The story of Game of Thrones began as the emergence of a show capable of significantly changing the modern television industry, but it ended quite sadly — the eighth and final season of the series was criticized by everyone who could, and even George Martin agreed that the project could have benefited from a couple of additional seasons. In this selection, we explore storylines that could have developed quite differently if Game of Thrones had 'lived' a few seasons longer.
No one really understood why Daenerys was turned into a villain.
The global changes in the arc of one of the show's leading characters had the opposite effect that the creators intended — viewers simply did not understand how Daenerys could so quickly switch from one camp to another. For several seasons, the Targaryen heir was considered a positive character, but suddenly she began a war against the entire world, deciding in the process to erase King's Landing from the face of the earth — yet such actions by the heroine seemed hasty and completely senseless to everyone.
Game of Thrones could have explored Bran Stark's gift more.
Another plot twist that left many fans bewildered was Bran Stark becoming the ruler of the Six Kingdoms. This decision by the writers also seems rushed, considering that for most of the series, Bran Stark appeared more as a secondary character rather than a main one, and the explanation of his purpose did not receive enough screen time.
The Night King turned out to be not as terrifying as he seemed.
The mere thought of the White Walkers and the Night King could instill fear in any Game of Thrones fan, but only until the release of the eighth season — there it was revealed that defeating the northern zombies was much easier than it always seemed to both the characters of the series and it's fans. The war with the White Walkers was supposed to be a far greater threat, which could also have explained the origins and motives of the Night King.
The story of Jon Snow's true origins deserved more.
The eighth season gathered a whole collection of shocking plot twists, one of which revealed the truth that Jon Snow is the true heir to the Iron Throne. And although this fact became one of the few positive aspects of the final season, the writers managed to squander it as well, mostly using it to dramatize the relationship between Jon and Daenerys.
The Lannisters were also treated unfairly.
Surprisingly, every single surviving Lannister received an ending that was the opposite of what fans so desperately wanted. Jaime nearly went against Cersei but ultimately returned to her. Cersei herself, in turn, never faced consequences for all the suffering she caused the Starks (and others). Finally, the eighth season portrayed Tyrion as not such a strong political player, easily swayed by anything Daenerys could come up with — which, as fans know, was far from the truth.
