The end of Game of Thrones is upon us. The global pop culture phenomenon bows out with its series finale this upcoming Sunday, after delivering a truly shocking episode in “The Bells.” Here’s the only short, mysterious preview HBO released…
Ash is raining down upon King’s Landing, as Jon Snow (Kit Harington), Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham), and Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) look on in horror. Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) arrives from the ruins of the Red Keep to the outer courtyard, where her remaining army awaits, triumphant. She has obtained the Iron Throne, or whatever is left of it, at great cost. Arya (Maisie Williams) stares at her intently. Now what will happen? Who will make it to the end credits? And most importantly, how many incredible Ramin Djawadi musical moments will we receive?
Lady Arya!
Ahhhh (also is it ash not snow?)
Jon kill Danny and then kill himself because of the guilt. Arya will rule the seven kingdoms.
If you thought there was a shit storm of people mad about character developments and disposal methods in E5, it would be nothing compared to what would happen if ASNAWP were to be killed in the series finale. That is something D&D cannot do, period! Just saying…
I’m a little surprised that (it feels like) we’re not going to have a lot of time in the final episode to breath and see a good start to ‘sweet’ and better times after all that will have happened in the story. That of course is going with the assumption that it actually does end “on the Up.”
The internet will be losing it’s collective sh*t this Sunday. I don’t care if it doesn’t end up how I wanted, I just want it to make sense and I just want Jon to end up with an ending befitting to his character.
But I get the feeling I am going to be pissed if ANYONE ends up on the throne. I’ve grown to despise it and the corruption that comes along with the ambition to attain it or sitting on it for too long.
And it it ends up that someone completely out of left field ends up on it, I’ll really lose it.
Either way, I’m gonna miss this show and have enjoyed the ride. And I’ll miss all of the recap articles, reaction tweets and especially the memes it’s inspired. Sigh.
I wish Jon (not Arya) rode away on that pale horse at the end of E5…
“And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”
Gotta be Jon…right?
Daenerys won the iron throne by conquest and made a statement by torching Kings Landing. That’s it.
The north will be in open rebellion ? If that is the case, the north becomes her enemy.
My outlook on this entire season has transitioned from “what would I like to see happen” to “does what just happened make sense.”
The answer to the latter has been a resounding yes in most instances, and TBH, I’ve enjoyed this season a lot more as a result.
That being said – I think Arya has one more name to add and cross off her list……
Yes, das ende. Never thought I’d say this, but I’m looking forward to the end on Sunday. I’ve really enjoyed the show, the fandom, the YouTubers and the books, but the last two seasons have not been as enjoyable as I believe they should/could have been, and as a result, it is time for me to move on to other things. Still, I will feel nostalgic exiting Westeros, but there is so much to anticipate so the void won’t be so bad. I need to catch up on the Avengers movies before seeing the final one, I’m looking forward to the fall release of the Downton Abbey movie and Stranger Things comes back this summer. So much good stuff, y’all.
Ramin Djawadi’s score is always a delight. He applies his themes most effectively and curiously. Last week I was intrigued by the use of ‘Truth’ as Dany’s forces were arriving at Kings Landing. This romantic theme has always been used to reflect the romance between Jon and Dany and my ears perked up when it accompanied Jon and Davos’ arrival at the capital. I’m very much looking forward to hearing the music of the finale.
Back , weeks ago, when I looked at the season 8 episode lengths I thought ‘that is going to be enough to finish the main story thread’… but in the back of my mind I had a secondary disappointment ‘that’s not enough to time to address all the hanging threads.’
Especially character threads of those left alive and those left on the sidelines. If they can do this in 80 min. I will be surprised.
I know I will be entertained (tho I don’t know if its in a bittersweet kind of way).
Clob,
What’s ASNAWP?
I posted that on another thread, but I’ll repost it here, too.
I still can’t fully get over the Ep 5; however, after rethinking pieces of the puzzle have begun to come together. I’ve always had a feeling that GoT has a strong vibe of Ragnarok and Ragnarok ends in total destruction of the old world, including gods, heroes, etc. So, probably GoT will have a similar ending: everyone dies and everything dies (except of the world’s ash tree, which preserves a couple of humans to start the cycle all). I thought that the lucky couple would be Jon ad Dany… Silly me! They were destined to be something entirely different.
I was thinking about Dany’s snap, and how it felt out of the blue, cause, despite of her ruthlessness, Dany was always careful not to harm children. And then it clicked: Medea (in Euripide’s version)! Medea is a powerful and loyal “helper maiden”, who helps her hero to accomplish his mission, but then she gets betrayed by him and avenges the treason by killing their children. Exactly the same happens with Dany: so long for the subversion of tropes. She is betrayed by the two men closed to her and rightfully so. To Tyrion she gave respect and recognition, even the second chance to redeem himself; instead, he ran to arrange Cersei’s escape. To Jon she gave her armies and dragons and love, instead he chose to blab the secret of his parentage to Sansa… because, despite of Sansa’s shockingly unmotivated hatred towards Dany, he wanted both his families together. Basically, Dany with all her might and powers was beaten by two abusive damsels in distress. In KL she understands that, if she accepts the surrender, it won’t be her victory: the credit will go to Tyrion and Jon for taming the shrew (or a mad king’s daughter in this particular case). So, she revolts and burns the city with all the children in an act of a figurative abortion. Abused femininity erupts into primordial fiery chaos. And, BTW, despite of being masculine, Loki goes a similar path in Ragnarok: abused fiery helper goes rogue.
So, what does this mean to Jon? I’m afraid, nothing good. Sure, he has to kill Dany, but Sansa will probably also bite the dust, as well as Tyrion. However, I’m not sure, whether Jon will be able to clear all the shit himself: maybe, he’ll donate his face to Arya, who will complete her transformation into the goddess of death.
Anyway, we can hardly expect much of the sweet from Ragnarok
possible endings… all tinfoil
1) Dany wins.. the dothraki have recruited new members lol and her numbers still appear to be the largest army around. ANd Drogon is still around. Not good for the North.
2) Someone takes out Dany whether it is a crossbow/arya/jon etc. If this happens WTF is going to happen to her army and Drogon?
3) Bran actually does something this season and gets his worg on to take over Drogon. Drogon takes out the leftover Dothraki/unsullied. Dany is shackled and tried for war crimes?
So far there has been a boatload more ‘Bitter’ than any actual sweet. Me thinks half the ep will be the resolution and then perhaps the last 20 mins will be flash forward of sorts.
All in all Ive got no clue but am going to be ready come Sunday. Sure it hasn’t been perfect but it’s been a helluva ride.
I’ve loved this season. I think that absolutely everything that has happened with every single character has made perfect sense and has been developed and been telegraphed throughout the entire series. The complaints and whining is frankly coming from people who forgot what show they are watching. Too many people expected happy endings for too many characters. Wasn’t going to happen. Period.
The writing was always on the wall for what happened with Dany, with Jaime, with Brienne, with Varys, with the Hound, with Arya….
Speaking of Arya, I do not in any way expect her to kill Dany or even try to. She’s not going to add another name to her list, because she’s done with her list. That is what the last episode showed us, she’s done with death. The preview was misleading.
I’m looking forward to the finale.
So sad to read all these rough comments about S8 everywhere…
I really enjoyed it… My friends and I had a lot to discuss and debate, a lot to analyze. The season felt very consistent to me.
I can’t understand people saying it was all rushed (if you call it rushed well to me GOT has always been kinda rushed, for instance Daenerys in S1 becoming stronger every episode while appearing like 5minutes in each).
Those saying character development was put aside. Like for real are we watching the same show????
Jaime had such a delightful storyline : meeting face to face with his crimes of the past, accepting it and apologizing for it (Bran and the tower ; admitting to Tyrion how rotten Cersei is), finally fully embracing freedom and honor, unleashing all his good intentions and love for others (fighting for the living, knighting Brienne, and to me sleeping with Brienne is like if he was sleeping with personified Goodness and was being entirely consumed by it), but then feeling his twin sister/only love is about to die he decides to come back and to leave this world with Cersei. Because shit fuck everyone else he’s more than in love with this woman, it’s a relationship no one will ever be able to understand, born together die together. It’s just so true and honest and logical. Pure love and dedication. You can’t escape from this terrific relationship. Such a majestic moral to this storyline and yet people call it character destruction. To me it’s huge character development and I perfectly see what the writers wanted us to understand with Jaime’ story.
Brienne’s storyline goes with Jaime’s. It’s her best season yet with S3. So good to break this strong woman’s armor and contemplate her good heart and feelings.
Daenerys was even better handled than Jaime this season, but it would be too long to be detailed. I am truly amazed by it. I knew it was coming for suuuuch a long time and nothing disappointed. Perfectly built up IMO. She’s the one I look forward to the most every episode this season. Funny fact : I hated her character before (S4,S5,S6)
Arya is really serving this season too, finally acting more human and realistic.
Very good season, not the best thought. I hated Episode 1 (possibly the worst in the entire show), loved Episode 2 (one of the best), admired Episode 3 (even though I was extremely disappointed…), really liked Episode 4 (except Euron…) and Episode 5.
S3 > S4 > S2 > S1 = S8 > S7 = S6 (hard choice LOL) > S5
I hope that’s just a prediction and not a leaked plot masked as a prediction as I’ve seen a few times on here.
I just wonder why anyone would WANT to sit on the throne. I guess I’m the same way with any national leader position really, and people keep running for them. *shrug*
(not to turn this into an ASNAWP thread… even if it would be unnatural for the site if it’s not done at least once more before the finale… but…)
The interesting thing to me when just looking at this final season is that it actually feels like our Arya is the one earning the “title” even though she has no desire or intentions for it. It’s not a role she would be likely to accept either. Still, she’s the one either getting shit done or putting herself in position to get shit done with little concern for herself.
