Game of Thrones (HBO)

[NickName99]

Well, I like many of the literary classics too from the early to mid 20th century. Easy to please?

I applaud folks who are easy to please! I’m not a snob. I really love Stephen King’s work, especially his later stuff. There’s a guy with tons of heart, tons of empathy, and he’s great at his craft. Ray Bradbury is practically a poet who writes fantasy/sci-fi. Ursula Le Guin is probably my favorite author of all time. Stanislaw Lem was pretty great. Jemisin’s recent Hugo award winning broken earth trilogy is incredibly good. There’s so much great science fiction and fantasy writing, but I wouldn’t include George R. R. Martin in it. I’d rather just watch the shows.

 

[AlliFlowers]

Bran explained that he couldn't be the lord of Winterfell because he is the 3 eyed raven. I suspect that would prevent him from being king, too.

 

[Huntn]

I applaud folks who are easy to please! I’m not a snob. I really love Stephen King’s work, especially his later stuff. There’s a guy with tons of heart, tons of empathy, and he’s great at his craft. Ray Bradbury is practically a poet who writes fantasy/sci-fi. Ursula Le Guin is probably my favorite author of all time. Stanislaw Lem was pretty great. Jemisin’s recent Hugo award winning broken earth trilogy is incredibly good. There’s so much great science fiction and fantasy writing, but I wouldn’t include George R. R. Martin in it. I’d rather just watch the shows.

Ray Bradbury is amazing! Now, I just read the Prologue of Game of Thrones (Book1), the first encounter with the Others, and it sucked me right in for a second read.

 

[Huntn]

IT STARTS...

 

[Huntn]

IT STARTS...

Considering Episode 5, I accept and am satisfied with the ending. I always hoped that Tyrion survived. Congrats to all who chose Brandon!

The series typed cast everyone perfectly. I’ll see their faces when I reread this series.

 

[zmunkz]

Spoiler: Finale

Well, considering where we were after last episode, that was ... decent. I’m not walking back on any of my previous judgements, but taking it for what it is and considering we can’t change it, they wrapped that mess reasonably well.

It was pretty anticlimactic, but they’d resigned us to that since ep3, so no surprise there. And they setup about 20 spin-offs. None of which will I be watching.

Ah well. Woulda-coulda-shoulda. I don’t think this world will have much gravity to it, compared to other series of this kind, but I really was expecting much worse.

[doublepost=1558319468][/doublepost]

Considering Episode 5, I accept and am satisfied with the ending.

Lol, I swear I didn’t see your post before posting my comment.

 

[Stark3000]

Bran explained that he couldn't be the lord of Winterfell because he is the 3 eyed raven. I suspect that would prevent him from being king, too.

Guess not, right?

 

[Shanghaichica]

Well even the last episode of lost was better then that.

 

[Thysanoptera]

Watching Tyrion giving his "Vote for Bran" support speech felt like watching Tim Cook introducing Apple TV+ during the March event. Like wtf, did they sync the scripts?

 

[Roller]

I seriously doubt if tonight's finale will satisfy the petitioners. I'm still trying to decide if I'm OK with most of the good guys surviving and Westeros ending up as an oligarchy, minus Winterfell. Other thoughts:

Spoiler

1. The jump to the scene where the group picks the next king was much too sudden. What happened during the intervening weeks?
2. They sure cleaned up Kings Landing and Winterfell quickly.
3. I expected Jon to mount Drogon after he killed Dany and the Iron Throne became the Molten Throne.
4. Why bother mentioning that Bran was going to look for Drogon? It would have been cool if Bran warged into Drogon, brought him back to Kings Landing, and opened a BBQ joint.
5. Who are the Unsullied loyal to now? Were they all going to Naarth with Grey Worm?
6. And what about the remaining Dothraki? Back to Vaes Dothrak?
7. It was good to see Jon and Ghost reunited.
8. I thought someone would kill Dany, but I didn't think it would be Jon.
9. I guess Jon's going to live with the Free Folk rather than stay at Castle Black. Does that violate the terms of his exile?
10. Robin Arryn sure grew up.
11. When Tyrion went to look for Jamie and Cersei, there was light at the top of the rock pile, which I noticed last week. For a second, it looked like they may have escaped.
12. Arya's going walkabout to see what's west of Westeros? Sounds like a spinoff.
13. Brienne has neat handwriting, but she should have waited to let the ink dry.
14. The Song of Ice and Fire book was sort of funny, though a bit much.
15. A few more episodes could have given the writers a chance to show what happened between some of the scenes.

