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Game of Thrones Season 8 |OT| A Song of Icy and Fiery Fandom

“The scales of a full-grown dragon were harder than steel, and even those arrows that struck home seldom penetrated enough to do more than enrage the great beasts. But as Meraxes banked above the Hellholt, a defender atop the castle’s highest tower triggered a scorpion, and a yard-long iron bolt caught the queen’s dragon in the right eye. Meraxes did not die at once, but came crashing to earth in mortal agony, destroying the tower and a large section of the Hellholt’s curtain wall in her death throes.”
― George R.R. Martin, Fire & Blood

See, now that's a great fucking scene. All we got was the dragon being brutalized for shock and awe because GoT.
 

DragoonKain

Neighbours from Hell
No but people have been afraid of her doing stupid bad since the start of the show. I think it makes sense because of her family.
Sansa has a lot of reasons to dislike her, the North has been trying to gain independence and yet there she comes, someone else who wants to rull over them.

https://www.express.co.uk/entertain...ding-books-change-differences-Iron-Throne-die

Martin revealed one of his greatest frustrations: "You get totally extraneous things like the studio or the network weighing in, and they have some particular thing that has nothing to do with story, but relates to 'Well this character has a very high Q Rating so let's give him a lot more stuff to do.'"
The author had previously said he would have liked the show to run across more series, to give all his complex storylines room. Instead, the HBO team entirely removed some characters or reassigned storylines.

Martin said: “The series has been... not completely faithful. Otherwise, it would have to run another five seasons.”

Martin discussed the main points of the ending with HBO many years ago and everyone on both sides has said these will remain in place, but the author admits there will stll be some variations: "On certain secondary characters there may be big differences.”
He also admits this primarily due to the increasingly overdue final two books in the series: "Some of the deviation, of course, is because I’ve been so slow with these books. I really should’ve finished this thing four years ago — and if I had, maybe it would be telling a different story here."

Well, Dany hasn't officially said the North won't be independent yet. But they'd all be dead without Dany. So Sansa does have some reason to like her or be grateful to her. Does sacrificing thousands of troops, putting her own life on the line(and almost dying) losing Jorah and a dragon not gain her any favor to Sansa?
 

Airbus Jr

Banned
Im going with Varys plan now or whatever hes up to...

Never thought about any of the female ( cersei, sansa, danny) lead to be nice and likeable...

In a perfect scenario orchestrated by Varys.. danny and cersei will die next two episode along with euron and jon will be declared as king despite of his reluctancy..

If Litlefinger can get rid of the most powerfull man in seven kingdom then i wont be questioning Varys abilities for he is litlefingers equal in terms of mindgames and kingmaker capabilities....
 
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RedVIper

Banned
Well, Dany hasn't officially said the North won't be independent yet. But they'd all be dead without Dany. So Sansa does have some reason to like her or be grateful to her. Does sacrificing thousands of troops, putting her own life on the line(and almost dying) losing Jorah and a dragon not gain her any favor to Sansa?

Dany was also saving herself, and the land she wanted to rule over, this perception that Danny fought the NK just for Jon is pretty stupid.
 
Why would you do this to yourself?
Then you'll be stuck with the rest of us

giphy.gif
 

DragoonKain

Neighbours from Hell
Dany was also saving herself, and the land she wanted to rule over, this perception that Danny fought the NK just for Jon is pretty stupid.
Not just for Jon, I think she was also fighting for herself, but it’s still a fact that they’d be screwed without her. I think Sansa is being a bitch tbh and Dany deserves more gratitude.
 

