It is impossible to end a massively detailed and nuanced story in any way that will satisfy everyone. It cannot be done. This is especially true when the story in question has as much history and source material as Game of Thrones does. It is very clear that the story and show itself changed dramatically when they were out of source material. After Jon died at the end of season five, the show shifts in many ways. The nuance, the detail, the travel. Everything speeds up dramatically. The show did not get worse, or become bad, it just sacrificed a lot of what made it so exceptional to head to a specific end game. Was this the result of not having books as a guide? Was this because they had an outline of how to end the show? Was this just a result of fatigue, running a massive tent pole show for HBO that films all over the world? In the end all of them contributed to the final three season and the rushed feeling many fans described.
Last night’s finale was the epitome of the final three season. It was fine. It was not amazing. It was not terrible. There were some amazing highs and some baffling lows. In many ways, last night’s finale ended the moment Jon killed Dany. That was effectively the end of the story. The rest was just an epilogue. It almost felt like everything after Dany dies was the writers saying how can we close all threads we left in a faster semi-satisfactory way. The destination for all the characters made complete sense, but the speed and path seemed a little off, much like this entire season. To be fair I never expected this season to blow me away or surpass expectations. I was ready to enjoy the spectacle and the amazing moments we were going to get along the way as opposed to worrying about the totality of the ending. There were moments in this season that did exceed my expectations and blew me away. I will ride for episodes three and five forever.
The book readers seem unhappy. They wanted the show to dive deeper into the prophecies, the theories and the magic. The show used those as plot devices, but none of them really matter, as much to the show as it did to the books or the book readers. The prince who was promised, light bringer, Valonqar prophecies were all fun to debate and speculate about. In the end, they did not matter. This is driving many people crazy. They wanted more, they wanted nuance, and they wanted a reason for some of what was happening to come back to their theories. The show was never completely about that and in reality killed magic off with the death of the Night King. One could argue that Bran warged into the white horse that saves Arya, or maybe Bran warged into Drogon and had him scoop up Dany and fly away. Those are two of the unanswerable questions. Couple those along with the thought that maybe Bran had this planned all along. Maybe he knew the future and was actually trying to make sure this happened. After all, he did not come all this way for nothing.
The biggest criticism I saw come out last night after the finale dealt with Jon’s parentage. People were saying it ended up being a massive reveal that did not affect the story. That is lunacy.
If Jon is not a Targaryen:
Dany does not feel that he is a threat.
Dany does not have to worry about him telling others.
Dany does not feel betrayed by Jon.
Dany does not feel betrayed by Sansa and Tyrion.
Tyrion does not tell Varys.
Varys does not try to poison her.
Dany does not burn Varys.
No one suggests Jon be King due to birth.
Jon can not ride a dragon.
Jon does not reject Dany.
Dany is not Jon’s Aunt.
Jon and Dany are together.
Dany rules with love and not fear.
Dany does not burn the city.
Jon cannot walk past Drogon and kill Dany.
If Jon is just Jon Snow, all of those plot points are drastically different and so is the show as a whole.
The ending worked just fine for me, as it was essentially, what I had been speculating for weeks. It was apparent Dany was going to die and Jon would not be the king. I speculated Sansa would rule with Tyrion as co-rulers. In a way, that is exactly what we have. Bran is off looking for Drogon and allowing Tyrion and the small council to run the country. Meanwhile Sansa is a queen and running her own nation in the north. I speculated that Jon would go north and join the night’s watch, which ended up happening. I would have rather had Jon abdicate his claim and decide to go north. That would have made more sense, but this worked too.
I do not know why after Grey Worm left Jon did not just stay. Who would have objected? I guess Jon really did not have a place there anymore and the north was in him. The ending felt right for all of the characters. This was probably the closest to a happy ending the show was going to give the viewers. I liked it. I honestly, do not know how else they could have ended it that made sense. Sansa being Queen I suppose would have worked. I mean where did Drogon go? Was he so upset that the pursuit of the throne made his mother die? Did he have to destroy it? Or was that Bran destroying it? Will we get answers on Drogon in a spin off, or is Bran handling it?
Everything that happened on the show and this final season was foreshadowed the entire time. Dany was always going to be the final dragon that needed to be slain. Everyone’s character arc and especially Dany’s turn was always right in front of our faces. Unfortunately, it happened too quickly the final two seasons. Could that have been fixed, maybe? It does not matter now. It was fine. Like all shows, I enjoyed the journey much more than the destination.
Looking back on the entire journey I will remember the shocking moments, the awesome battle sequences and the fun I had discussing the show with friends and family. To me the discussions and excitement played into why the show mattered so much to me. Coming to work every Monday ready to discuss with co-workers. Texting with friends as soon as major events happened. Reading articles, following the conversation on twitter and of course watching Talk the Thrones and listening to podcasts were what made this experience so fantastic. I will almost miss the discussions and media about the show more than the show itself. It’s all over now, but it was a great ride.
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