[Chiefspants]

If I had a time machine, endgame style, GRRM never gives up ASOIAF until he was finished with the series.

I think Seasons 7-8 showcase why this guy can’t finish the books. These endings feel like broad concepts. Season 6 worked so well because he set up Winds of Winter a lot like Storm of Swords, it was all payoff - which D&D are great at.

Seasons 7-8 required a lot of plotting that we ultimately never received. It took required rising actions and removed their second acts to accelerate to the end game. There have been great moments in Seasons 7-8, but they’ve removed a lot of the plotting that enriches the payoff of these moments - which Game of Thrones was brilliant at in the past.

Unless the ending does something unbelievably stupid (it was all a dream, Dany and Jon get a Disney ending, etc) it won’t ruin the show for me - and at the very least it’ll give this series an ending. Maybe one day we’ll see how GRRM gets there too, and maybe not.