The end is near for Westerosi folk.
Following seven seasons of fantasy-fuelled spectacle and more “what the fuck?!” moments than we can count, HBO’s Game of Thrones is on the verge of its series finale. April 14th is the date for your diaries, at which point the Powers That Be will unleash the Night King (essentially death incarnate) upon the Seven Kingdoms.
It’s the fateful battle between fire and ice – between the living and the dead – that has Thrones fans rooted to the edge of their seats, and while expectations are currently through the roof, HBO programming chief Casey Bloys is quietly confident that season 8 will deliver the goods. And then some.
As a matter of fact, speaking at the network’s TCA presentation in Pasadena (h/t Deadline), Bloys even went so far as to say that Game of Thrones‘ eighth and final season is as spectacular as it is satisfying.
I think any time you end a show this important and this big, a lot of people project onto a finale what they want it to be, what fans think it should be, hope it will be. The only thing I will say as a fan of the show is that I think the guys have done a brilliant job of ending the show in a dramatically satisfying and emotionally satisfying way. I do believe that fans are going to be really really happy with how it all wraps up.
Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have already gone on record about season 8, and how they’ve essentially created six feature-length movies in order to conclude all of the many story strands inspired by George R.R. Martin’s fantasy epic.
But the question remains: who lives, and who dies? As Casey Bloys says, that speculation will likely continue for the next eight weeks.
As with all things Game of Thrones, there is a lot of speculation. All I can tell you as part of this season, is it is all spectacular.
Comprised of just six episodes in total, Game of Thrones season 8 is due to premiere on Sunday, April 14th. Don’t miss it.