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Game of Thrones
Series Finale
By Garrett Yoshitomi
With all due respect to Ralph Waldo Emerson, sometimes it is the destination, not the journey. That seems to be the case, at least, for the thousands of fans expressing their dissatisfaction with the disappointing series finale of Game of Thrones. And, while I don’t make it a habit of basing my analysis of a show on what people are saying on social media, the negative word-of-mouth appears to coincide with critics’ assessments, as season eight, episode six, ‘The Iron Throne’ currently clocks in at just 48% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the second worst-reviewed episode of the series. Now, are the frustrated, typed in all-caps, criticisms flowing from Twitter and Reddit necessarily representative of the fan base as a whole? Of course not. These platforms (especially Twitter) are known for rewarding opinions whose voices are the loudest, rather than those that are held by a majority of people. However, these aren’t mutually exclusive. It is possible for the loudest opinions to also be the most popular, and for a series as culture-defining as Game of Thrones, to ignore the opinions of the masses is to disregard a significant factor in what makes Game of Thrones such an important part of television canon. If, Game of Thrones’ near universal popularity and place within the “monoculture” is cited as one of the show’s strengths, then its dip in the public approval ratings, post-series finale, has to be held against it in the same way.
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And make no mistake, the series finale of Game of Thrones is bad, and rightfully earns the scorn of fans for its rushed pacing, multiple plot contrivances, and the impactless conclusions it delivers for some of the series’ most important and longest running storylines. Prior to this week, I’ve been a fairly modest defender of season eight - I thought the first two episodes, though slow moving, were particularly strong, and I didn’t mind the almost unwatchable ‘Last Night,’ as others might have. And, while I can’t excuse the disastrous fourth episode, ‘The Last of the Starks,’ I actually rather enjoyed last week’s ‘The Bells,’ despite it being considered by many to be the worst episode of the entire series. Perhaps part of my enjoyment of this admittedly flawed season has been caused by my willingness to overlook its shortcomings, in the hopes that every tattered loose end was purposefully left dangling because the final episode would eventually swoop in and wrap everything up in a neat and satisfying, albeit slightly misshapen, bow. Boy, was I wrong.
Unfortunately, there’s no “silver bullet” storyline in ‘The Iron Throne’ that instantly and retroactively justifies every questionable creative decision made in season eight. Even if there was, it wouldn’t be enough to fix the first five episodes of the season, as well as all of the glaring plot holes in the series finale. For instance: How is Jon not killed on the spot by either Drogon, the Unsullied, or the Dothraki, after murdering Daenerys? Speaking of which, why is Daenerys left completely unguarded in the middle of an active war zone? How does Grey Worm (or anybody, really) not take issue with the fact that Tyrion, a prisoner for treason, is not only allowed to propose a new method for selecting a king, but also ends up choosing the king, becomes Hand of the King, and ultimately sets himself free? Why doesn’t Yara demand independence for the Iron Islands (something they’ve historically fought for), after Sansa does so for the North? These are all worthwhile questions that are answered rather sloppily, or not at all, within the episode. But, their spheres of influence are relatively small, especially when compared to the big series-defining development of the episode, when Bran is named King of Westeros.
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| (Photo Credit: HBO) |
As surprising as it is for Bran, of all people, to be chosen as King of the Seven Six Kingdoms, I actually think it’s an ending that could have been reasonably satisfying had the show given this particular outcome the right amount of build-up. But, rather than subtly guiding the story towards an eventual Bran ascendency, what little screen time Bran’s received over the past three seasons (and remember, Bran actually didn’t appear at all in season five), has been spent establishing him as an unfeeling, non-Bran deity, uninterested in, and incapable of holding political titles, and who just one season ago cryptically claimed, “I can never be lord of anything. I’m the Three-Eyed Raven.” As it stands, though, Bran’s ascent to the throne feels nonsensical – a surprising result, sure (unless you follow Vegas betting odds), but only because of the inherently surprising nature of options that weren’t even considered options. Unlike the glaring, but ultimately less significant plot contrivances mentioned above, this is an outcome that seems to really matter. (The show is called, Game of Thrones, after all.) So much so that a lot of season eight’s issues could have been forgiven, had the right person been put on the throne.
Showrunners David Benioff and D.B Weiss were once able to pride themselves on crafting the most carefully laid storylines this side of the Narrow Sea, constructing a show where the smallest details mattered, and the complex history and culture of the fictional world of Westeros came to life, shaping the story in organic, yet unexpected ways. But, somewhere along the line, this artful storytelling fell by the wayside. Blame the show surpassing the original source material, leaving its writers at a loss for how to handle Thrones’ more complicated and nuanced mechanisms, or blame the shortened episode counts for seasons seven and eight for not giving the series enough runway to flesh out the conclusions for many of its most crucial storylines. But, understand that like with any show, the success and failure of Game of Thrones is, and always has been, based on the decisions of its creative team. And, just like it’s perfectly reasonable to acknowledge a show’s successes, it’s equally reasonable to acknowledge its failures. It just gets a little tedious when the failures become, more or less, the only thing you can talk about.
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| (Photo Credit: HBO) |
When it comes to endings, people fundamentally want to see good triumph over evil. Sure, we love nuance and a good expectation-subverting twist every once in a while, but ultimately, we want to see the heroes win and the villains lose. That’s why we root for Rocky Balboa and not Ivan Drago; for Jim to get together with Pam, over Roy; for the Avengers to defeat Thanos. These beats have been the bedrock of storytelling since the beginning of storytelling, and not even a series as groundbreaking as Game of Thrones is above these expectations. Even the few fan-approved moments of season eight are just by the book plot points, like Jaime and Brienne finally getting together, or all the Stark siblings reuniting after being separated for essentially the entire series. People like when characters overcome insurmountable odds. Seeing star-crossed lovers finally end up together makes us happy. It’s human nature. That’s why an endgame that put Jon Snow on the throne wouldn’t have been as bad as some fans believe. Sure, it’s predictable, but it’s also a rational conclusion that’s supported by the narrative, and coincides neatly with our traditional expectations for storytelling. And, even if the writers went with a non-traditional outcome, (which they did), that’s okay. Good writers should be able to craft their story in a way that presents an unconventional ending as a logical, acceptable outcome. Sadly, this is where the final season of Game of Thrones fails, and while it certainly affects the show’s legacy, it certainly doesn’t negate all of the brilliant storytelling that’s graced our televisions during the previous seven seasons. For better or for worse, part of the journey is the end, and as a wise man once said, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”
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