'Game of Thrones' Season 8 Controversy: Drama vs. Loyalty (Spoilers)

As much of a prick Ramsey Bolton was, he had a point in saying, “If you think this has a happy ending, you haven’t been paying attention.” Memes have spawned thus far from Season 8; including, Tormund and his giant’s milk anecdote, Bran’s creepy omniscient stares, Cersei’s burning desire for elephants, Arya Stark going Kobe Bryant on the Night King, Ghost not getting the goodbye he deserved, and the Starbucks cup conspiracy. But these are only the surface of the problems this season is developing, mainly with its penchant to depend on drama rather than loyalty to the fanbase.

This isn’t a new problem for GoT; the whole premise of the show was to display that these characters are not invulnerable, that they each have their weaknesses and strengths. This show is a rare example of how villains are not outwardly, blatantly evil from their introduction—they are far more complex than mere shallow, cliché villainy. However, Season 8 seems to be dropping this trend, abandoning character arcs to make place for drama. Daenerys Targaryen seems to be devolving under her traumas and yet the death of her “children” (dragons Viscerion and Rhaegal) don’t seem to remotely phase her as much as the death of Ser Jorah Mormont. Notice that there wasn’t even a burial or a scene of memoriam for Viscerion after he collapsed, finally truly dead after Arya killed the Night King.

Dany’s motives and actions are becoming considerably less logical. Instead of waiting for her scouts to report on the warfare proposed from King’s Landing and Euron’s fleet, she flies her two remaining dragons into direct line of fire, resulting in Rhaegal’s death. Euron’s characterization is practically nonexistent. I’ve read forums of the previous episode and have read user’s opinions on how Euron is one of the worst written characters in Game of Thrones history. His purpose is entirely to be a villain, a scapegoat supplied by Cersei to avoid direct blame. That’s why I feel like Rhaegal’s death was wholly unnecessary, fodder to boost views for HBO. When a television program becomes more about the views than the story, it starts to come off as disingenuous and hurried.

Daenerys seems destined to fulfill the curse of the Targaryen line, to become the Mad Queen, following in the infamous footsteps of her father, Aerys II Targaryen or the Mad King. Her motives in Season 7 were questionable, appearing to be out of revenge than justice. Rather than giving opponents a choice to join her forces, she’s demanding that they “bend the knee” or die. Such was the motive behind Randyll and Dickon Tully’s incineration by dragon fire, because they refused to join her cause. Her response to the Lannisters stealing crop yields from peasants was to reign fire upon them all rather than settle the matter diplomatically, sparing the lives of the innocents and returning their crops. This is a dramatic curbing of her character arc to be the Breaker of Chains, being a benevolent force determined to free the weak from being trampled on by the royalty.

The latest death of her trusted advisor and translator, Missandei, seems to be the breaking point for Daenerys’ self-control. Not even Tyrion or Lord Varys are optimistic of her future plans, neither being able to reason with her. She did not get her fairytale ending of bulldozing King’s Landing with three dragons, thousands of Dothraki, and 8,000 Unsullied. She is left with Drogon, who is increasingly vulnerable to the mounted crossbows and a small number of her Unsullied troops. I am worried that her want of revenge will overpower her desire to free people from tyranny.

Is this is a lesson in the reality of war or is it yet another “fuck you” to the fanbase? Jon Snow’s secret is out, no thanks to Sansa Stark. He has expressed his declination of the throne, but it’s being argued that someone who does not want to be King is the best person for the job. However, I get a sense of shame from Jon knowing his true parentage, besides the obvious incestual sex between him and Dany. He’s believed the lie so long about Rhaegar Targaryen’s alleged rape of Lyanna Stark when it turned out they had been secretly married. However, that doesn’t mean that Rhaegar was the good guy in this story.

Rhaegar Targaryen’s secret marriage to Lyanna Stark sparked Robert’s Rebellion, because Lyanna was betrothed to him. A lie was forged about Rhaegar’s relationship with Lyanna, that he had abandoned his wife, Elia Martell, and abducted Lyanna Stark and raped her. Rhaegar’s motives, on the surface, may seem like a noble sacrifice for love, but he had underestimated just how much magnitude the scandal would escalate to in the years to come. Of course, we know that Lyanna Stark died on her birthing bed giving birth to Aegon Targaryen, who would be secretly taken in by Ned Stark as his bastard son, Jon Snow. It’s easy to see why Jon Snow would be ashamed of his true legacy. His father, after all, divided the kingdom and plunged Westeros into civil war.

Jon Snow and his true heritage have the right to the Iron Throne, which ironically, he doesn’t want to rule over the Seven Kingdoms. He has bent the knee to Daenerys, but it seems that Sansa Stark is hellbent on Jon claiming the throne. Her distrust of Daenerys isn’t unfounded; she wants the best for Winterfell and the North and she feels like Dany would plunge them further into chaos. Possibly she feels like Dany is using her “brother” to further the Targaryen agenda. Sansa Stark, understandably, has trust issues. Even though she has finally brought Petyr Baelish to justice, she’s still healing after her captivity by Ramsey Bolton. Theon Greyjoy had become her confidant up until his death and she’s become unhinged, though not to the extent of Daenerys.

All these intricate plot points seem to be unraveling rather than tying loose ends. However impressive the Battle of Winterfell was, it was underwhelming that the Night King and the 8,000 year White Walker threat was resolved in one Long Night. Many GoT fans were worried when they found out the eighth season was only six episodes long, giving weight to the theory that this is a hasty rush to the end of the story. Kit Harington has defended Season 8, telling critics that “they can go fuck themselves.” The role of a critic is to critique, not suck off the creators and shower them in praise, but I admire his dedication. I’m not writing this because I hate the 8th season, I have loved the build up to the battles and thought the Battle of Winterfell was one of the best episodes in the history of Game of Thrones. But it’s a disservice to the creators to ignore the imperfections in their work. Editors of novels have to make corrections to manuscripts, otherwise the final product is going to be poor quality.

I hope that the 5th and 6th episode deliver on their promises, which to GoT fans is usually tragic deaths and bloodshed. If Daenerys is to become the Mad Queen, I can only hope she’ll remember her true goals in due time. Let’s all hope that Cersei finally dies next episode or is at least taken captive to answer for her crimes. Euron can just die, though. Arya Stark, The Hound, and Grey Worm have their sights on the same people, one hell of a trio to take on The Mountain. We may finally get the infamously memed “Cleganebowl” between The Hound and The Mountain. All in all, there will be an ending, it just won’t be the one we wanted.