Once upon a time, if you didn’t like a movie or TV show, you complained about it to your friends (or just people who would listen) and that was that. But what a wondrous age we live in now! Frustrated fans can commiserate together, or send their complaints directly at the despised work’s creators, through social media. Or if they really want to get the creators’ attention, they can mobilize that ultimate weapon: the online petition.
And that’s precisely what some Game of Thrones fans have done. The show’s final season has had its share of controversial creative choices — from an underlit and under-deadly Battle of Winterfell to the execution of the sole prominent woman of color left in the cast — but last week’s penultimate episode, “The Bells,” launched a whole new set of complaints. (Daenerys’ Mad Queen turn was unearned! Cersei and Jaime’s death was anticlimactic! Seriously, what the hell was ever up with Euron Greyjoy?) So now, some irate fans have launched a Change.org petition urging HBO to remake the final season without Emmy-winning writer-showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
The petition argues that Benioff and Weiss “have proven themselves to be woefully incompetent writers when they have no source material (i.e. the books) to fall back on. This series deserves a final season that makes sense. Subvert my expectations and make it happen, HBO!”
HBO did not immediately respond to EW’s request for comment.
Of course, the idea that HBO would remake the biggest and most logistically complex season of television ever conceived is ludicrous. Even in an age where fans’ ire can prompt a CGI character’s redesign mere months before a film’s release, sometimes you just have to, in grade-school parlance, get what you get and not throw a fit. Of course, everyone’s entitled to their opinion, and signing a petition like this one can be an outlet for frustration. At the time of this writing, more than 40,000 people have signed. (For reference, HBO says season 8 of GoT is averaging 43 million viewers per episode in total audience, factoring in DVR playback, streaming, and repeats.)
Game of Thrones’ sure-to-be-divisive series finale airs Sunday.
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HBO’s epic fantasy drama based on George R.R. Martin’s novel series “A Song of Ice and Fire.”