Current Events > People who hated the GoT finale: how would you have done it? (spoilers)

(+) Yeah! (+)

I keep seeing people throwing around words like "trash" and "s***" without anything to back it up. Or basing their complaints on previous episodes. I'll agree there were flaws with episode 3 and that things did feel rushed this season. However, I thought the ending itself was pretty satisfying. Jon got to live north with the free folk which is kinda what he always wanted to do, much more so than being king. The person who will probably be the most just ruler out of anyone became king. Dany's arc came to a tragic/emotional end. Honestly my only complaint is the lack of explanation for what happened with the Dothraki, but that's not enough to ruin the whole episode. Some people complain that not enough crazy s*** happened in the finale, but what did you expect? Episode 5 was the climax and episode 6 was the resolution.

So, without s***ting on the previous episodes this season or changing anything about them...how would you have written the finale differently?

PrideOfLion posted...

umax555 posted...

So, without s***ting on the previous episodes this season or changing anything about them...how would you have written the finale differently?

Nah, fuck that. The problems started back in season 5 and I'd begin by fixing that travesty before fixing this one

My point exactly. People are bitter with what happened earlier and already decided they were gonna hate the remaining episodes before they watched them.

I would have giving everyone plastic bats and they fight over the melted steel puddle that was once the throne.

Or had Drogon eat Jon.
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i'd go for the godfather ending, jon ends up on the throne alone and miserable
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I didn't hate it, but it felt out of character for Greyworm to let both Jon and Tyrion go, or for Asha to just agree with it, too, especially when she just talked about her loyalty to Dany in the same episode.

Jon should have been executed by Greyworm, even if it sparked conflict with the Northern forces, and it'd be up to Sansa and them to decide whether they wanted to continue fighting, or whether they believed that "justice" was met.
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I still think Jon should have been the one to sit on the iron throne. It's not like being King was something he didn't want but still rose to the responsibility in the past (King in the North).

He has all the right qualities. Noble birth, but humble beginnings (believing he was a bastard). He has military experience (Night's Watch, Battle of the Bastards). He has compassion (united the wildlings with the north). He has strong conviction toward doing the right thing, but has slightly more moral flexibility than Ned. And he was the answer toward the infamous "Targaryen madness" (gods flip a coin, blah blah blah) because he has Stark (ice) in him to temper the Targaryen (fire). It's poetic. It's what I thought the entire series was building towards.

I largely consider him to be the overall protagonist (A Song of Ice and Fire) given his role in taking down the Night King and in this case averting the country from another Targaryen tyrant.

Literally the only people in Westeros who would be against his rule would be the iron islands (not relevant to current power structure in Westeros given their lack of a strong navy anymore) and the Unsullied, who ended up leaving for Naath anyway, and are an extension of Daenery's wrathfulness at King's Landing.

Instead, we got an ending where the Starks effectively control all of the continent, but it's splintered into three major powers (?).

Also, I have major issues with Bran taking the crown. He acted like he was no longer Bran for the entirely of his Three Eyed Raven arc. He frequently acted like he was "above" the politics of Westeros and refused his birthright at Winterfell. If he theoretically sees the future, then he knew the slaughter of an entire major city was coming, but he justified it in order to....secure himself the throne? Fucker slow played everyone in Westeros or otherwise has a dangerously close "greater good" mentality that Daenerys had.

It was the only way to "cleanly" wrap up all the loose ends with how rushed the last few seasons have been. Had the story actually been told with respect to finishing all of it's arcs I think Jaime, Ser Barristan, Jon, etc all could have gotten a much better ending.

It just feels rushed.
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ScofieldReturns posted...

i'd go for the godfather ending, jon ends up on the throne alone and miserable

Holding an apple.

Then his head falls down and slowly he falls off his throne with Ghost's future pup sniffing him.
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It needed a scene where Bran got off his wheelchair, walked to the new Iron Throne, looks at the camera, smirks and says "Game Over"
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Strider102 posted...

ScofieldReturns posted...

i'd go for the godfather ending, jon ends up on the throne alone and miserable

Holding an apple.

Then his head falls down and slowly he falls off his throne with Ghost's future pup sniffing him.

That part will be in the sequel, the series would end with him brooding alone in the throne room
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People either pre decided they were gonna hate the ending no matter what they did or they wanted the perfect fairytale ending with Jon and Dany ruling together as King and Queen and living happily ever after.
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Darmik posted...

