It’s time we had the “Talk.”
No, not THAT talk.
The inevitable has materialized quickly. Six weeks passes hastily when you’re counting down episodes. And now we all stand at the precipice of hell staring down at the reality of our lives void of Game of Thrones. Yes, we will persevere. Yes, we will move on to other forms of entertainment that enhance our existence. Will there ever be another cultural phenom that has brought us together like this? A man doesn’t know.
But the real question is… what the hell are we going to do with this website?!
We built the Wall. You made it a community.
Let’s be up front here… without you, our loyal readers, we’re not even having this conversation. Our labor of love that we threw out on the interwebs in 2014 caught fire. And we didn’t even know if it would catch a cold.
But at the time, we literally had nothing to lose. If it took off, great. If not, we were out a couple hundred hours building and coding the joint, decorating it with some fancy buttons, making it user and spoiler friendly (the spoiler coding almost killed me), making contacts, lining up potential contributors, and trying to cost-effectively get the ship sailing.
We didn’t know if it would work. We didn’t know if anyone would Take the Black with us.
What we did know was that corporate media was jumping on board the Game of Thrones Loot Train in astonishing numbers. They saw revenue. And we recognized a need in protecting a fandom.
You don’t need me to tell you how much hate and vitriol there is on the internet. If you get online, it’s almost unavoidable now. In creating the Wall, we sought to protect at least one sacred place where you could come and discuss and exchange ideas free from judgement, or trolls, or bullshit regardless of your age, race, gender, orientation, or any other discriminating factor. Our oath has been the same all along:
We shall wear no crowns and win no glory. We shall live and die at our posts. We are the sword in the advertising darkness. We are the watchers on the wall. We are the shield that guards the realms of women and men of the fandom. We pledge our life and honor to the Night’s Watch, for this night and all the nights to come.
Game of Thrones may be coming to an end. But the ideals on which the foundation of this Wall were built still stand.
And we can continue, whether that be covering the prequel, or the release of a book (insert joke here), or possibly even other programming we all share an interest in. Whether or not we can is up to you.
Here is how you can help. And before I even suggest this, let me make one thing abundantly clear: we never built this website in the interest of money and we’re not proposing these ideas for the sake of profits. Anyone that tells you otherwise doesn’t know what the hell they are talking about.
This is about keeping WotW up and running. You lovely people have been nice enough to crash our server on multiple occasions and our expenses are not necessarily extensive, but Sue and I don’t have the luxury of disposable income to keep it going at a loss. We also made a vow to never inundate you with clickbait and video ads, a decision that costs us hundreds of dollars if not more per month. If the Wall stays up, we will uphold that vow until our last day.
So here we go:
Many of you are already make monthly donations and WE THANK YOU! Your donations have made a huge difference in making sure our little corner of the internet survives.
If half of our other readers pledged the cost of one drink at Starkbucks™ per month, we would be able to keep the Wall maintained and provide much more for our writers, the fandom, and for you, the reader.
Here’s what you can do:
- Pick an option below and click the “subscribe” button or go to our Support the Wall page, find the “subscribe” button and pick an option. Anything is appreciated.
- If you’d like to make a one-time donation, use the subscribe button to proceed and then “Cancel” after the first donation.
- Visit the official Watchers on the Wall Store, pick up some swag and represent your community!
- Bookmark WotW and check in daily! We’ll keep the content coming. It’s just a click, and every little bit helps.
- If you use an ad-blocker, greenlight us. Again, every little bit helps and if you ever see any intrusive ads, let us know and we will take care of it.
- Encourage your friends and fellow fans to do the same and to support and join our community.
I have completely enjoyed all of your GoT coverage. You have been my goto place. Thank you!
I’d suggest extending coverage to more than one show? Nothing is going be GoT level huge and this would diversity your audience.
A couple of suggestions:
The Expanse. Has both books and a surprisingly large and complex story.
Gentleman Jack. A new HBO show that needs more attention. First few episodes have been really good. Also based on a true story.
I’m not gonna lie, if enough of our writers cared about the The Expanse as they did for Westworld (which is how our sister website Westworld Watchers got started), I’d jump in on that in a heartbeat. I think I’m alone in that, though. I’m also, purposefully, only a show-watcher. I’ll read the books after the show.
First time commenter, but avid and longtime reader here!
From the bottom of my heart – thank you for all the amazing work you did, do and hopefully continue to do on this site that has quickly become a safe haven for me.
From one online publisher to another: I know what tremendous amounts of work must run into WOTW and how thankless it can be at one point or another to put so much labour of love in a project like this. For all this you have respect, esteem and gratitude.
Happy to make monetary contribution!
(and sorry for potential misspellings or other errors, this girl is not a native speaker)
I think this can become a go-to place for book background and theories, though I know other places like that exist already.
Obviously updating info about the prequel.
Interviews with the actors, if you think they’ll do that?
I think keeping the site about the show(s) and the book series is the way to go.
I want to thank you WotW people from the bottom of my heart for giving us this wonderful website.
A truly nice corner of the internet where we fans can analyse and discuss and debate the show (and the books a little bit, too) in a mostly civilised and friendly manner.
I found this site in the run-up to S5 (I think – time flies!) and it has enhanced my GoT experience immeasurably. Finally I could talk about all things GoT with likeminded people! Analyse scenes and episodes, characters, costumes, sets, cinematography, music, everything. And obsess over filming set pictures, snippets of teaser and trailer footage, episode stills… 😀
Most of all, this place has made me feel part of a community. So thank you to all the commenters here, too!
