The feeling of a beloved TV show being unable to stick the landing at its conclusion must be devastating for its audience, but what examples stick out the most for the average person? There are plenty of programmes that have built up a loyal following providing some great stories and characters, which then seem to just ruin all that has come before. Creating that investment and then shattering it for most of the viewers can undoubtedly be a devastating experience. It's what prompted the question on the r/AskReddit thread : "What’s a show that completely betrayed the audience at the end?" (function (d, s, n) { var js, fjs = d.
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Disclaimer: Some spoilers from certain TV shows, including Dexter and House of Cards, can be found below One of the more obvious examples of recent times which received a fair few mentions in the comments was the final season of Game of Thrones. The adaptation of George R. R.
Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels was extremely popular building up to its eighth and final season, which created a huge amount of disappointment or many. One person responded to the Reddit post, simply saying: "Kind of expected to say but Game of Thrones." Many agreed, as one posted: "It was one of the most popular shows in TV history and praised for its world building, multiple complex plot lines, stunning visuals and acting standards "But it ended up a laughing stock, feeling like a wet fart after a night of heavy drinking.
" document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() { iFrameResize({ }, '#exco-iframe-235896'); }, false); Another shared their disappointing experience watching the final season, saying: "My (then) partner and mother decided to join my dad and I in watching it in the final season. "I'll never forget sitting there every Sunday and ending each episode with, "It's usually better than this.
"" One that a lot of UK viewers might agree on is the final episode of BBC's Sherlock series starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. A viewer simply stated: "BBC Sherlock. We don’t talk about Season 4.
" In response, someone joked: "What are you talking about? It ended with season 2 with that great ending. Right?" An answer that might be more surprising to some that was featured in the responses was The X Files. Despite being a cultural juggernaut of the 1990s, it couldn't maintain its power at the end and its revival in the mid-2010s came across as unnecessary to some viewers.
One person wrote: "X Files. Brilliant show that should have wrapped up appropriately so they could go into the hall of fame. "Nope "And it could be fairly easy imo because the story can be literally f****** anything as long as it answers 2-3 questions satisfyingly.
" Another said: "Agreed. One of my foundational favourite shows. But the last seasons sucked a**.
" document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() { iFrameResize({ }, '#exco-iframe-238925'); }, false); Similar sentiments were shared by many, as one put: "When I first started watching, I thought it was all building to something absolutely sublime. Around Season 5, I realized that there was no plan for an ending.
" Dexter is another example of a hugely popular show that lost its way right at the end, which was an opinion shared by quite a few people. One wrote: "Dexter. After years of rooting for a lovable serial killer, he decided to become a lumberjack.
No explanation. Just flannel and logs." Another shared: "Man, the whole Deb is in love with Dexter plot line was such a slap in the face.
" A third said: "I was looking for this. I loved Dexter but the ending was s****, he loved Deb so much and then just dumped her in the bay where he put all his victims." A favourite of the early Netflix era was also featured among the responses in House of Cards.
The political thriller, which was an adaptation of the 1989 novel by Michael Dobbs and the 1990 British TV series, saw amoral politician Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) attempt to gain power in the US government. Not long after the fifth series was released Spacey faced several allegations of sexual misconduct which saw him removed from the show, with his character killed off. Recommended reading: The final series saw Frank's wife Claire (played by Robin Wright) take on the lead role, but some said he should have simply been recast to carry on the story.
One person wrote: "House of Cards. Just f****** swap Spacey and move on. He's an actor not a character.
" Not everyone agreed though, as another said: "with who? let's be honest, that would've been way too jarring"..
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From Sherlock to Game of Thrones: The shows that 'betrayed' audiences at the end
Sherlock, The X Files, Game of Thrones and Dexter are among the shows audiences felt the most 'betrayed' by at the end of their runs, according to fans on Reddit.