re: How would you have ended GoT?

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My question is, how would you have mapped out that final season? If you were in charge, how would the story have been different? Ultimately, what could have made it a much better final season, in your opinion?

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The actual storyline was great, the character arcs and twists were all mapped out and planned incredibly throughout the entire show from beginning to end.

I actually liked HOW it ended, it was typical of GoT fashion. I think my problem was with the pacing in the last season, it was incredibly rushed and didn't match the rest of the show leading up to it. The same ideas, arcs, and twists a little more fleshed out and paced like the first several seasons would've fixed everything.

I think the Seven Kingdoms should've went back to being their own "countries" without anyone on the Iron Throne (which is now destroyed anyway). Or a council with everyone representing their respective regions.

So Jon going North and saying frick this kingdom always tracked with me, so I don't have an issue with that. He would've been miserable as King of the Seven Kingdoms. He always longed to return to a simpler life and with the Wildlings. He picks up the mantle that Mance left behind. I'm ok with Sansa becoming Queen of the North as well. Bran I could see going the way of the Three-Eyed Crow, traveling beyond the wall with Jon to isolate himself from the rest of the world. I can also see Arya traveling the world too.

I'm on board with Jon killing the Night's King. On a Dragon.

Dany still dies, but I do a much better job of building up her madness well before the final season. Jon still ends up having to kill her after she sacks King's Landing when she reaches the peak of her madness.

Jamie kills Ceresi (the way this arc goes on the show pissed me off the most) and reaches his redemption arc. Either Jamie or Tyrion becomes ruler of what is left of King's Landing and Lannister lands (as an independent entity at this point, like the North).

Certainly not how they ended it.
I don't know exactly what all I would have changed, but the answer is "a lot."

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Everybody dies but Cersei.

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If you don’t want a happy ending, this is the way to go. Have Cersei end up all alone because of the decisions she made that were allegedly for her kids/family, but were really all about her.

OK, I got to start earlier than Season 8 though since it was fricked from the start. Seasons 5-8 need to be redone. I’ll go by season:

Season 5:

1) Littlefinger does not sell of Sansa to the Boltons. Keep the Jeyne Poole story from the books.

2) The Faegon plot is still present. I think it’s essential for later in the series with Dany burning down King’s Landing, because Cersei being the victim of it doesn’t work.

3) Dorne completely redone. Arianne is back in the plot and will eventually be Faegon’s wife. An agent of Varys or Littlefinger kills Myrcella to escalate Cersei’s insanity and force Dorne against the throne.

4) Sansa’s prevailing plot will be of marriage to Harold Hardyng as SweetRobin not knowing who she truly is wants her hand. Littlefinger slowly poisons him and unveils who Sansa truly is at their wedding before the Lords of the Vale. SweetRobin succumbs to the poison at their wedding in part due to the betrayal. It’s revealed seasons later that Littlefinger knew Robin was his son and murdered him anyway.

5) Jaime spends half the season in the riverlands.

6) Stannis survives the Boltons but flees back north to the Wall with a diminished force.

Season 6:

1) Littlefinger, Sansa, and the Vale Lords off the Freys and kill everyone at the Twins. It logically doesn’t make sense how Arya was able to do it the way she did in the show. Sansa is disturbed by how it goes.

2) Battle of the Bastards still happens but ends differently. The Lords of the Vale still save the day, but after they’ve killed all of the Boltons, they then turn on Jon and his Wildling forces. Sansa realizes who Littlefinger truly is and he imprisons her saying “She has the soft heart of a woman” giving her the connection that he goaded Joffrey into executing her father.

3) Faegon arrives in the Stormlands in the last few episodes of the series as Varys is helping Cersei without her knowing to her downfall.

4) Jaime’s arc is with Stoneheart most of the season.

Season 7:

1) Seasons 7 and 8 are as long as Seasons 1-6.

2) Dany’s arc of the season is departing from Slaver’s Bay and ends in the final episode at Dragonstone. All the Free Cities conspire against Dany to destroy her before reaching Westeros. At the exit of Slaver’s Bay they meet a major navy that takes out a significant portion of her fleet. She finds out from one of the captains that a much larger fleet is coming her way around Valyria, one she can not hope to beat. Tyrion suggests their only way through is to sail into Valyria since they’ll miss the Free Cities Armada that will go around it. When they get to Valyria, Dany tells them to stop being mesmerized and needing to know what caused the Doom of Valyria. Barristan is slain by an unholy demon defending Dany, and only a dozen of her ships make it out of Valyria from the horrors there. When she’s finally out of Valyria, Euron is waiting for her with a dragon horn. He manages to entrance Viserion and rides him off into the distance. When she finally gets to Dragonstone, she gets a crow from Jon Snow saying the Wall has fallen. Tyrion tells her she now has no hope of conquering Westeros outright, but she can save it from the White Walkers. Tyrion goes north to deal with Jon Snow and Littlefinger bringing Rhaegal, and Dany and Jorah go south to deal with Varys and Faegon hoping to recruit them to save Westeros.

2) Cersei goes full batshit this season especially thinking she removed the younger more beautiful queen in Margeary, but then she finds out about the other three queens: Dany, Sansa, and Arianne (note: Tommen survives Season 6). She goes full batshit lighting people on fire who dare bring her bad news all season.

