In light of HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel updates, we look back on the contentious end of Thrones (and why it won’t happen again).
I love Game of Thrones, from start to finish. I enjoyed the final season and accepted how the show ended, regardless of how the majority of the fan base felt about it. Still, the season would have greatly benefited from some extra storytelling. In fact, the final two seasons could have used, oh, I don’t know, exactly seven more episodes. Showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff talked a big game of telling the whole story in 13 episodes spanning two final seasons. When it came time for walking, they came up a few steps short.
Part of what made Game of Thrones so great to begin with were the small, subtle nuances in the storytelling. George R.R. Martin wrote this gargantuan series over a span of 24 years (and counting), leaving no small detail without purpose, carefully crafting a world with a history as rich and complex as our own. Watching the early seasons, fans felt as though pulling on one small thread could unravel an entire sweaters worth of theories, each one as intricate as the last. The battles came and went, and when they did, they were incredible, but the best parts of the series came between the action.
And while season 7 ended somewhat abruptly, the story still made sense. Sure, some of the travel was fast-tracked, but it was simple enough to piece together who had come and gone from point A to point B on any given occasion. Season 8 ramped up that timeline even more, which is where the problems started to pile up for Benioff and Weiss.
When you fast travel in a video game, you don’t feel as though you are losing parts of the story, but imagine skipping out on a handful of important cut scenes and then trying to jump back into the game. If you aren’t a gamer, here’s another analogy: Imagine a night out in which you get completely blackout drunk. You wake up in the safety of your own home, but you’re not exactly sure how you got there. That’s how Game of Thrones‘ final season navigated through its timeline.
A prime example of this is Jaime Lannister (re)turning heel, seemingly on a whim. Jaime’s character arc was one of the most complex in the series. He was despicable in the early seasons of Thrones and became a character we actually loved as his complex story unfolded. But this led to a season 8 situation that left fans feeling betrayed. The end of his arc would have greatly benefited from a few episodes of Jaime struggling with his emotions after the battle of Winterfell, not just, “wait, I’m a bad guy — deuces, I’m heading home!” We were left to fill in too many blanks throughout the final season, which ultimately hurt the story more than the showrunners likely had anticipated.
On a general scale of quality television, the final season of Thrones wasn’t that bad. The problem was, compared to previous seasons, it held up about as well as a very expensive CGI dragon in front of a conveniently placed crossbow. Finding out that HBO was willing to spend the money for a full season after the fact was like… finding out Jaime was bad the entire time. Okay, I see where you went with this, but why?
With the final season of Game of Thrones, HBO witnessed exactly how much control they could give showrunners and they are still pulling out shrapnel from an explosion of anger surrounding the decisions they made. The first prequel will be held to the exact standard that season 8 was held to and HBO knows this better than anyone. This most likely at least somewhat explains why they axed their previously-announced spin-off, Bloodmoon. If this thing isn’t perfect, it’s not going to see the light of day.
House of Dragon
Hours after announcing the cancellation of Bloodmoon, HBO dropped the news that they were going forward with House of Dragon, a different prequel based on the Targaryen-centered book Fire and Blood. Dropping a history lesson for a dragon-filled, big budget series is a safe move for everyone involved, but also shows that they understand the importance of the next series’ success. HBO wants their first Thrones spin-off to rival Game of Thrones itself.
House of Dragon takes place approximately 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones, quite the contrast from Bloodmoon, which was set thousands of years prior, during the Age of Heroes. This decision opens the door for a plethora of Targaryen references that Game of Thrones fans will understand. This is a history we are already somewhat familiar with, which is exciting in its own right (still, you should read the book this time).
Another huge benefit of House of Dragon is that the story is already told. The book features less point-of-view storytelling and more of a chronological style. We also know about many of the events through Thrones’ history telling. There won’t be a bunch of creative navigating through the end of this series for the showrunners. This is George R.R. Martin from start to finish, with a story told the way he wants it to be told. HBO will certainly be sure to keep the reins in GRRM’s hands, as the importance of his participation won’t be a surprise to them this time around.
When it’s all said and done, we’re still spoiled fans. This is the greatest era of storytelling in media and we’re still witnessing it, right in the thick of things. There are a million ways to go with Game of Thrones spin-offs and House of Dragon was likely the best choice for the time being. I still want to see Westeros, though.
House of Dragon is set to being filming in 2020.
The book, Fire and Blood, is available at a book store near you.
For more on HBO and Game of Thrones, explore the Entertainment section at FanSided.com.