It needed a scene where Bran got off his wheelchair, walked to the new Iron Throne, looks at the camera, smirks and says "Game Over"

Lol imagine if the final scene was Bran getting up and walking to the throne, only to morph into the Night King. The final shot is him on the throne doing that same smirk as he did in episode 3.

Jon should have been killed by Drogon. And Drogon just flying off was kinda stupid too. I assume he flew to Valyria, but what he going to do now, just live there ? He should have been killed too, now we have loose dragon with taste for burning cities. Arya playing no role after killing NK was also lame

umax555 posted...

My point exactly. People are bitter with what happened earlier and already decided they were gonna hate the remaining episodes before they watched them.

Are you expecting people to let the finale slide when it's built off all the mistakes and misdirection of the previous seasons?
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Honestly, I don't mind most of the finale in broad strokes. If I'd quit watching years ago and looked at a plot synopsis, I'd have probably been alright with it. My issues were just that it was a bit rushed and there were smaller details that all added up to be silly.

And a lot of this episode depends on the Mad Queen story arc. While I actually liked what we got in this episode, it would have been much better if this story arc had been handled better throughout the show.
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umax555 posted...

PrideOfLion posted...

umax555 posted...

So, without s***ting on the previous episodes this season or changing anything about them...how would you have written the finale differently?

Nah, fuck that. The problems started back in season 5 and I'd begin by fixing that travesty before fixing this one

My point exactly. People are bitter with what happened earlier and already decided they were gonna hate the remaining episodes before they watched them.

dot dot dot
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Honestly I think we needed to start writing towards the finale about 2-3 seasons ago. In my eyes, we needed:

One full season of taking Kings Landing from Cersei. This should come before the Night King plot

One full season of taking down the Night King. This should have been the final battle and they should have gotten much farther than Winterfell.

My main issue is that storylines that were built for the entire series were resolved much too quickly.
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For 7 seasons Dany has shown us glimpses of how cruel she can be. Problem is she never directed that anger and cruelty to innocent men, women, and children.

In the span of 2-3 episodes she undergoes a huge character shift to being the type of person she swore she'd never be.

If it had been paced better nobody would be saying shit.
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Strider102 posted...

In the span of 2-3 episodes she undergoes a huge character shift to being the type of person she swore she'd never be.

Not even that, it was like one episode.

And even then, small changes to that one episode would have made it more palatable.
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BlameAnesthesia posted...

I still think Jon should have been the one to sit on the iron throne. It's not like being King was something he didn't want but still rose to the responsibility in the past (King in the North).

He has all the right qualities. Noble birth, but humble beginnings (believing he was a bastard). He has military experience (Night's Watch, Battle of the Bastards). He has compassion (united the wildlings with the north). He has strong conviction toward doing the right thing, but has slightly more moral flexibility than Ned. And he was the answer toward the infamous "Targaryen madness" (gods flip a coin, blah blah blah) because he has Stark (ice) in him to temper the Targaryen (fire). It's poetic. It's what I thought the entire series was building towards.

I largely consider him to be the overall protagonist (A Song of Ice and Fire) given his role in taking down the Night King and in this case averting the country from another Targaryen tyrant.

Literally the only people in Westeros who would be against his rule would be the iron islands (not relevant to current power structure in Westeros given their lack of a strong navy anymore) and the Unsullied, who ended up leaving for Naath anyway, and are an extension of Daenery's wrathfulness at King's Landing.

Instead, we got an ending where the Starks effectively control all of the continent, but it's splintered into three major powers (?).

Also, I have major issues with Bran taking the crown. He acted like he was no longer Bran for the entirely of his Three Eyed Raven arc. He frequently acted like he was "above" the politics of Westeros and refused his birthright at Winterfell. If he theoretically sees the future, then he knew the slaughter of an entire major city was coming, but he justified it in order to....secure himself the throne? Fucker slow played everyone in Westeros or otherwise has a dangerously close "greater good" mentality that Daenerys had.

It was the only way to "cleanly" wrap up all the loose ends with how rushed the last few seasons have been. Had the story actually been told with respect to finishing all of it's arcs I think Jaime, Ser Barristan, Jon, etc all could have gotten a much better ending.

