Game of Thrones

[AlioTheFool]

You keep talking about Chekhov's Gun like it's an immutable rule of storytelling, but that's not the case and especially not in a huge sprawling world building exercise like GoT.

Sure, I'm not crazy. There's no way all the plots introduced were ever going to be neatly tied up with a show of this magnitude. GRRM can't even get the books done and he has all the space in the world with which to make it work.

Like I said, had it ended at Winterfell, I'd have left the series delighted and extremely forgiving of any remaining holes/guns at that point. It was the last two episodes and their race to the finish that bothered me. The primary reason I still hate LOST's ending is that they insisted on inserting additional threads even during the final season when they never intended to wrap the ones they'd already introduced. To a degree, it's what happened on GoT as well, except the seeds had at least been previously planted.

My complaint about GoT's ending is really simple. The final season--particularly the final two episodes--needed more exposition. I thought coming into the season that given the extended-time episodes, they were going to be okay, but at the end, I think they should've opted to go with at least a full-season slate of episodes instead.

Well, it didn't go your way.  The series as whole was still awesome, and i thought the ending was great.  Was it perfect? Nope...but that's life.

I'm really tired of this "it didn't go your way so stop whining" nonsense. One more time, there was no "my way" for it to go. Other than being a well-told cohesive story.

I'm a big fan of not telling others how they should have fun or enjoy something. And I haven't done that here. I can not enjoy a thing that someone else does, explain why I didn't, and not tell them they're wrong or expect them to agree with me.

It's great that you enjoyed the ending. I'm truly glad for you, and anyone like you. Why does it matter to you that I didn't get the same feeling for myself? I'm simply critiquing the show based on my observations/POV, just like I do with everything else. I don't understand what the point of a message board is, if not to do that.

[Gorilla]

The series as whole was still awesome, and i thought the ending was great.  Was it perfect? Nope...but that's life.

I kinda-sorta agree with this.  I was happy with the ending and where everyone ended up, esp Jon north of the wall with Wildlings, that was perfect imo.
I'm just bummed that the final 13 episodes didn't live up to the super-high bar set by the previous seasons (again, I loved seasons 1-6).
Like the final 4 episodes would have been an entire season if they wanted to continue at their elite standard, rather than rush things.

It was unlikely that it would match Breaking Bad in my book, but it was on a path to be my personal #2 Best Show Ever, and it dropped the ball for that. BUT I'm still a huge fan and think it was a phenomenal achievement. Season 1 is probably the best initial season of a show I've ever seen.

(Total sidenote: for a satisfying and great final season, I HIGHLY recommend Veep. This month it solidified itself as the Best Comedy Ever in my mind.)

[MBGreen]

I kinda-sorta agree with this.  I was happy with the ending and where everyone ended up, esp Jon north of the wall with Wildlings, that was perfect imo.
I'm just bummed that the final 13 episodes didn't live up to the super-high bar set by the previous seasons (again, I loved seasons 1-6).
Like the final 4 episodes would have been an entire season if they wanted to continue at their elite standard, rather than rush things.

It was unlikely that it would match Breaking Bad in my book, but it was on a path to be my personal #2 Best Show Ever, and it dropped the ball for that. BUT I'm still a huge fan and think it was a phenomenal achievement. Season 1 is probably the best initial season of a show I've ever seen.

(Total sidenote: for a satisfying and great final season, I HIGHLY recommend Veep. This month it solidified itself as the Best Comedy Ever in my mind.)

We're on the same page.  I recognize that GoT rushed their storylines...it sucked, but i still enjoyed the season and the rest of the series.  If you haven't read the books, i suggest doing so. 

I watched the first 2 seasons of Veep, but then lost interest.  Does it get better?

[Johnny English]

I keep meaning to watch Veep but not getting round to it. I assume I'll like it as the greatest TV show ever made, contrary to Gorilla's erroneous assertions, is The West Wing, and I've always had a crush on JLD.

[MBGreen]

I'm really tired of this "it didn't go your way so stop whining" nonsense. One more time, there was no "my way" for it to go. Other than being a well-told cohesive story.

I'm a big fan of not telling others how they should have fun or enjoy something. And I haven't done that here. I can not enjoy a thing that someone else does, explain why I didn't, and not tell them they're wrong or expect them to agree with me.

It's great that you enjoyed the ending. I'm truly glad for you, and anyone like you. Why does it matter to you that I didn't get the same feeling for myself? I'm simply critiquing the show based on my observations/POV, just like I do with everything else. I don't understand what the point of a message board is, if not to do that.

Settle down.  I didn't attack you, nor did i tell you how to enjoy a tv show.  What i did say was that the show was entertaining, despite your gripes...and there's nothing you can do to change the outcome.  The show isn't perfect, i'm not sure what you expected...but you sound like those lunatics on twitter that want to rewrite the whole season. 