– The two outwardly wanting the throne have turned out to be… whatever it is they are/were.
– AeJon has just kind of been moping around when not fighting and not accomplishing anything when fighting. He also spurned Daenerys and done things that didn’t help her mental stability. He doesn’t want to be king.
– Sansa has essentially done nothing all season accept look upset and telling Tyrion about Jon’s true lineage. I think Sansa would run to A throne with the chance. I’m sure there are some people that think she’s the most suitable candidate, but can we honestly say she would have actually earned the throne though?
– I don’t see how Tyrion has done anything to make him a candidate. I’d say his choices/decisions have made him less likely. It seems like it would be an odd choice for him to accept the position anyway. He should be exhausted of all the politics. Where is that vineyard?
I have been a longtime lurker and I just want to thank all you wonderful people for the energy and devotion that you have brought to this site. GOT by itself is a cultural phenomenon but this website and community have added an incredible richness that I will miss so much. I enjoyed all the discussions whether they were creative, speculative or heated and I thank you all for your knowledge which has cleared up so many areas where i was confused.
i will get to see the final episode on Tuesday so will be avoiding the site till then ( which does mean the GOT journey lasts another few days for me:)
You’ve managed to miss that on the site eh? 😛
It’s “Arya Super Ninja Assassin Warrior Princess”™ by talvikorppi long ago 🙂
Clob,
Oh yeah, I forgot… and Branmotron/3ER is EVIL!! 😉
Season 7 made it clear that Arya would be absolutely shit at ruling and governing. That simply isn’t her skill set.
Arya Super Ninja Assassin Warrior Princess ™️
aka ASNAWPTWP = Arya Super Ninja Assassin Warrior Princess That Was Promised
™️ talvikorppi 2018
… but yes, there is that. So even if it feels like she could earn it, she wouldn’t take it nor would she really know what to do. That’s not to say that she couldn’t learn and be good at it IF she wanted to. She just simply wouldn’t want to do that.
I am expecting a reference back to the first episode.
We will see Arya drawing a bow, aiming at Danny.
Then Danny is shot but we turn round to see Bronn with his crossbow.
He shoots her to save Tyrion who promised him a castle.
JenniferH,
“Speaking of Arya, I do not in any way expect her to kill Dany or even try to. She’s not going to add another name to her list, because she’s done with her list. That is what the last episode showed us, she’s done with death. The preview was misleading.”
——-
I think and hope you’re right.
I thought the whole point of Sandor’s last scene with Arya was to convince her to stop with the spree killing.
My predictions are usually wrong, but I’ll go ahead and say that the main cast take out Drogon and the army. It’s the smallfolk who riot and stick Dany’s head on a spike, in an inverse of the scene where she goes crowd surfing on the former slaves.
Failing that, my second guess is that Tyrion heads a Regency until Jon and Dany’s child comes of age. Which would be totally boring to me, but whatever.
In the purely wishful thinking department: Jon fakes his death and disappears up North; Sansa marries Tyrion; Davos remembers he already has a damn family; and Arya starts a sanctuary for former war horses. Very wishful thinking – Dany repents and goes back to the Great Grass Sea with Daario.
One thing is for sure…. we won’t get answers to about 90% of the questions.
Why the NK and WW rose now?
Why Sam wasn’t killed?
Why Craster? What about his children?
Why are Bran and NK so linked?
Mel and Kirvana and Red Preistesses?
TOJ/Hodor – Bran influencing past?
The Phi NK symbol?
Is NK a seer?
PTWP?
7 gods?
Lord of light?
Why Val steel?
Varys and the flames?
Tyrion and the dragons?
Faceless Men?
Iron Bank?
All secondary characters?
Future of the wall/NW?
Etc. etc. etc.
Colin Armfield,
or… or… It’s (evil) Bran missing Daenerys with a crossbow bolt, then an arrow hits her and he looks around to see Arya. She smiles, bows and runs away giggling as he wheels after her in his chair. 😛
It’s not too late for Branakin!
In all seriousness, though. Is that all we get from him? I expect something- anything. I mean. The internet changed the world! (For better or for worse)
Ten Bears,
This is a little different. The Hound was fine with Arya killing Cersei until Danerys set her dragon loose on King’s Landing. At that point, Cersei’s death was certain. Arya killing Cersei would only have been for her gratification. Killing Danerys is different, as Arya will be protecting Westeros from an even worse tyrant.
Jack Hamm,
Not to mention two Star Wars TV shows on the horizon, which will be exploring the grittier and more realistic side of the galaxy. The Mandalorian this November (two seasons already ordered) and a spy story following Cassian Andor of Rogue One (incidentally GRRM’s favorite Star Wars film) in 2021. Great time for TV shows.
Clob,
That works.
Ryan,
That’s the reason for my stupid theory that the three-eyed raven/crow is evil and has caused everything. It (sort of) answers a lot of questions. 😛
A must read from Canada for all who are fed-up with all the complaints this season has been getting:
https://www.thebeaverton.com/2019/05/game-of-thrones-writers-petition-fans-to-write-their-own-goddamn-show-if-theyre-so-smart/
Ryan,
I was just thinking. The Hodorigin story was actually one of the biggest payoffs the show has dealt.
Bran has flirted with engaging in the past- but I think we were meant to understand that his ability here is very limited, and in doing so, results are dicey. Hence, he has not even tried to employ this strategy since.
“I don’t really ‘want’ anymore”
If some variation of him changing the past happens this episode- there will be riots. More likely, if he makes an appearance, it will be via warging.
Colin Armfield,
add in a *Bran’s white eyes* cut and
I just went from 6 to midnight
Bor Mullet,
Thanks for the heads up! I love Star Wars. and have loved it since being dragged to see the very first movie in college in 1977 and was simply wowed! Oh, and I forgot about the Witcher Series with Henry Cavill which is coming this year, I believe. This should be really great. So yes, there’s lots and lots of good things coming.
I hope y’all realize that Dany has won. It is over. Sure a few more may die and there will be animosity and drama between those who remain but the game of thrones is done.
The whole bittersweet is that Dany does get to rule but her rule is just like all that came before her. With fear, death and usurpers all around.
Clob,
Honestly, with how little everything in this show has mattered to the ending thus far, I could live with that being the ending.
D/D said they expect to be “far away from the internet” when the finale airs…. I wonder if they know they’re already getting killed for the whole season.
TheWalkingWolf,
She ain’t gonna be ruling anything.
Bor Mullet,
That just reminded me that I’m po’d about the Disney+ thing. I’m not paying for yet another streaming service! >:(
I’m not sure if Alderaan or Westeros will have more survivors after this Finale. The GoT character grinder is never satiated.
Jon is the only character left who has been able to return the gift the faceless god has given to so many this season.
Aaaallright, here’s to no Iron Throne and no one person ruling by the end of the series!! 🙏🏽🤞🏽🙏🏽🤞🏽🍻
Also, I wonder if Dany will be exiled from Westeros instead of killed as Patrick posed as a possibility for Cersei last year. It would also be a nice “full circle” moment: she began in exile, she will return to exile. However, after the carnage of “The Bells” I doubt few would want her to live, especially with Drogon. And the recent Night’s Cast podcast also posed an interesting possibility as well: Does Arya have to destroy “fire” (Dany) as well as Ice (The Night King). I also worry about Tyrion after he freed Jaime. But my main wish is of course #NoIronThrone.
I hope you realize there’s still one more episode left.
That’s not bittersweet. That’s just bitter.
Better be some boobs this episode.
Rygar,
The boob that was promised?
Predictions:
– There will still be a monarchy
– There will be a twist with Bran
– Over 20 minutes will be a flash forward at the end
– Jon either wins the game of thrones or dies
– Dany dies in an unexpected way
– Sansa rules somewhere
– Arya rules in general
– Tyrion finishes his jackass and honeycomb story + finds out where whores go
Ryan,
Although I don’t know how many of those questions are really all that important to the story being told in the show, allow me to take a shot at answering a number of them, without resorting to the “it’s magic” answer. To clarify, I have enjoyed this season so far, although it’s obviously far from perfect.
Let’s see:
Why the NK and WW rose now? Fair, they are obviously not gonna answer that. Might be more relevant for a medium like the books, with more space to explore the mithology.
Why Sam wasn’t killed? This is the best question of the group, and IMO, the worst writing mistake of the season. Is Sam is in the frontlines of that battle, he has to die. If you know he lives, put him in the crypts, where he could still be useful killing a few zombies.
Why Craster? What about his children? I don’t understand the question. Craster was a wildling who obviously was faced with the White Walkers once, and when they took his boy, realized he had a good deal marrying his daughters and giving them his sons, with the bonus of not being attacked.
Why are Bran and NK so linked? Because he touched Bran. And because his goal is to kill the 3ER, to destroy the world’s memory and bring on the darkness.
Mel and Kirvana and Red Priestesses? Throughout the show, we are shown that they are in the fight against the “great evil”. Both of them seem to believe that’s the WW, and do what they can to put the key players in position and help fight that war.
Bran influencing past? In the show, he’s influenced it once, he just watched in the TOJ. I’m guessing he learned his lesson from what he did to Hodor.
The Phi NK symbol? Something representative of the moment he was created, and a sign of his arrival to install fear. Should it be something else?
Is NK a seer? Nothing in the show suggests that. He sees Bran, since he marked him, but that’s it.
PTWP? Not as relevant as in the books. Only mentioned by Mel, who clearly didn’t have a very clear idea of who it was. In the end, turns out it was Arya.
7 gods? Not sure what’s the question. It is the religion of the Andals. Seems like an analogy to current religion, in that it has no real effect on the world.
Lord of Light? Clearly, it’s a supernatural force related to fire, involved in the fight against the WW. As I said in the question about Mel, helps to have the key players in place for the ultimate fight.
