Game of Thrones season 8 remains contentious and disliked five years after it aired on HBO, but it wasn’t actually the nadir of the show. The HBO series looked almost untouchable heading into its final season. It was the biggest, buzziest show in the world, capable of dominating the conversation like no other, beloved by fans and acclaimed by critics. That all changed with season 8 and, most of all, Game of Thrones’ ending, which received a major backlash.
There were various parts of Game of Thrones season 8 that came in for criticism, from Bran Stark becoming King to Daenerys Targaryen being the villain, and more broadly issues with pacing and characterization across the board. However, those problems didn’t exist in a vacuum or suddenly appear at the end. The show wasn’t perfect before then and, as two other seasons show, it had actually been worse.
Game Of Thrones Season 5 Is When The Show’s Problems Started
Best Episode: “Hardhome” / Worst Episode: “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken”
There’s a common misconception that Game of Thrones’ problems started when it overtook George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels. Infamously, The Winds of Winter is taking a long time, and so the show did run out of source material… but that wasn’t an issue for season 5. This year was adapting both A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons, the fourth and fifth books in the series, respectively, and it’s the choices (and mistakes) made there that may have doomed Thrones. These are just some of the major things that were cut:
Aegon Targaryen, aka Young Griff, the still-alive son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell.
Arianne and Quentyn Martell, two of Doran Martell’s children, the latter of whom is the most interesting character in the entire Dorne plot.
The Iron Islands and Kingsmoot, which was pushed to season 6 but significantly reduced.
Mance Rayder magically being switched with Rattleshirt by Melisandre before his death, rather than dying.
A much darker version of Cersei Lannister manipulating people in King’s Landing to testify against Margaery Tyrell.
Jaime Lannister choosing to abandon Cersei while in the Riverlands (which was, again, partly in season 6 but much reduced).
Ser Barristan’s importance is reduced, and he’s killed off prematurely despite still being alive in the books.
Lady Stoneheart, who could have appeared at the end of season 4, is missing again, altering Brienne and Jaime’s story at this point.
This isn’t just to say that changing the books is bad – Game of Thrones is its own beast, and any adaptation is going to have to make alterations and cuts, especially when the source material is so vast. Each is even, to varying degrees, defensible. But these do portray a show at a crossroads: it could, in theory, have adapted those books into two seasons instead of one, but chose not to. That’s understandable, but means by this point it was making the choice to speed toward its endgame.
The problems in Game of Thrones season 5 aren’t just to do with book changes, of course, but also how the show was transitioning…
All of those choices have a knock-on effect, too. Removing Aegon Targaryen (and other parts of the story) hurts Varys’ motivations, changing him from plotting mastermind to someone who is just working for the good of the realm. Tyrion isn’t as dark in Game of Thrones season 5 as in the book, which makes his character less interesting and has an impact on Daenerys’ story later on. The Dorne storyline was such a failure that Game of Thrones season 6 basically killed it off in response.
The problems in Game of Thrones season 5 aren’t just to do with book changes, of course, but also how the show was transitioning: Tywin Lannister is dead, Arya Stark and Tyrion are headed to different parts of Essos, Bran Stark is missing from season 5 completely. With so many changes, it was always going to be a difficult year; it’s also a particularly grim one, even by this show’s standards. That’s especially true with Sansa Stark’s story, a cruel book change that’s difficult to watch. With too many characters stranded in less interesting storylines, some of the magic – for parts of the season – is missing.
…When assessing the show by its own lofty standards, it is clearly a downward turn with myriad issues, and what should be regarded as the show’s very worst episode, “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken.”
This isn’t to say Game of Thrones season 5 is terrible. For the most part, it’s still good; in its final three episodes, it’s great, and “Hardhome” is one of the most stunning installments of the entire series. But when assessing the show by its own lofty standards, it is clearly a downward turn with myriad issues, and what should be regarded as the show’s very worst episode, “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken.”
Game Of Thrones Season 7 Had Season 8’s Biggest Issues First
Best Episode: “The Spoils of War” / Worst Episode: “Beyond the Wall”
One interesting part of the backlash to Game of Thrones season 8 is that, in a sense, it shouldn’t have been surprising. That isn’t just because wrapping up the show in six episodes was always a tall order, but because Game of Thrones season 7 laid bare all the problems. Serious pacing issues because of a reduced episode count? Check. Leaps of logic from what was previously a show with (mostly) well-established logic? Check. Character arcs sacrificed by focusing on trying to get from A-Z as quickly as possible? Check.
Game of Thrones season 7, perhaps more than any other, is the one that most represents the show’s shift in pacing and storytelling…
Game of Thrones season 7, perhaps more than any other, is the one that most represents the show’s shift in pacing and storytelling, and how it moved from character-driven (seasons 1-4) to plot driven (seasons 5-8, although it does work in season 6 thanks to a mix of catharsis and major payoffs). Characters teleporting across Westeros ended up becoming a joke, but it gets to the heart of what’s missing: the scenes in between the grand moments; the journeys, not the destinations, which is where audiences learned to love (or hate) the characters.
