The YouTube video discusses the Game of Thrones ending, five years after the show concluded, and criticizes various aspects of the final season, particularly Season 8. The presenter expresses disappointment with the resolution of major plot lines and character arcs, highlighting a perceived decline in quality from earlier seasons.
GoT Seasons 1-4 #
- Fantastic: Described as "fantastic," with pivotal moments like Ned Stark's death, the Battle of Blackwater, the Red Wedding, and Tyrion's trial being "epic stuff."
GoT Seasons 5-6 #
- Quality Dip (Dismissed): The presenter heard about a quality dip but personally didn't feel it.
- Enjoyment: Loved Season 5.
- Favorite Season: Season 6 might be the favorite, featuring Hodor's revelation, the Battle of the Bastards, and "everything that happens in Winds of Winter."
GoT Season 7 #
- Starts to "Go Off the Rails" (Dismissed): Heard things go "off the rails" but didn't strongly feel it.
- Rushing Plot: Acknowledged that the show started rushing, with characters "teleporting," which was "jarring."
- Continued Enjoyment: Still enjoyed Season 7 as much as previous seasons.
GoT Season 8 (General) #
- Initial Hope: Approached Season 8 with hope despite widespread negative opinions.
- Disappointment Confirmed: The hope was misplaced; the ending was as bad as others said.
GoT Season 8 Episode 1-2 #
- Episode 1 (Setup): Liked as a typical Thrones season-opening setup episode.
- Episode 2 (Calm Before the Storm): Thought it was a "nice calm before the storm" for character interactions.
- Pacing Criticism: Criticized using one-third of a six-episode season for setup without advancing major plot lines (White Walkers and Iron Throne).
GoT Season 8 Episode 3: The Long Night #
- First Major Screw-Up: Considered this episode the "first major screw up."
- Technical Production: Acknowledged the majority of the episode was technically "incredible," with "unreal music."
- Character Send-offs: Provided "very good send-offs for both Jorah and Theon."
- Night King's Defeat:
- Anticlimactic: The Night King's defeat by Arya was "anticlimactic."
- Arya vs. Jon/Bran: Many wished Jon Snow or Bran had killed the Night King.
- Subverting Expectations: The show wanted to subvert expectations by having Arya do it.
- Logical Choice Argument: Jon and Bran were "obvious choices for a reason"; their stories led to this.
- Jon's Role: Jon Snow got "stuck yelling at a dragon."
- Bran's Role: Bran's training and visions had no apparent purpose in the show's resolution of the White Walker threat.
- Jon's Resurrection: Questioned the point of Jon Snow's resurrection.
- Subversion Done Wrong:
- Purpose of Subversion: Subversion is good when it has a purpose, but shocking the audience for its own sake is unsatisfying.
- Analogy: Compared it to changing a book's ending mid-stream by revealing the chambermaid did it instead of the butler after foreshadowing the butler.
- Overall Problem with Night King Defeat:
- Undermining the Villain: The Night King, built up as an "impossible to defeat entity," was defeated in a "basic, simple, straightforward way."
- Unsatisfying Climax: Unlike Gamora's "quick" defeat of Thanos in Infinity War (which was a misdirect), this was the actual ending, making the prolonged "winter is coming" build-up feel wasted.
- Stranger Things Analogy: Compared it to killing Vecna in Stranger Things Season 4 Episode 3.
- Afterthought: The White Walker conflict felt like an "afterthought" to get to the Iron Throne plot.
- Impact on Rewatchability: Knowing the anticlimactic ending of the White Walker plot makes rewatching Season 7 and even the entire show "less enjoyable."
GoT Season 8 Episode 4 #
- Not Too Bad: Considered "not too bad" initially.
- Logic Issues: Acknowledged a lack of logic.
- No Character Assassinations (Yet): Pre-character assassinations.
GoT Season 8 Episode 5 & Character Assassinations #
- Varys:
- Dumbed Down: Portrayed as "kind of dumb" for openly discussing treason with Tyrion.
- Tyrion's Role: Tyrion reports Varys, which is problematic because Tyrion "clearly [feels] the same way."
- Jaime Lannister:
- Character Arc Reversal: After connecting with Brienne, he goes back to Cersei, reversing his entire character arc.
- Plot Hole: Jaime is caught leaving Winterfell, despite Bronn previously entering with a crossbow and openly threatening Tyrion/Jaime without being caught.
- Worst Line: Delivers an unbelievably bad line about not caring for the innocent people of King's Landing, contradicting his "Kingslayer" motivation.
- Daenerys Targaryen:
- Overly Rushed Development: Disagreed with the idea that her turn was good but "needed more time."
- Unrealistic Transformation: Believed that even with 10 full seasons, her transformation into "Hitler" would be unbelievable.
- Subtle Character Development: Contrasted her drastic change with the more subtle, believable developments of other characters like Jaime (pre-Season 8) and The Hound.
- Execution Flaws: The show went out of its way to make her "as psychotic as humanly possible."
- Bells and Surrender: The city surrendering (ringing the bells) before she attacks contradicts her actions, making her appear completely unhinged rather than a pragmatic ruler making tough choices.
- Point of No Return: Her actions in this episode made it impossible for the show to salvage things.
GoT Season 8 Episode 6 & The Ending #
- Jon Snow:
- Personal Victim: Jon Snow is the presenter's favorite character and became a "victim."
- Loss of Willpower: Reduced to saying "she is my queen" and lacking conviction, unlike his past self who stood up for what was right.
- Targaryen Revelation: Jon Snow being a Targaryen "went nowhere" and "amounts to absolutely nothing," representing a "massive lack of payoff."
- Lack of Payoff: The final season's main flaw is "a massive lack of payoff" due to subverting expectations unnecessarily or poor planning.
- Dragon's Symbolism: Drogon burning the Iron Throne instead of Jon Snow shows that "dragons understand symbolism now."
- Who Sits on the Iron Throne:
- Anticlimactic Decision: Resolved by characters sitting in a circle and Tyrion proposing Bran.
- Unconvincing Agreement: Representatives of "power-hungry houses" who fought for eight seasons agree to Bran with no opposition.
- Tyrion's Speech: Tyrion, ostensibly a prisoner, gives a long speech about stories, culminating in "who has a better story than Bran the Broken?"
- Better Stories: Argued that Jon Snow, Sansa, Tyrion, and even Arya had "better stories" than Bran, who was "literally left out of an entire season."
- Bran's Unsuitability: Bran is "not a human anymore," likening it to putting a "robot on the Iron Throne."
- Political Game Neglected: A show about "strategy, cleverness, alliances, and betrayals" ended without any of that.
- Dragon Over Smarts: Dany's victory is due to having a dragon, not outsmarting anyone; a "one-sided Massacre."
- Final Character Endings:
- Jon Snow: Goes north of the wall.
- Arya: Goes to be "Dora the Explorer."
- Sansa: Queen of the North, which is the only ending the presenter "kind of like[s]" and finds "fitting."
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