You HAVE to keep this site running for a time at least! We need group therapy and alleviation of our withdrawal symptoms! 😀
After analysis of S8 as a whole and the entire series as a whole, it’d be nice to see analysis of a specific character throughout their run in the show and analysis of a particular theme, e.g. “revenge in GoT”, “what makes a good ruler”, various aspects of the production (I’m especially interested in costumes and set design) and where D&D and the writing team did well and not so well. GoT’s impact on popular culture and even its possible legacy (OK, hard to predict the future even if you stare into the night fires 😉 ). Just some ideas off the top of my head.
I’ll look into making a donation in a way that I’ll find suitable for me (from overseas). This site is definitely worth a few silver stags, even gold dragons!
I don’t think anybody who spends a significant about of (largely enjoyable) time here could grumble about paying a few quid each month, to continue to enjoy this great community.
I’m all for covering the Expanse too – the Last Kingdom 😋
Luka Nieto,
I’d be here for anything you wanted to do on The Expanse.
I’ve taken to calling Holden “Jon Snow in Space” he is that similar.
The hype these days seems to be anything Disney or Marvel, but quite frankly, I won’t be “tuning in” for that as I just don’t care.
I’m also not sure that without a cultural phenomenon of the epic proportions of Game of Thrones, the site will remain as significant as it is now – revenue-wise. Westworld didn’t turn out to be the next Game of Thrones, neither did Stranger Things, and there is currently no show on the air that looks promising enough. Will you be able to run this site at all if a significant portion of your readers (and therefore the potential donors) break away?
I imagine the site could have a future as a small site for niche interests such as the spin-off and George’s books. But I wonder if that will really be something you’d be willing to do as a hobby, because as much as it pains me to say it, I think this site may have to go back to its roots – a hobby rather than a (moderate) source of income.
Unless you can make the transision to a more versatile multiple-interest site that covers, for instance, television series in general or everything fantasy or some such thing, but I imagine it’ll be hard to get a foot in the door there.
Hear hear, Oz! Well written 🙂
Diversification is always a good idea, but like you said, nothing’s going to be like GoT, at least not to the people attracted to this site. Or what do I know? Maybe the next thing comes along in a year or two and it will be just as huge..? But it might be a slightly different fandom demographic.
So maybe keep the focus on GoT for now, but provide intelligent and interesting content on some other shows and see what gets picked up by the community on this site.
I hope many more subscribe.
This week of endings is sad. It will be interesting to talk about the reactions to the finale. I think it would be interesting to follow D&D on their Star Wars adventure.
I personally like following the actors to see what comes next for them.
And, it’s possible GRRM will come out with WoW in 2019 and then there will be lots to talk about.
I always enjoyed the off season when you were getting some clues of what may happen by getting surveillance photos. I hope you get some more photos from the prequel.
For me, I’ve actually never been a huge fan of anything until GOT. I’m surprised at myself about how consumed (that’s a nicer word than obsessed) I became with learning about the characters, the actors, the directors, and more. I know I personally won’t stop being interested after the finale is over. Thank you so much for continuing this site for the community, and I’m hoping enough people will support the site so your watch can continue. Now I want to know what’s going to happen to the actual Night’s Watch. Is there still a need to protect the realm? I’m thinking yes there is! We never did get to see those ice spiders that are still lurking out there somewhere.
This became the forum to go to….*…. and it has stayed the best !
I feel trampled at A Song of Ice and Fire Reddit (even tho a lot of interesting posts there.)
* (Winter is Coming is still around…. funny they seemed to improve, some, in recent years… )**
** I have not looked at or been on A Forum of Ice and Fire A Song of Ice and Fire & Game of Thrones in years, I don’t know what goes on there.
Hi Oz. I’ve been lurking since the start. Thanks for the ride. It was good to have a non-toxic island in a sea of poisonous fandom.
Please remain the go-to place for everything asoiaf-related: books, show, spinoffs. There’ll be plenty to write about.
I’ve been following you guys since the original Website That Shall Not be Named, and I cannot imagine not having you around. Yes, please, please continue coverage of any and all prequels. The Wall may be gone now, but will certainly be in existence in the new shows. (or at least maybe the foundation of?)
Definitely chucking in my monetary support. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for all the hard work and effort that you have put into making this a fantastic website. Although I am mainly a lurker, I really appreciate the community that has been built here.
Also, I have seen some mentions of The Expanse, and I must agree. It is a great show, and a great series of books. If you haven’t already, go check it out. Give it a little time to do some world building and set everything up and you will be rewarded. For, me its right up there with GoT on my favorite show list.
I was so excited to see the title looking forward. what happened to your crazy episode predictions? we’ll never have that again 🙁 oh well, subscribed anyway.
thanks for everything watchersonthewall.com
I think for the future, it may be nice to cover new fantasy (or scifi if there’s not much around) movies or series if they seem descent enough in terms of story, production, budget etc.
The Expanse is already my favorite show on television right now. Amazon saving it was a godsend. It’s engaging in exactly the sort of world building early-era Game of Thrones did, vast and somewhat confusing at times, but focused on human drama with morally complex, well-drawn characters, and a whole lot of the petty political scheming and backstabbing with a mysterious existential threat looming in the background.
Beyond that, it’s also about the most committed to realism science fiction I’ve ever seen. It truly shows the effects of space, acceleration and gravity, and depicts technology that could mostly be real without hand-waving it (with one notable exception, but even that is pulled off believably).
It’s probably both a blessing and a curse that it has none of the plot twists and sensationalism that Game of Thrones does, a blessing in that it will hopefully never devolve into just that and forget where it came from and a curse because no viral moments and fan-reaction videos means nobody watches it and it got canceled.
