It’s not always easy to end a show on a high note. When done correctly, fans can be left in awe, turning off the TV or, these days, putting their phones down and just thinking about the greatness that was. Four years ago, on May 19, 2019, fans of arguably the greatest show ever were left in dismay when the Game of Thrones finale ended. It was the one day when fans united, agreeing that the ending of the show did not match the promises that were made.
Fans expressed their outrage because of the lack of foreshadowing and the payoffs that did not happen at the end of the show. No, the ending wasn’t horrible; in fact, it was fine at best. For most, it didn’t hurt the show to the point where we could stop calling it one of, if not the best, shows to ever grace our screens.
Still, we can’t ignore how HBO and the show’s creator duo of David Benioff and D. B. Weiss royally screwed up. One of the stains left on their epic storytelling is due to the last four episodes of the series. However, some fans have gone as far as to say that the show took a dive after George R. R. Martin (the author of the source material) was left “out of the loop” for the last four seasons.
There’s even a conspiracy theory that Martin used the showrunners to test out the potential ending of the novel series. In any case, the issues and the backlash the show received were tragic, considering there were ways to ensure the ending was the epic conclusion we all deserved. Let’s break down four ways the writers of the show, including creators Benioff and Weiss, could’ve saved the conclusion of Game of Thrones.