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Game of Thrones Poll Suggests Series Finale Disappointed Nearly 50% of Fans
Caution: Spoilers ahead for the Game of Thrones season finale
A poll of Game of Thrones fans suggests that almost half of viewers were left disappointed by last night's season 8 finale and the show's highly anticipated ending. After eight years dominating the television landscape, HBO's Game of Thrones, based on the A Song of Ice and Fire books by George R. R. Martin, finally came to its shocking conclusion last night. After the penultimate installment saw Daenerys Targaryen decimate King's Landing, the first half of the finale focused on Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister's difficult decision to assassinate the Mother of Dragons for the good of the Seven Kingdoms. After Dany's corpse was whisked away by a distraught Drogon, Bran "The Broken" Stark was nominated King and formed a new small council, the North became an independent country under Sansa's rule, Jon headed north to live with the Wildlings, and Arya ventured out to discover what lies west of Westeros.
Since Game of Thrones overtook its source material a couple of seasons ago, critical and fan reaction has gradually soured, and this negativity has become particularly pronounced during season 8. Many fans took issue with how quickly Game of Thrones rushed through its story arcs, and have also pointed out the resulting lack of time dedicated to character development compared to past seasons. Various instances of character inconsistencies have also been raised, and this criticism has culminated in an online petition requesting Game of Thrones' final season to be remade with a new creative team.
A fan poll conducted by TV Time now suggests that almost half of viewers were left unsatisfied by the Game of Thrones series finale. The survey results show only 10% describe themselves as "very satisfied," while 14% went for "pretty satisfied," and 30% selected "somewhat satisfied." The remaining 46% went with "disappointed."
It's vital to place these results into some kind of context. Firstly, the poll reveals that more than half of viewers were at least partially satisfied by the Game of Thrones series finale, and given the notoriously tricky business of ending a beloved TV show successfully, any approval rating of over 50% could arguably be considered a decent result. From Dexter and Lost to The Sopranos and Twin Peaks, history has shown that series finales rarely please everyone, with Breaking Bad perhaps the most notable exception from recent years. Secondly, the "pretty satisfied" and "somewhat satisfied" options are virtually interchangeable and if merged together, might present a more positive-looking set of results.
Having said that, there are some criticisms of the final Game of Thrones offering that are quite difficult to argue with. The episode did render a number of previously established plot points meaningless; only last week for example, Varys was seen secretly dispatching ravens revealing Jon Snow's true parentage but that plot thread was not mentioned, nor bared any impact upon, this week's proceedings. Furthermore, the decision to have Bran win the Iron Throne (or its molten remains at least) could easily be seen as subversive purely for the sake of being unpredictable. Bran's Three-Eyed Raven arc sat completely removed from the fight for the Iron Throne, and unlike the Lords and Ladies of Westeros apparently, many viewers were left baffled by the logic behind his appointment.
