Season 8 stuck to the 2010’s tradition of finding your favorite therapist to deal with things. Yet, the finale of Game of Thrones, “The Iron Throne”, was underwhelming and boring. I think this might be the worst episode of a show in a long time, maybe since season 5 for long time fans. I thought it couldn’t get worse than the whole ‘I-went-mad-queen-because-of-the-bells’ and the DULL death of long-time-hated character Cersei. I can’t even fathom how Jon lived after killing Dany, and why Bran? Also, Bran knew King’s Landing was going to be burnt to a crisp and he let it happen? He sounds more mad than Dany, in my opinion. So I will be breaking down some scenes in the finale and giving my opinion on this flaming-hot piece of I-wrote-this-script-at-eleven-pm-when-it-is-due-at-12-am garbage. I also canceled my HBO subscription, just an FYI, HBO isn’t getting my money anymore.
Drogon avenging his mother
I feel like the only character to end the show with a complete, true character arc was Drogon. My heart shattered when he nudged Dany then scorched the throne with dragon fire until it melted completely. His bond with Dany has grown immensely since he was born, and to see his mother dead is heartbreaking. Drogon knew the thing that killed Dany was the throne, and he figured since she can’t sit on it, no one else can. It is thrilling to watch the throne melt down into nothing but molten silver, centuries of history gone in seconds. Then after the throne was destroyed, he cradled Dany in his talons and took off, to no-one-knows-where. I heard of theories of Drogon taking Dany to her hometown of Valyria or Volantis to be resurrected by the Lord of Light. I hope it is being resurrected by the Lord of Light, her character was killed off too soon.
Problematic character-suicide and murdering female-empowerment
I hate how D&D (the writers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss) had each character commit character suicide. Each one of them were doing things that were NOT a part of their character, and most of the things were not incorporated or even hinted at until the very last second, making this season sloppy and ill-received. Daenerys should have went mad gradually, Jon actually speak instead of mindlessly replying “Yes your grace”, Sansa respect those that help her, Jaime should have stayed with Brienne and not go back to his sister unless it was to kill her, and so many other characters were not true to themselves in this season.
This show was known for strong, developing character arcs, ones melted down as fast as the throne. The show was also known for developing and strengthening female characters, such as Daenerys. She started off with nothing. No power, no voice, no army. Then as the show progresses, she receives three dragons, her own voice, countless armies, and boom, she is a queen. Now, what the show did in this final season, I think is disgraceful. Instead of making powerful, non-tyrannical woman the queen of Westeros, like Daenerys would have been, they made Bran the king of Westeros. The person who saw into the future and witnessed how carnage would lead to his coronation. He said nothing, he did not prevent anything from happening, which is why I now see him as villainous. The writers went from showing viewers inspiring women who seize power, to showing the most inspiring character, Daenerys, going mad, because of course, women can’t be powerful without being tyrannical. The show killed their own matriarchal message that kept many viewers engaged and hopeful that our real world can have more women in power, like Game of Thrones had been for season upon season.
The worthless 10-minute council
A plethora of characters come together once again, in the Dragon Pit, to discuss the future of the Seven Kingdoms. Sam, with the most common sense, suggests letting the people decide who should rule them, but naturally, this council is above democracy and laugh at him. Tyrion tells a useless story for three minutes. Sansa, who commited character-suicide two episodes ago, decides to make the mistake of cutting the north and Winterfell from the Seven Kingdoms, which I have no idea why she would do that. Like, what? Aren’t the Iron Islands and Dorne independent? Why is Sansa making the decision for them (hint: consistency error). Sansa becomes the queen of Winterfell, and they all agree on Bran becoming the King of the, now six, kingdoms. Yara becomes the rightful queen of the Iron Islands. That was basically the entire council, honestly all of the characters are idiots, except for Brienne, Yara, Sam and Arya. Yara spoke up against Jon killing Dany, the rest shrugged their shoulders. Brienne looked badass in her new knight armor. Arya did nothing, but she is one of the few that didn’t commit full character-suicide. Sam suggesting democracy is the single-handedly most intelligent thing that has ever been suggested in the show. Also, if you look close enough, near Sam’s boot is a water bottle. I swear, I could edit this episode, without consistency errors, in five minutes. The editors obviously don’t care about these dumb mistakes, much like the infamous Starbucks cup on the table, in the episode “Winterfell”.
