Kit Harington is all the rage lately. After an expansive feature at Variety, he’s now the cover for this month’s issue of Emmy Magazine, for an interview that takes us from the dark days of the season five finale cliffhanger to what we may expect from the season eight finale—apparently a “strong” ending that he predicts will nonetheless be divisive.
As reported by People, Kit Harington sat with Emmy Magazine for their latest issue (on stands today), and shared his concerns about the fame and scrutiny Game of Thrones has brought him, especially after the season five finale in which Jon Snow died:
“It was probably one of the darkest periods I have been through in my life. I think it must have had something to do with being a walking cliffhanger: I didn’t enjoy it. You want to be a lead, and then you get all the spotlight of the biggest show in the world onto you for a few months. It’s very disorientating, and weird, and unpleasant in many ways. That’s kind of where I went, ‘I need to separate me from the show a bit.'”
“I was enjoying it, but I was concerned, and I was worried, anxious,” Harignton admits. “On a personal level as it went on, I stopped letting it have such an impact on me. Yes, I was in this big TV show and I was playing this character… but that’s not my life.”
Regarding season eight, and the finale in particular, the actor is proud about their work yet cautious at the same time: “I think it will be strong. But you don’t want to mess it up on the very last outing.” Reportedly, though Harington says the ending “doesn’t disappoint”, mixed reactions are still to be expected: “I haven’t watched a single series that has a following like Thrones does where everyone is satisfied with the ending. I don’t think that it’ll be any different with this. I think it will divide opinion.”
Karingon!
No matter what you do you can’t please everyone, we are all different and that’s perfectly fine, I’m open minded and will welcome a well played ending no matter what I think it should be
If nothing else all this talk about divisiveness has at least made me less worried we’re heading for a typical epic fantasy ending, because most people would probably like that (not most die-hards, that’s another matter). You know, the one’s where Jon rules fairly for eternity and a couple of good guys died to remind you that War is Hell
There are so many fans that support so many different persons that I fully expect many to be disappointed.
I do not know what GRRM, HBO and D&D will end up doing.
However, this story seems to have a clear trajectory from beginning to end – if I am understanding the story correctly. The story is actually not that complex if they remain faithful to some basic themes, to how the story was cast and to get an emotionally complex end. But what do I know?
I just want to know if the ending will be bittersweet or not.
Well, I read this exactly opposite to you. I think (and hope) “everyone will not be satisfied with the ending” actually means “most of the people will be though”. I don’t think that necessarily equals to “Jon rules happily ever after”, but I don’t think we can eliminate that just yet. There’s also a sweet part in the bittersweet, which I think many people kinda forget.
costello,
You echoed my thoughts precisely. The casual fans who are here for “tits and dragons” (as Ian McShane put it, iirc) will be confounded when they don’t get a pat Hollywood ending, while the die-hard fans who participate in intelligent discussion will cheer the refusal to Disneyfy the conclusion. (At least, that’s my hope.)
Wolfish,
That is also my hope.
Any good emotionally complex ending – even if my favorites end up dead.
The only divisive ending is a twist ending that is not earned.
I don’t care now whether it’s divisive, it’s Disney, it’s Night of Horrors, whatever… It’s been so long we’ve waited that I’ve run the gambit of thoughts on it and I just want to see the conclusion. We know it will be the ending GRRM envisions – in terms of who sits or doesn’t sit on the throne, I’m good with that.
I never really find myself thinking about how it all ends or wraps up. Life never neatly wraps up. Even when you think you have everything perfectly planned out something totally unexpected happens. Of course I hope my favorite characters get to fulfill their arc(s). I don’t want to see Jaime die until he becomes the Sir Jaime I know he wants to be. I want to see Arya kill the mountain to save Sandor. There are certain scenes I really want to see. But I really don’t have any expectations on what scene will be the last scene when episode 6 ends. It’s not an ending really. (unless the NK actually won. Oh no!).
After all the wrap-arounds of what the end will be, I’ve come to similar conclusion that the story’s journey was always known by GRRM, since the beginning, and that’s where it all ends up. Not expecting any great twists on that. Just more creative freedom where the ancillary characters end up… and that’ll divide audience.
Still expecting an unknown betrayal, and the Night King is a new character so his trajectory adds complexity as well. The season will be emotional as our characters gasp and grunt their war to the finish line.
King’s Landing without snow, as shown in trailer, suggests to me that the NK is destroyed in WF and winter departed the south along with his threat. Then everything else in the season is about King’s Landing and dealing with Cersei, Euron, her golden coats and the mountain as the disheveled remaining characters play out their fates.
