While Game of Thrones' ending may have suffered from a major fan backlash, there's enough evidence to suggest that - thanks to time, spinoffs, books, and more - people will come to love the show once again. Game of Thrones debuted on April 17, 2011 to a relatively low-key response; the premiere was watched by 2.2 million people on HBO, and received strong, if not completely spectacular, reviews. A decade on, Game of Thrones has seen its stock rise to become the biggest TV show in the world - and one of the biggest in history - and then watched that success turn to ash.

While sparks of discontent could be seen across Game of Thrones season 7 (and indeed, there were warning signs in season 5), it was season 8 were that exploded like wildfire across the internet, especially for the final three episodes of the entire show. With problems ranging from pacing to logic to unexpected and unwanted character choices, the response to Game of Thrones did a complete 180 degree turn, and its finale has mostly been a punching bag ever since.

Related: Why Game of Thrones Ended Early

However, as the dust continues to settle on Game of Thrones season 8 and in particular that controversial finale, there is hope for its future. HBO is certainly undeterred by the backlash and has big plans for Westeros, but there's also the potential for time to heal wounds, and for people to remember what the show was, not what it (arguably) became. With all of that, then, Game of Thrones could turn things around yet.

The Backlash To Game Of Thrones Season 8 Went Overboard

Game of Thrones' Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen

Given the level of expectation and investment in Game of Thrones, then it's perhaps not too surprising that fans were unhappy at the perceived drop-off in quality. Whether Game of Thrones season 8 was any good or the worst thing ever or somewhere in between is a matter of opinion, something that all viewers are entitled too. At the same time, however, the sheer hype around the show, combined with social media reactions in particular, did combine to make the backlash to Game of Thrones season 8 feel particularly overblown. It didn't just end at criticism, but led into various petitions for HBO to remake the final season, interviews from actors being taken wildly out of context, and a lot of vitriol aimed at the showrunners, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

None of that was particularly pleasant, but there's at least now a sense in which things can be assessed more rationally. With so much distance from Game of Thrones' finale, then it's possible to recontextualize not only the show and its ending, but the response to that as well, and that can mean cooler, calmer heads, and an acknowledgement of the backlash going overboard, even if opinion itself hasn't necessarily shifted much yet. With that, then Game of Thrones as a whole can perhaps be viewed differently, rather than just through the lens of that division and controversy.

Time Will Be Kind To Game of Thrones (Because It Was Great)

Jon Snow heading Beyond the Wall in Game of Thrones finale

With the benefit of time, a cooling off period, and hindsight, then it's possible for Game of Thrones to be re-appraised, which should lead to a different view of things than the backlash it suffered in 2019, and that could work in a couple of different ways. The first, perhaps more difficult challenge is that opinion on Game of Thrones' ending will change. It may not even be seen as wholly positive, because the initial response (which is what tends to shape perception) skewed so negative, but there could still be something of a shift. The closest comparison to Game of Thrones is the LOST finale, another ending to what was the biggest TV show of its time, and one similarly theorized about and obsessed over online.

Related: How Game of Thrones Season 1 Foreshadows The Starks' Season 8 Endings

LOST's finale was perhaps even more controversial and divisive than Game of Thrones', and while it remains disliked by many, it isn't too hard, in a general sense, to see how stances have softened. There was plenty of love for the show when it marked a decade since the finale in 2020, and several pieces have been written to reflect changing views. Likewise, Star Wars fans have forgiven the prequels in the past few years - helped in part by Disney's new movies being divisive themselves, but also thanks to time healing the wounds, and audiences who grew up with the prequels reaching an age where they can shape the conversation. Game of Thrones is some way off that kind of shift, but it further shows it isn't impossible.

Zooming out from the Game of Thrones finale, then it becomes easier to see how time will help shift opinion back in its favor. Game of Thrones may not belong in the greatest TV show of all time conversation alongside The Sopranos and The Wire, as it arguably once threatened to, but a big part of looking back should be at the journey rather than the destination. Game of Thrones changed TV in many ways, raising the bar for what could be done in terms of scale and spectacle; its performances, the directing, and everything that would fall under technical categories were up there with the finest TV has seen, and if the writing faltered later, it was also sublime for at least seasons 1-4. There's a notion that Game of Thrones season 8 killed the show's rewatch value, but that's not entirely fair. This was a series full of incredible moments - Ned Stark's death, the Red Wedding, the trial of Tyrion Lannister, the many battles, and so much more - and of gripping, character-driven drama; Game of Thrones' disappointing ending doesn't impact on too much of that directly, so there's still a lot to be gained from going back through much of the show's run.

Indeed, even with the ending being more disappointing and having a drop-off in quality, it can highlight just how astonishing an accomplishment it was that any of this happened and was a success; Game of Thrones isn't just one of the best TV shows of the last 10 years, it is one of the most improbable, given the source material the author deemed unfilmable, an unfinished series of books, a disastrous first go at the pilot, and a level of scale not seen on TV before or since. Game of Thrones is thought of as a disaster because of how it finished, but it should also be remembered as something of a marvel that it even existed and made it work for so long.

