Game of Thrones is over. As I write those words, I can’t quite believe it myself. The world of George R.R. Martin is very much ongoing, not only in his own books but in currently developing HBO projects. And yet, the hard truth remains: Game of Thrones is over.
This incredible show made TV history throughout its run, and of course it couldn’t be any other way for the finale, with these truly astounding viewership figures…
Game of Thrones went out with a bang, breaking the record yet again with 13.6 million viewers during HBO’s first US airing, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
With its astounding 13.6 million figure, “The Iron Throne” dethrones, or melts the throne of (if you want to get cheeky), the preceding episode “The Bells,” whose 12.48 million had in turn just narrowly beaten the 12.07 million of season seven finale, “The Dragon and the Wolf”. Just as it should, the series finale towers over both, as you can clearly see:
Accounting for overnight airings on HBO and streaming on HBO Go and HBO Now, it should go without saying that, with a mind-numbing 19.3 million viewers, “The Iron Throne” also breaks the 18.4 million record earned and lost in one week by “The Bells.” Five of the six episodes this season make up the top five most-watched episodes in Game of Thrones history, going by this expanded overnight and streaming metric.
In comparison with other HBO shows, none other has maintained this constant upwards trajectory, let alone reached its heights, as shown by this first airings chart helpfully provided by my esteemed predecessor as the “Watchers ratings guy”, Hear Marko Roar:
That’s it, folks. The end of an era not only of storytelling but of appointment television. Unfortunately for HBO, I can’t see any of their shows doing these numbers again any time soon. Nevertheless, rest assured we’ll be back with our usual ratings analyses when and if Jane Goldman’s Game of Thrones prequel pilot gets picked up to series.
So this isn’t, in fact, goodbye. I think I’ll go out with this instead: See ya!
hodor?
Can’t believe it’s over. Thank you Game of Thrones for the most amazing experience in TV.
Well deserved. I’ll miss this show dearly. Thanks everyone here for the years of entertainment. Hope the prequel takes off and we can do it all again. Like Luka, I say see ya instead of goodbye 🙂
Oh man, I binged this show through some rough times over the years, I don’t think I’ll ever find an escape as sweet as this one. Thank you Game of Thrones.
Anyone else hoping for a movie in a few years?? “Ask me in 10 years” – Tyrion, as a possible opening to that idea?
Thanks to WOW also, I love this site 🙂
Excellent final ratings for an excellent finale. I’m still speechless for how heartbreaking and beautiful and unexpected and bittersweet and perfect this episode was. I’ll be left with the characters, and what I learned about myself and the world through them, forever. Bravo!
Jack Bauer 24,
If the prequel gets picked i will watch it but only as a casual fan, i just can’t put myself to dedicate my time and mental health on being a part of fandom possibly ever again, i learned my lesson ! That’s why i’ve been able to enjoy tv series and movies more, i’m just watching it for myself and don’t care about the discussions and rants .
Happy it got such good numbers! Thanks, Luka, See Ya!
I love the finale more and more every time I think about it. All the character arcs ended perfectly and, as the cast members promised, it was bittersweet. That’s always been my favorite type of ending.
Jack Nabble,
I’ll still be part of the fandom if the prequel is picked up, but I doubt I’ll be as invested as I was with GOT, so the experience should be less frustrating.
Lol so why you still here bro?
Take a moment and assess. There is a reason you loved this story.
And there is still much more to discuss about that story.
Even if you hated the ending or the way the show reached the end.
These numbers bode well for all of us who enjoy epic fantasy storytelling/ more and more studios will take these risks knowing there are huge markets available to them. Thank you for that, GOT and HBO.
David Thomas,
Couldn’t have said it better myself! On top of all that the music was some of my favorite of the season.
the best imagine of all 8 seasons: Dany walking out of the Red Keep and Drogon’s wing opening out behind her. She truly became the dragon. Now, can we have the next 2 books so we can find out how it “really” ends?
So many people laughing.
Or crying.
Or just incredulous.
Just think of the franchise value burned in just six weeks. You just cannot take your eye away from a crash of this proportion. Everyone wanted to look in to say, I was there.
Luka, great job with the ratings . Always found it interesting. The finale went out on top as it should. See ya, brotha!
Mango,
Apparently not. These ratings show that the vast majority of viewers love season 8. It’s only a loud vocal minority on the internet that are upset. I also expect people to appreciate the final season more after either Martin fails to deliver an ending or the trajectory of the series continues its downhill trend and ends terribly.