If this hasn’t been seen or linked anywhere yet, there’s a good, new interview article on Rolling Stone with Maisie and Sophie.
https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-features/game-of-thrones-cover-story-maisie-williams-sophie-turner-812203/
What has me slightly concerned is just how many of the cast are echoing this sentiment. They are all saying they are “satisfied” with the ending, or that it’s a “strong”/”powerful” ending (I don’t believe we have heard anyone gushing about how great it is) and that people are going to be divided in opinion. I wonder if it’s all hype when they say that they didn’t guess the ending before reading season 8 scripts (as Kit did in an interview last week) – how true can this be? Surely the cast must have theorised every possible ending (as we have) – how could the ending be something no one imagined, how can that feel natural if no one sees it coming? If even the most tin-foil of theories were wrong? I am going to go by the assumption that it’s just hype and the ending is going to be one many have predicted and the cast are just trying to throw everyone off the scent.
I have no doubt the fandom will feel divided – we are divided by everything that happens on this show 🤣 why would the ending be any different?
I have no doubt the ending is going to be amazing. It may also be traumatising and upsetting, but in the grand scheme of things, amazing. I have come to expect nothing less from this show. The self-doubt of the cast and crew seems oddly misplaced – it’s like they’re covering their backs. They don’t need to.
Why do I have the feeling that George, in the books, will reach the same ending in a very different… and more brilliant way ?
Also, why do I have the feeling that the wall will also come down in the books? But not in the same way.
tom,
The Dexter finale sucked plenty hard without any twists my friend
One of the problems of being deeply immersed for a long time in the fandom and dissecting every minute detail in between seasons is that, for me at least, anyone being on the Iron Throne, or the IT even still existing at the end, will feel tropey. If my radar on GRRM is anywhere near correct (and I feel like I have somewhat of a handle on his basic philosophy, based on being a fellow hippie veteran of the antiwar movement of the ’60s/’70s), then the lesson we have to learn from this saga is that ultimate centralized power is not a prize worth spilling blood and starving and oppressing the smallfolk over. Not saying it’s plausible that Westeros will embrace democracy in one fell swoop, but if they aren’t taking at least baby steps toward a somewhat representative/parliamentary system at the end, I will certainly feel some disappointment. This wheel needs breaking – though not necessarily by Dany’s preferred means.
Beyond how we feel about the way the narrative and all our favorite characters’ arcs ultimately wrap up, we’re also going to come away with an empty feeling re: Where does this fandom congregate now? Will WotW still exist, if only for a sporadic update on the prequels? Is there a comparably friendly forum for primarily-book-fans like myself who don’t want to get dragged into the infamously toxic mire of Westeros.org and the worst corners of Reddit? I’m really going to miss this place as a hangout, and all you crazy, thoughtful, funny, argumentative fellow Watchers.
Che,
I think the cast and crew are so used to insane overreactions on social media to everything related to Game of Thrones at this point that they’re just throwing a disclaimer out there ahead of time that not everyone will be happy.
It’s kind of like when I have a day off from work and I need to put my out-of-office message on, so that people know not to flood my inbox with emails that I can’t answer. I think the cast is simply doing some preliminary social media management 🙂
Tron79,
Honestly as far as tv endings go, if the Thrones finale is just “ok” it will be one of the better season finales. Most great shows don’t have particularly great endings (I’d even put Breaking Bad in that category, it was decent but that’s it). many of them have terrible endings.
Delusion? Wishful thinking? The reason Dance with Dragons exists is that George doesn’t know how to end this thing.
Littlefinger used a faceless man to fake his death and returns to take the throne.
Also, I feel like the Breaking Bad series finale was pretty unanimously praised by the fans. More than 90% like it, I’d guess.
Che,
“What has me slightly concerned is just how many of the cast are echoing this sentiment. They are all saying they are “satisfied” with the ending, or that it’s a “strong”/”powerful” ending (I don’t believe we have heard anyone gushing about how great it is) and that people are going to be divided in opinion….”
_________
That’s got me slightly concerned too. There’s been none of the “Holy Balls!”-type enthusiasm from the cast like in the runup to prior seasons.
I thought S6 ended with a bang. There was a consensus that it satisfactorily completed certain story lines. There was none of this “Some people will think it sucks” hedging from the cast.
Having said that, the showrunners deserve the benefit of the doubt. I’ll assume that a certain segment of the fandom, e.g., casual viewers, might be disappointed if there are no dancing Ewoks and Ned Stark’s smiling apparition as the screen fades to black.
