I was going to make a separate thread about changing S8 but don’t think it’s allowed. BUT just for the sake of wasting a bit of time.
Everything that has happened in S8 doesn’t changed. But you can tweak it a small bit to make sense or make it better. IE. Arya still kills NK, Drogon burns Kings Landing.
I like this idea, just because I think fanfiction is a nice exercise. I've already casually mapped this out because it's the stupid shit I daydream about when I'm bored, but I should clarify that I really enjoyed season 8 and don't think it's my place to say what should/shouldn't have happened. It's so much easier to go through a completed piece of work than it is to create something from scratch. And I'd argue that people who didn't like the last three episodes "because of the execution" still wouldn't have liked them regardless. But with all that side, if I had unlimited time, budget, and control...
- Have it be 10 episodes, no brainer there.
- Keep 'Winterfell' & 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' 99% the same, but just show us what happened at Last Hearth before Edd & Tormund, etc. got there. Show the Umbers and some common people getting wiped out and show us the Army of the Dead in action before 'The Long Night'.
- Keep 'The Long Night' as episode 3. Don't change anything about the plot, just turn the brightness up a wee bit!
- Split the events of 'The Last of the Starks' across episodes 4-7. The problem with 'The Last of the Starks', as much as I generally like the episode, is that it picks up the pace again when really it should settle down. We've just had a big battle - let the characters reflect for more than twenty minutes.
- Keep 'The Bells' as it is, but just make it episode 8.
- Spread the events of 'The Iron Throne' across episodes 9 & 10. The problem I have with it in its current form, again much as I generally like it, is that the tonal shift between Dany's death and Bran's coronation is sudden and jarring. Split the episode at the point where Drogon flies off with Dany's body and give people a week to adjust, then come back in with a different mood/setting and focus on wrapping things up.
So,
8.1 would begin with Jon & Dany's arrival at Winterfell, ending with Jaime seeing Bran in the courtyard (additional scene showing the White Walkers devastating Last Hearth);
8.2 would begin with Jaime's trial, ending with the arrival of the White Walkers;
8.3 would begin with battle preparations and end with Melisandre drifting away in the snow;
8.4 would begin with the funeral, ending with Daenerys pleading with Jon not to reveal that he's a Targaryen (additional scenes of Dany becoming isolated, and characters reflecting after the battle);
8.5 would begin with Dany planning her conquest of King's Landing, ending with Sansa telling Tyrion about Jon's heritage (additional character scenes);
8.6 would begin with Arya and the Hound leaving Winterfell, ending with Euron attacking Dany's fleet (additional travelling and character scenes),
8.7 would begin with Grey Worm realising Missandei is missing, ending with the Mountain beheading Missandei (additional scenes at Dragonstone detailing Varys' treason);
8.8 would begin with Varys' execution, ending with Arya escaping on the white horse;
8.9 would begin with Tyrion and Jon walking the streets of King's Landing, ending with Drogon flying away with Dany's body (additional scenes of Jon & Tyrion in prison);
8.10 would begin with Tyrion being taken to the Dragonpit meeting, ending with Jon heading out beyond the Wall (additional scenes to adjust the episode's overall tone).