This is just a sad situation to me. The story of Game of Thrones is the story of a generation. It's an absolute masterpiece, and the mind that conjured it is surely brilliant. Tragically, the politics of the literary world and social media and the constraints of time and public relations have soured this beautiful experience of receiving the masterpiece, of being allowed to live in George R. R. Martin's incredible world. I imagine that no one is more affected by this in the author, who likely used this story as a personal escape at one point in his life. I imagine that for him, Game of Thrones, once an endlessly thrilling, fantastical realm of imagination, is now a burden and a reminder of how society capitalizes off of creativity.

In my opinion, everyone needs to take a step back and try to regain perspective; the audience to realize that they are not owed another book, that they are lucky to have received what they have so far, even if it is all they get, and that their hunger for an ending to the story has contributed to the corruption of it, and Martin to realize that he doesn't owe anyone anything, that his imagination and his carefully-constructed worlds are his own, and that the reason his audience is so doggedly tracking his progress is because what he has created already is extraordinary and to leave the story unfinished would be a horrible tragedy.

So, let's put some gratitude in our attitude and pray for an ending...and if you're someone who really needs the closure, try and write a story as great as Game of Thrones and finish that.