EBOMBAY! ", I yelled as I watched T'Challa emerge from the portal to aid Captain America against the might of Thanos and his army. I yelled the war chant before T'Challa did in the movie, and the audience, as if I were the King of Wakanda myself, responded. It wasn't practiced or even premeditated, it was instinctual. Hell, I was compelled to yell it out and I imagine the rest of the movie audience responded to my cheer with the appropriate response for the same reason.
It was the most satisfying conclusion to one of the most appropriate climaxes to some of the cleverest storytelling I've ever experienced. Fulfilling my childhood fantasy as a kid growing up on comics books to witness the grandeur of drawings brought to life, along with my now adult need to experience a fulfilling story. That, coming from a kid of the 80's who like my peers were immersed in the greatness of pop culture at that time, was quite a feat, and ENDGAME did it MARVELOUSLY.
No pun intended.
I left that theater with that feeling, thinking to myself. " Man, now I get to see what Game of Thrones has in store. CAN'T WAIT!!!"
And to that, I wasn't disappointed,... although most were.
THE PROBLEM WITH EXPECTATION.
I'm a just come out and say it. There a problem having a preconceived idea about something, ESPECIALLY ON THE CREATIVE END, without being let down.
Full stop.
Worse off, a lot of the time a preconceived idea blinds one from seeing the failures and success' in the work. In that, one may miss the point, and at that point may have been beautiful.
Albeit NOT what you wanted.
Your best bet: Go in WITHOUT any preconceived idea whatsoever. In this day and age with the sneaks peeks, transparency, and "leaks of process" now not only available but abundant, It's hard not to be persuaded. Worse off, harder to not be biased if it is beloved and good thus far,......
AND WE GET THE SWEEEEEEEEET ENDING that was ENDGAME. I've never cheered as loudly about anything in my life. Not when Prince and the Revolution did an hour and a half ENCORE at the Purple Rain concert. Being a NY'ker when Bill Buckner missed the grounder which allowed Mookie Wilson to score and the Mets winning the World Series in '86, or the teary exuberance of finding out E.T. was alive. All seen in those so important "formative" years. Until...
Cap catching and wielding Thor's hammer...LIKE A CHAMP, yet.. still losing that fight.
I want to watch that again, RIGHT NOW!
I'll be right back.
Ok, back to Game of Thrones, SEASON 8.
Valar Morghulis
I not only thought it great, but FITTING to not only the story lore, and drew a reasonable conclusion to the series. Completed story arcs well, and also achieving so without overarching storytelling.
You know, all the things people DON'T AGREE about Season 8. If you're reading this, now you might even be saying to yourself, ( or even out loud), This guy's full of shit." but hear me out. My reasons are not only rational but are correct.. through a different perspective.
THE PERSPECTIVE: HAVING NO EXPECTATION.
How can you experience something to its' fullest, or even at all, with a predisposed bias opinion? Avengers Endgame there was a gang of ways this could've have gone, with a gang different ways of doing it. While I can't speak for anyone else but myself, I will admit. It followed an extremely satisfying conclusion. Not only that, but it was also a sweet, ....bittersweet,... sweet ending. We got what we wanted ( 'cept me. I didn't want Thanos snapped), but we lost one., but even in that, It was a righteous death.
Not only did we all get what we wanted, we got it in a way that wasn't cheesy (mostly) , or manipulative, but thrilling. Lastly, we got the ending we envisioned.
THAT'S A TRIFECTA, folks! A master of execution, but does that mean everything as great can end thusly?
Should it?
GOT Season 8 did the POLAR OPPOSITE. It was slow. It was frustrating, it was melancholy. It was shorter,....than we all wanted it to be. But it was also epic, meaningful, and lastly POETIC!
And most folks missed that.
Game of Thrones became the victim, of the problem of most forms of storytelling nowadays.
It was punished for NOT telling the story we wanted or even expected, it was the story WE NEEDED.
I loved GOT Season 8. It doesn't even matter to me whether you liked or hated it. We are all allowed our own opinions. Regardless of where you stand I only want to illustrate what you've might've missed in your viewing. At worst I'd like you to leave this " conversation" knowing there was more than might've been seen previously, and at best you agree and enjoy season 8 probably as much as you did the previous seasons and see it as the great ending as it was conceived to be.
Let's delve.
