‘Game of Thrones’ Fans Petition HBO to Remake Season 8 After Recent Backlash

For many fans, Game of Thrones Season 8 is already beyond redemption, and they are petitioning HBO for a remake.

Warning! Spoilers for Game of Thrones through Season 8, Episode 5 lie ahead!

Countless plotlines and character arcs are drawing to a close on Game of Thrones‘ final season, and many fans are displeased with the rushed treatment. Where novels in a fantasy series typically get longer with each new installment, the last two seasons of Game of Thrones have been shortened, and fans feel the stories in them have been correspondingly abbreviated.

In their dissatisfaction, some fans are calling on HBO to make it right. An online petition on Change.org is asking the cable outlet to remake the entire season. At the time of this writing, it has over 22,500 signature, and is well on its way to its 25,000 goal.

“David Benioff and DB Weiss have proven themselves to be woefully incompetent writers when they have no source material (ie the books) to fall back on,” the petition reads. “This series deserves a final season that makes sense. Subvert my expectations and make it happen, HBO!”

The last line there is a nod to fans’ criticism that Benioff and Weiss often throw in unexpected developments for the sake of surprise rather than the direction of the story. By contrast, author George R.R. Martin has said that he sticks to his plan even if fans have figured out where the story is going ahead of time.

“I’ve been planting all these clues that the butler did it, then you’re halfway through a series and suddenly thousands of people have figured out that the butler did it, and then you say the chambermaid did it? No, you can’t do that,” he said in a 2014 Q&A.

Many of the complaints stem from the penultimate episode of the series, “The Bells,” wherein Daenerys Targaryen uses her dragon to firebomb the city of King’s Landing and all the people in it, knowing that here enemy, Cersei, is in the castle above.

For many critics, the issue isn’t with Daenerys’ actions, but with the pacing of the story. They accept that Daenerys’ potential for violence has been foreshadowed, but it has not developed on screen. It came out of nowhere in one moment, rather than developing over time.

In addition, the outrage is easy to direct at showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. They write most scripts for the show between the two of them rather than employing a full writing staff. On top of that, they revealed in April that HBO offered to make the final season of Game of Thrones longer, no matter the cost. The two declined, and fans feel that they did not do the series justice.

However fans may feel, the show is coming to an end this week. The Game of Thrones series finale airs on Sunday, May 19 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.