How does GoT hold up for you since the final season?

[InCali]

I'm guessing I could watch it again, but they sort of lost their way the last few years.

 

[Weather Witch]

After being away from this show for a few years, I first watched season 8 again, and only that season. I ended up enjoying it more than I thought. Then I rewatched the entire thing, and honestly, I've made my peace with the good and bad in every season. Like I said before, it's a fantastic world to get lost in. So I'm very excited to dive into House of the Dragon.

 

[Primal Slayer]

The fact that I had zero yearning of re-watching it before HoD....you know they screwed up. I think of Dany and all I do is get annoyed and angry all over again.

 

[CB Fan]

I can re-watch all seasons except season 8. I have tried to rewatch that season but it just…

 

[GreenKToo]

It was a hatchet job. All this buildup to make Jon the hero and he couldn't get past the undead dragon.
And Sam squealing like a girl "help mee help mee" didn't help.
I was really hoping he ( Sam) would become a bad azz hero toward the end, but if anything, he got worse.
He is My least favorite character

 

[redfirebird2008]

I still think it's a GOAT level show for the first 6-7 seasons. HBO & Martin both wanted the show to keep going. It's too bad the HBO executives did not step up to the plate and terminate D&D from the showrunner job. They could have replaced D&D with people who wanted to give the show a proper finish. Incredible how D&D threw it all away in the 8th season. Very similar to how George Lucas pooped the bed with the Star Wars prequels.

 

[lespaul59]

I would still bend the knee to Many lol. I voted I still love the show but the final season just left a bitter taste in my mouth. To me Danny's heel turn is like when in wrestling you have a heel (bad guy for those not familiar with wrestling lingo) get hurt so out of nowhere the good guy just turns heel for little to no reason. I know seeds were planted early in the show but lets face it those seed could have just as easily been Danny showing she has a firm hand and not to mess with her. Ultimately for me it wasn't the heel turn but the fact that to me it's handled poorly and comes out of nowhere. I'm no GoT expert or trying to act like one, I'm just giving my opinion.

 

[Weather Witch]

I've spent a lot of time thinking about the story of GoT and I've honestly come to two conclusions that somewhat mellowed my views on the final two seasons.

1. There are way too many side stories and minor arcs that even George RR Martin himself doesn't know how to deal with properly

The TV show cut a lot of these short, Dorne / Tyrells / Iron Island etc. Some needed way more time, but it makes perfect sense from a storytelling perspective that they needed to clean up. Admittedly, I think Dorne suffered the most here, but the Tyrells were handled pretty well.

2. Bran becoming the King, everything Azor Ahai & Prince(ss) That Was Promised, Jon not being the big hero, and Daenerys going mad are all in line with George RR Martin's literary inspiration, and most likely would've happened in the books as well

Because it's all straight from Dune, which is a huge inspiration for George RR Martin. All of Dune is a warning / cautionary tale against prophecies, heroes, and chosen ones. We see that arc with characters like Rob and Stannis, but also with Jon not having a huge role in The Long Night.

He still gets everyone to band together, but he and Daenerys don't fulfill the prophecized roles we expected. Azor Ahai just turns out to be another Lisan al Gaib that the Bene Gesserit, sorry Red Priests, are spreading (mis-)information about.

The prophecies we followed, the people we were looking at to lead us, ultimately didn't. Bran (with his prescience), like Kwisatz Haderach before him, becomes a leader. Yet another aspect of Paul's journey in Dune. Except since we're spreading this arc over different characters here, Daenerys is the one who goes mad here, rather than Bran.

That doesn't mean the version in the show wasn't rushed, but the logic tracks IMO. The execution just could've been a lot smoother if they had taken their time.

Edited for clarity.

 

[Elayis]

It wasn't just the final season though. Season five was where the cracks started to show (Tyrion, Dorne, Sansa), but the wheels truly fell off with season six. I'm honestly still shocked it took until season 8 for the general public's blinders to finally fall off.

Until season 5 this was easily in my top 3 shows ever along with The Wire & Breaking Bad (BCS hadn't started yet). Now, I have no plans on ever rewatching it.

House of the Dragon is solid and provides a nice taste of Westeros, but it's missing that spark that early GoT had.

 

[Elayis]

I rewatched the series twice now and to be honest, every time I came across further weaknesses. It’s in the open but we have been blinded by the surroundings. GoT is not the masterpiece people have labeled it, even the first couple seasons.

I also somewhat agree with this. The highs are still really good, but there was a lot of added D&D content in those early seasons that were just terrible (lots of frat bro jokes).