Can Everyone Just Calm Down with that ‘Game of Thrones’ Petition?

It’s the golden age of television and viewers are more ardent about their shows than ever before. Scroll through Twitter or flip through The New York Times and you’re bound to come across an impassioned theory from a fan or a think-piece about Game of Thrones’s cultural impact. People are naming their children Khaleesi for God’s sake. On the one hand, I think it’s nice to see so many strangers aligned on something in a society that can often be very divided. On the other hand, I think people need to calm down.

Why? Well, if you haven’t heard, Thronies are livid about how the final season of Game of Thrones has played out thus far. So livid, in fact, that they’ve started a petition on Change.org that, as of this article being published, has nearly 550,000 signatures. What could they possibly be petitioning about? Apparently, some Game of Thrones fans think the eighth season of the series should be remade by more competent writers.

To be specific, the rather anonymous Dylan D., who started the petition, wrote, “David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have proven themselves to be woefully incompetent writers when they have no source material (i.e. the books to fall back on). The series deserves a final season that makes sense. Subvert my expectations and make it happen, HBO!”

*Takes deep breath and steps onto soap box*

I would be remiss not to point out, Dylan D. and friends, that Game of Thrones would not exist on the small screen were it not for Benioff and Weiss. They read the books, they pitched the material to HBO and they toiled away at crafting each and every episode with a team of writers to enhance the source material. The show they’ve crafted has reached the pinnacle of the zeitgeisty-ness and has won 38 Emmys. I would say that makes them pretty competent in their field of expertise.

The job of television creators is not to bend to fans’ every whim. Not every final season or finale is going to meet fans’ expectations (read: Sopranos, Breaking Bad, How I Met Your Mother, Gossip Girl), but there’s a reason the creators are in the driver’s seat.

Call me controversial, but I think this final season has been good, even exceptional. Sure, I experienced some premature aging because of all the squinting the Battle of Winterfell required (it really was too dark) and it’s a shame what’s going on with Daenerys (Emilia Clarke), but the motto of the series is literally “All men must die.” How they die, or in the case of Daenerys, begin their descent into madness, isn’t up to us. TV is one of the few places in which we are required to make few decisions: A) Do I want to watch this? B) And, with Netflix, am I still here?

Benioff and Weiss have made it clear from the beginning that things would be dicey on the road to the Iron Throne, not sunshine and rainbows. And with a series so complex, it’s unlikely there could ever be an ending that pleased every single fan. Even if the currently incensed fans found a new season, what’s to stop another faction of disgruntled fans from demanding the season be remade a third, fourth or fifth time? 

So, to all of the “fans” petitioning for a redo, just don’t. Need I mention that there is a literal 0 percent chance HBO is going to remake season eight? If you really need something to do with your hands instead of get riled up on the internet, maybe learn how to make Khaleesi braids. It seems pretty soothing.

Editor’s Note: I previously worked at the company that produces Game of Thrones and represents its creators, so I am, admittedly, slightly biased.