Petition on ‘Thrones’ gathers steam
None of them. They’re not the type of people I would like to be associated with. The world has replaced truth with popularity. Being cool is more important than being real. And being real is portrayed as being crude and not giving a f***… and we wonder why the world is on its head. I have chosen a different path for myself.
What has captured your attention on social media this week ?
Survivor SA season 7. My wife, Steffi Brink, is a contestant. #Teamsteffi all the way. Can you tell I’m a proud husband?
What is one thing that most people don’t know about Clint Brink?
That with your powers combined, I am Captain Planet.
TIMOTHY BELLA
IF MORE than three-quarters of a million disgruntled Game of Thrones fans had their way, dragons would unmercifully torch the eighth season of the HBO hit.
A Change.org petition demanding the final season be remade “with competent writers” has transformed this week into a fire-breathing dragon of vitriol aimed at showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss ahead of tomorrow’s series finalé.
The petition, started by a viewer on Sunday, had collected about 760 000 signatures by yesterday, reflecting how a section of fans want to say “Dracarys” to the season.
“David Benioff and DB Weiss have proven themselves to be woefully incompetent writers when they have no source material (ie, the books) to fall back on,” the petitioner wrote.
“This series deserves a final season that makes sense.”
Among the complaints about the truncated six-episode season are a perceived lack of care in editing, from the Battle of Winterfell being so dark that people had a hard time seeing it, to Jon Snow’s indifference towards his beloved direwolf, Ghost, being a product of visual effects limitations. (And that’s not even mentioning the coffee cup that made it into a scene.)
But more significant concerns have marred this season. There was a strong female leader essentially attributing the shaping of her character to the rape and torture she suffered in past seasons. The death of one of the show’s few characters of colour came while the person was in chains.
The backlash hasn’t stopped fans from sending off Game of Thrones with its best ratings ever. Entertainment Weekly reported that the show is averaging 43 million viewers per episode in total audience this season, factoring in DVR playback, streaming and repeat viewings – a weekly increase of 10 million viewers from last season.
This week, Benioff and Weiss were officially announced as the writers and directors for a new Star Wars film coming in December 2022.
But as some die-hard fans made clear in this week’s viral petition, they have already made up their minds about the showrunners and their next endeavour.
“I don’t want these two anywhere near Star Wars, either,” one fan wrote in the petition. “This was abysmal.”