LOST -the iconic TV series- Legacy, etc
For whatever reason I usually feel honor bound to contextualize this narrative
The show’s creators envisioned something like a 60 episode story
It was ABC that kept pushing more shows (and this was at a time where going against a network was career suicide)
Creators finally put their foot down saying s6 was it
So writers strike + padding/adding a lot of story + Mr Eko leaving forcing writers to give his intended arc to Locke they just had to figure out how to land the plane (😛)
That being said - GoT is the prime example of an all time great show crashing to earth
Lost was an alltime great show that limped over the finish line
121 episodes - only a handful of those are tedious
That’s an incredible hit rate.
Because of its popularity and that it was one of the first internet discussion shows, Lost gets a lot of the ‘narrative’ hot takes that’s a staple of so much current content (disney umbrella shows in particular)
Guido, I also feel duty bound to remind us both that GOT is a text-book example of an all-time great show that was wonderful, told great, inspiring, gripping stories and major/minor-story-arcs, and generating real, authentic tension when its writers, creators and producers still had Martin's novels to somewhat rely on. Because he still hasn't finished the other novels (Jon is still in the Night's Watch, Tyrion is still afloat on the sea, captive on his way to Maureen with Jorell Mormont, Sansa still in the Eire with LittleFinger, Arya is on a ship to Free City of Braavos to become a Faceless Man in the Temple of Black and White;), the show's writers and producers after Season 6 couldn't wait and when they didnt have the novels to fall back on, that's when the quality, efficiency, and superb level of writing, and acting, to some extent, began to suffer seriously that by Season 8, it wasnt just open cuts and sores, it was decayed, jaundiced and dying, except for perhaps the Battle of Winterfell/Last stand vs. Night King's Army of the Undead episode and to a lesser extent, the series finale, those were the only two episodes in Season 8 of GOT worth watching, IMHO.
By the way, the next season (Season 2) of House of the Dragon is debuting next month and it looks to be very interesting. It may not have the stellar, first-rate acting of Paddy Considine to fall back on (maybe one of his best roles ever) but the trailers suggest we'll see more action and political intrigue then last season and Matt Smith will take over as the show's main moving character-driven feature.