3) Faegon has taken Storm’s End and Jaime having escaped Stoneheart knows that Cersei will lose and recently hearing about Myrcella’s death. He goes to Faegon and begs for his forgiveness saying he is obligated by vow to protect Rhaegar’s heir and enter his service so long as he spares Tommen and will make him Lord of Casterly Rock. Faegon agrees, even though Varys is furious from a distance. The remaining Sparrows as well as the City Watch open the gates for Faegon wanting Cersei to fall. Varys lets Jaime into the bowls of the Red Keep in a false way to save Tommen from Cersei.

Cersei poisons Tommen on the Iron Throne rather than him be caught alive. The second Tommen dies Jaime enters the throne room. Cersei thinks Jaime is there to die with her, but he instead asks her if she knows why he killed Aerys. She says it was for the family, but Jaime says no and goes on to explain why. As he’s explaining, Cersei realizes she’s turned into Aerys and that Jaime is there to kill her. As a last barb Jaime says he negotiated Tommen’s life to be Lord of Casterly Rock and she murdered him, and then strangles her to death. Varys then enters with Faegon’s troops and demands they arrest him for murdering the Queen.

When Jon Connington (Faegon’s mentor/protector) arrives (Samwell Tarly in tow) he gets the raven from Jon Snow. He’s been highly suspicious over Aegon and the Golden Company, but when he reads “Jon Snow” he makes a false yet true connection that Jon is the son of Rhaegar and falsely thinks Rhaegar named the child after him. Connington tells Samwell to release Jaime in the dungeon and go north to protect Jon Snow if he truly meant that vow to Rhaegar. Sam releases him, but it’s revealed that Varys poisoned Connington and was planning to frame Sam for it. The two of them ride north to protect Jon Snow.

4) In Winterfell, Littlefinger’s priorities are finding both Rickon and Bran and having them killed to cement Sansa’s rule. He succeeds in getting Rickon killed, but fails with Bran whose powers out manipulate Littlefinger. He also unites the rest of the North to take on Jon Snow.

5) At the Wall Jon and Stannis are dealt with dealing with the mutual threat of the White Walkers to the North and Littlefinger to the South. The White Walkers attack the wall for half the season and when Littlefinger’s army finally arrives to take on Jon’s at the Wall, Euron arrives with Viserion and breaks down the Wall for the White Walkers and wights to walk through. So an actual battle never happens. Stannis is taken alive and turned into a Walker by the Night’s King to command his army going South.

So factions at the end of Season 7:

The South: Faegon, Varys, Arianne, Dorne, the Reach, the Stormlands, Crownlands, the Golden Company

The North: Littlefinger, Sansa (hostage), The North, the Riverlands, the Vale

Dany’s army: Dany, Tyrion, Jorah, the Unsullied, the Dothraki, Drago, Rhaegal, Dragonstone

Jon’s Army: Jon Snow, Davos, Bran, Arya, Meera, Reed, Theon, Asha, the Hound, Brienne, the Night’s Watch, the Wildlings, Stannis’ remaining army, the Ironborn, House Mormont

The Others: The Three Eyed Crow, Stannis, Euron, the Mountain, Viserion, the White Walkers, wights, the Children of the Forest

I’ll get into Season 8 tomorrow, but really it should be called the War of the Three Hands where in the end it is Tyrion, Littlefinger, and Varys controlling the end events of the final season. Such bullshite how they ignored basically anything that was inconvenient to the plot. That would be exceptional high stakes for everyone at the end if those were the factions.

Granted I have no idea where Arya would fit into all this, so just assuming she makes it to the Wall and finds Jon.

Not by burning the innocent people of the city. Dragon Queen wins battle but loses her life in the fight. Jon Snow becomes King. Cripple little boy is just story teller.

More episodes and not turning Danny into the mad queen in one episode. Also more knight king before he got killed off. Eight seasons of GOT and ended two of the best characters in a few episodes of the last season. My gripe all these years of kingdoms and building great characters to tear it down in fast forward at the end JUST SUCKED.

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queenslayer

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ISWYDT

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Jon Snow killing the Night King, becoming King of the North, Dany not going bat shite but still killing the Lannisters and taking over Westeros except the North

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Add in a very painful, prolonged death for Cersi, anything redeeming about three-eyed crow boy and Sam and I'll ride the dragon with you to the end.

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The Hound confronts and kills his undead brother using fire. Fire was the weapon the Mountain scarred him with, the Hound fears, and his brother is vulnerable to

Jamie and Cersei are revealed to be the children of the mad king. This explains Cersei's obsession with wildfire, including the threat to destroy kings landing with it. It also makes Jamie not only a kingslayer but a kinslayer and (like Tyrion) the killer of his own father. And It makes Tywin's only biological heir the dwarf he despised.. Jamie should similarly be forced into the decision of killing his sister Cersei to save the kingdom from her madness (making him a cursed and tragic hero responsible for two kinslayings to save the kingdom at great personal cost.

One of the three potential promised "princes" must be the one to kill the nightking: Snow, Danys, or Jamie. If it is Jamie the empowerment of his weapon would be accomplished by the blood of Cersei on his blade.

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Throw in a 5 episode battle with the white walkers.