‘GoT’ fans brought out knives for finale
Spoiler alert: This story contains significant details from Sunday’s series finale of HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”
Not surprisingly, Sunday’s series finale of “Game of Thrones” induced heated fan reaction on social media.
The early Twitter returns leaned negative, with some harsh assessments, although other viewers found beauty in the visuals and were happy that Jon Snow (Kit Harington) reunited with his direwolf, Ghost. (Caveat: Social media tends to draw more intense responses, and those who are angry are more likely to make their feelings known.)
USA TODAY ran polls on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to see how fans felt about the finale. As of early Monday afternoon, a solid majority expressed dissatisfaction with the episode.
On Twitter, which had recorded 4,435 votes, 41% liked the finale and 59% did not. Of 5,600 votes cast on Facebook, 40% were pro and 60% con.
Be sure to vote, offer your comments and peek at the comments and replies.
Here are some fan reactions to the 80-minute finale, which saw Westeros and its inhabitants undergo numerous changes:
@bri_westover took it directly to David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the co-creators of the series who wrote and directed Sunday’s finale: “How the creators should feel after that episode.” To drive the point home, the comment was accompanied by the “Shame” nun who humiliated Cersei Lannister during her walk of shame in Season 5.
@Sasdspagetbowl found it hard to stomach the notion that “The Big Bang Theory,” which wrapped Thursday, got a better sendoff, writing, “The fact that the … Big Bang Theory got a better ending will haunt this fandom forever.”
One major bone of contention was the ascension of Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright). Many fans didn’t buy Tyrion’s (Peter Dinklage)’s rationale for putting the Three-Eyed Raven on the throne and felt the character had done nothing to merit it.
“When you do nothing in the group but still get an A,” huffed @glory_kth regarding the new king of the now-Six Kingdoms, who granted sister Sansa’s wish that the North become an independent kingdom once again.
@Thrones_Memes had a ready answer for Tyrion, who had asked, “Who has a better story than Bran?” Well, Tyrion, pretty much everyone – even your hooker ex Shay and Osha, Bran’s Wilding au pair.
“Bran started the show, let him finish it, @tmi_bytheangel argued, harking back to the defining moment in the pilot (and the character’s life) when Jaime Lannister crippled him and set the show in motion. “Am I the only one that thinks every thing that happened made perfect sense, for the most part?”
No matter how divisive the finale was, most fans loved seeing Jon’s affectionate reunion with his direwolf, Ghost, after their much-criticized parting in Episode 4, when Jon did not pet or embrace his loyal companion.
“Can we all agree this was the best part of the episode?” @bastacy217 wrote, captioning a photo of Jon finally petting his dog.
Speaking of beloved pets, @proudlylisa was moved by Drogon’s mournful discovery of the body of the mother of dragons, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke): “#GOTFinale #GOT best scene ever..”
@16695_atl was satisfied with Drogon’s decision to destroy the Iron Throne rather than roast her murderer (Jon), writing, “He didn’t kill Jon because he didn’t blame Jon, he blamed the iron throne. Drogon knew that the throne killed his mother. That scene was heartbreaking and perfect. He finished his mother’s wishes and broke the wheel.”