A...what? Photo : HBO

[This post contains spoilers for Game Of Thrones season eight.]



The disappointment felt within the Game Of Thrones community in the wake of Sunday night’s episode, “The Bells,” was palpable. People were upset with with Dany’s dramatic, arguably unearned heel turn. People were upset with the rushed conclusion to Jaime’s character arc, which seemed to ignore most of what he’d undergone the past few seasons. People were upset because Euron fucking Greyjoy exists. So, what happens in 2019 when fandoms get upset? They start petitions, of course.


One such petition demanding that HBO remake season eight of Game Of Thrones “with competent writers” was launched on Change.org soon after the episode aired and has since garnered over 16,000 signatures. The idea that HBO would be willing to reinvest the unimaginable amount of time and money it took to make the most expensive season of television ever produced simply because fans didn’t like it is inherently ridiculous. Not to mention the fact that David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, for better or worse, were the driving force behind making this show in the first place. You can dislike the decisions they made, but handing it off to some imagined savior writer isn’t exactly a reasonable request.

Still, this is hardly the first time fandoms have demanded ridiculous, unreasonable things from creators because they felt they were owed something better. From the controversy surrounding the ending to Mass Effect 3 to the more recent redesign of a certain fast, blue hedgehog, fans of pop culture have perhaps never felt more entitled to make demands of the people making the shows and movies they, presumably, love.


“This series deserves a final season that makes sense,” reads the petition’s mission statement, which almost borders on self-parody. “Subvert my expectations and make it happen, HBO!”

Of course, it should be noted that 16,000 people is a mere fraction of the overall Game Of Thrones viewership. We’re sure there are plenty of people out there who, even if they feel disappointed in where the show has ended up, aren’t deluded enough to think HBO would be willing to do a do-over. To anyone else in that angry, entitled minority demanding Weiss and Benioff’s heads on a platter, we look forward to seeing your self-produced remake of season eight when it hits YouTube.


UPDATE (5/16): As of 11:45 a.m. on May 16, t he petition has surpassed 460,000 signatures and continues to steadily rise . You guys really hate this season!

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