Why Val steel? Why does it kill the WW? Considering what is told about the doom of Valirya, there had to be fire (volcano fire?) involved in its making, which would give it similar characteristics to dragonglass. There’s obviously a theme of fire being used against ice.
Wow, post may get too long. Will continue in another one.
Ryan,
Well, the whole Dany thing was sure to enrage a large chunk of the audience. So I’m sure they were anticipating the reaction it would receive. The finale supposedly involves the 3rd big twist GRRM told them about. It could be something D&D know will upset a lot of people, much like Shireen’s burning did.
Clob,
After what Arya went through last episode, I am very confident she survives. I have to admit, I was more worried for her in that episode than I’ve ever been, so the fact that she went through the transformation that she did (almost a rebirth if you will) of rejecting the darkness and choosing life and hope is significant.
I’m also backing off more on my prediction that Arya will Dany. Even though it makes logical sense (and I wouldn’t be against it), but I think it will be far more powerful if Jon does it. Jon needs a powerful moment this season, and this will be it. Ned, the Starks, most people of Westeros hated Jaime for killing his liege, so to see Jon having to kill the Queen he pledged himself to is.. utterly heartbreaking and powerful.
I did not, thanks for the info!
Tyrion Pimpslap,
Is it possible though that Dany’s turn and burning down King’s Landing was the 3rd twist? I’m not saying for sure it is, but I think it’s possible. I know they said it would happen at the end, but episode 72 of a 73-episode series is.. well, pretty much the end. 🙂
Mr Derp,
The Goddess of Tits and Wine
So I find myself terrified yet turned on by the shot of triumphant apocalypse Dany . . . it might be my serial killer trait idk…
The whole ‘bittersweet’ thing was said often as a description for the end. Well, I’m curious to see how that plays out because right now it feels a lot like a nihilistic dystopian story.
orange,
Jon/Aegon becomes king and for the first time in decades, the 7 Kingdoms will be ruled by a just king.
The Dornishwoman's husband,
OK, let’s try to answer the rest of the questions.
Varys and the flames? Not gonna answer that either. Some could say it was suggested it was the Lord of Light, but it’s not clear.
Tyrion and the dragons? Not sure there is a lot to answer. They didn’t fry him inmediately because that’s usually not what they did, and then he freed them, so they had no reason to. Not a lot to eat, too.
Faceless men? What is there to answer? They are a group of assassins. Arya crossed paths with one of them, they trained her, and in the end they considered her training done.
Iron Bank? I imagine the next administration will have a debt to pay. There’s not much more to them.
All secondary characters? Which ones?
Future of the wall/NW? There’s no need for those now.
In my opinion, most of those questions have been answered, and only one is clearly a big mistake. Expecting all the elements of the mithology to be linked is a bit much. You would need a Silmarillion.
Enharmony1625,
I do wonder if Jon kills Dany and it will mirror Jamie killing the Mad King. (I thought Jon would have to kill Dany the moment she started killing innocents.) It would be the same ‘murder’ for the greater good. Jamie was despised for it but I wonder if Jon won’t be.
Jamie always had the mantle of ‘Kingslayer’ and we know it hurt him. What he did actually saved people but Ned Stark instantly saw that he broke his oath rather than the reasons. I wonder if Jon has to do the same to save the realm. It will break him completely, I would think, but he will not be maligned like Jamie as he will have people around him who understand that it was the only way.
2952.5 days gone, 2.5 days to go.
Can’t believe it!!!
I composed a long post and it seems to have vanished. Guess I need to type it all out again in Word and then cut & paste in case it evaporates again.
Bad enough that the ‘Notify me of follow-up comments by e-mail’ button totally stopped working for me about three weeks ago. Can I not post anymore, either? What Mod God did I offend, and how?
Firannion,
If you haven’t closed out the window that you used to type your disappeared comment in then you might be able to hit the back button to see it again, so you can still copy/paste accordingly.
Tyrion Pimpslap,
Jeez – – I completely forgot about the whores. I hope they’re okay.
Basically there is
Only one thing for certain will
Occur. There will be another
Battle. THE Battle of
Ice and Fire – Jon vs Dany.
Everyone else? Meh.
So excited for the finale!!!!
I have re-watched “The Bells” a few times now. I watched it from the perspective that she was wrestling with the decision of burning the city and going full on fear, and finally dismissing the advice of her (far to honorable and nice to rule effectively) confidants and embracing what she always thought would happen when she took back the throne.. “I will take back what is mine with Fire and Blood”.
I have to say watching it in that mindset the highlight being her final wavering as the bells rang was incredibly powerful and terrifying and raised the episode from a 6 out of 10 to a 9 out of ten for me. It also seemed to make a lot more sense.
Episode title predictions?
A Song of Ice and Fire
A Dream of Spring
Honestly, the current state of affairs in Westeros makes “A Dream of Spring” almost too optimistic of a title.
Mr Derp,
Nah, I did it on my phone, have totally closed out the app. Trying again on my PC this time, so at least I can have a Word copy.
Arya has had a great season – her most prominent and possibly the person who everyone will have been routing for the most, but I haven’t been seeing her earn a role as queen or leader. She killed the NK yes, which saved everyone’s lives. But she isn’t solely responsible for that victory – the credit is shared equally with Jon, who spent years convincing the troops to the oncoming threat and Dany for bringing said troop. Other than that, she has had a very prominent presence this season, but I don’t see how she has earned the position of queen. We saw her escaping carnage and spending most of her time alone training because she clearly doesn’t feel happy in large groups anymore. I suppose it depends on what happens next – if she kills Dany and she was the one who killed the NK too, then that will certainly be worthy of everyone bowing down before her superhero feet with their fealty, but I don’t know that GRRM is writing a story about a superhero girl who saves the world twice over with her awesomeness. 😜
Mr Derp,
“Stranger” would be a fitting title after the destruction and horrors of episode 5.
Mr Derp,
“A Time for Wolves.” I would love that. Plus, it’s kinda setting it up that way.
Are you joking ?
Literally nothing makes sense in this season. Nothing from the large plot points to the tiniest details.
Tyrion telling a one-handed Jaime to take a pregnant Cersei to Pentos in a dinghy pretty much sums up the utter nonsense that is this season.
Yeah, a one-handed man and pregnant woman will use a dinghy to travel hundreds of miles at sea, and “if the winds are kind”, they’ll make it to Pentos.
Lol. They’d be in a dinghy with no sails, no map, no compass, no food, no water. Whether the winds are kind or not, they’re not making it to Pentos.
The fact that the writers can write stuff like this is laughable.
They also don’t know how bastard names work, dragon fire now makes stone explode, bells now mean surrender when in Season 2 Episode 9 we are told by Davos that bells never mean surrender and by Varys that bells ring for horror, the list goes on and on.
Everything from the character arcs and major plot points to the lore, logistics, and world building is utterly nonsensical.
Tyrion Pimpslap,
Regarding Dany dying in an unexpected way my two guesses are:
A) Bran wargs into Drogon and eats Dany
or
B) Bronn kills Dany
Okay, you KINDA had me until you brought up the point of explaining how physics work in a fantasy show. Good effort, though.
“Nanny Nanny Poo Poo, We Finished Before You.”
Well said! And this site had such excellent links to other fan sites, such as JoeMagician, whose analysis is so thoughtful and detailed.
I hope that the site remains to carry us through the prequel!, plus maybe possibly GRRM will finish the books?
And there was SO much in the books that couldn’t make it to the series – wouldn’t it be nice to have almost a book club to rediscover the books, chapter by chapter? I started rereading them this week, to blunt the pain of the show being done.
My naive, insanely unrealistic hopes and dreams for this episode:
– Jon survives and is king, but not in the absolute monarchy sense. He will be aided with a proto-government council.
– Dany realises the horrors she committed before she dies. I am sad about the thought of her death after I spent 70 episodes or so rooting for her – but I know she committed mass mass mass murder and should not be able to go off into exile or something like that. She needs to pay a price and in the absence of a life-sentence in a prison, death it will have to be.
– Arya realises that she does love Gendry and wants to marry him after she said goodbye to her revenge-filled alter-ego.
– Sansa and Tyrion hook up (again… for the first time… unsure on the nomenclature).
– Sam writes the Song of Ice and Fire.
– Davos serves as hand of the king.
– Jaime miraculously survived the millions of bricks that landed on his head and he and Brienne get married and have giant babies.
– Drogon flies east to keep the hope of more magic in the future alive (I don’t like the magic leaving Sothoryos idea – I like magic in fantasy stories).
– Bran stops being a tree.
My realistic expectations:
– Dany is killed while still filled with murderous hate.
– Jon kills Dany and dies in the process.
– Someone unexpected sits the throne (why is Bran the book maker’s favourite?? I just don’t see it! So it’s probably him… somehow… even though he’s a tree)
– Tyrion dies for his betrayal
– Arya tries to kill Dany and dies trying (don’t hate me for suggesting it – but I am going bleak here in the hope that if I expect the bleakest, my expectations will be subverted).
– Only like 5 main/secondary characters make it out alive
– The ending makes me weep into my wine
I think they knew that would happen from the start. The vision in the HOTU of a destroyed throne room with ashes falling down and the vision Bran sees of Drogon’s shadow over KL pretty much confirms that. They learned of the 3 big twists sometime after those visions were shown.
Once again my long post did not post.
Young Dragon,
+1 dany is a much much worser tyrant than dany.
Clob,
You never know. If you were right. Clob for president.
Queen of the Ashes
Mr Derp,
I’d be surprised if it’s not ‘A Song Of Ice And Fire’. Especially if they go the route of Sam writing the story.
Third try not appearing. Someone is mad at me. Why?
I’m just hoping the Hound wakes up in the ashes with a fancy new necklaces muttering
“Fucking Flame c**t!”
