I'm glad they did so it could get the fuck out of the way of the prequal that was so obvious it was staring them in the face. WTF were they thinking when they decided on that subject for the prequal. When fans talk about GOT, I don't recall a lot of discussion on this era. We want fucking dragons and shit! I consider myself a pretty big fan of the whole series. I've read the books, seen the show multiple times, spent way too much time online trying to learn who the fuck is who, what family is what, and why one group hated another. I had zero interest in watching multiple seasons going back to the Long Night and the Age of Heroes. Especially since it sounds like they knew it was not going to work. Maybe a limited one season series on that era, but I'm sure the goal is another GOT, so that isn't what we were going to get.
Bring on the incestuous, dragon riding albinos! I've read Fire & Blood and there is almost no way this won't be kick ass.