With this being the penultimate season, there’s a contradiction at the heart of Game of Thrones season 7 that really explains its problems: it’s focused on setting up the end of the show… but in the wrong ways. Take, for instance, the entire story that goes beyond the Wall, and ends up with the Night King killing a dragon and bringing down the Wall.
It’s all entirely in service of those two moments, but means so many gaps in logic, and so much of its (now precious) time spent on what is the dumbest idea anyone has had in Westeros in thinking to capture a wight (that comes from Tyrion is a real stinger). But it’s a story that focuses on the macro – get ice dragon, bring down the Wall – that ignores the micro. Cersei was never going to be swayed; Jaime didn’t need a wight to be convinced; heading beyond the Wall would always be a disaster.
This very much feels like a season where showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss knew where they needed characters to end up, but without all the notes to make it sing.
It’s time that could, instead, have been spent elsewhere. “The Spoils of War” is magnificent, but imagine if Game of Thrones had put even greater scrutiny on Daenerys’ actions not just there, but more so its aftermath, when she decides to burn Randyll and Dickon Tarly. It’s the kind of thing that could have better set up her impending villain turn in season 8, but is glossed over a little too much. Similarly, it could have done more to suggest Arya killing the Night King would happen, instead of the convoluted, illogical, and messy Winterfell story it did.
This very much feels like a season where showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss knew where they needed characters to end up, but without all the notes to make it sing. That’s apprent whether it was the Night King bringing down the Wall, Littlefinger being killed, Jaime leaving Cersei behind, or the Starks heading for a full reunion. Again, it’s still good – a season full of dazzling spectacle – but is lacking in ways that Game of Thrones never used to be.
Game Of Thrones Season 8 Was Better Than Seasons 5 & 7
Best Episode: “A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms” / Worst Episode: “The Last of the Starks”
Game of Thrones season 8 was, obviously, not perfect. So much of that inevitably comes from the decision to have only six episodes: story beats that would last episodes had to be resolved in minutes; plot threads that could’ve spanned a season were done in just one or two installments. And, yes, there were again problems with the show’s logic, like Dany forgetting about the Iron Fleet. The ending choices are divisive, and having Daenerys become a villain and Bran become the King always would be, but they aren’t bad, and as a whole the season is better than 5 and 7.
While there’s been a lot of talk regarding the bad, there’s also a lot of good here. The sheer level of craft and scale is at an all-time high – it’s easy to see why it took longer to make this six-episode season than it did in previous 10-episode runs. Many of the cast, too, step up. While the likes of Lena Headey and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau had long been incredible, others, Emilia Clarke, in particular, gave their very best performance in season 8.
Game of Thrones season 8, episode 2, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” is a highlight, an hour that feels like a return to the show of old. It’s packed with the kind of small-yet-brilliant character moments and details that had been missing in season 7, but it’s not the only great installment here. “The Long Night” may have left some viewers thinking it’s too dark, and it probably should have been more than one night, but it is suitably epic.
By the end of Game of Thrones, characters are, for the most part, where they should be…
“The Bells” is even more so. Daenerys’ arc was sudden to some, but viewed at least in isolation, it works from beginning to end, and offers up a stunning representation of pure George R.R. Martin ideas and ideals: dragons as nuclear weapons, the moral gray of characters and that almost no one is truly “good” or “bad”, and “the human heart in conflict with itself.” On the ground things are perhaps even better, especially with Arya’s viewpoint and Maisie Williams’ best turn yet: this is unflinching terror, the true horrors of war on full display.
By the end of Game of Thrones, characters are, for the most part, where they should be: Daenerys dying, falling so close to the Iron Throne she’d dreamed of, makes sense, as does Arya Stark going off in search of what’s West of Westeros, having reconciled her identity and thirst for vengeance. Bran Stark being King could’ve been set up better, but it’s a choice that likely comes from Martin; Sansa becoming Queen of the North is fully deserved; Jon Snow going North of the Wall is undeniably where he belongs.
What Game of Thrones season 8 has, really, is a sense of pathos that was missing from season 7 and parts of season 5. It’s at an advantage because it’s the ending, but there is a level here in which it’s very poignant, where the shocks are more earned, where it’s delivering on payoff that had long been setup and desired (some of it, at least). And, fittingly, it does come down to the Starks, the house that had been the true hero of the show, and as they say a final goodbye and part ways, and viewers do the same, it’s genuinely emotional.
So, no, Game of Thrones season 8 isn’t perfect. It’s well below the show’s peak. But nevertheless, it crafts an ending that is emotionally, thematically, and – for most players – narratively satisfying. It hit a lot of stronger character beats than season 7, offered up even more thrills than season 5, and while criticism is absolutely valid, it doesn’t deserve to be labeled the show’s worst year.