Ghostgirl,
Perhaps Jon would escape the same kind of scorn that Jaime got for being a “king slayer”, but it’s something I don’t expect Jon would ever get over.
Here are some reasons why Jon may not kill her:
1) He can’t bring himself to do it because of his honour. This would be unfortunate because it doesn’t offer much up in terms of character development, and it would make Jon seem even more ineffectual.
2) He won’t do it because of some potential political ramifications..? Maybe? Like maybe he decides he does need to take the throne, but he doesn’t want to do it by killing the Queen he pledged his life to? This one is kind of weak, but I figured I’d mention it as a potential possibility.
3) He can’t because Dany has walled herself off and there is no way he can get to her. This is the one that, imo, would make the most sense and would lead to it being Arya because she is the only one with the set of skills necessary to pull it off.
Having said that, I am still hoping it will be Jon because it would be such a pivotal moment for him and what a way to end his character arc. I don’t know what he would do after that, but he would likely have to live with this for the rest of his life either as a reluctant ruler or up north where he belongs.
Damn it. I wrote out a long, elegant and persuasive (IMHO) case for Davos being the one to kill Dany. I wonder if it will show up if I post one paragraph at a time.
Red Viper,
Haha amazing xd
TheWalkingWolf,
If that happen it’s very disappointing. Dany needs to die except if Clob is right about evil bran.
1)
Of the “Who will kill Dany?” speculation that I’ve seen here and there, the most popular candidates seem to be Arya and Jon. Although I do very much like Emily’s suggestion upthread that the surviving smallfolk of King’s Landing might bring her down, I have an alternate take, and this seems like the right time and place for me to pitch what will probably be my very last GoT tinfoil theory ever. I haven’t seen anyone else advance this notion (I did toss it out to one of the regular GoT pundits in the Twitterverse, who thought it not an entirely terrible idea, though not his first choice). If it happens to come true (not that my brilliant predictions ever do), remember who told you first!
2)
What if the Drowned God spared Davos Seaworth, who was not even one of his followers, from certain death by burning and/or drowning in the Battle of the Blackwater for a reason? In S8 E2, they made a point of showing our normally benign and measured Onion Knight seething with frustration that he hadn’t been the one to kill Melisandre to avenge the murder of Shireen. Davos decidedly does NOT like women who torch children. Now a new opportunity presents itself to act out his repressed rage against the burner of many, many innocents. It would ironically mirror Dany’s own decision to ignore the bells of surrender, not wishing to be denied the Fire ‘n’ Blood rampage that she has been fantasizing about for so long.
Tyrion Pimpslap,
Oh, good point.
3)
I know this probably sounds like an idea out of left field, but I see some groundwork having been laid for it. Surely the wooden toy horse being carried by that little girl who was Arya’s companion in flight for a while was supposed to remind us of the stag that Davos carved for Shireen, no? If, early in the final episode, we see Arya roaming the rubble and finding the horse figurine, somehow unburnt because the little girl dropped it in between Drogon’s strafing runs, then I think we can assume that she will carry it back to the camp and tell Davos about her experience of fleeing amidst the panicked townsfolk. And in that moment, he will snap and decide to kill Dany.
So much to do in one final episode. They should have spent less on FX and more on the plot development.
In any case I still have the Faceless Men playing a part. Where a group of them appear before Arya. She asks why they hadn’t killed her before. They reply that they are not there to kill her. She is seen as being favored by the Many-Faced God. She killed the NK and restored to him the countless thousands of deaths owed him. She has learned to love and to selflessly risk her life to help others. But mainly to realize that to kill because of selfish vengeance was not the way of the Many-Faced God.
They charge her with defending the innocent and to bring death to those who truly deserve it. All she needs to do is say the name and that one’s life will end.
The Faceless Men then kneel before Arya.
They then say: “We kneel to No One!”
What I expect to happen: Jon kills Daenerys then abandons all a la Aemon Targaryen and goes up North to live with the Free Folk and Ghost.
Arya goes back to Gendry (I was never a Gendrya person but there has to be some “sweet” in “bittersweet”, right?).Tyrion and Davos introduce a new political system for Westeros. A parliamentary monarchy or something.
What I would want to happen: Bran actually does something that justifies the time we have spent watching his adventures (most boring parts of the show for me) all those years.
Daenerys does not die (despite all, I do feel sad for her). She goes back to Mereen and Daario who, honestly, is far sexier than our boy Jon.
Tyrion and Davos introduce democracy to Westeros.
Jon goes to Dorne or something and spends the rest of his life on the beach. The State affords him an important annual allowance, him being a king in retirement.
Sansa and Brienne get together (screw you, Jaime Lannister).
Arya is back with Jaqen, because that was one sexy faceless man. But they don’t stay in that Covent because it was creepy creepy creepy.
Sam and Gilly have a baby girl and do not call her Khaleesi.
THE END
Firannion,
They kept Davos alive so he and Bronn could start a spin-off together where they become co-owners of the “Inn at the Crossroads”.
Tyrion Pimpslap,
Is the 3rd twist not the mad queen twist?
Sacred Lime,
“It’s been a long time, my old friend” varys
4) won’t post. I can’t figure out why.
Prediction? Pain.
– Clubber Lang
Hence the books.
Nick20,
There are numerous things in any series that do not make sense.
Bronn firing an flaming arrow 400 yards in the dark to blow up Stannis fleet.
Cat believing Stannis was killed by a shadow.
500 or more Harpies sneaking full harpy garb into the arena.
A catapult firing a projectile near the top of the great pyramid of mereen.
the freys taking about 20 minutes to murder the wedding feast guests.
The brotherhood without banners suddenly consisting of 3 members.
and there are countless more.
At some point you swallow it or stop watching, you have now decided to shout loudest because you have reached saturation. Well done… but try and suspend your disbelief one more time and find some positives please.. cause I’m sick of people overlooking the entire series (and i don’t just mean game of thrones) of inconsistencies and missing scenes that should of been made, but suddenly piping up near the end.
We understand you think Dany has completely lost it and committed mass murder. Let see the consequences and make up our minds after.
Paragraph 4, sentence 1:
He might even succeed.
Paragraph 4, sentence 2:
How many shots have we seen of Davos standing stolidly behind his king?
Sacred Lime,
More should do that. Watch 2 times with that in mind.
Mr Derp,
Queen of the ashes.
Queenslayer.
Dovankin (for skyrim fans)
Paragraph 4, sentence 3:
A Hand may do this without arousing suspicion, and even be able to get quite close to his monarch.
Did davos wife got killed by dany in 8×05. If so davos kills her maybe.
Milutin,
I like it.
Joseph Mobile,
I like this one too.
/tinfoil
3rd and final twist is Tyrion sneaks up behind dany and stabs her with Dragonglass creating a new Night Queen…. 🤪
or
Sansa somehow pulls a hail marry poison job on Dany and b/c she is ‘the smartest person arya knows’ abolishes the throne and head’s back to Winterfell to be Queen of the North
tinfoil off…
I really kinda hope we don’t have a huge twist in the last ever ep.. I do feel the Prince of Dorne comment from a few episodes ago will somehow play out and perhaps we’ll see Yara again.
Paragraph 4, sentence 4 seems to be the one mysteriously triggering the problem:
Who – would – seem – less – likely – to – become – a – vengeful – assassin – than – Ser – Voice – of – Reason?
Paragraph 4, sentences 5 & 6:
It’s a twist ending that I definitely could live with. What say you, dear fellow Watchers?
Che,
I agree Arya has had the biggest season but even through the aweful writing and conclusion I can not see Arya killing Dany. I also just don’t see John doing it. It’s out of character. Now they could keep bringing the nonsense and do that, but no way would John or aegon kill his queen.
The throne is set. Dany will rule like it or not. Just as has been discussed there is no other valid ruler other than Jon and he will not accept or destroy Dany.
I want to add just a few stray thoughts:
1) If it wasn’t a misdirect there is still a little girl trying to poison Dany.
2) I don’t think the main focus should be “Who kills Dany?” Before that they have to deal with Drogon, the Dothraki and the Unsullied that are left, if they even want to go that route. There is no way the northern army can deal with them alone. And as of right now they are allies.
2.1) The northerners are baddies in the eyes of the people of King’s Landing too, which includes Jon.
2.2) Putting my tinfoil hat on for this:
Jon mentioned at the beginning of S8E5 that the troops just crossed the Trident and were arriving at KL in 2 days. The Trident is the area where Nymeria and her pack is supposed to be. The help of a huge pack of wolves might do it, at least in regards to the Dothraki (and Unsullied). Not saying this is likely to happen (not at all, hence tinfoil), but there is at least also an incident in the books.
3) Let Dany stand trial.
JenniferH,
I agree with you that the writing was always on the wall. Although I think at least not all the complaints come from “what happened”. I think it is somewhat true that there could have been at least one more season (the “rushed” argument). The Spoils of War, Beyond the Wall, The Long Night and The Bells could have been all an episode 9 in a normal season alone, just from the spectacle point of view. I also think against this argument could be said that at the end of a story the pace (almost) always picks up. So for that reason it was not an issue for me personally.
I’m happy with the last season so far. The only complaints or comments in the fandom which annoy me are the ones who insinuate that anyone (in general) who liked or loved the last season (so far) is just an uncritical consumer who can’t think for themself.
Re Arya: I don’t think Arya will kill Dany either. Whether she tries it or not? I don’t know.
Well…maybe. We saw what happened with Sandor’s decision to put down the sword (or axe) back in season 6. But I think they established Arya’s way back from the path of revenge enough so it wouldn’t be jarring either way (just in my opinion of course).
