Here's one thing I don't understand is why they went through the whole sideshow of Bran being able to mind-meld with animals, and then never used it at all, and basically ignored Bran for most of the series. I always assumed it would be so he could meld with the dragons and somehow that was how the NK and the dead would be defeated. But it wasn't anything.

It's like they never even read the books at all when putting together the final season. It was plot holes and missed opportunities all over the place.

And maybe it's because of her character but I ****ing HATE Sophie Turner.

 

I am one that thinks its absurd that Bran was chosen king. Over countless episodes since changing to the 3ER, he has shown that he has zero empathy, a quality essential for a good king. With his powers he would be better suited to be master of whisperers or head librarian in that big library.
Others, including Arya ,Sansa and Jon, had stories that were just as good as Brans. There were people at the meeting that didnt know Brans story. I could imagine the guy from Dorne saying : well Bran tell me your story. Brans response : I am not Bran I am the 3ER; I am leaving now as his eyes warg out. The guy form Dorne responds: WTF, Dorne wants its independence.
Speaking of which, why didnt The Iron islands ,Dorne or others demand their Independence if Sansa could have it.

 

I agree about Brans power. I thought ,when he told Theon that he was leaving, that Bran was going to try to control the dead dragon but no.

 

Another choice I thought was stupid was Bron as master of coin. He is going to handle the realms money. This is someone who killed for a living ,who was willing to renege on a deal if offered more wealth, who was willing to threaten death to get riches and power for himself and whose first concern in his position is the rebuilding of brothels.

 

Things I liked:
I really liked that shot where it looked like Dany had dragon wings because Drogon was behind her.
I like that Jon petted Ghost. Finally! The wolf should have bitten him(take off one of Jons ears).
I am glad Sansa ,Bran and Arya got happy endings. I can imagine that Jon will be happy; he didnt want to be king anyway.
I do think the lone wolf dies and pack survives doesnt really work anymore as the Starks are scattered to the winds. I guess if a new army from Essos or a new leader in Dorne or Iron Islands decide to cause trouble, the Starks could easily ally all their regions together to deal with it.
I liked Peter Dinklage's acting. I am glad he found his brother and sister but the cave in should have been shown differently the previous episode.

 

Peter Dinklage has a talent of acting with just his eyes. It's amazing to watch.

 

I agree with your complaints. The biggest irritation to me is that Jon would be taken prisoner by Danys forces. Not just Grey Worm but any of her forces hearing Jon confess would have been enraged and killed Jon. Afterwards they could have just all climbed on the ships and sailed way if they decided it wasnt worth fighting anymore. It appeared to me that Danys forces are the ones that surrounded her nearby vicinity. If Jon were immediately killed ,Northern forces might not have even be aware of it. Even if seen, by the time the North could spread the word ,organize under a different commander and get reinforcements from other regions, Danys troops could get on ships and sail way.

 

Plus, Jon took a vow. I think his original vow is still valid and Jon ended up the only way he could.

 

If I had to bet on who would be mad queen in GOTs I would have put my money on Cersei, to me she stands for everything evil, delusional and vindictive ( her child was bitten by a wolf, so the wolf must die, her father died in a building, the building must be burnt down, because she is wealthy and comes from a noble family, the people must bow down, she is a Lannister that means she is above the law of the realm. So imagine my surprise, when Daenerys is given that title of a mad queen because in a moment of weakness she lost it and burn people in the last episodes. I still cannot accept it.

I would have been okay if she had to die, but as someone said here, they destroyed her character, not only hers but Jons' and for what? If Jon was going to do nothing with his new title they should not have bothered to reveal it us or him.

Another thing, why is the final battle about KL and not the NK? I thought the NK threat was more dangerous than anything else in the world, would be more interesting to bring the NK to Kl and make it a national threat and not just a north thing? Whátever.

To add insult to injury, they destroyed Daenerys character, have Jon kill her off then send him off to the NW, and makes Sansa Stark (LF protege) Queen of the North. F**k me! To say I do not like this ending is an understatement!

 

I am also very disappointed in how they portrayed Grey Worm in the final episodes.

Having him execute prisoners? Attacking forces AFTER they drop their swords? Ready to forcefully engage with Jon when Jon attempted to stop him from executing prisoners?

This is not congruent with Grey Worm's character from prior seasons.

I get it to some degree... He lost his love, then he lost the woman who gave him and his forces their freedom. But in the final episode, he was portrayed as this bitter asshole of a person. Worst than that, he was more like a minor "mindless soldier just following orders" type of character. I felt like there was more to his character than that.

The writers forgot about the fact that fans really liked Grey Worm. We grew to care about him. He was a badass soldier, but he also had respectable virtues.

 

I think his original vow was considered null and void when he died. His watch was over. When Mel brought him back to life, I don’t remember him taking a new vow. I still don’t think he took a vow even after being sentenced to go there which is while he felt free to take off with Tormund. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if the Wildlings make him the new King Beyond the Wall even if he doesn’t accept that title. They are going to look to him for guidance.