Westworld is all right and I certainly enjoy watching it. It’s one of my wife’s favorite shows. But it’s nearly the exact opposite. Obfuscated storytelling tricks and gimmicks designed to keep viewers glued to the screen waiting for the big reveal, but characters and plot that mostly fall apart when you step back to think about them too much. At least they aren’t building up the early-season heroine turned murderous conqueror into a false messiah gone mad because people didn’t love her enough. She’s an apocalyptic deathbringer basically from the start.
dora,
Very good points, Dora.
As much as we love GoT and WotW, sometimes things just run their course. It’s kind of sad (in the beautiful sad kind of way) but better to end while it’s good, before it turns into a shadow of its former self, a cesspit of a small, self-obsessed community chewing over the same things over and over again, with decreasing goodwill and increasing vitriol.
I’ve seen an ASoIaF book site go that way. It’s been 8 years since the last ASoIaF book. Some Dunk&Egg stories and “fake histories” published in the meantime, but no actual ASoIaF content. You thought the 20 month hiatus was loooong for show theories to grow? Sweet summer child… (Not you personally, Dora. A generic “you”.)
I can only imagine the meltdown and vitriol after GRRM publishes the next book and many of the elaborate theories concocted by obsessive book readers over the past 8 (or however many) years come crashing down. Or maybe not. Because there’s still the next book to come! They could be proved right! In about 2030. Paraphrasing Jaime Lannister: “Too many years, too many theories. It’s just too much.”
And this ties up with what WotW should do in the near future. Keep it GoT focussed but maybe with some other content, see what the community picks up. But if nothing gets picked up by the community here, don’t try to keep it running artificially only on GoT content until it becomes a sorry bubble or cesspit of only a few people talking to themselves – a far cry of the heyday.
You WotW people have created something truly remarkable with this website. Lots of you have been instrumental in creating a Con (if I had more disposable income, I’d fly to Con of Thrones in a heartbeat!). But we’re staring into the abyss now, and it’s very timely of Oz to bring this up now, before the very final episode. It’s a very legitimate question. What now? (Oz, are you going to read the books now, or wait until they’re all finished? [insert evil laughter])
Sometimes good and beautiful things come to an end. You have to let go.
I don’t mean NOW! We need our group therapy and withdrawal alleviation for a while yet!!! 😀
I support the idea of a website as glorious as WotW for the Expanse, but apparently, we sadly only have Luka really invested there. 🙁
The Expanse is , now, the only TV drama I look forward too. Unlike Star Trek or Star Wars , it is the future on a chipped plate. I love the verisimilitude … it has the best ‘lived-in’ feel of any TV science fiction I have ever seen. Has a fine cast … and even… makes an attempt to stick to factual universe in a way that is entertaining.
I love the dirt-under-the-fingernails Belters….
This site is on my short list of five sites I visit every single day…it is the flame for my GoT insight. Thank you for all that you do from giveaways, to excellent commentary, to news and essays….this site is a work of art that honors other works of art with the greatest of care…thank you…and even though Onion Knight don’t cry, my eyes might leak a bit around 10:20pm Sunday…I’m at least assured that all great things are not ending and I will have you guys to pick up the pieces for me on Monday and there on…
Oz, I cannot express in words how much I love this site and the community you have built here, and how deeply I appreciate all the work you, the other mods, and all your wonderful contributors do. I found this site during a dark period in my life, and it has sustained me through that into better times *and* into finding a wonderful community of fellow weirdos. I loved meeting most of you at Con last year, and as deeply disappointed as I am in D&D’s last two seasons, my love for this world, this show, and this fandom will likely carry me to Nashville. And I must tell you: Saner Half LOVED meeting you in Dallas.
I hope to see all of you around for many years to come.
I could totally jump on the “Expanse” Bandwagon. Also for those that are unaware, the authors were actually GRRM’s assistants at one time. (or one of them was, cannot remember right now.) The books are also written in a similar style to how GRRM wrote the ASOIAF series. The Show built up similarly to how D&D did GoT as well. It will be refershing to see how Amazon does it. Hopefully it flies and we can get the rest of the saga onscreen.
I do want to take a moment and say thank you to the contributors on this fine site, I have been reading it for years and am truly grateful for the work you folks put into it. I don’t comment much , aside from complaining about how S.8 was a sprint to the finish but it is what it is.
Thanks again all and a definite upvote for a new page called the Rocinante 🙂
Wolfish,
Here, here! I had a similar arc to finding this site, and out of the darkness it too brought me light…love to all you weirdos…
Im expecting next week to be in the throes of grief, not just for one, but for two events.. Not only will my addiction/passion for this show and website dissolve into what ever purgatory exists on the web, but I am retiring from a 30+ year career. , where I have spent so much time, energy and love. And this is after working 6 years in the most incredible environment, that our district is now shutting down. Had my retirement party last night and oh my gawd, this is going to be harder than I thought. So perhaps to hold off the inevitable and lessen my grief, I will gladly contribute here, and hope we can continue to find a way to connect with the kind of stories we so enjoy.
I’d first suggest Good Omens, starts May 31, its the long awaited adaptation of the most excellent book written by Terry Pratchett an Neil Gaiman. A great story of an angel and demon tryingn to stave off armeggedon because they’ve come to actually like humanity.. Might be fun to discuss for its run
Id also suggest starting either a sci fi/fantasy book site or movie site or tv show site where we discuss a particular title for a month or so. We all have our favorites – we can list them for you, then folk vote for their top 5 preferences. Im already a member of a RL sci/fi group; it would be fun to expand that experience here
As for my career – I am still relatively young, I suspect I will find many avenues to bring my passion, many ways I can work with young children with disabilities, many ways I can volunnteer. In the meantime I will be taking stock in Kleenex and having plenty of boxes at my finger tips.
