10 TV Moments We Waited Years To See (That Didn't Live Up To Expectations)
When great TV shows blow crucial storylines.
The major benefit of TV over movies is that writers are given a much larger canvas on which to tell a long-running, multi-volume story with a massive ensemble of characters.
It's enormously rewarding as viewers to observe characters change over the course of multiple seasons, but of course, it can also be enormously difficult for beloved TV series to deliver satisfying payoffs to long-gestating plots and lingering mysteries.
And so, it's not remotely surprising that some of TV's most anticipated moments ended up falling totally flat, leaving fans baffled, infuriated, and perhaps even retrospectively liking the show less as a result.
These 10 TV shows, each of them pop-culture phenoms in their own way, all built up to a single moment that was years in the making, only to drop the ball spectacularly in one way or another.
Whether taking an ill-advised storytelling path, throwing in a random plot twist for no reason, or resolving a mystery in ultra-unsatisfying fashion, these long-awaited TV moments will never be forgotten by fans for all the wrong reasons...
10. The Game Is Won - Game Of Thrones
As indicated by its title, Game of Thrones was defined across all of its eight seasons by the various figures fighting to claim Westeros' throne for themselves.
In later seasons, fans increasingly speculated on who would "win" the throne and become King or Queen of Westeros, with a number of suitable candidates being suggested, such as Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), Jon Snow (Kit Harrington), Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner), or even Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage).
But the show's wildly disappointing final season concluded with the anti-climax to end all anti-climaxes, as the throne was given to none other than Bran the Broken (Isaac Hempstead Wright).
Ultimately appointing Bran, a character so ill-fitting for the throne that most fans never even considered him, felt like the writers simply opting for the least-obvious choice in pursuit of a "subversive" surprise.
To make matters worse, several superior prospects for the throne were given infuriatingly unconvincing send-offs - most of all Daenerys, whose last-minute heel turn flat-out didn't work - ensuring that despite delivering so many seasons of incredible drama, it ended on a sure whimper.