[Rant] So are D & D just playing damage control, or are they actually stupid?

[CrypticWeirwood]

Hm, is this damage control? Kit was summoned!

Kit Harington, who plays Jon Snow, was due to co-host last night’s event but had to pull out, with insiders saying he had been summoned to a meeting with bosses at HBO. His wife Rose Leslie, who played Ygritte, did attend, however.

[Lord Varys]

27 minutes ago, BalerionTheCat said:

So, if I understand, the show was bad for some time. I would say since they had no book to follow. And we had no book to understand WTF is happening. But fans wanted to believe it would improve by the end? Because GRRM intended ending would have everyone happy? Even if the characters had not been properly constructed and were misunderstood? If the food is spoiled, it can't improve after that.

People thought the ending would make up for the shit we had to suffer, deluded themselves into believing that it didn't matter how they reached the destination if they reached the destination at all, not wanting to believe that if the path to the destination sucked the destination will suck, too. Especially if we basically thought they were on their way to Tokio and ended up in New York.

[BalerionTheCat]

17 minutes ago, Lord Varys said:

People thought the ending would make up for the shit we had to suffer, deluded themselves into believing that it didn't matter how they reached the destination if they reached the destination at all, not wanting to believe that if the path to the destination sucked the destination will suck, too. Especially if we basically thought they were on their way to Tokio and ended up in New York.

Yes, I remember that. "The story is told differently, but the main characters will have the same ending". As if living or dying was all that matter. And who sits the IT. That is really the most important! How dumb it sounded at the time. I barely understand why people are disappointed now. Besides, I believe D&D muddied the paths as much as they dared (and it's a lot), so no one could see the end coming.

[Consigliere]

10 hours ago, BalerionTheCat said:

So, if I understand, the show was bad for some time. I would say since they had no book to follow. And we had no book to understand WTF is happening. But fans wanted to believe it would improve by the end? Because GRRM intended ending would have everyone happy? Even if the characters had not been properly constructed and were misunderstood? If the food is spoiled, it can't improve after that.

 

Think of shows that had great endings (like The Shield or Six Feet Under). What made those endings great was the story and characterisation that came before. The Sopranos had a very controversial ending but after the initial outcry, discussion shifted to what happened to Tony Soprano - the controversial final moments did not affect the shows legacy because of the strength of the writing and characters all the way through. The Wire made missteps in its final season but, overall, the writing was great and the ending fit the characters and themes of the show and so it's still regarded as one of the greats.

What exactly do we have with GoT aside from production values and spectacle thanks to the biggest budget in television history? A good cast that was mostly wasted - there's only so much even good actors can do with shit material, a story full of plot holes, continuity errors, pathetic world building, horrendous dialogue and cardboard characters that flip-flop according to plot demands. 

Fans wanted to believe that the ending is the be-all and end-all so we got a lot of rationalising of the poor writing and "just wait and see". However, sacrificing the story and characters in favour of spectacle in a mad rush to get to the end was always going to result in a poor ending irrespective of what actually happened at the end - the journey is just as if not more important than the destination.