I was actually fine with the Dany ending. Given the massive shock of the RW for those that haven't read the books, it needed to end on an upbeat note so it's not entirely doom and gloom - which is why you didn't see Balon Greyjoy or Ygritte dying in this episode for example. Given that the Bran storyline and the Stannis storyline were greatly concerned with the threat of the Whitewalkers, it makes sense that you've got Dany on the other end of the spectrum coming to fight them with her ever growing army. Yeah there was a cheesy element to it - Dany, the Great White Hope - and the scene was much too long, but for me, when the camera panned up and you saw the thousands of people following Dany, I felt some hope for Westeros. Yes the Whitewalkers are coming with their army of undead, but Dany is coming with dragons (magic!) and her vast armies. Maybe that makes her a Messiah-like character, but I don't think that's especially too different from the books. We keep hearing time and again about how powerful dragons are, and she's got three of them. I do think it could have ended on more of a cliffhanger and I would have loved to have seen UnCat or the Wildlings marching on the wall, but I think after the Red Wedding, the audience needed some hope and that comes in the form of Dany. NOTE: Sorry if someone has mentioned this before, I didn't have time to read the whole thread.
