Why 'Game of Thrones' Season 8 Was a Disappointment

It's been a month since Game of Thrones reached its conclusion, but fans still aren't over what was seen as an incredibly disappointing end to over a decade of episodes. How has it come to this, I hear you ask?

Well, firstly—the writing was much poorer than it has been in previous seasons. Show-runners D&D wrote this season practically by themselves, as George RR Martin delays finishing his own saga. Granted, they did consult with Martin on how he wanted the story to end, but the ending itself wasn't necessarily the problem.

I understand how some fans felt Dany's Mad Queen ending may have been out of the blue, but in defense of the show, I always thought the subtle hints it dropped throughout were clear enough to predict it. In her case, perhaps the six episode season meant that so much mental decay had to be crammed into so little time, which I can agree with. I was in no doubt that she would eventually go full Mad Queen (the Gods flipped that coin, after all), but the moment she snapped did seem to be poorly timed.

Next up is everyone's favourite Spider. Varys has built himself a reputation over seven seasons of being incredibly good at pulling strings from behind the scenes. Therefore, when he turns on Dany he wouldn't possibly be caught out, would he?

Well, yes. Not only does he carry out his scheming under his own Queen's nose, he also makes it incredibly clear to Tyrion—her Hand—about what he's doing. Has Varys suddenly forgotten his own skills? We're not surprised he gets caught out in the end, given his lack of secrecy in this coup attempt. Anyway, seemingly all of the Lords and Ladies of Westeros forgot about the letters he'd sent when they gathered to pick a new King, so he really did die for literally nothing.

There's more—Jon Snow: Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, King in the North, true Heir to the Iron Throne, Knower of Nothing. Not that any of it mattered, except for the last one, as he did seem to forget he could say things other than "I don't want it" and "she's my Queen."

The series' pivotal character, Jon was built up over seven seasons to be so opposed to the Throne, he was perfect for it. He was also Westeros' loudest Night King alarm, and his story arc came full circle when he killed the ruler of the undead and guided Westeros to prosperity through his rule.

Wait. What do you mean none of that happened? Oh yes of course, for some reason Arya stuck the dagger in the Night King didn't she? And Bran took the Throne didn't he? It all makes sense now. Except it doesn't. George Martin said in an interview that if you spend all your time telling a story with the idea of them doing something significant, and then change it right at the end, all your clues and foreshadowing is irrelevant. That's exactly what happened here.

When D&D said they wanted to surprise people with their story, that's fine—we have no complaints on that score. Who doesn't like to be surprised? In this instance however, surprise was the one thing the audience didn't want. We believed, as we were led to believe, that Jon would save the living from the dead, and to not get that payoff was a bitter disappointment.

Don't worry - there's more glaring plot holes where that came from. Firstly, why on Earth would the living think to position all their troops OUTSIDE the walls of Winterfell to face the Dead?

Secondly, if D&D say we witness the "end of the Dothraki" in the Battle of Winterfell, how come half of them remain later to attack the capital?

Thirdly, why would Jamie go back to Cersei after such a fantastic redemption arc throughout the whole series? WE WERE ROUTING FOR YOU!

And BRAN? Don't even get me started.

Bran, the one who "can't be Lord of anything" in his own words, has ended up on the Iron Throne. He even banished Jon, who saved everyone by killing Dany, let's not forget, despite the fact that the only person who wanted him gone (Greyworm) was off on some adventure with all his men.

Before I get too annoyed reliving this season, let me end on this note: the true lineage of Jon Snow, argued about by fans, and teased by the show for years, was absolutely pointless.

I think that pretty much sums up why Game of Thrones turned out to be such a letdown. Let me say, we can't fault any of the acting in the season or the series at all. The cast was fantastic, and did the best they could. It's just a shame the writing couldn't live up to their talent.