Thank you, Oz and all, for providing a community that was mostly free of the usual internet annoyances. This is definitely my Go To GoT site.
I’ll definitely hang around for all the post-mortems and the run-up to the new prequel. I’m still maintaining my stance to read the novels only when ALL of the novels are published so for me personally, deep book dives wouldn’t appeal to me. While I LOVE The Last Kingdom, it’s pretty straight forward and I don’t feel the need to discuss it online.
GoT was lightning in a bottle for me and I can unequivocally state that in all my many years on this planet, I’ve never been consumed by another show. The only thing that even comes close is the hard nostalgia trip I took after Led Zeppelin’s one-off London reunion in 2007: I spent the next four or five years reading voraciously, contributing to forums and collecting bootlegs all in the hopes of actually seeing them tour (since I missed them in 1980 when Bonham died), all to no avail.
I may never love another series as I have this one and if I don’t, that’s ok. I had this one, wild rodeo of a show and the great community y’all provided here at WotW. So a heartfelt thanks – and fingers crossed that lightning strikes twice with the prequel!
My favorite website at the moment.
Thank you all for the hard work you put in with the wall. Want to thank all the mods for it.
And thanks to the many people commenting here for making a wonderful discussion about a wonderful show. I think we never see the likes of this show again.
I am also a longtime reader and have only commented a handful of times over the years, but i have been around since filming of season 2, i remember the very first post i read, it was Carice’s casting as Melisandre. Crazy to think that here we are at the end.
When i started the show in 2011 i loved it right away, and started reading the books, loved them too, but what made me a true fan of the series and its fandom forever have been my interactions on this website. It’s opened my eyes and made me enjoy the shows in ways i don’t think i would have had i not found this site, genuine thanks to everyone involved, and ill always be checking back regularly for any GOT or Prequel related content.
Even if it’s just to hook them on it with no grander plan, I’ll make it my mission to get some of my fellow Watchers into it 😛
I think I already convinced Pat. Akash just told me he’s already a fan. So who knows!
This community and its ability to carry on civil debate is – sadly, but truly – an absolute god send. Gods the internet is a cesspool most days…
I suspect there will be quite a bit of ASOIAF/GoT related things to discuss in future between the prequel(s), books, new projects from the actors and other creative staff.
I’ll throw in another vote for The Expanse. Brilliant series! I’ve not read the books yet, but there’s is a ASOIAF tie in as well. James S. A. Corey is the pen name for Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck’s combined efforts. Abraham has collaborated with GRRM on a number of projects and Franck is one of his assistants.
I’m not sure how far out it realistically is from starting to film, but Patrick Rothfuss’s Kingkiller Chronicle has a series in development (I’m very, very excited about this). Last thing I read was that they were interestingly setting the series story prior to the actual setting of the books which I thought was a very, very good way to approach adapting something that isn’t yet finished!
Very happy to donate and help keep this site up in any way I can. You guys work hard and it’s much appreciated! <3 I'm already a monthly supporter but this just reminded me I needed a new WoTW t-shirt. And, sweet, there's a sale! I hope the site continues to inform us about the new spin-off shows.
I may have miss it but is there any video posted of the Con of Thrones WoTW panel?
This site has been a gem in deciphering the televised and written world of GoT.
Many weeks I’ve enjoyed the comments/writings here better than the show. I hope the site reinvests its future aspirations using this successful template of success.
Thanks to the watchers for all your hard work over these many years! I’ve been around since WAY back from the days of pilot casting news and “supporting the bottom”. Ah, what sweet summer children we all were… 🙂
I will be taking a break from GoT fandom after the series finale (well, I’ll stick around for the first week of reactions).
Next thing on my watch list – the Deadwood movie! SO EXCITED! And I’m watching Chernobyl now as well though it’s almost as traumatic to watch as s8e5…
Then this summer, Legion and Big Little Lies II, and later The Golden Compass (!!!) and Westworld s3… um, whenever that happens. 🙂
I’ll definitely watch the GoT prequel if it ever comes out. Psyched they’ve chosen Jane Espenson to lead the show. I’ll definitely watch it when it’s on and let it convert me to back to super-fandomry if it’s good. 🙂
And again, thank you all so much for making this the most positive place for a game of thrones fan to be. I used to hang out at… other places… but found them to be too toxic by far. This is my GoT home. 🙂
Well… dammit. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.
Here we are.
On the cusp of The End.
I’ve been tearful and sniffly and a little bit weepy over nearing the edge of the Final Episode for a while… now, I just find myself ugly crying.
I suspect it will be this way for a few weeks to come; the next few days being the worst.
Like many of you, I discovered this site in one of the most troubling and darkest months of my life – a devastating, terrifying and potentially life-long tragedy struck, affecting me and my family and close friends. (The Internet can be a horrific place.)
Through the Internet; however, I found this site. I found a place of normalcy (ha!) where life and the world moved on. No one here to bring up the dreadful details of personal recent events or ask how I was holding up. Just simply GoT all the time; a group of thoughtful weirdos – I’d found my tribe.
While I remained mostly a WotW lurker, I read as much as I could, practicality on a daily basis for years. What an amazing escape and place of respite. Well and truly worth contributing to keeping this site going forward.
I’m desperately going to need it.