Yeah, they destroyed it so much that more people tuned in every week. We get it you didn’t like it and that is ok, but why you keep insisting that everyone else hated it and that they destroyed it, when the numbers and metrics show that’s not true, is beyond me.
Maybe we look at different metrics – I look at reviewer feedback. And that is brutal. I tend to focus on reviewers with decent reputations considered industry leaders – and it is brutal.
I do not know many persons in real life that watched it – but of the few, everyone thought it was garbage. Actually not so much in the specifics (beyond the 1000 year king) but in the internal logic of how the story evolved to this end.
Beyond that, for other measures, I only have the rotten tomatoes and imdb feedback – and it is brutal. Worse than any other major series.
Almost every major publication has a discussion of the disastrous response whether their own critic liked it or not. I have not looked at all the various Internet sites but I know one or two of the more popular ones have been mocking GOT.
Mango,
The internet is not a useful tool in determining the overwhelming consensus of viewers. These numbers, right here, do. As for reviews and rotten tomatoes, this season of Supergirl currently has a higher rating than Season 8 of GOT, so they’re not exactly what I would call reliable. People have always been more critical of GOT than any other show. They should judge every show the same, not punish a show because it didn’t go the way they wanted it too.
Mango,
Wait for blu ray sales numbers. It will break records again.
I guess people will buy it to laugh at S8.
Young Dragon,
I can’t wait for internet meltdown if GoT wins an Emmy again.
Well, we cannot have it both ways. We take it when high but try to ignore it when low. The thing is to look at the decline.
For 7 seasons, the average rating on one site has been 9 and above out of 10. I think the lowest rate episode up to the end of S7 is 8.6. This season we have an episode hitting 4.5 out of 10. The highest is 8.4 for Knight of 7 Kingdoms. Then we have two 6s.
And yes, I prefer looking at the critic’s scores…and it has been brutal.
Truly a phenomenon. We may never see its like again.
(Still doesn’t change how they fucked up Daenerys and Jaime this last season. At least they didn’t fuck anything else in the finale. So it did end on a high note. Very high note.)
Yes, they will win Emmys. There will be no meltdown for that – GOT just has to be better than others. GOT is by far the most technically proficient TV show. On that achievement alone, expect an excellent Emmy year. It is also their final year and HBO will campaign as needed. Nearly all of the last episode will be Emmy bait for Peter Dinklage.
But GOT will be taught in drama/film school on how you make a mess in story and character. It will be the butt of jokes in comedy shows.
Mango,
Like Young Dragon said, you are looking at very vocal sampling of the viewers and taking it as objective fact. IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes are perfect examples of this. There were thousands of ratings each week before the episodes ever aired. They are easily manipulated and recent history has shown us that. Again, I ask, if they destroyed the show the last 2 seasons, then why did more people tune in every week? Don’t give me the train wreck excuse. That might fly for a week or two, but ratings have consistently gone up since the very first episode. Look at other shows, The Walking Dead is a good example, ratings usually don’t keep going up over 8 years. Most show either plateau or peak and fall off. Of course, you will say that this would happen next year. That if there was a ninth season the ratings would collapse. The same was said after season 7, “D&D destroyed this once proud show” and “everyone hated and no one will watch next year.” Of course that didn’t happen at all. The ratings kept going up, so they must have done something right.
I’m willing to bet that the viewership for the “Long Night” or whatever it is called will be pretty good for the beginning (not 13 million strong, but much better than GOT early years) and then the show will have to exist on its own merits.
If you think D&D, HBO or GOT destroyed the franchise, you are insane. GOT and the ASOIAF franchise has never been stronger or more valuable.
I am sure people are also buying Supergirl stuff.
ramses,
I don’t think you quite understood my comment, it’s the fandom itself that i hate(well most of it) not the show or ending
Not so sure about that.
You desperately want this., but it won’t happen. . The show is over. They will go down in history as the biggest HBO show ever, one of the most popular shows in the world, the show with the most Emmys in history, the show with iconic characters, episodes and moments that will be remembered for a very long time.
It is the most ambitious show ever created. It will take a very long time to do something like this again.
JSchmeh,
GOT still retains a large fan base who will be faithful. However, this number will be less than it could have been. So some franchise value has been lost.
As for the critical reception, that counts in how it will be spoken of for a long time.
Geez, 1 million people signed a note to complain. In 4 days! This is remarkable. Just think of the numbers of others that could not be bothered to join such a strange effort.
Mango,
Nice way to spin something positive into a negative, thanks for completely proving my point about the “fandom”
Nope, I do not desperately want this at all. Why would I?
