GOT: Season 8

[War Machine Dawg]

I am not sure anything else could really be done with Arya. She wanted to roam the kingdoms and be a knight when she was little in season 1. She liked Gendry but being a Lady was never in the cards for her. I think this was just an interesting way to give her a "happy" ending. I think she didn't want to be known as a killer and in the 7 Kingdoms that is all she would have been known for. I think when the Hound told her she could leave that it basically took that burden away from her. Her list is complete and she can now leave it behind.

Jon ending up in the North at the Wall is basically about as happy of an ending as he was going to get. When Tormund was leaving Jon even said that he truly wished he was going with him. I think when he said that Ghost belonged up there that he was alluding to himself but he was needed at King's Landing. I feel like when he looked back at the door to the wall closing that it was ending his old life and he gets to start anew with the Free Folk. After everything he went through always for the good of the people, now he can actually have his own life.

Sansa got exactly what she wanted and it was to be Queen. The North are free again under Stark rule.

Tyrion got what he wanted which was to help improve the realm along with having a good king in Bran.

I didn't mind where the characters ended up but how they got there kind of changed how the show approached character building in this last season. If D&D had made 10 episodes over the last 2 seasons then it probably gets where it needs to go instead of just changing the characters that quickly.

Here's where I'll disagree: Part of Arya's story is her resolving the idea what it means to be a lady. She should have realized that she could be a "lady" without having to fit the stereotypical expectations of ladies in that society. They laid too many foundations for her and Gendry to end up together to just blow it up. Arya's story is intended as a mirror to Lyanna Stark. Lyanna resolved the conflict between the stereotypical idea of a lady and her concepts of being a lady, so Arya should have resolved that struggle too. It feels like they just said that her having any semblance of Westerosi life was wrong.

Jon...I get that argument. Don't particularly like it, but at least it makes a semblance of sense. Still think it's a shitty ending for him. I mean, how the hell did the Unsullied know Jon killed Dany? Drogon flew off with her body, so there was no evidence. He'd have had to admit to doing it. While I don't doubt he did, that's a loose plot thread that annoys me.

Like I said, I'm fairly satisfied with the endings of both Tyrion and Sansa. I had initially thought they'd wind up married and on the Iron Throne as co-rulers. But I don't have a big problem with their endings. They both basically get what they wanted, just not exactly what I'd hoped for.

The time argument is a red herring. Time wise, we still got 10 episodes each of the last 2 seasons, just compacted into fewer episodes. It was just shitty writing by D&D. Without GRRM to guide them, they struggled to resolve everything that needed resolving. It's annoying to have invested 10 years and waited a year and a half to get that half-assed ending.