Dear HBO, please release Game of Thrones Season 8 in IMAX
By Erin Qualey
Let’s admit it. Watching Game of Thrones Season 8 in IMAX would be a totally magical experience. Here’s why HBO needs to make it happen.
After the series finale of Game of Thrones aired on HBO, fans were big mad. Seasons 7 and 8 were a wild departure from previous installments of the series, prizing expediency over developed narrative. Presumably the showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss hurried the end of the show along because they were too lazy to spend the time writing a thoughtful ending, too burnt out from producing previous seasons of the show, or creatively blocked by the high expectations from fans. Perhaps it was all three.
But if you treat the final season as two Lord of the Rings-esque feature films – a sprawling epic translated to screen given a finite amount of time – things get much better. Due to the time constraints of a film, the leaps in story can be (mostly) forgiven. The production values stand out more. The superb acting shifts to the forefront. The narrative choices make more sense.
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That’s why the final season of Game of Thrones should definitely be screened in theaters. Specifically IMAX theaters. Why IMAX, you ask? Back before Season 5 debuted, HBO partnered with IMAX to release the final two episodes of Season 4 in theaters. In fact, it was the first television series in history to do so. And, friends, I’m here to tell you that it was spectacular.
Watching the story unfold on a giant screen with a theater full of excited fans is so much different than watching cuddled up on your couch with a beloved pet or a small cache of friends. Back when Game of Thrones first made its foray into IMAX, a friend and I took the plunge and headed to the theater. Tickets were taken, popcorn was purchased, and we even got a sweet poster. We settled into our seats, and as the screen lit up, we instantly knew that this was the superior way to watch the show. Immediately, the intro credits absorbed our entire field of vision, transporting us to Westeros. Accompanied by Ramin Djawadi’s iconic and thrumming score, we swooped and and twisted over the map with joyful abandon. As viewed in IMAX format, the ninety-second sequence felt much like hopping on a brief yet breathtaking amusement park ride.
Honestly, it’s worth the price of admission just to experience the credits this way. If you think they’re awesome at home, just wait until you’re literally FLYING OVER WESTEROS, courtesy of a seven-story movie screen.
Amazing credits experience aside (did I mention how amazing they are in IMAX?), the final season of Game of Thrones literally begs to be split up into two epic movies. The first three episodes clock in at a total of 194 minutes, or just over three hours. (Note: Sure it sounds long, but in reality that length is very close to the run time of the latest Avengers movie, so viewers can definitely do it.) With the exception of a quick jaunt to King’s Landing to check in on Cersei, the lions share of screen time in these episodes focuses on the preparation and fighting of the Battle of Winterfell.
Framed as a single film experience, the Battle of Winterfell is a fantastic chapter in the story of Game of Thrones. There’s exposition! There are characters pondering death! There are amazing special effects and acting! Also, if you’re one of those people who complained about the battle being too dark, well, IMAX will fix that right up. No need to fiddle with TV settings or turn all the lights in your house out. The dark and quiet of your friendly movie theater will provide.
The second half of the season is a bit longer. Almost exactly four hours, to be exact. But these three episodes also tell a very compartmentalized story about Daenerys Targaryen’s fall from grace. While these episodes earned the most ire from longtime fans for flaws and gaps in the narrative structure of the events leading up to the ultimate conclusion of the series, the production values had truly never been better.
Imagine seeing Daenerys’s siege of King’s Landing in IMAX. Really imagine it. Honestly, if you ignore the lazy writing for a second (hard, I know), “The Bells” was one of the most tense, thrilling, and cinematically lush episodes of television in history. And it deserves to be seen on an IMAX screen. You deserve to see it there, too.
So here’s where I finally get to my big ask. Please, HBO? Can you please release Game of Thrones Season 8 in IMAX? Pretty please with a lemon cake on top? There are so many reasons why we need this. Do it over the holidays where friends and family can get together from all the corners of the world and discuss their favorite moments from the series. Do it at the one year anniversary of the finale! Do it over the summer! In the words of Nike – Just Do It.
Game of Thrones Seasons 1 – 8 are currently available for streaming on HBO Go and HBO Now.