Mango,
You are too bitter to be taken seriously.
Mango,
And also a using a stupid petition that everyone with brain has made fun of including people who didn’t like the season, as somehow trying to prove a point, you are definitely a very clever person !
And when “The Last Watch” documentary next week gets great ratings as well it will be interesting to hear what excuse they will make then.
It wasn’t really a million people lol. There are lot fake accounts there.
mau,
Also i don’t think the guy realises that HBO is not free, so i’m sure people were happy paying a certain amount of money every month to hatewatch something that they could have simply look for it online, his arguments are as clever as a rock
Jack Nabble,
Deep down they still love it, they just don’t want to admit lol
Thank you for proving my point. 1 million people signed a petition, out of how many? HBO’s figures are 18.5 million for week 5, and that doesn’t include instances where more than 1 person was watching per screen (which I would guess is the case for most households). So let’s be conservative and say 20 million viewers. 1 million out of 20 million = 5%. Now let’s say you are right and as many people wanted to sign, but didn’t (highly unlikely). That would be 10% of the audience, that felt this way. Definetly a majority and absolute proof that they destroyed franchise value. Except that more people watched the very next week, so not really.
I’m not going to argue with you or anyone about it being good or not. That is subjective and up to the viewer. What I do take issue with, is people saying that they “destroyed franchise value (which you did say) ” or that “most people hated it” (don’t think you said this one, but others have) when the numbers don’t back that up.
To those who think this is some kind of strange proof that the show is perfect, please don’t carried away by your desire to attack all those who have criticisms.
Ratings don’t equal quality.
Of course the season pulled huge ratings. It’s the most anticipated ending of a series ever.
The whole world is heavily invested in the world, characters, story. It’s an unbelievable phenomenon.
Of course everyone and their mother watched the last few episodes.
Doesn’t mean people liked it. On the contrary, almost every single reviewer, reactor, and analyst has been mixed at best.
Even completely mainstream fans who up until now, have loved every second of the show.
I mean, just look at the insane amount of downvotes on the GoT YouTube channel. They never had that before. Look at all the video essays calling the season a failure and trying to explain why.
Look at all the negative comments that have multiplied insanely fast this season. The negativity for Season 8 is far, far beyond the show’s previous low points.
People absolutely loathe this season. It’s the butt of jokes and memes all over the internet. The rage against this season is overwhelming, and the admittedly stupid petition proves it.
The petition wouldn’t exist if there weren’t a lot of pissed off fans.
Again, ratings don’t mean people are all loving it.
For those who did love it, I’m genuinely happy for you. I wish I loved it too.
And unlike what some people think, it’s not about being pissed that it ended differently from what we expected. This is an absurd and silly misrepresentation.
I’m personally pretty satisfied with what the ending itself is. I just can’t stand how we got here. The storytelling took a nose dive in my opinion, and the characters suffered for it.
Mango,
Here are all the shows that have a better score than season 8: Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, Lucifer, The Walking Dead, The Flash, Arrow, Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists, Good Trouble, The Shadowhunters, the last season of Smallville, etc. I can continue, if you want. How can you possibly believe these critics are in any way reliable? It’s clear they judge GOT different than other shows, and no other show can hold to such scrutiny. I don’t even know what this has to do with anything. The point is that the vast majority of viewers love the show, and the ratings prove it.
Nick20,
That’s not how casual viewers operate. They don’t spend their precious time watching things they don’t like, then go on fan sites and complain about it. You can’t argue with those numbers. The vast majority love the show. That is an undeniable fact.
Nick20,
Our problem is not that people don’t like it. That is fine, you and everyone else are free to ha e an opinion. Our problem is people using things like IMDB, RT, a stupid petition or YouTube to try and make the point that everyone hates it, or that it is proof that it was bad.
You said that “every single reviewer, reactor and analyst has been mixed at best.” That isn’t true. I have read reviews that thought it was great (both the episode and the season), I have read some that thought it was in the middle and some that thought it was bad. Guess what, that is ok, that is a personal opinion and everybody gets one.
If people want to discuss why the episode or season wasn’t good, that is fine. I’m up for that, but when people go around posting in every thread about how D&D destroyed the show or franchise or how everybody hated it and only fan boys liked it or other nonsense like that, that is what I have an issue with.
If you or anyone else wants to critically discuss the show, or just tell us you didn’t like it, that is fine. Just stop with the trolling.
Nick20,
Yes, this helps to clarify the difference between ratings and the feedback on the quality.