I find one of the best ways to properly "align" my opinion about something to gain the most out of it is to sum it up to one sentence. If done correctly, you see the overall point and can even trace from end to beginning and better point out its' flaws. Here's a great example of another ending that was considered " terrible",.... although it wasn't. Most people don't like the Star Wars sequels. From it being too " familiar" to it being " disrespectful to the franchise", If you look at it from the end and paraphrase it the idea about it comes clear and in that, so do its parts. If.. you do it correctly.
Star Wars episodes 7,8 & 9, is the story of THE REDEMPTION OF OBI-WAN SOLO.
For those who say his name wasn't Obi-wan, I'll give you an (obvious) tidbit. To think "they" named him "Ben", given as an homage to the person who united them and was the spark that brought down the Empire, and NOT be his full name is ridiculous. Ben was the nickname of the formal name as Annie was for Anakin. Hearing that, you know his story and everybody else is just fuel for the main story. That makes Rey a herring as they reveal in the end justifies the path it took. I may argue that point another time, but I'm pretty exhausted about it so, ....maybe.
Back to GOT.
If I were to coin the phrase of GOT Season 8, I'd call it "The Tragedy of Egon Targareyan". The result of the fulfillment of legacy from the realization to the consequence. Ironically doing it this way also sharpens the lens to the main character of the story. This was John Snow's story.
His story is and always been a story of sadness. Although triumphant, he suffers to gain it...as does all of the GOT characters. Raised justly, but reminded he is a bastard, through a wise and respected family he is never allowed to forget his place. Although he rises in The Knight's Watch through valor and courage he is hated, and even betrayed by his brethren. Pretending to aid his enemies, he ends up falling in love with one, only to lose her to someone who ultimately betrayed him, finding acceptance amongst his enemies as he realizes the bigger truth. Ultimately learning he is heir to the highest levels of power, only to have it challenged by someone he loves and to whom he swore himself to serve; only to have him follow his ideology and having to kill her because of it knowing it would lead to his certain death.
Am I wrong? Was there another person who 's plot was so intertwined with the overall story as much as John? Yes Danerys, but that's ok, I was going there next.
But before I do so. I can't without going into the "problems" people had with her and ultimately the show. So, if you haven't felt challenged yet,... here it comes.
DAENERYS WASN'T WRONG.
As she lurched on that rooftop atop Drago( Draco...whatever), contemplating what she should do next., ...as the bells rang, I watched with my hands over my face while peering through one eye. As she started burning the village, feelings of disappointment engulfed me, but also relief in her decision. I thought "The Red Wedding" was the single most upsetting thing I've ever seen on television. Mind you, I had no idea of what was coming, and I'm not ashamed to mention I was crushing on Rob's wife. I grew up watching Flashdance and crushed over Jennifer Beal, so I imagine you can make the connection. As upsetting as this was, I hated what Danerys did as a collective because she did kill innocents, but, as an individual, I understood why.
IN MATHEMATICAL PRECISION, every instance she listened to someone else, she lost something/ someone she cared about. To that, every time she listened to herself, she was victorious. The story foreshadows what she would do had she followed the logic of the show not only her reasoning but in her history as well. From Drogo to her two (son) dragons, she listened to someone else and lost for it. From her brother's death to the burning of Westeros( with the culling of the Dothraki in between), she not only succeeded but thrived. That moment she literally begs John not to say anything and logically lays down why, and he says he is going to tell his sisters anyway, you can almost see the " Now we're gonna do it my way", switch get flipped. To say that what she did wasn't in line with the overall story is just false.
I even make the argument that John should've " Gave it a day or two." before he went and killed her. At their last meeting, she very much seemed like the Danerys of old. Having calmed down from her "bloodlust' form the previous events and the fog of war, not to mention her "Usurper-ian" war speech, she seemed herself again. I internally pleaded John didn't do what he ultimately did.
But did she deserve it? Was she right?
I say "no" to the first, and " yes" to the second. To the first: No. As for the second, the "persons" were innocent, but the people were terrible... as a collective. Not to mention,...
Leaders have to make hard decisions. Her answer to John before he knifed her, BTW, was not only appropriate, but correct.
"They don't get to choose."
No, that opinion doesn't mean that I believe I think they deserved to die. I don't, but I do get why she did it.
The show itself gives real time examples of the people not only in King's Landing but in all of Westeros. They were cutthroats, corrupt, cowardly, vicious sheep. From Ned Stark's execution to the racist looks at Gray Worm, and Missande, as thy entered Winterfell, most people exhibited these traits,.... outwardly, and deliberately. Taking the form of whatever collective moral seemed right, 'er no,... EASIEST, overall morality was thrown away along with the common good.
