Worst Season? Rushed Pacing? All The Problems With 'Game Of Thrones' Final Season But Not All Is Bad

So much, and I literally mean so much has been said about the final season of Game Of Thrones which, unfortunately, includes negative things a lot more than positive proceedings. Several fans have been perpetually pointing out the mammoth failure that this season has become and it seemingly has only gotten worse with every passing episode. In a recent first, angry fans went on to have a petition doing the rounds about entirely re-shooting and redoing the final season with ‘competent’ writers. Weighing in all this madness, here’s what I think about the apparent failure that this season has been along with how some things are just being blown out of proportion.

Needless to say but will still do SPOILER ALERT-

Lack of Source Material

The one thing that I entirely agree with the people giving the final season immense flak is how the overall quality has indeed deteriorated, and that is largely because of lack of source material. One of the most amazing things about Thrones has been being based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels over the years. However, post the 6th season, the showrunners deviated from the novels almost entirely because of how Martin is yet to conclude his final novels. And it is not coincidental that the content began downgrading from the 7th season to this final season. To their credit, writers and creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss haven’t disappointed with the scale of the show or the twists that it presents. But the intricacies and genuine plot points that used to make Thrones the intelligent show it was has been missing.

In A Rush

Another major problem that has been persistent this season has been the rush that the makers are in. Over the course of eight seasons, some storylines have been so intriguing and the build-up to those have been rather fantastic too. So, when it was confirmed that this season would be the final one, the fans were expecting a satisfying culmination of those storylines. Instead what we got was nothing else but a merely rushed and unsatisfying conclusion of those plots. Be it The Night King’s quick demise without clarifying anything about his overall agenda or Bran aka The Three-Eyed Raven’s actual role in the Battle of Winterfell or otherwise; it all seemed too easy too at the end. Don’t get me wrong. I had no problem with Arya being the one to kill Night King off but everything seemed too simple at the end.

The Greatest Villain in TV History – Not There Anymore

The biggest disappointment for me, personally, was the end of Cersei Lannister. You give us one of the best villains of TV history and build her up to be the frontrunner against Daenerys Targaryen even till the latest episode; then you just end her character with poetic justice? Again, I did not entirely mind her and Jaime’s end and the way it happened but in a battle that was pretty much the central point of the series (Cersei vs Dany), all we got to witness was a one-sided battle since the first second. The worst part? There were so many obvious loopholes in Dany’s wrath on King’s Landing that made things even worse. You don’t take Cersei away, just like that! Not acceptable!

The Satisfying Culmination

However, unlike many out there, I did not have too much of a problem with Dany’s Mad Queen stint. It was a smart plot twist that had a satisfying build-up to it. The ones who are complaining about her change-of-plans are the ones who were expecting her to remain righteous throughout. That is not what Thrones has ever been about and thus Dany being the villain of sorts now, I like the idea. Of course, the inadequacies of the actual process cannot be ignored but apart from that, it did not seem to be a problem at all.

The Portrayal of Women Characters

I cannot agree more with how the portrayal of (some) women characters has been a constant problem on the show. I am realistic enough to understand the timeline the show is set in and how the current thought process surely doesn’t coincide with that era but that doesn’t give them the ticket to be as stereotypical as they have been. Once again, I don’t want to be misconstrued by my points but it is the development of the choices and the reasons that the characters have given is disturbing. Be it Sansa’s reason for being a strong woman (rape and assault) or Dany’s sudden outburst and the lack of set-up to being vulnerable about it.

Credit Where It Is Due

Again, not being unfair and only critical about the happenings, it is the same show that had Dany and Cersei reign supreme at the end of the sixth season thus making it women being atop. It is the same show that had Jon stop being the hero for once and Arya does the main deed of killing the Night King. So, I do understand how it is not a common problem in the show but the lack of female writers and overall representation is obvious.

The Finale

With the finale only a few hours away, we wonder if the show will be able to salvage anything and manage to counter all the backlash it has received this time. An approximate 80 minutes seem too less for that to happen but this is Thrones and I never rule out any good surprises too. Keeping fingers crossed about the show bowing out on a high.