RogueLeader said:
Game of Thrones came back to my mind recently, and I began thinking again about how one could potentially edit the final season to make the conclusion more satisfying. I know there have been many interesting rewrites across the internet, but I think a general consensus would agree that it is likely impossible to make a wholly satisfying conclusion given what we have to work with. After seeing so many people wrack their brains (including myself) trying to think of a better ending, it isn’t uncommon to see frustrated fans half-joke that having the Night King win…
I remember the week before The Long Night episode premiered, everyone was speculating on who was going to die. Jorah? Brienne? Jaime? Now, imagine how shocked audiences would have been if the Night King actually won, and all of our heroes died. Really, nothing like that has ever really happened in the history of television, at least for one of the most popular shows in the world. I know I mentioned earlier that I was trying to figure out a more satisfying ending to the show, and this probably would have been the least satisfying ending possible, but maybe it would have been the ending we needed.
As the show went on, we slowly learned that all of the politics and fighting did not matter in the face of what was to come. Winter is Coming. It was the show’s tag line from the beginning. If the show had ended by killing all of beloved characters, many people would have hated it, but in a way, it could have been a huge wake up call for people our own existential threat we all face, and what the consequences would be if we don’t do something about it. Your character arcs, your fan theories, your lore, your entertainment, your game of thrones, none of it matters in the end if this problem isn’t solved.
In this story, clearly the threat of the White Walkers is the warning that was disregarded until it was too late.
I am not trying to say that this would have been objectively the best possible ending for the show, but I think this type of fan edit could at the very least work as an alternate ending to the series that tries to make a thought-provoking conclusion, and arguably be more true to the themes of the series, rather than succumbing to Hollywoodization.
I also think, from a practical standpoint, it would require less bending over backwards to try and piece together an improved ending. Obviously it would shorten the already short season, but I imagine it playing out something like this:
I think it would be interesting to take it further. We could then fade back in to a sequence of scenes where we see King’s Landing being burned by a dragon, but instead of orange flames, they would be blue. Confirming the Night Kong’s victory at Winterfell and subsequent destruction of civilization. We could even see Euron’s fleet be destroyed by the wight dragon (but make them be at Pyke), as well as reusing recolored shots of the Battle of Slaver’s Bay to show that the White Walkers eventually reach Essos, and spread across the world. I imagine the last shot could be of the Iron Throne covered in snow and the hall in ruins (editing the shots to mask out anyone who might be in them), showing that in the end, none of it really mattered because Westeros failed to come together in time.
Perhaps you could add some kind of epilogue to show spring eventually return, and show the some people did manage to survive (except now civilization will basically have to start over). This footage could be pulled from other material. Or, maybe The Long Night could be cut in a way to show that some people managed to escape Winterfell, namely, Jon, Tormund, Ghost, and some other random people. Then, the epilogue of Jon going beyond the Wall with Free Folk could be reinterpreted as Jon and the small group of survivors going to hide beyond the wall until their distant dream of spring finally becomes reality. But personally, I think I would prefer a more somber ending, where no character survives the Long Night, and we are left to contemplate the meaning of it all.
Anyway, these are just my thoughts regarding a potential fan edit. It is an appealing idea to me, not only for thematic reasons, but also because it would be less time consuming to make than to edit the entirety of Season 8 (and potentially Season 7 as well). Just edit one episode, The Long Night, and include a brief epilogue to leave the audience to thinking.
I agree with you all the way. Anjohan is figuring out how to deal with the last two seasons for his series to movie approach. One of his ideas is:
Bran Stark is the Night King. Upon becoming the Three Eyed Raven, what he really became - was the Night King. This is why he is so distant and mysterious. He’s really the bad guy, in his final form, plotting his last moves. The Night King of the White Walkers is what he once was, but is no more - and therefore ending his former self, like in the clip above, does not matter to him no more
He suggested that the NK kills Arya (via vfx with some blood on his face), bran warging into Aryas body and hit the final blow.
I think that would work perfectly as far as the source materials allows such drastic change to the ending.
There would be a lot off-screen killing (Jamie, Brian, Sam, Jon, Sansa etc.) but maybe there is a half-believable option due to switch the fight at kings landing and the long night.
Anjohans thread: https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Idea-Wanted-for-solving-Game-of-Thrones-The-Ending-Chapters/id/78072