Take Danerys: For her entire existence, she has been fighting and winning the hearts and minds of the people, who have the same problems the people Westeros had, and far worse, treated Danerys fairly in both her successes and failures. She comes to Westeros, and for no reason other than her name and the color of her hair is now treated with prejudice, even though she is escorted and allied with their CHOSEN king. Putting aside her personal although world helping, agenda, she helps the person she loves while also fighting another and "real(r)" problem, but does so out of obligation. The obligation of doing the right thing. I'll ask you this: Who do you think more likely to betray Danerys under her rule? The Dothraki? A male-dominated society that saw women as nothing more but trophies with none worthy of rule, or Westeros before had she not BLASTED 1/3 of the city first, .. or even after?
Mind you she killed all of the Dothraki leaders. All men, but men still dominated their ranks, yet...
I bet you're still saying Westeros would betray her. Hell, they betrayed themselves throughout the series, so...
Hopefully, I made my point about Danerys.
Now let's talk about the glaring and obvious problems about the short season, the unfinished story arcs, the deepening of certain points?
Ok. Here goes, but first I have to say... this is the annoying part of the conversation for me.
THE CHIPS WERE STACKED AGAINST THE CREATORS.
"My favorite; "It JUST felt RUSHED." , followed by "The creators could have made more episodes and seasons to tell a greater narrative as HBO wanted." "The Long Night was too quick, ... AND TOO DARK. The pacing was bad. It made no sense that Bran would become King.", and lastly my SECOND favorite: I wanted John to become King." These are a few but most common arguments I've heard about problems with the show. I'd ask you why you feel that way, but outside of comments, there's no way you could answer. So I'll just go into a quick to-the-point response to those problems.
"It just felt rushed."
Rule #1 of adapting work from another source of art, learned by witnessing this example:
WAIT UNTIL THE SOURCE MATERIAL IS FINISHED, then FOLLOW IT.
The creators had the chips stacked against them from day one.
No matter how well-executed, if the source material isn't exact, people will complain about it. Can't say for sure about GOT yet, as Martin hasn't finished the series, but following the trend, I'd bet against people liking it more after he finishes it. Jut ask the anime Fullmetal Alchemist, and its' retelling, Brotherhood. Less action than Brotherhood which was done AFTER the manga was finished but told a far better creative, and compelling story.
Wanted: The movie was far better than the graphic novel series. And lastly my favorite: The walking Dead. Far better comic book than show.
It took balls to the creators to not take 'DA MONEY and drag out what they believed was the fitting end to the story. Ever think it was HBO that said, " Hey this thing is so good, we should just let it ride." No, that never happens, right? The pop-culture created media going on longer than it should. Which have you seen more: Shows ending too early, or shows becoming bad because they didn't stop when they should have?
"The Long Night was too quick, ... AND TOO DARK."
A few months ago I was watching something on TV at home, over some....get together or something like that. My nephew looks at the TV and says," Man I listened to what you told me, and I still can't get my TV look like yours." Mind you the TV we were looking at is a GRANDPA. 2nd maybe 3rd generation HDTV. 1080p, and one of the first to have 120 Hertz.
If you don't know what I just said, therein lies the problem.
I looked back at him and replied" Yeah, it took me a while to learn what to do as well. Like that TV and its progeny nowadays, there are a lot of features that need tweaking for an optimum picture. Stuff the boxed instructions ain't telling you. From tech friends and family, YouTube videos, to what I learned to art school about color, in time I learned the tech and applied it to get the best pic I can from the hardware.
Most people don't do that or at least know how to, yet...
I apologize for my frankness on the matter. Here goes.
Everybody's f#$&kin' expert on HOW THE CINEMATOGRAPHER can't shoot a scene.
SERIOUSLY?
I asked everyone whoever said that to me if they understand aspect ratio, let alone native color space, black tone, etc in their TV menu not to mention the options through whatever they are watching their medium through? That answer always ends in a "no".
Don't get me wrong, I ain't mad at them, but I do ask: Do you think a person hired for their skills in not only setting up the shot but expertise in handing specs like color, resolution, saturation, lighting and such, got it wrong over the potential of an average TV viewer not knowing how to correctly set the color on your TV? How do you know the problem isn't on your end?
Have you considered you saw everything you "needed" to see in that episode?
