After this Sunday’s explosive Game of Thrones finale (if I had a dime for every headline I saw that called it that…), fans are anxious they have to wait an entire year to see how things shake out in season seven. But now it seems like Game of Thrones is very much drawing to a close, as showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff do not seem to have changed their minds since they discussed the end of the show last year. It looks like Game of Thrones will probably end in just two more seasons, with only 13 episodes between them.
The showrunners talked about this idea before season six even started, which ran contrary to HBO’s wish that the show would go a full ten years of ten episode seasons. Now, it seems like their plans have not changed, and they told as much to Deadline. Spoilers for the season finale follow in the quote.
“It’s two more seasons we’re talking about. From pretty close to the beginning, we talked about doing this in 70-75 hours, and that’s what we’ll end up with. Call it 73 for now. What Dan says is really true, but it’s not just trying not to outstay your welcome. We’re trying to tell one cohesive story with a beginning, middle and end. As Dan said, we’ve known the end for quite some time and we’re hurtling towards it. Those last images from the show that aired last night showed that. Daenerys is finally coming back to Westeros; Jon Snow is king of the North and Cersei is sitting on the Iron Throne. And we know the Night King is up there, waiting for all of them. The pieces are on the board now. Some of the pieces have been removed from the board and we are heading toward the end game. The thing that has excited us from the beginning, back to the way we pitched it to HBO is, it’s not supposed to be an ongoing show, where every season it’s trying to figure out new story lines. We wanted it to be one giant story, without padding it out to add an extra 10 hours, or because people are still watching it. We wanted to something where, if people watched it end to end, it would make sense as one continuous story. We’re definitely heading into the end game now.”
That 73 number implies that yes, the 13 episode tally is still accurate, and could maybe be pushed to 15 total episodes, if need be. But more than that? Not likely. So right now, we may in fact get a seven episode S7 and a six episode S8.
And actually, I’m okay with that, and I think fans should be too.
Game of Thrones is better than it’s ever been. Some will debate this, but in my eyes, season six was the strongest of the series so far with three of the episodes at least (The Door, The Battle of the Bastards and The Winds of Winter) being among the best the show has ever produced.
Game of Thrones, and A Song of Ice and Fire, is a series that is meant to end. At least with the current cast of characters. It is not The Walking Dead where it can just go on endlessly with no real endgame in sight. Here, the final conflicts have always been Daenerys invading Westeros and the Night’s King breaching the Wall. Those are now imminent, so there’s no reason to pivot and suddenly scramble to write four or five more years of storylines. George RR Martin and the showrunners have an ending in mind, and they want to reach that ending, hopefully going out “on top” as they do so.
We didn’t just see a massacre of characters for no reason during the finale this week. The show is culling its storylines down to a few essential conflicts. Daenerys is invading with a ridiculously huge army and the Lannisters have to hold her off. The White Walkers are coming and Jon and Sansa will have to face that threat as they avoid being stabbed in the back by Littlefinger. And at last, winter itself has come, which may end up being the greatest foe of all.
The show is in a place now where you can see how it will end after 13 episodes. I understand that when these rumors were first circulating before season six, it felt wrong. But now? Things have changed, dramatically. There’s no more squabbling in King’s Landing, just Cersei with absolute power. There are no more battles for control of the north, Jon has it. Dany isn’t stuck overseas dealing with an endless laundry list of problems. She’s on her way with her fleet and her army and her dragons. Everything is coming together.
I would not want the show to artificially extend its lifespan so we can get a season nine where Gendry Baratheon tries to seize the throne from Queen of the Seven Kingdoms Daenerys. If there’s a plan for a cohesive ending, the show should stick with it. I have no idea if it will be the same ending of the books, but I don’t think it would be fair to ask George RR Martin to make eight, nine, ten novels when he has a fixed plan for seven, so I don’t think it’s right to think the show should be asked to do the same.
It will be sad to lose Game of Thrones. Outside of The Walking Dead, there really isn’t another pop culture phenomenon like it (though I’d argue it’s a much better show than TWD). HBO certainly doesn’t have anything to replace it, which is why I do firmly believe that some kind of prequel/spin-off set in Westeros is in the works. But for the main show itself? All good things must end, and some things should end when they’re still good.
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