So, rather than do a comprehensive analysis of the final season of Game of Thrones when many people have done it better, and I have nothing to contribute, I’ve decided to do a round-up of my favorite takes.
I will say that, like most people, this season really disappointed me. Game of Thrones has always struggled with both sexism and racism. So, that wasn’t really a surprise. But they really ramped it up this season. The Daenerys arc, quite frankly, wrecked me. It’s been a rough year for the representation of women.
With that said, let’s move on to some more eloquent people.
Warning for GoT spoilers as well as weirdly quite a few Youtube videos.
Let’s start off with my favorite piece by Sady Doyle about why women are so disappointed with Dany’s arc this season.
Lindsey Ellis breaks down why Jon Snow killing Daenerys isn’t, uh, great. Then, she has her first video about GoT (the second one isn’t out yet.)
Princess Weekes for The Mary Sue discusses the Nazi imagery in the finale and why it’s problematic.
To switch to the writing aspect of the show: Trope Anatomy talks about how foreshadowing isn’t character development. Just Write talks about how the final season felt rushed. Now You See It discusses how the show developed towards its ending. Hello Future Me puts forward a different version of the battle against the Night King (one I personally find pretty compelling).
And for some fun: a John Hughes style ending from Foldable Human