‘Okay’ is being generous. My initial thoughts of the Game of Thrones finale was “did they really just kill Dany in the first act?” and “what about Jon Snow?” Those were my biggest questions as the episode shuffled to its end. It seemed like the show just said “here’s an ending” instead of maintaining the intricate storytelling it had right up to that episode. Believe me, watching episode 5 to episode 6 will feel exactly like climbing up an incredible hill and then totally plateauing, if not just falling off the edge.

Game of Thrones Finale: Our Watch Has Ended

The word online has been that Season 8 of GoT felt rushed. Throughout the season, a part of me accepted this because a series has to end somehow. Yet, I felt all the rushing energy especially at the end when tying up the story matters most. This drained the emotional impact the finale could have had and that’s the biggest letdown. Sure, there were great moments: Dany gave an awesome and terrifying speech, we felt for Drogon as he burned down the throne and picked up his mother. But, my biggest issue with the episode is the structure of the story rather than how it turned out. For a show so great at being epic, at delving into character dynamics, and holding audiences at their emotional heartstrings, the show dropped the ball in the end. When we’re supposed to feel shocked at who ends up on the throne and what happens with Westeros it all feels a little flat.

I’m can’t even begin to talk about Dany’s arc into a tyrant felt whipped together (despite breadcrumbs) and snuffed out, so I’ll let Vulture and Forbes do that. And yes, I couldn’t help being disappointed when Bran over Jon, Sansa or anyone else, became the leader of the new Westeros. In retrospect, it makes sense to the concept of ‘breaking the wheel.’ But the show expects audiences to just get on board with that idea instead of showing us, with the visual medium of storytelling, why it must be this way. I feel that if instead of spending a huge chunk of the episode on poor time lapses and everyone discussing generally what’s best for the kingdoms, it would have been nice to have some R&R sessions with a character most of us thought would be king, Jon Snow.

What About Jon Snow Then?

I think the decision to have Jon Snow live out his life with the Free Folk is actually a fantastic ending to his arc. I just wish the way there had been met with as much attention to our understanding that he was the true heir to the kingdom. Once he sacrifices his love and vow to be loyal to his Queen exercising yet again that “duty is the death of love,”  it feels like this character we rooted for was chucked to the side and someone mediocre was put in his place. It may seem this way on the surface, but deep down we know that both Jon and Bran are the protectors of the Realm. Yet the final episode seemed to ignore that if Bran is the mind and history of the people, then Jon is the embodiment of doing everything to protect his people and home. It just didn’t feel like a proper enough goodbye to the person so many in the show, like Davos, Samwell, Sansa, and even Tyrion in the end, had put stakes in and claimed to care for.

Maybe Jon wasn’t right to rule and he didn’t want it in the first place. Maybe the last leaders of the great houses were truly tired of leaders after what Daenerys unleashed on King’s Landing, but that’s all guesstimation because the emotion just wasn’t there in that stale meeting. Suddenly, everyone became emotionless 2-D characters (kinda like Bran).

I would have liked to see the Starks acknowledge in some way to their cousin gratitude for what he gave up to try to protect them. In the end, we get few heartfelt exchanges but a definite response of “why do you think I came all this way?” from Bran when asked to be king. Instead of feeling like the Starks are now changing things, it felt more so that this character let everyone else fight his battle to the throne. It felt like Jon, Daenerys, and many other great characters were disposable. Although, seeing Jon ride off into the woods left me content that he’s free, it seems the showrunners left much to the imagination when they didn’t necessarily have to.

Despite the ‘okay’ finale, Game of Thrones will go down as one of the greatest television shows to grace the screen and I really loved watching it. 

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Best,

Kai