Winds of Winter

[TheLeviathan]

 

We still don't know what the heck a three eyed raven is.

 

Essentially it's someone with a gift that is trained to use that gift to help stave off the Others.  Green-seers have significant power and that power has a tradition to it.  The term is coined by the nickname of the original person in this position who was a Targaryen with a nickname of Raven.  That's the cliff notes version at least. 

[Mike Sixel]

HBO has been known to cut shows when the budget gets out of control. Clearly GoT was not "cut" or cancelled but as the actor salaries in this show were getting quite high, HBO knew the cost going in to the last season and could certainly have opted to "speed things up."

 

If actors are paid by episode, we are seeing some pretty long episodes now.

 

I think HBO is willing to allow some shows "open budgets" but then gets concerned if this is taken advantage of.

 

Vinyl burned through $100M in one year -- axed.

 

Deadwood was not cancelled, HBO decided the pay raises in the actor contracts were untenable and decided to not take the options on any contracts.

 

Carnivale was cancelled because the showrunner would not accept a budget cut.

 

With GoT, HBO was in a position where they could not cut the show completely. The show had to be wrapped up or the HBO brand would have been hurt. The show is a victim of its success and HBO wrapped up the show as quickly as it could.

 

And I'm sorry but there were a couple of seasons where nothing of interest was happening. Previous seasons had a lot of filler, which surely HBO could see. If the Bran story line ends up being nothing, that's a heck of a lot of filler right there.

HBO literally said they could have ten years if they wanted. The show runners wanted to be done. It's on them.

[glunn]

I am rooting for Tyrion. I think that he would make the best king.

[Vanimal46]

I am rooting for Tyrion. I think that he would make the best king.

I like that you're going against the grain with Tyrion. It would be quite the shock considering what they've been doing to him the last couple of seasons.

[Mike Sixel]

It appears the Lord of Light wanted Jon back to kill Dany, not the night king.....

 

I think we can all agree Sam and Gilly will be alive in the last shot.....

[PseudoSABR]

The Real Reason Fans Hate the Last Season of Game of Thrones: It's not just bad storytelling—it’s because the storytelling style changed from sociological to psychological

[Mike Sixel]

The Real Reason Fans Hate the Last Season of Game of Thrones: It's not just bad storytelling—it’s because the storytelling style changed from sociological to psychological

There is some compelling stuff here, but like the theories she somewhat slams, hers is too one or the other, even if she acknowledges it isn't. I think the problems are many fold, and she addresses one of them like I haven't seen. But it is many things

[TheLeviathan]

 

It appears the Lord of Light wanted Jon back to kill Dany, not the night king.....

I think we can all agree Sam and Gilly will be alive in the last shot.....

 

That would make sense....but the Lord of Light also stepped in many times to further Dany.  So furthered her to kill the Night King but resurrected Jon to clean up the loose end?

[Vanimal46]

Final predictions before the show begins?

[PseudoSABR]

 

Final predictions before the show begins?

Tyrion gets executed in the opening scenes.  Drogan refuses to kill Jon.  Dany gets killed by someone unexpected. Jon has opportunity to take the throne, and refuses.  Queen Sansa.

[Vanimal46]

Ugh... Jon you stubborn SOB.

[Vanimal46]

Hahahaha Bran...

[PseudoSABR]

 

Hahahaha Bran...

How the prediction markets got that right I don't really fathom.  

 

Not as awful as I expected; all in all, a pretty okay conclusion to what became a convoluted, almost impossible to end story.  The Stark sequence at the end was very well done. 

[Vanimal46]

There are a lot of things I liked about the finale... Very satisfying small moments throughout the episode. Only thing I didn't like is Bran being king...

[MMMordabito]

I liked Arya Columbus at the end.  Hope they do a spinoff on her adventures.  She was always my favorite character.

[TheLeviathan]

Yeah, I think all told it was well done.  The pacing felt more true this week, though there still could've been more room to breathe.  

 

I'd call this ending bittersweet.  Maybe if Jon is abandoning the Night's Watch he isn't bound by the rules of his sentence?

[gunnarthor]

Again, it's just different from the books at this point and should be appreciated as action-adventure with great set pieces and such. The CGI of the dragon was just beautiful. That's one of the best looking dragons I've seen in tv/film ever. Just wonderful. 

 

I read the ending as the Starks being Kings of the Six kingdoms, Kings of the North, and King beyond the Wall. It was pretty clear Jon is not staying in the Nights Watch but rather going with the free folk and being happy. That was nice for him. Arya exploring makes some sense for her in the show. 

 

There were some dumb parts - especially Bronn but he's a fan favorite. 

