Last episode of ‘Game of Thrones’ left fans, critics with a lot to talk about

More than 200 New Yorkers cast aside worries on Sunday over the coming work week to focus instead on the coming of winter, the series finale of, “Game of Thrones.”

In showing up for a watch party, many were decked out as show characters, “Jon Snow” or “Cersei Lannister.”

The series, GAME OF THRONES, has become the cornerstone of HBO’s primetime offerings, but its final season was also its most divisive, with both fans and critics finding specific plot twists, troubling.

After eight seasons and 73 episodes, HBO’s long-running smash series, “Game of Thrones,” wrapped up on Sunday, with one more shocking demise and an unlikely character named as king.

The last episode of the medieval fantasy based on the novels of George R.R. Martin ran roughly an hour and 20 minutes to conclude the storyline of more than a dozen characters and intertwining plots.

The fierce competition for the fictional Iron Throne – the seat for the show’s ruler, made of hundreds of swords – ended with a death and an unexpected choice to rule the fictional kingdom of Westeros.

HBO says the record-breaking final season drew 43 million viewers on average for each episode in the United States alone, an increase of 10 million over Season 7 in 2017.

From its ragged beginnings – its original pilot was never aired, instead undergoing substantial re-shoots and recasting of several characters – the series became a cultural phenomenon.

Its budgets grew, with the last season’s cost running as high as $15 million per episode.

It also won numerous primetime television Emmy Awards, including three for “Best Drama.”