In Season 6 the writers gave me the impression that Arya at least could put herself in Cersei’s shoes (empathy doesn’t equal compassion btw), maybe she can do that with Dany as well. Just in the sense that Arya killed a bunch of people too (different context, I know). Not in a way that she forgives her or anything, but so that she doesn’t want to kill her immediately. She would probably want to see her die, but maybe she would wait for the sentence and wouldn’t want to be the one who swings the sword.
That is all just speculation of course. I can’t wait and am looking forward to the finale too! 🙂
I’m soooooo nervous for Sunday. I’m still holding out that I will enjoy the ending, whatever it may be. Overall, I have enjoyed season 8 a lot, and no matter what happens, this is still my favorite show and my favorite story, nothing will change that. We can’t erase the 65+ episodes that we’ve come to love so. damn. much.
As far as episode titles go, I don’t think I’ve seen this suggestion yet:
The Last of the Targaryens
We already had The Last of the Starks as a title this season. If Jon and Dany both die, there really would be no more targs, and that’s a huge spoiler-y title so it fits with them wanting to wait and reveal the titles until after they air.
Realistically, if I had to bet I would go with A Song of Ice and Fire.
I’m over here laughing about my own long post. LOL
I’d agree.
Queen of the Ashes is a possibility, but it sounds too Dany-focused for the last episode that’s supposed to wrap up everyone’s journeys. It probably would’ve been a better choice for episode 5, but it would’ve been too spoilery to work.
TheWalkingWolf,
Dany just killed 100.000s of people. Dany is not his queen anymore. And I can see it happen that he kills her. He was in love with the dany who saved him and he saw a savior. This is not the dany he loves.
Che,
Same (almost) 🥂
You don’t think Jon would stand against her after what she just did? If he doesn’t rise up against her, then he really did die when the Night’s Watch drove their daggers into him. The old Jon would stand up against her in a heartbeat, even if he did love her once. There is a fine line between love and hate. They also never had too long a relationship, so his love for her is new and not terribly deep from what we have seen. His honour and justness will prevail. I hope!!!
Possible titles:
Kingdom of ash
Iron throne
Family duty honor
Protector of the seven kingdoms
The pack and the lone wolf (or lone dragon)
But I think a song of ice and fire make the most sense.
Rizzo T,
I have been worried that Yara will arrest/bring Sansa down to KL on Danys behalf.
I hope not.
I don’t believe she lives in King’s Landing on the show either. In the books she lives on land they have at Cape Wrath in the Stormlands. I don’t remember him specifying on the show where she lives but I don’t think it’s Flea Bottom.
Firannion,
Oh my, Firannion over here trying to put out a post! I feel ya!
I would like that far more than Arya or Jon killing Dany. 🙂
Che,
I completely agree. Their alliance will forever be a stain on his honour if he doesn’t snap out of this eventually.
Also, I want the Starks to come out on top.
America nukes Hiroshima and Nagasaki to prevent more bloodshed and she’s the great savior of world. Dany nukes Kings Landing to prevent more bloodshed and she’s the mad queen of Westeros.
Everyone wants Dany to be killed; to break the wheel you must destroy the cog, Kings Landing is that cog, especially the Red Keep. You cannot start a new beginning with the symbolic seat of the old remaining intact.
I’m still having a hard time believing that (THIS) is where George is taking Daenerys. I mean, I can believe D&D are ending her story the way George told them he plans to. I just can’t beLIEVE he’s going to do what we just saw and the result is her death. Seriously?
I’ve read five books of Daenerys’ story development (okay, four since she was pretty much nonexistent in AFfC) where she’s going from having nothing, overcoming all the odds and setbacks, and still dealing with those, to the point where she’s building an army and I was assuming she’ll eventually be able to make her way to Westeros… So I would have been reading through her pov chapters in the next books still cheering for her and looking forward to her and Jon meeting only to have her flip out and be killed in the final (dozen) chapters!?
Maybe not so far fetched – when Bronn ambushed Jaime and Tyrion while they talked about climbing Brienne at the inn, he said “The way I see it, I only need one of the Lannister brothers alive.” Foreshadowing? Only Tyrion is left and Bronn is determined to get his castle. What you suggested might happen. I wouldn’t mind that at all.
Firannion,
That is interesting and made me think of the final survivors in the last few episodes. Most of them have been saved miraculously, some on multiple occasions from certain death by Death/Lord of Light/Drowned God/Seven.
Sam, Arya, Jon and Tyrion of course.
But also Sandor and Davos.
Davos definitely had a miraculous survival after Blackwater. Plus he can’t fight and he’s been in the thick of nearly every major battle without getting a scratch or appearing to hurt anyone else. He also witnessed the smoke baby, saved Gendry Baratheon, encouraged Jon’s resurrection and saw both the NK’s work and Drogon’s fiery rampage first hand.
I’ve always loved him, but if you think about it, he really is an incredibly important character for not being one of the main characters. The Onion Knight is practically an avatar of what is still good in the world.
What of Ser Brienne? Will she now feel permanently dishonored because she gave her heart (and maidenhead) to a man who could not reciprocate, and abandoned her? More than anyone still alive in the story, she represents those qualities that elevate humanity. How tragic if she ends up with self-loathing like Ser Jamie’s, despite all she has to offer.
Kevin1989,
A Time for Wolves was what GRRM was going to name last book until he changed title to A Dream of Spring.
That title could go either way. A time for Dany to kill all the wolves since they are a threat to her rule, or a time for Bran to do something with all that power he apparently has, for Sansa to use her lessons, Arya hers and Jon to finally remember himself.
But I could see them going for A Song of Ice and Fire instead.
These are two fundamentally different scenarios.
Japan did not surrender until AFTER the atomic bombs were dropped.
KL surrendered BEFORE Dany dropped her atomic bomb.
Tyjon,
Tell me, how did she pretend bloodshed with her action? Who was going to do that bloodshed once the city surrender itself?
Comparing it to Hiroshima is not a valid comparison. It would if the second bomb dropped after Japan surrender itself.
Clob,
George first outline stated Westeros faced 3 evils: The war of 5 kings, Dany coming from the east, and the White walkers coming from the north.
So I think this is his plan.
Yes, thank you, I was just about to post the same wail, “Where’s the sweet part? This is all disaster and heartache.” Heavy sigh.
We already had a big boob last episode. Harry Strickland.
Not all that different. Japan may not have surrendered, but it was already clearly losing the war by that point. We used the bombs because we had them, not because we had to. It ought to be a matter of national shame that we are the one nation ever to have intentionally used nukes against humans. We woke the dragon big-time.
Firannion,
Not a debate I want to get into here, but the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has good debates on both sides.
Yes, the U.S. opened a can of worms by using the atom bomb, however, did you think that the U.S. was the only country trying to use one? Had we not used it, do you really think another country wouldn’t have used one at some point?
If the U.S. did not use the atom bomb, there would’ve been an invasion of Japan, which surely would’ve killed more civilians than the atom bombs did.
Quite frankly, the Japanese government should’ve surrendered by that point, but they didn’t, needlessly putting their own citizens lives at risk in the process. They knew the war was lost, but were too proud to surrender. That’s on them.
So yes, it is different.
I think a lot of us are there tbh.
I keep thinking of Sam’s LOTR speech. “Sometimes you didn’t want to know the end, because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened?”
Yeah, that’s me right now.
Love Emilia Clarke as a person and an actress. She’s so talented, sparkling and animated. She’s played every aspect of Dany perfectly, from innocent young pawn handed over to foreign warrior all the way to this crazy Queen. I just hope that the outer fandom doesn’t do to her what they started to do to Jack Gleeson (Joffrey) and Benock O’Connor (Olly) and attack her personally because of a part she played. I’m looking forward to seeing her in future projects.
That being said, seeing Dany remain Queen after decimating the entire population of a city, whatever crazy-ass reason she might have had, would make me gag.
Tyjon,
Japan surender after nukes. Dany torches city after surender. There is a big difference.
And now you’ve made me wonder if Bran won’t end up on the throne. Didn’t someone say (Tyrion, Varys, Davos? I can’t remember) that the best person to sit on the throne would be someone who doesn’t WANT it? Then Bran told Tyrion that he doesn’t “want” anymore. Was that a hint?
And he won’t need the throne because he already has his own chair. 🙂
That isn’t entirely true. Yes, we now believe part of the reason Truman used the bombs was because he wanted Stalin to know we had them. But another major reason we used them is that it was estimated by the War Department that an invasion of Japan would cause up to 4 million casualties, with up to 800,000 fatalities, and up to 10 million Japanese casualties. It is believed that Japan would have pressed every civilian I to service to defend the mainland and the emporer.
Dany saved no lives by “nuking” King’s Landing and everyone was well aware of the destructive capabilities of the dragon before hand.
All this talk of WW2 makes me want to watch some boobs. Whats that episode with the LF exposition while Ros gets it on lesbian style?
Best. Episode. Ever.
Firannion,
I think that nukes were used as estimated number of US casualties were extremely high. I read somewhere that US Army still have stocks of Purple Hearts that were ordered before attacking Japanese mainland. So to avoid more US soldiers dying they throw nukes.
Edit.
And to add. Japanese forces were fighting to the last man. Imagine number of deaths on both side in scenario of US invasion on Japan.
I
Sacred Lime,
I think that the build up of her character throughout the entire series makes a lot of sense with how it ended, so I won’t bother you rehashing it, but something that struck me on my second watch of the episode is how the “bells ringing” scene reflected the last conversation she had with Jon.
Just as she is complaining that the people of Westeros will never love her, and she only has fear, to which Jon responds that he loves her and she’ll always be his Queen, with her questioning if she’ll just be her Queen or more. Jon was unable to love her the same way she wanted to, which is why she responded “then fear it is”.
That’s what the bells were for here there (Jon’s response). In the past she had mentioned how she didn’t liberate the slaves in Mereen, how they liberated themselves (which is true), by raising up and opposing the masters directly. To her that was their show of true love. She didn’t have to fight for them, they would fight for her.