Bad news everybody.
I’ve just heard that due to failing viewing figures, HBO has decided to cancel “Game of Thrones” and it will not be renewed next season.
And on that bombshell…
I guess when they said Bittersweet they should have said divisive more. Me and alot of people i talk to, thinks the season was okay. We all wanted it to be epic but the pace took away alot of the impact, nothing wrong with the main points, but how it happened.
JSchmeh,
Also to add, the 20 million viewers are US viewers. While the petition is accessible worldwide.
I’ll never understand the mentality of those who actively hate a piece of entertainment and waste precious minutes/hours/days/years of their lives complaining. When I hate something I just move on to something else. Life is short.
Omg this is amazing. we will never have a show like this again.
I loved the finale <3
i have some minor issues with it but in the grand scheme of things it was amazing. I take what the give me and i roll with it.
Well, I woke up this morning and realized Westeros had a new king.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t me.
So I had to go work, dammit. I guess Ser Podrick won’t be peeling grapes while singing sweet nothings for me any time soon.
(Hey, I did as much work to get the throne as Bran did).
Seriously, since I don’t see a “Thank Sue the Fury” thread, I’d like to take a moment here and say thank you to Sue for creating Watchers on the Wall and for running it so well; creating and sustaining an online community is not easy. That you and the others make it look easy is a testament to all of your administrative, diplomatic, and creative talents.
Sue, I’ve particularly enjoyed your recaps very much, aways well written and incisive. So, ‘thank you’ to you and all of the other contributors who have done so much to make Watchers a safe, welcoming place where we can immerse ourselves in what was and is one helluva story. Thanks!
Mountains of Madness,
Thank you for your positive post!!!!!
I would say the ratings speak louder than the reviews. How many people would whinge and say “Worst episode ever!! I’ll never watch this show again!!” every single week? You would think with all of these people saying they’re going to stop watching that it wouldn’t be possible for the ratings to keep going up. Hmmmmm……
Kinda sounds like a miserable life to live when you willingly subject yourself to something you don’t like just so you can find more things to complain about.
The franchise value will be just fine for a very long time. The whingers will keep whinging when award season comes around. The whingers do not speak for all viewers when they express their hatred for the show, and they need to stop acting like they do. People liked it. Get over it.
As others have stated, reviews are pretty much worthless. Anyone can hop online and pound away at their keyboard with a bad review on those sites. And anyone can go to a newspaper or magazine and say “I have opinions about TV and movies!”, then be given a job to write reviews. It’s subjective. Many of the most beloved movies of all time were given terrible reviews by critics when they came out.
One of the best television shows of all time from some of the best books ever written. Thank you HBO, the writers, the producers and directors, the sound people and the music people and the makeup and costume people, and the extras and the stand-ins and the stunt people and all the tech people behind the scenes and the actors and everybody else that had anything to do with this fantastic show. Thank you
The season was rushed overall, which led to an early backlash that grew over the past few weeks. The angry reaction (mostly on IMDB and FB, from what I can see) is 100% overreaction, a kind of derangement syndrome by people who jumped on a bandwagon a few weeks ago and can never back down now because they’ll lose face.
Don’t get me wrong, the season was rushed and had flaws. The ending wasn’t perfect. But it was good. Very good. And satisfying! And bloody amazing to look at. I believe the angry reaction is definitely a loud vocal minority. Everyone I know in real life enjoyed it, and the legit critics seem to be mostly positive (or mixed at worst) overall. The show will stand the test of time, and I believe people will accept and warm to the finale in time. I also guarantee record blu-ray sales.
Nobody can argue that the last 2 seasons weren’t a rushed mess, you couldve easily had 32 eps from the content which needed to be covered and you can tell a great deal of it was being set up only to then be culled in the rush to finish.
This is not to say that Seasons 7&8 were bad, just not amazing.
5 years from Now, some executive at HBO wll say, why not see what has happened with jon Snow and Arya and the rest of the bunch?
The Night’s Jester,
You shouldn’t speak for other people, only yourself. I felt season 7 had some rushed elements, but I didn’t feel season 8 was rushed at all. It was faster paced than previous seasons, but that isn’t the same thing. In fact, I thought it was one of the better paced seasons and it’s my third favorite overall. I, for one, thought it was amazing.
