Game Of Thrones Season 8: 10 Things Fans HATED

8. Pacing

Let's get this one out the way.

No matter who you talk to (even George R.R. Martin), there is a clear issue with pacing and truncation across the final season. As George tells it, back in 2014 he bargained with Daniel and David to have 10 seasons. They fought back, saying they wouldn't go over seven, which was negotiated up to the 8 we ended up with.

As much as I can understand the want to not speak for almost a decade of your life ahead of time, after the announcement was made public that 8 seasons was our lot in 2016, it was assumed the remaining planned time would result in the tightest written episodes across the whole show.

Sadly, where previous seasons dedicated considerable time to character building, scenes of people travelling from place to place, or dissections of political strategies before they were implemented, Season 8 almost did the exact opposite. Characters would now "teleport" to wherever they were needed, every conversation exists at its most surface level (likely referencing fan forum posts or lines from past seasons), and any amount of strategising is all but eliminated.

Game of Thrones' final season felt like it was rushing to get somewhere the rest of us would've happily sauntered towards. Martin has said in followup interviews that he would've had "another five seasons", and though that might be overstuffed, what DnD did put together just feels hurried, no matter how you slice it.