There. An actual answer. Thank you.

I think a lot of people wanted to look past her behaviors throughout the series because she felt like the heroine to them.

She was cruel the entire way but because viewers refused to recognize acknowledge it, they felt betrayed when she committed evil from which no one could look away. It was sudden to them but from the character’s point of view it was normal behavior.

I agree that the episodes of the final seasons needed more time to breathe and the show could have used another season to wrap things up.