An angry, murderous beast stood next to a dragon. Photo HBO

Spoiler alert!

Read no further if you’re an avid Game of Thrones fan who hasn’t finished the series, but really, you should have by now.

Yes, after eight years, 71 episodes and about 72 and a half hours of television adapted from the novels of George RR Martin, the fantasy series that has gripped millions of people across the world is over.

Featuring dragons, outfits even Ngọc Trinh might find a bit skimpy and plenty of bloodshed, Game of Thrones became something of a cultural touchstone in an era where mass shared entertainment experiences are being changed and perhaps even eradicated by services like Netflix.

However, more than a few fans were left unhappy with how things shook out for beloved characters like Daenerys Targaryen, Jon Snow and his pet wolf.

A petition to remake the freshly-concluded season eight of the show has reached almost 1.5 million signatures, showing the depth of anger towards showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss.

Hà Nội’s expats have always had a reputation for expressing themselves cooly and calmly online, so we set out to see what they made of how Game of Thrones wrapped up.

Gerry Flynn, British

At least George RR Martin doesn’t have to finish his books now. HBO did that for him. Did they do it justice or did they leave a big mess all over his work?

Even at this point, with the show over, it’s hard to say without being a petulant whinging buffoon. Sure the final episode had the familiarly cloying sickly sweetness of Shrek, which was a disappointing departure from Game of Thrones’ regular misanthropic perspective.

For eight years, the hubris and folly of humanity has been on trial courtesy of the show, but this season seemed to present a needlessly optimistic outlook.

If the Night King is supposed to represent existential threats to humanity such as climate change, then HBO put forth an adorably naïve vision of human unity conquering all.

However, while this season could’ve been stretched out for another season, with more detail, better wordplay, and fewer glossed over moments of closure, I still won’t be signing a petition for it to be remade because I’m a grownup with a life to live.

Kelsey Lynn Madison, American

Throughout the years I have been an avid Game of Thrones fan but unfortunately this season really let me down.

Though the cinematics were fantastic and the music was stellar, I felt that the storyline was very rushed and there were too many loose ends and rushed endings.

I would have liked to know more about many of the characters and been given the time to understand their thought processes. It seemed that the character development which was so thoughtfully laid out for the past eight years was ruined in a single season with uncharacteristic decisions.

I was particularly disappointed by their degradation of female leads and the rise of the male ego and saviour.

As for the petition which is circling, I think it is unrealistic to expect a remake, but a shame at how the story ended for millions of fans who were so excited for this season.

Hannah Goodbrand, Canadian

While I was not impressed by the obvious plot and - conveniently accurate when they want to be – scorpion bolts, I found most of the episodes this season to be entertaining with a couple of special moments that had me cheering.

Overall, I was happy with the way the show ended, but the way they got there did not make sense.

They essentially forgot all of the lore that had been the core of the story so far and told us that nothing happens for a reason. This could have been very potent if done effectively, but it really felt like they were just scrambling to force the ending to come together.

There were so many complicated story lines to tie up that six episodes would never have been enough.

Ben Grant, British

The whole season has felt rushed. I was a really big fan of the series at first, the first four seasons or so, but it’s been a pretty steady decline.

The last season has been pretty bad, due to its pace, throwing character development out of the window. I wasn’t impressed with the decisions the characters were making. I’m not a general, but I think I would make better decisions than them. The characters seem to have forgotten certain plot points and the geography of the country is being ignored.

The petition isn’t going to make any difference, but I guess the only reason people are doing it is to shame the writers, which is pretty stupid. But on the other hand, the writers have done a terrible job, so they probably should be a bit ashamed. VNS