HBO’s Game of Thrones was one of the most popular, well-written, and breathtaking TV shows ever created, which makes its now-infamous final season all the more disappointing. Despite its groundbreaking visuals and epic battles, the final season somehow managed to ruin one of the best aspects of the show – the characters. The realistic and grounded characters turned into one-dimensional versions of themselves, doing and saying things they certainly wouldn’t have just a season ago.
While some characters were given worthy send-offs and their endings were satisfactory, just as many characters suffered from poor writing and story choices. Characters switched motivations on a whim or ignored years of character development established on previous seasons.
Ruined – The Night King
The Night King was one of the most mysterious characters in the show, as nobody knew his backstory, or his motivations, or anything about him. Fans had high expectations from the show and couldn’t wait for the big reveal – but it never came, leaving them with more questions than answers. What should have been an entire season’s worth of content was smashed into just one episode.
Instead of expanding upon the Long Night story arc that had been set up for years, the show wrapped it up in just one episode without revealing anything about the Night King and his White Walkers.
Wasn’t Ruined – Theon Greyjoy
Theon Greyjoy has had one of the most interesting story arcs in the show, and despite its flaws, season 8 managed to give him a fitting send-off. The writers expertly crafted his character throughout the years, changing fans’ feelings from hating him when he took over Winterfell to feeling sorry for him when he became Ramsay Bolton’s prisoner.
In “The Battle of Winterfell”, Theon charges at The Night King to save Bran, despite knowing he would die. It was quite chilling to see Theon stare down certain death. His final act redeemed him of his past crimes, as Bran tells him, “Theon, you’re a good man. Thank you.”
Ruined – Jaime and Cersei Lannister
Cersei and Jaime were some of the most complex characters in the show. Jaime’s arc in particular was genius – everybody went from hating him to loving him, and fans were sure his story would receive a satisfying conclusion in the final season. Many theorized he would end up killing Cersei.
Jaime forgets all his character development over the course of the show in just one episode, all for Cersei. After sleeping with Brienne, he turns his back on her and deserts her. Even their deaths were terribly boring. Jaime and Cersei both die being crushed by the collapsing Red Keep.
Wasn’t Ruined – Jorah Mormont
Fans have always pitied Jorah since the series began – he fell in love with the woman he was supposed to assassinate, who then rejects him and exiles him. Although he proves his loyalty and dedication to Daenerys and she allows him to come back, she doesn’t see him as anything more than a friend.
Fans were left wondering if Jorah would survive the final season, and although he didn’t, his death was glorious. He sacrificed his life to save Daenerys from the wights and the White Walkers during the Battle of Winterfell. Despite Jorah being a secondary character, he got a worthy send-off.
Ruined – Bran Stark
Many Game of Thrones fans can agree on one thing – Bran becoming the King of Westeros was the worst part of the final season. The writers pulled a complete 180 on his character – in an earlier episode, he said he could never become a lord or a ruler, and then he claims he “came all this way” to become King.
Tyrion’s justification that “nobody has a better story than Bran the Broken” is laughable. Not only did he become King without any logic, but he also didn’t face off against the Night King, something that had been set up for years.
Wasn’t Ruined – Brienne of Tarth
Considering what happened to almost all of the characters in the show, Brienne of Tarth gets a happy, or at least hopeful, ending to her story. She ends up becoming the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, as Bran’s personal bodyguard.
Brienne was also knighted in “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”, which was a great honor for her, as women weren’t knighted in Westeros before her. Despite facing many hardships throughout the course of the show, Brienne gets a fitting ending.
Ruined – Daenerys Targaryen
It’s not that Daenerys’ ending didn’t make sense. The problem was that her character arc from good to evil was done so fast it felt unnatural. Had the show taken enough time to delve into the character throughout multiple episodes and set up the signs of her embracing her tyrannical impulses completely, perhaps her character change would be more believable.
However, she turns from wanting to save Westeros to burning women and children within the span of an episode or two. Jon Snow ends up killing her, but the whole arc was so rushed it didn’t affect many fans the way it should have.
Wasn’t Ruined – Arya Stark
Even though by the end, the show gave Arya Stark impenetrable plot armor, Arya’s ending was quite satisfactory. Although fans would have loved to see Jon kill the Night King, having Arya do it wasn’t such a bad move.
Arya got the end she always wanted – she set sail trying to find what was west of Westeros. The ending had been set up for many years, and it was good to see some of the Stark siblings get happy endings.
Ruined – Jon Snow
At the end of season 6, it was revealed that Jon was a Targaryen, and thus had a legitimate claim to the Iron Throne. Fans expected this to create tension between Jon and Dany and they were sure this would be a huge plot point. However, Jon’s heritage ends up barely having any impact.
After spending the entire season saying “She’s my Queen” every time someone asks him to stop Daenerys, he kills her after she’s already destroyed King’s Landing. Even worse, he is sent to live out the rest of his days in the Night’s Watch, essentially finishing off right where he started.
Wasn’t Ruined – The Hound
Hate it or love it, the battle between the Clegane brothers was pure and simple fan service. They had a rough history ever since they were kids, and even as they grew apart and had separate lives, they never forgot their hatred for each other.
The inevitable stand-off between the two, dubbed by the internet as “Cleganebowl”, couldn’t have been done better. The Hound had been wanting revenge on his brother ever since he burned his face as a child, and to see him stand up to him in a burning building was as chilling as it was awesome.