Yes, but it was also pretty much the wish fulfillment/”fan service” that hardcore fans of GoT would excoriate if it actually happened. Imagine if our main “good” characters got exactly what they wanted? That’s basically what Felina was. Walter got to defeat all of his enemies one last time on an epic vengeance run instead of dying alone. It was a total crowdpleaser. The GoT equivalent would be Jon and Dany ruling jointly with Tyrion as hand, Arya as enforcer etc and peace descending across the realm
I think the ending will be great, but of course that’s just my opinion.
The best endings are usually good when the writer/creator already knows the ending ahead of time when writing the story. The endings that tend to suck are usually when the writer/creator is writing without the ending already in mind and they just have to come up with something to wrap it up as neatly as possible in the end.
As far as I know, but I could be wrong, GRRM started writing this series with the end already in mind, so I feel pretty good about it. I know he changed a number of storylines from when he originally started writing it, but I think he’s pretty much stuck to the main points.
As long as Anakin Skywalker isn’t there I can make peace with that!
Of course, Ned would probably be standing there trying in vain to watch everyone dance to “Yub Nub” while holding his severed head in his hands, which might distract from the happily-ever-after ending.
costello,
Count me out of the crowd that wants Jon and Daenerys to rule. Many people would find that ending very inconsistent with the themes of the story.
Firannion,
According to Luka, GoT ends but the site survives.
(I asked about this a few weeks ago. Watchersonthewall will cover the prequel. And of course, rabid GoT fans can grumble in perpetuity about Sansa concealing KotV; Jon unnecessarily bending the knee; the wonky PsychoArya vs. FranticSansa vs. Dumbed-Down LF S6 story line; the silly wight hunt plan; and Tyrion’s loss of wit… and continue fanboying and fangirling over their favorite characters.)
Mango,
Of course, I wouldn’t be a fan of that. But who’s many people? People on the internet who talk about the show? A tiny fraction of the viewership when you get down to it.
Ten Bears,
And when the next book comes out for those that read it, hopefully sooner rather than later, I imagine we’ll have quite a bit to discuss regarding the differences in the story.
Wolfish,
Oops. I think I just echoed your sentiments before reading your earlier comment, i.e., casual fans expecting a Disneyfied ending will likely be disappointed.
I’m okay with any ending so long as it makes sense – and Arya lives.
I liked the ending of Dexter. I always imagine the show being revisted 20 years from now, with Old Man Dexter, visiting (Argentina?) where his son now an adult police officer is investigating some grissly deaths. Old man Dexter comes to lend a hand and in the process let himself be killed of by a policeman who will never know that Dexter is his father.
But as to Game Of Thrones my theory as to bitter sweet ending is that Jon (fingers crossed survives) is offered the throne but refuses and along with Dany and the dragons heads north which is now emptied of people to shepard the dragons. A dragon is not a slave they can not be in a populated part of westeros and Dany is not going to give them up so he follows her north. What was it the maester said love is the death of duty.
I think people still try to draw similarities to the Lord Of The Rings when they should be seeing the similarities to Dune. If I remember correctly Paul left his empire in the care of his sister Alia until his children came of age to wonder in the desert. Arya lord protecter, who better to gaurd a prince that was promised from babe to young king or queen?
_____
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oas2l8MnyC0
“We are no longer the Knights Who Say Ni! We are now the Knights Who Say… Bittersweet!”
“Bittersweet!”
No! No! Stop!
“Bittersweet!”
Arrghh! No!
Iul,
Not a great leap in thinking though. Writing for the screen is certainly very different and much more restrictive than writing a novel. You can definitely have the same destination or end point but GRRM has the advantage of unlimited space and in his case unlimited time since he can’t seem to stick to a deadline. He can be as descriptive and flowery as he likes, he can expand storylines and characters, the showrunners cannot. Another thing a screenwriter needs to learn how to do is to understand that there will be times when logic needs to fall to the side. A book writer has the freedom to try to find a way to logically explain away every problematic plot point, on a screenplay sometimes getting from A to B in a limited time is much more important than how cleanly you get there.
Danny,
“Another thing a screenwriter needs to learn how to do is to understand that there will be times when logic needs to fall to the side….”
———
Why?
I would think the opposite is true.
Mango,
Jon is one of my favorite characters. I have rooted for him probably more than any character. But I’ve come to the realization that I don’t want him on the throne. Same for pretty much all of the characters. I’ve felt Jon and Dany will both die for a while now. I think the foreshadowing is there for Dany to give birth. I can see her dying from complications from childbirth, which would upset people that such a strong character would die that way.
Clob,
GRRM is also interviewed in that Rolling Stone article (which I also linked to in the previous Sophie-Maisie post):
Benioff and Weiss had to carve their own course for the past couple of seasons, after outpacing Martin’s writing. “I’ve been so slow with these books,” Martin says, with palpable pain. “The major points of the ending will be things I told them five or six years ago. But there may also be changes, and there’ll be a lot added.”
