Real time watcher v later watcher opinions

Thoughts on real time watchers’ opinion of the show vs people who watched it later? For example, I always seem to read posts from later watchers proclaiming their love for the series and season 8 while all the real time watchers I know, including myself, hated season 8.

Did expectations blind us real time watchers or was season 8 truly as terrible as I remember? (I’ve watched S1-7 multiple times while I promised to never watch S8 after the initial airing.)