After eight years and 73 episodes full of blood and fire, HBO's Game of Thrones (GoT) saga has finally ended.
Game of Thrones' season 8 finale came out overnight, and whatever the ratings, it will go down in history as a global pop culture phenomenon, joining the likes of Harry Potter and Star Wars.
The internet these days is full of viewers and critics digesting content and relaying their impression, but it would probably be appropriate to let each decide whether it lived up to their expectations.
But social media has been flooded with reactions, both exultant and disgruntled. So here comes a Grand Meme Review.
MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT: if you haven't seen the finale yet, beware that potentially unwanted information follows below.
Season 8 has been lambasted on social media for its perceived rushed writing and unrealistic character development. The finale was the moment all the hate towards the showrunners finally came out.
George rr Martin watching twitter after the finale so he knows what not to do in the books. #GameOfThrones #GOTFinale pic.twitter.com/Y7m0dAIAVb
— ~Sam~ (@ThereAnd_Square) 20 мая 2019 г.
Writers:#GameOfThronesFinale #GameOfThrones #GOTFinale pic.twitter.com/PYnsinHy2R
— Zedge (@kingzedge) 20 мая 2019 г.
me after final episode #GameOfThrones #GameOfThronesFinale #GoTFinale pic.twitter.com/nSdFeNzjU8
— oğuzhan (@theoguzhan1) 20 мая 2019 г.
— David Larson (@Dizzavy) 20 мая 2019 г.
GOT fans: The season finale better be good
— J A M E S (@James_Stapes8) 20 мая 2019 г.
GOT writers: #GOTFinale #GameofThrones pic.twitter.com/dN01ptahr1
#GameOfThronesFinale #GOTFinale The overview after the end. / Una vista general despues del final. 🙈 pic.twitter.com/DSTaMw7eiX
— Patricia Espinosa (@pespinosa14) 20 мая 2019 г.
After levelling the King's Landing in a flaming temper tantrum, the Mother of Dragons came out to her troops with Drogon spreading wings behind her. Fascinating indeed.
Dany with the wings was truly one of the most powerful scenes in tv history I’ve ever seen #GOTFinale pic.twitter.com/vlAoOMx754
— cait (@xxallblack) 20 мая 2019 г.
Drogon mourning over his so-called mother was arguably one of the most heart-breaking moments of the season.
I’ve known how the show ended for the last week but Drogon trying to wake up Dany is a pain I was NOT ready for #GOTFinale pic.twitter.com/TLCOm59VHj
— Kelsey Alexander (@kels_alexander) 20 мая 2019 г.
The Stark children, known as the 'wolf pack', survived — although fate has something different for each of them in store.
All the Starks turned out alright #GOTFinale pic.twitter.com/7ZGtaEwZZR
— Just1ce (@CadeJustice) 20 мая 2019 г.
It appears that Jon Snow's fate is intertwined with the North. The Ned Stark bastard-turned-Tagaryen heir was sent to the Night's Watch as punishment for slaying his aunt Daenerys, first of her name.
Jon Snow after getting told he's being sent to the Night's Watch #GameOfThrones #GOTFinale pic.twitter.com/kysD5Kb9GV
— kaitlyn blades (@kaitlyn_olyvia) 20 мая 2019 г.
To sweeten the pill, Jon Snow had a long-awaited reunion with his pet direwolf Ghost.
Basically this moment was more important than the whole episode #GOTFinale #TheFinalEpisode #GameOfThronesFinale pic.twitter.com/302lNutqPP
— Tyler Sommers (@ThatGuyPatches) 20 мая 2019 г.
Arya Stark, the newly minted Flat Earther, has embarked on a quest to find out what lies west of Westeros — and her trip has fans craving for a spin-off.
#GameOfThrones @Maisie_Williams Any chance of a Arya the Explorer spin off series? pic.twitter.com/1MNLqDhNNj
— GameOfThronesFanPage (@GameOfThronesFP) 20 мая 2019 г.
Perhaps, her lover Gendry Baratheon, the newly appointed Lord of Storm's End, could tag along.
When gendry hears Arya is going west #GameofThrones pic.twitter.com/HPJThZVt0E
— لیلا حسیناکبر (@LeilaHuseinakbr) 20 мая 2019 г.
Bran Stark assumed the highest office in the Seven Kingdoms, although he didn't seem to be quite impressed (like he ever was) with this promotion.
When you don’t contribute to the group project and still get an A #GameOfThrones #GOT #GOTFinale pic.twitter.com/QpYK4IyesK
— The Americanized French (@Ivyzenati) 20 мая 2019 г.
*Cersei, Dany, #JonSnow and everyone else fighting for the Iron Throne*
— Jèfé Juan José (@Jefe_says) 20 мая 2019 г.
Bran: Ama just let em finish #GOTFinale #TheFinalEpisode #GameofThrones pic.twitter.com/dMQIfAVCqI
#GOTFinale
— Tequila Sunrise (@tequilasnrse_) 20 мая 2019 г.
Parents: so you think life is going to reward you for doing nothing??!!
Me: pic.twitter.com/pvTamgg47s
When two incredibly capable women get passed up for the job so it can go to a less qualified man #GOTFinale pic.twitter.com/5utpKbpmil
— Slaytriarchy (@slaytriarchy) 20 мая 2019 г.
And some apparently believe that Bran's disability is a good punchline for a joke.
I guess we were wrong to rule you out bran 😂😂😂 #GOTFinale #GOT pic.twitter.com/zCuDRRy34L
— Matthew Williams (@Staga47) 20 мая 2019 г.
The final episode came amid the audience's growing frustration with the show. Many have claimed that the quality of Game of Thrones has dramatically deteriorated after the writers' source material has dried up, and that season 8 particularly lacked coherence.
Perhaps the ultimate sign of discontent was a viral online petition, which calls Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss "woefully incompetent writers" and urges HBO to disavow the last season and remake one that "makes sense".
The petition has garnered close to 1.2 million signatures as of the time of writing, but HBO has not commented on it so far and is seemingly unlikely to take steps to appease the critics.
