Is it worth buying the last season of Game of Thrones?

[Brian G Turner]

I've managed to avoid spoilers for the final season of Game of Thrones - but what little I have heard is a huge amount of discontentment at how the story is finally playing out. I suspect a lot of characters are dying for no apparent reason, making all the investment in them so far completely meaningless.

I was originally planning to buy the digital episodes on Amazon Video this week - but I'm beginning to think I should just save my money, read all the episode synopses, just to know how it all plays out.

So, without giving any spoilers, would it really be worth spending money to watch this, or - if I just want to know what happens - I'm better off saving a ton of frustration and just reading the episode breakdowns instead?

EDIT: So having now watched it, I can safely say: Yes, it is definitely worth watching.

 

[CTRandall]

Ditto here. Not sure I want to pay to be uber-disappointed.

 

[svalbard]

I might not be the best judge on this but I say go ahead and get it. For me it is one of the best seasons. Not so much for others. It has its faults, what is perfect though?

It is spectacular to look at it. Nothing on TV can match it for visuals. Not many feature movies either for that matter.

 

[AlexH]

I always prefer to make my own mind up, whatever people say. Watch it and make your own mind up!

I haven't regretted signing up to NowTV (the first time I've ever had anything other than terrestrial TV) to watch it. The big bonus has been the airing of Chernobyl at the same time.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I’ve loved it.

 

[The Big Peat]

As TV in its own right, I've found it up and down. Some episodes have felt like filler; some episodes have suffered from big technical flaws in the filming. Some moments have felt incredibly satisfying, some episodes have been breathtaking. The internal logic has been shaky, but no more shaky than most big budget action movies.

As a continuation of the story, I want my money back.

The question is obviously about what youse like. If you've had no major criticisms of the seasons beyond the books you've watched so far and like Marvel style Hollywood action extravaganzas, you may well like it. But caveat emptor otherwise.

 

[Luiglin]

I've managed to avoid spoilers for the final season of Game of Thrones - but what little I have heard is a huge amount of discontentment at how the story is finally playing out. I suspect a lot of characters are dying for no apparent reason, making all the investment in them so far completely meaningless.

I was originally planning to buy the digital episodes on Amazon Video this week - but I'm beginning to think I should just save my money, read all the episode synopses, just to know how it all plays out.

So, without giving any spoilers, would it really be worth spending money to watch this, or - if I just want to know what happens - I'm better off saving a ton of frustration and just reading the episode breakdowns instead?

Get a NowTV account. The first 7 days are free and if you have pay for a month it's only £7.99. You can cancel before paying a second month. It's what I have done.

And yes, it is worth it. There are some parts that, from a historical part of view concerning warfare made me groan but I understood why the writers/directors did it. All those folks getting annoyed seem to be more disappointed that the show hasn't finished exactly how they envisaged it would. This to me is a good thing.

Also, if you follow the GoT official YouTube channel then they have behind the scenes documentaries for many of the episodes that involved large battle scenes (ie the ice lake, Hardhome, Battle of the B@stards) which make fascinating viewing.

EDIT: careful though as it does contain ones for Season 8 episodes.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Get a NowTV account. The first 7 days are free and if you have pay for a month it's only £7.99. You can cancel before paying a second month. It's what I have done.

Now tv is where I’m getting it from too

 

[L.L.Lotte]

It's still not bad, even with all the complaints. And the people doing the complaining will still watch the final episode.

While I understand the frustrations, I'm not getting anywhere near worked up about it as most people on the internet seem to be because the worst of the complaints is completely subjective and depends on the individual person. Few people saw the foreshadowing and completely expected what happened to happen, many others missed it and were shocked and upset, and some aren't surprised, but think the show didn't do a good enough job foreshadowing.

It really depends on which of the three camps you end up in and nobody can answer that for you. So, I say go ahead and get it.

 

[Dave]

Don't listen to the complaints. There are characters who you are not going to get closure for, but it is spectacular (although the darkness in the 3rd episode makes that hard to see) and it will get to the same ending as the books. Some of the dialogue could be better, and with more time, the narrative could have been better drawn out. It is what it is, plus you are never going to avoid spoilers until the book is published. One day, in some place, you will see who sits on the iron Throne at the end in any case, and all that avoidance will be in vain.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Get a NowTV account. The first 7 days are free and if you have pay for a month it's only £7.99.

