The eighth and final season of the fantasy drama television series Game of Thrones, produced by HBO, premiered on April 14, 2019, and concluded on May 19, 2019.
The season was filmed from October 2017 to July 2018 and largely consists of original content not found in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, while also incorporating material that Martin has revealed to showrunners about the upcoming novels in the series, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring.
While the performances, production values and music score were praised, criticism was mainly directed at the shorter runtime of the season as well as numerous creative decisions made by the showrunners regarding the plot and character arcs.
Despite the mixed reception, the season received 32 nominations at the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards, the most for a single season of television in history,[1] and ultimately won twelve, including Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Peter Dinklage.
In the first half of the season, Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen and many of the main characters converge at Winterfell to face the Dead.
During the battle, Bran lures the Night King into the open where Arya destroys him; the army of White Walkers and wights crumbles.
The second half of the season resumes the war for the throne as Daenerys suffers losses until she finally assaults King's Landing upon Drogon, her last dragon.
The leaders of Westeros choose Bran Stark as King, who grants the North independence and appoints Tyrion Lannister his Hand.
HBO announced the eighth and final season of the fantasy drama television series Game of Thrones in July 2016.
[35][36] Like the previous season, it largely consists of original content not found in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series.
He explained that the ends of both the television and the book series would unavoidably be thematically similar, although Martin could still make some changes to surprise the readers.
"[39] Series creators and executive producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss serve as showrunners for the eighth season.
"[48] HBO confirmed in July 2016 that the seventh season would consist of seven episodes and would premiere later than usual in mid-2017 because of the later filming schedule.
[53] A two-hour documentary, Game of Thrones: The Last Watch, which documents the making of the eighth season, aired on May 26, the week after the series finale.
[a] The website's critical consensus reads: "Game of Thrones' final season shortchanges the women of Westeros, sacrificing satisfying character arcs for spectacular set-pieces in its mad dash to the finish line".
[69] "The Long Night" was praised for the cinematography and grand scale of the battle between the living and the dead,[70] but was criticized for what was considered its lack of catharsis, disorienting lighting, and the anticlimactic ending of the White Walker storyline that had been built up for seven seasons.
[79] "The Iron Throne" was described as "divisive", and according to Rotten Tomatoes, the series finale represents "a modest rebound" but it "went out with a whimper".
"[85] Zack Beauchamp of Vox wrote that it "dispensed almost entirely with trying to make sense of its characters' internal motivations—let alone the complex political reality that its psychological realism initially helped create".
[87] Writing for USA Today, Kelly Lawler felt that the series ultimately betrayed its "identity" of "tragedy and injustice" with a "pandering" ending.
"[91] Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Maureen Ryan condemned what she considered the season's reductive treatment of women, and "decisions set up and executed with little or no foresight or thoughtfulness", declaring the penultimate episode "The Bells" as "Game of Thrones at its worst".
[103][104] Digital Spy reported that some fans of the series criticized the season for the way it handled several character arcs and the "rushed" pacing.
[110] Emilia Clarke (who plays Daenerys Targaryen) indicated she was previously unaware of the petition, but gave a warmer response when she was asked what she would want to see happen if the eighth season were redone: "I can only speak to my own character, and the people that I interact with on the show.
[111] Richard Roeper, writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, wrote: "Over all, though, it was a solid and largely satisfying wrap-up to one of the most exciting and enthralling TV series ever".
[116] Harington later said he expected the ending was going to divide fans, and he was concerned the final two episodes would be deemed sexist: "We have Cersei and Dany, two leading women, who fall".
Harington also said he was disappointed his character Jon did not kill the Night King, yet added "it was a really great twist, and it tied up Maisie's journey in a really beautiful way.
Emmanuel, the only woman of color who was a regular cast member for the last several seasons, said, "It's safe to say that Game of Thrones has been under criticism for their lack of representation, and the truth of it is that Missandei and Grey Worm have represented so many people because there's only two of them.
Hill reacted with "dismay" to Varys apparently "losing his knowledge", commenting, "If he was such an intelligent man and he had such resources, how come he didn't know about things?"
Also, once the series ran out of book material as a source, Hill said that "special niche interest in weirdos wasn't as effective as it had been".
Fellow actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Headey discussed it and then appreciated the scene, viewing it as "the perfect ending" for Cersei and Jaime as they "came into the world together and now they leave together".
[117] Joe Dempsie (Gendry) also expressed disappointment over the series' finale, as did former cast members Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister) and Natalia Tena (Osha), though Dempsie also dismissed claims that Benioff and Weiss rushed the season, saying, "Working with them for a number of years, I know the last thing they wanted is for almost a decade of work to be undone by a final season that didn’t hit the mark.