After the council, the Starks go their separate ways. Arya becomes Dora the Explorer and decides to travel the world. Sansa rules Winterfell. Jon runs away with the Wildlings. Bran stays in Westeros to rule the Six Kingdoms. This scene was underwhelming, to say the least. The Starks have been separated for seasons, and have only reunited for a few episodes. It doesn’t make sense to have them depart so soon, and to depart for no reason other than because there is no war currently going on. Once again, clumsy writing to haphazardly finish a show.
Plot twists for shock value, not for plot
This entire season, but especially this episode, has plot twists, for shock value. The twists add nothing to the story and destroy the prestige the show has accumulated over the years. Jon killing Dany is the prime example. They turned Dany mad for shock value, instead of building her into the mad queen, they drop her in. Then they had her murdered by her lover for shock value. I would rather have her mad queen arc built then she is killed, that would make more sense. Dany, in this finale, talked about liberating the world of tyrannical leaders. What’s so bad about that? Even after Dany killed all of those innocents last episode, I still saw the Breaker of Chains, not the Mad Queen, because D&D didn’t develop her into the Mad Queen, they forced her into it. So I still saw her as the Breaker of Chains, and I was rooting for her. I felt like the writers, this season, wanted “Oh my god” moments, rather than “Oh my god” moments that furthered, developed, and concluded the plot. D&D shrunk the last three seasons, and I wouldn’t care if they actually WROTE THE STORY, instead of jotting down any garbage that came to mind and shipping it out to the actors as soon as possible. All of season 8 was mindless, plotless junk.
The show concluded with many subplots untied, that could have been easily resolved or incorporated. Here is a list:
Where is Meera Reed?
Where is the Faceless man?
Are all the White Walkers dead?
What was the point of the White Walkers?
What was the point of the Children of the Forest?
Where is Daario Naharis?
What did those White Walker spiral patterns mean?
Where is Nymeria?
Where are Cersei’s prisoners?
Many of these loose ends, I feel they could have been incorporated easily, especially the spiral symbol made by the White Walkers. They showed that symbol in the Battle of Winterfell, then it fell from the face of Westeros. I assume it had purpose, but since D&D were rushing towards Disney for money, they couldn’t think of any simple way to explain it.
The only symbolism in the finale
This shot blew my mind, and is also one of the few things in this episode that kept me watching. You see Daenerys emerging from the throne room, while Drogon spreads his wings. She has become the dragon. She has become the conqueror and liberator of the Seven Kingdoms. This shot can be compared to a shot from season 1, when she had zero power and had no titles:
Daenerys has grown from a nobody, to the Breaker of Chains, the Mother of Dragons, then to a tyrant, just like her father, but it isn’t her fault. I blame lazy writers.
Brienne didn’t let the ink dry
Brienne looks astonishing in her new armor, just an FYI. Her character has stayed true to the end, and I am glad the writers allowed her to finish Jaime’s history. She was one of the closest to Jaime and I am glad she is doing him justice and finishing the book. She didn’t let the ink dry though! She closed the book as soon as she finished, the ink didn’t even dry. A century old book and its pages, ruined. Oh well, another consistency error… what number are we on, 10, 50, 100? I don’t remember.
Jon petting Ghost. That’s it. That’s the tweet.
My final words
Even if this final season, and this season finale left me disappointed, and I can sit here and blast the writers all day, but the show will remain to be one of my favorites. I remember watching this show 3 years ago and I couldn’t stop. I binged all 5 seasons in 5 days. I was obsessed. It will continue to be an inspiration for me as a writer, and fuel my fire for the fight for more women in power. This show, not including this last season, has been a game changer for television. This show has movie-quality cinematography, exquisite character development, epic fantasy battles, purposeful dialogue, and most important of all, the conflicts mirror history and mirror our current reality. This show will always be a role model to current and upcoming shows, and a role model for future novels. I would love to thank the cast for putting their mind, body, and soul into their characters, and not only acting like their characters, but becoming them, embodying them.
I would also love to thank the crew. Being an AHS Drama program participant, I can only imagine the hell it is like being a crew member for this show (especially the gaffers… yikes). Lastly, and certainly not least, David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and George R. R. Martin.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for creating a world where I can get lost in its rich history and alluring terrain. Thank you for creating and building the characters that I love, hate, and don’t care for. Thank you for giving, the LGBTQ+ community, women, and people with disabilities, unique and realistic representation in television, but I do think you could have represented the African American community better. All and all, thank you. I can’t wait until George R. R. Martin starts pumping out books, and I hope he fixes the ending as well. This show has been a wild ride, wild is an understatement. Also, shoutout to Ramin Djawadi for composing the music for this show, it elevates this show to a whole new level that hasn’t been achieved since The Lord of the Rings. Thank you.
Valar Morghulis.