Only Saving Grace in ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 8 Was Nearly Ruined by The Showrunners’ Crazy Logic
- The way Game of Thrones ended with its final season is still debatable, but it could have been worse.
- Night Wing, who was expected to be killed by Jon Snow, was almost killed by these two other characters.
- A ninth season of the show is certainly not going to happen according to Sophie Turner's recent comments.
Based on George R.R. Martin’s novel series A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones is undoubtedly one of the best fantasy shows in the history of TV. It premiered in 2011 and was aired for eight seasons until 2019. Fans loved the show to bits, but things took a drastic turn in the eighth and final season.
Several factors contributed to the mutual disappointment among fans about this season. One of the primary factors was the significance of the Night King. The only relief was that he was killed by Arya. However, even this was almost ruined by the showrunners for one sole reason.
Game of Thrones‘ Showrunners Were Well on Their Way to Ruin the One Thing That Fans Found Somewhat Satisfying
Since Martin’s books have nothing to do with the Night King and the events depicted in Game of Thrones Season 8, the showrunners were free to go in whichever direction they wished to go in that particular season. In fact, the Night King is not even a central figure in the books.
In the show, the much-awaited Battle of Winterfell happens in Episode 3 of Season 8. It features the forces of the living facing off against the Night King and his army of the dead. The fans were rooting for Jon Snow to kill Night Wing. However, it was Arya Stark who killed the villain which caught viewers by surprise.
However, it could have been even more disappointing if one of the two other characters that the showrunners had chosen were to kill Night Wing. In James Hibberd’s book Fire Cannot Kill A Dragon: Game of Thrones and the Official Untold Story of the Epic Series (via Screen Rant), the showrunners discussed the decision to have Arya kill the Night King. David Benioff said:
It had to be somebody with believable access to Valyrian steel. We didn’t want it to be Jon because he’s always saving the day. We talked about the Hound at one point, but we wanted his big thing to be Clegane Bowl. Ultimately it wouldn’t have felt right if it was Jon or Brienne or the Hound.
According to the showrunners, Jon was never going to be the one to do it. Thankfully, they also decided against having Brienne or the Hound do the deed as it would have made the final season even more disappointing than it already was.
Sophie Turner Seems Positive That Game of Thrones is Not Going to Have a Ninth Season
Sophie Turner played the role of the oldest Stark daughter, Sansa for all eight seasons of the acclaimed show. The transition from a young innocent girl to the Queen of the North was a long and tough journey for Sansa, who was crowned the queen at the end of Season 8.
In a recent interview with Variety, when asked if she would return as Sansa if there was a Season 9, she said:
Maybe. I mean, it would have to be the exact same cast and the exact same crew otherwise I wouldn’t go back and that would just be Season 9, and I don’t think we’re going to do a Season 9, but, I mean, I loved playing Sansa, and I do wonder often what would she be doing now.
She admitted that she would love to know how Sansa was doing now and other various aspects related to her. That said, the closest we ever came to a direct continuation of the series was the Jon Snow spin-off which would have seen Kit Harington return as the fan-favorite character Jon Snow.
Game of Thrones is available for streaming on Max.