It just feels rushed.

This, in it's entirely. Or, in respect to Bran, if they had taken even a little time to explain something like "I looked into the future and any other choice but this ends up with most of the population dead via famine/the unsullied beat the northmen and slaughter almost everyone in Westeros/somebody figures out how to make White Walkers and accidentally dooms the world because they win this time" or something.

Literally anything besides giving the impression that Bran played everyone to take the throne would have been better. I mean, I'm almost positive that's how it actually played out, but by not taking the time to explain it they left a sour taste in the mouth. Disappointing that after all these years we get a rush job.
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It's a popular argument for people to go "people are mad they didn't get the ending they want."

Pretty much most of us assumed that Dany would go Mad Queen at some point, that was never the issue despite how some people make it out to be. It was how it was handled.

It's the same thing with the Night King.
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Why do people think Bran can see the future?

It's nothing you can fix in one episode. The problem is that things were rushed big time.
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gp1829 posted...

Why do people think Bran can see the future?

Bran is the Three Eyed Raven now, and his abilities allow him to see the past, present and future. The former TER even told Bran this.
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Strider102 posted...

gp1829 posted...

Why do people think Bran can see the future?

Bran is the Three Eyed Raven now, and his abilities allow him to see the past, present and future. The former TER even told Bran this.

He has only ever shown to have quick flashes and visions of the future though and not flat out knowing it.

gp1829 posted...

Why do people think Bran can see the future?

Because he can. It's more notable in the books, but he still has the dream about the people of Winterfell "drowning in the sea" in the show.
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Bran totally acted like he knew what was going to happen to Theon and it was implied that he knew Tyrion was going to ask him to be the king.
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The Night King wins
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daenarys takes the iron throne
sansa becoming queen in the north remains the same
arya marries gendry
jon dies

sansa kills cersei
jaime marries brienne

tyrion dies
greyworm and his lady fair live happily ever after

cersei is the final bad guy
sansa kills cersei with the dagger arya gave her
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As someone who enjoyed it
The Dothraki never appear again after the Battle of Winterfell.

Euron never 360 no scopes Rhaegal for shock value. Euron can still attack, but have it be at night. Some ships are destroyed and Missandei still abducted. Dany goes to confront Cersei, plays out almost identical except Tyrion and Jon are pleading with her to be level headed and not risk the mission for one life. Missandei does and Dany charges in. This is where the mass produced scorpions are revealed and Rhaegal dies because Dany let's her emotions get the best of her but Rhaegal's death let's Drogon get through the scorpions . Dany loses her shit burns everything blindly just to get Cersei as she flees through the city. Drogon is injured during the events enough to keep him out of action for the finale.

After Jon kills Dany he pulls out his sword and it's on fire. Drogon attempts to burn Jon but the fire does nothing. Jon takes the opportunity and slits Drogon's neck. He then goes to confess, his identity is confirmed due to the flaming sword, Grey Worm and the Unsullied want to kill Jon but he's the rightful king so there's a divide among armies. Jon rejects the throne with his only act as king being to turn himself in. Grey Worm and the unsullied still want him dead forcing Jon and Tyrion to be placed under protection. Then the Bran scene and everything plays out the same.

<____<
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I personally only despised the last episode I enjoyed the show up until that point.

For starters I wouldn't of done a 6 episode season and Danny's death along with bran becoming king would of been done completely different.
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At this point in the show, after those 5 awful episodes, its really hard to turn anything they did around into something good lol the ending was dumb, dunno if I could make a better ending from what they built it up to, but if I could rewrite the whole season I know for sure I could.
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yusiko posted...

daenarys takes the iron throne
sansa becoming queen in the north remains the same
arya marries gendry
jon dies

sansa kills cersei
jaime marries brienne

tyrion dies
greyworm and his lady fair live happily ever after

cersei is the final bad guy
sansa kills cersei with the dagger arya gave her

I quit reading the novels after the third, but based on what I have read, none of that shit would happen because Martin is too messed up to give any kind of happily ever after.
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meralonne posted...

yusiko posted...

daenarys takes the iron throne
sansa becoming queen in the north remains the same
arya marries gendry
jon dies

sansa kills cersei
jaime marries brienne

tyrion dies
greyworm and his lady fair live happily ever after

cersei is the final bad guy
sansa kills cersei with the dagger arya gave her

I quit reading the novels after the third, but based on what I have read, none of that shit would happen because Martin is too messed up to give any kind of happily ever after.

