10 ms·

And we all know how it ended once they ran out of his material. Yes, I'm still salty.

by Sebb767 4y ago

ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago
I never even bothered with Season 8.
- Sebb767 4y ago
  And you'll be happier if you keep it that way :-) The only worse ending I know is that of How I Met Your Mother. Just skip the last two episodes there, seriously.
  - anshumankmr 4y ago
    The last season of Game of Thrones is genuinely the worst possible ending to the show and genuinely takes the top spot for the most disappointing ending of all time. At least,HIMYM had its defenders but I've never seen a good thing spoken about the story in the final season.
    - Sebb767 4y ago
      This is subjective, of course. But for me, the ending of GoT just cast a shadow over the other seasons. It's a bit less thrilling to watch them now, since I know it will lead to an inevitable jumping of the shark, but I still like them as-is. The ending of HIMYM, on the other hand, completely ruined the series for me. I honestly have a harder time enjoying them, knowing the actual ending. That's why I think the ending of HIMYM is worse.
      - ipaddr 4y ago
        What made the ending bad in that series? To actually see the women wasn't terrible.. Seinfeld had a bad ending but it doesn't ruin the show.
        Clubber 4y ago
        >What made the ending bad in that series? For me, the ending seemed very scripted, very boilerplate, very forced, very unimaginative. It seemed like the writers were in the contract longer than they wanted too and they were just "phoning it in."
        Sebb767 4y ago
        -- Spoilers below -- There were a lot of things I disliked. The first thing was the marriage of Barney and Robin, which was built up over the last one to two seasons and then undone within 15 minutes (and without good reason!). Overall, the Barney plot of going from married to divorced back to successful playboy to failing playboy to suddenly caring father was really bad (also, he failed as a playboy, but he also had a 30 day perfect streak?). The next bad thing was the dissolution of the friend group. Of course, life happens, but seeing them just not having time anymore was sad and it makes the build-up of the friendship in the older seasons just seem pointless. The worst thing, however, was bringing the mother in and then killing her off with basically no screen time. I mean, the whole series was about meeting her! The earlier seasons spend so much time just teasing points where they randomly met or saw each other! And then we get a scene meeting her and one of her dying and she's gone. And what really killed the series for me were the last 15 minutes. I was pretty sad seeing everything that was built up over 9 seasons killed within not even two episodes and then it ends with "just kidding, the whole point of this story was just to date Robin after all". Knowing this just ruins the whole point, especially since the last few seasons do their best to clearly exclude Robin as dating option, even going as far as to have her marry Barney. -- End of spoilers -- I know they did it this way because the ending was pre-filmed around season 2 and I actually agree with some fans on that this ending is, when read as a summary, not that bad. It's just that they build up so much in these seasons and especially went in a completely different direction in the last one, just to make a 180 degree turn and end the series with a bad joke. That's what completely ruined it for me.
        TMWNN 4y ago
        >The first thing was the marriage of Barney and Robin, which was built up over the last one to two seasons and then undone within 15 minutes (and without good reason!). First half of S5 and all of S8 and S9 depict in detail why Robin and Barney are horrible together. >The worst thing, however, was bringing the mother in and then killing her off with basically no screen time. I mean, the whole series was about meeting her! Nope. The kids themselves tell their father otherwise. Ted tells the story of "how I met your mother" to his kids to justify to himself why he should move on with his life and again pursue a relationship with Robin; his kids tell him that they have no problem with this, and are happy that he is interested in "Aunt Robin", who has already been a substitute mother figure for them (see "Little Boys"). >And what really killed the series for me were the last 15 minutes. I was pretty sad seeing everything that was built up over 9 seasons killed within not even two episodes and then it ends with "just kidding, the whole point of this story was just to date Robin after all". Rewatch the show. Not just "Little Boys"; every single episode, from the first one onward (which I saw the day it aired, in September 2005), contains clues that lead the patient and observant viewer toward the ending. Apparently 19 year-old Redditors are not the only ones who believe in TV-style 'shipping "true love", which means that the girl the guy fate says is meant for him in S1E01—in this case, the Mother—must be still The One in S9E22; any variance must be punished. They haven't yet learned that in the real world heartbreak and heartache and sad things do happen, and sometimes it's possible for two lonely old friends to find love again later in life. To put another way: Most people are lucky to meet the love of their life. Ted is luckier. He meets two loves of his life.
    - synu 4y ago
      It's amazing how they managed to go from beloved franchise to salted earth in one season. People used to rewatch the seasons, but not so much now that they know where it's all headed.
      - Sebb767 4y ago
        If you look at discussions, you'll see that the actual decline started earlier, by some opinions as far as the end of season 4. The problem is that back then, it was not as clear that the series was declining - it could've been a super interesting new story thread or a new intrigue starting out. But now, with the knowledge that it leads nowhere, you can clearly see the problems starting out. Also, of course, it's less fun watching the stuff now, knowing that it will slowly fade out into a bad ending.
        synu 4y ago
        That's true, though I suppose if they had stuck the landing the relative decline after the end of season four (which I agree with) would have been forgiven.
        tomtheelder 4y ago
        I felt like I was being gaslit during seasons 6 and 7. It was already pretty damn bad by that point, but all my friends kept telling me I was just being negative and that it was still an amazing show. I hated being right about that one.
      - verve_rat 4y ago
        Yeah, it could have been a franchise for the ages, even maybe another Star Wars... maybe. But that last season killed all that dead. Hell, there might have a way to rescue it until the last couple of episodes. It was truly remarkable to watch potentially billions of dollars of future value evaporate in real time.
        deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
    - uncertainrhymes 4y ago
      There are plenty of shows that had no idea how to get out of what they started (looking at you, Battlestar Galactica). However, no show will ever fail to end more spectacularly than Lost.
    - smsm42 4y ago
      "Lost" is also a strong contender there. Yes, I am still disappointed about that.
  - dylan604 4y ago
    Have we forgotten about Lost?
  - lliamander 4y ago
    I hated the ending of HIMYM at first, but now I'm good with it. Part of my change in heart comes from rewatching the series, it seems to me that they had this as the intended ending all along. I also think it serves as an interesting commentary on the notion of love and romantic attachments that Ted struggles with throughout the show. But overall I am frustrated with the film industry's overall obsession with subverting expectations. Viewers want some sort of payoff, and withholding that can really burn people who've invested time into watching content (especially for long running TV shows). You can sometimes achieve payoff even while subverting expectations, but too often you end up with an incoherent mess.
    - Sebb767 4y ago
      They obviously planned that ending in some way, since it was filmed before. Still, especially the last season definitely did not seem to intend this ending at all. In fact, it seemed to me like Ted finally accepted the fact that it's not going to be this ending. That being said, I do think they could've made this work. If you read a summary, it doesn't sound that bad. The thing that really ruined it for me was the forced delivery within two episodes. It just felt like tearing down everything, with no consistent plot or delivery and then topping it off with a bad joke. If they scrapped the actual season 9 and instead made a season 9 and 10 leading there, it would've been totally fine. And they knew this was coming! Also, on the subverting expectations part: This is totally fine. However, HIMYM is a comedy show. Playing it for a joke is fine, but that was more the "suprise, your mom has cancer!" type of subversion and definitely didn't fit the mood show.
    - TMWNN 4y ago
      >Part of my change in heart comes from rewatching the series, it seems to me that they had this as the intended ending all along. Correct. Almost every single episode of the show from the first one in September 2005 in some way foreshadows the ending. It's, overall, the most coherent and consistent continuity in television history. (For those who don't want to rewatch the show, I've heard that watching the first two episodes and the last two episodes together makes for a very satisfactory rom-com.)
- ren_engineer 4y ago
  people who say only season 8 was bad are part of the problem, book readers were warning about important changes as early as season 3 and 4, GRRM left after 4 due to those changes because while not obvious at first, they would result in entire character arcs getting wrecked long term. The show started going "Hollywood" in season 5 and it was obviously declining in quality but people defended it and got what they deserved with season 8
  - rizzaxc 4y ago
    I'm happy that there were people who think like me in this regard. I personally was very bothered by season 4/5 and didn't have much hope afterwards but everybody kept hyping the series to cloud nine; it made me very self conscious haha
  - ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago
    I pretty much agree. I watched through Season 7, but I think the thrill was gone, after 5.
  - unmole 4y ago
    I'm still pissed about what they did to the Dorne plot.
- lordnacho 4y ago
  A friend of friends was a massive GoT fan. Massive fan, could not wait to see more. Before the last season was done, he had a heart attack and passed away. People were saying for months after that how lucky he was.
  - ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago
    That is sad. My father passed the year before 9/11. I sometimes think he was lucky to have not had to deal with that (or the aftermath).
- bergenty 4y ago
  It was even before then. Season 6 was absolutely terrible and the storylines made no sense from that point on.
cameronh90 4y ago
Is it possible the reason it ended so badly is the same reason they ran out of material? It's been 11 years since the last ASOIAF novel. I think GRRM may have written himself into a corner and is unsure how to tie up all the threads and satisfactorily end the series.
- bakuninsbart 4y ago
  [Spoilers Below] I think you are spot on about ASOIAF, but I don't think this is the reason GoT ended badly. Books and TV Show started diverting much earlier, and the show had substantially fewer storylines, which is a good thing in this context I think. I also suspect that the ending we got is based on notes GRRM left. Daenerys turning evil is heavily foreshadowed, Bran ending up on the throne kinda makes sense, and so does Jamie not cashing in his redemption after all. WW not being the final arc mirrors LotR, and GRRM has repeatedly stated that he loved that way of storytelling. The first book is called Game of Thrones, the ending is about that as well. The problem in my opinion was just terrible execution: It was all really rushed and with terrible dialogue, so none of the story elements were developed in detail, and felt artificial and wooden.
  - mortenjorck 4y ago
    [Continuing spoilers] On Twitter late last year, I saw what was probably the single best idea that would have greatly improved the last few episodes, and could probably have been accomplished with a single scene (and maybe still could for a future "definitive edition"). The idea is that at some point prior to the last two episodes, Danerys receives word that Mereen has fallen, and that the slavers have retaken it. Her greatest achievement in "breaking the wheel" is now gone, and her designs to be the next Aegon are no longer nearly as assured. Building on this idea, the scene could play out with her completely losing it and threatening to burn Mereen to the ground, her advisors only barely talking her out of flying across the Narrow Sea right then and there. Mereen's destruction is averted, but the seed has been planted in the viewer's mind: Danerys has much less to lose now, and she's willing to rain fire on a populace with enough provocation. Now when the other shoe drops and she does this on King's Landing, the turn has enough narrative foundation to feel plausible and earned.
bergenty 4y ago
I’m salty too. As soon as season 6 was released you could tell it was pure fly by your pants nonsense that had no integrity and catered to the lowest denominator.

