Though the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones will be the show’s shortest yet with just six episodes, it’ll compensate by making four of those episodes super-sized. HBO announced on Friday that while the first two episodes of Season 8 will be under an hour each, the final four will run 82 minutes, 78 minutes, 80 minutes, and 80 minutes apiece. Though those running times are shorter than the once-rumored two-hour episodes, they’s still so long that they’re basically feature films.
Time for some math: Season 7 of Game of Thrones comprises seven episodes with a combined running time of 440 minutes. Season 8 will comprise six episodes with a combined running time of 432 minutes. 440 – 432 = 8. It may seem petty to grumble over a season that’s a mere 8 minutes shorter than the previous one, but really? The filmmakers couldn’t think of anything to fill the time to make the season as long as the last one? A few ideas:
(Excerpt) Read more in: Slate