For just under a decade, Game of Thrones had an iron grip on television. It seemed like it would be the fantasy epic of a new age, but right at the final hurdle the show flopped so hard it's hard to even remember the greatness of the early seasons.
Speaking about the hate that they got following the Game of Thrones ending on a new episode of Happy Sad Confused, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss actually expected more of a mixed response. "We knew it would be controversial ... [but] we hoped that it would be a little more 50/50."
<social>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BpgpxbnpK0</social>
TV show finales are always controversial, but the problem with Game of Thrones was that it felt rushed and that every decision made was one that specifically tried to dodge fan expectations. Not a good combo and D&D are still heavily criticised for it.