 

[Number-Six]

My girlfriend thought Brienne would be pregnant. I think that might have been a good idea.

 

[Shanghaichica]

So Dany wasn’t mad after all. Just a tyrant who flew under the radar and then came out as a megalomaniac just like that.

 

[Number-Six]

So Dany wasn’t mad after all. Just a tyrant who flew under the radar and then came out as a megalomaniac just like that.

Well, you know, the problem with crazy/mad people is they don't know they're mad/crazy

 

[yaxomoxay]

Pretty weak finale.
[doublepost=1558323261][/doublepost]

I seriously doubt if tonight's finale will satisfy the petitioners. I'm still trying to decide if I'm OK with most of the good guys surviving and Westeros ending up as an oligarchy, minus Winterfell. Other thoughts:

Spoiler

1. The jump to the scene where the group picks the next king was much too sudden. What happened during the intervening weeks?
2. They sure cleaned up Kings Landing and Winterfell quickly.
3. I expected Jon to mount Drogon after he killed Dany and the Iron Throne became the Molten Throne.
4. Why bother mentioning that Bran was going to look for Drogon? It would have been cool if Bran warged into Drogon, brought him back to Kings Landing, and opened a BBQ joint.
5. Who are the Unsullied loyal to now? Were they all going to Naarth with Grey Worm?
6. And what about the remaining Dothraki? Back to Vaes Dothrak?
7. It was good to see Jon and Ghost reunited.
8. I thought someone would kill Dany, but I didn't think it would be Jon.
9. I guess Jon's going to live with the Free Folk rather than stay at Castle Black. Does that violate the terms of his exile?
10. Robin Arryn sure grew up.
11. When Tyrion went to look for Jamie and Cersei, there was light at the top of the rock pile, which I noticed last week. For a second, it looked like they may have escaped.
12. Arya's going walkabout to see what's west of Westeros? Sounds like a spinoff.
13. Brienne has neat handwriting, but she should have waited to let the ink dry.
14. The Song of Ice and Fire book was sort of funny, though a bit much.
15. A few more episodes could have given the writers a chance to show what happened between some of the scenes.

13. I yelled “the ink!!!!” at the tv.

 

[Strider64]

Spoiler

Only one scene I didn't like is when Samwell Tarly suggest people should vote for the next person to sit on the throne and everyone started laughing, for a split second I thought a Geico commercial was occurring.

 

[Huntn]

So Dany wasn’t mad after all. Just a tyrant who flew under the radar and then came out as a megalomaniac just like that.

Just like Dad, a little crazy, a little mad. I chuckled when she was going to free the world, like she freed King’s Landing, but who was left there to appreciate it?

I’ll admit that if Jon had released Danny from that embrace and kiss without anything happening except a kiss and hug, I was preparing to puke my guts up.
[doublepost=1558330856][/doublepost]

Well even the last episode of lost was better then that.

Lol.
[doublepost=1558331113][/doublepost]

I seriously doubt if tonight's finale will satisfy the petitioners. I'm still trying to decide if I'm OK with most of the good guys surviving and Westeros ending up as an oligarchy, minus Winterfell. Other thoughts:

Spoiler

1. The jump to the scene where the group picks the next king was much too sudden. What happened during the intervening weeks?
2. They sure cleaned up Kings Landing and Winterfell quickly.
3. I expected Jon to mount Drogon after he killed Dany and the Iron Throne became the Molten Throne.
4. Why bother mentioning that Bran was going to look for Drogon? It would have been cool if Bran warged into Drogon, brought him back to Kings Landing, and opened a BBQ joint.
5. Who are the Unsullied loyal to now? Were they all going to Naarth with Grey Worm?
6. And what about the remaining Dothraki? Back to Vaes Dothrak?
7. It was good to see Jon and Ghost reunited.
8. I thought someone would kill Dany, but I didn't think it would be Jon.
9. I guess Jon's going to live with the Free Folk rather than stay at Castle Black. Does that violate the terms of his exile?
10. Robin Arryn sure grew up.
11. When Tyrion went to look for Jamie and Cersei, there was light at the top of the rock pile, which I noticed last week. For a second, it looked like they may have escaped.
12. Arya's going walkabout to see what's west of Westeros? Sounds like a spinoff.
13. Brienne has neat handwriting, but she should have waited to let the ink dry.
14. The Song of Ice and Fire book was sort of funny, though a bit much.
15. A few more episodes could have given the writers a chance to show what happened between some of the scenes.

