As stated, “Game of Thrones” season 8 was nothing shy of a disaster in the eyes of many fans. The series had been at the forefront of the conversation in pop culture and had the chance to cement its legacy as one of the greatest shows of all time, right alongside the likes of “Breaking Bad” and “The Sopranos.” Instead, now a few years removed from the show’s finale, conversation about it still generally results in head-shaking from fans and little enthusiasm.

It would be difficult to argue that Benioff and Weiss stuck the landing, even though there are certainly viewers out there who will defend those final episodes. One has to imagine that if Martin had the opportunity to provide some input during those final seasons, things might have concluded differently. Would that version of revisionist history have turned out better? It’s impossible to say, but it’s hard to imagine it could have gone worse in terms of overall public perception.