Game of Thrones fans who want an apology for the criticized final season got it via a fake video. In it, Jon Snow’s speech mourning the dead that fell during the Battle of Winterfell has been altered. Instead of giving a rousing dialogue regarding those who perished, “Jon Snow” apologizes for Season 8. Watch it below:
If you are wondering how on earth it looks and sounds so real, it is the result of lots of work. The video is a “deepfake” created by Chris Ume, who reportedly spent weeks making it, per HuffPost.
If you noticed the voice in the video sounds different from Game of Thrones actor Kit Harington’s, there is a good reason. Chris Ume got a voice actor to record the lines.
In the video posted by Eating Things with Famous People, “Jon Snow” apologizes for many of the things that fans have taken issue with since Game of Thrones Season 8 aired. Not specifically mentioned is fans’ issue with Daenerys Targaryen’s descent into tyranny.
Fake Jon Snow does bring up the Starbucks coffee cup incident -- the blunder which saw a coffee cup sit on the table as Daenerys looked at Jon. After getting spotted, it took on a life of its own as a viral sensation. Interestingly, that incident occurred in the same episode wherein the speech altered for the video took place – Episode 4 (“The Last of the Starks”).
Once discovered, HBO promptly fixed the scene to remove any trace of the coffee cup. It was too late, though. The internet has a long memory. Along with the coffee cup mistake, “The Last of the Starks” is the same episode that first inspired the petition that ended up going viral.
Sadly, for Game of Thrones’ final season, the coffee cup was not the last error of its kind. There was an error with Jaime Lannister’s hand, as well as a water bottle that popped up in the series finale. Neither of those errors seemed to take off with the social media fervor that the coffee cup induced.
Not mentioned in the video is the criticism of how darkly lit the much-anticipated Battle of Winterfell was, which led to the cinematographer defending it. The nearly minute-long apology video concludes with the script for the final season getting set aflame.
Game of Thrones’ final season has been rocked by its share of criticism. Much of that criticism took off after the penultimate episode of the season aired. In it, Daenerys Targaryen claimed victory over Cersei Lannister’s forces. Having won and her enemy’s army surrendered, Dany wreaked havoc on King’s Landing. Laying waste to it as she murdered countless people.
Will this apology video be the cathartic release frustrated fans have been looking for? It has already gotten over 1 million views, so it is doing something. Summer television will continue to roll on, as fans debate Game of Thrones' final season for what will probably be years to come.