Well, this was never not going to happen. Obviously the final season of the biggest show ever would be record-breaking. You don’t invest so heavily in so many years of a series and fail to see it through to the end, regardless of what happens to it. “You have to see it to know. Now I know.” This is the first year where my viewing/obsessing group felt true dissatisfaction with 2/3 of the season. The first seven seasons, I barely felt the writers’ presence…it was as if I were observing a series of naturally unfolding events. In Season 8, I could sense their hands forcing the characters to hurriedly do things purely because their plot outline demanded that certain events occur. That’s kind of at the root of many of the myriad valid complaints. Impossible to be a bit surprised by the reactions. More effort probably did go into Emilia’s wigs than the scripts, but I suppose there was no time to head back to the drawing board, and everyone else had to make the most of it (which they certainly did to the greatest possible extent.) The show is unquestionably an immense achievement even if they faltered near the end.
I am so glad that the finale broke all records, a fitting way to end the best TV show of all time.
Mango,
A tiny fraction of agitated activists is not a representative sample. Even if it were, the quality of art cannot be assessed by majority vote, anyway.
This was peak TV. History in the making. Sapochnik: The man. GoT showed men and women with agency, how they really act when left to their devices. From now on, shows will not be as real and un-PC.
And you simply forget HBO is not just GOT. In canada, it gets bundle up with the movie network. I dont simply pay for GOT.
It’s always funny these same people make conspiracy for everything, kind of like some flat Earthers.
“Oh, IMDb score is too low because hundreds of thousands of sock puppets” Where’s the proof? Some guy posted on this one post so thousands must be doing it. Arguments like this are laughable and can work the other way too.
LadyMelisandre,
This.
You could argue that they are great precisely because they successfully challenged a central paradigm, which many or most viewers could not appreciate at the time. Is it me or is there a male/female divide in the reactions? Most guys seem to be content, while the most ardent critics are usually women?
Wait, how is this 4.5/10? on imdb?
That silly petition would have to get a dozen million signatures or more for it to be remotely interesting. And even then it would only cover a very small fraction of the GoT viewerbase – legally, in the US (maybe Canada is counted as well), almost 20 million households saw the finale in the first day. Add to that illegal downloads, streams etc, rest of the world viewership legal or not and you definitely get to a hunder million or even several in just the first day.
Personally I hated (maybe too strong a word) the 4th and 5th episode, but the finale fixed what it could while not screwing anything new up, so I liked it. Maybe not loved it, but was satisfied with it.
I’m going to make a bold prediction, and I am going to take a line from Tyrion: “ask me in 10 years.”
Time will be much more favorable to GoT. I re-watched the entire series in the lead-up to Season 8, and even though I’ve watched each season numerous times, I didn’t get a true appreciation for the WHOLE story until I finished Season 7.
Of course it has its issues here and there, and Season 5 does still remain my least favorite even after several re-watches. But the whole show has an amazing way of tying everything together.
Once Season 8 is viewed in the context of the entire series, I predict people will be a lot more positive towards it. Give it time
Joseph Mobile,
That already happened with S7. A lot of criticism in 2017 and now they have this new meme “HBO, thank you for 7 great seasons”.
I agree that GoT challenged people, and many liked it. Tens of millions worldwide liked it. Uhm, until they were challenged a bit too much…
I’m not sure of a male/female divide. Maybe that’s your perception, it isn’t mine. But it could be a cultural difference, I believe we are from different countries.
There have been some issues (mostly writing, IMO) in the last two seasons, but not enough to ruin the whole experience for me. I’m actually liking S8 more than S7.
mau,
It’s really something.
I’ve also been noticing this strange new respect for seasons 1-4 as a block. Season 2 is probably my second least favorite season after Season 5 (I think this is a prevalent opinion in the fandom as well), and Season 4 – while it is tied for being my favorite season – received a LOT of criticism at the time, too.
It’s just fascinating to watch opinions change as time progresses with this show.
I don’t care what people angrily rate the episodes. It’s obvious many are not being fair nor using rational thought. So… whatever. I might be one of the few, but I’m even more excited for a prequel series now than I was last week. I also think I’m more excited for the other fantasy genre programs in development. I hope they’re all very good!
Something I’m seeing popping up online are a lot of articles about many fans now wanting an Arya spinoff series. Umm… hello! Welcome to the ASNAWP party, people!!! We’ve been making that suggestion here for a couple years at least. If viewers can only agree on one thing about S8 maybe a top contender is how much Arya/Maisie rocked it.
“Say another word about killing my brother and I’ll cut your throat.”
I’m at a loss to understand the point of that petition, unless it’s to show general displeasure at S8 – and even that could be for various reasons.
