Well it’s official. We have at least one more year before Game of Thrones returns. Announced by HBO on their website, the long-assumed rumors were confirmed: Game of Thrones will come back for the six episode run of its eighth and final season. Fans of world-wide phenomenon will have to resort to watching the first seven seasons on repeat until the yet-to-be-announced premiere date. I can guarantee at least one full rewatch by me, with two seeming very likely at this point.
Hopefully the long wait is a result of an effort make sure the final season is as huge, epic, and overall simply as amazing as it can be. And while I’m sure that is a large part of HBO’s reasoning, there are other factors to consider as well. HBO can now focus all of its Game of Thrones promotional attention this year on the Emmy prospects for season 7 rather than having to split it between that and the promotion of a new season. There’s also the fact that Westworld, another HBO mega-hit, is set to premiere its second season sometime in 2018, also coming after a long wait in between seasons; season one ended in December 2016. The return of Westworld should help ease some of the pain GoT fans are sure to have over the agonizing wait. If nothing else we will at least be gifted with two fantastic years of television.
HBO has so far been successful at keeping all season eight information from the public. With how the plot has unfolded so far, it’s anyone’s guess as to what we will see specifically in the upcoming season. But I have no doubt that it will epic beyond belief and I’ve never felt more confident in a show’s ability to absolutely crush a final season.
