Life is full of disappointments. Everyday, people crash their cars, drop their phones, or spill drinks on their pants. As Mick Jagger sang, “You can’t always get what you want.”
But try telling that to the hordes of aggrieved Game of Thrones fans who are now demanding that HBO remake the eighth and final season of the hit fantasy show.
A petition on Change.org was created just two weeks ago, requesting HBO hire “competent writers” and remake the season. More than 1.5 million people have already signed the petition.
Like many shows before it, the Game of Thrones finale left some fans with a bitter taste in their mouths. There will be no spoilers here, but suffice it to say that some felt the final season did not wrap up the show’s complex plot in a satisfactory manner. Some argue this is because the show was in uncharted waters, with no more reference material from author George R.R. Martin to guide the show’s writers. Others, such as the petition creator, claim the show’s writers were simply not up to the task.
Whatever the case, begging for a redo is simply childish. Game of Thrones is not the first, nor will it be the last, piece of entertainment with an unsatisfactory conclusion. The Sopranos, another HBO property, featured a cliff-hanger ending that divided fans. Or Showtime’s Dexter, which had a finale that even left Michael C. Hall admitting he was disappointed. And then there is Seinfeld, perhaps the gold standard of disappointing endings.
Given the heat his own show received in 1998, Jason Alexander, who starred as George Costanza on Seinfeld, offered a bit of advice to the cast and crew of Game of Thrones about how to deal with the criticism.
“Live in joy that you are part of something that moves people so,” he wrote on Twitter. “You were all magnificent. My family and I loved it all. Thanks.”
Disappointed fans should find some solace in those words: Millions of fans did enjoy Game of Thrones. And those who were disappointed by the show’s finale have surely enjoyed some other piece of art that disappointed someone else.
Nothing can please everyone, and that’s OK. But rather than demanding a network remake a show because it let down some subsection of viewers, disappointed fans should merely move on. There is always a new show, movie, book, record, or activity that could capture people’s attention in a more positive way.
It is OK to be disappointed, but no one is entitled to a satisfactory ending.
First Published May 30, 2019, 4:00 a.m.
