My Top 3 Most-Anticipated Series Finales of All Time

As the series finale of Game of Thrones approaches, I'm thinking a lot about, well, series finales.

Overall, I tend to watch TV shows after they've already finished, to catch up & binge them when everything is already available online. That way, there's none of that "OMG what will happennn" anticipation or drama - just me trying to be sure I don't spoil things for myself on Wikipedia or IMDB beforehand.

As I prepare to watch the end of GoT in real-time, though (hopefully, given that I'll be at a hotel in D.C. for work at the time...), I'm thinking back on other series finales that gave me those "OMG what will happen" feelings - & whether they lived up to the hype.

Here are my top three.

Dawson's Creek

I've written before about my undying love of this early-2000s fave, despite the fact that I can't bring myself to rewatch it lest it somehow lose its shine. I started awhile ago & didn't get further than season one! I vividly remember, though, watching the finale from a bean bag chair in my college dorm room.

My roommate, who didn't watch the show, had left for the night to give me space to have Feelings - & when she returned to the room at the end of the night, I was full-on weeping about the tragic death of Jen Lindley (spoiler alert, sorry), Joey Potter's final love partnering, Dawson Leery's TV-instead-of-film career, & the freaking six-season beauty of it all.

Lost

In this case, my roommate did not leave to let me watch in peace - & in fact, he decided to watch the finale with me, despite the fact that he hadn't watched the show since its second season. If you know anything about Lost, you know you couldn't skip multiple seasons (or even a single episode) & expect to have any idea what's going on!

I was so annoyed. He talked through the whole thing, making random commentary, criticizing the show, & basically just blathering. (I don't know him anymore, so I think I can safely say this?) Overall, it really ruined the finale for me, & when I rewatched it the next day, I was ticked not to have gotten the full impact of it as it aired.

On the whole, though? I did not hate the ending nearly as much as the rest of the world seemed to. I was baffled by it, yes, & I suppose I hoped for a little better, but it didn't leave me as furious as it did others.
 

How I Met Your Mother 

Speaking of series finales I didn't hate: I know, I know, everyone is still real mad about this one, but I, for one (& I know I may be the only one) thought it was kind of perfect.

I watched the last episode of HIMYM alone, quietly, in my studio apartment in D.C. back in 2014, & when it ended, I texted with my friend Arielle about how much we both loved the ending. We'd yet to learn that the Internet wholly disagreed with us - so for a bit, I got to hold onto that feeling of truly loving the way a show ended, without anyone else's input or criticism. It was glorious.

Hmm, maybe that's a show that deserves a full-series rewatch...

What series finales do you remember anticipating and/or watching in real-time as they aired? Will you be watching Game of Thrones when it ends? And if so, who do you hope ends up on the Iron Throne?!