Essentially, all roads lead to the same castle.
Is Peter Dinklage doing any interviews?
He just dropped out of sight.
Tyrion Pimpslap,
I also like Jon. I preferred him before he became a fire wight – I am not fond of magic people.
I also think the Jon storyline is important but it is not a very interesting one – the secret prince – playing a straightforward good hero. Just dull. I think GRRM can do better than build the story about Jon.
Birth? Well she had sex and could be pregnant. I am not interested in a baby drama however….I hope they do not do that.
I just thought of some thing. Do you think the Dornish army will participate in the finale or will that be another plothole the writers will never wish to talk about – ever – ever – EVER!
It’s been foreshadowed as heavily as possible that Dany will get pregnant, so prepare to be disappointed if you don’t want any baby drama.
Mr Derp,
Yes, often in life I have not gotten what I want. I just keep going and accept that I do not command every aspect of the universe. Life, ya know.
I do not object to the baby. Just that there is a lot for S8 without baby drama – too melodramatic, kind of.
If she has a child it would mean that the Targs do not disappear if Jon and Daenerys die. (I am not sure they will.) That would be a good thing and allow the Targ line to grow up as a part of the Westeros community. That is not a bad thing unless the kid decides that it has a right to rule – then we are back at square one.
Mango,
Yea, I don’t know how the baby drama will play out, but, to me, it’s clear that Jon and Dany will have a baby. Maybe twins too for all I know.
I don’t know if Jon or Dany will live/die, but their stories pretty much mirror each other’s, so if one dies, the other dies. If one lives, the other lives too. I personally think they both die.
An ending that satisfies all is a bland ending.
Mr Derp,
I prefer to say they both exit. Death is an exit that GRRM uses a lot but there may be others.
Both would have served their magic purpose in the story and are done.
Twins? Hmmm. Ok then. You make two the same way you make one – so it is possible.
Mango,
Triplets, GRRM likes the number 3.
Chilli,
Lollll!!
Well, same way you make two, you can also make three.
Someone needs to lay another dragon egg…maybe a baby comes out riding a dragon egg… that’s kind of like twins…
Chilli,
Damn, ya beat me to it! i was gonna change my post to 3
Mr Derp,
Why not shoot for the symmetry of 7? Daenerys the septuamom! Another title to add to the list.
As long as they give us the author’s intended ending, then I will be satisfied. I hope they don’t give us a fan service ending. Please Gods…..but if he never finishes thebooks I guess I will never know.
Just an aside.
The Breaking Bad finale was, I thought, brilliant, particularly as those nazi bastards all died. It got a cheer from me anyway.
The Dexter finale was crap – laughably so (imo). Nobody I know who watched it had a good word to say about it.
Game of Thrones, on the other hand, I expect to keep me on the edge of my seat for six weeks (bloody uncomfortable) and fully expect it to be a worthy end to a cracking series. Any less would mean the showrunners perpetuating an injustice on us, the actors and George Martin. Personally, I don’t see that happening.
So far, GoT has ranked, with me and the many friends I have who have watched it, as the best TV series EVER. I really don’t see it ending with a bang and a whimper – more with loads of bangs, quite a few screams and a long drawn-out ‘Fuuuuuuuuck…’ from millions of contented viewers.
Just a single baby along with AeJon & Daenerys gives us ‘three heads of the dragon.’
Are we sure Jon is a fire wight? Melisandre tried, but appeared to fail, to resurrect him and he follows the Old Gods, not the Lord of Light. Maybe his resurrection came from a different source? I don’t think it was R’hllor that brought Jon back.
Thank the gods there was a sale on tinfoil!
Ten Bears,
Because when you are writing for the screen, sometimes you have to go from A to B in a way that works visually (your medium) and you can’t always choose the most optimal (read logical) way for various reasons. It is hard to explain but you just sit there and you have this scene that you’ve been trying to work out for what feels like ages and whatever logical solutions you come up with will simply not work visually (for timing, pacing, budget reasons, pick your poison) and you have a deadline and time really equals money in the film and tv industry so you go with something you are not happy about, something that may make you even cringe but that is simply how it goes. You really think the GOT writers didn’t really know how bad the pacing was for the let’s kidnap a wight episode as they were writing it? Of course they did, but given the magnitude of everything else, they just bit the bullet and hoped that the director could improve it with his vision. Almost every movie in history has some illogical part in it if you really pay attention and refrain from suspending belief, rare is the movie that doesn’t.