I was not sure if Jon was abandoning the Night’s Watch permanently, or just escorting them home, but I guess you could assume the former. Wouldn't they always worry about the Others? I think I might even if the head dude shattered.
Are they going to rebuild the hole in the wall? Do they still need a Night’s Watch?
[doublepost=1558331445][/doublepost]

Spoiler: Finale

Well, considering where we were after last episode, that was ... decent. I’m not walking back on any of my previous judgements, but taking it for what it is and considering we can’t change it, they wrapped that mess reasonably well.

It was pretty anticlimactic, but they’d resigned us to that since ep3, so no surprise there. And they setup about 20 spin-offs. None of which will I be watching.

Ah well. Woulda-coulda-shoulda. I don’t think this world will have much gravity to it, compared to other series of this kind, but I really was expecting much worse.

[doublepost=1558319468][/doublepost]

Lol, I swear I didn’t see your post before posting my comment.

I can’t rule out seeing a GOT movie, because it will be held to movie story telling standards, but I think I’d wait for some reviews before going to the theater to see it.

 

[aamoren3]

I applaud folks who are easy to please! I’m not a snob. I really love Stephen King’s work, especially his later stuff. There’s a guy with tons of heart, tons of empathy, and he’s great at his craft. Ray Bradbury is practically a poet who writes fantasy/sci-fi. Ursula Le Guin is probably my favorite author of all time. Stanislaw Lem was pretty great. Jemisin’s recent Hugo award winning broken earth trilogy is incredibly good. There’s so much great science fiction and fantasy writing, but I wouldn’t include George R. R. Martin in it. I’d rather just watch the shows.

Way off topic: I freaking love your avatar. I'm so glad I understand it now. haha.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Just like Dad, a little crazy, a little mad. I chuckled when she was going to free the world, like she freed King’s Landing, but who was left there to appreciate it?

I’ll admit that if Jon had released Danny from that embrace and kiss without anything happening except a kiss and hug, I was preparing to puke my guts up.
[doublepost=1558330856][/doublepost]
Lol.
[doublepost=1558331113][/doublepost]
I was not sure if Jon was abandoning the Night’s Watch permanently, or just escorting them home, but I guess you could assume the former. Wouldn't they always worry about the Others? I think I might even if the head dude shattered.
Are they going to rebuild the hole in the wall? Do they still need a Night’s Watch?
[doublepost=1558331445][/doublepost]
I can’t rule out seeing a GOT movie, because it will be held to movie story telling standards, but I think I’d wait for some reviews before going to the theater to see it.

Danny’s dad was mad. She was just portrayed as a tyrant.

 

[sunapple]

I'm very satisfied with this finale.

Pacing issues have crippled the last season and the one before, as I've said already. And of course, that's not resolved with one episode, this series finale.

Despite that, they wrapped up all character arcs and story lines nicely. I'm pretty convinced the books won't have a much different ending when it comes to who gets killed, who ends up where. And that's the biggest compliment I could give, it was that convincing to me.