Since arriving in Westeros she’s acted a bit surprised at the fact that the people don’t do the same (rise up against the tyrant). Even Tyrion just on the previous episode begged for more time to let the people rise up and remove Cersei for her, because he had seen they were capable of rising up against the King when they rioted against Joffrey. Except that she didn’t want to wait for a siege strategy to play out, and because unlike Essos were she was dealing with slaves, here she was dealing with free people, so the politics are different, and she never quite understood that.
Unlike Mereen, the people in KL and their army (which really was the Lannister army) didn’t turn around to strike at their ruler like she’d seen people do for her before. They simply stood there like sheep afraid of a dragon. When the bells rang, it was like Jon the night before saying “I love you and you’ll be my Queen, but nothing more”. In her mind they had the chance to show their true love for her, and the answer was no. She had considered burning them all long before the battle started, but that is why she waited for that moment to start the rampage. She didn’t just want them to not oppose her, she wanted them to be with her, and they wouldn’t, just like Jon the night before.
… but what IF Bran has been warging her periodically all along. Where the hell did he ‘go’ during the battle vs the NK? Maybe he thought he could take out the NK using Daenerys’ body better than she could..? …. Hmm… Okay, maybe I’m starting to believe this whole evil 3ER stuff is too plausible for my own good. 😛
RG,
Funny I posted that this week that I hope that’s how the ending feels.
It’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something. Even if you were too small to understand why.
So I hope the ending is in fact the sun shining brighter. (And I put the last sentence there on purpose if you catch my meaning about it XD)
Ultimately, the decision to drop the bombs was based on the disaster/bloodbath that was the taking of Okinawa. The US wanted to avoid a large-scale version of that when taking the main continent by sending a *message*. The rest is history.
Just reading this. Yup, they had Okinawa as precedent.
This season wasn’t terrible. Its by far the weakest, but still not as horrible as people say.
But overall…
Its time to wrap this thing up. The fandom and culture around it is toxic and needs to end. Sad way for this show to go out, but it is what it is.
Solar,
I think you have hit the nail on the head. She has always envisioned herself as a savior for the people. Remember back in season 1, Lyrio was telling her brother that the common folk drank secret toasts to him. But ever since she got to Westeros she was never seen as a savior. Everyone either viewed her as an invading conqueror (Sansa and Cersei) or were using her to fufill their own needs (Olenna, Jon – early on, Yara and Ellaria). I think that disappointment, coupled with her losses and the rejection by Jon, all contributed to her turn.
Clob,
I mean, the whole of her arc in ADWD was setting up her accepting being a conqueror. ‘Dragons don’t plant trees.’ Dragons are destruction. They aren’t pets. They certainly aren’t children. As was mentioned up thread, GRRM’s original outline of the story spoke of threats to Westeros from the North(WW) and East(Dragons).
The title of the series was inspired by a Robert Frost poem called ‘Fire And Ice’:
Two destructive forces. Not in opposition to each other, but the same.
I’m not sure we are meant to think Dany goes insane, but the paranoia is already there in the books. How often have we seen her worry about betrayal and the prophecies from the HOTU? We saw that in this last episode. I can absolutely see her getting to the point in the books where she thinks Jon betrays her. And as we know from season 2, D&D knew she would destroy KL. So GRRM must have told them that from the start.
The problem people seem to have is her doing it after the city surrenders. But to me that is kind of meaningless. If the city didn’t surrender, she was still going to kill tens of thousands of civilians, most of them women and children. So I don’t draw a distinction, partly because I believe this was something D&D added just to make her eventual demise more palatable.
HelloThere,
I think it was a considerable improvement on season 7. I won’t compare it to any of the normal 10 episode seasons, as the show is just so different now.
I agree with it needing to end now. It’s not fun anymore. Too many bitter fans throughout the fandom.
I don’t know what’s going to happen and don’t really care to speculate on the specifics, but as everyone else is so fond of quoting Ramsay Bolton saying “if you think this has a happen ending, you haven’t been paying attention,” the person who killed him said “the lone wolf dies but the pack survives.” Daenerys is done and the Starks will endure.
flintstonewielder,
I wasn’t sure what battle was main reason for this decision but I know that casualties were main reason for bombs.
Joseph Mobile,
Agreed…..for the most part I have enjoyed this season and don’t understand all of the hate. I suppose some people will just never be satisfied. I thought the first 3 episodes were some of the best of the series and I really enjoyed episode 5. To be fair….they have been hinting at Dany’s dark side the entire series so it wasn’t completely out of left field like some people are saying. Having said that…..the season DOES feel rushed and I was very pissed off after hearing that D&D were essentially offered whatever they would need to finish the series and they thought they could do it in 13 episodes instead of 20. As a result we were denied a lot of character scenes that would have made what we saw on screen so much better (Littlefingers death for example).
I’m done with this show.
I’m not watching another episode after this one.
kevin1989,
I believe the Faith Militant was one of those evils, George hates organized religion, especially a militarized one.
Concerning my WW2 comment, the Japanese, Germans and British had lost millions of soldiers and the Russians tens of millions while American had only lost 200k, so Truman and the military were so appalled at losing perhaps another 100k plus men to take Japan they decided to slaughter horrifyingly over 200k men, women and children, mostly the later as most men where elsewhere. America is suppose to be the better angel, you cannot justify murdering hundreds of thousands of women and children to perhaps save 100k soldiers. That’s why a tactic called house to house, room to room exists, to save the lives of women and children.
America lost it’s soul doing that and has never recovered, war after war killing millions for what, capitalism, the free flow of oil at market prices, made up intelligence to perpetuate control over resources similar to the British Empire. The globalists in DC say for Democracy, yet America leaders overthrow elected governments and install monarchs, oligarchs or tyrants to control resources not for freedom but for corporate profits The made up war drums beat again as neocons desire another war to continue their desire for world dominance of resources, if only some politician or bureaucrat had the courage to get rid of Bolton and the like, they’d save thousands or tens of thousands of American soldiers lives and hundreds of thousands of civilian lives in those countries.
King in the North East,
XDXD
Tyjon,
No he stated those 3 I said. War of 5 kings. Dany and white walkers. The faith militant was not in his first plan.
But about the whole who did she saves I mean in the show itself not America. Who did dany save by killing those people? Because if she taken the iron throne without bloodshed. Who did she save then? Because I can’t think of a single one that she saved then. Only killing a lot of innocent people.
Ryan,
Yes indeed The Lord Of Light, the most interesting character and the one we’ve never seen. We know he exists in the show’s universe because we’ve seen dead men raised, so what has his purpose been? I’d also like a detailed exposition of the Night King and his powers, and it’s still bugging me that his and the white walkers’ clothes shattered, why would they do that?
I agree.
After 8 years, 72 episodes, they have 80 minutes and 1 episode to set up a brighter day.
Even they kill her and the dragon in the first 10 minutes next week, we will never get away from the discomfort as it is now so close to the end of the story. This is especially so those fans that did not see the threat she always was to others. They poured years of affection and support into an ugly vessel and do not have time to re-orient. Of course, when her ancestors conquered Westeros before it was also brutal – so fans did have some prior knowledge with Targs.
Jon and Tyrion may try to correct the problem and take leadership. But the truth is the Jon and Tyrion are compromised as potential leaders by completely misjudging the realities. They were allied with her so it is unclear that the Westerosi should have any confidence in them. How do the Westerosi know that Jon and Tyrion were not in on the mass murder plan? Then good Jon is a Targ – he may not be best placed to rule.
Maybe the best we can hope for we get a 20-year time jump that shows she ruled benevolently despite the fire and blood inclinations. The people are prosperous and forgot about the dreadful start.
But we know that with that amount of power, she won’t rule benevolently will she? Roasted people every week!
Kevin1989,
Really, interesting, I guess it’s my perspective, I see a military religious order controling a kingdom as a worse threat especially long term than a civil war.
Tyjon,
I agree with that but I was talking about the 3 evils grrm talked about. And dany was in his first plan.
Tyjon,
Edit for my post, apply political pressure and bargaining to remove a person(s) from position to save downward spiral into the insanity of war, especially a war meant to maintain or gain control of a resource or foreign region for the sake of consumerism and wealth. Read the Founding Fathers letters on the British Empire and East India Company.
I have to add something to my initial long post.
On top of this point I figure that Daenerys probably will have or has it in for Sansa, Tyrion, Davos and Jon. After rightly guessing it was Sansa who spilled the beans to Tyrion, getting to know that Tyrion set Jaime free, Davos providing the skiff (maybe she won’t find out about that, we’ll see), and Grey Worm telling her that Jon tried to hold back his men. I’m curious how that plays out.
Maybe someone pointed that out to you, I just forgot to respond to that earlier. The wooden horse was burnt together with the daughter and the mother. You can see the charred figurine in one of the shots, the camera lingers on it for a moment. And yes, I agree. That is definitely a callback to Shireen’s stag figurine.
Davos: You burnt a little girl alive!
Melisandre: I only do what my Lord commands.
Davos: If he commands you to burn children, your Lord is evil.
Such a good scene btw.
Tyjon,
I am not sure where you are getting you numbers, but a lot more than 100,000 soldiers would have died if the US had invaded Japan. I put in an earlier post the estimates of the War Department at the time, which granted could be high. Even if they are double what would have happened, that would still mean that would still be 400,000 US troop fatalities and over 1,000,000 Japanese fatalities. Those 1,000,000 Japanese fatalities would have included women and children too. Japan would have pressed every able bodied person into service to defend the Island. If the US was just looking to kill as many people as it could, as you suggest, they would have dropped the bomb on Tokyo or Kyoto, both more populated cities.