Kadayi

Banned
Hmm...makes it slightly better but still seems very stupid to me. This teleporting stuff never sat well with me and now we are just teleporting everywhere within seconds

Well if GRRM had pulled his finger out and written the rest of the books the showrunners would have had more content to pull from than just the outline he gave to them a couple of seasons back. There's only so much padding that they can generate in terms of character interactions without falling into repetition (as with Thormund's Brienne fixation). If they'd had the books to draw on then I suspect there would have been more scope for perhaps a more measured advance towards events perhaps over another season or two in keeping with the pace of the earlier seasons. It is what it is and increasingly given GRRMs epic powers of procrastination it could well be the only conclusion to the series we ever get. :messenger_neutral:

An interesting look at the making of the episode below. Good stuff if like me, you enjoy the behind the scenes stuff and seeing all the work that goes in on the production side of things.

 
Well if GRRM had pulled his finger out and written the rest of the books the showrunners would have had more content to pull from than just the outline he gave to them a couple of seasons back. There's only so much padding that they can generate in terms of character interactions without falling into repetition (as with Thormund's Brienne fixation). If they'd had the books to draw on then I suspect there would have been more scope for perhaps a more measured advance towards events perhaps over another season or two in keeping with the pace of the earlier seasons. It is what it is and increasingly given GRRMs epic powers of procrastination it could well be the only conclusion to the series we ever get. :messenger_neutral:

An interesting look at the making of the episode below. Good stuff if like me, you enjoy the behind the scenes stuff and seeing all the work that goes in on the production side of things.



Writers block is a bitch.
 

Yoda

Member
I don't think the show has the balls to do it, but there was some really heavy handed foreshadowing WRT to Dany becoming a Mad Queen, it'd be very inline with the GRRM ethos to have her try to sack Kings Landing at all costs -> knock out Cersei -> lose all her support in the process.
 

RedVIper

Banned
I don't think the show has the balls to do it, but there was some really heavy handed foreshadowing WRT to Dany becoming a Mad Queen, it'd be very inline with the GRRM ethos to have her try to sack Kings Landing at all costs -> knock out Cersei -> lose all her support in the process.

Have you watched the last episode? This is almost certainly the direction this is going to go.
 

Kadayi

Banned
You don't think he does?

I'm surprised you're asking. It's pretty much a known thing that GRRM has become a notorious procrastinator ever since the book series really took off as well as the show. He seems to love to do anything and everything that gets in the way of him actually sitting down at his ancient PC and writing the books. Once a year he'll do a public mea culpa about how 'no book this year, sorry' get everyone to tell him that 'you're not our bitch' (TM Neil Gaiman) and then proceed to find more reasons not to be in the house. He's been openly mocked in Southpark, Conan and a bunch of other things. I mean they had an episode of Izombie of all things which centred around GOT and they even reference it there: -

SHOzAZW.gif


And the worst part is, that episode was 2015. 4 years ago.
 
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I'm surprised you're asking. It's pretty much a known thing that GRRM has become a notorious procrastinator ever since the book series really took off as well as the show. He seems to love to do anything and everything that gets in the way of him actually sitting down at his ancient PC and writing the books. Once a year he'll do a public mea culpa about how 'no book this year, sorry' get everyone to tell him that 'you're not our bitch' (TM Neil Gaiman) and then proceed to find more reasons not to be in the house. He's been openly mocked in Southpark, Conan and a bunch of other things. I mean they had an episode of Izombie of all things which centred around GOT and they even reference it there: -

SHOzAZW.gif


And the worst part is, that episode was 2015. 4 years ago.

So, writers block?

"Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work, or experiences a creative slowdown. The condition ranges from difficulty in coming up with original ideas to being unable to produce a work for years."
 

E-Cat

Member
I don't get the criticism that Rhaegal suddenly getting shot into the ocean with no build-up in a battle scene was supposedly bad writing?? Commenting on episode 3, weren't the same people just now clamouring for less heroic & predictable deaths? Well, that was neither heroic nor predictable.
 

ThatStupidLion

Gold Member
is Drogon going to disobey The Mad Queen and cozy up to Aegon? maybe.
Does The Mad Queen melt the iron throne in her rage? maybe.
As his first order of business does King Aegon melt the Iron Throne and make the 7 kingdoms independent and his negate his reign? maybe.
Does Bron really get Highgarden? no.
 
