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There's a post going around in tumblr: a screenshot of a tweet saying that GOT's ending was SO terrible it "erased the show's cultural significance"; something I vehemently disagree with, TBH.
Though it's not what I base my argument on, I must say first that I loved the ending. I wanted Sansa on the North's throne, and I got it. I wanted Cersei to have as gentle an ending as possible, and I got one even better than I imagined -she was vindicated, she was loved, she was comforted, she will be well-remembered. I wanted Tyrion in power, as high as he could be, and I wanted Jon as far away from power as he could get. And as bonuses, even if they weren't my main concerns, I loved Arya's, Jaime's, and Bronn's endings too; the only thing I would change is that I'd give Cersei and Sansa a final encounter. But most of all, I don't think anything in the final episodes "came out of nowhere"; in fact, a lot of it aligned with what I, a non-book reader, was told I was "reaching" or "delusional" for suspecting LOL. I sympathise with people that felt screwed over by the finale, but I can't say I'm one of them, it's my point.
But even if I hadn't liked it, I think affirming GOT is no longer "culturally relevant" is grossly inaccurate. The fact that people still rant about it out of the blue is actually a pretty good sign they can't let go of it. New shows get compared to it at the slighest similarity (and yes, a lot of the comparisons are to put down GOT, but IMO, if you can't keep one show's name out of your mouth... that means something. While the new shows are often just the "flavor of the week"), thinkpieces continue to be published about it... Merch sold =/= cultural significance. Fan's contentment =/= cultural significance.
Hell, in the same post the GOT's finale was compared to HIMYM's. I've watched maybe... 20, 30 episodes of that show, yet I still understand most of the references people make about it. It's like a microcosmos that contains all of tv's formulaic writing. And yes, the finale was widely hated- but the show's still in everyone's mouth, time and again; the bitterness hasn't disappeared, it's ready to get out at any provocation. I think that shows more "cultural significance" than if those shows ended the way expected, TBH; I can picture them falling out of the collective conscience so quickly if people had felt satisfied with them. It reminds me of how I've always thought Little Women wouldn't be near as popular if Jo and Laurie had ended up together: that frustration keeps the flames alive LOL.
Though it's not what I base my argument on, I must say first that I loved the ending. I wanted Sansa on the North's throne, and I got it. I wanted Cersei to have as gentle an ending as possible, and I got one even better than I imagined -she was vindicated, she was loved, she was comforted, she will be well-remembered. I wanted Tyrion in power, as high as he could be, and I wanted Jon as far away from power as he could get. And as bonuses, even if they weren't my main concerns, I loved Arya's, Jaime's, and Bronn's endings too; the only thing I would change is that I'd give Cersei and Sansa a final encounter. But most of all, I don't think anything in the final episodes "came out of nowhere"; in fact, a lot of it aligned with what I, a non-book reader, was told I was "reaching" or "delusional" for suspecting LOL. I sympathise with people that felt screwed over by the finale, but I can't say I'm one of them, it's my point.
But even if I hadn't liked it, I think affirming GOT is no longer "culturally relevant" is grossly inaccurate. The fact that people still rant about it out of the blue is actually a pretty good sign they can't let go of it. New shows get compared to it at the slighest similarity (and yes, a lot of the comparisons are to put down GOT, but IMO, if you can't keep one show's name out of your mouth... that means something. While the new shows are often just the "flavor of the week"), thinkpieces continue to be published about it... Merch sold =/= cultural significance. Fan's contentment =/= cultural significance.
Hell, in the same post the GOT's finale was compared to HIMYM's. I've watched maybe... 20, 30 episodes of that show, yet I still understand most of the references people make about it. It's like a microcosmos that contains all of tv's formulaic writing. And yes, the finale was widely hated- but the show's still in everyone's mouth, time and again; the bitterness hasn't disappeared, it's ready to get out at any provocation. I think that shows more "cultural significance" than if those shows ended the way expected, TBH; I can picture them falling out of the collective conscience so quickly if people had felt satisfied with them. It reminds me of how I've always thought Little Women wouldn't be near as popular if Jo and Laurie had ended up together: that frustration keeps the flames alive LOL.
