It’s been a blockbuster-filled few weeks. Aside from, perhaps, the song “Old Town Road,” the two biggest stories in popular culture have been the eighth and final season of “Game of Thrones” and the box-office behemoth “Avengers: Endgame,” which marks the end to a 22-film cycle of Marvel superhero movies that began in 2008 with “Iron Man.” Gilbert Cruz, the culture editor of The New York Times, moderated a conversation between James Poniewozik, chief TV critic, and A.O. Scott, co-chief film critic, about the two franchises. These are edited excerpts from the exchange, which contains spoilers.



Given the economics of the movie and TV industry, given the instant internet feedback machine and given the mechanics of storytelling since time immemorial — are satisfying endings even possible here?

JAMES PONIEWOZIK No.

Sorry, I should elaborate? A franchise this size can have a thrilling ending, a beautiful ending, a heartbreaking ending. “Game of Thrones,” for instance, may yet come up with an ending that’s satisfying to me.

A universally satisfying ending, though, is another matter. And maybe aiming for satisfaction is the problem. A megaseries, or a movie series, accumulates many masters by the end of its run. The book fans; the comics fans; the plot sticklers; the explanation-wanters; Team This Character and Team That Character. An ending can end up trying to cram in so many acknowledgments it’s like an Oscar speech.