That's a good idea, actually - if I buy the episodes on Amazon they'll be twice the price.

Also, today my eldest looked up spoilers on who sits on the Iron Throne at the end, and she's ranting against it. I struggle to imagine who could generate such negative feelings, but I guess I'll see for myself soon enough.

 

[Luiglin]

That's a good idea, actually - if I buy the episodes on Amazon they'll be twice the price.

Also, today my eldest looked up spoilers on who sits on the Iron Throne at the end, and she's ranting against it. I struggle to imagine who could generate such negative feelings, but I guess I'll see for myself soon enough.

If you time it well you could watch all 6 episodes in the trial week. Just remember to cancel before the 7th day

As a side note, I thoroughly enjoyed it and thought it wrapped the series up well.

 

[CTRandall]

There are some parts that, from a historical part of view concerning warfare made me groan

You mean no one used dragons in medieval warfare? Or whitewalkers? Well that settles it, there's no way I'm going to spend good money on uninformed drivel like that!

 

[Luiglin]

You mean no one used dragons in medieval warfare? Or whitewalkers? Well that settles it, there's no way I'm going to spend good money on uninformed drivel like that!

I won't explain due to spoilers. I know it's a fantasy series but some of the stuff was just plain daft. Adult fantasy has to have basis in reality, otherwise it'd just be dismissed.

 

[L.L.Lotte]

I won't explain due to spoilers. I know it's a fantasy series but some of the stuff was just plain daft. Adult fantasy has to have basis in reality, otherwise it'd just be dismissed.

Yes, there is no plausible argument anybody could make against that. That's the basis for the complaints; everything about this season could have been handled better. But I still think it is among the best of TV in all of history.

 

[picklematrix]

Might as well watch for the spectacle. There is a lot of good cinematography, and some neat action.
They get high marks for style, but not for substance.

Some of the decisions were genuinely baffling. Even A few small tweaks would gave improved the season vastly.

 

[CTRandall]

@Luiglin I get your point and agree. It just struck me as funny that, in this context, historical inaccuracy was the point that irked you. The appearance of anachronistic details (piano or guitar in medieval fantasy, for example) can really mar an otherwise excellent story for me, as well. I suspect that is not the major concern for most viewers, though, or the biggest source of fan displeasure. It takes a real geek (and I mean that in a good way!) to pick out historical inaccuracies as a major sticking point in GoT.

 

[The Big Peat]

@Luiglin I get your point and agree. It just struck me as funny that, in this context, historical inaccuracy was the point that irked you. The appearance of anachronistic details (piano or guitar in medieval fantasy, for example) can really mar an otherwise excellent story for me, as well. I suspect that is not the major concern for most viewers, though, or the biggest source of fan displeasure. It takes a real geek (and I mean that in a good way!) to pick out historical inaccuracies as a major sticking point in GoT.

While admittedly guessing at what Luiglin is referencing, they're pretty glaring and arguably as much (or more) failures of internal logic than adherence to medieval norms.

As I keep trying to work out where the dividing line is in the GoT fandom for this series, I do think that the people who saw this as a show that was deliberately close to a historical reality and strong on plot logic are mostly on the "Boo" side of the argument, and those who saw a fun romp with great visuals and cool characters are mostly "Yay". And those who liked both of those things are all over the place

 

[Luiglin]

@CTRandall and @The Big Peat - don't get me wrong. I've thoroughly enjoyed the show from the start to the inevitable end - far more than the books which, in my opinion, grew more and more plot lines than I think Martin can tie up.

I also understand why the writers/directors did things like they did, after all they are presenting a spectacle.

It comes from my own defence for Season 8 against a vehement fan who thought it was terrible. I had to pick one part that annoyed me and riled them to go on from there.

 

[Dave]

A TV reviewer in the Metro newspaper this morning gave it some faint praise. He said that, at least it was better than the endings of Dexter and Lost.