Cristian Valentin
Equinox Staff
This past week, three Keene State College students reacted to the much anticipated final season premiere of “Game of Thrones.”
“Game of Thrones” is a fantasy drama on HBO that is now on its eighth and final season. The show is based on George R.R. Martin’s novel series, “A Song of Ice and Fire” and follows nine families fighting for control of the land of Westeros. The show has been critically acclaimed, winning a drama record 47 primetime Emmy awards for acting, storytelling, and many other things. The show stars Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen, Kit Harington as Jon Snow, Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark, and many others.
According to CNN, the season premiere aired Sunday, April 14, at 9 p.m. to 17.4 million viewers, breaking the ratings record. Keene students Madelyn Mathews, Ryan Lusardo, and Phoebe Baade shared this excitement when talking about how it’s been almost two years since the end of the last season.
First-year Madelyn Mathews said, “Honestly it’s been such a long wait and it feels so good to actually see these characters and jump back into their storylines because I miss them so much.” First-year Phoebe Baade said something similar, saying she’s glad the wait is over so she can see their stories end.
All three students said that they enjoyed the premiere. Baade thought the premiere was a good set up, saying, “It met expectations, I wasn’t expecting a lot to happen in the first episode.” Lusardo also enjoyed the show, although he expected more action. Mathews said the premiere showed exactly what she wanted to see and did not disappoint.
Baade believes this new season is heading in a good direction in terms of its writing saying, “I think that the characters’ choices are accurate to their developments and this new season will certainly be interesting.”. Mathews also believes this season will be interesting because, “There are characters that are coming back who don’t have clear directions in the story which leaves me to believe that they may die or serve a bigger purpose in this season.”
The students also reacted to the fact that this will be the final season of the show. Lusardo said that it’s disappointing that this is the final season. Mathews agreed, saying, “It breaks my heart but it really needs to end to finally see everything come full circle.” Baade said, “I feel a little sad but it seems like it’s a good time to end the series.”
With this being the last season, DecisionData.Org conducted a survey of 1,349 US-based HBO subscribers that watch Game of Thrones. They asked these subscribers, “How likely it is that you cancel their HBO subscription after ‘Game of Thrones’ ends.” 37 percent of these subscribers voted very likely or somewhat likely, with 33 percent not sure and 20 percent somewhat unlikely or very unlikely.
The next episode will premiere Sunday, April 28, at 9 p.m. on HBO.
Cristian Valentin can be contacted at cvalentin@kscequinox.com
