Game of thrones season 8 so far

Even if you don’t watch Game of Thrones, you probably know at least something about it from the thousands of memes, articles, and rants on social media. And you’re probably aware that since the final season aired back in April, many fans of the show are quite unhappy with what they’ve been given. Especially after 2 years of waiting since there was a longer-than-usual break between season 7 and 8.

And according to many who watched the show, there are more than enough reasons to be upset (spoilers ahead!). The most criticized aspect of the final season is the writing with fans tearing apart nonsensical plot-points and skewed character development. From short, strongly-worded rants to full paragraphs detailing every single flaw, the fans of the show took to social media to make their stance clear.

It’s as if the showrunners, D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, decided to completely ignore logic, common sense, and character arcs just to put the show behind them as quickly as possible. It also doesn’t help at all that season 8 is the shortest in the entire show, which means we have to rush through meaningful scenes to get to the finish line. With all that in mind, it’s not surprising to see disappointed fans banding together on Reddit looking to get back at D&D, and the results are hilarious. Just search Google for “bad writers,” and see what comes up.

Euron’s attempt to murder the first person he sees after his ship is destroyed seems in character for an agent of chaos, but it still feels forced and random. Varys couldn’t go about his plan in a dumber way if he tried — it’s almost as though he’s anticipating and hoping for execution, to remind Jon that Dany is capable of killing even those closest to her.

“The Bells” is full of characters being their dumbest, most ill-considered selves, solely in the pursuit of momentary conflicts and payoffs. Jaime’s death in Cersei’s arms seems like a fitting payoff for all his awful behavior with her in the early going of the series, but it completely ignores all his character development over eight seasons, including his most recent relationship.

And all the abrupt endings make for good momentary drama — a few big fight scenes; a man saying goodbye to his best friend and betrayer, then going up in flames; a city burning in thrilling spectacle. But they don’t make for lasting or memorable drama. They don’t feel like fitting conclusions to all the careful character buildup and elaborate schemes that preceded them. They feel like a bunch of people in a darkened room, flailing around and smacking each other while looking for the exit. Game of Thrones deserves better, and smarter. And it’s probably not going to get it. With one episode left to go, all that’s likely to be left is the big dumb gestures — Jon Snow and Arya Stark responding to Dany’s massacre in final ways, and everyone else paying the inevitable price.