And we all know how it ended once they ran out of his material. Yes, I'm still salty.

ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago

I never even bothered with Season 8.

Sebb767 4y ago
And you'll be happier if you keep it that way :-) The only worse ending I know is that of How I Met Your Mother. Just skip the last two episodes there, seriously.
- anshumankmr 4y ago
  The last season of Game of Thrones is genuinely the worst possible ending to the show and genuinely takes the top spot for the most disappointing ending of all time. At least,HIMYM had its defenders but I've never seen a good thing spoken about the story in the final season.
  - Sebb767 4y ago
    This is subjective, of course. But for me, the ending of GoT just cast a shadow over the other seasons. It's a bit less thrilling to watch them now, since I know it will lead to an inevitable jumping of the shark, but I still like them as-is. The ending of HIMYM, on the other hand, completely ruined the series for me. I honestly have a harder time enjoying them, knowing the actual ending. That's why I think the ending of HIMYM is worse.
    - ipaddr 4y ago
      What made the ending bad in that series? To actually see the women wasn't terrible.. Seinfeld had a bad ending but it doesn't ruin the show.
      - Clubber 4y ago
        >What made the ending bad in that series? For me, the ending seemed very scripted, very boilerplate, very forced, very unimaginative. It seemed like the writers were in the contract longer than they wanted too and they were just "phoning it in."
      - Sebb767 4y ago
        -- Spoilers below -- There were a lot of things I disliked. The first thing was the marriage of Barney and Robin, which was built up over the last one to two seasons and then undone within 15 minutes (and without good reason!). Overall, the Barney plot of going from married to divorced back to successful playboy to failing playboy to suddenly caring father was really bad (also, he failed as a playboy, but he also had a 30 day perfect streak?). The next bad thing was the dissolution of the friend group. Of course, life happens, but seeing them just not having time anymore was sad and it makes the build-up of the friendship in the older seasons just seem pointless. The worst thing, however, was bringing the mother in and then killing her off with basically no screen time. I mean, the whole series was about meeting her! The earlier seasons spend so much time just teasing points where they randomly met or saw each other! And then we get a scene meeting her and one of her dying and she's gone. And what really killed the series for me were the last 15 minutes. I was pretty sad seeing everything that was built up over 9 seasons killed within not even two episodes and then it ends with "just kidding, the whole point of this story was just to date Robin after all". Knowing this just ruins the whole point, especially since the last few seasons do their best to clearly exclude Robin as dating option, even going as far as to have her marry Barney. -- End of spoilers -- I know they did it this way because the ending was pre-filmed around season 2 and I actually agree with some fans on that this ending is, when read as a summary, not that bad. It's just that they build up so much in these seasons and especially went in a completely different direction in the last one, just to make a 180 degree turn and end the series with a bad joke. That's what completely ruined it for me.
        TMWNN 4y ago
        >The first thing was the marriage of Barney and Robin, which was built up over the last one to two seasons and then undone within 15 minutes (and without good reason!). First half of S5 and all of S8 and S9 depict in detail why Robin and Barney are horrible together. >The worst thing, however, was bringing the mother in and then killing her off with basically no screen time. I mean, the whole series was about meeting her! Nope. The kids themselves tell their father otherwise. Ted tells the story of "how I met your mother" to his kids to justify to himself why he should move on with his life and again pursue a relationship with Robin; his kids tell him that they have no problem with this, and are happy that he is interested in "Aunt Robin", who has already been a substitute mother figure for them (see "Little Boys"). >And what really killed the series for me were the last 15 minutes. I was pretty sad seeing everything that was built up over 9 seasons killed within not even two episodes and then it ends with "just kidding, the whole point of this story was just to date Robin after all". Rewatch the show. Not just "Little Boys"; every single episode, from the first one onward (which I saw the day it aired, in September 2005), contains clues that lead the patient and observant viewer toward the ending. Apparently 19 year-old Redditors are not the only ones who believe in TV-style 'shipping "true love", which means that the girl the guy fate says is meant for him in S1E01—in this case, the Mother—must be still The One in S9E22; any variance must be punished. They haven't yet learned that in the real world heartbreak and heartache and sad things do happen, and sometimes it's possible for two lonely old friends to find love again later in life. To put another way: Most people are lucky to meet the love of their life. Ted is luckier. He meets two loves of his life.
  - synu 4y ago
    It's amazing how they managed to go from beloved franchise to salted earth in one season. People used to rewatch the seasons, but not so much now that they know where it's all headed.
