Many people (myself included) enjoy TV shows that have an ongoing story. Ideally we want that story to come to a satisfying end, eventually. It's disappointing when, after watching it for tens or hundreds of hours, the team behind the show delivers a sub-par ending, or no real ending at all.
Sure, there are lots of episodic shows out there where each episode can be enjoyed (or not) on its own, and if the show starts going downhill, you can just stop watching, and it's not that big a deal.
> you dont have to watch things you dont like hoping for a payoff later on.
No, but it's disappointing when I watch something I do like for years, and then the payoff never materializes. Sure, that doesn't erase the enjoyment of watching it over those years, but not getting that payoff feels like leaving us hanging off a ledge.
I wonder how the GoT writers couldn't see that they were blowing it with season 8 (is it even the whole season, or just the last 2 episodes).
Some commenters rationalize that Daenarys was always going to lose her shit, but the way it was handled in "that episode" was very unsatisfactory. I guess the writers wrote themselves into a corner because they had to work with what they've already broadcast, unlike a book author who can go back and rewrite plenty of stuff across the book when they find they need to establish something for the climax...
Sure, there are lots of episodic shows out there where each episode can be enjoyed (or not) on its own, and if the show starts going downhill, you can just stop watching, and it's not that big a deal.
> you dont have to watch things you dont like hoping for a payoff later on.
No, but it's disappointing when I watch something I do like for years, and then the payoff never materializes. Sure, that doesn't erase the enjoyment of watching it over those years, but not getting that payoff feels like leaving us hanging off a ledge.