'Game of Thrones' reaction poll: 60% of readers disliked finale; read fans' thoughts

Spoiler alert: This story contains significant details from Sunday's series finale of HBO's "Game of Thrones."

Not surprisingly, Sunday's series finale of "Game of Thrones" induced heavy and heated fan reaction on social media.

The early Twitter returns leaned negative, with some harsh assessments, although other viewers found beauty in the visuals and were happy that Jon Snow (Kit Harington) reunited with his direwolf, Ghost. (Caveat: Social media tends to draw more intense responses and those who are angry are more likely to make their feelings known.)

USA TODAY ran non-scientific polls on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to see how fans were feeling about the finale. As of early Monday afternoon, a majority, solid but not overwhelming, expressed dissatisfaction with the episode.

On Twitter, which had recorded 4,435 votes, 41% liked the finale and 59% did not. Of 5,600 votes cast on Facebook, 40% were pro and 60% were con.

Be sure to vote, offer your comments and peek at the comments and replies.

But here are some fan reactions to the 80-minute finale, which saw Westeros and its inhabitants undergo numerous changes.

@bri_westover took it directly to David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the co-creators of the series who wrote and directed Sunday's finale: "How the creators should feel after that episode." To drive the point home, the comment was accompanied by the "Shame" nun who humiliated Cersei Lannister during her walk of shame in Season 5.

More:'Game of Thrones' series finale recap: A disaster ending that fans didn't deserve

@Sasdspagetbowl found it hard to stomach the notion that "The Big Bang Theory," which wrapped Thursday, got a better sendoff, writing, "The fact that the … Big Bang Theory got a better ending will haunt this fandom forever."

One major bone of contention was the ascension of Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright). Many fans didn't buy Tyrion's (Peter Dinklage)'s rationale for putting the Three-Eyed Raven on the throne and felt the character had done nothing to merit it.

"When you do nothing in the group but still get an A," huffed @glory_kth regarding the new king of the now-Six Kingdoms, who granted sister Sansa's wish that the North become an independent kingdom once again.

@Thrones_Memes had a ready answer for Tyrion, who had asked, "Who has a better story than Bran?" Well, Tyrion, pretty much everyone – even your hooker ex Shay and Osha, Bran's Wilding au pair.

@benshapiro didn't trust Bran to rule after all the flip-flopping about his ambitions.

But not everyone was angry about Bran's selection.

"Bran started the show, let him finish it, @tmi_bytheangel argued, hearkening back to the defining moment in the pilot (and the character's life) when Jaime Lannister crippled him and set the show in motion. "Am I the only one that thinks every thing that happened made perfect sense, for the most part?" 

@SarahSpectre gave the show credit for one piece of Season 8 character development that actually seemed earned.

"Star Trek" actor William Shatner, who knows a thing or two about cult TV franchises, summed up Season 8 in four sentences: "Craycray incestuous family rules 7 kingdoms. Baddies from the north invade so most put away their differences to fight together. After winning they go after the craycray Queen who didn’t help them fight and everything ends up in a hot mess and a big disappointment. The end."

"Season 8 in a nutshell," @scavengerben captioned a screengrab of Jon Snow's reaction to being exiled north of the Wall for killing Dany.

But no matter how divisive the finale was, most fans loved seeing Jon's affectionate reunion with his direwolf, Ghost, after their much-criticized parting in Episode 4, when Jon did not pet or embrace his loyal companion.

More:'Game of Thrones' fans put Jon Snow in the doghouse for abandoning his direwolf, Ghost

"Can we all agree this was the best part of the episode?" @bastacy217 wrote, captioning a photo of Jon finally petting his dog.

Speaking of beloved pets, @proudlylisa was moved by Drogon's mournful discovery of the body of the mother of dragons, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke): "#GOTFinale #GOT best scene ever.." 

@16695_atl was satisfied with Drogon's decision to destroy the Iron Throne rather than roast her murderer (Jon), writing, "He didn't kill Jon because he didn't blame Jon, he blamed the iron throne. Drogon knew that the throne killed his mother. That scene was heartbreaking and perfect. He finished his mother's wishes and broke the wheel."

Reddit user Nosefouratoo agreed about Drogon's final scene, writing, "This season got a lot of flack for bad writing, and I agree with some of that criticism, but that moment and really this episode, in general, was absolutely brilliant."

Another viewer appeared to enjoy the fact that the Starks – Sansa, Bran, Jon and Arya – will go on: "The pack survives," @IAmSarCori wrote, recalling a Ned Stark line from the first season.

One other component of the finale most fans could get behind was the quality of the cinematography, exemplified by a scene in which Daenerys appears to have dragon wings as Drogon rose behind her.

"I don't care where you stand on tonight's finale… this shot was freaking amazing!!!!" @XpageX wrote of the Daenerys/Drogon visual.

And because "Thrones" fans can't resist a good meme, one fan used the show's final shot to suggest a loss of subscribers fleeing the cable channel: "Wildlings representing HBO users who unsubscribed after the finale." (Perhaps they'll resubscribe when they move north?)

Before his execution in the penultimate episode, Varys (Conleth Hill) had said he hoped he was wrong abut Daenerys' unfitness to rule. But he wasn't, wrote Reddit user @Mishlis, who also pointed out that the Master of Whisperers had been right about something else back in Season 3.

Mishlis wrote, "Not only was Varys correct about Dany turning mad and burning down King’s Landing but he also right when telling Tyrion that, 'The history books will not write about you.' Loved that scene actually, although it was played out as comedy it had a deeper meaning to it in my opinion."

The "Game of Thrones" fans over at Reddit were generally more charitable.