Game Of Thrones Season 8: 8 Criticisms Which Are Fully Unjustified

Cast your mind back to Season 5 and honestly state that you didn’t wish they’d ramp up the pace a little.

Game of Thrones did a great job of realising the source material. From the novel A Game of Thrones, right through to A Dance with Dragons, this was a hell of a feat. Trouble is, George R.R. Martin had all kinds of tricks up his sleeve to keep his sprawling narrative pacy, which was great in the books but simply would not have worked in a TV series.

So instead, there was a sinking feeling that the story was kind of grinding to a halt, with characters often tripping up on themselves and repeatedly falling into the same jam. Then Jon Snow supposedly died. It was frustrating.

With Martin working so close with the show's creators, there is no doubt that much of what resulted Season 6 and onward was with his input. But the pace needed increasing or the most pivotal moments would have rested firmly in the past, which doesn't make for great TV at any angle. We all wanted it. We got it.