Game of Thrones Fan Rewrites Season 8 & Gives Viewers The End They Want

[Ulquiorra]

A Game of Thrones fan rewrites season 8 and details the changes to the series' ending through a video essay. The clip is mostly focused on the Night King’s relevance in season 8, along with prioritizing narrative logic. Since being published on May 22, the video has received over four million views. 

When the Game of Thrones series finale aired in May, many fans complained about sloppy writing and rushed pacing. In fact, a petition for an entire Game of Thrones season 8 rewrite amassed over 1.6 million signatures. Even before the series finale aired, people were already upset about production mistakes, such as the appearance of a coffee cup and water bottle. After the penultimate episode, Game of Thrones was heavily criticized for what appeared to be a sudden change of behavior for one of the main characters. And while the Game of Thrones finale pleased many viewers by providing closure for certain characters, some felt that the events depicted warranted an entire season.

On YouTube, Think Story founder Daniel Whidden released a 16-minute video entitled “How Game of Thrones Should Have Ended.” The video begins with a four-minute intro that explores fan backlash and why people requested a Game of Thrones season 8 rewrite. Whidden then lays out his creative approach, and states that he’s theoretically working with the same restrictions. He leaves the first two episodes mostly untouched, and has the Night King emerging victorious in the third episode, with the big reveal being that the character is “impervious” to Dragonglass. By the final episodes, the survivors retreat to King’s Landing and Daenerys bends a knee to Cersei. The Night King freezes water to gain access to King's Landing, and Daenerys learns from Bran that she must destroy the Weirwood tree at Winterfell. Incidentally, this act destroys all magic, resulting in Jon’s inevitable death. Daenerys ultimately kills the Night King, and she’s revealed to be carrying Jon’s child. Tyrion later acknowledges Daenerys as the rightful heir to the throne, and a five-year flash forward sequence closes out the series. Check out the Think Story video below, which addresses alternative endings for Cersei, Jaime, Arya, and Ellaria Sand.

 

HBO's Game of Thrones has ended, but people continue to muse about the season 8 experience. A fan edit shows Jon Snow apologizing for the final season, and actress Lena Headey admitted that she wanted a “better death” for her character Cersei. Actor Kit Harington entered rehab due to anxiety and other issues associated with being on the show, and even astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has chimed in about Game of Thrones season 8. 

Given that George R.R. Martin is still working on the final two books for the Game of Thrones novel series, long-time fans will continue to compare and contrast the books with the television show. And since HBO has a prequel series in the works, it doesn’t appear that Game of Thrones will lose pop culture momentum anytime soon. Based on the popularity of Think Story’s video, YouTubers will undoubtedly continue to produce Game of Thrones-inspired videos about what could’ve been.