A shame the hate for the series is still around, but not surprising. Of course IMDb is being bombed right now (currently 5.2/10 for 8-06). I was hoping the finale would get more credit, but some of the early comments I'm reading are one-sided criticism. I think the season deserves criticism, I don't believe the strong points of the finale should be ignored.
[doublepost=1558346792][/doublepost]

I seriously doubt if tonight's finale will satisfy the petitioners. I'm still trying to decide if I'm OK with most of the good guys surviving and Westeros ending up as an oligarchy, minus Winterfell. Other thoughts:

Spoiler

1. The jump to the scene where the group picks the next king was much too sudden. What happened during the intervening weeks?
2. They sure cleaned up Kings Landing and Winterfell quickly.
3. I expected Jon to mount Drogon after he killed Dany and the Iron Throne became the Molten Throne.
4. Why bother mentioning that Bran was going to look for Drogon? It would have been cool if Bran warged into Drogon, brought him back to Kings Landing, and opened a BBQ joint.
5. Who are the Unsullied loyal to now? Were they all going to Naarth with Grey Worm?
6. And what about the remaining Dothraki? Back to Vaes Dothrak?
7. It was good to see Jon and Ghost reunited.
8. I thought someone would kill Dany, but I didn't think it would be Jon.
9. I guess Jon's going to live with the Free Folk rather than stay at Castle Black. Does that violate the terms of his exile?
10. Robin Arryn sure grew up.
11. When Tyrion went to look for Jamie and Cersei, there was light at the top of the rock pile, which I noticed last week. For a second, it looked like they may have escaped.
12. Arya's going walkabout to see what's west of Westeros? Sounds like a spinoff.
13. Brienne has neat handwriting, but she should have waited to let the ink dry.
14. The Song of Ice and Fire book was sort of funny, though a bit much.
15. A few more episodes could have given the writers a chance to show what happened between some of the scenes.

1. There's no time to show minor things like that with only 6 episodes this season, which is maybe bad but doesn't make this surprising
2. Haven't seen that much evidence, not sure how much time's passed
3. Doesn't seem likely to me at all
4. ... sure
5. They can't stay around, can't kill themselves, it was probably just a (somewhat lame) reference to Missandei
6. Got swept under the rug due to limited time I suppose, don't care that much about them
7. Very cool indeed
8. Makes more sense than anyone else IMO, also was the last valuable move he brought to the story
9. I think he was bringing them home, returning afterwards
10. Thought he was Kylo Ren for a second
11. There was some hope there for me as well, but wouldn't have made much sense
12. Could be, good that she's free to do whatever though
13. That scene already included cuts in time, like when she turned the page to continue writing
14. Nice reference to when Sam commented on that terrible title the writer had before
15. True, very true. As I've said before, to maintain the pacing they used to have, they should've made three 10-episode seasons instead of two seasons with just 7 and 6 episodes

 

[vrDrew]

Overall, about as satisfying as one could reasonably expect.

Damned by faint praise? Maybe. But the whole George RR Martin world is one that is maddeningly difficult to simply translate to the screen. Let alone turn into a universally acclaimed piece of television drama.

The people who wrote Breaking Bad or The Godfather had, by comparison, things pretty easy. Guns, knives, garrottes, and bombs work pretty predictably. Introduce dragons, witchcraft, and zombies - and you suddenly have a universe that offers more options than answers.

I always look to The Sopranos as a measure of how to end a sprawling multiseason prime-cable drama. People were very angry about the ambiguity of Tony S' last moment in the diner. Were these same people satisfied by Brienne of Tarth working on her calligraphy skills or Jon Snow riding off into the forest?

Game of Thrones? Eight seasons of must-watch, deeply interesting, and sometimes enthralling adult-themed television drama. I'm glad I watched. But a story for the ages?

Probably not.

 

[sunapple]

Why The Writing in Game of Thrones' Season 8 Feels Off

After the first major plot arc resolved in the third book, A Storm of Swords (seasons 3 and 4), Martin planned to skip the story ahead five years. But he couldn't make the gap in action feel true to the characters or the world, so he eventually decided to write his way through those five years instead. Knowing the bridging material wasn't ever going to be as gripping as the central conflicts, he compensated by planting more seeds in more corners of his already complex world. And once he had them, he couldn't prune them back without their resolutions feeling abrupt or forced. Worse, some of his idle characters were taking the opportunity to grow in the wrong directions, pulling away from the ending he had in mind for them. Soon, the garden was overgrown, the projected length of the series kept expanding, and the books stopped coming.

https://www.wired.com/story/game-of-thrones-plotters-vs-pantsers/

Interesting piece, didn't know about that part.

 

[AlliFlowers]

Guess not, right?

Well he sure had me fooled. Guess he turned down the first job cause he knew a better offer was looming.

