Game of Thrones

I finally got on the Game of Thrones bandwagon near the end of March as the stay at home order was called, and finished all 8 seasons into the first weekend of April. Although the show ended over a year ago, fans are still commonly frustrated over the rushed and poorly written end of the final season of Thrones. I was late to the hype, but I am just as bitter over the final season. 

My mom was hesitant to let me watch this show for the longest time, but she caved when I gave her the excuse “I’m seventeen, mom,” and asked her how this show was “any worse than ‘Orange is the New Black’” that she let me start at fifteen. I really just think my mother didn’t want my father to start the show. All he watches are Marvel movies and it drives her insane. 

Game of Thrones never failed to leave me glued to the TV. I would spend hours each day watching the show, often finishing an entire season in one sitting. It was kind of sad, but what else was there to do during quarantine? 

I was in love with the first four seasons of the show. Ned Stark’s death made me really sad, but watching his kids grow from the pain, and watching Catelyn take over the duties of House Stark made me really happy. The Starks, though they were all separated, prevailed through the first four seasons, though shortly into Robb’s rebellion against King’s Landing, a betrayal from Walder Frey jammed a dagger into my heart. The Red Wedding was the peak of the series, and was a bitter ending that left me in heavy tears. 

This was a blow the series, and in my opinion, the Red Wedding marked the downfall of the series. Things were pretty good, but as season seven rolled around, my love for Thrones was beginning to be tested by poor writing and rushed storylines. 

If I go too into this, this article will lag on forever, but I have been a supporter of Daenerys Targaryen, the heir to the Iron Throne, since some of her first moments on screen. She was a strong feminine figure in the show as well as a popular fan favorite. The Mother of Dragons was a true Targaryen, and led a legacy of liberation in Essos before moving to conquer the Iron Throne in Westeros. She was selfless and altruistic in Essos, and I loved that about Daenerys. She wanted a better world for everyone; however, into season seven, her character begins to get drowned out by a very rushed plotline. 

Jon Snow, my favorite in the series, is called to meet Daenerys in Dragonstone in season 7. The two spend the last two seasons forming a really solid alliance, but this slowly diminishes as Jon begins to see Daenerys fall into the same insanity as her father, someone she’s avoided trying to become for eight seasons. I don’t think I have known anger until the season eight finale hit me. 

King’s Landing was burnt to ashes by Daenerys’s dragon, Drogon, and right as she was claiming the throne, someone stopped her from pursuing her destiny. Won’t delve too deeply into what happened, but it made me really mad. She deserved better, and even the actress who plays her has also expressed her frustration politely in several interviews. 

The ending of the show gave Sansa and Arya justice, but I was so bitter about Jon’s ending. I feel like he was screwed over, and so was the entire nation of Westeros when Tyrion Lannister thought it was a good idea to put a child on the Iron Throne 

I could drag on about this series for days, but I will come to a halt and just say this: The writers of Game of Thrones should have accepted the twelve episode contract with HBO, and they should have developed better endings that served their characters justice. Thrones stands to be one of my favorite shows, even if I am sad about the way that it ended.