Nerd Processor
Game of Thrones’ Final Season Is Destined to Disappoint You
Here’s why — and why that’s okay
This has felt like a very long year for many reasons, but the fact that it was the first year we didn’t get a new season of Game of Thrones didn’t help. The fantasy phenomenon wrapped up its penultimate seventh season the summer before last, and the show’s tens of millions of fans still have to wait until April of next year to know the fates of Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, Tyrion Lannister, and the other remaining survivors. I’m dying to see the story’s end as much as anyone — but I’m also kind of afraid, because I don’t think there’s any possible ending that will be truly satisfying.
Endings are hard to do well, period. Even just sticking to modern TV dramas, there are plenty of excellent shows that left their viewers either wanting more (The Sopranos), wanting something different (Mad Men), wanting their proverbial money back (Lost), or wanting to have never wasted their time in the first place (Dexter). There are always a few series that stick the landing (Breaking Bad), but they’re the exception, not the rule. And the more time and attention fans have invested in a story, the more anticipation they have for the story’s end, continually raising their expectations — and their chances of being disappointed, too.