Have you never asked?
As for the episode "The Long Knight itself: 120,000 White walkers, several generals, The Knight King, and an Ice Dragon to which you have seen sack towns on their march to this point for 7 seasons (BTW, there goes an example of how the season/show needed more..more of what we saw for 7 years. ... suggested to me by someone.), versus 40,000 in a confined space with no place to run. We've seen the Nightwalkers' M.O.: stampede over everything in sight. It's worked thus far. No reason for it not to work there.
It was dark and hard to see for the viewer for the sake of immersion. We were supposed to feel how those fighting felt. The dark parts,... you weren't supposed to see. That is nothing short than expert care in your craft.
Or your TV's settings are off... maybe both, but definitely one. The former.
THE PACING WAS BAD.
I wanted John to become king.
He left The Knight's Watch and left with the people who love him most. Now "appreciated", and gone from a place where he was only "tolerated". You wanted a happy ending for John, you got one, you just didn't see its' details... At least as "happy" and ending as John could get considering. Which, BTW, was granted by Bran (The Wise) whom most didn't think was the proper choice to be king. A person who could see the past, present, and future of mankind, and thus could sidestep problems and walk a path that would lead his people to prosperity.
Condemning John to The Knight's Watch knowing he would be free to live in peace.
Which brings me to ...
Peace.
Season 8 was a Haiku. A somber, fitting, deep incredibly, layered, and subverted- although straightforward conclusion to a somber, fitting, deep incredibly, layered, and subverted- although straightforward story.
Did you believe in how the show progressed... SINCE ITS' INCEPTION, it was going to magically change in the end? It was going to be sad. Nobody got what they really wanted.
Except Sansa. I hate Sansa. That is all.
That's Endgame thinking. But unlike Endgame, not a fitting and I believe if we got it, it wouldn't have been a satisfying conclusion.
And it was just that.
We got a woman sold into slavery raped, betrayed and more, clawing her way to become a leader of nations through sheer grit only to make it to her goal and throw it away because while she didn't act accordingly although ironically acting in a way that worked for her and everyone in the bigger picture. Killed by the one person she loved and trusted most regardless of knowing his nature.
A man born into almost the same circumstances who also through pure grit ( and a little help from his friends) rose to power to see his moral ambitions fulfilled only to lean a truth that ultimately caused him to lose everything he held dear, through the same morality and with his own hands. While in the middle a romp of sex, violence, betrayal, undead giants, etc...
Not to mention some of the best cinematography, scoring, character design, practical and special effects this side of ILM, and WETA (wait, WETA did the special effects) and NOT having Roger Deakins shot any of it?
Who's roger Deakins?
Imagine the prettiest thing you've ever seen in a movie. Chances are Roger Deakins probably shot it.
Change my mind.
Matter of fact. "The Long Night" in terms of cinematography is only bested by 1917, and that is only because it's done as a one-shot.
Change my mind...again.
What was there not to like?
In five words: Most examples in pop culture.
Earlier I mentioned, "Game of Thrones became the victim, of the problem of most forms of storytelling nowadays."
Yes, I''m quoting my writing.
Television is in a renaissance, but to that, a lot of it is still a very cookie cutter. While there is a lot more quality of shows, because of more channels, with that there are standard storytelling linear shows. There are a few where there's a twist for twists' sake, but...
Ultimately, we are bombarded by shows that don't command our full attention, or worse off can be understood without it. Shows that are shown in serials can be missed as whole episodes while the viewer will still be able to not only follow it won't be affected even if an episode was missed.
Humans, as we all are, are creatures of habit; conscious and subconscious alike. In short, we got used to shows not being about much, not having a conclusion that is great and at worse follows whatever formula that is popular. Yes, we get an occasional Breaking Bad or The Sopranos, but for everyone, we get 7- 10 what I call " meh" forms of entertainment. Occasionally, and I mean OCCASIONALLY we get something that we have to pay attention to, let alone challenge us and what we want or are used to seeing. Game of Thrones season 8 falls there.
The fact that it finishes almost where it begins. A world where the leaders are squabbling over its' pieces is again,... poetry. It told a tale straightforward in its telling were you to follow the trend, but held enough nuance to carry deeper meanings, ideologies, and themes.
If you haven't seen or realized the things I brought up. I ask you to watch the season again, this time without any expectations. Matter of fact, being you have already seen it, you should have none and thus, you can watch it objectively.
Until then, Valar Dohaeris