[Mr. Brooks]

Fans are pissed.

With 77,000 votes so far, the finale has an imdb rating of 4.8.

Prior to season 8, the lowest rating of any episode was 8.5.

 

I was pretty disappointed with most of the last season. Something changed starting with season 7, and continued to get worse. I don't know if it was getting further and further past the source material, or if it was rushed, or if writers were changed, or if people just got burned out.

[Mike Sixel]

Sansa being queen was good.

 

Arya, didn't she tell the actress she wanted to know what was West of Westeros? So that worked.

 

Grey Worm would have killed Jon instantly, after he killed Dany....

 

I am cool with a Senate replacing the monarchy, but why is anyone listening to Tyrion at this point?

 

Bran? In the books, that will make sense, if it happens, because bran will actually do stuff, and his story will be a fleshed out...

 

Like the rest of the last two seasons, it all makes sense, except for how they got there... And Jon bring Alice after that, and Danny's troops basically being peaceful after she is killed.

[Vanimal46]

Fans are pissed.

With 77,000 votes so far, the finale has an imdb rating of 4.8.

Prior to season 8, the lowest rating of any episode was 8.5.

 

I was pretty disappointed with most of the last season. Something changed starting with season 7, and continued to get worse. I don't know if it was getting further and further past the source material, or if it was rushed, or if writers were changed, or if people just got burned out.

Everyone's expectations were way too high for this season. After taking some time to think about it, there's really no other direction they could have gone after Jon said he didn't want the throne.

 

The cinematography was great throughout the show, we learned what every living Stark is going to do, and for the most part we learned what the other major characters are going to do.

[Vanimal46]

[Mr. Brooks]

Everyone's expectations were way too high for this season. After taking some time to think about it, there's really no other direction they could have gone after Jon said he didn't want the throne.

 

The cinematography was great throughout the show, we learned what every living Stark is going to do, and for the most part we learned what the other major characters are going to do.

I don't have a problem with where they ended up. My problem is with how they got there.

The pacing felt off, the character development became flawed, scenes and storytelling became less gripping than previous seasons, the writing became downright awful at times. It just didn't "feel" like it did for most of the first 6 seasons.

[Brock Beauchamp]

All in all, I really liked where it ended up. My only real criticism is the speed at which it got there.

[Vanimal46]

 

Giddy that these two are back together again.

[Vanimal46]

I don't have a problem with where they ended up. My problem is with how they got there.

The pacing felt off, the character development became flawed, scenes and storytelling became less gripping than previous seasons, the writing became downright awful at times. It just didn't "feel" like it did for most of the first 6 seasons.

I don't disagree. They could have used 20 episodes to land this plane instead of 13... There was turbulence in the middle for sure, but overall it was a safe landing for the show.

[Vanimal46]

I am rooting for Tyrion. I think that he would make the best king.

He didn't become king, but he did steal the show last night with his speeches. Glad they let him have those moments after dragging him through the mud since season 6.

[Vanimal46]

[glunn]

My preferred ending would have had the dragon spit fire on Jon after Jon kills Dany.

 

Jon is immune to fire because he is Targaren. The dragon looks baffled then eats Jon.

 

The dragon then starts attacking everyone until Arya jumps on to the dragon's head and kills it with Needle.

 

Dany's soldiers declare Arya queen.

 

Arya goes back to her room and takes off her face. Underneath is the faceless man.

 

The end.

[TheLeviathan]

 

He didn't become king, but he did steal the show last night with his speeches. Glad they let him have those moments after dragging him through the mud since season 6.

 

As I've had a chance to sleep on it a bit, I appreciate the ending.  It is certainly Martin's as it has Tolkien written all over it.  

 

Jon and Dany were his Frodo and their stories ended much like Frodo's would have depending upon his choice with the ring. 

 

My only regret is that the pacing robbed us of having this happen more authentically.  Had that happened I'd say it was one of the greatest TV show finishes of all time.  But the pacing knocks it far from that post for me.  My imagination can help fill it in, but that doesn't make up for the mistakes.

[Mike Sixel]

Sansa being queen was good.

 

Arya, didn't she tell the actress she wanted to know what was West of Westeros? So that worked.

 

Grey Worm would have killed Jon instantly, after he killed Dany....

 

I am cool with a Senate replacing the monarchy, but why is anyone listening to Tyrion at this point?

 

Bran? In the books, that will make sense, if it happens, because bran will actually do stuff, and his story will be a fleshed out...

 

Like the rest of the last two seasons, it all makes sense, except for how they got there... And Jon bring Alice after that, and Danny's troops basically being peaceful after she is killed.

I should read what autocorrect does! Jon being alive, not Jon bring Alice!