I Wish I Hadn”t Read the Books…

Published May 20, 2019 · Updated July 6, 2022

Hey Guys,

First, hats off to another amazing season of podcasting! Listening to your podcast and commiserating with the community has been as much a part of the GoT”s journey as the books and show themselves.

And speaking about the books, I wish I hadn’t read them before watching the show. I believe that the knowledge obtained by both devouring GRRM”s words and the accompanying videos and theories destroyed any chance I might have had at enjoying the ending to this epic journey.

My hat does go off to D&D for accomplishing what even George himself thought impossible…creating a faithful show for A Sing of Ice and Fire. And it is true, it is not their fault that the books were not finished in time.

But this does not excuse what I consider to be a somewhat disrespectful finish. They obviously rushed an ending to a show that was built on the love, hopes and dreams of diehard ASoI&F fans. Before it became the most watched TV show of all time, it was a niche series beloved by many who have waited decades to discover the ending to this saga.

And it appears to have become a hollow shell of itself..at least for those who are steeped in the lore of ASoI&F. Tyrion doesn’t even attempt to use madness as the reason Jon should kill Dany. He says that evil men die wherever she goes, why would she stop now? Well…Aegon conquered the seven kingdoms…and Westeros lives in peace. I ask, what makes Tyrion think that she would continue to conquer. She always had one goal and she had won it. Now, I don’t like that she had gone mad. It wasn’t earned at all. But going back and watching, madness doesn’t even seem to be the reason Tyrion fears her. He argues more for her transformation into the Evil Queen. And there is ZERO character development for this.

Also, the conversation between Jon and Dany is absurd. Dany argue exactly that which Aegon would have argued, that any monarch would argue, the actual purpose of a monarchy. Before Aegon and Balerion reigned fear over Westeros, they fought relentlessly. He brought peace to the realm. Jon falls back on the old adage, “but who chooses”. It”s an infantile argument to make any claims that all should choose. It had only proven to create chaos. This is not a time of democracy, as is shown when they all laugh at the idea of each person having a voice. And the level of absurdity is highlighted just moments later. He argues that she killed children, while Jon himself had a child murdered, and killed the Night”s Watch because they defied him for their own beliefs.

Instead of making this episode about her “madness” they make it about how rule by monarch is evil. Where did this come from?

And why did they then elect the next monarch? A monarch with no army, a Stark. And his first move is to divide the seven kingdoms by giving the north it”s freedom. Now, these lords must go back to their kingdoms and argue that their sacrifice isn’t worth freedom. How long will that actually last? Think about what each kingdom has lost. Bran is a sitting target with no protection. And did I mention that he is a Stark.

The first time an election arises, war will break out, if not much, much sooner. Dany would have prevented all of this. And her arguments, when listened to, are no different than even the most just rulers throughout history.

Anyway, I could go on. But my issues remain with the lazy writing that seem to have had only one goal; get to the end we want and who cares how ridiculous it all may be.

Now, I would have changed seasons 7 and 8 entirely so I am only responding to what D&D chose to do, as I”ve tried so very hard to like it. But we basically ended up exactly where we began. The Game of Thrones will continue. And the one person who could have actually put an end to it was killed.

Sean Stewart

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