knight moment didn’t quite go well with me. Like his Daddy Ned Stark, Jon gets punished for doing the right thing every time and while it can be argued that bad things happen to good people, and that Thrones imitates real life, it wouldn't have been too much to ask that the character with perhaps the saddest story in the  series gets a little light at the end of the long dark tunnel that was his life. At the end of it all he’s reunited with Ghost (in a warming scene) as he leads the wildlings North of the wall, as their leader, their new King-Beyond-the-Wall.

THE HAND THAT FEEDS

Who would have guessed that when, Tyrion asked to hear Bran's story it wouldn't be so he would be able to extract something integral to  aid in the battle against the Night King, but rather serve as a means of putting Bran on the Iron Throne. Crazy, right?. It can easily be argued that prior to the final season Tyrion's best seasons had already been past him, since his return to Westeros, the Imp hadn't quite been the same man he used to be, (well expected considering how he left) since his return as the Hand of the Queen he was quite ordinary - outfoxed on more than one occasion by those he was supposedly smarter than.  His omission from the Song of Ice and Fire at the end of the series is another faux pass though, considering how important he is to many  of the key events of the series e.g. kidnapped by Catelyn Stark, Key strategist of the Battle of Blackwater, Arrested for Killing Joffrey, sole reason for the Viper vs the Hound, killed Tywin Lannister, I could go on! So its rather silly he's left out of the history books because a writer thought it would be funny to do so.

THE QUEEN IN THE NORTH

Sansa Stark was crowned the Queen in the North after clutching the Kingdom of the North from her Brother’s (Now King’s) grasp. It was a great victory for the Northmen who had suffered the most during the course of the series; losing the Starks, their families and eventually protecting the realm against the Night King and his army of the dead. A deserved win for the descendants of the First Men. However, Sansa’s road to the crown was quite boring, and under the circumstances quite undeserved. But then again, maybe I'm just bitter in the part she played in Dany's downfall.

ARYA STARK, THE SEA-WOLF

What’s West of Westeros, that’s what Arya Stark asked as she revealed her plan to sail West into uncharted lands and waters. A befitting end for Arya Stark, the girl who was not a lady. With Sansa crowned the Queen of the North and Bran the King of Westeros, it felt only right that Arya would go on to carve her own niche - Adventurer, Warrior, Assassin, Stark.

EPISODE ROUND UP – IT WAS BEAUTIFUL WHILE IT LASTED

For a show that could have gone on for at least two more seasons, it was quite shocking when the showrunners announced season 8 would be the final season and that seasons 7 & 8 would be shorter; having seven and six episodes respectively. We gave it little thought then, since D & D had only but delivered thus far, even if they were shorter they’d be just as good we thought, alas little did we know that, that was the beginning of the end. I've had time to think about how the final season turned out and here are my final thoughts on the matter.

If we’re being honest, Game of Thrones had witnessed a dip in quality since season 7, suffering a declining loss of intricate storytelling since it veered off the books (season 6 being the exception). But despite keeping the audience genuinely entertained since then, Weiss and Beinoff seemingly started to run out of gas and ideas as the series drew to a close. Maybe it was HBO breathing down their necks because of costs or maybe they were just plain tired and needed to get it over with as soon as possible, whatever it was, the fanbase deserved more than we got in season eight.

We can blame toxic fandom and persecute fans for being ‘too entitled’ for the negative reactions that came after the series finale, but that would be ignoring the main problem - Half-baked, unsavory and lackadaisical storytelling, something which seemed to transcend into filming as the season had some of the most obvious blunders of the series altogether with water bottles and coffee cups finding their way on-screen and further ruining the already depleting immersion. 

The season was full (to the brim) with poor character development as character growth either stunted or we saw arcs turn on their heads or completely get wasted. A very unsatisfying end to so many years of following these characters; feeling every loss and celebrating every triumph. Sadly, the finale left many fans feeling disconnected from these characters, the same they had grown to love. And while many fans were seemingly placated with how the show ended and the respective end for the characters, to which I agree with some. For me Thrones had always been more about the journey than the destination, and the road taken to the finale was anything but intriguing.

I love Game of Thrones (obviously! it’s the only TV show I write about) and it’s the only show I’ve followed for this long, if you leave out the Simpsons or South Park. But while Season 8 was a colossal disappointment, it would be harsh to not admit and thank D & D and the countless others who worked on such a massive project for giving us some of the best television this era has ever seen, its been a fantastic 9 years and the series has become an entertainment phenomenon which etched itself into the annals of television history; winning multiple awards, gracing us with fine actors we now love and care about, uniting fans the world over, becoming a mainstay in pop culture and grasping our hearts and imagination like very few shows, or films can. I only wish everyone who’s been a part of it the very best going forward.

We might never know exactly why the final season of Thrones was a bust, maybe it could be some of the reasons I’ve mentioned here and maybe not, but the truth is we deserved so much better. Yes, there were probably a couple of external factors (time and money) that may have affected the eventual outcome, but the final season just oozed of a lack of effort from the storytelling point of view. I know this because like many of you, I read many fan theories way better than the actual thing, and the crazy thing is they didn't need two extra seasons to make a great story.

Maybe one day we'll get an exposé documentary on how season 8 came apart, till then we’ll just have to make our peace with it, remembering our beloved show as it was and not as our watch ended.

Reject Rating: 4.5/10