Game of Thrones (2011-19).Kingdoms rose and fell, dragons burned, betrayals piled up. They had us at the edge of our seats, until the show ended in a blur. Daenerys’s arc felt rushed, Jon’s choices were inconsequential, and Bran’s crowning stumped viewers. In the AI cut, Daenerys’s descent is gradual and believable. Jon’s decisions actually matter. The White Walkers fall through strategy and sacrifice. Power is earned. The payoff matches the promise.
How I Met Your Mother (2005-14). Nine years of blue French horns, yellow umbrellas, Ted Mosby whining over every second woman and Barney’s absurd schemes — and that was the payoff? The finale was dis — waiiit for it — appointing. We felt pranked. Why name a show after the Mother, only to introduce Tracy and kill her off in minutes? Ted boomerangs back to Robin, destroying years of character growth. In the alternate AI ending: Tracy lives, Ted stays with her, Robin keeps globetrotting, Barney evolves by choice, not surprise fatherhood. Legen-dary.
Lost (2004-10). Six seasons of decoding the Hatch, the Smoke Monster and the time loops — while steadily losing our minds — only to end up with zero closure. All the characters are dumped inside a cryptic church. Cool, but we had questions. About Jacob. The donkey wheel. The island’s mechanics. Instead, we were told, “It’s spiritual, trust us”. In the AI cut, the island is a rogue electromagnetic anomaly from a Dharma screw-up. Flash-sideways are alternate realities. Locke, Sawyer and Juliet get real endings. No purgatory group hug required.
The Fast & Furious 6-9 (2013-21). The film franchise rewrote the laws of physics and mortality. What with cars soaring off skyscrapers and tanks chasing street racers. We happily went along with it, until Han’s resurrection. All that hologram stuff was bonkers and totally unbelievable. In the AI rewrite, Han stays gone, because actions have consequences. Let the stunts and thrill remain, but make the plot make some sense.
Lucy (2014). The film had us at first: Tense, slick, peak sci-fi. It even kept us halfway, as Lucy’s brain power rockets toward 100%. Then she dissolves into light, merges with technology, and somehow becomes… a USB stick. Sorry, what? In the AI fix, Lucy remains physically present instead of transcending into hardware. She chooses whether to wield or surrender her power, and Norman gets answers grounded in science. We leave the theatre feeling less confused.
Kabir Singh (2019). The film promised us a passionate romance, but glorified obsession and self-destruction. Kabir’s anger issues were sold to us as “love”. Preeti is more a placeholder than a person. The ending tried to force-feed us a “happily ever after” without any growth. In the AI version, Kabir faces real consequences. Preeti calls her own shots (you go, girl!) There’s passion, minus the toxicity. Cue the therapy montage.
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016). Ayan loves Alizeh. She friendzones him. He spirals… For three hours. Then cancer enters the chat, killing Alizeh off. It’s meant to be bittersweet, but mostly feels like watching a man refuse to hear “no”. In the AI fix, Ayan processes heartbreak instead of obsessing. Alizeh makes clear, empowered choices and doesn’t die “for the plot”. Saba sticks around too, offering wisdom instead of just vibes. By the end, the characters grow up, giving the story the weight it deserved.
Kalank (2019). The film sets up an epic romance and family drama, then wanders through unnecessary subplots. Suddenly, it remembers it has places to be and sprints through the climax. Blink — and Zafar’s reveal, Roop’s emotional tug-of-war and Dev’s heartbreak are done. Cue a chaotic riot and roll credits, while we’re left reeling from emotional whiplash. In the AI version, Zafar’s downfall follows his choices, Roop truly wrestles with love versus loyalty and Dev reckons with his past. Let the tragedy breathe. What’s the rush?
Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013). The ending is warm but weightless. Bunny spends the film chasing cities and jobs. Naina wants basic emotional availability. The climax ignores this. Bunny quits his dream job, shows up with cake, they hug. Guys! You can’t fix incompatibility with dessert. In the AI version, Bunny returns from Paris, visits Naina’s clinic, sees her full life, and realises she isn’t waiting. They talk, maybe argue, and build something that could actually last.
Raanjhanaa (2013). Kundan’s love for Zoya is obsessive, all-consuming and aggressively one-sided. She chooses someone else. He refuses to take the hint, keeps stalking her, gets assassinated mid-speech — and stays problematic right till the deathbed. The finale is tragic yet unresolved. AI’s already taken a stab at a “happy ending” for this movie, but this time, it could rewrite it so Kundan confronts his own obsession and learns to respect Zoya’s choices.
From HT Brunch, December 27, 2025
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