As for bad book/show endings, I think they might have become burnt out with it all. The same thing happened at the end of the anime Narito Shippuden they kept foreshadowing the big wedding right from when they were kids back in Naruto Uzumaki (this is an epic anime it has thousands of episodes) and built it up to this huge thing and then gave us the wedding as something the characters only mentioned later?

WTH? My bf and I sent over a year watching that and were both excited about the wedding and… no wedding. !@#$ It was great that the big bad went down and everyone was free but… we’ll be forever disappointed. >:( So many tears laughs and shocks on that show. WHY?

The only thing worse then a writer not following through with what they promised or hinted at is never finishing a series. For example, the show Ash vs Evil Dead. I stop at 20 episodes due to lack of funding. RAGE! Stupid HBO.

I’d say a close second to doing that is finding a favorite author buying their books and they never publish another book. #painfulltears

Loved the gritty aspects, the messy ugly aspects to characters, their failings and the blistering conflict. I loved it from the moment I watched the iconic opening and heard the theme music. I raved about it to everyone I knew. That’s why it became such a phenomenon, and enthusiastic word-of-mouth spread as fast as green wildfire.

Daenerys was hellbent on reclaiming the Iron Throne, while Jon was reluctantly led to it. The constellation of the show spun around these two. For me, Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen led most of the action, the ultimate “Song of Ice & Fire.” In the last two seasons, their character motivations unraveled, particularly Jon, devolving into a Star Trek red shirt in season eight, and in the finale, became a marionette to Tyrion’s string tugs. His struggle to kill Daenerys was a Cliff Note, especially when contrasted to the anguish over Ygritte. Instead Dany’s body is carried away by Drogon, Westeros’s version of a nuclear weapon, and the rest of the characters shrug it off. “Oh, and by the way, what’s that fiery critter up to now?” Bran’s cool and collected, his ability to Warg means it won’t be a problem. C’mon. What comes next, Drogon huddled over an aviary nest in a live raptor cam?

Many promising story elements either fizzled or were dropped. I still wondered what role Jaqen H’ghar might’ve played. I wondered why the remaining six kingdoms agreed to be a part of the realm, while Sansa asserted the North’s independence. In real geopolitics, would that fly? Wouldn’t some ruler assert: “We want independence, too.”

Also surprising was the cliff-drop of the secondary characters. The secondary characters often made the main characters more likable. I loved Davos Seaworth, Jorah Mormont, Gendry Baratheon, Varys the Spider. Sandor Clegane’s blazing ending, his cynical laughter as he battled his zombie brother at least seemed fitting.

When the surviving Westeros hierarchy debated with Greyworm about Jon Snow’s fate, that defied credulity. The Unsullied and Dothraki had a military chokehold on King’s Landing, countered by Sansa’s threat of the Northmen on standby. Poof, instantly resolved. Here is Sam, Jon’s longtime friend, suggesting an election process that becomes a joke. Compare this to Sam’s rallying cry among the Night Watch, speaking up for Jon Snow as they voted for a new leader. “He (Jon) may be young, but he’s the commander we turned to when the night was darkest.” Sam was going to name his child after Jon, he’s watched Jon fight and lead, time and time again. Yet Sam says nothing.

Yes, I know Greyworm and his men had Jon in captivity, but I can’t see Davos or Sam or the Stark women idly sitting by. Wouldn’t Arya use her face-shifting to her advantage?

Jon earned every position he acquired, even as he refused power, his competence, bravery and integrity won out, often at great cost to himself. Perhaps he was most like Ned Stark and he made colossal mistakes. Most all the characters did. Daenerys’s ambition was held in check by her advisors. I think Jorah often served as her conscience, despite his own fall from grace, and her inability to forgive him no matter how many times he returned to prove himself worthy – until finally she gave in – was an indicator she’d drive a hard line.

I did sense Jon’s admiration of Mance Rayder, the wilding independent streak, the lack of a royal ruling class appealed to Jon. So I wasn’t surprised he left Castle Black with the last of the wildings, I rather liked him walking among them, still in his Crow wear and fur pelt, but clearly admired by the wildings, their affection evident. Seeing the back of Tormund’s head when Jon first returned to Castle Black brought a smile.

