Is “The Iron Throne” the worst series finale of all-time, as some have claimed? No, of course not. That’s hyperbole and recency bias (and people who haven’t seen Dexter) talking. But the Game of Thrones episode, along with season eight in general, was still a disappointment considering the years of brilliant storytelling that came before it. “The Iron Throne” does have its defenders, though, including Rick and Morty co-creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon.
“As a showrunner, I was amazed at the amount they were able to accomplish — especially given the meta-reality of having run out of books to adapt,” Harmon told Entertainment Weekly about David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (who, it’s worth noting, provided the DVD commentary for the “Pickle Rick” episode). “Watching the Hound fight the Mountain on the stairs, I was like, ‘This is all great, man.’ I was aware of the disappointment factor with [Daenerys’] dark turn. I’m not going to say fans are too cynical and ungrateful, but I guess I did just say that.”
Roiland agreed with Harmon’s assessment, adding, “Structurally, I think it was great.” He also “selfishly wanted more episodes,” which is true for everyone except the Thrones showrunners, who “always believed it was about 73 hours, and it will be roughly that. As much as [HBO] wanted more, they understood that this is where the story ends,” Benioff said. Many of the issues with the final season — especially the pacing and characters suddenly switching motivations — could have been settled with more episodes, more seasons, or ideally both. It’s the opposite problem most shows have; Game of Thrones ended too soon.
That won’t be an issue for Rick and Morty, which was renewed for 70 episodes.
(Via Entertainment Weekly)
