Game Of Thrones' Season 8 Ending Might Not Be Terribly Satisfying

After 20 years (and counting) of books and nearly a decade of TV episodes, Game of Thrones fans might expect a satisfying conclusion when Season 8--the final season--airs next year. But according to a sprawling new report from Entertainment Weekly, that won't necessarily be the case.

"We want to stop where we--the people working on it, and the people watching it--both wish it went a little bit longer," co-showrunner David Benioff reportedly said. "There's the old adage of 'Always leave them wanting more,' but also things start to fall apart when you stop wanting to be there. You don't want to f*** it up."

The report implies that Benioff and his fellow showrunner, DB Weiss, had to work to convince HBO to end the show with Season 8. Just like fans will when it's over, HBO wanted more.

EW's full feature is well worth reading, as it covers the cast's first Season 8 table read--which made actor Kit Harington cry not once, but twice--as well as details about the show's biggest and most brutal battle ever and an earlier plan to release Game of Thrones' finale as three movies rather than a season of TV.

But there are just a few more tiny hints about where Game of Thrones Season 8 will end. After making it through several increased security measures, reporter James Hibberd actually witnessed filming of the show's final episode inside the massive hangar where the Titanic was reportedly painted. Here's an excerpt:

"What's being filmed here is episode 6, the series finale. Like Harington going into the table read, I don't know anything about the final season's storyline. I look around at a meticulously constructed set that I've never seen on the show before. Several actors are performing, and I'm stunned: There are characters in the finale that I did not expect. I gradually begin to piece together what has happened in Westeros over the previous five episodes and try not to look like I’m freaking out."

He goes on to say that "the drama builds to a confrontation with the Army of the Dead that's expected to be the most sustained action sequence ever made for television or film," of which Benioff said, "We've been building toward this since the very beginning, it's the living against the dead, and you can't do that in a 12-minute sequence."

When it comes to the finale, that's all we know--although the feature also revealed some hints about how Game of Thrones' final season will begin. Naturally, we're eager for it all to finally be over in 2019.