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Is this the worst final se
I don't get the criticism that Rhaegal suddenly getting shot into the ocean with no build-up in a battle scene was supposedly bad writing?? Commenting on episode 3, weren't the same people just now clamouring for less heroic & predictable deaths? Well, that was neither heroic nor predictable.

Unpredictable stuff happening is good only when it has a good logical/rational reasoning behind it.
 

Kadayi

Banned
So, writers block?

Not at all. He has been writing. He wrote 'The World of Ice & Fire' and Part one of 'Fire & Blood' his history of the Targarians. (and Part two is on the way), and a few other things besides. Good news for his buds at Westeros.org who also have credits on TWOI&F for the cash monies they get, but not so good for fans of ASOIAF waiting for the last two books in the series, especially given GRRMs not keen on the idea of anyone finishing the series if he passes before its completion. He'll he's even directly involved in the GOT Prequel HBO series that Jane Goldman is show-running.
 
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RedVIper

Banned
What was not logical about it? Perhaps that the ships maybe should've been visible from the sky?

Well yes.
Also the scorpion last season barely scratched drogon, this time 1 arrow goes trough the entire dragons neck?
Wholy fuck qyburn has been developing missile technology.
 

E-Cat

Member
Well yes.
Also the scorpion last season barely scratched drogon, this time 1 arrow goes trough the entire dragons neck?
Wholy fuck qyburn has been developing missile technology.
Ehh, I call it 'plausible'. The dragon had an off day and totally wasn't anticipating the initial hit, which then made it more vulnerable to the subsequent arrows. Lucky, maybe, but not so much as to suspend disbelief within the confines of the show's logic. And that's good enough for me.
 
I don't get the criticism that Rhaegal suddenly getting shot into the ocean with no build-up in a battle scene was supposedly bad writing?? Commenting on episode 3, weren't the same people just now clamouring for less heroic & predictable deaths? Well, that was neither heroic nor predictable.

Zero alarm was raised by the dragons despite the fleet having enough time to aim and land all three shots on Rhaegal. 100% accuracy immediately followed by 0% accuracy? Please.

That scene was meant for shock and awe. The kill shot in the neck with it spitting blood while looking directly into the camera is evidence of that. That entire scene was terribly written.

Not at all. He has been writing. He wrote 'The World of Ice & Fire' and Part one of 'Fire & Blood' his history of the Targarians. (and Part two is on the way), and a few other things besides. Good news for his buds at Westeros.org who also have credits on TWOI&F for the cash monies they get, but not so good for fans of ASOIAF waiting for the last two books in the series, especially given GRRMs not keen on the idea of anyone finishing the series if he passes before its completion. He'll he's even directly involved in the GOT Prequel HBO series that Jane Goldman is show-running.

Writing other things GoT related and finishing the books are two completely different things. Its obvious he enjoys the universe he created, but he has no idea what comes next.

And why would he want anyone else finishing what he started?
 
What was not logical about it? Perhaps that the ships maybe should've been visible from the sky?

What was logical about that entire episode?

Dany and co. absolutely not learning from the previous naval ambush they suffered and doing no scout or recon in spite of having the spy master Varys on their side. Dany not able to see miles ahead from a bird's eye view and not spotting another huge naval fleet coming at them. The Ballista's being able to accurately hit and kill one dragon in surprise attack but completely missing Dany and her dragon and then also missing when she charged directly at them. Ballista's being more powerful than canon balls and tearing the ships like they were made of cardboard. Euron's fleet satisfied with just capturing Dany's translator and not bothering to capture or kill the other people who were washed up ashore.

Cersi not immediately giving the order to charge and kill Dany and her small group of soldiers and ending the war then and there. Cersi not killing Tyrion when he was in arrow range.

