For Sake Of Expedience, Game of Thrones Showrunners Have Thrown Character Development Out The Window

'Game of Thrones' is almost over and all over the world fans who have loved the show to the point of obsession are asking themselves, was it worth it? There is no doubt that 'GoT season 8' has excelled at the technical aspect, the last episode 'The Bells' was a visual masterpiece. The cinematography, the music were all par excellence. The showrunners and the lead actors promised us spectacle and they delivered. But that is not enough, there has to character development as well. Everyone who follows the show (except people who named their daughters Daenerys) knew that Dany was going to go Mad Queen in the end.

It’s always where her arc was headed after all the woman burns people alive. Yes we were rooting for her and they were her enemies and until this point mostly people who deserved it, like the slavers and the Khals. Still a person has to be twisted to do that. So it’s not like Dany’s turn came out of nowhere.

Daenerys has always been ruthless where her enemies were concerned but she has also been the one that cares for the little guy. Her whole thing was breaker of chains and protecting innocents. So when she burns the entire Kings Landing, after she has won seems senseless.

Yes, Daenerys has always been power hungry and single minded about winning the Iron Throne to the point of obsession but she has never been about slaughtering innocents. Yes, she has suffered huge losses in the last 5 episodes, two of her dragons died and she considered them her children. Her closest adviser Sir Jorah was killed while trying to protect her. Missendai her closest friend was killed mercilessly in front of her eyes. She lost half of her forces and the man she loves won’t return her affections, at least not the way she wants him too. Not to mention that he has a better claim to the throne. She feels that nobody loves her in Westeros and one of her advisor is conspiring to kill her.

All the plot points are there. The issue is execution. We as an audience needed to see and process Dany’s turn towards the dark side. It was too quick and abrupt. Simply put, what this and the last season needed was more episodes.In this mad rush to wrap up the series, the showrunners have assassinated characters that they carefully built over six seasons.

And then there is Cersei death. Cersei Lannister is the most compelling character on the show we love to hate her. Not only does this season barely feature her but Cersei, one of the toughest characters dies begging for her life and to top it all she is killed by falling debris! You killed Cersei Lannister by bricks. She deserved a more epic death.

Now let’s come to Jamie Lannister. Jamie’s entire 'Game of Thrones' journey has been about redemption. In the first episode of the show he pushes a child out of the window yet we love him now. That is the genius of this character but in the end, all the investment is for naught. He goes back to square one.

I know it’s impossible to please everybody and fandoms of pop culture sensations like 'GoT' are particularly tricky. An excellent example if this is the way the Star Wars fandom reacted to 'The Last Jedi', one of the most decisive movies of the franchise. But as someone who has loved 'Game of Thrones' since the start and not just because it’s a popular opinion, I feel that the showrunners did a disservice to this phenomenal show by not giving enough time to wrap it up properly.