Writing a screenplay can be formulaic but it is also a part of the most collaborative form of art known to man. When writing, a writer like Stephen King or GRR Martin may have an audience in mind but for the most part they are writing for themselves. They have immersed in a world of their own making, they have the freedom to shape it as they like. Screenwriters don’t have the same advantage. They are just one element of a large enterprise, even though they should be considered the most essential element, the blue print.
Nah, 7 is for tossers. Octomom for the win!
If anyone wants to know, in the Rolling Stones’ article, they mention that Sophie’s storyboard was Sansa’s last scene of the show. I can’t wait to know the rest of that storyboards!!
For her part, Turner totally cried, “because I cry at everything,” she says. She was particularly moved when Benioff and Weiss presented her with a storyboard of their favorite Sansa scene, which happened to be her very last scene of the entire show.
Mr Derp,
That would give another meaning to ‘making the eight.’ Octomom it is!
jotastar23,
Sansa has always been the character I felt was guaranteed to survive. I think she’ll be the Lady of Winterfell and rule the North when all is said and done.
Deb deserved so much better. I could’ve grudgingly tolerated every garbage aspect of that final season if it weren’t for that.
Yeah no way she’s dying. Her and Sam are the safest I believe.
Plothole – yet another one of those words that has been repeated into total meaninglessness by the fans
New interview with David and Dan. They explain why they created the Night King and what he wants https://twitter.com/JamesHibberd/status/1110594464312119299
I want a happy ending.
I want a happy ending for Jon. That poor guy got a raw deal. And no, Mel, he shouldn’t be grateful that he had a family. He should be pissed! I saw some excitement in him as he prepared to leave Castle Black for good. Then Sansa showed up and I don’t think he’s been happy since, until he met Dany.
I want Dany to finally find her home, and that it’s with Jon and that it’s located anywhere except Winterhell. I want her to break that ‘effing wheel!
I want a happy ending for Arya and I think it will look like what she dreamed of: being a knight.
I want Sansa to be happy also, but I’m afraid she hasn’t been moving in that direction. She gets into conflict with everyone, even people who love her and want to help. Does she look happy to y’all? I think that love would heal her, but I can’t see her opening herself to it.
I want Tormund to survive as a representative of the Free Folk. I want him to hook up with Brienne after Jaime’s death.
I want Edd to make it. I love his morose observations about life. He was the only Night’s Watchman with the good sense to be depressed.
I want the Hound to conquer his fear of fire and no longer feel alone in the world.
I want Missy and Grey Worm to make it out alive. I want Sam and Gilly to settle down.
Mr Derp,
Ackkkkk! Baby dramas would suck… unless Jon Snow’s Penis “wakes the dragon” and the baby comes out as a half-human, half-dragon hybrid. That I could get on board with.
Although the description of Dany’s S1 stillborn baby came second-hand, it sounded awfully like a dragon-like mutation (e.g., “leathery wings”, I think.)
Otherwise, I’m not interested in an infant.
costello,
I’d argue that he knows how to end it, but not how to get there. A labyrinth of his own making, and he eventually got lost without having taken a sufficient lengthy ball of yarn into it…
Anon,
I am literally on the opposite end of your spectrum lol. I’m going in with low expectations (in terms of character survival) and the only thing I truly want is for there to be no Iron Throne by the end of the series. But I would be pleasantly surprised and also happy if some of the things in your list happened. A GoT season without at least three deaths is considered a dull affair.
Hello, Brothers. Is it true Season 8’s script has been leaked?
No. That friki-fella supposedly had leaks for the first episode and did a video that got taken down. I neither watched nor read any translation of such though.
isildur,
Interesting theory and correlation, but I see Sansa being the one left to rule. Arya maybe joining the Queensguard.
Emilia said her theories about the end were “close-ish”, but then backtracked and said she didn’t see any of it coming 😑. It happens at about the 0:35 mark in the video
https://twitter.com/07Khaleesi/status/1108413249458851840
I actually do believe her theories were probably close, but that doesn’t really generate hype.
Perhaps one can argue that Dany’s means don’t justify the ends, but thus far, she is the only character with a prior track record of changing a repressive system of government into a council that is elected by people. It has happened twice now, perhaps D&D follow the rule of three 😉
From what I can gather, he’s making a western in which he plays a bounty hunter.
Danny,
“Almost every movie in history has some illogical part in it if you really pay attention and refrain from suspending belief, rare is the movie that doesn’t.”
I respectfully disagree. A well-crafted screenplay will make sense. It’s not simply a matter of getting from Point A to Point B in less than two hours.