(I’ll give a shout out to Ten Bears for his recent and kind encouragement to me to continue to post after dipping my toe into the comment waters… Thank you, Ten Bears, so very much! Commenting wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought it might be!)
As for WotW… The labor of love that goes in to keeping this site up and running, coding, moderating, writing, and so much more, has meant so very much to so many of us in so many ways… I can’t even through the tears right now. Sorry. I wish I had the words. I truly don’t have the fortitude to write at the moment, so I’ll simply say…
From the depths of my soul… Thank You All
(New, where in the Name of The Old Gods and The New did I leave that case of tissues I knew I was gonna need…?)
I myself, like a few have mentioned above, have never become involved in or obsessed over anything prior to ASOIAF or the show GOT. Ive never been a fan of anything really. But the books and show came along at the very right moment in my life, when I needed them the most. WoTW was a chance discovery years ago and I have been here lurking ever since. I rarely post but I have have read every single post with relish! I found myself in the time off between seasons 7 and 8 dreading the end of the series and as a result have been feeling the “bittersweet” all this season. I hope this site continues and thrives and branches out somewhat into other books or shows to guide me into a new series and obsession??
Thank you very much to the writers for all the work you have put in as well as the long time posters. I will support the bottom!
Additional thought: You guys may want to expand your allowed advertisers to include therapy providers. I’m certainly in need after this week…. Lol
Luka Nieto,
If you’re ever in search of a lad willing to pen weekly articles for a “Belters on the Wall” please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’ve done some writing in my time and I’d be happy to volunteer the effort. Anyway!
Oz, Sue, thank you both for creating this site five years ago. I’ll never forget the hubbub from when it was announced. I’ve never been the most consistent commenter here but I’ve refreshed this page several times a day without fail to help with clicks. Presently, my summer semester is finding me broke beyond compare. But come September I will begin offering monthly, if modest, donations. 🙂
I concur with the idea of continuing with the prequel(s) and the books that might one day be finished. As for other shows, I’d also recommend upcoming HBO show, Watchmen. There can also be one-time, or limited duration discussions of interest.
I also like the Magicians on Syfy, though it’s off-season now, but I find it a pretty good show with imaginative episodes and great acting.
Thank you so much for this place. It’s exactly the right vibe for me to feel comfortable commenting. I come here every season and see familiar names and get to share in my love of this world.
You managed to make one of the safest spaces in the book and show fan world (it’s crazy out there) and I know it’s because of all of you working to create interesting and positive content, as well as your genuine love for the topic and warm and inviting personalities. So I’m hoping this ship gets to keep sailing 🙂
The Prequel is coming-which happens to be about the long night or lead up to it, which is why the wall happened-so I would love to be able to come here for that.
And an in depth look at the World of Ice and Fire book might be fun to prepare, maybe a section a week. As well as all the references in book and show to what happened before.
Old Nan’s story corner lmao
I don’t know. I’m just sad the story is over.
I rewatch shows I love all the time and always learn something new, but yeah, I have a lot of favorite shows and books, so if you wanted to expand in our wait for the original long night-that would make sense too.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Just needed to add another comment because I completely forgot about The Witcher. If it’s half as good as the source material it’s going to be a treat.
QueenofThrones,
Ahhhh yes, deadwood film next week, praying its 3 hours!! also, yes to all of those shows, i forgot all about Chernobyl, now i know what im watching tonight
Hardticket,
yes yes yes, The Witcher has so much potential. i need a new obsession now that GOT is ending.
Support the belters !!!
Seconding this suggestion enthusiastically! I have very high hopes for Good Omens, since Neil himself is showrunning and it’s a true labor of love: fulfilling his friend Sir Pterry’s dying wish. Plus, they’ve put together a terrific cast. The opening credits animation is brilliant.
Only downsides are that it’s a mini-series restricted to a single season, and as I understand it (I’m not an Amazon Prime subscriber), all six episodes are downloadable/bingeable the very first day. That lack of suspense and anticipation over the course of a TV season may be death to fandom discussion, I don’t know.
Also, I love Talvikorppi’s idea of organizing discussion threads around themes from ASoIaF/GoT.
At the risk of being laughed off the site, I will add that I remain hopeful that Winds may be released in 2019. I get the vibe from GRRM’s Notablog posts that he has been making good progress of late.
Speaking of other TV shows, I loved watching Joe Dempsie in Deep State recently. It was a great way to pass the time while waiting til Sunday arrived. Dempsie does a great job becoming “Harry”. He shines during his scenes with his dad Max.
I’m sad seeing that Maisie looks like she wants to take a step back from acting and focus on her Daisie company. She really is a major acting talent, and someone needs to write her a decent role that she can’t turn down! Sophie on the other hand has more of the archetypal Hollywood look and she jumped right in with Dark Phoenix. I do think Sophie has really grown as an actress, but Maisie is in a different league on how she takes on a character IMHO. I want to see Maisie get away from the teenage parts. Perhaps her scene with Gendry this season changed a few people’s minds that she can play something more adult.
I’ve spent more time on this site than ANY other since it started, and many, many more hours reading and writing here than actually watching GoT. I’m very much wanting to continue on into the prequel(s).
Thoughts on moving forward…
I am in on covering other programs, but I’d prefer that they are kept entirely separate in whatever manner that’s best achieved. Whether it’s “sister sites” or divisions within WotW I think the content needs to be separated rather than lumped together since everyone is going to have some they have no interest in. For instance, while I have watched Westworld and think it’s fine, I have little interest to discuss it or follow production. Had all of that been mixed in on WotW rather than WW it would have been annoyingly messy.