I’m sure many who signed were disappointed in the writing and the general “feel” and “tone” of the last season (or two). (“Rushed” is the popular word, though that’s in part a natural consequence of having so few characters and storylines left.)
Many wanted Jon and Dany to get married, have babies and live happily ever after. Many wanted Dany to be the benevolent queen (with Jon possibly dead). Many wanted Jon to be the wise and just king (with Dany possibly dead). Many wanted Jon to kill the Night King. Many wanted Jaime and Brienne to marry and have babies. Many wanted Arya to kill Cersei. Many wanted Cersei to have a gruesome death. Many wanted Arya and Gendry marry and have babies. Many wanted Sansa on the Iron Throne. Many wanted Tyrion on the Iron Throne. Many wanted Sansa and Tyrion on the Iron Throne. Many wanted full representative democracy in Westeros. Many wanted Jon to have petted Ghost in 804.
You can see where this is going, right? NO remake would ever make all the disgruntled fans happy. That’s why HBO won’t care one whit about the petition.
All the petition does is perhaps hurt the feelings of all the production, cast and crew who’ve worked their arses off for years to bring us this amazing show. People all the fans should be on their knees to in gratitude. Yes, even D&D. Even though I don’t agree with all their writing choices, we would never even had the show if it wasn’t for them.
talvikorppi,
Plus the sheer real world problems of a potential remake. Even if HBO were willing to do it, would they be able to get all the original cast? They’ve all moved on.
So would these signatories of the petition be happy with a remake with some Chloe Davies as Arya, some Oliver Smith as Jon, some Kate Jones as Dany, and so on. Huh?
mau,
how do you know this? I signed the petition myself, and I am not fake
mau,
I guess we saw different shows. I find the ending less than satisfactory. And I speak as one who is sympathetic towards the Starks.
Dee Stark,
Because the ending was that bad. But hey, those who say the ending was bad are not representative for the viewership.
Still dont get this view at all and Im not a newb. The season overall was very good, with many beautiful and dramatic moments and some inconsistencies sprinkled around (teleporting Grey Worm in Ep 6 got me) but I really enjoyed it even though I would have liked some things to go differently. A car crash it definitely was not, even though apparently its in vogue right now to think that.
An HBO 10 episode single season series that follows up on our favorite characters 10 years later? Im in.
And this isnt individual viewers. There were tons of watch parties that count as a single view. 40 or 50 million people in the US watched it, at least.
Why, in your opinion, was the ending so bad?
talvikorppi,
There’s no point to the petition. Do not waste time trying to understand it.
People just have ways to instantly vent their displeasure and this one allows them to easily and visibly have a shot at hurting the production.
But anybody with half a brain sees that petitions like these are ridiculous and have no value at all – particularly since they encompass much less than 1% even of the viewership, that’s assuming it’s actual individuals signing it. I truly hope nobody associated with the production will be depressed because of that nonsense.
ClemyB,
This is ridiculous.
I know its your opinion but no way in hell is the ending that bad to warrant a 4. What is happening on IMDB this year is toxic internet robots creating a way to demise the show. There is absolutely no way this is realistic.
Anyway not that I need to but I judge based on most reactions on this website, and the frequent posters and authors of the website were satisfied with the ending and had mostly positive feedback, so that makes me happy <3
The more I think about the story arcs and how they ended and the symbolism behind them, the more I am happy.
Like Jon finally being truly free, and true to himself, a wolf, and not a dragon. Reunited with the people of his first love, king of the free folk, and with Ghost by his side.
Arya doing what she said she would be doing (in season 6) and bringing her wolf with her (stark sigil)
Sansa – oh I love how it ended for her, I believe her character was one of the best developed. Because she messed up so much as a child and was the first to lose her direwolf, I think its very poetic and ironic that she is the true queen in the north, so true to her family and family name at the end.
And Bran, doing his duty as the new King.
And even for the other characters like Tyrion, Sam, etc.
Also, im soooooooooo happy Drogon survived. I love him.
Thanks for the journey together. I have been following your reviews and set reports for a couple of years, Luka, and all others from WotW, first studying in Barcelona, now being based in Germany, Leipzig. I totally share the enthusiasm for the show and find it epic how hard you guys worked and created this space for a loving fandom like ours. I’m quite sad that it all ends, but it’s like finishing every big journey: We all know the end is coming one day. So better enjoy it, it’s just more fun. Thanks again – I will check now and then, where this ship is sailing next, even though this hobby of mine is going to take much less space in my life than before, I suppose.