For example, despite the technical wizardry craftsmanship of “Titanic,” the faltering logic at the end ruined it for me: (a) Why did geezer Rose throw the jewel in the ocean? Either give it to the submarine explorer guy who was searching for it, or honor Jack’s memory by selling it to fund scholarships for art students. Why hold onto if for eighty years only to throw it away?
(b) They both survive the sinking. They’ve got a plank of wood as a raft. They could have at least tried to huddle together on it. Instead, Jack just hangs out in the frigid water, gives a speech, and checks out. I had the same “WTF?” reaction when Uncle Benjen rescued Jon in “Beyond the Wall” but just gave Jon the horse and told him to leave by himself. Benjen rode with Bran (and I think Meera too) on his horse while rescuing them from oncoming zombies.
“When writing, a writer like Stephen King or GRR Martin may have an audience in mind but for the most part they are writing for themselves. They have immersed in a world of their own making, they have the freedom to shape it as they like.”
Actually, that’s only half-true. Stephen King explained in his book “On Wriiting” that you write the first draft for yourself, and the second draft for the audience.
Look, I’m certainly no expert. As an unsophisticated viewer or a reader, all I ask is that fictional events and characters’ behavior make sense. There are plenty of good films that don’t sacrifice logic for expedience.
Yes, going from Mediaeval Feudalism to Universal Suffrage in one sudden overhaul would be a huge stretch, but the themes of ASOIAF have always suggested that the old societal structures have had their day and the strict system of fealty just can’t and won’t hold after this upheaval.
We’ve already seen the failings of trying to abolish the slavery based economy and governments of Essos without having a realistic timetable and process of transition so I do expect to see a more slowburn “lessons learnt” movement of change and not some sweeping miracle reformation.
jotastar23,
According to this article, some other actors’ storyboards showed dark but defining scenes in their characters’ stories: Bran getting pushed out the window, Jaime getting his hand cut off, Liam losing his son and ship to wildfire, etc.
https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2019-03-12/some-key-game-of-thrones-characters-have-their-biggest-most-defining-moments-in-season-eight/
People aren’t robots mate. Thinking isn’t just A = B, C=A therefore C=A for human beings with emotions. Nor does logic mean “being smart”.
Just like with the Benjen example, you seem to view characters purely as beings that make decisions a machine would based on what is most logical, but emotion matters. Why would a guy who’s dead and can’t pass the wall decide it’s time to die? Why wouldn’t he decide to die more like!
That’s odd. I’ve felt Sansa was destined to complete her journey from self-entitled, self-centered prima donna to benevolent, unselfish “leader of the pack” by taking one for the team.
Could her very last, storyboarded scene be a heroic self-sacrifice so that the pack survives?
Danny,
Wow I’m going to steal this rebuttal. It’s a very solid and succinct way of addressing that issue.
And as an aside, my perfect ending will come to fruition if the showrunner’s have done a good enough job at foreshadowing the conclusion. My only fear is that the ending will not service the characters we’ve come to love. I want any character, survival or not, to get wonderful moments that highlight what we’ve come to love about them. If death happens to come to my favorite characters, I’ll be more likely to accept if I know everything came before that was poignant and as faithful to their core as possible.
Don’t know if that made much sense but yeah.
Mango,
It looks like from this IG post that Peter is going to do a 60 Minutes interview. https://www.instagram.com/p/Buq3B2RAYkt/
____
Sophie and Maisie – and the gorgeous Rolling Stone photographs – really play up their girl-girl romance.
https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/20190109_NN_RS_S5_005-1D.jpg?crop=1400:700&width=1400
jotastar23,
For those in the ASNAWP Brigade, that Rolling Stone article has some interesting, semi-spoilerish news and quotes by Maisie Williams and the showrunners about Arya, including:
“Arya may have a higher body count than almost any other major character on the show,” Benioff and Weiss write, “but she’s almost always been justified in the violence she’s done in one way or another.”
*****
“…. Season Eight, in which Arya
****
On her final day shooting Game of Thrones, in Northern Ireland last year, Williams was still in her no-crying phase. She felt numb. “I went back into my trailer after we wrapped,” she says. “I took a shower, ’cause I was dirty. Arya is always dirty.” She stood outside, washed clean of Arya Stark, taking in “really glorious sunshine, the nicest day.”
Well, that’s to be expected. People have been waiting and speculating about the ending for years.
That’s a nice photo of Jon <3
Anon,
I want a happy ending, too, and I expect at least some of our wishes will come true.
