LOL, HBO Thinks Game of Thrones Deserves an Emmy for These Season 8 Episodes

The 2019 Emmys ballot is out, and HBO has already penciled in a few Game of Thrones items for awards consideration this year. Instead of focusing on the stronger points of the eighth and final season, however, the cable network is hoping its much-maligned final episodes will earn another trophy for its shelf. Yes, really.

The season's most critically acclaimed episodes of the season, "Winterfell" and "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," have been completely overlooked in the writing and directing categories in favor of the ones that led fans to petition en masse for a complete rewrite and sparked widespread belief that the show's finale may rank among the worst-ever TV conclusions.

Everything You Missed in Game of Thrones Season 8

Submitted for Best Directing for the season are Miguel Sapochnik for "The Long Night," David Nutter for "The Last of the Starks," and D.B. Weiss and David Benioff themselves for "The Iron Throne." And instead of suggesting Dave Hill and/or Bryan Cogman get a look for Best Writing for those well-received initial episodes of the season, Weiss and Benioff's script for "The Iron Throne" is the one they're apparently banking on for that category.

As if Game of Thrones' final bow didn't give fans enough to complain about, now they're showing us just how out of touch they are with audience perceptions with this severe oversight. Needless to say, the internet is reacting accordingly today in the wake of this news.

Those suggestions are ... well, they're certainly in keeping with the series' decision to end on a hamfisted note, right? Pass the coffee cup!

In less controversial news, in the Cinematography category, HBO has submitted Fabian Wagner for "The Long Night," David Franco for "The Last of the Starks," and Jonathan Freeman for the "Iron Throne." The penultimate episode, "The Bells," has meanwhile been put into contention for Art Direction, Visual Effects, and Costuming, and the Hair and Makeup category will take a look at "The Long Night." The show will also compete for Best Drama Series as well as the Main Title Design, Casting, Editing, Stunt Coordination, Music, and Sound Mixing categories. (There are also some extraneous Game of Thrones submissions, including Game of Thrones: The Last Watch for Documentary, that GoT-themed Bud Light Super Bowl ad for Commercial, and Game Of Thrones: Fight For The Living for Interactive Media.)

On the performance side, self-submissions include Kit Harington, Emilia Clarke, Alfie Allen, Pilou Asbæk, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Peter Dinklage, Richard Dormer, Gwendoline Christie, Lena Headey, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, and Carice van Houten.

Game of Thrones has previously cleaned house at the Primetime Emmy Awards, winning for Outstanding Drama Series, Best Supporting Actor (Dinklage), Outstanding Sci-Fi/Fantasy Costumes, Music Composition, Makeup, Stunt Coordination, Production Design, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects in 2018 alone. But who knows if some of these strange submissions -- and the deflated reaction to the show's final run as a whole -- will impact their chances of doing as well this year. We'll see.

Game of Thrones Seasons 1-8 are available on HBO.