Game of Thrones Season 8 Review

Hi everyone, and welcome back to the blog! My husband and I have finally finished Game of Thrones! I truly loved watching this show; it was such a wild ride. I’m so excited that I can join in by giving my opinion about the last two seasons. It’s hard to believe that my husband and I started watching this in February (on Valentine’s Day actually). It’s taken me a few days since finishing the series to be able to put my thoughts into words. I went into this show knowing the final season wasn’t great, knowing the ending of the show left fans feeling disappointed. So, let’s get into it!

After finishing the final episode, I was left feeling unsatisfied. The ending didn’t make me as angry as I was expecting, not like the ending of Stranger Things, although I do see why people compare the two. It’s crazy how one of the greatest shows of all time can just fizzle out and ruin 8 years of storytelling.

So yes, my initial thoughts were, I was left unfulfilled; I hated how some of the character arcs were wrapped up, and I thought a lot of things about the ending didn’t make sense.

**Spoilers Ahead

First, to start with a positive note, I loved Sansa’s character arc and the fate of the North. The North remaining an independent kingdom and Sansa becoming Queen of the North made sense. Sansa has always treated the North as it’s own entity and has been very protective of it since taking it back from the Boltons. And Sansa has shown in the last three seasons just how much she has learned about ruling, how to be a political player, and what it takes to lead.

Sansa has witnessed firsthand what it takes to rule a kingdom. She’s seen how evil Joffrey was, she’s seen how cruel Cersei was, she’s even seen how manipulative Littlefinger was, and she’s seen how dominating Tywin was. All of these people, intentional or not, allowed Sansa to learn how to play the Game of Thrones.

Joffrey was pure evil and did whatever he wanted without thinking about the consequences. He sentenced Ned Stark to die, and he tormented Sansa for literally four seasons. Cersei also tormented Sansa and did little to nothing to try to tame Joffrey. Tywin was the patriarch of the Lannister house. He’s how Cersei learned how to politically survive. He fought against the Starks and plotted to destroy Robb Stark, etc.

Littlefinger was a master manipulator. He manipulated Catelyn Stark and her sister, he plotted with Olenna to poison Joffrey, he pits house and against house and he tried to turn Arya and Sansa on each other. He gave Sansa to the Boltons fully knowing how terrible Ramsey Bolton was.

All of these traumatic events shaped Sansa into who she became at the end of the show. She even says to Clegane if she had gone with him (back in one of the earlier seasons) she would still be a little bird. She wouldn’t have survived this long if that was the case – in my opinion.

Sansa becoming Queen of the North perfectly completes her character arc. Ever since the beginning of season 6 Sansa has wanted to take back Winterfell, take back the North. She went as far as calling in Littlefinger to bring in the Knights of the Vale. Which allowed them to take back Winterfell. She fought for the North.

She also plotted two steps ahead of Littlefinger and sentenced him to death in season 7. She saw him pitting her and Arya against each other and took matters into her own hands. That is when we really see that she’s capable of handling herself, especially since Jon was away at Dragon Stone. But this also stems from her realizing the only person that can protect her is herself.

Which brings me to my last point, she was always cautious and distrusting of Danerys. Sansa knows a tyrant when she sees one, and it makes sense why (after all she’s been through) she’s not just going to welcome Dany with open arms. Not only is she trying to protect herself, but she has the North to think of now. Dany is a foreign leader trying to claim the throne as her own. That isn’t enough for Sansa to just bend the knee. She’s strong and plans her moves out with caution and calculation. 

I also think it’s fair of Sansa to question Dany’s intentions. Jon left the North as a king and came back with no title and claimed Dany as the Queen of Westeros. He bent the knee and decided himself that the North would support her. A very sudden change. A very difficult change for her to just accept. I think it’s fair that she questions whether or not he is blinded by his feelings. Their relationship was fast evolving, and Sansa has seen what happens to men who are led by love. Look at Robb Stark.

Sansa’s character arc is my favorite, and I think her ending is just.

Now, let’s get into everything I didn’t like and why. The last two seasons did not uphold the true Game of Thrones rules that we were shown for the first 6 seasons. There was way too much character protection, especially during the Battle of Winterfell. The North was getting slaughtered; the army of the dead was unforgiving. Podrick, Brienne, Clegane, Davos, etc should’ve died.

