Why 'The Last Watch' is a better ending than the 'Game of Thrones' finale

The core reason the final season of Game of Thrones was so polarizing was because the megahit fantasy series had what every television showrunner dreams of — an audience that truly cares about the show. In the course of its airtime Thrones united disparate peoples under the same banner of loving the world of Westeros and its many, many characters, so when its final round of storytelling failed to live up to fan expectations, the disappointment felt personal.

After its finale aired, however, HBO served up a coda to the show’s eight-season run in the form of The Last Watch, a documentary about the making of Season 8, starring the production designers, set dressers, extras, script supervisors, and more behind-the-scenes people that worked to create the world of Game of Thrones. With a long-ish two hour runtime, the inside look is a substantially more emotional and satisfying end to Thrones.

On its own The Last Watch is a really, really good documentary. It establishes its characters early on and follows them on contained, poignant journeys that map their feelings about leaving a show they’ve worked on for years. It provides fascinating insight on some of the show’s secrets and mysteries, and it offers an intimate look at backstage moments most fans never get to see.

The documentary succeeds beyond its own merits though, because it reminds its audience of why they loved Thrones in the first place. Early on in the movie, there is footage of table reads for some of the show’s final episodes. In these reads the cast reacts in real time to some of the surprises that took the audience (and the internet) by storm when they arrived on screen.

Watching Rory McCann, who played Sandor Clegane, respond with applause to the reveal that Arya Stark kills the Night King looks almost like an in-character Clegane beaming with pride at how far his murder protege has come. And Conleth Hill’s (Varys) near disgust with his character’s death by dragonfire reflects exactly how that scene played out for fans. Knowing that the faces behind Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen are as invested in their world as their fans are is heartening for those who felt that the final season seemed to care less and less about character arcs and consistency.

There are also several moments where key players in the making of Thrones express how much the show has changed their lives. David Nutter, who directed several massive episodes over the eight seasons, notes that coming back to Thrones after back surgery “saved his life.” Stunt choreographer Vladimir Furdik recollecting how he went from staging fights to starring as the Night King is tearjerking. The moment when Furdik nervously asks a group of fans if they know who he is and they all scream “Night King!” is one of The Last Watch’s many highlights.

All of the effort shown in The Last Watch, all the sleepless night shoots, uplifting anecdotes, and quiet frustration, comes together under the single idea that Game of Thrones mattered. Even as the plot dissolved and the seasons got shorter, the documentary posits that the mere existence of a show on this scale, made by these people at this time, was important.

Thrones brought people together, on the relatively small scale of the production team and the exponentially larger scale of pop culture. It’s gratifying for HBO to pay homage to the idea that beyond its story, characters, and setting, the best thing about Game of Thrones was Game of Thrones. And considering how much making the show stressed out its team, we may never see its like again.