Is Game of Thrones screwing up its eighth season? Probably

When Seinfeld began airing its second-to-last season in 1997, viewers quickly noticed some big changes in their favourite comedy.

Characters seemed wackier, plots became more absurd, and episodes grew increasingly surreal. One critic compared it to a “cartoon”. Another called it “unwatchable”.

The reason soon became clear: co-creator and executive producer Larry David, an integral part of shaping Seinfeld‘s tone through its first seven seasons, had left, leaving Jerry Seinfeld on his own. After its bonkers eighth season, Seinfeld spluttered into its ninth and last, ending with a finale many fans still hate.

Eight was an unlucky number for zombie gore-fest The Walking Dead too. Once the highest-rating show in America, that changed in season eight, the last for for star zombie slayer Andrew Lincoln and showrunner Scott M Gimple. As ratings nosedived, plot points became repetitive, a fact noticed by the New York Times, which quipped: “The Walking Dead is walking in circles.”

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When it comes to jumping the shark, no one’s packed slicker water skis than The X-Files. At the end of season seven, David Duchovny’s UFO-obsessed special agent Mulder was abducted by aliens. He made infrequent appearances during season eight before disappearing completely. Ratings dropped, and a short-lived spinoff show, The Lone Gunmen, flopped.

Other shows suffered a similar fate. During their eighth seasons, Grey’s Anatomy hit its lowest ratings, Hawaii Five-O lost its biggest stars, and even Steve Carell had had enough of The Office: he packed his stuff up in a box and never returned.

Paying attention? Because there’s a pretty obvious trend emerging here. Season eight is the point when TV shows really start to suck. Things come off the rails, for multiple reasons. If stars aren’t bored playing the same character every day, writers are probably sick of finding new things for them to do. With around 500 new shows debuting each year, irritable viewers have plenty of options for moving on. The best shows – The Sopranos, The Wire, Breaking Bad, Lost – know they’ve got a time limit.

By season eight, many shows are nearing their 200th episode. That’s a lot of TV. If a show hasn’t wrapped up its original premise by then, it probably should have; if it has, at some point it’s needed to completely reinvent itself.

Either path is fraught with issues: you only have to have tuned into Homeland‘s recent season to see the problem. It’s heavy on politics and lacks the pace of its first three thrilling seasons. The Guardian said it was “suffering from an identity crisis.” Its eighth season will be its last.

Which brings us to this year’s biggest TV event, the final season of Game of Thrones. Yes, it’s its eighth. You’d have hoped the creators of Game of Thrones had paid plenty of attention to this. In interviews, they seem aware. “This was the hardest season,” co-creator DB Weiss admitted to Time.com. “It could end up being a complete mess,” he later told Entertainment Weekly.

Weiss is right: so far, three episodes in, all signs point towards the fact that Thrones is royally screwing this up.

It shouldn’t be this way. Thrones changed the face of television by serving up a huge cast, then regularly dispatching main characters. You only have to Google ‘biggest deaths Thrones‘ to find lists numbering up to 25. Even Thrones part-timers can tell you what happened to Ned Stark, which characters died at the Red Wedding, and why Tommen jumped out that window.

The point is, no character has been safe. That’s what’s made Thrones so thrilling.

Last week’s climactic Battle of Winterfell followed a couple of dour episodes. This was a chance to shock. If anything was going to happen, surely it was now, just three episodes before the end. To be fair, there were some great moments: Arya sneaking around the library, the fiery ice dragon scorching down walls, and Varys quipping: “At least we’re already in a crypt.”

A couple of familiar faces were offed, but they weren’t major players. But Daenerys didn’t fall off her dragon. Arya’s all good. Jon Snow didn’t die a second time. Most importantly, Brienne’s 100 per cent.

The biggest talking point was just how dark it all was. No one could see what was happening. Thankfully, nothing was happening.

It’s not Thrones fault – it’s the curse of season eight. Anything worth happening has already happened. However Thrones ends, whoever winds up planting their butt on the iron throne, it’s unlikely to please anyone. It’s got more chance of upsetting everyone.

Winter is here; let the complaining begin.

* Game of Thrones airs on SoHo on Mondays at 1pm and 8.30pm, and is available for streaming on Neon.