We can debate till the end of time whether or not the US should have dropped the bombs or not. But if we are going to do that, let’s at least be serious, and realize that this was a horrific decision that these men had to make and not make them out to be evil or monsters.
My guess for title: The Aftermath
As far as Dany dying Tyrion gets THE crossbow from Bronn and puts two bolts into her while on the crapper. (more than likely won’t happen but never say never)
It’s kind of hilarious that the show is seriously pushing this as her line of thought as it just makes her look that much stupider.
First, the people of Meereen didn’t just spontaneously rise up the second she arrived. They cowered in fear at first, too, until she launched barrels of broken collars into the city and gave a very loud speech that she was there to free them and would only harm the masters.
Second, even after that, they didn’t spontaneously rise up. The Unsullied went on a deep cover op to arm them and foment rebellion internally. They didn’t just stand around outside the city expecting it to happen.
Third, the “people” of Meereen didn’t rise up and revolt. The slaves of Meereen did that. King’s Landing doesn’t have slaves. It’s pretty obvious why slaves would rebel against their masters, but why would ordinary people living ordinary lives? They could have more than they do, but they aren’t experiencing any abnormal level of hardship right now. Life will be no different for them under Queen Daenerys than it is under Queen Cersei (putting aside that they’d still be alive under Queen Cersei). That isn’t even close to the same situation as the slaves she freed.
This whole “the people don’t love me enough so I’m going to kill them” angle makes her story even worse. She was the person who called Viserys an idiot for believing people were actually drinking secret toasts to their return and weaving dragon banners. Jorah told her way back when they first started that the common people don’t care at all who rules because it makes no difference to their lives. She knew that. Or at least she was presented for seven and a half seasons as a person who knew that.
JenniferH,
You are wrong. We remember what show we are watching, and do not expect happy endings. I for one expect that the endings make sense. I am afraid that will not happen Sunday night. We will be left with an ending written to complete the season, not one to complete the story
Ryan,
Yes, it would havve been nice to have gotten answers to some of these
Adam,
Precisely, she never understood that difference, which is why Tyrion had to remind her that the people would rise if given a chance.
Regardless of her opinion about her brother, her actions have always shown that she expects everyone to love her and follow her just because she wills it.
Since season 1 she was shown to be very misguided with regards to how people would react to her actions. Viserys thought he had made a deal with Drogo, and when Drogo basically ignored it, Dany acted surprised that his brother would get mad from being ignored.
When Drogo destroyed Mirri Maz Duur’s town, Dany was surprised that she would try to get revenge on Drogo and at her. She was genuinely expecting Mirri to be grateful that Dany took her as her slave after Dany and Drogo had destroyed her life and the lives of everyone she knew.
When Drogo got sick, she completely ignored Ser Jorah’s advice about the Dothraki traditions and she thought they would simply follow her as they did Drogo, that’s why most of them left her as soon as Drogo was out of the picture.
When she conquered Slaver’s Bay, despite the suggestions of her council to take into account the local traditions and being flexible, she thought that just by saying so there would be peace and everyone would be happy. That caused discontent from former slaves and the revolt from the masters. Eventually she had to backtrack on some rules, like her refusal to open the fighting pits.
Like Daario said, she is a conqueror not a ruler, which is why throughout the entire series she’s been really good at conquering cities and defeating enemies, but she has been a disaster as a ruler (which she actually hasn’t done much of).
That is because she expects everyone to love her, obey her, and respect her just as her most passionate followers do, without realizing that many don’t care that she is there and many more actually wish she weren’t there. That’s why she was never able to understand the North’s coldness (no pun intended) towards her.
ash,
What would you consider an ending that makes sense?
You mean where she seems to be getting ready to hold her very own Nuremberg Rally?
Maybe no one kills Dany directly. Drogon is taken down and Dany dies with him. I can’t see a peaceful kingdom with Drogon still alive.
Juliska,
See now I heard the Imperial March when I saw that bit in the trailer 🙂
My gut feeling says that Jaime Lannister is mostly dead and Arya Stark mostly alive.
Please can i say: I’m so so sick of all this internet poison sprayed at D&D for their last season..C’MON..let’s give some credit to all those people that made us dream for a decade over this amazing story!!
And yes, not easy to start with the novels and finish the story without the back bone, such a huge task..not talking about every cast member probably wanting to get freed from an over 10 years contract..
This season is Amazing at many levels..got flaws though…but again..no need to be nasty about it.
Who can say I have achieved some project or been part of something as big as the cultural phenomenon that is GOT, and go over and over how other people, that have been working their ass off on GOT for years, are doing something wrong with their job…please show me your personal achievement, before poisoning the internet with your ridiculous expectations on how this season should be written/should end… thousands of people working all together on a project did screw it..oh yes, of course you are so much a better writer/director/CGI consultant/ actor /producer/ than all those people that did the job and exposed themselves to critics..
Just for Ramin Djawadi’s music, I’m so grateful this season 8 is out…and I’m not disappointed by the season itself. I have some reservation, but nothing as toxic as what i read and see on YouTube.
That’s all.
Tyrion has to kill Dany and die in the process.
My ending goes something like this. Tyrion just watched his home destroyed and his only family that he cared about (Jaime) slaughtered by his hoped for queen. I think he reconsiders Varys words about doing what is best for the realm and wondering if this is what was best. He may now side with Jon snow who also now reconsiders Daenerys’s rule that may put his family in peril. They sadly come to the conclusion that the only way out is to plot her death. Tyrion would do the actual deed and have Jon take the fall for it. As the acting hand he has to keep the Dothraki and unsullied on his side. He would banish Jon Snow to the now destroyed wall in the north as a criminal that’s where he wants to go anyway, but Gray Worm wants him dead and challenges him to a trial by combat. Jon wins the fight but spares Gray Worms life so long he promises to follow Tyrion. Bron should now become one of Tyrions advisors as payment for his services. Davos should also become one because he doesn’t want to go north. Lady Sansa Stark of Winterfell should stay right where she is with Brien as her captain of the guard. Arya Stark is given a job that suits her talents. I always considered her the fox to the hound. She now travels about to the kingdoms that are having difficulty in finding suitable rulers and does what is necessary to get the right person for the position. Sam Tarly now lord Tarly with his wife Gilly, his son little Sam, and soon to be baby should become the new kings maester and write down all that has happened. Gendry is lord of where ever he was made lord of. Theons sister may rule the iron isles. Bran who up to now has been mostly useless should now complete his destiny. He should go north with Jon to the caves of the children of the forest and become one with the elder trees and heal the land from the destruction of the night kings winter. I think the night king wanted to stop him from being able to do that. The dragon can do whatever it wants as far as Jons concerned. He’s not going to take it and he’s not going to kill it. It probably will never fly north enough to bother his family. Jon may become king of the north in a new castle black, have a family that one day his kids may find some dragon eggs, learn about their heritage and want to take over a little part of the world. Tyrion should become king with Bron as his hand, the unsullied as his guards and the Dothraki sent back to their homeland. With luck maybe the iron bank will give him a loan to help rebuild the city. Why not.
Many seem to count Tyrion out as the new king. As neither he nor Jon want the position, it should most likely be one of them. There’s an old saying that goes something like “Some people are born to greatness, some aspire to greatness and some have it thrust upon them.” Lets see if either of these two get the thrust.
Anyone think we’ll see Illyrio Mopatis in the episode? He set Dany on her journey and gave her the eggs. Would be interesting to see his reaction to what has transpired.
If you’ve come this far and hate this season, why haven’t you quit? No one is making you keep watching. It’s okay. Just don’t watch.
I astonished that anyone thinks that Tyrion or Jon will become king. Have you seen the betting odds on GOT for the last year?
I’ve waivered on this, but both Dany and Jon will die in the end.
It was Jaime and Cersei’s death that cinched it for me. Cersei committed atrocities. Even though Jaime had the opportunity to separate himself from Cersei, he realized that they’re the same “she is evil and so am I.” This was obviously a statement on their characters and how closely they’re tied because they’re twins, etc. They played with fire and the gods tossed a coin and Joffrey was a sadistic psychopath – they were both secretly relieved when he died. And I’m not sure if this was in Jaime’s mind, but who knows how the coin would have flipped with a new incest baby?
Regardless, Jaime realized in the end that being with Cersei at her probable end and sacrificing himself by that act, even though Tyrion gave him a glimmer of hope to escape, was the noblest decision he could make.
GRRM has laid many a narrative about genetics and family throughout the books, not the least of which is the Targ practice of incest to preserve their “magic” dragon blood.
I’m of a mind that magic, all magic, is the destructive force at work in the story, and all magic must be eradicated if humanity is to have any future.
So put Jon in Jaime’s shoes. Dany has committed an atrocity. She’ll probably pay for it with her life in the final episode. And Jon has been reminded again and again that he carries the same dragon blood, and the gods will toss a coin for every child he fathers.
He never wanted to father a bastard, he won’t want to father a child who is potentially a mass murderer.
So, not an exact parallel but a close one. Jon will realize he shouldn’t live. “She is evil and so am I/my children possibly.”
It would be “sweeter” if he exiled himself in the North, of course.
ETA I used to root for a Jon/Dany twin twist, not so sure I want to be hammered with that at the end now, but we’ll see
ASNAWP: Arya Super Ninja Assassin Warrior Princess
tiny direwolf,
Solar,
At this stage, I am not sure what would make sense. There have been too many issues with the writing and plot, issues that would have been less prominent if the seasons were at least a few episodes longer. Now – probably what makes sense is those who are alive, start to rebuild. Perhaps Bran has some power to erase memories so people are starting anew, without need for revenge and war. Or, at the end is Sam, telling little sam the story of ASOIAF, and tucking him in bed with the little wooden dragon Davos made for him….
Mango,
Because Tyrion and Jon make the most logical sense with how the story has gone over 8 seasons. (That’s probably why it won’t happen.)