Everyone making plan to defeat/kill Cersi with no innocents killed not even considering asking Arya's help who is a master assassin and able to take other's faces. Arya already has Cersi as her number one in the list but seems she is going to go solo about it without involving others.

None of this was logical. The starbucks cup left in there proves how much the show runners care about this show anymore. They are just like fuck this lets just finish it somehow.
 
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ruvikx

Banned
Cersi not immediately giving the order to charge and kill Dany and her small group of soldiers and ending the war then and there. Cersi not killing Tyrion when he was in arrow range.

Cersei set a trap for Dany & she'll fall into like a total moron. If Cersei had sent soldiers out to face Daenerys, her dragon would have scorched them. But by killing Missandei she's ensured Dany will be consumed by revenge & will now slaughter thousands (tens of thousands more likely) in King's Landing; thus losing the support of just about everyone.

That part isn't badly written.
 

Kadayi

Banned
]Writing other things GoT related and finishing the books are two completely different things. Its obvious he enjoys the universe he created, but he has no idea what comes next.

He knows what comes next. The Showrunners have been working off the detailed outline he gave them regarding the events of the series and all the character arcs for the last few seasons. once they got past the books. GRRM has even come out and said that the series ends in a similar fashion to how the book series will conclude. He's not sitting down and just letting the muse take him in terms of direction.

And why would he want anyone else finishing what he started?

Yeah, because fuck the book readers right? No soup for you :unsure:
 
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RedVIper

Banned
Cersei set a trap for Dany & she'll fall into like a total moron. If Cersei had sent soldiers out to face Daenerys, her dragon would have scorched them. But by killing Missandei she's ensured Dany will be consumed by revenge & will now slaughter thousands (tens of thousands more likely) in King's Landing; thus losing the support of just about everyone.

That part isn't badly written.

They have a bunch of scorpios right on the walls, they could have killed them all right there and there was nothing Drogon could do.
 

Jon Neu

Banned
He knows what comes next. The Showrunners have been working off the detailed outline he gave them regarding the events of the series and all the character arcs for the last few seasons. once they got past the books. GRRM has even come out and said that the series ends in a similar fashion to how the book series will conclude. He's not sitting down and just letting the muse take him in terms of direction.

Knowing the big traits of what he wants for the ending is not the same as knowing everything. George wants everything to feel organic and coherent, that's why it takes him so long to write, because it's an arduous task of writing the best way he can while also pack every line with so many information, interpretations, foreshadowing, etc... In comparison to that the other books are far more simpler and less ambitious, they are a good way for him to have fun again writing.

Yeah because fuck the book readers right? :unsure:

This is his magnus opus, the work of his life for more than 20 years; it's his baby.

I wouldn't want anybody messing with that either. If he dies, release what he got and the fandom would fill in the spaces. That's the best scenario possible if he dies before ending the saga.
 

ruvikx

Banned
They have a bunch of scorpios right on the walls, they could have killed them all right there and there was nothing Drogon could do.

And Dany could have used her dragons to transport unsullied up to the Red Keep & capture the Iron Throne with commandos whilst her Dragons provided air support, with the rest of her army surrounding the capital. Game, set & match. But at this point I'll just roll with the show. That scene with Dany watching Missandei die is the least of season 8's problems IMO.
 

RedVIper

Banned
He knows what comes next. The Showrunners have been working off the detailed outline he gave them regarding the events of the series and all the character arcs for the last few seasons. once they got past the books. GRRM has even come out and said that the series ends in a similar fashion to how the book series will conclude. He's not sitting down and just letting the muse take him in terms of direction.

Saying that the ending is the same can boil down too, "the same person sits on the throne", "dany goes mad".

That doesn't mean much, how you get there is pretty important.
Also character arcs can't be the same because the characters are completely different in the show.
And GRRM as had less and less involvement with the show, D&D have taken major departures from his outline.
 

