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Hi, {{first_name | friend}}! Welcome back to Worth the Watch. I have a very exciting update: I just finished watching Game of Thrones for the first time. When I started this journey in August, I only knew a few things about the legendary show: incest, lots of beloved character deaths, and a terrible, horrendous, insulting ending. Now that the dust has settled and I’ve formed my own opinion on the show’s conclusion, it’s time to share my thoughts and (unpopular) opinions with all of you.

If you didn’t know, I’ve been providing periodic updates throughout my Game of Thrones journey in Worth the Watch (read Part 1 and Part 2 here). So today, I’ll look back at which of my predictions about the show came true, answer some burning questions, and share my thoughts and feelings about the infamous series finale. But I have one important PSA before we dive in:

📢 The next film for our monthly Worth the Watch movie club is… The Shop Around the Corner. This 1940 holiday rom-com served as the inspiration for the beloved 1998 Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan film You've Got Mail, which, coincidentally, is getting a new remake, as announced earlier this week! To join in on the fun, watch the movie (it’s streaming on HBO Max) before Friday, December 4.

Now, let's get into it!

🚨Warning: spoilers below!🚨

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After watching the first couple of seasons, I wrote down my predictions for the rest of the series. Let’s see how prophetic I was…

Now let’s get into the polarizing finale:

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I’m torn on how to feel about Daenerys’ final move to conquer King’s Landing. On one hand, it’s frustrating to see a hero we’ve grown to love suddenly turn evil. Daenerys tried so hard not to end up like her father, and yet it still happened. It begs the question: Are all Targaryens destined to go mad? I can see how, if you had been watching the show as it aired from 2011 to 2019, it could feel like a slap in the face to realize that the character you’ve been cheering on for eight years ends her story by slaughtering thousands of innocent men, women, and children.

But on the other hand, I don’t think it’s the worst character arc the writers could’ve chosen for Daenerys. She is so blinded by her desire to “break the wheel” and become a liberator for the people of Westeros that she’s unable to see—or willing to overlook—the pain and destruction she’s causing. It’s a compelling, philosophical idea that was explored well enough, in my opinion.

—Tyrian Lannister

I didn’t hate the decision to make Bran the King of Westeros. It does feel a little odd that the new King of Westeros wasn’t in a single episode of Season 5, which was such a pivotal time in the story. But overall, it makes sense. Since Bran is the Three-Eyed Raven, he doesn’t have desires in the way that regular people do. He’s not driven by greed or ego, which seems like an incredibly valuable trait for a king. He’s a Stark, so he represents one of the most honorable and respected houses in the Seven Kingdoms. That said, I would’ve preferred to see Jon Snow or Tyrion take the throne, but I totally get why the writers went in a different direction.

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I really enjoyed seeing Jaime arrive at Winterfell to support the Starks in the fight against the White Walkers. I’m also so happy that Brienne of Tarth got to experience a fleeting romance with Jaime. As much as I would’ve loved to see Jaime abandon Cersei entirely, I understand why it didn’t happen. It felt like poetic justice to see these two hateful, incestuous siblings—Jaime and Cersei—die together beneath the Red Keep.

I asked my friend Joslyn, the resident Game of Thrones superfan at Pix, how she felt about Jamie’s arc, and I agree with everything she had to say:

—Joslyn, Game of Thrones fandom leader @ Pix

By the end of the series, Varys was my favorite character. For a lot of the show, it’s unclear what motivates him, other than survival. He’s this mysterious, sharp, spy-like figure that I was never quite sure about. In a series where loyalty and honor are such integral parts of almost every character’s journey, Varys was the only one who seemed loyal to no one. I kept wanting to learn more about what drives him, and I was thrilled that in the final few episodes, we finally learned what’s most important to him: protecting the innocent people of the realm. He cared so much about them that he was willing to die for them. Absolute legend.

—Lord Varys

The way people on the internet talked about the end of Game of Thrones made me think the entire show would fall apart and the last two seasons would be catastrophic disasters. But to my surprise, I didn’t hate any of it. When the credits rolled on S8E6, I texted my friends to ask, “What did fans hate so much about the end of GoT?” because I genuinely didn’t see any glaring issues or overly upsetting resolutions.

Yes, it felt rushed, and there was a noticeable drop in the quality of the writing once the show ran out of source material. But here's my potentially unpopular opinion: I think the ending of Game of Thrones is remembered as being far worse than it actually was. Fans spent eight years falling in love with these characters, imagining where their stories might lead, and waiting to see how it would all end. When the show didn't deliver the conclusions they'd hoped for, I think that disappointment turned into something much bigger than the actual shortcomings of the final seasons.

John Farrar went to film school, spent a few years as an editor, then accidentally built an audience online by sharing his passion for cinema. He covers film and TV for Pix Media, interviews the people behind some of your favorite shows and movies, and has never once successfully talked himself out of buying a movie ticket.