I still think the shows that air weekly and have a fairly routine production schedule like GoT was (for most of it) is the best for this format. I love being able to watch full seasons of ‘web television series’ in one shot but I think they are limiting on what and length of community discussion and focus.
Despite what I just wrote, some of the shows on the horizon that I’m interested in are ‘web television series.’ For suggestions I won’t focus on shows that are seasons in already that have existing communities and could also be done soon. The main shows I’m focusing on in development are in the high fantasy, sci fy/fantasy, sci fi genres:
– GoT prequel(s) of course (HBO)
– The Witcher (Netflix)
– The Wheel of Time (Amazon)
– The Lord of the Rings series (Amazon)
– His Dark Materials (BBC One/HBO)
– Demimonde (HBO)
There are some others that I’m interested in that are “too early” in development and some I’m leery about because they’re either too niche or being developed for broadcast tv or basic cable. Maybe I’m too jaded when it comes to those but it’s still how I think. 😛
Fronklan,
Beltalowda!
Clob,
I agree with you that the once a week episode format lends itself to much more discussion during the season. We are seeing most go to the binge model now. I find myself already not having the patience for most shows having to wait a week. One example is CBS Access with Star Trek Discovery. I really refused to pay the subscription to have to wait each week and pay another month. I have waited till the season is over and then buy one month to watch them all and then cancel until next season. I actually used to do something similar with HBO when GOT first started. My cable company would get a call the week before GOT started and then as soon as the finale would end, I would be on the phone that night cancelling.
Of the shows people mentioned, I would be interested in seeing where Lord of the Rings goes on Amazon. Just being honest, I don’t think I would check back here at WotW for discussions of other TV shows even if they are sci fi. I just can’t personally invest so heavily in every show that is out there. I enjoy watching and talking for a day or so trying to figure out what just happened, but that’s not a very long lived discussion for me. One of my favorite binge series is Maniac. Just loved it and re-watched it several times and I could discuss it for awhile, but usually I just write a review on one of the review sites. If you created a review site community for sci fi/fantasy TV that allowed comments on the reviews I would visit it.
Oh god, I’m so sad this is the end.
I started lurking here well before I started commenting, only becoming active in the last year or so. Before this site, I’ve never really been someone to contribute to discussions beyond a few comments once a year (with anything — even in school!) and kept my thoughts to myself but this community felt different and I felt way more okay to step out 🙂 So thank you all for this community! It’s going to be hard to let go of it, and the show.
I, too, also really loved checking this site every day to see if there were reports from sets, all the speculation, the articles, the photos (I can’t believe yesterday was the last time ever where we’d all speculate over released episode photos and what they might mean before the episode aired. I loved Wednesdays for that reason!) And January-March of this year, when photos, trailers, and tidbits were being released, that was such an exciting and awesome time! And shoutout to Jack Bauer 24 for making days extra exciting with his predictions when trailers or photos might drop!
And such a big thank you to all of the WotW staff for putting this site together, for all of your articles, recaps, give-aways, and for fostering this community. It’s been such a great addition to the fandom experience! I’ve never really been active in anything like this before!
Thank-you again <3
I think the obvious choice would be to have the site be about the spin offs coming up. Though there is the potential for those shows to flop and no likes them. There are numerous fantasy shows coming up along with the GoT prequels, LOTR, The Wheel of Time, The Witcher, and many more soon to come. Without GoT I’m not sure any of these shows would be in development. The site could be come a home for this fantasy TV trend GoT helped create.
Luka Nieto,
Neither Mr. Good Waif nor I has read any of The Expanse books, either. But if you covered that show here, we’d be thrilled.
Tron79,
1. Maisie was beautiful this season. Especially during Gendry scenes.
2. I read in an interview that she’d like to do a Bridesmaids-style comedy with Sophie.
3. I concur 100%: Her scenes with Gendry – and Sandor – demonstrated that she doesn’t need to be pigeonholed into “teenage” roles.
4. PS I’ve got two of her S8 scenes on a feedback loop: (1) Sandor: “I fought for you, didn’t I?”
(2) [After Sandor gently places his hand on her neck] Arya: “Sandor…. Thank you.”
Come to think of it, her Gendry seduction scene was pretty cool too.
Luka Nieto,
Is there a way I can donate by mailing a check or cash?
I confess I’m a Luddite. I don’t even like e-mail. I prefer 100 brightness 32-lb Hammermill paper + envelopes and stamps.
Ten Bears,
Those are great scenes and she was incredible in her Pompeii sequences.
I was hoping she would get to help Sandor with the mountain but I really didn’t think they were going to make the mountain into a superhuman zombie that couldn’t be killed. I just thought Qyburn saved him with his unorthodox medicine and he could have had some brain damage. I didn’t expect that he could take a dagger out of his brain and still keep going!! That actually surprised me. I am glad Arya listened to Sandor. Even Valyrian steel wouldn’t stop the mountain.
Luka Nieto,
I support you, Luka! Already hooked 😉
Luka Nieto,
I’m not watching it now, but if you all started posting stories about it, I’d read them because I know you all are good writers and passionate about the subjects you write on. Who knows, then I might start watching! I’m guessing it would be articles posted on this site intermingled with GOT/ASOIAF articles to start with. Give it a try and see what happens.
A practical question to Oz or anyone who can answer it…
For the ads that show up on the side bar, I’ve noticed they tend to include shopping sites I have visited in the past. My question is how to get the most money to WotW from that. If I just click on the ad box and go look at the site, will that generate the same amount money to WotW if I don’t actually buy something or do I actually have to do a transaction? Or is it two different rates, a visit rate and a purchase rate? Since they are sites I actually patronize from time to time, I could hold off shopping directly at the site but enter it though the WotW site. Since they are business websites I go to anyway, why not try to maximize it.