Verdanth

Member
Sure, we have two dragons, lets just rush to King's Landing to save the conveniently kidnapped Missandei, without doing any reconnaissance of the enemy and the kind of weapons they have to fight the dragons.

This is logical behavior, because just two scenes ago we were discussing that our troops are basically cut to half.

Sorry, but this is some straight out of the ass logic.

Also I suspect Daenerys is going mad because she had a taste of that Starbucks coffee.
 
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Kadayi

Banned
Knowing the big traits of what he wants for the ending is not the same as knowing everything. George wants everything to feel organic and coherent, that's why it takes him so long to write, because it's an arduous task of writing the best way he can while also pack every line with so many information, interpretations, foreshadowing, etc... In comparison to that the other books are far more simpler and less ambitious, they are a good way for him to have fun again writing.

What you're selling, I'm not buying. I would have thought that was clear a long time ago when it comes to GRRM and his antics.

This is his magnus opus, the work of his life for more than 20 years; it's his baby.

Please, he makes even Josef Fritzl look like a caring parent at this juncture.

I wouldn't want anybody messing with that either. If he dies, release what he got and the fandom would fill in the spaces. That's the best scenario possible if he dies before ending the saga.

You honestly want Elio and Linda from Westeros.org to 'curate' things? You know GRRM was averaging a book every two years (a pretty good turnaround for most authors) yet when they suddenly came on the scene and ingratiated themselves as his 'fact checkers' not only did the writing go to shit in terms of an overabundance of viewpoint characters but his production rate went off the deep end :unsure:


Saying that the ending is the same can boil down too, "the same person sits on the throne", "dany goes mad".

The Writers spent several days with GRRM going through things. It's naive to think this was a one-page draft or some such. Certainly, there are departures between book and show as certain characters are or aren't alive or merged in the latter, but let's not try and pretend that the differences are major in terms of the beats. There's been no indication from either party that there's been any deviation from the outline in terms of direction.
 
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Cersei set a trap for Dany & she'll fall into like a total moron. If Cersei had sent soldiers out to face Daenerys, her dragon would have scorched them. But by killing Missandei she's ensured Dany will be consumed by revenge & will now slaughter thousands (tens of thousands more likely) in King's Landing; thus losing the support of just about everyone.

That part isn't badly written.

And what does that gain her? This would still mean that Cersi loses. Cersi only cares about being in power. She has great hatred for Tyrion. Last time she did not kill Tyrion when he was in KL was because Dany still had 2 dragons (though she didn't know that 3rd had died) and an army which was too powerful compared to her's. Now Dany has lost 2 dragons and her army has been reduced considerably. They have archers who could have rained arrows on them from a distance and if Drogon tried to interfere there were several ballista's pointed at them. Also the ballista's were already pointed at them and they seemed to be in range with only Drogon was left outside the range for safety. Even if they sent horseback riders in there to assault them how would Drogon scorch them without scorching friendlies as well or without coming in the ballista's range?

Also if we ignore all that and go by what you are saying then would it not make sense to off Tyrion as well. That would fuel Dany's thirst for revenge even more while also fulfilling Cersi's wish of a long time. Whether you accept or not the fact remains that the writing has been horrible this season and I can't believe they took extra time to write all this crap.
 

Valonquar

Member
This season reminds me of when I finished watching True Blood, and went to look on the wiki to see just how different the book ending was...and then realized the whole fucking show had nothing to do with the books other than a few character names lol. I think as soon as Lady Stoneheart was cut from the show I guess I knew it was going to go comepletely off the rails eventually, but goddamn man.
 

Fox Mulder

Member
This season reminds me of when I finished watching True Blood, and went to look on the wiki to see just how different the book ending was...and then realized the whole fucking show had nothing to do with the books other than a few character names lol. I think as soon as Lady Stoneheart was cut from the show I guess I knew it was going to go comepletely off the rails eventually, but goddamn man.

I'm sure it'll get redone by someone in a decade or whenever the books get finished.
 
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