 

This brings up another problem I had as the series closed. I really didn't care what happened to most of the characters anymore because I didn't recognize them. It all started with Jaime's sudden turn. Tyrion in particular I despised and he was previously one of my favorites. The guy was hand to both Joffrey and Dany with terrible results with both. Then he plotted to get Cersei free while the side he was aligned with was attacking King's Landing. He should've been executed for treason. But his reward is he's the hand AGAIN (or should I say the branch) for the Three Eyed Raven.

The guy also betrayed his good friend Varys. He deserved to burn.

 

Yes, that was just gross incompetence there. Out of nowhere suddenly Dany is the "big bad" of the entire series. Cersei got a sympathetic end, dying with Jaime. She should've gone Mad Queen with her wildfire and gathering the citizens close to the Red Keep. They could've had compelling scenes too with Arya, the Hound and even Jaime trying to get to her before she ignited the wildfire. Instead she stares out windows, cries a little, hugs Jaime and gets a good death.

 

Oh no! I didn't know! I didn't KNOW!
Someone must tell me about the unwritten rules of handling @Jama around here!

 

That plot twist is second only to the disappointment of Jaime leaving Brienne for Cersei imo.

I hated this development. Technically speaking, Tyrion DID NOT deserved to burn because the writers should have never effed up his character so horribly to begin with. But yes, considering that they botched the story so horribly, Tyrion was rewarded for his incompetence when he should have died. I still maintain though, that the true incompetence was in the writing. lol

Back to Varys' death.... That made me sooooo angry. Among all of the supporting characters, he deserved to live to the end and possibly ascend to being the "final" Hand of the King (in a manner of speaking). His death was completely pointless. He was a brilliant player in the game and the stupid writers set his story up like he was some type of unworthy chump.

 

I think it's always interesting to see the other side of the argument.

Here is a guy defending the show on some of the main criticisms.



He makes some good arguments. Regarding Dany he goes against what D&D said about her snapping when she hears the bells, and argues she had already made her mind up about burning the city down when she said "let it be fear then" to Jon, which is how I interpreted what I saw it too.

It's worth a watch if you still feel bitter about S8 and the ending.

 

My feelings about S8 after a few days of reflection:

My four biggest criticisms were:

1. Jaime's end.
2. Danny's massacre - too much, out of the blue.
3. The lack of NK, WW action and back story in the battle at Winterfell, and the battle against the dead happening too early in the season, lack of real involvement from Bran and Jon in destroying the NK.
4. Bran becoming king without proper fleshing out of his character and use of powers since 'Hodor'.

1. I'm coming round on this. I accept the story. I just wish they'd given us a bit more on Jaime making this u-turn. I can separate what I've wished for this character and handle my disappointment, and accept it's a plausible story that he would go back to Cersei. But they rushed his realisation, that he can't be this person Brienne wants him to be, and his love for Cersei is stronger than any other feeling he might have.

2. Again, it's a disappointing story, because I was rooting for Dany to be able to achieve her dream, but I accept, it's a very plausible story, how she ended up. I still think it was terribly rushed, and pushed too far too soon, but I get the intended story, and kinda like it. How someone with the best intentions can turn out to be a terrifying tyrant. Seen it over and over again in history. Shame it had to be Dany too though.

3. No defence on this. This is definitely a shortcoming. But I understand we are going to get our answers eventually from the prequels, so there is that.

4. Absolutely no denying this is a shortcoming and that is why it felt like a joke. It is not a bad idea, but should have been fleshed out way better than it was.

On the whole, I'm less disappointed now than I was after Ep3/4/5.
The main problem was condensing too much in a few episodes and rushing. This allowed for some really silly mistakes and "kind of forgets" and unearned twists and turns in the story telling.

Watching this show was still an amazing ride, and I'm not regretting any of it.

 

I'm naive - at first I thought Jaime was going back to KL to kill Cersei, fulfilling the prophecy.

 

Yes the writers are to blame. Those last few episodes I came in and out of the story. At points I hated what the writers were doing, and then at others stages I hated the characters for what they made them. In the end I really didn't care who lived or died, because the writers had already killed most of the characters prior to their actual deaths on the show. They were shells of their former sells. Tyrion, Dany and Jaime were completely destroyed.

Then we had Arya who was made out to be a super ninja killer that can fly 20 yards over white walkers to stab the all powerful Night King. Then when she gets to King's Landing she's no longer the calm, cold killer that can escape anything but she's running around the city helplessly.

The more I think about it the worse the whole season gets. There are small stupid things you overlook because every minute something else ridiculous is going on. Then when you review it your mind, or other people bring up points it just gets even more absurd.

It's the worst series finale I've ever seen. And that's coming from someone who suffered through the last season of Dexter. Never has a show gone from such heights to such depths. This will be D&D's well earned legacy.