Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Can’t Repeat Game Of Thrones’ Final Season Mistakes

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will end with season 5, but Captain Christopher Pike's (Anson Mount) prequel won't make the same mistakes as Game of Thrones' final season. Ahead of the highly anticipated Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3's July 17 premiere, Paramount+ announced Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 5 will be its last. Meanwhile, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 is currently filming, with season 5 slated to start production later in 2025.

While Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is a hit for Paramount+, Game of Thrones was the biggest TV show in the world. Created by David Benioff and Dan Weiss, Game of Thrones was a global phenomenon for HBO, from its modest beginnings in 2011 to its record-setting conclusion with its eighth season in 2019. However, Game of Thrones' legacy was tarnished by its final season, which was generally reviled by fans. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds can learn from and avoid Game of Thrones season 8's pitfalls.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Has A Shorter Final Season Like Game Of Thrones

Both Shows Have A 6-Episode Final Season

Curiously, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 5 is only 6 episodes, which it shares in common with Game of Thrones' final season. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds seasons 1 to 4 consist of 10 episodes, and Paramount+ hasn't clarified why only 6 episodes were alloted for the final season. Game of Thrones seasons 1-6 also spanned 10 episodes, but season 7 came in at 7 episodes while season 8 was only 6.

However, Game of Thrones season 8 consisted of extended, feature-length episodes ranging from 75 to 81 minutes. Only the first two episodes of Game of Thrones season 8 were under 60 minutes, with "The Long Night," which depicted the epic battle to kill the Night King and the White Walkers clocking in as the longest episode of the series.

Since Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 5 is shorter, fans are hoping that its episodes are also extended or feature length. Star Trek: Discovery ended with an extended series finale, including a 12-minute epilogue that wrapped up the series. With its huge cast and myriad storylines, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has the capacity to support extended season 5 episodes, or, at the very least, a movie-length series finale.

What Went Wrong With Game Of Thrones Season 8

Game Of Thrones Season 8 Is Considered An Epic Disappointment

The ways that Game of Thrones crushed its audiences' high hopes will be studied for generations. Despite delivering epic battles and stunning spectacle, Game of Thrones season 8 short-changed its character arcs, undercutting years of intricate storylines and character development. From Daenerys Targaryen's (Emilia Clarke) abrupt heel turn to the reveal of who won the Iron Throne, Game of Thrones' final season felt slap-dash, nonsensical, and rushed despite several feature-length episodes.

Fans accused series creators David Benioff and Dan Weiss of wanting to end Game of Thrones as quickly as possible because of fatigue, and their desire to move onto new projects, like Confederate and Star Wars, neither of which came to fruition. However, the damage was done. Regardless of how beloved Game of Thrones was in its heyday, perception of the series was permanently tarred by the follies of its final season.

Why Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Final Season Won’t Make Game Of Thrones’ Mistake

Strange New Worlds Knows Where It's Going

Game of Thrones' strongest years were when it was adapting the novels of George R.R. Martin, but when the show blew past where the books left off, Game of Thrones started to lose its way. Ultimately, Game of Thrones' conclusion diverged from where Martin intended to take the series, although exactly how different the TV show would be from the books may never be known, since the author likely won't finish his A Song of Ice and Fire saga.Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is in a better position not to disappoint in its final season, since the prequel knew its endgame from its inception, Executive producers and co-showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers plan to end Star Trek: Strange New Worlds at the starting point of Star Trek: The Original Series, where Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) takes over the USS Enterprise from Captain Pike. How long Strange New Worlds would last used to be the question, but Goldsman and Myers now know they have two more seasons, and 16 episodes, to wrap up Strange New Worlds.The answers to some of Strange New Worlds' Star Trek canon mysteries should prove more satisfying than Game of Thrones placing Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) on the Iron Throne. Strange New Worlds' ending will canonically reveal what happens to Number One (Rebecca Romijn), for instance. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is also devoted to its characters and their emotional development, which Game of Thrones largely abandoned in its final season. However Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ends, it's bound to stick the landing better than Game of Thrones did.