Season 7 was the one of the biggest seasons of all, from CGI effects to monstrous production values, marketing and hype everything was topnotch from a technical standpoint. Yet as it concluded with its finale yesterday, people were getting mixed feelings. Not the usual separation anxiety of waiting for the next one, but something was off about this season and i'll show you why.

Here be Dragons and Spoilers!

#1 Too much Fanservice

From emotional reunions(there's a lot), to satisfying deaths(as usual), epic battles and CGI, and tying up loose strings from the previous seasons, there's a lot to like about this season. You can see it everywhere, reactions being recorded from GOT viewing parties, people cheer, jeer laugh and cry. People love it, too much however to a fault...

FANSERVICE

If the word isn't too familiar, you're probably not much of a fan of Anime. It's a term used when producers opt to create scenes or favor the plot for the audiences delight. You can spot it from a mile away, unnecessary and(or) excessive love interests, panty shots or sexy scenes, and other eye candy scenes included. As the word implies, its to serve the fans rather than the Art of movie making or the story itself.

They even showed Jon Snow's ass again(a double i heard) much to the delight of the ladies

While GOT hasn't been shy in giving it out in the previous seasons, it was in little spurts and had no impact whatsoever with the main story line. The romance of Daenerys and Jon Snow, heck even their sex scene was forced. The reunions of Brienne and Jaime, Sansa and Arya, Hound and Brienne, Gendry and Thoros, Cersei and Tyrion, Jaime and Tyrion, Bronn and Tyrion, Jorah and Dany, Sam and Bran, Hotpie and sansa, Jon Snow and Sansa, Arya and Nymeria, Theon and Jon, The clegane brothers reunion and their scene was just awkward and forced.

While it does make the heart happy, the fans happy, too much of it hurts. Feels like a fan directed the season.

Perhaps the best fanservice scene of em all, but the build up and timing was just right

You don't get the fans wanting for more, because you've given it all. There's a beauty in not giving and saying no. The red wedding wasn't fanservice in the least but it gave fans frustration and passion, you make them choose sides where there were none. Then this season sort of ended that when Arya killed all the Freys in cyclical fashion.

arya walder frey game of thrones.jpg Revenge was supposedly sweet, but was it?

And while people might say it's the show's way of starting to tie up loose ends and uniting everyone against a common foe, this season was rushed for it. A mere preparation for season 8, which leads me to my next point.

#2 It's rushing to the finish line

It's the shortest season ever, with fewer episodes but supposedly boasting longer run times. Next season will be even shorter with 6 episodes. With that said, 60 episodes in, you try and tie them all up in seven to finally prepare for the final season what do you get? A rushed plot with too many holes it could sink a tanker.

What happened after Greyworm and his merry cockless men were trapped and left without food stores?

Fast track to the season finale episode 7 where they were never heard of or even mentioned since episode three and voila

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Ah there they are perfectly healthy and cockless!

It's presumed they were able to mobilize after Euron's navy were called off. You then have the plot hole of on how they survived and if Euron did indeed besiege them after destroying their ships? Too much and too glaring not to even mention.

Speaking of ships...

maxresdefault (2).jpg Tada! 1000 ships

Euron's ability to create 1000 or so ships from scratch from the previous season. Where did he get the manpower? the iron born are torn between Yara and him, if they weren't even able to hold the north with their men, how were they able to amass and man so many ships with a civil war brewing in between? An armada that size would require a lifetime to build even with the right personnel. Not to mention how he is able to teleport his navy from King's landing to Yara's fleet for an ambush.

Speaking of teleportation...

Just in the nick of time eh?

No respect for time and space at all. So many characters teleport from one place to another, makes the pacing feel rushed. Dany saving Jon snow and co is a DEUX EX MACHINA, a no no for fiction book lovers, oh wait there's no book.

The seasons is littered with these nuances and while the previous seasons patiently covered different perspectives from different characters which gave everyone a well rounded development, it narrows down to the popular ones leaving the rest feeling rushed and incomplete. This is not the Game of thrones politicking we used to love.(more on this on my next point)

#3 The politicking has dumbed-down

I could also rephrase that as, "The writing has dumbed-down"

I miss this guy already...the Season 1-6 guy

The script is odd, the conversations are predictable, feels like they were grabbed from a fictional reddit GOT fan page. Character development as ceased, and has narrowed down like a speeding bullet.