It’s a sad rainy day. Grey. A bit cold. I feel like Jon in the North. That’s good. We’re not alone.
Dee Stark,
I love your positivity, enthusiasm, and positivity, Dee.
You’re obviously not a “dumb person who just doesn’t understand why this season is crraaaaapp”. Hey, I’m not either. Most of the world doesn’t seem to be. This hate-fest is a loud minority and some bandwagoning shits.
You, Dee, see issues/problems but choose not to dwell on them, just enjoy. I think that’s the right attitude.
Dee Stark,
Because people are making 10+ accounts and rating it a 1. Yes it happen. I read reddit and other sites that the scum had made 10+ accounts to give it a 1.
I have no problem with people disliking it and giving it a 1. Everyone their opinion. But they are shoving their opinion down everyone throat by making 10+ accounts. And that also make clear that the ones that loved this season are not low life scum, they make 10 accounts to up the score.
Same thing happen with that petition. I read some filling it in 20/30 times if not more, to make a point. They are so entitled with their opinion that they think only they are right that they need to cheat their opinion into the system.
So yes they are scum.
For the people, I don’t meant the ones disliking the season and rating it a 1, but the ones forcing it with 10+ accounts.
mau,
They are more fickle than King Aerys at the end of his reign.
“burn the ending”
Clob,
Me too, Very excited. And what I like with this ending is that it is an ending to this massive show. But because our heroes survived and going their own way, HBO could decide to get the story back for a mini series of 2 a 3 seasons. First 2 or 3 prequels. And after 10 years back together for a sequel that is about a new uprising from the Dothraki and unsullied. Or making a plottwist with Bran evil 3ER. They could think so much after this, but it would not be a story that should be told right after this ending. (I hope you catch my idea)
And that Arya quote is the best of the season. I laugh out loud.
I disagree. The ending wasn’t perfect had flaws but it was far from bad, at least that’s my opinion. So you have the right to you’re opinion, but don’t state it as a fact that’s true. Let’s agree to disagree.
I wouldn’t rate it a 9+ as many episodes of GoT but it’s far from a 1, for me it’s a 8/9 between that, still don’t know where, I need to watch it first again to place it better and after that rewatch the show again to put it in perspective.
Dee Stark,
You’re post make me like the ending more, thank you Dee 😀
Yes, that’s exactly what was going on. A way to vent.
I just hope the brilliant cast and crew don’t feel hurt. They gave their all for us.
And now some entitled little whingers get mainstream media publicity for starting a harebrained petition to have their own wish fullfilment. Which would never work, the people wanting “remakes” want all different things… Jeesh, people.really.are.stupid.
I’m wondering if I could just be a rat (they’re clean, intelligent, social, and survivallists). Just to escape humanity. It doesn’t seem all that to me.
We are here the ending. I enjoyed this ride, it was a real exciting rollercoaster. With stories being elevated where they needed to be, and then we get the excited drop where we would fell lot’s of emotion (Ned’s beheading, Red wedding, Shireen, Burning KL etc). It’s a ride I want to ride again in the future.
Big praise to the writers, directors, actors, crewmembers and everyone working on the show. You made the impossible possible. You’re hard work is showing on screen from beginning to end.
And I want a big praise to the man and woman behind this amazing website. Thanks for the amazing articles, thoughts, discussions. Without you this journey would have been a lot less excited. You made something great possible for all of us here. Thanks for that.
There was an article 2-3 years ago which reported HBO were considering a Jon Snow spin off. They could easily do that or Arya I feel, not sure a Sansa spin off would attract enough interest but you never know.
kevin1989,
And thank you, Kevin, for your interesting, insightful, at times critical but always positive input in the comments. You are one of the many people who make WotW what it is.
Honestly what was wrong with the ending? I thought it was an above average episode and gave it 9/10 with some minor criticisms. I could think of plenty of weaker episodes in seasons 2,5 and 7 as examples. I have seen largely praise from critics and my friends so for the episode to have any lower than 8/10 on IMDb is scandalous.
talvikorppi,
Thank you, same too you.
Personally I don’t see why people need to vent their anger online. 1. It’s just a TV show, if you ever think a show become bad just stop watching or watch it just to watch it stop but just exclude you’re emotion about the show, I mean anger is for me a notion you cared too much.
2. Expressing your anger online will never result into the result you want, it only result in clash and make yourself feel shittier then before. People need to look at the positive side of things more often, it will make people much happier in life.
So well said.
