If we’ve learned anything from the decades of television shows that have aired, it’s that it’s far easier to begin a story than to bring it to a close. George R.R. Martin understands this more than anyone else, which might explain why he has finally decided to reveal the TV show finale that stole his heart.
Vanity Fair recently featured an article outlining the “25 Perfect TV Episodes From the Last 25 Years”. While there are a few eyebrow-raising choices on the list, like the inclusion of “The Injury” from The Office (only someone who’s not watched The show would rank this episode above “The Dinner Party”), the curator of the list did manage to select some episodes that truly deserve the title of “perfect”.
Among these are The Sopranos’ gripping episode “Pine Barrens,” The Wire’s impactful “Middle Ground,” Breaking Bad’s unforgettable “Ozymandias,” and Game of Thrones’ epic “Blackwater,” to name just a few.
The inclusion of a Game of Thrones episode on the list caught the eye of George R.R. Martin, who responded to this honorable recognition in his blog, ‘Not a Blog‘. Martin revealed that the tragic ninth episode from the second season was in fact his favorite among the quartet of episodes he had penned for the series, before proceeding to give his two cents about the rest of the episodes listed.
Martin began by identifying the episodes on the list that he’s watched and, in the process, revealing that he’s a big fan of Black Mirror, particularly lauding the fourth episode from the third season, “San Junipero”. Interestingly, though, his favorite episode happened to come from a different TV show, one that most people wouldn’t expect.
…if I had to pick one episode that was even more perfect than all the others on the list, though, it would have to be the final episode of SIX FEET UNDER. I liked that series well enough, though I cannot say I loved it as much as I loved ROME or DEADWOOD or FARGO or a few other shows missing from the list, but that last episode was far and away the best finale in the entire history of television, and I cannot imagine how anyone could possibly do better.
Having lived through the Silver Age of television, we would have expected Martin to pick M*A*S*H’s finale “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” as his favorite (it’s rather surprising that this episode was not included on the list). The episode, which premiered in 1983, drew in over 100 million viewers, and it currently stands as the most-watched finale of any television series.
Nevertheless, Martin chose to go with a comparably impressive show and an equally remarkable episode, which many, like him, consider to be one of the greatest endings in television history (cue flamewar in the comments).
In a different world, a better Game of Thrones’ finale would have made this list, and though we’re not entirely certain that Martin would have picked it as his favorite, it’s highly likely that many people would have. Through its eight-season run, the fantasy adaptation of the A Song of Ice and Fire series gained a reputation for having some of the most unpredictable episodes with incredible plot twists.
Unfortunately, without enough content from the books to adapt for the final two seasons of the show, showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss struggled to maintain the quality of writing audiences had come to expect from them. By the time the eighth season was approaching its climax, a significant number of fans (and even actors) had become increasingly apathetic towards the show.
We can only hope that the remaining books, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, will provide a more satisfying resolution for the Westeros characters, granted, of course, that Martin manages to complete these books.
