Game of Thrones started losing it in Season 6 as they went further and further off book. Without George R.R. Martin’s thoughtful writing, and without enough remaining episodes to gently pull characters in certain directions (they were simply pushed or dropped to fit an arbitrary timeline) the story was doomed to disappoint. I have no issues with Danarys becoming the villain, or with John being sent away, or even with Bran taking over the throne. What I do take issue with is how. In such a previously consistent world, there were too many WTF moments where the characters made choices they wouldn’t have made. These yanked me out of the Story of Ice and Fire, and into the HBO writers room, or the production budget instead – places I’m less excited about visiting in my mind. Perhaps the best thing about Season 8 is how much I’m looking forward to reading the last two books.