Last week I waxed more-or-less rapturous in my praise for Avengers: Endgame, but part of me wonders… what if I had really felt like they dropped the ball? What if, after 10 years and 22 movies, the MCU I had so come to love had culminated in a hot mess of suck? Thankfully this was not a question I had to ask any more than rhetorically, but my friends and colleagues who are still following along with Game of Thrones seem to have been not so lucky. And heaven help me, I’m finding the wailing and gnashing of teeth as entertaining as I did when J.K. Rowling started talking Dumbledore’s sexuality. I’ve been there, of course. I was there for X-Men: Last Stand, lo those many years ago. In a goddamn theater. My howls of pain and outrage were probably audible for miles. The Star Wars Prequels still haunt me. But you know, Mel Brooks has those words of wisdom:

“Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.”

And the truth is Dawn and I watched and enjoyed GoT rather slavishly for several seasons, right up to the point we decided we had to cut the cord on our cable TV bill. We told ourselves we’d catch it on Netflix after the fact, or watch at a friends’ house. It didn’t happen. Every so often some GoT-related controversy or coolness would pop up and get people talkin’, but as I ended up with less and less context I discovered I was feeling less and less like I needed to–for example–drop $19.99 or whatever to get HBO Go and be able to stream it again. So the show is not *quite* over yet but this final Season just seems to be sparking outrage after outrage amongst my peers. That must be exhausting for them. Me, I’m reacting to the news of “So-and-so is acting completely out of character! Their whole arc is ruined!” with “Ah, that’s fascinating.” It’s like I’m engaged in a clinical study of a TV series imploding, or a fanbase, or both. Meanwhile some very deep emotions are being inspired, several of which do not seem to be positive. I guarantee you that regardless of their rhetoric, good or bad, they’ll all be glued to their sets or other viewing devices again this Sunday for the finale. I won’t be, but I’ll still be looking forwards to the viewing of their viewings come Monday morning.