Saying goodbye to our favorite stories is never easy, but TV finales are becoming more divisive than ever — and some of the biggest examples are The Boys, Stranger Things, and Game of Thrones. It’s difficult to end any series, and that’s especially true of hugely popular hits. It’s impossible to please everyone, and the expectations are sky high with such titles. This often results in criticisms being leveraged at their endings, whether they’re earned or not. It doesn’t help that streaming-era shows lean into shorter seasons and are still mastering their pacing.
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The result is projects like Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, and The Boys — all of which have generally strong runs — losing steam as they take their final bows. The finales of all three shows have their issues, some of which overlap. There’s one that stands out as the most disappointing, however, and that’s why people keep comparing other controversial endings to it. SPOILERS ahead for the endings of The Boys, Stranger Things, and Game of Thrones.
The Boys’, Stranger Things’, and Game of Thrones’ Endings All Have 1 Common Flaw
There’s one shared problem that drags down the endings of The Boys, Stranger Things, and Game of Thrones: the pacing. All of these shows feel uneven on this front, just for different reasons. Game of Thrones undoubtedly has more story to tell, and both George R.R. Martin and HBO wanted more seasons (via The Wall Street Journal). Unfortunately, that isn’t what fans got. Instead, the series’ creators attempted to complete multiple conflicts and character arcs in just one six-episode run. This doesn’t work for Game of Thrones, forcing the beloved fantasy series to grapple with the Night King, Cersei, and a newly mad Daenerys in a very short timeframe. None of those storylines get the attention they deserve, rendering none of them fully believable. For a show that once prided itself on attention to detail, Game of Thrones drops the ball in its final episodes. This makes it so that a series finale that otherwise might have landed feels rushed and unearned.
Stranger Things and The Boys have a different issue: they each have enough time to tackle everything they need to, but they don’t use it effectively. Both shows’ final chapters lack the urgency they demand, and both wind up with underwhelming final showdowns. Stranger Things Season 5 has too many storylines, and it even adds more character arcs to the mix. This takes away from the final stand against Vecna, as well as the reveal that the Mind Flayer is still a threat. The Boys Season 5 focuses too heavily on Soldier Boy and setting up Vought Rising. It doesn’t wrap most of its major narratives until its last two episodes, and even then, it doesn’t make good on the stakes set up in The Boys Season 4 finale.
The Boys & Stranger Things Both Fail to Deliver on the Stakes of Their Final Seasons
The Boys‘ series finale fails to live up to the stakes established in the previous season and even the prior chapters of the show. We’re promised a Homelander that’s more terrifying than ever, but he’s fairly easily defeated in “Blood and Bone” — and he doesn’t do anything that Earth-shattering, even after taking the V1. His ending is absolutely fitting for his character, but it doesn’t have the lead-up it deserves. And this is something The Boys has in common with Stranger Things, which also doesn’t live up to its Season 4 promises.
On the heels of Stranger Things Season 4, it seems as though Season 5 will be darker and more dangerous than ever. The Upside Down bleeding into Hawkins promises a much darker world when the characters return, but that doesn’t come to fruition. Many also anticipated more deaths as Stranger Things reached its conclusion. Just like The Boys, Stranger Things Season 5 picks up without addressing the devastating damage done in the Season 4 finale as thoroughly as it should. It never makes it feel like our characters are truly in danger, either, even as Eleven makes the ultimate sacrifice…which ends up being ambiguous. Its finale is as anticlimactic as The Boys‘, though both shows have something going for them that Game of Thrones doesn’t.
Game of Thrones Loses Sight of Its Legacy in a Way Stranger Things & The Boys Don’t
The Boys‘ and Stranger Things‘ finales may not be as thrilling as fans expected, but they have one strength that Game of Thrones lacks. Game of Thrones Season 8 loses sight of its legacy in a way the other series don’t — and as a result, it taints the entire story. Stranger Things and The Boys don’t go as far as they should in their final episodes, but they honor their long-running narratives and character arcs well. Nearly all of the characters’ in The Boys get satisfying send-offs, which are in line with the series’ themes. The same is true of Stranger Things, with maybe the exception of Eleven. Both shows also stay true to their central messages and are tonally consistent. The Boys proves that the fight against oppression is worthwhile, even if the cycle will continue. Meanwhile, Stranger Things continues to drive home the importance of coming together in the face of darkness.
Game of Thrones‘ finale leaves fans with more perplexing takeaways, as it places Bran on the Iron Throne. He’s someone who’s never portrayed as a true contender, and the show doesn’t do enough to set up this twist. Game of Thrones‘ series finale laughs off the idea of genuine democracy, but it gives ultimate power to someone who’s not qualified to have it. Its reasoning doesn’t hold up, even with Tyrion’s speech, and the whole thing is made worse by the other issues. Daenerys becomes a caricature of herself in “The Iron Throne,” making her villain arc less compelling, and Jon’s parentage never proves relevant. Some characters, like Sansa and Arya, get satisfying ends, but they aren’t enough to save the show. Game of Thrones‘ final episode is truly hard to compare to its previous chapters.
Game of Thrones Remains the Most Disappointing TV Finale
Stranger Things and The Boys may be on the receiving end of backlash following their final episodes, but Game of Thrones‘ series finale remains the most disappointing. For one, the HBO series had further to fall; its exceptional early seasons made its downward trajectory at the end more noticeable and frustrating. This is why so many people remember Game of Thrones in such a negative light, despite its problems being limited to later chapters. It’s possible Stranger Things and The Boys will face similar fates, but it’s looking less likely, largely because their quality always fluctuated. Therefore, it’s no surprise their finales aren’t perfect.
Game of Thrones‘ series finale lacks the satisfaction that the other two final episodes bring. It’s hard to stomach what becomes of characters like Daenerys and Jon, and Bran ending up on the Iron Throne doesn’t feel like proper pay-off. There are also too many loose ends, with characters like Yara Greyjoy and Daario Naharis falling to the wayside. These may seem like minor details, but Stranger Things and The Boys don’t leave many threads open. Their finales may not live up to fans’ huge expectations, but they do polish everything off nicely and bring their stories full circle. Game of Thrones betrays its former seasons and forgets important elements. And the fact that Game of Thrones once outshone both of these hits makes this reality even worse.
Which of these three series finales is your least favorite? Leave a comment and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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