As for the ending being divisive, I guess killing one or several of allegdly safe charracters would be much more divisive and shocking, than killing Jon and/or Dany. Hero’s death is as much of a trope as hero’s triumph (though I prefer to call it an archetype); anyway death and triumgh desribe a hero as such. But when it comes to secondary characters anything is possible and although it seems that Tyrion or Sansa or Arya or Gilly and her baby are safe, because we expect the showrunners to be merciful and spare them, they still can be killed off just to prove the point that war is bad or that life is unfair or that choices have consequences – particullary in case of Arya. But one way or another I believe the ending will be good.
Undead Elephant,
Breaking bad final was perfect for the show. Maybe the episode itself wasn’t as great as the couple that went before the final but still, how else could we have a perfect emotional ending which made sense.
costello,
Got what they wanted? BB ended with every character as traumatized as can be and we know that they will always carried that big burden with them. All those lives were completely destroyed at the end of the show and will have broken lives till they die. The whole point of the show was that dealing drugs will fuck up your families lives and destroy them to their main core.
isildur,
M C Hall stated he will return as dexter if one condition is made, that it has a killer script that feels like it belongs in the show. Until know such script has not been delivered, but there’s talk.
Ramsay’s 20th Good Man,
True, she should have survived. I can stand deaths very easily with shows, like with GoT but even in GoT the deaths feel somehow deserved. But Deb, still not over it. She was the one thing in that show that made the show have a soul (yes batista etc also but for me Deb was the real main character)
Ten Bears,
Dany moving her hand slowly over Jon’s leg.
Jon: You don’t want to wake the dragon do you?
Dany: What if I do?
Jon: Now you done it, you have woken the dragon.
I hope GoT will be the first show that will push “six feet under” final from it’s throne. I still think that show has the most perfect ending a show could have. It was the first time I had to pause a tv-show because my emotions got the better of me.
“If you think this has a happy ending, you haven’t been paying attention”
The ending is supposed to contain George’s third WTF moment. Maybe this is what some think will be “divisive”?
Although frankly I can’t recall a single TV finale that wasn’t called “divisive” or disappointing by at least some sector of fandom in the Internet Era (since mid-late ‘90s when the internet was dial-up from land lines and America Online was a “thing”)
Fatemeh Eizadpanah,
Looks like that but only Episode 1 and nothing really spoilery: more like a confirmation of speculations we had after the trailer.
Honestly, how many TV series finales are out there that weren’t polarizing for fans? I believe it’s always a pattern.
I dare D&D to surpass Neon Genesis Evangelion ending!
First time I saw it I was like “WTF?”
Let’s make a drinking game out of it so it isn’t so painful! Every time one of the main characters gets killed we’ll throw one back together! We will be very, very drunk by the end of it and very numb!
RIP 😜
Bearing in mind Maisie’s comments of earlier, the ending will clearly be Jon vs The Night King decided by Genital Jousting.
Ser Not Appearing in this Series,
Bad thing if Tormund was right then.
You really enjoyed that comment didn’t you 😀
People worried about the “divisive comment” most of them that I can recall seem to be from Kit Harrington, who seems to be very reserved person and not prone to hyperbole naturally
Oh my god, that finale is still my all-time favourite. I mean, I loved loved loved Breaking Bad’s but the final six minutes of Six Feet Under’s last ep were perfection. I STILL cry!
Nymeria the Wolf,
Yes yes yes!
Let’s drink everytime somebody states the ending will be bittersweet. I think it’s even more effective.
Adrianacandle,
Even thinking about it make my eyes wet. It was heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. I think we all know how claire felt right there, making that choice, and seeing it pay off the best it could, and that she could have chosen not to go.
It even has one of my favorite quotes “You can’t take a picture of this. It’s already gone”
Six feet under is one of those shows where even if you don’t like the show itself I would say: Just watch it. For that brilliant ending.
kevin1989,
Yes!! I think of that quote every time I take a photo or even just when I try to freeze a moment in my memory, but that moment is already gone and becoming the past. When I heard that quote while watching that episode the first time, it really gave me a complex about the notion of time XD;;;! But it’s so true. Those images of
– I still get goosebumps XD;;;
That quote also reminds me of one from The Good Place where Janet says: “Humans only live 80 years, and they spend so much of it just waiting for things to be over.” SO TRUE. Like waiting for this wait for Season 8 to be over!! And then it’ll be over!! Then we’ll get the first ep, wait for the next one and the next one for six weeks and that’ll all be over! And we’ll never have this time of hype for a new season of GoT again!!
Oh, now I’m sad. I need that drinking game now….
I feel the exact same way – I just want people to watch that show so they can get to the brilliant ending!! It was a beautifully acted and written show.
Yes!
I want to be “pleasantly surprised”, as you said.
Send the man Longclaw, dammit!