Thanks!
Yeah, Sunday is coming and it seems we will all have to face the question “What next?” First, I would really like to congratulate you for the great effort and work throughout the years. Many times I have been challenged here and many times I have read things about the show that sometimes would have, if not changed, than at least put another light on the subject.
I wish you all good fortunes in days, months and years to come. GoT is indeed a phenomenon in TV production and it affected many of the TV series we are expecting these days. Who knows… Maybe we will gather for that “Wheel of Time” adaptation. Or maybe we’ll get bunch of TV series from Planetos that you will be able to follow.
Whatever future may bring us, I hope you’ll enjoy your great work.
In a world of fake news, poor news reporting, corporation influenced news and articles, terrible ad targeting, and down right insulting ads popping up (I get Pittsburgh Penguin ads as a Washington Capitals fan every once in a while), you all are standard bearers for the truth, educational opinion pieces, fun, and enjoying content.
I love seeing where WotW has gone through the years when you all split from WiC.net. I should’ve joined then and was so glad I eventually did 2 weeks later 🙂 The community as a whole has been so inviting and I’ve loved every minute of Taking the Black.
My watch has not ended and I look forward to seeing what you all come up with next. Please never hesitate to reach out to me for anything you all need!
@ThorosLuvRhllor #RhllorApproved
The Expanse is awesome. Waiting to read the books too… although, I dunno. I might give in at some point.
As for this site, honestly… I expect at the VERY least a good six months worth of GOT material still to come with post-series commentary, follow-up, etc. Plus, you’ve the prequel and GRRM’s books still to come. Yes, I still believe.
And, frankly, I still think it’s quite possible that a sequel WILL be greenlit a few years from now.
I’m in!! I should have subscribed sooner.
Thanks so much, I look forward to more content as we wait for the books and the prequel.
This is one of the few GOT sites on the internet where you don’t have nasty snarky debate. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your work.
First of all, like many others already commented, you made my GoT experience even more enjoyable.
Lately I’m not sure whether I’m looking forward to the episode or to your follow-up articles.
I would love to keep on discussing GoT and the prequel, I personally wouldn’t enjoy it if this was about anything else I think.
How about a book club where we all start to read or re-read the books together and discuss something every week 🙂
And of course in-depth discussions of just EVERYTHING..?
Luka Nieto,
By far the best space sci-fi show since Battlestar Galactica. Can’t wait for the fourth season.
I have been a follower of this site since day one.
I came here with many from the old world to the new, after the stone men took over the old.
I don’t often comment. But this community of fans and the watchers on the wall who made it all possible.
Thank you.
This has been a daily staple. And it’s probably the only place on the internet where I WANT to dig into the comments section, without thinking “you know thanos was onto something”.
I truly do love this show and this story. Even at the very end, there is so much to dissect, discuss, and self reflect on.
Thank you Watchers on the Wall for creating a space where we can do that.
I can’t wait to be a part of the next chapter of our WotW community.
I find myself wanting to read Curtain Calls for you wonderful people before The Eventual End. Is WinterPhil still around at all? I saw HmR comment earlier in this thread.
Ah, the community before the pilot had even been greenlit. Back when everyone was dubious about Michelle Farley after the post-pilot recast.
Back even, dare I say it… before Oz! A strange time.
Thank you once again, oh Great and Powerful One. Your re-caps were always a good place to process in safety, not to mention entertaining and funny. I almost became a Mad Lyssa fan because of you 😀 I am on fixed income, with little to no wiggle room, but may be able to squeeze out a few piasters for a one time donation, as I will remain dependent on this site for community, not just for the last episode, but for the “Making of….” documentary to follow, and for the long, drawn out Summer. Adding my voice to those in support of “The Expanse” (I gather GRRM is a fan) and “Good Omens”.
Big love to creators, contributors, and commenters – may you be blessed by the Old Gods and the New.
Hey Oz,
are you going to read the books now?
It would be great to read about your book experiences!
Or will you stay unsullied forever?
It’s really hitting home now that the TV show that was my life from 2010 to 2015 is coming to an end. Once the show overtook the books I haven’t wanted to follow the production to keep the surprises coming.
Now I’m sad that there is all this negativity surrounding “my” baby. Even though some things have been rushed Game of Thrones can still deliver TV like nothing else.
That said, The Expanse, is a favourite of mine and I’m glad to see so many mentions of it. We tried to convince Oz on Twitter to try it again and with everyone chiming in here it may work. Axey is a fan too.
I think it would be a good idea to have a post to test the waters here on WotW. Have some people discuss season 1 of The Expanse in a thread and see how people react. No other show is going to spawn as many threads per episode as GoT, but I’d like 1 or 2 per episode of relevant shows. There might be a problem getting a good discussion going with how most series drop their seasons now in one go though. Expanse looks to be treated like that at Amazon too.
Other shows I’d be interested in following:
GoT prequel
Good Omens
Wheel of Time
Lord of Rings prequel
Luka Nieto,
Martin’s shadow is long, being that the books are half-written by his ex- assistant, Ty Frank 😛
First of all, thank you all at WotW so much. I’ve been a long-time lurker of the site and recently started following a lot of you twitter. WotW is one of the few sites I visit daily. It’s become the only source for GoT-related news that I fully trust and enjoy. I’m more than happy to subscribe, I should have a long time ago!
