TV, BOOKS & CULTURE
Stick The (King’s) Landing: How Game Of Thrones Did What The Sopranos, Lost, And Dexter Couldn’t Do
The ultimate guide to GOT’s final episode
[WARNING: SPOILERS]
Three years have passed since the devastation, but a new day has dawned. George R.R. Martin’s prequel, The House of the Dragon, has risen again, bringing new perspectives on the show that seemed to die a fiery death. Prepare for a shock. I’m about to defend the guys I dumped on since the beginning of Season 7.
While the burning of King’s Landing was horrific, the true crime against humanity was what show runners Benioff and Weiss did to the last two seasons.
I was so mad I wrote GOT song parodies, fan fiction, and a scene where Samuel L. Jackson gave them a Pulp Fiction-style lesson in screenwriting basics.
But somehow, GOT’s final episode gave us just enough suspense, pathos and fan service to save the show’s legacy.
Given the way “The Double-D Patrol” messed up those last two seasons, the series finale had the same chance as this prayer hoisted up by Kawhi Leonard during the 2019 NBA Playoffs.
And yet the ending of this all-time great TV show was good enough to give me something I haven’t been able to do for three years — it allowed me to suspend my disbelief.
And so I stand before you, a lone voice in the wilderness beyond the Wall, ready to swear before the Weirwood trees:
“I am the shield that guards the realms of TV, and I will not let the last…
