TV Series Review – Game of Thrones S8E6
So here came the finale of Game of Thrones. After 10 years, Westeros was finally liberated from the Lannisters and their conspiracies, which killed a lot of good people. In this article I will break down the finale of the saga. All bad characters died, Jon became the King of The Seven Kingdoms and Dany stood by his side as a ruler… well, not really.
What happened then? To summarize it, the expected, given the last episode. The screenwriters destroyed 10 years of character progression and in the end, the finale was just as the season tone laid it out to be. Until episode 4 I had faith and I found meaning in the logic behind the actions of the characters, but episodes 5 and 6 berried the thought of a happy ending. At the moment, they demonized Dany, it all became clear. But why did they do that? Why did they end the story about dragons, white walkers, assassins, lords, magic and all you can think of, as a history drama, not like a fantasy saga?
1. Dany
She gets killed by Jon. In the public screening I was attending, the moment she died, everybody started clapping. Some people even got up on their feet. I understood that, given how she was portrayed in the last episode and what she did. However, was it necessary for her to become an antagonist? No, not really. I wanted her to stay good, at least for a little while. Comparing her to the others, whom sat on the throne, she really did have reasons. Her love for Jon, could’ve swiped “her madness” towards something good. Some will say “But they are aunt and nephew!”. My answer to that is “So what?”. Nobody seemed to have issues with Jaime and Cersei. Or, they could’ve simply divide the kingdom in two parts – the North and everything else. Even foreshadowed, her death was not necessary.
2. Tyrion
Tyrion “the Imp” Lannister. The character, who played his own game, through most of the story, pushed Jon to kill Dany and what happened to him? They “punished” him to be the Hand of the King? How is this punishment? “He will pay his whole life for his mistakes!” said Bran, but how he will do that? He will give wise advises? This decision was as illogical, as the whole season in general. Punishment is exile, crucifixion, life in prison, sending him to the Wall and many other, but not being the Hand, the most important role after the King himself. And the decision to not include him in “Song of Ice and Fire”, given that he is present in all major events is ludicrous. That is the same as not including Ragnar in Vikings.
3. Sansa
As expected, she became queen of the independent North. All lords agreed to that, but why? “The North fought the walkers!”, yes but all their allies did as well. By that logic, the other provinces should’ve became independent as well. The Northmen might’ve given the most casualties, but that doesn’t mean that they were the only ones. I don’t mind the North being independent, they deserved it, but the way it was done was stupid.
4. Arya
Her arc conclusion was probably the best one. After Cersei died, she had nothing else to do in Westeros. Considering her adventurous nature, exploring the unknown lands is actually true to her character and gives an option for a spin-off. Although she didn’t achieve any of her resolves in Westeros, she played a major part in the story. I like her complete arc.
5. Bran
The character, who did absolutely nothing this season, beyond sitting in a chair, became King. That is all I have to say for him:
6. Bronn
Yes, I include him. The character whom was the comedy relief, whom betrayed all his allies and threatened Jaim and Tyrion with death, is now lord of the Reach and in charge of the treasury. Crafty con artist is now in charge of the money of the Six Kingdoms. If you see an issue with that, then you are absolutely right.
7. Jon
The hero, who resurrected. The hero, who fought against the Boltons and the Night King. The hero who is half Targaryen, half Stark and technically is the King of Westeros… was exiled to the Night’s watch, again. But what is the idea of the watch now? To gather the bastards and criminals of Westeros? I guess so, since its original idea was to protect the realm of men from walkers and wildings. Ones are now gone and the other are give or take 100 people. Also, Grey Worm, because of whom he was send there, is leaving Westeros. So there is no way for him to know if Jon is in the watch or not. I even suppose that he won’t care much. Some say that he never wanted any titles and that is true, but for this season. In the last one, when he was named King of the North, he had no issue with it, until Dany arrived. The rightful King of Westeros was send to Castle Black, considering it is now obsolete. At least he might become the new Mance and stay beyond the Wall. That way, he will at least be the King with no title.
I understand the whole idea, I do really. The point was to show that titles mean nothing anymore and the King must be chosen by the lords of the Six Kingdoms and not by birthright. That is all fine and dandy, but why did they leave the lord titles, the Wall, the hierarchy? In one way you want to break the current ruling model, but not too much. This is what I call, lazy writing. We all know that the spirit of GoT resolves around plot twists, untimely deaths for the main characters, but this was at the beginning, when the show followed the books. After that the plot protected the protagonists and even brought back a few. Then why can’t we have a happy ending? Since season 5, the show strays from death of main characters and Dany looked like an actual savior and now in the 8’th season, all that crumbled spectacularly. Was it necessary? Absolutely not. This is how the show should’ve ended, after the 4’th episode, in my mind.
I have no issue with the “battle” for King’s Landing. We would’ve came with some kind of excuse for the OP-ness of the Dragon. At the moment, the bell rang and everyone stood in await, Dany facing her inner demons, should’ve flew directly to the Red Keep, bringing it down to crumbles. In that moment, all citizens of King’s Landing should’ve bowed and the remains of the Golden Company surrendered. The people would’ve done it for fear, but the moment would’ve been very powerful. At the same time Jaime finds Cersei, which flees the Citadel. At the moment, they are near the exit, she starts to share her plans to gather new allies and armies and come back. Jaime then understands that his sister is not in her right mind and tries to bring her to sense. However she pulls away and tells him that he’s a fool and has always been. Going to the exit, Jaime stabs her in the back, all in tears, wile the ceiling falls on them both. That earns him the title of Kingslayer. Arya sees all that from a far (of course they reveal that the baby was not real, but a tool to manipulate her allies). That is followed by cheering from Dany’s army, while the citizens of King’s Landing look at her with fear. She convinces them, that she’s the true ruler of Westeros, by birth and right and she’ll protect them all. This she did several other times with and we know that she is good with the words to the common folk. She swears to rule with honor. She offers Jon to rule by her side, but he refuses, asking her to let the North be an independent kingdom, where he will rule and the love between them will keep the peace. We know that the Northman are the last party to engage or cause a war. She agrees to that and instead sitting on the throne, she destroys it. Dany states that the true King doesn’t need an “Iron Throne” to rule, but the love of her subjects. As she can’t have kids, she passes a law that when she dies, the lords of Westeros should choose the next King. Jon makes Sansa his Hand in the North and disbands the Night Watch, as it is no longer needed. All live in peace and prosperity.
Everything else can be left as it is. This is an ending, which is at the same time happy and in the spirit of the show. Why didn’t they do it then, remains a mystery. I only hope that the D&D (not Dungeons & Dragons) writers don’t bury the Star Wars saga deeper than it already is in the new trilogy. All that we are left now with is to wait for the prequel story and the spin-offs. With bitter taste in my mouth I say “Farewell!” to one of my favorite shows and I wish luck to all beloved actors from now on. I hope that their future productions are better. Meanwhile, let’s remember how it all started. Valar Morgulis!
