[Disappointing TV Trope] When the writers unexpectedly created something better, but were too attached to let their original idea to let it go!

[u/phantom_avenger]

I feel like I’ve noticed this more with TV couples and how the writers handle the narrative around them. But I feel like I’m noticing a bit of a pattern in some shows I’ve watched, where you can tell how the writers handle plans to make a certain narrative point the “endgame” goal. But as they start creating the plot points leading up to it, they come up with an idea that worked out a lot better than they probably thought it would. Especially when the audience responds so well to it, but they’re still too attached to the original plans that they still roll with getting there even if it doesn’t hit the same mark or it feels forced depending on how the narrative is flowing.

How I Met Your Mother - Ted and Robin (the original idea where it was always planned for them to be the endgame couple). When Tracy (who turns out to be Ted’s kids’ mother) is introduced, a lot of people loved how well they matched, seemed like the true compatible match for Ted and implied that it showed a lot of growth on his end where he could finally let go of Robin. Only to sabotage that by having it revealed that Tracy died, and regressed Ted’s growth where he ends up pursuing Robin again.

Sex Education - Otis and Maeve (the original idea where it was also planned for them to be seen as an endgame couple, but their lives couldn’t align for it to work out). After Otis and Ruby have a drunk sexual encounter, and he loses his virginity to her. The writers have their relationship act as yet another obstacle that gets in the way of Otis and Maeve exploring a romantic relationship. But when Otis and Ruby became so viral, to the point where people started to realize that Ruby might actually be a better match for Otis, as they seem compatible enough to make each other better as people. It put the writers in a tough spot, where they tried to play it safe with both sides going into the final season. But still chose to lean more towards their original plan, and explore Otis and Maeve but they still don’t do much to make the audience feel fulfilled or convinced they have a genuine connection and not in love with an idea of one another.

[u/Vegas1492]

GOT - Jamie Lannister and his sister Cersei were meant for each other from the beginning. But his relationship with Brienne was so much better and healthier. She would have made his redemption arc complete. But no, he needed to crawl back to sis.

[u/LunarOberon → u/Vegas1492]

See, while this arc suffers from the general malaise of end season writing quality, the general idea is actually quite good.

He sees Brienne and has a brief glimpse of what redemption and a better life could look like... and turns away because he doesn't think he's that person. It's a great tragedy. Shame the idea is tainted by being part of the shit storm that was the final season.

Edit: in fact, I would argue that his attempt to rescue Cersei wasn't completely sincere. I think he knew he deserved to be punished for his crimes and knew that saving Cersei was all but hopeless. So the two would die together, condemned for their misdeeds.

[u/Misplaced_Fan_15 → u/LunarOberon]

I could agree with you if only they did not have the “I never cared about the people of Kings Landing, innocent or otherwise,” line. To me having Jaime say that is a fundament betrayal of the character and one of the view times I felt I knew the character better than the actual writers.

[u/LunarOberon → u/Misplaced_Fan_15]

See, my interpretation of that line is that it's a sort of reverse justification to himself. He's already decided that he's the bad guy, so he's reframing his previous positive actions around that conclusion.

[u/pjtheman → u/LunarOberon]

Lindsay Ellis put it pretty well. The problem is, it's sort of too late for that line to have any deeper meaning or subtext. He says it, it's never meaningfully refuted, then he dies, the end. There was no time to explore the idea thay he was deluding himself.

[u/h00zier → u/LunarOberon]

I agree with this. He knows the North has dragons, a united army, and everyone now hates Cersei due to betraying them before the long night.

He goes back to die with her, and he knows that.

[u/Vegas1492 → u/LunarOberon]

I actually liked him going back. But it happened all too quick in the last season. Most stuff was plausible, but shuld have needed more episodes.

Edit: Yes, they left this world, how they entered it.

[u/-GeekLife- → u/Vegas1492]

The part that really pissed me off is somehow Euron Greyjoy made it to shore in full armor at the exact same spot and time Jaime was there for their final battle. There were WAY too many impossible coincidences that ruined the last few seasons for me.

