If Game of Thrones Changed This Moment, I Would Love the Final Season

By the end, David Benioff and D. B. Weiss ruined Game of Thrones. Uttering that statement isn’t exactly a hot take or cutting edge commentary, but it still doesn’t take the sting away. What was once considered one of the best shows in the history of TV became a shadow of its former self in what seemed like a blink of an eye. When Game of Thrones premiered in 2011, you couldn’t go a few minutes without hearing a friend, family member, or neighbor talk about how good it was, and they weren’t lying. The show helped redefine what a premium series was supposed to look like. It was bold, it was bloody, and it was anything but boring.

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Then came Game of Thrones Season 5. Don’t get me wrong, there were still a few all-time great episodes. “Hardhome” is still my favorite battle episode out of the entire series. However, there is one episode that set the wheels in motion to undo everything. If Game of Thrones could go back and change it, I would actually love the final season.

The final season on Game of Thrones was a train wreck. Cersei (Lena Headey) was rendered useless and Bran’s (Isaac Hempstead Wright) potential as a compelling character was left to rot beyond the wall. To be fair, there are truckloads of shows that fell flat on their face by their last episodes, and that’s not even mentioning Dexter, but Game of Thrones is in a league of its own. Characters made choices that undid their entire progression from the previous seven seasons. Plot points meandered and were ultimately pointless, and a villain who was built up as an unstoppable and soulless force of nature was killed by a prison shank. Yet it all still could have worked had Jon Snow (Kit Harington) just died in Season 5.

My Watch Has Ended

Let me be clear, I liked the promise of Jon Snow’s character and enjoyed how his arc took him from an unsure young pup to a strong and confident pack leader that not only talked the talk, but walked the walk. Ignoring the events of the book series, his death at the hands of his own men in the Season Five finale was the ultimate betrayal and could have been seen as a classic Game of Thrones gut punch. Like the death of Eddard (Sean Bean), Jon’s death could have cemented how bleak and hopeless the realm’s chances were against the Night King. Jon built himself up as pretty much the only person capable of leading the charge in the fight for humanity. He was teased as the “Prince That Was Promised” and if he was dead, that promise would have appeared to be broken.

Everything he fought for would have felt like it was for nothing. All of his battles, all of his speeches, and all of his character progression would have led to a death by a group of cowards. All of that is pure Game of Thrones. There is no true justice in Westeros, just ask Pedro Pascal’s Oberyn. But that feeling of hopelessness and nihilism could have led to something truly special. In that darkness, we could have really felt the cold and brutal winds of The Long Night. As the Night King marched his way closer and closer to Winterfell, it would have been painfully obvious that all hope appeared to be lost. That is, until another Stark rose up and took Jon’s place.

The Subverted Expectations That Were Promised

Instead of The Long Night, we got a moderately-prolonged-evening in Season 8 of Game of Thrones. Everything just felt rushed. After seven hard-earned seasons of build up, mystery, and bloody battles, the white walkers finally reached the walls of Winterfell and viewers prepared for what promised to be the fight to end all fights. But in an effort to subvert our expectations, Benioff and Weiss removed the potential of a Jon Snow and Night King boss battle and instead relied on Arya (Maisie Williams) to deliver the final blow. This made Jon’s entire character progression nearly pointless. My complaint is not because Arya wasn’t capable or even highly-trained enough to take the Night King down. My complaint is based on the fact that her kill never felt earned. But that could have been fixed.

Had Jon Snow stayed dead after Season 5, Game of Thrones fans would have needed another Stark to get behind. Even Sansa (Sophie Turner) could have gotten in on the action. If Benioff and Weiss changed that single moment, the show would have needed another champion to take up the fight against the white walkers. Arya was more than capable of filling Jon’s shoes. She wasn’t a leader or soldier like he was, but she knows a killer when she sees one. I would have loved the final season had each Stark been able to use all of their abilities to their fullest extent because of the loss of Jon. Maybe Arya takes the face of a white walker, who knows? Bran could have taken control of a dragon! Sansa could have even pulled the strings behind a full-blown rebellion in King’s Landing. Anything could have happened had the stakes been raised. And losing Jon Snow would have certainly raised them.

You can stream Game of Thrones on Max and judge for yourself.