Game of Thrones Gets One Last Shot to End Things Right

The grim unfolding of Daenerys Targaryen's heel turn has turned the final week of Game of Thrones into a free-for-all of takes and arguments and mounting discontent among fans and critics alike. That the final six episodes of the series have not produced the endings that everybody wanted from the show can't be surprising, but there's no denying that the conversation around Game of Thrones has a cloud over it as we head into the final episode. As if final episodes of hugely hyped TV shows weren't already daunting enough.

The thing about series finales is that popular opinion seems to coalesce quickly. Cheers was good. Seinfeld was bad. The Sopranos was all but forgotten up until the final moments, which were frustrating. Breaking Bad was divisive. Lost was bad. All of these assessments have significant numbers of people who will argue the opposite, but the ink on that stamp dries quickly. Whether Game of Thrones can pull its feet out of the fire in its final 82 minutes remains to be seen. But by this time tomorrow, the legacy of this hugely ambitious, often controversial series will likely be set in stone.

SERIES FINALE: There is still plenty to be sorted out in Westeros this the final episode of Game of Thrones. The stakes are high for all of the central (surviving) characters and the variety of possible outcomes is wide. Ultimately, it feels like we're headed toward some kind of final message about how best to rule a people, combined with a message about fate versus free will, combined with something about how the tales of battle and valor and heroes and villains (and ice and fire) get passed down throughout history (here's where Bran the Three-Eyed Raven probably comes in). Also they're gonna have to kill another dragon. 9:00 PM ET on HBO

SEASON FINALE: Is it ever a tough assignment to be the show airing your series finale immediately after Game of Thrones breathes its last fiery breath. Facing the challenge is Barry's second season finale. It's been a remarkable, daring season of the Bill Hader show, and with Veep now gone, Barry may well take its place as the most preeminent comedy on television. 10:20 PM ET on HBO

SEASON FINALE: If you don't care about Game of Thrones and you really hate changing the channel, American Idol's three-hour series finale might do the trick. Season 4 Idol champ Carrie Underwood and season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert will perform on the finale, as Alejandro, Laine, and Madison vie for the title of youtr next "American Idol." For the first time ever, a live vote during the finale will determine the winner. 8:00 PM ET on ABC

SEASON FINALE: The first season of the revived Charmed comes to a close tonight, as Macy's ability to create alternate realities drives a wedge between her and her sisters. Charmed will move to Friday nights next fall, per the CW's new 2019-2020 primetime schedule. 9:00 PM ET on The CW

ALSO TONIGHT

• Supergirl ends its fourth season as Kara Danvers must summon her Supergirl power to defeat a returning Lex Luthor. 8:00 PM ET on The CW
• Call the Midwife wraps up its eighth season as the Turners prepare to say goodbye to May, while Sister Hilda helps a young cancer patient. 8:00 PM ET on PBS
• Les Miserables' six-part PBS mini series ends tonight, with Anne Hathaway singing Hugh Jackman into the afterlife. ...Wait, wrong version of the story.  9:00 PM ET on PBS
• NCIS: Los Angeles has indeed been on television for ten seasons, and to wrap things up this season, LL Cool J and Chris O'Donnell track down some ISIS sympathizers. 10:00 PM ET on CBS

Joe Reid is the senior writer at Primetimer and co-host of the This Had Oscar Buzz podcast. His work has appeared in Decider, NPR, HuffPost, The Atlantic, Slate, Polygon, Vanity Fair, Vulture, The A.V. Club and more.