Spoilers will be in this article, of course.
It’s been several months now since the Game of Thrones finale aired, and probably far too much has been written on the subject. Many fans were outraged when the most commercially and critically successful show of the last decade came crashing down on itself in a heap of ruins, and then those ruins suddenly burst into flames like a cartoon gag. There was anger, hurt, confusion and even a joke petition to remake the season. But, truthfully, a colossal crashing really should not have been so unexpected, especially given the increasing sketichness of the last three seasons. I would argue that the problems that rotted away at the quality of the show had been in display for a long, long time. I would even argue they can be found as far back as the second season, beginning to discolour the quality of the show even as it approached its zeitgeist.
Back in the 2011–2012 period there were two superficial reads on Game of Thrones. One was that it was a fantasy show with realistic violence and sex scenes and, therefore, ‘mature’. The other was the adage that “anyone can be killed on it!” a reaction to the deaths of Ned Stark and Khal Drogo, I’m sure, and later emphasized by the show itself. Arya Stark herself said such a line to Tywin Lannister. As the show continued, it began to relish in its…