    - Sebb767 4y ago
      If you look at discussions, you'll see that the actual decline started earlier, by some opinions as far as the end of season 4. The problem is that back then, it was not as clear that the series was declining - it could've been a super interesting new story thread or a new intrigue starting out. But now, with the knowledge that it leads nowhere, you can clearly see the problems starting out. Also, of course, it's less fun watching the stuff now, knowing that it will slowly fade out into a bad ending.
      - synu 4y ago
        That's true, though I suppose if they had stuck the landing the relative decline after the end of season four (which I agree with) would have been forgiven.
      - tomtheelder 4y ago
        I felt like I was being gaslit during seasons 6 and 7. It was already pretty damn bad by that point, but all my friends kept telling me I was just being negative and that it was still an amazing show. I hated being right about that one.
    - verve_rat 4y ago
      Yeah, it could have been a franchise for the ages, even maybe another Star Wars... maybe. But that last season killed all that dead. Hell, there might have a way to rescue it until the last couple of episodes. It was truly remarkable to watch potentially billions of dollars of future value evaporate in real time.
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
  - uncertainrhymes 4y ago
    There are plenty of shows that had no idea how to get out of what they started (looking at you, Battlestar Galactica). However, no show will ever fail to end more spectacularly than Lost.
  - smsm42 4y ago
    "Lost" is also a strong contender there. Yes, I am still disappointed about that.
- dylan604 4y ago
  Have we forgotten about Lost?
- lliamander 4y ago
  I hated the ending of HIMYM at first, but now I'm good with it. Part of my change in heart comes from rewatching the series, it seems to me that they had this as the intended ending all along. I also think it serves as an interesting commentary on the notion of love and romantic attachments that Ted struggles with throughout the show. But overall I am frustrated with the film industry's overall obsession with subverting expectations. Viewers want some sort of payoff, and withholding that can really burn people who've invested time into watching content (especially for long running TV shows). You can sometimes achieve payoff even while subverting expectations, but too often you end up with an incoherent mess.
  - Sebb767 4y ago
    They obviously planned that ending in some way, since it was filmed before. Still, especially the last season definitely did not seem to intend this ending at all. In fact, it seemed to me like Ted finally accepted the fact that it's not going to be this ending. That being said, I do think they could've made this work. If you read a summary, it doesn't sound that bad. The thing that really ruined it for me was the forced delivery within two episodes. It just felt like tearing down everything, with no consistent plot or delivery and then topping it off with a bad joke. If they scrapped the actual season 9 and instead made a season 9 and 10 leading there, it would've been totally fine. And they knew this was coming! Also, on the subverting expectations part: This is totally fine. However, HIMYM is a comedy show. Playing it for a joke is fine, but that was more the "suprise, your mom has cancer!" type of subversion and definitely didn't fit the mood show.
  - TMWNN 4y ago
    >Part of my change in heart comes from rewatching the series, it seems to me that they had this as the intended ending all along. Correct. Almost every single episode of the show from the first one in September 2005 in some way foreshadows the ending. It's, overall, the most coherent and consistent continuity in television history. (For those who don't want to rewatch the show, I've heard that watching the first two episodes and the last two episodes together makes for a very satisfactory rom-com.)
ren_engineer 4y ago
people who say only season 8 was bad are part of the problem, book readers were warning about important changes as early as season 3 and 4, GRRM left after 4 due to those changes because while not obvious at first, they would result in entire character arcs getting wrecked long term. The show started going "Hollywood" in season 5 and it was obviously declining in quality but people defended it and got what they deserved with season 8
- rizzaxc 4y ago
  I'm happy that there were people who think like me in this regard. I personally was very bothered by season 4/5 and didn't have much hope afterwards but everybody kept hyping the series to cloud nine; it made me very self conscious haha
- ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago
  I pretty much agree. I watched through Season 7, but I think the thrill was gone, after 5.
- unmole 4y ago
  I'm still pissed about what they did to the Dorne plot.
lordnacho 4y ago
A friend of friends was a massive GoT fan. Massive fan, could not wait to see more. Before the last season was done, he had a heart attack and passed away. People were saying for months after that how lucky he was.
- ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago
  That is sad. My father passed the year before 9/11. I sometimes think he was lucky to have not had to deal with that (or the aftermath).
bergenty 4y ago
It was even before then. Season 6 was absolutely terrible and the storylines made no sense from that point on.

