[sphinx]

The show has not been able to sustain the mythological and magical underpinnings of the GOT universe. Take those away, and we are left with a medieval hack and slash power struggle, with a little extra color added by dragons and some lingering HBO sexploitation. (Though in fairness, the sexual content was dialed down sharply after the first couple of seasons.)

We still watch because we've grown attached to the characters and want to see how they finish, but they are no longer operating in a magical world. Drogon is basically a very powerful attack helicopter. Yes, there was still a Night King and an army of the dead, but all it took was a stealthy assassin and a dagger thrust to wrap that up. Ancient wars, ancient magic, 6,000 years of legend, weighty prophecies, mysterious red priests from across the seas, the Long Night … and one quite ordinary dagger thrust and it's done? The prophecies, and not just those involving the Night King, have disappeared. Not long ago, Bran was a warg and a greenseer; now he is a cripple in a wheelchair who provides a little backstory from time to time. The Golden Company, with a long, lore-laden history and a very big plotline in the books, is introduced only to be annihilated as incidental props in their first extended scene.

It's the same devolution that Lord of the Rings -- and then, the unwatchable Hobbit -- suffered at the hands of Peter Jackson. Once a compelling fantasy/magical world has been built, it has to be sustained through the end of the story. That's hard work. It requires real creative imagination. Neither Peter Jackson's screenwriters nor the GOT crew have been up to the task. Special effects and extended battle scenes are a poor substitute for lack of imagination.

I'm not suggesting that it's easy. It's obviously not. Writer's block may be part of the story, but I think GRRM himself was defeated by the complexities of his own story. The best solution would be for GRRM to finish the books, managing to sustain the narrative level to the end. This would create a considerable chasm between the books and the later seasons of the show, but that's fine. The movies and television routinely butcher good literary material. We expect that. The twist in this case is that GRRM yielded the lead to the show halfway through the story. If he ever finishes, he will have to yank the narrative back. There will probably be an approximately similar ending, but major character arcs will likely be very different.

[morphing libertarian]

The entire series built toward last night’s battle. I am surprised at your disappointment,.

[MikelTackNailer]

G(Har Har)M sold out his literary legacy for a big check from HBO. Could have held out to create art, could have forced that network to work with his schedule but no. Fortunately his was a fascinating yet ultimately unimportant fantasy series that had just enough dramatic high points to cultivate a devoted following. TV cult.

No more Tolkien for us. I don't blame him with all that money in front of his nose. I just wouldn't have gone that way.