There was no emotional toll from that battle. It was also an entire episode (1 hr and 20 min) which was so long to watch. There were not enough jaw dropping moments. Everyone was on the brink of death, but everyone survived…. Nothing had me shellshocked or gasping, clutching my blanket with anxiety.

Furthermore, Jorah dying to protect his queen makes sense. Dany ending up in the middle of the battlefield was good because it showed how much of her power is actually her relying on her dragons. She can’t wield a freaking sword! For the first time since coming to Westeros we really get to see her vulnerable.

Looking at the battle as a whole, though, the stakes just weren’t raised enough for the audience to get a huge payout. It’s not like the Battle of the Bastards where we lose Rickon before the battle even starts. We see Jon throw his sheath down ready to face an entire army coming straight at him. That was emotional payoff. That is what I wanted.

Instead, I couldn’t see anything, Jon barely did anything, and everyone lived. It was so dark and dusty from the snowstorm. I know it was to attribute to how the characters felt but I want to be able to see what is happening.

Also, I think the White Walkers, the Night King, and the army of the dead were legitimate villains. We met them in the first 10 minutes of the first episode. So, I think they were handled well. I’ve heard some people say they end up not being a real threat – but it felt real to me. My only critique is that the Night King was after Bran and that just seemed out of the blue. Sam explains that it’s because Bran preserves memories and protects the past, etc. but Jon was the one squaring off with the Night King in the field.

I also think that the battle should’ve been broken into two parts. Having the army defeated in one long ass episode made it seem rushed.

This brings me to my next point—it doesn’t make sense that Arya was the one to kill the Night King. In my opinion, Theon should’ve been the one to kill him. I don’t even need Jon there – I feel like that would’ve been too obvious, and he wouldn’t have made it there in time realistically. Not while trying to avoid the dragon.

Actually, quick side note, since Jon is a Targaryen, he should’ve been “burned” by the dead dragon’s fire to learn that fire doesn’t hurt him. I feel like that element of being a Targaryen needed to be played up more. It was used a lot by Dany in the first couple of seasons and then fizzled out. Jon would’ve been immune and maybe that could’ve played into him stopping her at the end. It could’ve expanded on his parentage more.

Anyways, Theon should’ve been the one to kill the Night King; it would’ve completed his redemption arc because his death was pathetic. That’s how they have him go out? Some pathetic charge at the Night King that we all know isn’t going to do crap?

My thought is that he still charges at the Night King, the Night King disarms him, stabs him as he does in the show, and walks towards Bran. Maybe Bran somehow distracts the Night King, and then Theon comes out like Arya did and kills the Night King with the Valyrian Steel. Then he dies; the perfect wrap up to his story.

I’ve seen the argument “oh well, Arya has been training to be an assassin” …no, she’s been training to be able to defend and protect herself, to be able to fight back, not just kill people or kill the Night King specifically. Even so, say she was training to be an assassin because she has her kill list, the Night King isn’t on it. It doesn’t make sense for her to kill him. She had no ties to the Knight King.

Having Arya kill Cersei, I fear would’ve been too predictable, so I’m glad that didn’t happen. I do think Cersei’s death was too good for her though. After every horrible thing she’s done, she gets to die in the arms of the person she loves most? That is way too generous, especially after how all the other deaths have been treated in the show. Her death felt more like collateral damage instead of the result of a person like every other major death in the series.

I think if Brienne would’ve died in the Winterfell battle, this could’ve led Jaime to travel back to King’s Landing. He could’ve begged Cersei to ring the surrender bells, she rings them and then kills her. Then he would’ve died as collateral from the dragon destroying the Red Keep. That would’ve given Cersei’s death more satisfaction in true Game of Thrones style.

We would’ve never suspected Jaime to be the one to kill her, and it could’ve mirrored Dany’s death. Overall, making both deaths more poetic. Plus, this would’ve been a better end to Jaime’s character arc and KEPT his character growth.

The audience could have been led to believe he was running back to her out of love; he wants to be with her; he’s making the same mistakes again. That would’ve been another jaw dropping moment. He can still love her but realize she led herself to her own destruction. It would’ve been more powerful because he was caught trying to get past Dany’s army, so he was a prisoner again. Tyrion could’ve still let him go, he would’ve gone back to Cersei just like the last time he wanted to escape and then BAM he kills her.