I am very worried that we will get an ending that will just piss off everybody and doesn’t make sense. I’m fine with my favourite characters dying or leaving or not finishing how I thought, as long as it makes sense to the narrative.
yeah, nice one, but still not tough enough against these petitioning douchebags! i read about the petition this morning and i simply couldn’t believe it. what will be next? nazis petitioning for a remake of “Downfall”, with a happier ending for the main character and more UFOs in it?
so lots of people – excuse me! – lots of c*nts started a petition. half a million, really? to each of them i dedicate the words of a facebook friend: “my two pets are smarter than you. and one of them is a rock.”
My favourite ending for Game of Thrones would be this:
Drogon flies off into the sunset, leaving a destroyed and wasted Westeros behind.
The end.
(Not shown: He then settles on a remote volcanic island, lays a few eggs (dragons can do that, I imagine) and founds a family of happy dragons. 😊)
Probably because unlike a sporting event, this is a fictional story. Unlike a sporting event, the gamblers in this case don’t have any inside information or any historical data to rely on when making a bet. All the odds can tell you is where people are betting their money and who they think will be on the throne. It is not an actual representation of the probability that someone will end up on the throne. For example, I remember seeing somewhere that some establishment had the NK as one of the favorites before the season started.
death by chickenfire,
It’s nonsense to demand a rewrite. That would be like demanding GRRM change his ending, and we’ve all been debating and discussing that for a decade already.
Funny how some secrets that D&D “revealed” – RLJ for example – were applauded as unchangeable book canon. Imagine the backlash if that’s not true in the books? Or if D&D had revealed a different story for Jon’s parents?
But because this story isn’t a Disney movie at the end of the day, they want to change what doesn’t fit their own version of the ending with the handsome hidden prince and his Aunt, the beautiful princess, ruling the kingdom with peace and kindness. I’m 100% sure that’s the ending most of those who signed the petition would write.
ShameShameShame,
Don’t forget, Jamie and Brienne getting married and moving to Tarth, Tyrion and Sansa getting married, Arya and Gendry getting married. I’m sensing a pattern. I forget where I saw it, but somebody pointed out that if the fans got there way, Ned would have escaped and the red wedding would never of happened.
Ah, I missed that. Haven’t done a rewatch yet.
Still, if the figurine isn’t completely turned to ash, Arya might spot it and pick it up. Or Davos himself might find it, show it to Arya and hear the story.
If we see Shireen footage in the ‘Previously On’ segment, I think this role for Davos is what we should expect.
Egg,
I second your comment. People are getting carried away and are being utterly obnoxiously ridiculous.
Firannion,
my take is that Shireen died to save Arya, LoL and FM style – it’s possible Davos will make the connection, or, more likely, we’ll be left wondering
I know its a long shot and most likely will not happen with Tyrion, but consider this irony. Two brothers who serve mad Targaryn monarchs that want to burn down the city, one becomes an outcast the other becomes king, or at least in charge till someone better is appointed. I’m pretty sure Jon is definitely out of the running. I only want this to happen for the sake of the other main characters to go on and have lives (sort of). I’m pretty sure there will be enough killing of other people to make everyone happy. Although at this point it seems mixed about how many just want everyone to die and get it over with. So I guess its okay for Thanos to snap his fingers on this one.
I’m not sure which actually fits here. I like playing the long shots or never tell me the odds.
Oh, I like that very much. Would the old gods, and the new, please make this happen?
Someone suggested that perhaps Dany will be so overcome with guilt and grief, that she stands in front of Drogon and says Dracaras. Then Jon jumps on the dragon and flies north to grow old with Tormund, ghost and the wildings Thought i’d throw that out there.
Dany and Greyworm got to die, I suspect she will want to burn Tyrion, Sansa and maybe even Jon. I doubt she will murder them all but likely she will get one so I fear for Tyrion. My guess is this dominates the first hour of the finale and the rest is having Jon ruke reluctantly.
I don’t say any deaths beyond the above but curious what happens to Drogon once Dany is taken out.
This is so weird that a story as twisted as this has so much impact on peoples real lives. I do include myself (a little) as this is the first time I ever came onto a GOT chat site to post anything. I thought I would just put my two cents in about the outcome I would like to see and be done with it. I like the show, and like most I’m fictionally disappointed in a fictional character that you kind of look up to. I’m pretty sure I’ll get over this whereas if something on this level happened with someone I looked up to in real life I would probably be really pissed off. Right now the only thing that I think is really upsetting and not just to me but many others is that its over with. It doesn’t matter the outcome, its just something we looked forward to watching. I don’t know if prequels, sequels or spinoffs will be as good. We still have the books to look forward to right.
Oh yeah Danny’s fireproof. death by dragon not happening. I don’t know about sharp objects or poison.
Or maybe he just steps on her.
That’s way too bitter though, she needs to die for the sweet to occur. At this point I see no other viable alternative.
Sorry but she’s likely going to want to burn Sansa and probably Jon also, he has plenty of reasons to kill Dany, former lover or not.
I rate season 8 ahead of five, seven and two myself; it’s not the best but far from the worst.
I checked it and it is not completely turned to ash. Although I don’t know what would happen if you’d touch it.
What I do know is that the shots suggest that Arya saw and recognized the horse figurine of the girl.
I would like Arya to turn up at the northern army camp first to be honest. Whether that happens, I don’t know.
Davos for the win either way.
Again, I would like that far more than Arya (or Jon) killing Dany.
No. And it’s weird that quote is paraded around since one of the four horsemen is riding on a white horse and the pale one is different. Pale in that context means a dead horse, not white.
The history of predictions from me has been dismal…
But Now Consider This:
The final episode will have the usual diversionary issues, for instance, Tyrion burning or (again) narrowly escaping a death sentence.. And other stuff.
But, at the end, Dany will dismiss the Dothraki back to Essos and she will return to Essos with the Unsullied, or turn them over to J or S. Yes, after all that she will abandon the rule of the 7 kingdoms and leave Westeros in the hands of Sansa and/or Joegon.
Then, in private, she will pull off the face of Dany and be revealed as Arya. She throws the mask down, where it joins the faces of Grey Worm and Missandie (she somehow found the head of Missandie), allowing the viewer to infer the chain of causality that lead up to the finale.
There Ten Bears, you have your ASNAWP.
Agreed 100%. It’s time for the wolves to be a pack again now, because every Stark has been very lonely ever since the season began.
At the beginning of this season one of the behind the scenes pictures was of Winterfell burning. Then it didn’t burn in episode 3. Maybe Dany is so pissed at Sansa and Varyas blabbing about Jon that she rides to Winterfell on Drogon and torches it? They would be relatively defenseless. Then she can taunt them with “What about the North?
In the books, wasn’t the pale mare was the symbol of the plague that was running wild through the cities of Slaver’s Bay. I also think the Bible verse reference pestilence associated with the Pale mare.
I don’t know if anyone remembers the playlist The End Is Coming. I have listened to it yesterday. It is interesting now that the season is almost over.
I am going to stick to my story until the last episode absolutely blows everything I think out of the water. Tyrion always a hand never a king, he doesn’t want to be. He and his brother both served apparently mad Targarayn monarchs that want to blow up the city. What are the odds of that. The big difference is she didn’t show any signs of it, at least none that Tyrion saw. Varys however saw something different and died for it. Maybe Tyrion will now do what is best for the realm and that would be to kill Daynerys so that the rest of the main characters would be able to go on with their lives without threat of being killed by her. Yeah the main characters are the realm. Its Tyrions home, Tyrions family and his mistakes that led him to this. Hes got Bron and a crossbow. There is a right decision, but no good one. No matter what happens Jon is going to be sad about his aunt and queens death. A bitter but kind of sweet end for her. He’s going to go north raise some Targarayn rugrats that will eventually find some dragon eggs, learn about who they are from uncle Sam Tarly, and try to take over the world. In the mean time Bran goes to the caves of the children of the forest, becomes the Elder tree spirit, heals the land and brings a promise of spring to the countryside, and maybe the bookstores. This is just a useless idea and last post before tonights episode which I’m sure will end much differently, and my first thought would be “Huh, I didn’t see that coming”.
I agree with you both. BUT after what happened in the streets, and especially the death of the mother and daughter who Arya interacted with several times, I think she will feel compelled to try. This is not vengeance, but Justice. I don’t know what happens though we’ll all know in a few hours. I do think she is pregnant, which should guarantee her survival. Sigh. It’s almost time for the anxiety pills.
Hermie,
Love your idea. I’ve had some mildly similar headcanon. But yours was worked out and even ended in a pun. 🙂
“Huh. I did not see that coming.” On May 18, at 4:02 in the morning I made my first post ever to a game of thrones chat site. I started it with my ending goes something like this, then proceeded to state why I thought Tyrion should be king, but not till the very end of the post. Up till then he was still the hand. In the end I turned out to be very (dead) wrong. However as it turned out I was about 50-50 or better when it came to other characters and their outcome. I have read most of the posts and found many to be spot on like they actually knew what was going to happen right down to small details. I was particularly impressed with some even saying Bran would be king when I actually thought his destiny was to be a tree, as that is what he was given to act like. This show was a lot of fun and frustration, and now I need another new hobby to take its place. I would consider reading if he would just come out with the next d..n book.
I think the very last scene of the episode should have been this: As Danerys stand before the Iron Throne, thinking and waiting, Jon arrives to kneel before her again, to reaffirm that she would always be his Queen. She strokes his hair and he hesitates as she ask if he would always obey her, never betray her — so she slit his throat.
Jon Snow chokes on his own blood as lies on the floor, looking up at Danerys, who then walks away to finally sit on the Iron Throne. Camera pans out to the ruins of King’s Landing. Danerys is the Queen of Ashes.