Last week, it was announced that Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss would be joining an assortment of cast members on stage at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, in Hall H. In light of the fan backlash to the final season of the show, the news was a little unexpected. Reliable as ever, Twitter quickly broke down the potential problems that could arise when you put the people behind the biggest show in the world in a roomful of fans angry with them for how it ended:
If they hear music they should run really fast. pic.twitter.com/kob908Eu14
— Kim Wexler's Ponytail (@MadisonKittay) June 27, 2019
Oh it is time we get some answers pic.twitter.com/ntmz3X4Q97
— Hey Danny (@ZealousZebras) June 28, 2019
Now, none of these make me nervous. Red Wedding gags, Office GIFs…There’s nothing wrong with cracking jokes about a potentially tense situation. I get that a lot of people didn’t like the final episodes, but by and large Game of Thrones fans are a mature, intelligent lot who wouldn’t let their feelings about a TV show carry them away to the point where they actually act contemptuously in public towards people they don’t know.
…right? Because while by and large fans just seemed to be blowing off steam online after this news, there were other reactions that gave me…pause…
I hope the fandom tells them off!! Seriously, it would be worth getting thrown out just to tell them how idiotic they are! They fucked up the final season so bad, they need to be told directly!!
— Alex De Santiago (@Lilsolo_1993) June 27, 2019
That's a huge mistake. I guess they think they're going to calm down the fan's disappointment and hatred towards Season 8. Would love to be there. The fans should throw tomatoes at them.
— Roberto (@Roberto17738265) June 28, 2019
They should be burned for their crimes against humanity.
— ercemr (@ercemr) July 1, 2019
Download the shame bell app from App Store. Use it when they walk on stage. 10 mins into their discussion someone play the rains of castamere. Then everyone should stand and yell “For the Watch” one by one and walk out. F these guys.
— nobody (@sbj2k1) June 28, 2019
... Dan Weiss and Dave Benioff are going to the #GameOfThrones panel at Comic Con? They're ACTUALLY coming out of hiding?! Man... I wish I were there to see the fucking shit storm that is coming their way.
— Dat Dragons Dude (@dragonsfan1988) June 29, 2019
Do not disappoint, GoT fans. Rip those two a new fucking asshole. pic.twitter.com/G7BJjTcyl7
Now, my hope is that people are just blowing off steam here, and if they’re gonna do it, it might as well be on the internet instead of in public. But I get why some people are bracing for crash positions. While Game of Thrones fans are by and large responsible and civil, members of fandoms have been known to make fools of themselves from time to time over a show they love…or hate. The example I always immediately think of is what happened after McDonald’s, inspired by a joke on the popular Adult Swim show Rick and Morty, brought back a specialty schezwan sauce it made back in the ’90s as a fun little nod to the fans. They didn’t make enough to meet the large demand, which led to scenes like this:
Now, this is only one guy. He’s young here, and I’m sure he’ll live to regret this if he doesn’t already. But that doesn’t change the fact that, in this video, he’s being a world-class, grade A asshole who’s making everyone around him uncomfortable. And now this clip is out there forever.
Do we REALLY want a scene like this from Game of Thrones fans? Do we want cringe-worthy clips of people throwing tomatoes at panelists or staging a mass walkout being passed around and convincing people unfamiliar with fandom that we’re all a bunch of overgrown, ill-behaved children? It wouldn’t be a fair assessment, of course, because the bulk of fans (of any kind, GoT or otherwise) are sane and respectable, but if a vocal few choose to turn up the stupid, suddenly everyone can look bad.
I’ll admit that the line that separates charming from too much can be blurry. If someone got in line during the panel dressed as Septa Unella and rung the shame bell before asking a reasonable question? Alright, that’s cute; we’d laugh. But if someone used the opportunity to angrily “tell them how idiotic they are” to the point where they’re thrown out, then they look like an idiot and everybody’s good time is ruined. I expect the mood in Hall H that day to be tense; I just hope doesn’t boil over into weird and embarrassing.
At the end of the day, observing the rules of basic human decency is far more important than satisfying a desire to “rip those two a new fucking asshole” because you didn’t like the show they made. Game of Thrones could have ended halfway through season 8 with Daenerys drawing and quartering Jon Snow while Cersei spat in his mouth and King Bran looked on and it still wouldn’t be remotely appropriate for full-grown adults to harass the showrunners in public in front of a crowd of people who paid good money to hear what they and the cast members had to say.
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After all, there’s already a socially acceptable place to spew hate: comments on websites. And with that, I turn things over to you.
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