HBO Submits Game of Thrones Series Finale For Best Writing Emmy

[Ulquiorra]

HBO has submitted the Game of Thrones series finale for the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. After an epic eight season run, Game of Thrones finally came to an end in May, and it’s safe to say the show’s wrap up met with a mixed reaction both from critics and fans.

With only six episodes, season 8 was the shortest of any Game of Thrones season, which may have been why the final hours felt like they were rushing by at warp speed. With so much story packed into so few hours, many beloved characters received resolutions that fans found less than satisfying. Of course, there was also the embarrassing coffee cup gaffe, which was followed up by the appearance of a stray water bottle in the last episode - flubs that many took as evidence the show had gone off the rails. The last two episodes seemed to throw character out the door entirely in exchange for pure spectacle, as Daenerys attacked King’s Landing with her dragon, unleashing fiery carnage, before herself being killed by Jon Snow.

Despite the many complaints about the dwindling quality of season 8, HBO is confident that Game of Thrones will still be a major player during awards season. As reported by CBR, the network has even gone ahead and submitted the divisive series finale "The Iron Throne" for consideration for the Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series Emmy. Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss are the credited writers on that particular episode.

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In addition to the writing submission, HBO has also put up three season 8 episodes for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series: "The Iron Throne" (David Benioff and Dan Weiss), "The Last of the Starks” (David Nutter) and "The Long Night" (Miguel Sapochnik). Recall that "The Long Night" was another episode that received loads of criticism, as many complained about the dark lighting, which made it difficult to make out a lot of the action.

As for the acting categories, HBO has submitted Kit Harington for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and Emilia Clarke for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Alfie Allen, Pilou Asbaek, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Peter Dinklage and Richard Dormer have all been put up for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, while Gwendoline Christie, Lena Headey, Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams are up for for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. Carice Van Houten has been submitted for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.

It remains to be seen how many nominations Game of Thrones ultimately snags, but the show has been a darling of the Emmys in past seasons, with a total of 132 nominations and 47 wins including three wins for Best Drama Series, and two writing wins for Benioff and Weiss. It’s arguable that season 8 doesn’t deserve to be lauded at the same level as past seasons, but then again, awards like the Emmys very often hand out hardware based more on popularity than actual quality. Game of Thrones season 8 was inarguably very popular, so it’s likely the Emmys will overlook the season’s shortcomings and hand out plenty of trophies to the HBO behemoth.