i prefer a happy ending
you can make a story as miserable and depressing as you want but the endings gotta be a happy one
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yusiko posted...

meralonne posted...

yusiko posted...

daenarys takes the iron throne
sansa becoming queen in the north remains the same
arya marries gendry
jon dies

sansa kills cersei
jaime marries brienne

tyrion dies
greyworm and his lady fair live happily ever after

cersei is the final bad guy
sansa kills cersei with the dagger arya gave her

I quit reading the novels after the third, but based on what I have read, none of that shit would happen because Martin is too messed up to give any kind of happily ever after.

i prefer a happy ending
you can make a story as miserable and depressing as you want but the endings gotta be a happy one

The first season alone should have convinced you that there were going to be no happy endings and that you shouldve watched another show if thats what you were looking for.
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meralonne posted...

The first season alone should have convinced you that there were going to be no happy endings

But most of the cast got a happy ending.
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pegusus123456 posted...

meralonne posted...

The first season alone should have convinced you that there were going to be no happy endings

But most of the cast got a happy ending.

Sure doesnt sound like it! lol
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pegusus123456 posted...

meralonne posted...

The first season alone should have convinced you that there were going to be no happy endings

But most of the cast got a happy ending.

most of the ones who aren't dead, maybe
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Aaaaaaaaaall hail the almighty Khaleesi of Westeros!
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Zack_Attackv1 posted...

Aaaaaaaaaall hail the almighty Khaleesi of Westeros!

long may she reign!

oh, uhhh
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I wouldve done this entire season differently. I wouldve made Jon and Danerys go after Cersei first and saved The Night King and the white walkers as the final boss. The first episode wouldve been preparing for war, evacuating people from the northbecause the white walkers are heading south, and then heading to Kings Landing.

The second episode would be a non stop battle with actual tactics and both sides pulling ahead of the other at points. Everyone who died during the battle for winterfell episode wouldve died in this one, but the second dragon wouldve been killed in this episode while Danerys was riding it. She falls pretty far and is badly injured. Jon fights his way to her and she tells him to carry on what she started before she dies. Jon and their army fights their way towards kings landing and the tides turn in their favor. Meanwhile Jamie and a small group of soldiers sneak through the tunnels to make their way to the Red Keep. Their plan is to capture Cersei, but shes desperate to win the war and orders her men to set off wildfire throughout the city. It burns the other army, her men, and half the population. Cleganebowl happens, Jamie fights Euron and is losing until Bronn jumps in from out of nowhere and kills Euron because he feels like Cerseis side will lose and he wants his payment. Then Jamie kills Cersei because he sees that shes too far gone and is irredeemable. The bells ring and the episode ends.

Episode 3 would have Jon grieving while most other people celebrate. Hes cornermen about the white walkers so hes focused on preparing everyone for the battle but theyre still licking their wounds from what just happened. The people want to know who will sit on the iron throne now and Jons true identity is revealed to everyone but he doesnt want to do it. Everyone is unable to come to an agreement so Sansa temporarily takes control of Kings Landing while they prepare for the final battle.

Episodes 4 and 5 are the battle with the night king. They get their asses handed to them in episode 4 and it looks like theyre screwed. In episode 5 Bran volunteers to sacrifice himself to the night king in order to create an opening for them to kill him. Jon and Arya kill the night king together right before he can get to Bran. Jon makes a speech to the living and finally accepts his place on the iron throne.

Episode 6 is a 5 year time skip to see whats happened to everyone since then
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thronedfire2 posted...

pegusus123456 posted...

meralonne posted...

The first season alone should have convinced you that there were going to be no happy endings

But most of the cast got a happy ending.

most of the ones who aren't dead, maybe

Well, yeah. But aside from Daenarys, most of the ones that died were relatively minor.
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meralonne posted...

pegusus123456 posted...

meralonne posted...

The first season alone should have convinced you that there were going to be no happy endings

But most of the cast got a happy ending.

Sure doesnt sound like it! lol

jon got sent to the north where there are no more white walkers, and the wildlings are now allies and jon wanted to go anyway

arya got to go explore the world

sansa became queen of her own kingdom

nearly everyone who survived the series got a happy ending
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Without a rewrite of the previous 5 episodes....I'd probably have Jon give into his love and passions and be with Dany.