Even though GoT ends on Sunday, ASoIaF does not. I think everyone here can agree that we’re going to be talking about this story and these characters for years to come. I know I’m certainly not ready for GoT to not be a part of my life!
In regards to future WotW content, I think it would be great to have more opinion pieces, character analyses, book theories, news about the books (whenever that may be), etc. Additionally, maybe reporting on, and reviews of, what all the GoT actors do from here on out? Of course I love all the GoT characters, but I’ve also grown very fond of Kit, Emilia, Sophie, Maisie, etc. and I’m going to miss watching/reading their interviews.
And of course, I highly respect the opinions of all the contributors here on WotW and would love to read about other shows/movies/books you guys obsess over! The sky’s the limit my dudes. Can’t wait to see what you do next
I’d hope this place becomes sort of like ‘The One Ring.Net’. Where they cover everything associated with Game of Thrones.
I also like extending to different shows with similar cult following. Especially where there is a lack of coverage and shows based on books.
I’ve seen the expanse addresses, but I fee the Last Kingdom would be another.
There is also a wonderful Game of a Thrones mod for Crusader Kings 2, maybe one of the staff can start a campaign in the game and give their perspectives or have a weekly column on their progress in the game.
Otto
Do it, Luka – “Watchers on Medina!” (or, depending on its popularity, “Watchers on Basic”?)
OZ!! I have written many times about how much I love this site and check it as often as life allows, but I just wanted to throw my vote in for The Expanse. Really enjoyed it and hoping that it can get a few more seasons on Amazon.
Really, I’m not going to stop coming here just because GoT ends–it’s too woven in to my browsing habits and it’s so dang friendly–so any direction that you-all choose, I will be shuffling along with you for as long as my eyesight holds out.
Hugs for everyone as we head in to this “bittersweet” final episode!
There are some truly beautiful comments here. Thank you all. The love is felt, believe me (I’m gonna drag every Watchers writer to this comments section to see the love!) Sue and Oz and everyone else made a big effort to make this a welcoming community, and it’s nice to see it paid off. We’re not going anywhere and we’ll keep reporting on everything GOT and ASOIAF.
As for all The Expanse love, I hear you guys, truly. Season four’s still on the horizon, so who knows, maybe I can convince a few of us Watchers who are already, well, Expanse “watchers” to make a post about it, and see how it goes from there. First, we’ll have to see if there’s any interest at all among Watchers writers, and of course if the boss thinks it’s a good idea.
Thank you all for your loving words and support. It means more than I can say. You’re the best community around!
This site has enhanced my enjoyment of GOT and I am thankful. I’ve been doing the monthly support for about awhile now, at a modest level, and feel it was very worthwhile. I would encourage others to do it to. If many give a little, it becomes a lot.
As for suggestions for the future, it seem clear WotW will continue to follow GOT and ASOIAF, so that is what I would want to see.
Since there are folks like me who will start reading the books after the series is over, maybe a loosely structured book reading feature. I know Game of Owns has done a series on the books. Maybe as Oz (or another person) could post his (her) thoughts as they read. Chapter by chapter might be too much but maybe chunks of it? Or a whole book. I dunno, it would be up to that person. Or post an article about what Game of Owns has available. Honestly, I haven’t listened to the book ones yet so I don’t know what they are like.
An occasional “what are they up to now” article to follow up on the work GOT actors and key production people have gone on to do would be interesting. I’m guessing some will take a long break so it may be awhile before they surface again.
Whatever it is, I’m sure I will enjoy it because I know everyone at WotW is passionate about what they are doing and talented at doing it. Thank you all!
The plaesure is ours. YOU made it possible. Pat yourselves on the back. Well done, you.
Dear brothers,
we need to talk; for years I have enjoyed your company across the smoking sea, but now it is time to take action; season 8 is just ruining a series that has written history on tv shows, changed nearly a whole generation and raised the bar of fiction to new heights. And now the great finale: the writers sadly blew it up to rush out of the production: I am not talking about that Starbucks cup, that is only a symptom, not a reason. But the characters are reduced to clichées which never happened before, and, moreover, what became of the women? Danaerys, brutal and vulnerable, the girl sold by her brother managed to be a queen with her postulate: “I want to break the wheel” now a maniac leader? Cersei, her “I choose violence” written on so many shirts – I loved to hate her. Jaime´s broken existence – reduced to the mournful lover of his sobbing sister, clinging to him? Tyrion a naive chess figure in Sansa´s game? The great symbol of the direwolves and their relationship to the Starks and the dragons – just finished SOMEHOW because of the CGC? Etc etc etc…
It is a nightmare, really. And therefore it is time for action, no matter how it ends. Undoubtedly you know about the petition that is on the way, demanding a remake. Whatever the chances may be, it is time for you, if not to support it, AT LEAST to mention and comment on it. It is time to guard the realms of man.
Many thanks, we will never see its like again!
I think it would be nice if, in ten years, we would do a rewatch and look back on the show, how it aged, and its influence on tv (and what the actors and crew did afterwards etc.)
I plan to write more on the GoT/WotW journey when things settle down, but I am very, very slow at writing (back in school days I would rather take 10 math tests than write an essay), so for now just
THANK YOU for this site.
And two questions…does subscription to WotW support WW also or are they separate?
I subscribed back in March, just curious as I hope to catch up with Westworld someday and may check out old reviews and post-episode dialogue.
I will check out the Expanse someday based on all the recommendations!
Also, is there still a way to get WotW merch (t-shirt/mug)? Like many, I have never invested in a show like this and feels weird that I have no memorabilia whatsoever. Just some leftover Oreos.