The final season of Game of Thrones received mixed reviews from fans and critics alike. However, there’s no denying that love it or hate it, the reactions from viewers were nothing short of passionate. ComicBook.com got the chance to sit down with VFX Supervisor from Weta Digital, Martin Hill, who shared similar thoughts. When asked what he thought about the criticisms that season 8 received, he had this to say:
“The show is watched by so many millions of people that, of course, it’s not going to suit everyone. What fascinates me is just the amount of passion for the show, where you’ve got people just being so involved in it and taking it so personally. That really shows how highly the esteem of the show is held by the fans, and I think that’s terrific.”
It’s true. Dense pieces of art that are consumed by millions of people will never receive a universally positive or negative consensus. A deep dive into the archives will show you that a lot of fans pushed back against The Empire Strikes Back when it first hit the big screen in 1980.
Martin Hill also discussed his experience watching Season 8 Episode 3, ‘The Long Night’ (more commonly known as ‘The Battle of Winterfell’). It seems like while Hill had a better viewing experience than a lot of fans, he totally understands the criticisms about the episode being too dark as well.
“I actually was fortunate enough to go to a cast and crew screening in L.A. at the Mann’s Chinese Theater for Episode Three. And when we saw it there, it didn’t look too dark at all, and it looked really great. And the reaction from the cast and crew when the Dothraki light up in that big wave, the shot we did, people just started screaming, and it was just this terrific feeling. So yeah, I don’t know, maybe there was something not quite right with the compression settings on the streaming services or something. I had a look at it again. It did seem a little darker on the TV.”
On top of that, the VFX artist also rightfully noted that while season 8 did receive a lot of hate, nobody actually stopped watching. Season 8 drew the largest audience in the series’ history (11.99 million viewers on average).
“When people are critical of the CG, I think people should be able to voice their opinions. But what I can’t help noticing is no one’s really stopping watching it. They’re always back for the next episode.”
All eight seasons of Game of Thrones is currently available to stream on HBO Go and Astro Go.
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