cameronh90 4y ago

Is it possible the reason it ended so badly is the same reason they ran out of material? It's been 11 years since the last ASOIAF novel. I think GRRM may have written himself into a corner and is unsure how to tie up all the threads and satisfactorily end the series.

bakuninsbart 4y ago
[Spoilers Below] I think you are spot on about ASOIAF, but I don't think this is the reason GoT ended badly. Books and TV Show started diverting much earlier, and the show had substantially fewer storylines, which is a good thing in this context I think. I also suspect that the ending we got is based on notes GRRM left. Daenerys turning evil is heavily foreshadowed, Bran ending up on the throne kinda makes sense, and so does Jamie not cashing in his redemption after all. WW not being the final arc mirrors LotR, and GRRM has repeatedly stated that he loved that way of storytelling. The first book is called Game of Thrones, the ending is about that as well. The problem in my opinion was just terrible execution: It was all really rushed and with terrible dialogue, so none of the story elements were developed in detail, and felt artificial and wooden.
- mortenjorck 4y ago
  [Continuing spoilers] On Twitter late last year, I saw what was probably the single best idea that would have greatly improved the last few episodes, and could probably have been accomplished with a single scene (and maybe still could for a future "definitive edition"). The idea is that at some point prior to the last two episodes, Danerys receives word that Mereen has fallen, and that the slavers have retaken it. Her greatest achievement in "breaking the wheel" is now gone, and her designs to be the next Aegon are no longer nearly as assured. Building on this idea, the scene could play out with her completely losing it and threatening to burn Mereen to the ground, her advisors only barely talking her out of flying across the Narrow Sea right then and there. Mereen's destruction is averted, but the seed has been planted in the viewer's mind: Danerys has much less to lose now, and she's willing to rain fire on a populace with enough provocation. Now when the other shoe drops and she does this on King's Landing, the turn has enough narrative foundation to feel plausible and earned.

bergenty 4y ago

I’m salty too. As soon as season 6 was released you could tell it was pure fly by your pants nonsense that had no integrity and catered to the lowest denominator.