Instead, the show runners decided undo ALL THIS CHARACTER GROWTH. THEY BARNEY STINSON’ED HIM.

Speaking of the Lannister family, Tyrion made several questionable decisions throughout the last two seasons that makes the audience question if he really is as smart as he portrays. He slowly loses his edge that he gained from season four. For one, he repeatedly trusts Cersei. This makes absolutely no sense. He trusts her to keep her word and to send her army North to fight the Whie Walkers. He remains optimistic about negotiating peace despite years of evidence showing how ruthless Cersei is and that she routinely betrays her allies. 

He frees Jaime in season 8 despite knowing he’s just going to go back to Cersei as proven throughout the series. He commits treason against Dany in doing so and ultimately risks his position.

Tyrion is also the one who recommends Bran to be king because “who has a better story than Bran the broken.” Literally ANYONE ELSE. Bran being named king was such a left field decision. I mean he was basically missing for almost a whole season. It just made no sense; Tyrion’s speech did not have the same weight as his speech from season four, episode six when he demands a trial by combat for “killing Joffrey.” It felt like he was droning on and on.

And the fact that Tyrion ends the series as hand of the king – are you joking? He doesn’t deserve to be hand of the king anymore. He should’ve been sent to the Night’s Watch. Then he could’ve traveled past the wall and lived with the Wildlings. This would’ve been such a nice callback from season one when he travels to the wall with Jon. He could explore the lands, see all the things he’s read about in books, and truly enjoy freedom from the system, society, and his family. So, kind of not really a punishment, but he definitely would’ve had an adjustment period. But then I think he would’ve loved it.

Basically, Tyrion should’ve received Jon’s ending, and Jon should’ve been named king.

I think this is the most upsetting character endings I’ve ever seen. Jon Snow is the definition of a hero, a good person, the one character everyone loved and rooted for consistently. He tried to make every decision honestly. He focused on all the right things; he was loyal, and what ended up happening? He was exiled back to the Night’s Watch. He ended up back where he started.

Everything he did for the North, for Westeros, all the people he helped it amounted to nothing. Because Grey worm demanded he pay for killing Dany that decided to exile him? If anything, Grey Worm should’ve died when the Unsullied stormed the streets of King’s Landing. The fact that he survived was crazy. It also would’ve made sense if Dany’s closest people died helping her take over the city only for her to be stopped.

We also got this huge bombshell news that Jon is 1. Actually a Stark and 2. A Targaryen but in the end it didn’t really matter. He was still banished and went to live with the Wildlings. I feel like that was doing his character a disservice. There should’ve been more payoff for that reveal otherwise what is the point? We find out that Ned is even more honorable than we thought?

Dany was so worried about his legitimate claim to the throne even though Jon didn’t want it. It would’ve been powerful for the audience to see how badly the people want him as king. For the audience to see Dany’s fears coming true and showing how this also is the straw that breaks the camel’s back and causes her to lose her mind. There should’ve been more done about this in the show. Instead, there’s just a small conversation between Sansa and Tyrion and Tyrion and Varys. There needed to be a real possibility behind his claim to the throne. More people plotting behind Dany’s backs, more of a reason for Dany to think that this could be a problem for her. I don’t know if this is making any sense, but I just wanted more from learning about Jon’s true parentage. This information should’ve played a bigger role.

In the end, Jon should’ve been voted king. Tyrion should’ve convinced Grey Worm (although he should’ve been dead) that Jon needs to live and go into why he is the right choice for the kingdom. Bran, the all-knowing, should’ve been named hand of the king. The North still would’ve remained an independent kingdom and Sansa to rule. Arya would then be her bannerman or commander of her forces – however they want to handle that.

That would’ve been such a better ending, and poetic because in the end a Stark and a Targaryen would’ve ended up on the throne. Well, the Iron Throne doesn’t exist anymore, but you get what I mean.

Side note, I do like that Drogon melted the Iron Throne. I love the symbolize and the fact that he understands the Iron Throne is the real tragedy; the Iron Throne is what led to Dany’s death not Jon. He doesn’t destroy Jon. The fact that Drogon is acting so emotionally…a dragon who is portrayed as intelligent but is also shown grieving. I mean when he was nudging Dany…it broke my heart.