Another scene I found objectionable was the Council meeting, Tyrion straightening the chairs, Bronn joking about brothels. King’s Landing decimated and thousands perish, many burned to death, and they’re making sitcom jokes? This was on par with the devastation after the Dresden fires, Hiroshima destroyed – seriously tragic, gutting events. And yet we’re fast-forwarded to banter, an almost lighthearted wrap to the carnage. Even if this scene happened a year or two later after Dany’s destruction, people would still be staggered by their losses of family and property.

What qualified Bran Stark to lead? Being a Three-Eyed clairvoyant wouldn’t necessarily prepare him for a position of leading. Jon Snow had that in spades, he didn’t do it from a dragon’s back, either. I felt his character earned his stripes, over and over, the very hardest way possible. He couldn’t change faces to get the advantage, he had to slog through his torments and challenges and setbacks. He had to do it with will and muscle.

Overall, I loved this series. Totally enthralled by it, I lost myself in YouTuber speculations, laughed at post-episode commentary, re-watched the entire series three times. It’s just that good. I just wish the creators had stayed with George R. R. Martin’s original vision, instead of rushing through the last two seasons, a disservice to such memorable characters. We’ll remember so many lines from this show: “Chaos is a ladder.” “Winter is coming.” “Lannisters always pay their debts.” “The gods flip a coin.”

I never watched a single episode of GoT, the adds turned me off to it totally. I’ve seen enough brutality in real life to want to watch it on the screen.

However, your analysis of where and when it went off the rails rings very true to many Sf books and series I’ve read. There was no step at the top of the Stairway and Checkovs Gun was never fired in anger or even target practice.

Disappointing readers is a mortal sin for writers. Screenwriters have it especially hard; but the total fumble, especially with all the promotional gear they sold… they should be flogged with dangling participles until the repent.

I have a unique experience ongoing. I took a Ghostwriting contract for a friend, Historical Biography / Real-life Romance.

I planned out a three book series:
Book 1-Girlhood with Hitler rising in the background, Nazi occupation during teen years, Liberation, First Love and Romantic diaster;
Book 2-Finding Love sort of, raising 4 daughters alone in devastated Europe, living large;
Book 3-gathering wealth, another Romantic disaster, finding husbands for daughters, miracle grandson, finding Jesus, becoming a divine healer, then going to Heaven from a home on the beach, providential message back to the girls- safely home.

And it was all true.

I even wrote out the Critical final Hinge Scenes to the Story arc.

Then, my client got cold feet after Book 1 was 95% written… and now ?????
(Got to earn our chops in a new Genre/Modality somehow I guess.
Only cost me 4 years. Sf is way easier.)

But Hey, she still might pull the trigger on the whole package; but if she does I can see a huge lot of revising in the distant future, till we go to publication. That is if Jesus doesn’t take me home between now and then.

Ah, well nobody said Writing was an easy road to travel.

Love your blog, sister. Keep up the good work.

I’m at Three-Score and Ten +; Starting on that Four-Score stuff.
But, I’m in Jesus’ hands and lovin’ the freedom.

Write on, sis.

Maranatha! Rejoice!
We’re Almost Home!

dave 😉

<3

Most every scene instead of being epic was an epic fail. The fans know this because they KNOW these characters and that’s why the fan frustration is at such a high pitch with the series ending.

Every action was out of character. Every one. And fans could see it by the time they came to one of the last scenes (a stage no less) where every secondary character (every sidekick) sat in a chair or stood wanting to be king and deciding who would be. And where was the hero in that scene? Nowhere!

Extraordinarily bad writing. Just bad, lazy writing. Exposed.

It was off the rails when Tyrion betrayed Lord Varys. It was a train wreck when Daenerys burned Kings landing to the ground. And then, it became the biggest travesty when the true hero, Jon Snow, became indecisive about doing the right thing, killed his true love (out of nowhere without a second thought it appears), and then failed to be recognized (at all) as the true heir to the throne, which was the biggest secret threading the whole story line together for EIGHT YEARS.

This travesty took place because two cocky, egotistical writers didn’t know or love their audience enough to do the work to know the characters well enough to write an effective ending to an epic story line. They took something big and epic and made it small and forgettable. Lazy writing in action for all the true fans to see and experience for themselves.

After all, this wasn’t Star Wars. This was Game of Thrones–an epic, character-driven story line that was shamefully mishandled by these two writers. Their writing inexperience began to be revealed as soon as they ran out of books to adapt to film. Season 6, I believe… They both should go tend bar somewhere and never write again. Ever.