Game Of Thrones: Our Watch Has Ended, Review + What now?

Jun Snuow, King in The North, quietly brooding (as actor Kit Harington likes to say) in the remains of King's Landing. HBO's Game of Thrones season 8 episode 6.

This is a SPOILER FREE review. If you want a more in depth analysis of the end of Game Of Thrones, I highly recommend clicking the link above which leads to a much more detailed article.

In the case you're one of those people that for whatever reason has never even heard of game of thrones, or simply spends their life away from the internet hiding under a duvet cover (personally I wouldn't blame you), then let me enlighten you with this heavy information. Last night, a spectacular show that I have watched since the age of 15 (possibly younger. 13-14) ended. A watch that began several years ago in a fantastic unexpected way and ended in a... well... unexpected way.

We have lost so many players, several body parts, been through fire and blood but alas, here we are! The end. So let's get into this review, seeing as this just might be the only way to help me cope with the loss of a beloved series.

Before I go any further I just want to start by addressing the pressing matter about the writers that was blowing up in the news. I for one do agree with many of the points being drawn about them, but there is a piece of quintessential information I just found out last night that has changed how I viewed their abilities... in a slightly better way. In simpler words, I've found a way to cut the writers A LITTLE slack.

The creators / writing team did do a pretty poor job on this final season from many, many different angles. But I found out last night that the original plan of George R. R. Martin AND the creators / writers was to keep the show going. They wanted to make more seasons. So I can imagine how unprepared they probably were, and devastated, when the producers from HBO told them season 8 would be the last season. Of course this doesn't excuse some of the HUGE writing failures scattered about the season like sprinkles, but I believe it at least sheds some light or changes the perspective when discussing the writers of the show. 

Overall, I thought the finale was pretty well-done. There are a lot of critics who, in my opinion are just being a little nit-picky. Of course there is a matter about Drogon I do agree with but because this is spoiler free I won't get into that. 

The dialogue was the best I'd seen in the entire season (and that's saying a lot), but not the whole show. Nonetheless, I was pleased to see excellent dialogue finally put into good use -- this season had wayyyyy too much staring, which is one of the reasons, in my opinion, this season sucked. That's right. You heard me.

THIS SEASON SUCKED!!!!!

And I don't mean I'm upset with the outcome presented in the finale. No, in fact I liked the ending. The finale was by far one of the better episodes. The ending was probably how it actually ends, and I'm saying that because George R. R. Martin himself said earlier on in the show that the ending would be, and I quote, "bittersweet". And the ending was just that. So I completely accepted the ending and I believe it well suited the grand story. Of course HOW the story was told was completely butchered in many respects, even if it was an adaptation that was ahead of the books and the writers of the show were at a disadvantage with time. 

I mean that was crappy quality of a season. One of my favorite things I like to remind myself when writing is to never underestimate your audience. The audience can tell the difference between something great and something reallllly bad.

And Game of Thrones fans, I know they can see that difference. I was honestly very disappointed with the writers this season. With it being Game Of Thrones I knew that a ton of critical eyes would be on the writers this year, so I was prepared to cut them a little slack if I ever felt people were blowing things out of proportion. But my gosh, I mean...

My gosh. 

When the mistakes, writing sloppiness, and bad pacing piled up... one simple fact remained above it all, one I accepted. The writers just could not handle the pressure, and did a very sloppy job most of the episodes.

I'm not trying to be one those people online whining about it, "OOOOh woe are we the audience! When we've put nothing into the show at all but our critical opinions at this very moment and our entitled need for immediate satisfaction in this first world society!"

That's not what I'm here for.

Anyway, the finale was, like I said, pretty good overall. Not one of the best episodes of the series, but I bet it was the best that the writers could pull out of their butts. What I'm saying is that finale could have been sooooo much worse. I thought it was pretty good and a lot of other fans are kind of just being whiners and nit-pickers now simply for the sake of nit-picking because they know this season was overall pretty badly written.

The virtual effects were gorgeous, flawless, the direwolves fur looked so good as always. The cinematography of the finale and some of the other episodes (specifically the battles to mention) were pretty spectacular. There was one shot of Daenerys in the finale (watchers, you which one I'm referring to) that honestly did send goosebumps all over me. I also thought the story was wrapped up pretty neatly, no loose cords or ends in the finale.

I hope reading this has helped some of you fans out there take a breather from all these past years we've been holding our breath DEEP DEEP DOWN. And from last night when we were expecting it to be bad but it actually surprised a few of us because it wasn't that bad. So what now? When you've spent your time and energy devoted to a show you love so much, it can be disheartening to have all your questions answered knowing this time... the story's over.

Wow. I feel like I'm in the first stage of grief, denial still.

Which is partly the reason I decided to publish this so that I might be able to help fellow fans (and myself) feel a little more... closure or really to just take a deep breather. Because, I mean... wow. It's over. 

So what now? If you're like me I know you're probably feeling a tad lost, or sad knowing you'll miss those favorite characters, shocked, or maybe you're like me and you're still in the denial stage and you simply don't want to let go. Or perhaps you need another deep breath to release. 

Maybe you're one of those fans that's still frustrated about the sloppy writing and you just can't get over it so you're still emitting steam and trying to embody the spirit of DROGON HIMSELF JUST TO EXPRESS YOUR COMPLICATED FAN FEELINGS!!!!!!!

GRRRRRRRRRRR, BLAST THIS STORY, THOSE WRITERS AND PRODUCERS!!!!!!

SO, for all our mental health and to perhaps ease/release this tension that's been building in all our minds these past four years, I'll be writing a Game Of Thrones crisis and fan feelings aid post to ease your spirits in these... unfortunate and delicate times. So if you're interested in hearing about some ways we can all... move on *shudder*, or figure out what to do next, watch for my Game of Thrones Post-show Crisis Help & Relief post. It'll solve all yo' problems, baby. (no but seriously, I'll answer and be giving a lot of ideas on how to relieve that dreaded post-show feels).

If you actually read all of that, I must say I'm impressed. Thanks for reading!!