I wouldn't say D&D trashed it. I think they basically stuck to the ending and outline they had. They just did it in a very robotic, 2 dimensional way that didn't do the characters justice because they just don't have the skill Martin has. Few do. A big disappointment, but if we waited or Martin to do it, this thing probably never gets finished.
If we're gonna trash them for these 2 seasons, we still need to give them credit for how well they brought Martin's material to life in the rest of the series. He had a lot of meandering bullcrap in those books, and wildass stuff like Lady Stoneheart. I think they did a fantastic job of bringing out the best and ditching the crap. But the last 2 seasons were a victim of both (1) no source material other than the finish and (2) the time pressure of losing key talent. We ended up with this thing that was just mechanically trying to hit the key plot markers needed to get to the end.
If we're gonna trash them for these 2 seasons, we still need to give them credit for how well they brought Martin's material to life in the rest of the series. He had a lot of meandering bullcrap in those books, and wildass stuff like Lady Stoneheart. I think they did a fantastic job of bringing out the best and ditching the crap. But the last 2 seasons were a victim of both (1) no source material other than the finish and (2) the time pressure of losing key talent. We ended up with this thing that was just mechanically trying to hit the key plot markers needed to get to the end.