HBO wouldn’t have dropped the hammer on him if it wasn’t legit and I will happily consume any and all spoilers or leaks.
kevin1989,
Yeah. She was the one constant connection to his humanity throughout the series. Theirs was one of the most fascinating and convincing relationships I’ve ever seen portrayed on TV, which is probably why it was so disappointing when they sabotaged it at the last minute for what felt like just a cheap attempt at a shocking twist. I think they really misread their audience.
Tyrion’s Cape,
Thanks for the info.
Catspaw Assassin,
Thanks for the info.
The current drumming by cast members talking about the ending is starting to become worrisome. Are they prepping fans for disappointments which seem inevitable? Lets hope not. I’m hoping that the end will mirror all of the fantastic endings of all of the great works of literature and art the show and books pride themselves on borrowing from.
To those saying most TV shows disappoint with finales, I somewhat agree, but recall the phenomenal worldwide popularity of Downton Abbey and how that show ended well. So well, that I cried and felt a definite sense of loss that it would be no more. Downton’s ending made me miserable for months and then I discovered Thrones! I’m hoping for such an ending to Game of Thrones. The best endings are ones which make us wish the shows never end.
Anon,
A happy end for everyone alive EXCEPT Brienne.
So she has to grieve Jaime. And then make herself available to a man she dislikes. Geez.
Aha! Brienne gets all the bitter.
As soon as my brain tried to put together Peter Dinklage + Western, I immediately flashed on the Hervé Villechaize character in Greaser’s Palace.
Isn’t there a scene like that in one of the Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser books?
Danny,
I understand perfectly the limitations that screen time has: casting, budget, character development, lines, time on the screen, and so on.
But when a zombie polar bear is hit by Valyrian Steel (Longclaw) he should go down…
Also, when Valyrian steel hits normal steel, the same thing should happen in all scenes.
And when you bring 3x “F16 Raptors” in a medieval fight, you don’t land until you finish business.
I can hope for certain small blessings, I think. x3 I’d love most of those outcomes for those people, and would take whichever approximations I could get. Similar for various other people on the “good” side who may or may not be (but probably are) doomed…>< Pretty much agree about Sansa…though I honestly don't care as much about her. I’ve also got nothing against Winterfell, don’t ship Jonerys, and definitely don’t think Jon should be ungrateful that his youth wasn’t as horrid as it could’ve been/as life is for many.
We aren’t going anywhere! 🙂
tom,
Look! It’s Young Griff!
(Audience riots)
I think the divisiveness will stem from nobody sitting on the Iron Throne because that’s THE question all of the interviewers have been asking for the past decade except between seasons 5 & 6. The cast is probably sick of answering it. It’s “Is Jon Snow really dead?” all over again. How many hundreds of times has the question of who will sit on the Iron Throne been asked only for it to not even happen in the end?
Do we take this as a potential spoiler that Jon makes it to the finale a he clearly knows what happens? I don’t think that’s a major revelation as his death would naturally occur towards the end of the story anyway.
Neither is it a revelation that the finalisation will divide opinion, it’s too big a success story with so many different expectations for it not to disappoint some. I only hope it brings closure; well and neither Sansa or Dany ruling;-)
I think it’s fair to assume some of the more minor arcs and plot devices will differ in the books (should the final one ever be written). I’d guess Euron and his horn may bring down the wall as an example, and he will probably take a dragon rather than the Night King. Jon will likely become King of the North through Rob’s will etc. there will be changes whether they are better or not is up for debate.
Agree with this, so many big shows fail to really blow you away with their endings, Sopranos split opinion, Lost was widely considered to suck (although had been on decline in the latter seasons, Breaking Bad was OK but left an empty feeling for me at least. Not sure how Game of Thrones will over come this challenge, but I am cautiously optimistic given GRRM set out the end game long ago.
I would be amazed if we see a Dornish army or even Dorne itself again, at best we will have a new rule of the kingdom appointed during the conclusion.
Sansa is not a favourite of mine but you have to assume she will survive at this point so likely she is exerting power in her finale scene. Potentially executing someone or being coronated as ruler of the North?
Every time I get to a new Watchers article Jack you are posting new content:) One question given the title, is there anything spoilery in this report?
If true, please can we keep any spoilers off this site, we are just over two weeks from the premiere and all unsullied at this point I really would like to stay that way.
Regarding series endings: Six Feet Under had a pretty amazing ending that was perfect for the show.
The only GOT happy ending I will lament, and trust me I’m working on prepping for it, is no #Braime.
And a battlefield deathbed kiss won’t suffice….I want full-on baby making on Tarth, nothing less!