Martin’s novels (which literally spelled out Jon, Daenerys, Cersei, Arya, Sansa, and Tyrion’s internal monologues in black and white), perhaps they didn’t have Martin’s insight into exactly what our heroes were thinking - just the endpoint the author wanted them to get to, without the full context behind it. Part of that could be because, once they passed George R. I discussed my issues with Daenerys’s convenient heel turn at great length after “The Bells” and “The Iron Throne” (although if you want to beat a dead dragon, we unpack it from pretty much every conceivable angle in the final episode of Dragons on the Wall above, or download the audio version of the episode here), but when looking back at Season 8 as a whole, it becomes clear how deeply all of our “POV” characters suffered from being stripped of their point of view in these final six chapters.Īs I touched upon in my episode 5 review, David Benioff and Dan Weiss have purposefully kept the audience at a distance from the characters for the past couple of seasons, placing more value on shocking us than building a coherent narrative structure.

Compared to the narrative feasts of Seasons 1-4, which were stuffed full of meaty character interplay, political maneuvering, and a sprawling canvas of fascinating cities and cultures, the shortened Season 8 feels a lot like candy - in the immediate sugar high, it’s frequently entertaining, often hilarious, and certainly dazzling to look at (which is probably why I scored some episodes too highly in hindsight - looking at you, 'The Long Night') but when that rush wears off, you might be left feeling empty, or even a little sick.

Game of thrones season 8 start time