Viewing Review: Game of Thrones 8 Episode 6

This post contains spoilers for ‘The Iron Throne’, the last episode of GAME OF THRONES. The fate of the Seven Kingdoms is at hand.

‘They don’t get to choose.’—-Daenerys Targaryen

This statement of Daenerys broke the camel’s back. The camel being Jon Snow who decided the fate of the Mother of Dragons with his action. In a private moment with Daenerys, in the remains of the Iron Throne room, Jon stabs Daenerys in the chest effectively killing her while claiming that she is his queen ‘now and for always.’ It was an anti-climactic death to a predictable outcome and end to the ‘Breaker of Chains’. She never saw it coming. She should have, but she didn’t. Her love for Jon Snow blinded her from seeing this coming. Jon on the other hand, in spite of his love, knew that something had to be done or other places and people will suffer the same way as the citizens of King’s Landing. Even those people who know what is good but do not see eye to eye with Daenerys Stormborn. Death waits for them in fire and blood while Daenerys remains alive.

A lot of people might disagree with the resolution of Daenerys’s fate(among other things) though the signs were evident from mid-season. But, with the change in direction,this was the most acceptable outcome. Daenerys had lost her favor with the citizens of Westeros. Her Hand, Tyrion, has abandoned her. She is more feared than loved, and admits to Jon that she does not have the same emotional clout here as compared to Essos. To the citizens of the Seven Kingdoms, she is an alien power trying to conquer their lands. Her doorway to acceptance, the destruction of the Night King and his undead army, has all but shifted with the slaughter of King’s Landing last episode. And, her proclamation that she alone will decide what is good was the final straw. Daenerys broke the wheel. But, in so doing, thousands of innocents died…rather brutally and horribly.

Also, I was surprised that Grey Worm and the rest of Daenerys’s forces kept both Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister alive with the Stormborn’s death. Maybe this was done out of respect to both of them? Even though Grey Worm is a trained killer, he always took his orders from Daenerys. This was probably one of those decisions he couldn’t make alone.

On the other hand, Drogon made his own decisions. One, he decided not to incinerate Jon Snow for murdering his ‘mother’. Two, he decided to burn the Iron Throne instead. With these decisions, Drogon proved himself to be a smarter beast than others realize. In fact, he is more beast in form than mind. Dragons are smart creatures in a lot of fantasy settings. And, I think Westeros is no exception. Why not kill Jon Snow? It might make him a martyr if he is toasted or if he’s not(because of his Targaryen blood) he might end up taking Daenerys’s place on the Iron Throne. So, Drogon melts the Iron Throne so that no one sits on it again. This leaves Jon being more mortal than messiah. Afterwards, he brings with him the body of Daenerys to parts unknown.

So who gets to rule the Seven Kingdoms now? That decision is tied to the fate of the Starks and Tyrion Lannister. Tyrion suggests that the next king should be decided by the ruling families. And, after much debate, this was unanimously decided to be Brandon Stark. This body of lords and ladies are now left to decide on who will rule next on this basis as well: a vote. As the new King of the Seven Kingdoms, Bran decides to exile Jon Snow to The Wall (or what’s left of it). Jon is to live the remainder of his life way up North. Bran also decides to name Tyrion his hand in spite of Tyrion’s protestations.

However, not everything is smooth sailing for Bran. Sansa decides to break ties with the Seven Kingdoms and declares the North a separate kingdom. Sansa becomes the new Queen of the North. What about Arya? She doesn’t decide to stick around. Instead, she goes out to explore the west of Westeros where all maps end.

The rest of the story is all about tidying up loose ends. Sir Bronn becomes a member of the King’s Small Council. Brienne writes about Jamie Lannister. Grey Worm migrates with the rest of the Unsullied to Naath (Missandei’s birthplace). I don’t know where the Dothraki went (to Naath as well?). Then Samwell Tarley writes ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’. This reminds me of Bilbo and Frodo when they write ‘There and Back Again’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ respectively. Well, Sam does have some similarity with Hobbit physique in width.

Is this the ending I was expecting? Not entirely. I expected there to be more bloodshed. Tyrion would die at the hands of Ser Bronn. Gray Worm who defends Daenerys would die at the hands of Jon. Arya would kill Daenerys in the shadows. The result would leave Jon on the Iron Throne as the one true Targaryen heir. Of all these, the one that remained on point was Daenerys dying though not at the hands of Arya but Jon. Coincidentally, Daenerys’s death has similarities with Jean Grey dying at the hands of Wolverine after she goes all Phoenix force in a movie years back.

All in all, this was a safe ending for a series that had become, for the most part, predictable from the midpoint of the season. By this time, GAME OF THRONES had lost a lot of steam even though the viewership remained high. Regardless, this was still one of the best fantasy series that ever came out from television. There are a great number of people who might not agree with the storytelling GAME OF THRONES has taken. But, without a doubt, GAME OF THRONES will be a standard sought after by many series to come.

‘The Iron Throne’ is the final chapter of GAME OF THRONES. This is the last you will see of these characters for a while. Plot lines were tied up as is fitting a final episode in a series. As it ends, we are left to wonder whether we will find a contemporary series with such great an impact on popular culture ever again. Whatever its faults, GAME OF THRONES has embedded itself in the minds of a vast number of viewers. The fate of the Seven Kingdoms has been resolved. Our Watch is over.