By: Haley Gyorkos
Unless you don’t have access to the internet, you know that Game of Thrones is currently airing their 8th and final season. The famous HBO hit has been on air since 2011, which is a long time and most die hard fans have been watching from the very beginning and have even rewatched each season a few times.
Fans love to post pre-show theories on Twitter, share in their heartache when a beloved character dies, and threaten to kill anyone who so much as whispers a spoiler.
That loyalty makes some fans feel entitled to how the show should end. While I won’t post any spoilers here, we are going to talk about fans feelings and if even that feels too revealing, feel free to exit this story.
Okay, now that the hypersensitive are gone, let’s talk about the show. A lot of GoT diehards think the final season is a dumpster fire and are petitioning to have it completely redone. Nope, this isn’t a joke: so far almost a million people have signed it.
GoT fans want you to know they don’t just want the season redone, they want you to know how epically pissed they are.
we dont want a happy ending we want a logical and consistent writing. https://t.co/AW4yYGWHcO
— jul// got spoilers (@robstcrk) May 13, 2019
if only got's writing had been as complex as daenerys wig pic.twitter.com/uCNAWM3PuR
— kings landing hater (@aryastarks) May 16, 2019
I just got to say, most of the fan theories I read were written better, more in depth, with more thought and attention than what these writers have been writing for this past season. They are rushing it, it is sloppy, careless and out character for most #GameOfThornes
— ashly gatton (@AshlyGatton) May 13, 2019
That’s the nice, PG breakdown. But basically fans are mad about everything from the writing to the inconsistencies in plot and character development.
So now that we know how the fans feel, a serious question needs to be unboxed. Do fans have the right to react so negatively to a show?
Well, duh. It’s not uncommon for fans to be entirely let down by their favorite shows final season. I’ll give you a moment to remember that How I Met Your Mother ending (or alternate ending, you can pick the worst).
What is probably so off putting to people about fans reactions is social media has provided an outlet for fans to be incredibly aggressive towards the writers of GoT. It has been so bad, even Riverdale actress Lili Reinhart got involved.
While Reinhart was right to call out the craziness of fan reactions right now, others were quick to remind the actress that a shows ability to stay on the air actually is fan service. TV shows are getting dropped all the time from networks, and what keeps a show alive and thriving on prime time is strong viewership.
However, just because you watch a show and know all the characters and have been there for every heartache, lost battle, and random celebrity cameo doesn’t mean you are entitled to every aspect of the show. Not everyone is a showrunner or staffed writer. You aren’t behind the scenes making decisions, rewriting scripts, agonizing over how to end the show in a way that is fair to the characters and the fans.
That being said, sometimes writers get it wrong and let their fans down. Does that mean you should have unrealistic goals of having a multi-million dollar show redone? Sorry to let you down kids, but it just isn’t going to happen. Be upset, relish in how unfair the creative process can be sometimes, and maybe put your energy into something more useful.