Now, in regard to Dany, I never liked her. She was annoying; I didn’t really care about her storyline especially in the last seasons. She was a time bomb waiting to go off. I’ve seen discourse online about how people say she flew off the handle so quickly – I disagree. She’s been ready to fly off the handle since the beginning of season seven, but her advisors were able to keep her in check, then she meets Jon and that stabilizes her for a bit, etc.

The loss of her dragon when rescuing Jon and co. from the White Walkers is when I really saw how fragile her mental state was, when things really started to shift. Dany is an all or nothing type of person. If you’re not with her, then you’re against her. I understand that’s she had to work hard to obtain her army, her ships, control the Dothraki, etc. but she almost lost control of Essos when the masters attacked Meereen.

Unfortunately, she ends up like every other ruler we’ve seen because she decides to rule through fear, to destroy anyone who stands in her way. She becomes very isolated toward the end—no longer trusting her advisors, she’s lost Jorah and Missande, and her and Jon are distant from each other as their relationship faces strain from his parentage.

She’s in a new place where the people are more loyal to Jon, the people love Jon more than her. She loses Jorah, Missande, and two dragons. When she first reaches Westeros, she quickly loses her allies in Dorne, High Garden, and the Iron Islands. She continues to retreat into herself and begins losing her patience. Then she starts sorting people into two categories, those with her and those against her and it leaves little room for compromise. Eventually, fear replaces love and that is when things finally shift, the point at which she becomes like everyone else. If the people will not love her like they did in Essos, then she ahs to rule through fear. She changes her view on how to achieve the better world she’s been fighting the entire series for.

For these reasons, I believe that her dipping into her grief and rage and destroying the city – becoming “mad” makes sense and doesn’t feel rushed like others claim. Would it have worked better if there were 10 seasons instead of 8? Yes. Could it have been done better? Also yes. But with what we got, I’m not entirely angry with it.

I don’t see any ending where she lives. Dany became everything everyone feared, another tyrant, another “mad” ruler. Confirming that King’s Landing was not the last of the war. There would be more fighting. She lost everything that made her a good ruler.

Additionally, Daenerys' biggest concern isn't that she doesn't love Jon. It's that his existence changes the political landscape in a way she cannot control, and that makes her deeply uneasy. There’s no way that, if she lived, her and Jon would be together. She wouldn’t be able to rest or know peace when she knows about his true parentage.

I think the show had said that 8 people knew of his parentage, although Varys died, there’s still 7 others. Secrets are not well kept in this world, and eventually it would’ve become more well-known. Dany would’ve never known peace if Jon was still around. It would’ve been a constant fear, a constant thought in her head, and she never would’ve known peace.

I’d rather Jon Snow live than Dany, plus like I said, Jon should’ve been named king.

Lastly, we have to acknowledge the fact that Dany never actually sat on the Iron Throne. She slowly approaches it, touches it, but does not sit. This symbolism is crazy to me; I loved it so much. The throne was an idea not a destination.

Even the setting-- the throne room is destroyed, the walls gone, snow blowing in, King’s Landing destroyed. She won but at a great cost. It makes you wonder if the throne was ever worth pursuing in the first place.

She never becomes queen in the traditional sense. She doesn’t have a coronation. Which shows that victory and ruling are not the same thing. She succeeded in taking power but never had the chance to wield that power. Instead of the throne marking the start of her story, it marks the end of it.

Overall, I do think there were a lot of issues with the ending of this series. I think the showrunners really crashed and burned, and I’m not sure how on earth they thought this was good.

I would still recommend the series because there are still so many great things about it. The story telling and writing in the earlier seasons, the character deaths, the storylines, etc. It was still a really great show, and honestly, it’s better going in knowing the ending sucks. At least for me because it helped manage my expectations. I still think How I Met Your Mother and Stranger Things had even worse endings, and since I watched those shows first, I felt prepared.

Well folks, it’s been a wild ride. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed writing these reviews. It’s been so fun to be able to dive in and analyze a show like this. I’ve even been inspired to write some of my own fantasy material.

I’m sure there will be more Game of Thrones blog posts as I dive into all the videos I couldn’t watch before and talk to friends about it. Plus, my husband and I plan on watching A Knight of Seven Kingdoms and House of Dragon.

Alright folks, that is all I have for this week! Come back next week for another blog post. As always, thank you for reading :)