All in all, I was satisfied with the ending. Yes, it missed the mark a few times, including the time with Tyrion imprisoned. And then, just like that, weeks have gone by. I only know it was weeks because Tyrion referenced it.

At first, I wasn't sure who had stabbed whom. When I realized that Dany was the one who had been stabbed, I immediately thought it was Arya and not John. Cause the writers just totally dropped that critical feature of Arya's character after she killed the Frey clan. Didn't think John had it in him. And I, too, thought he would ride off on Drogon to avoid any doubts by either the Dothraki or the Unsullied. (How were there that many of them left after the Battle of Winterfell?!)

 

[Shanghaichica]

Well he sure had me fooled. Guess he turned down the first job cause he knew a better offer was looming.

All in all, I was satisfied with the ending. Yes, it missed the mark a few times, including the time with Tyrion imprisoned. And then, just like that, weeks have gone by. I only know it was weeks because Tyrion referenced it.

At first, I wasn't sure who had stabbed whom. When I realized that Dany was the one who had been stabbed, I immediately thought it was Arya and not John. Cause the writers just totally dropped that critical feature of Arya's character after she killed the Frey clan. Didn't think John had it in him. And I, too, thought he would ride off on Drogon to avoid any doubts by either the Dothraki or the Unsullied. (How were there that many of them left after the Battle of Winterfell?!)

I’m surprised Drogon didn’t kill John. In the books dragons only tend to bond to one person at a time and they attack others even other targaryans.

Yes Dany suddenly becoming a tyrant in one episode wasn’t good writing. I think the thing I disliked the most about the episode was the time jump. Suddenly Tyrion was brought and there they all were.

Also realistically I don’t think the Dothraki and the unsullied would have waited for the grey council to convene I think they would have killed Jon and and Tyrion and rioted. They were loyal to Dany alone. They knew nothing of Westeros tradition.

I think the ending I liked the most was Arya’s because it was most fitting for her. I could never see her going back to Winterfell.

I also liked that Sam was on the council. I wonder what Randall Tarly would say to that.

 

[Falhófnir]

To try and enjoy this I had to go into it with suppressed expectations and deliberately accepting of the character assassination from the last episode, and yeah it was passable. Honestly thought it was going to be Arya, I would have liked to see Jon burned by Drogon in traditional no good deed goes unpunished style, and the dynamic between Daenerys' army and the city/ kingdom just felt off after she was offed.

So to backtrack a bit on the lowered expectations, one important thing I think you can't get around whatever your opinion on the events of earlier in this series, is Dany's death has lost so much of it's impact for having her go the way she did prior. Why care the mad queen dies? The real emotional severing already has to happen if you're to go into this episode believing her character's turn last episode. Waste.

To end this on a positive note, a couple of things I liked: Brienne at the very least got her happy ending as the leader of the Kingsguard. I'm glad they let these little moments happen rather than going with utterly bleak to the bitter end. Knowing a little bit of backstory I'm quite excited about Arya's little odyssey and what she might find, seems a better place to leave her story than I was imagining (though no I don't want to see it made into a spinoff). I was actually quite pleased Drogon survived, Dragons are tied to magic in this world (the red comet at the start and hatching of the three was meant to signal the return of magic) and having one still there gives more a sense that things will continue on in new interesting and unexpected ways. And of course Sam being Grand Maester

He’s a brilliant storyteller, but his prose is awful. So many unnecessary adverbs, repeated goofy cliches, comic book characters, no art or poetry, no empathy or soul. I love his stories, but it’s difficult to read them after reading anything of any literary value.

I'd honestly say if you think GRRM is that poor a writer, you don't know bad writing. There's stuff out there that is just astonishing that it got picked up and published, it's not just amateurish, it's bad amateurish. A bit rough around the edges? Sure. Could it do with someone to go through and ruthlessly prune it? Arguably. Is his prose so offensive as to get in the way of the story he's telling? No - unlike many others.

 

[MBAir2010]

Incredible series, I loved the end were they can walk comfortably towards the north!
as far as if i liked, agreed or critiqued the plot, that is not for me to decided, i am happy that i accepted what ever the writers displayed because the characters are "simply" theirs!
there will be spinoffs in the future i'm looking forward to.