The weather here in far northern Europe was hot and sweaty (+26 C) for days, winter was going, the dream of spring in full bloom. I had to draw all blinds and curtains in my house to watch the dark GoT in as dark an enviroment as I could. Sun rises a bit past 4am. Birds singing outside, but I wanted to see MY thing.
The weather broke today, with a thunder storm. Lightnings flashing, big rumbles, torrential rain. No wonder most European pre-Christian cultures had a thunder god.
Jon Snowed,
I’d say there was nothing wrong with the ending, It’s wonderfully bittersweet and was pretty much as I expected, even “happier”. I have criticisms about how we got there, though.
Many share my “how” criticisms, but I feel many more have “what” criticisms. Didn’t read the story correctly and are now in a meltdown because the show didn’t deliver their preferred/predicted ending, apparently “butchered” charactes.
I think this is a study in entitlement.
Venting online is fine to a reasonable degree (better than not venting at all and exploding with pent up frustrations later). It is fine saying you didn’t like something and great if you say what exactly and why. That is all part of being invested in something (I mean I did and will criticise the previous 3 episodes because, imo, they really dropped the ball on a number of characters in them).
But it is not fine to start screaming around how terrible the ending was and blaming people for ruining their lifes, past 10 years and demanding a remake. That is childish behaviour at best and toxic and straight up dangerous at worst.
TOIVA,
Constructive criticism, trying to be objective, well-reasoned vs. emotional, self-centered, much publicised, totally subjective screeching.
Yeah, sounds about right.
Thank the gods, old and new, for this place. WotW has been a place of sanity and civil, intelligent discussion. Thank you.
TOIVA,
Agree fully with you.
I don’t know if this will help anybody reconsider the ending, but if you look at it as a game of chess where the kings just kind of sit back on their buts and stay out of the way and let their pawns and everyone else do the dirty work till the queen has to come in and clean up, it kind of makes sense. In this case there was only a white queen who kind of went to the dark side. I’ve heard rumors that Drogon may have taken Danny somewhere to be brought back to life, and in some non forseeable future come back as the Night Queen with a dragon already in hand and attempt to regain Westros. I think its an interesting set up as she is flameproof as well and Jon will probably have children who may find dragon eggs and have to go up against their great aunt? Like I said this may or may not help, but it doesn’t hurt, or does it?
Just because you didn’t know who the king was, doesn’t mean he wasn’t the king.
Oh yeah! black queen Cersi. My bad.
Liking the idea of Drogon taking Dany to Kinvara for resurrection–so long as she comes back as her actual, sane, rational self from like, two or three episodes ago. x-p
My brother’s always been the most spoiler-averse person in the world, but even he willingly read the leaks for the last couple eps. As had I, and I’m thankful I had the prep time to somehow come into acceptance of things that went down, even if I still didn’t believe them as I was watching. Maybe the books can make it feel more right, if they’re ever published. My mom also accepts but thought it could’ve been ended better, and kind of wants to rewatch but kinda doesn’t. I think it depressed her a bit. >< Relieved I'm not a big Star Wars fan, I will say.
Still excited for the feature-length documentary, and the fact that there will be prequels. Hoping for lots of deleted scenes (will we have to buy the season to get them?) And hadn't Hibberd from EW said that there were people in the finale that surprised him and made him reconsider the past several episodes? I was on the lookout for characters we thought were dead, or were from way far back that you'd never have expected to see again, or a flashback or anything. Saw nobody unanticipated, and been wondering whom he meant…
talvikorppi,
Aww thank you, I appreciate that <3
I try to be always, because I love this show and it has always made me happy, why would that change? You know?
kevin1989,
Awww yay <3 🙂
shelle,
Edmure Tully? That one was quite likely to have died in all the turmoil. Robin Arryn was also a surprise.
To some degree, even Bronn turning up as not only the Lord of the Reach but also Master of Coin was surprising.
I did think of those, because the cast list that had been thought to be for the season premiere actually turned out to be for the finale (or the entire season.) So I knew to expect Edmure & Robin, and figured they’d show up in a scene similar to the one they got. Didn’t think they would’ve been surprising or significant enough to mention, but I can’t think of anyone else either. And yeah, Bronn being part of the small council was…a bit of a head-scratcher. xD (I knew he’d pop up to collect what was promised him, but to serve as Master of Coin?! Yikes, lol.)
Oh, I avoid spoilers as well as I could, cast lists being one particularly spoilerific tidbit. Honestly I’ve been leaning on Edmure being dead for seasons before he suddenly showed up. So that was a nice surprise for me at least.