Fans of the popular American fantasy drama series Game Of Thrones were mostly happy with how its seventh and latest season panned out, even if they found much of it to be predictable.
The seven-part Season 7, which ended yesterday (Singapore time) with the episode titled The Dragon And The Wolf, confirmed several details that fans have suspected all along, including key character Jon Snow's true parentage.
Jon is one of the contenders for the Iron Throne, which rules the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.
Public relations consultant Oo Gin Lee, 47, tells The Straits Times: "It's good that the show finally confirmed that part of the story, but it came as no surprise.
"I guess the writers needed to move things along quickly to wrap things up, as they set things up for the next season."
Game Of Thrones, which is based on George R.R. Martin's A Song Of Ice And Fire books, is arguably the most popular current television show in the world, with 10.2 million live TV viewers in the United States alone for Season 7's penultimate episode.
It is also the most acclaimed show in the history of the Primetime Emmy Awards, which honours the best in the American television industry - it has 38 wins under its belt.
Produced by HBO, the epic tale will conclude after its eighth season, which is scheduled to air next year or in 2019.
Twitter user Julia Pullen (@JulPul14) wrote: "Don't care how predictable #GameOfThrones finale was, it was great to spend 81 mins saying 'finally!' at the TV & seeing it all onscreen."
Yesterday's episode confirmed the long-time fan theory that Jon (played by Kit Harington) is not Ned Stark's son and neither is he a bastard.
His parents are in fact Rhaegar Targaryen (Daenerys' older brother) and Lyanna Stark (Ned's younger sister) and, as it turns out that his parents were legally wed, that makes him a legitimate son with blood from two of the most powerful houses in Westeros.
It also means that Jon is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, since Rhaegar was once the crown prince and heir before the Targaryen reign was usurped by the Baratheons.
That revelation is all fine and dandy, until he and Daenerys, who is his aunt, have sex in the finale episode.
Incest is not new in Game Of Thrones - Queen Cersei Lannister, for example, and her brother Jamie are lovers.
But it is still frowned upon. The next season will likely showcase what will happen when the two of them discover the truth about their relationship.
Mr K. Vignesh, 43, who runs a technology consulting company, quips: "The Targaryens are a very loving family."
One of his favourite scenes from the last episode of Season 7 was the one in which Lord Petyr Baelish (played by Aidan Gillen) was executed by the Starks.
Until then, he thought he had successfully pitted Lady Sansa Stark against her younger sister Arya, but Sansa had in fact figured out his true treacherous ways. Arya gladly slit his throat at her command.
Mr Vignesh says: "That was a great scene because you could see his power ebbing away - from when he first heard that he would be killed, to him asking the other Lords to help him, to finally getting down on his knees and begging.
"It was a classic human response to trouble, which was fascinating to watch."
Mr Aaron Yip, 37, who is managing editor of GameAxis magazine, says he thought the season overall "gave the fans what they wanted", but at the same time made viewers "extremely frustrated".
He says: "The season was all about fan service - you got to see a lot of the characters that you wanted to meet, finally get together. The visual effects has also been awesome.
"But there were a lot of plot lines that make you so angry. For example, the part where the team goes out there to steal the Wight and lose the dragon - that entire bit was so stupid."
He is referring to how a team of people, including Jon, ventured beyond The Wall to risk their lives just to capture a Wight soldier. In doing so, one of Daenerys' precious dragons, Viserion, gets killed - and is resurrected by their main enemy, The Night King, as an ice dragon.
In the finale, the new Viserion, which breathes blue flames instead of the usual red, successfully crumbles The Wall that had been protecting Westeros for so long.
Along with what appears to be an infinite number of Wight soldiers, the White Walkers march their way into Westeros. Mr Oo says: "Again, that was a predictable ending, but at least we almost know for certain now how the last season will start - a huge battle between the humans and the Walkers. That will be fun."
•Follow Yip Wai Yee on Twitter @STyipwaiyee
•The Season 7 finale of Game Of Thrones re-runs tomorrow on HBO (StarHub TV Channel 601) at 10.35pm. It is also available for streaming on HBO on StarHub Go, as well as on HBO On Demand (StarHub TV Channel 602).
