I need to say this upfront. I never liked Game of Thrones. There were a multitude of reasons but if I'm being honest, a large part of it had to do with the fact that it's rise came at a time when the Emmys essentially made the decision that the greatest network drama was never going to be able to compete with the worst cable and streaming that happened to be historical. I felt very strong about this not only for Game of Thrones but also Downton Abbey. This may not be entirely fair but I believe actions have consequences. When the Emmys decided that no matter how brilliatn The Good Wife was, it was not going to get nominated for Best Drama and no matter how mediocre shows like Game of Thrones and Downton Abbey were they were always going to dominate the Emmy nominations and awards, well, then what reason is there for network television to bother to make quality shows any more? There were several series in the 2010s on network television that were classics: not just The Good Wife, but Parenthood, as well as phenomena such as Nashville, Empire, and even Scandal that had moments of brilliance and were nominated for Best Drama by other award shows over this period. During Game of Thrones run, the only show that could get nominated after Season 1 was This is Us. Is it any wonder network TV basically only gives us procedurals now? What's in it for them to give us great television if they don't get recognized for it?

Even allowing for that, there seemed something flawed about the showrunners trying to do an entire series that was based on a potential seven book series BEFORE the series was completed. Martin had only gotten Book 4 done by the time the series began, he only got the fifth book written while the series was on the air, and for all we know it will die unfinished. It was hubris of Benioff and Weiss to think

a) that they could do a complete series while the books weren't finished

b0 that when they left the original material in Season 5 they wouldn't be judged for it,

and c) that they could up with an ending better than one that had been written yet.

Now I know all too well the base of mythology fans. I spent my childhood hoping the mythology of the X-Files might make sense some day (I should have given up earlier on that) and I know how frantic Lost fans were the closer we got to the ending and how fifteen years later they're still infuriated about it. (I actually have chnaged my mind on it but I was among them for a while.) I also know that when it comes to mythology series, it is nearly impossible to satisfy the fanbase because the reality of solutions never lives up to the imeagined ones. But that's not what happened here and it's why I can't have any sympathy for either the creators of Thrones or the fan base. For different reasons both should have known better. You can't have an appropriate finale when the story itself hasn't been finished. If you really thought that could happen, I have less sympathy for you then those who were disappointed by the endings say, of Mad Men or Battlestar Galactica.