It is said right in the moment he killed his previous love to do the right thing, but this time when forced to make the choice, he makes the wrong choice realizing how utterly hopeless it is to be THAT ideologically driven. He is in this scenario persuaded by Dany's speech realizing this is the best way to help the people. Realizing he really is the right man for the job. Tyrion is unconvincing in his speech in this scenario.

While Sansa and Arya may be displeased, he can easily negotiate for the independence of the North and gives Sansa the throne she's been positioning for.

The rest of the episode is then spent setting up for the viewer to know more and less the power structure and potential enemies or alliances of the future. Seeing as this is a living and breathing world that wouldn't naturally just end.

Tyrion gets exiled as a sign of mercy, and to leave the viewer wondering whether Jon can actually reign in the mad king/queen syndrome. Also because it allows a member of each major bloodline to have one surviving kin.

The iron fleet obviously continues it's alliance with Jon/Dany

Sam is forced to decide whether he would like to serve in the North or Jon and Dany.

Queen of the north chants proceed.

Arya and Sansa can be seen conspiring against the Queen in secret and that becomes Aryas new mission, assassinate the Queen if she gets out of hand. Seeing as the North is independent, this can be see a viable future offscreen threat for the viewer to wonder about and debate about on the internet.

We see Dany and Jon get married. The remain kingdoms are given a choice whether to bend the knee or resist. We are not shown their choices. They are given an ultimatum.

All this in my view lets the viewer know the world is going to go on and gives us an idea of the direction the world might go off camera. There is in my opinion no way of ending this show on a satisfactory manner in that regard. Take breaking bad for example, it is the show about Walter White, his death is the end of the story. This show has no such character where the story ends.

kayoticdreamz posted...

he can easily negotiate for the independence of the North

Bruh

Have you met Daenarys?
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pegusus123456 posted...

kayoticdreamz posted...

he can easily negotiate for the independence of the North

Bruh

Have you met Daenarys?

if you read my post, I was leaving open the question mark of whether or not Jon could reign in the mad queen/king syndrome.

Plus if they marry, Dany just may be a tad more willing to leave Jon's family alone. She's been shown to show Jon an irrational level of emotion because she's in love with him and wants to fuck him badly. Plus if they marry he becomes King.

yusiko posted...

meralonne posted...

pegusus123456 posted...

meralonne posted...

The first season alone should have convinced you that there were going to be no happy endings

But most of the cast got a happy ending.

Sure doesnt sound like it! lol

jon got sent to the north where there are no more white walkers, and the wildlings are now allies and jon wanted to go anyway

arya got to go explore the world

sansa became queen of her own kingdom

nearly everyone who survived the series got a happy ending

Jon was forced to kill his lover and then exiled meaning hell ever see his friends and family again

Arya and Sansa will never see their family again.

It's "happy" if you ignore the sacrifices they had to make
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yusiko posted...

meralonne posted...

pegusus123456 posted...

meralonne posted...

The first season alone should have convinced you that there were going to be no happy endings

But most of the cast got a happy ending.

Sure doesnt sound like it! lol

jon got sent to the north where there are no more white walkers, and the wildlings are now allies and jon wanted to go anyway

arya got to go explore the world

sansa became queen of her own kingdom

nearly everyone who survived the series got a happy ending

Maybe, but the body count getting there was staggering
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The biggest change I would have made was to have Rheagon get killed at the battle of Kings Landing instead of getting sniped out of nowhere for shock.

He goes down, the peasants all cheer, the bells *then* ring, and Dany just fucking snaps.

Her going "mad" wasn't the issue, it was that she didn't have a proper "snapped" moment IMO. If she had gone apeshit when Missandei had been beheaded I also would have been okay with it.

Other than that, I don't know. There's so many stupid little dumb things here and there that could be fixed with rewrites and such but overall I wouldn't change the overall outcomes. I wouldn't have made it seem like Grey Worm has so much power, I would have made Jons exile more of a result of Yara and the Dorne Prince being loyal to Dany. Actually, no. I would have had Jon go missing, with people assuming he was taken by Drogon only to reveal at the end that he went back North of the wall as there was nothing left for him in the 7 Kingdoms.