The Expanse and Game of Thrones would’ve both benefited from a few extra seasons, but Amazon’s sci-fi extravaganza now faces the exact opposite problem to HBO’s fantasy epic. Even before each became a wildly successful TV series (one more than the other, admittedly), parallels were drawn between James S.A. Corey’s The Expanse and George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice & Fire. Both are epic, richly detailed tales based around politics and power, but where the latter is a Tolkien-esque world of magic, dragons and full-frontal nudity, The Expanse chooses space as its arena of choice. The “sci-fi Game of Thrones” tag isn’t entirely undeserved, then, and George R.R. Martin himself is a known fan.
Both TV adaptations ran for similar lengths too. Game of Thrones spanned a total of 8 seasons between 2011 and 2019, while The Expanse began in 2015 and will end in 2022 with season 6. Roles are reversed in the literary stakes – The Expanse‘s final novel dropped in 2021, while George R.R. Martin’s The Winds of Winter is proving more elusive than a Game of Thrones episode that’s safe to watch with your grandparents.
For all their parallels, however, Game of Thrones season 8 and The Expanse season 6 are cursed with polar opposite problems. Both were backed into a corner by undesirable end points, but each picked a vastly different solution. Now the two franchises couldn’t be further apart. Here’s why The Expanse‘s final season is the anti-Game of Thrones.
The Expanse & Game Of Thrones Both End Too Early
For six whole seasons, Game of Thrones maintained a steady canter – moving with ample pace, but still allowing plenty of room for George R.R. Martin’s trademark intricacy and compelling characterization. By the end of Game of Thrones season 6, however, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were overtaking Martin’s book, and HBO was keen to bring an ending into sight. Though “not wanting the show to outstay its welcome” remains Benioff and Weiss’ official reasoning, episode budgets were soaring and cast members had begun capitalizing on their new found fame by seizing wider opportunities. Either way, the decision was taken to end Game of Thrones with season 8.
In hindsight, this was a spectacularly poor move. Benioff and Weiss suddenly found themselves with a spaghetti junction of plot threads to tie up, and only a handful of episodes in which to do so. Game of Thrones season 8 accelerated abruptly, and that rush to the finish resulted in botched characters, nonsensical narrative dead-ends, and a distinctly dissatisfied audience.
George R.R. Martin has since gone on record expressing regret that Game of Thrones ended with season 8, admitting his story needed a few more runs to wrap up properly. Certainly, more episodes could’ve alleviated the most glaring problems with Games of Thrones‘ ending, and even if the destination remained unchanged, those extra seasons could’ve built towards Benioff and Weiss’ intended resolution more naturally.
The Expanse Season 6 Does The Opposite To Game Of Thrones Season 8
Mirroring Game of Thrones‘ glory years, The Expanse avoided any temptation to steam ahead, with seasons 1-5 adapting approximately one of James S.A. Corey’s books per season. Though more slow-burning than the misadventures of the Starks and Lannisters, The Expanse‘s measured pacing allowed for the same supreme world-building and emotive character insight that had audiences so deeply invested in the comings and goings of Westeros. Alas, not all parallels are positive. Just as HBO left Games of Thrones with a woefully short amount of episodes to resolve the bumper catalog of character arcs and storylines remaining, Amazon gave The Expanse 6 episodes to adapt a total of 4 relatively chunky books.
While both shows were dealt the same bad hand, The Expanse‘s reaction couldn’t be further removed from its counterpart in the fantasy section. Game of Thrones treated HBO’s 8-season mandate as a personal challenge to tie off every lingering thread before the curtain fell – no matter how messily. The Expanse, on the other hand, is maintaining its planned course.
With so much material still to adapt, audiences might’ve expected The Expanse season 6 to kick up a few gears. Perhaps book 6’s Free Navy conflict would cover episodes 1-3, then the Laconia and Dark Gods material from later volumes gets lumped together for a three-part finale. Instead, The Expanse season 6’s pacing has barely tickled the gas harder than season 5. Based on the episodes aired so far, The Expanse season 6 is honoring its “one book per season” format and focusing squarely on adapting sixth novel, Babylon’s Ashes. Viewers maybe also anticipated The Expanse would drop its longer-term narratives, abandoning the Laconia and Dark Gods setup in favor of properly ending the Marco Inaros saga. Once again, that hasn’t been the case. The Expanse season 6 is continuing to drop teases for both storylines as if 4 seasons remain, rather than 4 episodes.
Why The Expanse’s Approach Is Better Than Game Of Thrones Season 8
Both were maneuvered into finales sooner than they should’ve, but while Game of Thrones responded by haphazardly crashing toward a resolution, logic be damned, The Expanse is refusing to be creatively influenced by Amazon’s time frame. Neither scenario is exactly ideal (why would The Expanse tackle one season at a time unless intending to eventually adapt all nine?), but on balance, The Expanse season 6’s strategy is smarter.
Reaction to Game of Thrones season 8 proved predominantly negative, and the show has since become synonymous with unsatisfying TV endings. There’s a bitter irony in how Game of Thrones hastily resolves as many plot points as possible, seemingly believing some resolution is better than no resolution at all. But the proof is in Hot Pie’s pudding, and the intensity of negative feeling suggests Game of Thrones would’ve been better off maintaining its narrative integrity… even if that meant leaving some long-reaching tales unfinished.
The Expanse deftly avoids Games of Thrones‘ manic pacing and total absence of cohesion, but faces the complete opposite problem – will audiences be left disappointed when those Laconia and Dark Gods teases are just left hanging, with neither coming to the fore, and nothing to explain why they haven’t? Is exciting buildup with no payoff better than poor buildup with equally poor payoff?
Given the current landscape of streaming, very possibly. The Expanse is certainly taking a risk leaving so much unsaid this close to its final episode, but at least the door is left open for a future continuation. Maybe another service buys the property, or renewed interest leads to a sequel years down the line. The Expanse then has the freedom to pick up where it left off, adapting books 7, 8 and 9 faithfully, with room to breathe. Game of Thrones, meanwhile, is what it is.
Admittedly, The Expanse possesses the advantage of a 30-year book time jump, which would allow any continuation to cast completely fresh actors. But even if this wasn’t the case, The Expanse season 6 is prioritizing quality storytelling over complete storytelling, trusting the future will finish what it started. That’s better than Game of Thrones tarnishing an entire body of work with one miserable final season. At the very least, viewers will be angry at the network for pulling the plug early, rather than the writers for delivering an anticlimactic closing chapter.
The Expanse season 6 airs every Friday on Amazon Prime.
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