So who will end up sitting on the Iron Throne at the end of what has arguably been one hell of a ride the last 8 years. That has been the one question every single fan of the show has been asking with each successive season and certainly one that has always been on my mind as I devoured each and every episode of what I consider to be one of the greatest series of all time. In the end.....no one does. But before we get to that. I have to talk about the other "stuff" that happens along the way in this truncated season of only 6 episodes. Sure, the last 4 episodes are of theatrical movie lengths, but how long or short an episode doesn't factor into whether Season 8 was a good season or a bad season. It doesn't matter. Story does. And this is where I have some issues with Season 8.

Given the amount of time we are working with, a lot and I mean a loooooooot of this season felt very rushed and at times it seemed the writers were actually very lazy in fleshing anything out or at least giving the viewer things we have been waiting years for and built up over time to a satisfying end. Case in point. If you have followed the exploits of all the characters, you are definitely one that has thought long and hard how Cersei Lannister would meet her demise. Maybe it's the fault of the viewer to take things to the extreme and craft your own way she should perish...but how can you not go to the extreme while watching Game of Thrones, which the entire series is built upon each and every season? So, no, it's now the viewers fault....it's damn well the fault of the writers and it was a cop out.

To have Cersei , along with Jaime Lannister get crushed by failing debris while King's Landing is being destroyed felt like a HUGE betrayal as a long time fan of the series. Really? This is how you want to give to the fans? Debris??? Given how horrible she was as a "Queen" and as a person in general, every one of my scenarios was based on the idea that she would get her comeuppance in the end, where the camera zooms into her face and we see in her eyes everything she has ever done wrong hitting her smack in the face as someone (take your pick) thrust that blade into her. Nope. We don't get that and we are deprived of that moment. Fail. There were other screw-ups that didn't give us what we wanted. Euron Greyjoy's demise also failed to deliver for me. But it was a misdirect at the time, so I didn't dwell on it in the moment. The way they left it, I was of the mindset that he would pop up down the road during Cersei and Jaime's escape. That never panned out and that's when it dawned on me how crappy his ending turned out to be.

With regards to The Hound and The Mountain. This was good, bad and funny as f*ck given what I was witnessing. They have been teasing their inevitable showdown for years now and this one probably near the top of things I have been patiently waiting for. The fight was just way too short to my liking. And yes, I still think it should have been bloodier....or more brutal than it was. Sure, stabbing Mountain over and over is "brutal", but not in the way fans, myself included have built their clash up to be. I always KNEW that neither one was going to beat the other. I KNEW they would end up killing each other in the end and that's what we got, which was someone satisfying. Now the funny of it all is how BLATANT they ripped off the final showdown of Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker at the end of Return of the Jedi.

There's no getting around what they did here. From the "Vader" helmet the Mountain was wearing, to his unmasking to reveal a f*cked up visage, who looked exactly like Skywalker, albeit one on steroids and of the same complexion, I couldn't believe how ballsy both writers were. Sure, I get that you're off to write your own Star Wars Trilogy, but you don't need to life from existing Star Wars lore to finish GoT.

So, was Season 8 all bad? Yes and no. There were a lot of things I did like. I don't think it's as bad as everyone is making it out to be. It's got its problems for sure. The standout episode for me of course was the War against the White Walkers that had a very satisfying conclusion by having Arya Stark and her 'Needle' to kill the Night King. And this is kind of where the story itself goes off the rails with each subsequent episode being less than the previous due to characters, especially that of Daenerys. I dunno, I get that she was now paranoid with news of Jon Snow as the rightful King being spread to the people and usurping her own power. But her fall from grace was just too fast (also a product of having little time to write for). So her decent was unsatisfactory for me. 

The Finale though was a huge letdown for sure. By "ending", I don't mean just the last episode. It's the culmination of the last 3 as a whole that just didn't give me what I want. I did however have Bran picked as the one that would in fact become the new King. But he, nor Daenerys ever got to sit on the Iron Throne as she was murdered by Jon and her Dragon, out of anger lays waste to the Throne with his blowtorch rage. So, there was no Throne left. Banishing Jon Snow to the Wall....again, kind of was pointless. There are no White Walkers to defend against and just didn't make sense as a form of punishment. Bran is the King, what he says is law, so he could have, and should have given Jon a pardon. Oh, well, that's all for now. I'm sure I will come back to this thread over time as more stuff come bubbling up as I give Season 8 more thought. For now, this will do..........