Written by Emily Davis
The other day I was talking to some friends about how excited, and nervous, I was for the final episode of Game of Thrones. Having followed the show actively since the first season, this was the culmination of ten years of essentially watching a movie each week it aired all leading to a momentous end! And, honestly, for most of it I was scared perhaps an ending wouldn’t ever come. There have been many times and many shows that have been cancelled or sacked their writers before a fitting end could be made (Lost I’m looking at you). But, finally, we have made it to the end of this saga! We get to see who wins! Yay!
Well, that’s how I felt anyway, but one of my friends looked at me earnestly and said that she didn’t want to watch it. In fact, she said that she didn’t know if she even could. I was shocked! But even more shocked when another friend agreed. So, I pressed them. Why? Didn’t they want to know how it all ended? Weren’t they curious at all? Of course, they both agreed that they would like to know how it ends, but they just couldn’t bear the thought that it is over. That the era is ending.
This got me thinking. I often wonder when things this epic come to an end how the actors take it. For us fans we are sad because they have been there for us in so many episodes for years but for them, they are leaving a family. A support system that grew and evolved, that was their focus for longer than some people’s marriages. For the actors, they are leaving a chapter of their life behind and I have always wondered about how they deal with that. I am sure I would struggle.
I mean, I hate endings. I always have but I usually get through them as fast as possible and move on to the next thing. I force my mind to not linger on the past but look ahead.
However, after this conversation with my friends, I realised that it actually makes a lot of sense to have the fear of endings presenting itself in this visceral and concrete way. It’s not that they didn’t want to know how the show ends, they didn’t want to say goodbye. And I am not talking about just saying goodbye to the characters and stories, to the weekly twists and adventures. They didn’t want to say goodbye to the part of their life that had Game of Thrones in it. Watching the last episode to them meant that they would have to close a chapter of their own story, and the just didn’t want to. Not yet anyway. They aren’t ready to leave that version of them behind.
And this isn’t unique. When something, usually a show or book series, gives you what Game of Thrones has given so many people, i.e an escape to feel something different than what you experience in your day to day life, it is painful to let that thing go. Sure, you can re-watch the show and there are going to be spin-offs and merchandise, but nothing again can provide you with the same life raft from the torrent of existence in the same exact way that that particular show or book or story did.
Perhaps it even goes deeper than that. By no longer having the routine of having Game of Thrones to look forward to, a lot of people are losing community. GOT has been a massive topic of conversation and creation amongst people for a decade now. That is a huge hole and a lot of people will feel the emptiness that results because of that.
This ending, as with many show endings, feels like a death to some people. And if you think about it, it really makes sense. It is hard to face the ending of powerful things. And ironically, that is what Game of Thrones is all about. Endings. Endings of empires and of royalty. Endings of legends and countries.
That is something that makes this show and franchise truly unique. With it coming to an end you feel, and truly experience, what so many of the characters have felt through its run on the small screen. In a cruel twist you get to feel the loss that the show centers on.
So, as you stare at your HBO Go screen and can’t seem to press play on that final screenshot, understand that I get it. Others get it. It is hard to see the end. To tie up your feelings and move on about life without that other world to think about. Without the lives of the characters you have invested so much time thinking about.
But remember, every ending is a new beginning and no journey can start if you are facing backwards. Take all the time you need, whenever you do choose to watch it just know, you are ready.