On top of that, Game of Thrones didn't just change TV, but ended it; this was the last true piece of TV monoculture that the world watched together, and there's worth in looking back upon that as well, which offered even greater enjoyment and helped bring so many fans together. When taken in with a broader view and less anger at what happened, Game of Thrones can - and should - be seen as not only a game-changing show, but a great one.

Related: Game of Thrones' New Spinoff Risks Repeating The Show’s Fatal Book Mistake

House of the Dragon Title

While audiences may not have responded well to Game of Thrones, HBO does not feel the same way. As with most movie and TV studios, there's a need to have major IPs and franchises, and Game of Thrones offers what is (or at least was) an incredibly popular, richly detailed world with thousands of years of history that can be explored. HBO has as many as six Game of Thrones spinoffs in the works, ranging from an adaptation of George R.R. Martin's The Tales of Dunk & Egg novellas to a series set in the Flea Bottom part of King's Landing, and while that speaks to the need - especially in the streaming era - to capitalize on whatever you have the rights to, it also shows that there remains a lot of faith in Game of Thrones to be a big hit, especially given the amount of money these shows will cost. Game of Thrones will be a flagship franchise not only for HBO, but for its all-important streaming service HBO Max too, further suggesting that audiences will be spending a lot more time in Westeros over the next decade plus.

The first test of this will be House of the Dragon, a prequel centered around House Targaryen around 170-200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, which is expected to tell the tory of the Targaryen Civil War, The Dance of the Dragons. It can often be difficult for spinoffs and prequels to match the success of the main show, no matter their quality - Better Call Saul isn't as big as Breaking Bad, for example, but is just as good - and so it would be unfair to expect House of the Dragon to reach the same dizzying heights that Game of Thrones did, especially as viewing habits have changed so much in the past few years. At the same time, however, this will be a huge show. Featuring many hallmarks that fans loved about Game of Thrones - familial drama, political machinations, complex characters, epic battles, and of course, dragons - it would be fair to assume that House of the Dragon will be a hit, and that a good chunk of Game of Thrones' audience will tune in, even those who disliked the finale (even if the spinoff gets just a quarter of that audience, it'll still be the biggest thing on HBO). Some of these spinoffs may not work - the one based around The Long Night apparently didn't - but by the same taken, they will show there's still plenty of interest in this world.

There is perhaps even a sense where House of the Dragon - and other spinoffs - can help ease the view of Game of Thrones. That can certainly go in terms of reminding viewers of its quality and why they fell in love with it in the first place, which is something House of the Dragon should do. That alone can help reflections and re-appraisals of the show, serving as a reminder of what it was, but it can even work for some of its more divisive story elements. They may always be controversial, but House of the Dragon could, for instance, better explore the idea of Targaryen "madness", since it has so many of them, which can give greater context to Daenerys' so-called "Mad Queen" turn. Similarly, it can feature its own Great Council, better explaining the decisions that made Bran the King of Westeros. It may not necessarily "fix" things, but it could further help reduce the level of bitterness aimed at them, while giving viewers the things they loved about Game of Thrones at the same time.

George R.R. Martin's Books Will Change Perceptions Of GoT's Ending

The Winds of Winter logo

One of the most common criticisms of Game of Thrones is that it went into decline once it overtook George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire books, which is as true as it was inevitable. It's an unfortunate circumstance that the books weren't finished before the show, but one that no one should really be blamed for, and so suddenly the showrunners had to go from working from to clear plans to doing more of their own design (although that itself is an oversimplification, given Benioff and Weiss added plenty of their own material and went in their own directions long before fully going off-book). Martin did, however, give something of a roadmap for the showrunners at a key meeting back in 2013, when it became apparent the show was going to overtake the books, though no one will know for sure just how much they stuck to that until The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring are released.

Related: Game of Thrones: Why The Books’ Ending Will Still Be Controversial

Assuming (rather optimistically) that Martin does finish both of those books, then there will of course be major differences, because even at this juncture there are clear divergences that will only grow wider. But several of the biggest, most controversial aspects of Game of Thrones' ending - Daenerys burning King's Landing, Bran becoming King, the end of Jaime Lannister's arc, and the White Walkers not being the final threat to deal with - are all very much plausible, with King Bran at least confirmed to be Martin's intention as things stand. Alongside other elements such as Jon ending up back beyond the Wall and Sansa ruling at Winterfell (albeit both were relatively more well-liked ending points), there's plenty from Game of Thrones' finale that has a very good chance of playing out in the upcoming books.

Even with that, Martin will do things differently, and there's reason to believe he'll do it better too. This can, though, show that it wasn't some great betrayal of what Martin had built, and also better explore the intent and just what Game of Thrones was going for. As well as the fact the books themselves will be popular and major talking points, it can also lend further support to re-defining how Game of Thrones is viewed.

Next: Game Of Thrones’ Ending & Real Meaning Explained (In Detail)