What Would George R. R. Martin Do?

Published August 23, 2017 · Updated July 6, 2022

Hi Guys:

Just started listening this season and wish I had found you guys long ago. Your GOTs podcasts are the best! So two things:

Implausible, improbable, impossible. You guys and your listeners have hit on most of the ridiculous plot failures of the past two seasons. We all know the difference between the fantasy elements of the show, which we embrace, and the “They didn’t just do that, did they?” – people weighted down with armor or furs not drowning, surviving knife stabs to the gut, not to mention the spastic time travel of this season. The Double D’s are either wearing out or moving on mentally, but they are cheapening the show. I would argue that they have a duty to the fans to maintain the high quality of the show until it ends. If I could speak to them, I would advise them that when they are considering their plots and subplots, always ask “What would George do?” I’m pretty sure that his last two books, if they are ever published, will not be filled with the messiness we’ve seen this season.

Which brings me to short seasons. They can’t have it both ways. They can’t say that they only had material for 7 and 6 episodes in seasons 7&8 respectively, then accelerate the story telling to high speed leaving out the wonderful character development and rational depiction of time and space we’ve come to expect. This season could easily have been spread over 10 episodes. I’m sure that HBO would have welcomed that. And having a 70 or 80 minute episode now and then does not compensate for our loss. Sure, the total minutes we get is important, but have you considered that seasons 1-6 each gave us 2-1/2 months of television excitement and enjoyment while season 8 will cut that back to a month and a half? The word I think of is “savor”. Sure, we could go so far as to have a season of two 3-1/2 hour feature length movies on consecutive nights and call it a day, but think of what we’d miss. We savor the anticipation of each Sunday night, we gather our friends (and dogs) to watch, we take deep breaths after each show ends and immediately start replaying it in our heads. We rewatch it. We talk with our friends about it, we listen to podcasts and write in. We make predictions and, like Littlefinger, we play out every scenario. That is what makes this show so special. It must be savored, not rushed. SO –

Season 7 is a done deal. But my question to you guys and your fans is – can we do anything to encourage the Double D’s to return season 8 to the ten show format? I know they have written the episodes, but they haven’t filmed them. Can’t they take us for one last long, glorious ride before this comes to an end? What do you think?

Donna

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