ToddDavid

Yes yes I’m sure everyone working on the show collectively decided to take a lackadaisical approach to S8, to spite the viewers no less. 2 of the episodes were basically like short movies themselves for crying out loud. GRRM very clearly stated that he didn’t want GoT to end the way that LoTR did, with the audience having no idea what happens afterward. S8E6 was not laziness; the show was always going to end that way regardless. There were no inconsistent character actions BTW, only inconsistent viewer interpretations.

I gave it a 7. GRRM told us that he wanted to end this in a way that left no interpretation about what happens afterward, and that obviously takes a little bit of screen time. So I regarded 8.5 and the beginning of 8.6 as the grand climactic ending that we’re all accustomed to and then treated the final 40 minutes of 8.6 as essentially bonus material that allowed us to bid a fond farwell to a show that’s been like a home away from home for many of us. So many characters, subplots, and such enormity of scale that it would’ve been impossible to wrap everything up pristinely and satisfy even half of the viewers’ desires. Not to mention, we weren’t going to receive another grand battle, so Dany’s demise had to end quickly & quietly. Neither the time nor budget existed to extend the season. E3 & E5 probably cost as much to produce as all of S3 combined. The Long Night alone had already occupied 11 weeks of shooting, and it mentally & physically wore the cast & 750 crew members out. “Nothing can prepare you for how physically draining it is,” actress Maisie Williams, who portrays Arya Stark on the show, told EW. “It’s night after night, and again and again, and it just doesn’t stop. You can’t get sick, and you have to look out for yourself because there’s so much to do that nobody else can do… there are moments you’re just broken as a human and just want to cry.”