Because of my FOMO and my desire to both understand the bazillion Game of Thrones-related memes and references people can’t help but make, I decided to dive into the show. Plus, my entire ass Mondays are shot on social media and in the news curation service I use; a solid 10 articles immediately surface about the previous night’s episode and several headlines have spoilers. I am amused by how upset folks have been at episodes as this eighth and final season comes to a close. GoT is a cultural phenomenon like a mug.
At this point, I’m nearly at the end of season 3; so I figured what better time to share some thoughts about where I am with the show than now? Plus, it’s hard as hell to binge this show because I have little children and the sheer amount of sex and violence means I have a much, much smaller window of time to watch. At this rate, it’s going to be a while before I get to the end of the road. So let’s just do it now. Allons-y. Oh yeah, much like winter, spoilers are coming. That’s a GoT joke. If you don’t watch and/or are getting into the series, spoilers are definitely coming, though.
1. Because of the ease with which I’ve taken up this show this time around (I tried many years ago and couldn’t get into it), I have no idea what held me up before. Perhaps because of the show’s elevated status and the excitement for this final season, I’ve approached it with a different heart and soul; but I will concede that I’m rather enjoying the show. The amount of drinking games you can play (number of breasts you’ll see, heads cut off, etc) is astonishing. Granted, I was never a person who was insistently not watching, but I wasn’t compelled to join the fray either.
2. At the same time, I’m not entirely sure why folks think this show is soooo great. I like fantasy and shit and understandably, I’m not even halfway through the show, but I keep waiting for the “holy shit, GOAT!” moment. The dragons make me excited, though.
3. I know I’m supposed to hate him, but holy fucking crab cakes, Batman, do I viscerally hate Joffrey. Like, whew chilay! I want buddy roasted. Permanently. By a dragon.
4. There are a significant number of insufferable characters on this show. Jaime Lannister is one of the most insufferable. Clearly, I’m not the only one who felt that way as homie’s fortunes suuuuck and now Uno isn’t just a card game. Luckily, he doesn’t have to attempt to make it clap too often.
5. There are a lot of damn characters on this show. Whiteness is everywhere. I cannot remember the name of tons of folks and then here comes some new person who I think is important but maybe not and I legit cannot tell and they might could be killed in the next episode after changing the whole show for like 10 minutes anyway. Just saying, there are a lot of damn characters on this show.
6. This show is very intriguing in its framing. For most of the time I’m watching, the television show seems very middle ages, ya know? Hard livin’, with nothing but fighting, fuckin’ and well, a game of thrones. But then, there’s this whole other actually fantastical show that exists within it where there are dragons, dragon mothers and the Dothraki and fuckin’ Qarth and multiple people who disappear and magical houses and shit. I’m sure the whole thing will come together eventually in later seasons I’ve yet to reach, but right now, it almost feels like Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes To Jail, which if you’ve seen it, was like two entirely non-related, different movies running parallel for 85 minutes of the 90-minute movie.
7. Again, I know it’s early, but I really hope the direwolves mean something substantial by the end of the show. It’s like they matter but they don’t. I just like the wolves and the dragons.
8. Right now, Tyrion is my favorite character but I also really like Daenarys because she’s a dragon mother and she’s out for blood and shit. I’m guessing considering this show’s trajectory, either both will die or I will hate them both by the time the show is over.
9. I must say, the way folks have been seemingly unhappy with the final season has me less than interested in continuing to trudge this out. While I’m enjoying it, it is becoming a bit of a labor of love because I can’t truly binge it. I will keep on pushing but I really hope the series finale makes up for it all because I’d hate to know how crappy it will become and fight my way through it all anyway only to feel how everybody else feels right now.
10. In case it isn’t clear, I’m here for the dragons. Because of social media I know she loses at least one (and maybe another) and that makes me sad. If I had three dragon children I’d be so upset if I lost any of them.
DISCUSSION
I am predicting that you will be disappointed with the last 2 episodes of Season 8.