So, hi guys. No, I’m not back quite yet, but I felt like writing something a little bit, and who can stop me because this is my blog, right...???
The reason I’m here is because I have a NEED to write about G*me of Thr*nes a bit now that the show is ending. Yes, on my HANNIBAL sideblog. Why? I know y'all didn't follow me for this but actually, it will be tangentially Hannibal related, just bear with me for a bit. GoT is like an ex I still apparently have complicated feelings for, and I don't know where else to write about it.
This post doesn’t contain GoT spoilers, just vagueness. If you’re super pro-GoT, you may want to skip this.
So, I've been watching season 8, and my stance on the show is that it was excellent for the first seasons, but the last seasons have been abysmal (these are my feelings because I love the books). I've watched the show anyway because I have followed it from the very beginning and I want to see it through. I even found some fun with it, just watching the show for the hell of it, not stressing about the story. Also, I don't think it's ALL bad: the music, actors and direction are often pretty great. I've had Jenny of Oldstones stuck in my head for WEEKS now! And..even though the writing has been inconsistent, I’m still attached and invested in some of the characters and their stories. I wouldn’t feel this conflicted if I didn’t care at all. I almost wish I didn’t.
But...after S8E4, I feel like I kinda don't want to see how it ends, because I have doubts it will be satisfying to anyone, no matter who your fav characters are (except maybe fucking Bronn, maybe he gets the best ending of all lmao). It all feels so BLEAK.
And as a Hannibal fan, I feel like I should be used to this? With Hannibal, I saw how things could get bad, then worse, then somehow EVEN WORSE, until finally seeing something beautiful come out of it in the end. After Hannibal, I felt I could handle anything: feeling extremely nervous about what happens next? Done that. Characters doing questionable choices & feeling deep disappointment in their actions? Check. Fearing the worst will happen? Check. And like...I get it that sometimes you need to go through the worst to get to the best. Victory tastes the best after a hard fight. If everything goes smoothly & without a conflict, where’s the fun in that??
However, the difference between Hannibal and GoT is that I trusted Bryan Fuller & co, whereas I don't trust D&D at all. So, even when things seemed bad, I had faith everything would work out in a satisfying manner in the end, and they did! Also, I could handle all the really dark things happening because there were good reasons behind them besides just shock value. I still think Hannibal S2 finale is the most painful but also beautiful episode of television I've ever watched. It broke my heart, sure, but it was also so genuine and made me feel SO MUCH.
Maybe it is unfair to compare these two shows, they're so different after all. Hannibal is a small scale, personal story, while GoT deals with the fate of the entire realm.
But after watching fans freak out about the implications of GoT episode 4, I just thought about how much easier it would be to endure the uncertainty and fear when you could trust the writers to deliver an engaging, satisfying story that will follow all the themes and plot points that have been laid out during the previous seasons, and if there are shocking twists, they feel earned. (And by satisfying I don’t necessarily mean a “happy” ending).
Or I might be 10000% wrong and everyone will love how GoT ends. I’d be happy to be wrong.