There was a time when I might have wanted to collect all sixteen Entertainment Weekly covers for the final season of Game of Thrones. I used to have boxes and boxes of archived EW issues hoarded away, until the great Kondo-ing of ‘09 —aka my mom made me do it. Nowadays I prefer to save digital images on my desktop and these are the five I’ve selected as the absolute best.
First off, after perusing the collection, most of these covers aren’t good, for reasons I’ll detail out below. All of the major characters get their own cover, including a frightening Night King, but why the solo Bran? The rest of the cast gets split up into some fun pairings but overall I wish the covers had the actors in more casual, or fun, poses instead of being all in-character. But I’m not an art director so what do I know.
Let’s start with the fails. The Bran one is completely unnecessary. While he could be a huge part of Season 8, nobody needs Bran as a collectible cover. Isaac Hempstead Wright should enjoy this career high. (Comment from the internets: "I like Bran's bowl cut; it looks very appropriate for the aesthetic of the show.”) And while I love Varys and Jorah, the composition of their cover just seems off and definitely needs some re-centering.
The Jaime and Arya covers are just plain bad. Jamie’s has a lot of unnecessary fog that makes the bottom of the cover look desaturated while Arya’s photo is set at an angle for some reason. Perhaps it’s to show off her new Valyrian steel dagger — bye Needle! — but still, why the tilt? Arya’s asymmetrical coat and skirt combo are amazing though. Where can I get this outfit?
Literally nobody cares about Euron and Theon, and their cover seems entirely unnecessary. At least throw Yara in there if you’re going to give us Theon. As for the best couple in all of GoT, the Gilly and Sam cover pulled at my heartstrings until I realized that they left out little Sam. Entertainment Weekly does not care about family. Biggest missed opportunity, a pairing of Drogon and Rhaegal. Isn’t that just obvious? Oh and Tormund, I would have liked to see some Tormund. Perhaps paired with a 🧸?
Honorable Mention
The Clegane brothers cover seemed great at first glance due to the fact that these two would never pose together in real life / show life, but then the terrible banners in the background caught my eye. Somebody should’ve just Photoshopped those uneven red borders out. Sorry Greg and Sandy, you deserved better.
5) Jon Snow
This is the best Jon Snow has ever Jon Snow-ed. Kit Harington has the perfect amount of fierce on his face and looks clearly like the Prince Who Was Promised. Spoilers: Maybe.
4) Daenerys Targaryen / Sansa Stark
These two close-ups are gorgeous and both actresses are luminous. The photographer clearly took care to make sure that the backgrounds enhanced the characters' looks. The same can’t be said for most of the rest of these photos. Frankly, I would have preferred close-up shots of each individual character taken by this photographer, and then I would have considered buying all sixteen to display on my office wall House of Black and White / Hall of Faces style.
3) Cersei
Everything about her pose, expression, and outfit is perfect here. Queen Cersei would never be just hanging out on a castle stoop like this but Lena Headey sure would! Cersei looks more regal here than seated on the actual Iron Throne.
2) Brienne
Has Brienne ever looked better? This is Brienne as Vogue cover model and Gwendoline Christie looks incredible. She manages to maintain Brienne's rigid warrior-like presence while giving her face a gentle softness. And again, this is a pose Brienne would never actually do in the show, just like Cersie's above. Absolute perfection all around. This is the author photo I would strive for had I armor and a sword.
1) Missandei / Grey Worm
Sorry I was too hasty earlier in dubbing Gilly and Sam the “best couple in all of GoT.” These two are the real OTP and here they are in the perfect couple shot. That’s a wedding invite right there, let’s just fire them up and print them! While some of the aforementioned covers might be technically better, this is definitely the one I would buy to display because I'd want people to think Missandei and Grey Worm were my friends.
If you've made it this far, consider playing fantasy GoT with me at Fantasora, and yes our very unexciting death pool is still going... Someone please die this season. Just not Gilly please!
Let’s start with the fails. The Bran one is completely unnecessary. While he could be a huge part of Season 8, nobody needs Bran as a collectible cover. Isaac Hempstead Wright should enjoy this career high. (Comment from the internets: "I like Bran's bowl cut; it looks very appropriate for the aesthetic of the show.”) And while I love Varys and Jorah, the composition of their cover just seems off and definitely needs some re-centering.
The Jaime and Arya covers are just plain bad. Jamie’s has a lot of unnecessary fog that makes the bottom of the cover look desaturated while Arya’s photo is set at an angle for some reason. Perhaps it’s to show off her new Valyrian steel dagger — bye Needle! — but still, why the tilt? Arya’s asymmetrical coat and skirt combo are amazing though. Where can I get this outfit?
Literally nobody cares about Euron and Theon, and their cover seems entirely unnecessary. At least throw Yara in there if you’re going to give us Theon. As for the best couple in all of GoT, the Gilly and Sam cover pulled at my heartstrings until I realized that they left out little Sam. Entertainment Weekly does not care about family. Biggest missed opportunity, a pairing of Drogon and Rhaegal. Isn’t that just obvious? Oh and Tormund, I would have liked to see some Tormund. Perhaps paired with a 🧸?
Honorable Mention
The Clegane brothers cover seemed great at first glance due to the fact that these two would never pose together in real life / show life, but then the terrible banners in the background caught my eye. Somebody should’ve just Photoshopped those uneven red borders out. Sorry Greg and Sandy, you deserved better.
This is the best Jon Snow has ever Jon Snow-ed. Kit Harington has the perfect amount of fierce on his face and looks clearly like the Prince Who Was Promised. Spoilers: Maybe.
4) Daenerys Targaryen / Sansa Stark
These two close-ups are gorgeous and both actresses are luminous. The photographer clearly took care to make sure that the backgrounds enhanced the characters' looks. The same can’t be said for most of the rest of these photos. Frankly, I would have preferred close-up shots of each individual character taken by this photographer, and then I would have considered buying all sixteen to display on my office wall House of Black and White / Hall of Faces style.
3) Cersei
Everything about her pose, expression, and outfit is perfect here. Queen Cersei would never be just hanging out on a castle stoop like this but Lena Headey sure would! Cersei looks more regal here than seated on the actual Iron Throne.
2) Brienne
Has Brienne ever looked better? This is Brienne as Vogue cover model and Gwendoline Christie looks incredible. She manages to maintain Brienne's rigid warrior-like presence while giving her face a gentle softness. And again, this is a pose Brienne would never actually do in the show, just like Cersie's above. Absolute perfection all around. This is the author photo I would strive for had I armor and a sword.
1) Missandei / Grey Worm
Sorry I was too hasty earlier in dubbing Gilly and Sam the “best couple in all of GoT.” These two are the real OTP and here they are in the perfect couple shot. That’s a wedding invite right there, let’s just fire them up and print them! While some of the aforementioned covers might be technically better, this is definitely the one I would buy to display because I'd want people to think Missandei and Grey Worm were my friends.
If you've made it this far, consider playing fantasy GoT with me at Fantasora, and yes our very unexciting death pool is still going... Someone please die this season. Just not Gilly please!
