If the finale of Game of Thrones still has you stuck in your feelings, then good news. The gang at Screen Junkies have returned with Vol. 3 of their Honest Trailers for the epic (and epically disappointing) series finale. While the trailer technically covers seasons 6-8, it focuses much of its time on the controversial final season.
The trailer attributes the final two seasons to showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss being “bored, burnt out, or bitter that no one liked their slavery idea,” a reference to the controversy surrounding their show Confederate.
The trailer then calls out the frustrating nature of huge reveals that go nowhere (Jon’s true parentage) and relationship changes that have no basis in character (Brienne and Jaime hooking up). “Admit it,” the voice-over says. “This whole show was an elaborate plot to meet Ed Sheeran.”
The trailer goes on to call out common fan complaints, like the under-utilization of Cersei, who spent all of season 8 staring off a balcony. Last season was truly a waste of the fabulous Lena Heady, although I can’t be mad about her making $1 million an episode to look pensive and drink wine. Nothing but respect for my queen.
There are also some solid supercuts of Jon saying he doesn’t want the crown, as well as various cast members saying “we need more men!” when talking about raising an army. Seeing all these in one sitting reminds us of just how repetitive the show’s dialogue could be, which might have been expanded with a larger writers room (or any writers room, for that matter).
The trailer tackles all the WTF moments of the final season, including Dany’s descent into full-on villainy and the election of Bran Fucking Stark as the next king. That last one nearly breaks the voice-over guy (the always hilarious Jon Bailey) who needs to take some deep breaths before continuing. And there are plenty of mocking nicknames, like calling Euron Greyjoy “the emo Pringles guy” and “hack Sparrow.”
They also pay tribute to the series’ epic battle scenes (even the ones that require you to brighten up your screen) and call the show “the last communal experience in our divided world,” which is depressingly accurate. At the end of the day, for all the grief we give the final season, we have to acknowledge to the ubiquity of Game of Thrones in popular culture. After all, when was the last time a television franchise had this kind of global reach?
It will be interesting to see how the narrative around Game of Thrones plays out in the future. Will audiences remember the show fondly or be hung up on its unsatisfying conclusion? After all The Sopranos, another HBO series with a controversial ending, is still remembered as the series that kicked off the Golden Age of television. Will younger generations start streaming it the way they have with Friends and The Office?
It will be especially interesting to see how the world responds to the myriad GoT prequels and spin-offs that are in development. Will they flock to the new shows or has season 8 turned them off of George R.R. Martin’s fantasy world for good?
(image: Screen Junkies)
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