It's as if everyone has been laid bare, no more mysteries(there are some still left) and no more backstabbing or scheming. Sure there was Littlefinger doing his thing at Winterfell but that pales in comparison to what he did with Ned, what the Lannisters did with Robb, what the Night watch did with Jon Snow.

There were parallel arcs who were moving at the same pace since season 1, Some characters haven't even met yet. When they merged it for this season, they failed to produce others overarching arch and made it look like your typical save the world fantasy.

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What used to be the Game of Thrones, is now a game against life and death

The beauty of the earlier seasons was that you can root for just about anyone, and each of their actions were justifiable for the sake of their houses and their selves. No lines were drawn, the game is fair play for everyone, now you're face. Now it's against good vs evil, living and the dead.

While there was indeed foreshadowing ever since episode one that it would reach a climax wherein people must set aside their differences for something greater, this is no excuse for Game of Thrones to turn into Lord of the Rings.

#4 It no longer respect the books

Casterly Rock was supposed to be a huge city comparable to King's Landing. Instead we see a glimpse of it impregnated from the inside. Highgarden as well, They were mysteries since the previous season and gave a sense of how expansive and immersive the GOT experience is.. That is until they were shown haphazardly and as mere footnotes. Could be a logistics problem, a budget problem, it is a TV series after all.

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Is Jon snow Aegon Targaryen VI or VII? whatever

Jon Snow being revealed as Aegon, would be a big slap to the book since Aegon VI the son of Rhaegar and Elia Martell was known to have survived and reemerge as Young Griff who allegedly is Daenerys' nephew and Jon's half brother. Either Jon was meant to be Aegon VII or the producers have no plan in introducing a character this far off in the series with no proper development. Either way, it's not following how Georeg R.R. Martin mapped it out to end.

Then there's Arya stark fulfilling what should've been her mother's role.

The books aren't finished, an while GOT and co has survived long enough without back bone material, you can't help but connect the dots if the outlandish writing is due to the producer's covering up the book and creating their own.

#5 There's bravery then there's stupidity

Tactics all over the place.

Plot holes continue to hurt. Venturing north of the wall while you're king with no raven being sent whatsoever to Winterfell, All for the sake of forming a "Suicide Squad" which screams fanservice by the way is by no means a very stupid idea. Capturing a wight to convince Cersei? Her body guard is a monster! She'd mistake it for sorcery and magic rather than the Night king fairy tale.

What was the original plan of the Night King? was it to wait for a dragon to just fly by and shoot it down? Was he able to predict the stupidity of mortals that they would fly a dragon there so he could steal it to destroy the wall? What if Jon Snow didn't go? What if Dany didn't go? The whole finale and possible the season opener for next season hinges on those questions and it sucks. While you can choose to ignore it and just enjoy the show, you can;t help but ask... why?

Taking Casterly rock with spears on ladders? Good luck with that

Euron knowing where Yara's fleet is while Highgarden not noticing an army mobilizing against it is just stupid. It's like scouts applied to one and not with the other.

Mycroft.. i mean the Ironbank... Siding with Cersei despite the opposition's three dragons

As if the Iron bank hasn't see those Dragons in action back in Essos.

#6 The Mystery is gone

This is inevitable i must admit, but some things are left unsaid.

She spilled the beans... could've added more drama had she not

The white walkers revealed all but their true intentions, who killed Joffrey, who owns the dagger that was used in the assassination attempt to Bran, Jon Snow's Lineage, Robert Baratheon's rebellion was a lie, Jon Snow solidifies himself as the Azor Ahai(yet to be revealed however but is a giveaway at this point)

While most of those things have been mentioned or implied, it's literally screaming at our face right now.

In Conclusion

The holes, the inconsistencies, the oversimplification of tactics, the stagnation of character development, all break the immersive Game of Thrones experience. Instead of looking at it and say this is practically what people at that age would've done

Don't get me wrong Game of Thrones is still by far the king of fantasy television, heck even fantasy itself. It's just sad to see it veer off from good writing and the politicking that we've all grown to love.

Let's hope that the six final episodes are not more of the same, there won't be a remake anytime soon.

P.S. I loved Spoils of War and Dragonstone, they had their moments.