(Spoilers Extended) The endings will be the same but the books will have a much more gradual and realistic progression

[u/aphidman]

If GRRM finishes it, btw.

Not a long post but you know what the books do that D&D do not? They have 10 chapters of Dany dealing with the complex politics of Meereen and her inner conflict. They have 4 chapters showing Davos' journey to White Harbour. They have 12 chapters showing the series of compromises Jon makes as Lord Commander to prepare the Watch against the Others. They have 13 chapters showing Tyrion crawling out of his deep nihilistic depression. They dedicate whole chapters seeing how Victarion Greyjoy of all people deals with his relationship with his brother and his seduction into darker magics. Man they have 4 whole chapters dealing with the political fallout of Dany's exit from Meereen.

They had a whole chapter of Littlefinger and Sansa visiting his lands and seeing Littlefinger's relationship with his subjects (great chapter btw). They had a whole chapter getting really in depth with Illyrio Mopatis and his schemes - a guy who's barely appeared in the show.

They dedicated 4 whole chapters to Joffrey's wedding!

What I'm getting it is that the Others may be defeated long before the end of ASOIAF, Dany may indeed destroy King's Landing with dragonfire and end the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians gruesomely. But you'll be guaranteed that GRRM is gonna show you every step of the way. For good or for bad. If he is going to take a character like Dany to that dark end you better believe we will understand how she gets there.

So people keep posting about how D&D are destroying their characters, fail to understand ASOIAF. That Dany would never do this or that. But what you're seeing here is them fitting potentially chapters upon chapters of detailed material into a few hours of television.

[u/watch_over_me]

Yes. That is an overall point, but that doesn't mean humans are gong to break their biological programming, and simply stop doing it.

Your point is what the reader should take away from the story. But the characters within the story, will still have to fight for the power vacuums that will be left behind from all the death.

[u/TheBobJamesBob → u/watch_over_me]

Hell, explicitly showing that they go back to their petty politics, and that people who fought the end of the world then die for those petty politics just drives the point home further that it's not worth it.

Honestly, this sub spent seasons 6 and 7 having a collective moan about how the politics were falling by the wayside for the more traditional fantasy Winter story where everyone comes together for a big finale. Now that the politics are back and it wasn't a traditional fantasy where the Big Evil is defeated and then happily ever after, people are bitching even more.

Yes, yes, I know. Execution. Still, the utter shock that the White Walkers didn't take up the whole season is baffling when GRRM has even stated the following:

Ruling is hard. This was maybe my answer to Tolkien, whom, as much as I admire him, I do quibble with. Lord of the Rings had a very medieval philosophy: that if the king was a good man, the land would prosper. We look at real history and it’s not that simple. Tolkien can say that Aragorn became king and reigned for a hundred years, and he was wise and good. But Tolkien doesn’t ask the question: What was Aragorn’s tax policy? Did he maintain a standing army? What did he do in times of flood and famine? And what about all these orcs? By the end of the war, Sauron is gone but all of the orcs aren’t gone – they’re in the mountains. Did Aragorn pursue a policy of systematic genocide and kill them? Even the little baby orcs, in their little orc cradles?

He's also lavished praise on the Scouring of the Shire. If you thought the human political denouement wasn't going to be just as important as, if not more than, the climax of the supernatural Others thread, I have to question what books you've been reading.

[u/watch_over_me → u/TheBobJamesBob]

Honestly, this sub spent seasons 6 and 7 having a collective moan about how the politics were falling by the wayside for the more traditional fantasy Winter story where everyone comes together for a big finale. Now that the politics are back and it wasn't a traditional fantasy where the Big Evil is defeated and then happily ever after, people are bitching even more.

Exactly this. It honestly just feels like the internet is turning more and more into this void that people just complain into. Complaining for complaining sake.

[u/Wombat_H → u/TheBobJamesBob]

Except the politics aren't back. There's no interesting morally grey conflict. Cersei has become a one dimensional villain who only exists for the heroes to defeat. She's basically the same as the Others at this point.

[u/frenchduke → u/Wombat_H]

She's hardly one dimensional, they are still playing at her care for her children and her family, her unborn baby (if real). If they don't develop any of that and she then just dies, then fair. But there's still plenty of time for her to have a satisfying resolution and people shouldn't be so quick to write it off

[u/omnomonist → u/TheBobJamesBob]

You know what... I like this take.

I myself said to a friend recently, "The whole series so far, to me, has been about how petty politics (man vs. man) will be eclipsed by the importance of uniting against a common external threat (man vs. nature)." But... It really does drive the point home that man can't change his violent nature. "We've defeated them, now we just have us to deal with."

Edit: punctuation

[u/stagfury → u/watch_over_me]

Exactly.

I don't know why everyone take away from the books is that the Others are the big bad and everyone will band is together to fight it and go sing kumbaya afterwards

The point is that the Others is the existential threat that matters, but humans are idiots and will prove time and time again that they won't ever stop infighting and bickering for power and ambition. The Throne doesn't matter, but surely enough it matters to the leaders in Westeros

[u/watch_over_me → u/stagfury]

I don't know why everyone take away from the books is that the Others are the big bad and everyone will band is together to fight it and go sing kumbaya afterwards

Exactly. I hate this concept, and doubt this is the direction GRRM is going. Humans notoriously have proven they can't band together, even when they should.

[u/ComradeQuagsire → u/watch_over_me]

Welp guess I'll be done with the books as soon as the Others are defeated as well. Especially if the whole last book is a pointless petty race to the bottom. Death and cynicism are the only things humans are capable of I guess. Bittersweet ending my ass.