[MBGreen]

I keep meaning to watch Veep but not getting round to it. I assume I'll like it as the greatest TV show ever made, contrary to Gorilla's erroneous assertions, is The West Wing, and I've always had a crush on JLD.

JLD hotness is underrated.

[AlioTheFool]

Settle down.  I didn't attack you, nor did i tell you how to enjoy a tv show.  What i did say was that the show was entertaining, despite your gripes...and there's nothing you can do to change the outcome.  The show isn't perfect, i'm not sure what you expected...but you sound like those lunatics on twitter that want to rewrite the whole season.

"I didn't attack you"
"You sound like a Twitter lunatic"

"I didn't tell you how to enjoy a show"
"It was entertaining despite your gripes"

Seriously though, no I can't change the outcome. But I can talk about the show, and be critical of it. That's the beauty of art and literature, they don't simply invite criticism and discussion, they're enhanced by them.

In fact, my whole point of coming back into the thread this morning was to talk about how the angle of Tyrion "winning" changes some of my perception of the ending. It doesn't excuse the headlong rush to the finish line, but it functions better within the narrative than Bran's installation as king.

But I still can't understand why Yara and Dornish Prince Exwhyzee didn't say "If Sansa gets her own kingdom, so do we."

[MBGreen]

"I didn't attack you"
"You sound like a Twitter lunatic"

"I didn't tell you how to enjoy a show"
"It was entertaining despite your gripes"

wat

Seriously though, no I can't change the outcome. But I can talk about the show, and be critical of it. That's the beauty of art and literature, they don't simply invite criticism and discussion, they're enhanced by them.

In fact, my whole point of coming back into the thread this morning was to talk about how the angle of Tyrion "winning" changes some of my perception of the ending. It doesn't excuse the headlong rush to the finish line, but it functions better within the narrative than Bran's installation as king.

But I still can't understand why Yara and Dornish Prince Exwhyzee didn't say "If Sansa gets her own kingdom, so do we."

I have zero issue with Bran becoming king.  He's a smart choice.

Who cares what Yara and Dornish Dude want? Some of the tertiary parts of the show didn't require a full explanation. ..at that point, they're window dressing.

[insanity]

Everyone's grouchiness towards the ending of the show brings joy to the fact that I turned down everyone's demand for "needing to watching it"

[Johnny English]

Everyone's grouchiness towards the ending of the show brings joy to the fact that I turned down everyone's demand for "needing to watching it"

You should, it was good. There is more than just "raging nerd who invests their every waking thought into it" and "tedious lady garden who no one likes proudly boasting about never having seen an episode". There are lots of us in the middle who watched and enjoyed the show for what it was, an overly long but hugely entertaining show full of funbags and dragons and beheadings.

[AlioTheFool]

I'd recommend it too, even given my issues with it. It was fantastic.

I wouldn't at all call it "overly long" though.

[Johnny English]

I'd recommend it too, even given my issues with it. It was fantastic.

I wouldn't at all call it "overly long" though.

You may not, but it was. A couple of those seasons dragged like freak. Your biggest complaint is that too many loose ends weren't tied up; mine would be that they didn't need to present them in the first place. So much of it was pretty irrelevant to the main storyline and/or assumed knowledge not presented in the actual show. It was really baggy at points, with about a hundred named characters kicking around and being referenced. I want an entertainment show, not a reworking of the history of the Tudors.

[SixFeetDeep]

[AlioTheFool]

You may not, but it was. A couple of those seasons dragged like freak. Your biggest complaint is that too many loose ends weren't tied up; mine would be that they didn't need to present them in the first place. So much of it was pretty irrelevant to the main storyline and/or assumed knowledge not presented in the actual show. It was really baggy at points, with about a hundred named characters kicking around and being referenced. I want an entertainment show, not a reworking of the history of the Tudors.

The show was an adaptation of epic source material. By nature, it was always going to be a ton of information.

You've long held the opinion that there was too much going on, and it's fine to not enjoy storytelling like that, but Game of Thrones wasn't a show for you in the first place then, not the other way around.

[Gorilla]

I keep meaning to watch Veep but not getting round to it. I assume I'll like it as the greatest TV show ever made, contrary to Gorilla's erroneous assertions, is The West Wing, and I've always had a crush on JLD.

I do need to watch The West Wing...that type of show is right up my alley, and the cast looks amazing.

Veep, imo, is the most perfectly cast comedy ever. The minor characters are still memorable and hilarious (especially, off the top of my head, Minna and Furlong, omg they have so many repeatable lines....oh and OUR CURRENT OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR has a very funny role in it). JLD as selina meyer is SOOOO easily the best female TV character ever, and right there with Gervais' David Brent as my 2 favorite comedy characters of all time. It's no accident she's won the Emmy for every season of that show.

Oh, and that GoT DENNIS system meme is great.