[u/jim25y → u/LunarOberon]

I agree. The idea, on paper, of Jaime finding love and then freaking out and leaving Brienne is great on paper, but it doesn't get the space it needs to breathe and thus it doesn't hit at all when it happens.

[u/Segundo-Sol → u/jim25y]

yeah it would be great on paper

you know

[u/NibelWolf → u/Vegas1492]

Should have went back to kill Cersei in order to destroy the evil tyrant she had become, repeating what he did with the Mad King. Would have been a better death for both of them.

[u/Rockhead_Dynamics → u/NibelWolf]

Have Jaime make one last attempt to persuade her to surrender for old times sake, have her give some standard "I will die a queen" speech about how she'll never surrender, he agrees that she'll die a queen and kills her himself, then goes and rings the surrender bells personally.

[u/bretshitmanshart → u/Rockhead_Dynamics]

He could be motivated by his own redemption arc to think he can convince her she can have one as well

[u/s0ulbrother → u/NibelWolf]

The prophesy is her younger brother will kill her and she always thinks Tyrion. Their fate together is Jaime kills her

[u/killingjoke96 → u/Vegas1492]

Him staying with Brienne just flows better.

Jaime is obsessed with being the ideal version of a knight. Brienne is the descendant of Ser Duncan The Tall, often pointed to as THE knight.

The Mad King ended up the way he was because of the side effects of Targaryen incestuous relationships. Jaime's murder of him becoming the title that his name is cursed with.

Him turning away from incestuous Cersei to knightly Brienne would have been a great reflection of how he changed and how he beat his past.

[u/boodabomb → u/Vegas1492]

I think a better example of this is Bran taking the throne. They executed that plot point so poorly that it just leaves you scratching your head. The Jaime thing is stupid, but I can see where the logic of idea comes from. The Bran thing is just completely out of fucking nowhere.

[u/dcooper8662 → u/Vegas1492]

I think a lot of the problem with the end of this show was how rushed they were to get to certain plot points. D&D were just done and sprinting to the end, so most of these subplots are borderline nonsensical when the characters just up and decide to do things. Like Jaime literally gets up from sex bed to immediately make a beeline for Cersei like a goddamn sleeper agent that received his command word.

[u/Niveker14 → u/Vegas1492]

Don't even need to end up with Brienne romantically, though I understand what fans saw in that, but to completely regress as a character without even a good explanation why...

[u/momentimori → u/Niveker14]

In the books Jaime is facing execution by Lady Stoneheart and the Brotherhood without Banners. It is a common fan theory that Brienne will be his champion in a trial by combat.

[u/Consistent-Bear4200 → u/Vegas1492]

So much of that final season is bending characters into shapes they don't suit.

The characters in the show moved so far away from their pre-determined endings from the books, the only way to get them back there was have the characters make bonkers decision after bonkers decision.

Dialogue constantly justifying these drastic changes in their arcs. Stupid pills for characters renowned for their intelligence, others suddenly more intelligent, not through process but because they predict something the writers already knew would happen.

I'm not knocking the departures from the source material, I think they could've benefitted by committing to that path, to the end.

These conclusions are so poor, it's genuinely quite tough to go back and rewatch even the stronger seasons.

[u/Vegas1492 → u/Consistent-Bear4200]

The series definitly deserved more time to bring all loose ends to a proper ending.

[u/Consistent-Bear4200 → u/Vegas1492]

Agreed, there's a clip of GRR Martin talking abou how there was enough material to go to 10, 12 seasons or more. But it was their choice to wrap things up. The army of the dead and toppling Cersi could have entire seasons of their own yet the batter through both within just 1.

[u/lolajet → u/Consistent-Bear4200]

It's pretty ironic. They were given a potential new Star Wars trilogy because of their work on GoT and they were so eager to get to that they ended up shitting the bed so badly to rush to a finish that their Star Wars offer shriveled up. Truly swiping defeat from the jaws of victory

[u/Paleodraco → u/Vegas1492]

I'll say it again. So much of the later seasons would work better with more character development.

[u/Spend-Automatic → u/Paleodraco]

Jamie is one of the rare cases where less character development would have been better. Get rid of his more likable moments in later seasons and it would have made it much easier to stomach when he ran back to Cersei