The final six episodes of Game of Thrones have inspired great ratings as well as endless chatter, making it as much or perhaps more discussed than even Avengers: Endgame. But as with the MCU epic, not all of that talk has been positive. These last episodes have proven divisive, and not just the one that was almost impossible to literally see.
With only two episodes remaining, the show could stick the landing. But until we know for sure, all we can do is wait…and discuss the handful of shows whose ending was as great as the rest of it.
Much of this talk has started with a single tweet — one of those semi-innocent queries that inspire waves upon waves of re-tweeted answers.
Since everybody apparently is mad at "Game of Thrones" now, here's a question for you: What's a TV show that you thought ended well?
— Jared Diamond (@jareddiamond) May 6, 2019
Wall Street Journal sports writer Jared Diamond kicked it off, asking social media a simple question: “Since everybody apparently is mad at ‘Game of Thrones’ now, here’s a question for you: What’s a TV show that you thought ended well?
Diamond didn’t offer his own answer, but he got plenty of responses.
Six Feet Under. Friday Night Lights. Halt and Catch Fire. The Americans. …
— Ryan Lawrence (@ryanlawrence21) May 6, 2019
battlestar galactica, the wire, shaka Zulu, true detective season 3,
— Admiral Benghazi (@AdmiralHalo) May 6, 2019
The Office…obviously. https://t.co/MChdiryDu7
— Kaelan Dorr (@KDORR_USA) May 6, 2019
The Leftovers is the only TV show ever that got better with every season, ran for the exact amount of time it should have, and then ended perfectly https://t.co/b63lL709TY
— Ryan Broderick (@broderick) May 6, 2019
Friends, and definitely NOT HIMYM
— Rico_G23 (@RicoSF55) May 6, 2019
Mad Men ended great. Fit the show and characters perfectly. Wrapped up plenty and left it opened ended in the best ways possible.
— Bill Nolan (@The_GrassyNol) May 6, 2019
#TwinPeaksTheReturn. Terrifying WTF moment that left me fractured to the core. Loved it. https://t.co/U6rpawkCCE
— Kurt (RMuldrake) (@Rmuldrake) May 6, 2019
Honestly, not enough mentioned the out-there (and much-parodied) twist ending to the‘80s hospital drama St. Elsewhere. (Nor, for that matter, was there nearly enough talk of The Sopranos, which c’mon.) But one finale that got a ton of love? Breaking Bad.
5. The Shield
4. Breaking Bad
3. Review
2. The Wire
1. Newhart https://t.co/OfdDQOuP3X— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) May 6, 2019
Breaking Bad was pretty satisfying.
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) May 6, 2019
https://twitter.com/lcknauf/status/1125437125174939648
Breaking Bad, The Sopranos (very controversial but Tony lives), The Wire was okay, I liked the Mad Men ending a lot, Six Feet Under was creative/good, MASH and Seinfeld were bad for completely different reasons, Mary Tyler Moore nailed it…
— Michael Salfino (@MichaelSalfino) May 6, 2019
https://twitter.com/TheLarro/status/1125430732330086406
https://twitter.com/phontigallo/status/1125427842496512001
https://twitter.com/vaibhavbarange/status/1125370783620931585
https://twitter.com/Austin_Denius/status/1125245118322225152
BREAKING BAD is trending on Twitter as an example of a good series finale, and I am reminded that the truly great series finales don't give the audience (or the characters) everything they could possibly want.
— A.A. Dowd (@AADowd) May 6, 2019
Either you die breaking bad, or you live long enough to become game of thrones.
— woke (@hawashmi) May 6, 2019
Of course, mentioning Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones in the same breath doesn’t always reflect well on the latter.
Till season 6 of GoT I used to think the show was almost level with Breaking Bad but the gulf of quality has widened over these last two seasons. Really thought the show would peak in seasons 7 and 8. Breaking Bad clearly the 🐐.
— A. (@LichaParatha) May 6, 2019
Then again, these aren’t the only people in love with the way Breaking Bad ended (which we won’t spoil, you’re welcome). Only last month Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were talking about how they not only adore the way Breaking Bad closed, they also want to spiritually emulate it.
“I’m hoping we get the Breaking Bad [finale] argument where it’s like, ‘Is that an A or an A+?’ I want that to be the argument,” Weiss told Entertainment Weekly. Of course, being a show set in a fantasy realm, they can’t end their show with a killer Badfinger deep cut, much less a Journey all-timer.