It’s been nearly five years since Game of Thrones‘ final act, and to this day, it still stands as a monumental testament to the volatile relationship between creators and consumers. D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, the architects behind the television adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s fantasy epic, have experienced this all too well, especially in the aftermath of the show’s controversial conclusion.
As the series escalated in popularity, morphing from a cult fantasy into a global phenomenon, so too did the weight of expectation on Weiss and Benioff’s shoulders. Each season’s success seemed only to magnify the pressure for the next, culminating in a crescendo of anticipation for a finale that, ideally, could somehow satisfy the hopes of its vast audience. Surely a team this experienced could pull it off?
Sadly, as the dust settled on the final episode, the reaction was far from the cheerful chorus the showrunners might have hoped for. Reflecting on their journey after Game of Thrones concluded, Weiss and Benioff recently talked about their experiences in an interview with the Happy Sad Confused podcast. They admitted to being somewhat blindsided by the intensity of the backlash.
“I think we knew it would be controversial; we hoped that it would be a little more 50/50,” Weiss stated, expressing a wish for a more balanced reception that ultimately was not to be. The feedback loop that once propelled the show to unprecedented heights seemed to have inverted, throwing them into the depths of public scrutiny.
Benioff, in a moment of introspection, shared an anecdote that revealed the personal impact of the series’ reception, recounting an unexpected encounter with a Homeland Security officer who professed his love for the show. According to him, it was a reminder that despite the harsh criticism they received, there remained islands of appreciation in their audience.
The ending of Game of Thrones was always going to elicit an array of differing opinions. “You always hope everyone’s going to love anything you do,” Benioff claimed, acknowledging the impossibility of universal acclaim. Despite knowing this, there was an underlying current of surprise, perhaps even disappointment, at the scale of the negative responses the duo received.
Weiss encapsulated this when he spoke of the “drug quality” of feedback and the relief found in stepping away from the online chatter. “Even super positive feedback makes you feel weird and teeth-grindy and on edge. There’s a drug quality to the feedback, and as soon as we went cold turkey—the last time I Googled myself was in 2013—the ambient stress level in our lives dropped by about 50 percent overnight.”
So, what made audiences so incensed with how the story of Game of Thrones was brought to a close? Well, for starters, many viewers felt that the final season was rushed, with plotlines being resolved hastily and character arcs concluding abruptly. This rushed pacing led to dissatisfaction with the resolution of key storylines.
Secondly, several characters’ arcs were perceived as being inconsistent with their development throughout the series. Specifically, Daenerys Targaryen’s transformation into a tyrant was seen as abrupt and not adequately foreshadowed, leading to disappointment among fans invested in her character’s journey. While her father was the Mad King, there was little indication that she would follow in his footsteps.
During its eight-season run, Game of Thrones acquired a reputation for subverting traditional fantasy tropes. Ironically, it was this very streak that ended up becoming its own undoing. Nearly all fans would agree that the finale subverted expectations in an unsatisfying way, particularly with regards to who ultimately ended up ruling the Seven Kingdoms. Yes, we all love Bran, but his fate was never to be Lord of the Seven Kingdoms.
Although Weiss and Benioff have since charted a course forward, focusing on new horizons with their Netflix series 3 Body Problem, their legacy of Game of Thrones still remains a double-edged sword. For many other creators, it’s become a cautionary tale, but for George R.R. Martin, it’s almost like a curse, freezing him in place. Now, it feels almost certain that the final two books might forever remain unwritten.
