Game of Throneswas a pop culture phenomenon. It was a TV show that so many people absolutely had to watch each week. Until the unpopular ending, and then suddenly many fans couldn’t get away fast enough. But how did this happen? What made fans turn on this once great show so easily? Of course,the ending played a role. It might have ruined the show for many fans. Yet willGame of Thronesalways be this way? Will the HBO series serve as simply a cautionary tale of what not to do?
Or is it possible that it will win back at leastsome of its fan base? After all, it did provide its fans with years of entertainment. And the show was good all the way until the end.Game of Thrones, therefore, could look better to its fans once they’ve had time to reflect on it. To heal their wounds from the nonsensical endingsfor so many charactersand plot lines. With prequelssuch asHouse of the Dragoncoming, some are certainly hoping that this will be the case. But will these hopes be realized? Or isGame of Throneslike the Night King, destroyed for good? Is it gone like those whoattended the Red Wedding? Or is it going to be revived in the future, much like the return of the White Walkers in the beginning?
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There are many possible answers to these questions. In fact, the possibilities might be as diverse as theGame of Thrones fan base itself.Each fan might have a different answer. Some fans, particularly fans ofcharacters like Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke)who had a tragic ending, might feel that the show is done for them. After all, if the writers of the original series couldn’t be trusted to end it well with all eyes on them,what hope is there for the spinoffs? As for rewatching the original series, well, knowing how badly it ends who would want to? It is possible, however, thatsome fans might learn to accept the ending. It might be difficult but it could happen, maybe. Yet it still seems unlikely to happen for all disappointed fans.
To understand why it’s important to understand just how muchthe ending of the series lets fans down.Game of Thronesbrought its audience into a fantasy world. Yet it was a different world than sayLord of the RingsorHarry Potter. It was more an ensemble piece thanHarry Potterand it was a bitdarker thanLord of the Rings.However, its ending,much like that ofLord of the Ringswas meant to be bittersweet. For many fans, though, it was more bitter than sweet. The fantasy world of this series was meant to be realistic and dark. Fans didn’t mind that. Yet the darkness sometimes became so dark that it was unrealistic. And that is what many fans objected to.
For example, fans could believe that Robb Stark (Richard Madden) and his mother Catelyn (Michelle Fairley) met their fates at the Red Wedding. As tragic as it was, it made sense for both of their characters, given what fans knew of them up to that point. Fans could believe, as surprising as it might have been, thatOberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal) lost his fightwith The Mountain (Hafthor Júlíus Björnsson). Yet so many things happened in the last season that fans could not believe. Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) being the oneto defeat the Night Kingwas great, but it was also hard for many to believe. After all, it wasn’t built up properly nor was it followed by a particularly good story arc for Arya. Before it actually happened, many fans believed that Jon Snow (Kit Harington) would be responsible for that act.
Or perhaps Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) himself. Fans could also not believe thatcharacters like Daenerys Targaryenand Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) seemed to go against their own character development. Daenerys and Jaime’s tragic tales both seem to give the message that it is impossible to escape from one’s past. That if your family is made up of bad people, you will be bad as well. Daenerys could’ve gotten everything she wanted and Jaime could’ve found peace with Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie). However,the writers wouldn’t let that happen.
So willGame of Throneswin back its fan base? Probably not to the extent it would want to. And that’s sad. But hopefully, writers for future fantasy shows canlearn lessons from the HBO series. And hopefully,the spinoffs in developmentwill win back some disappointed fans. Of course, not everyGame of Thronesfan will agree. Some might haveenjoyed the ending as it was. And that’s fine, everyone has different tastes in fiction. Yet it does seem extremely unlikely that the show will win back all of the disappointed fans, or even most.
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