The Season 8 premiere kicked off with a recap of Season 7, which ended with The Night King destroying the wall at Eastwatch and the White Walker army setting foot in Westeros.
Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 1 As the end draws nigh for each of us, it is said the world appears to shrink until there is nothing left. So too does that appear to be the case with gargantuan.
The opening scene showed a young boy running through the snowy landscape in Winterfell, rushing past a number of people before he gets to a crowd, as we see Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) as part of the crowd.
The young boy rushes to climb up a tree to see the commotion, scaling high enough for him to see the massive army of Unsullied soldiers entering Westeros, lead by Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and Jon Snow (Kit Harington), as Arya sees her adopted brother for the first time in several years.
Playing the Game: GOT's season 8 premiere saw Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen FINALLY set foot in Winterfell (and learn the truth about their relationship)
Offers: Euron Greyjoy made Cersei Lannister a VERY bold offer behind absent brother (a lover) Jaime's back
Part of this convoy is The Hound (Rory McCann) and Gendry (Joe Dempsie), as we see inside one of the wagons where Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) tells a joke to the eunuch Varys (Conleth Hill) about having no balls.
Jon Snow tells Daenerys that Northerners don't trust outsiders, as the Winterfell townsfolk react in shock to the dragons flying overhead, including Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner).
Jon snow reunites with Bran, stating, 'Look at you. You’re a man,' to which Bran replies, 'Almost.'
Share this article
Jon hugs Sansa, who replies that his sister Arya is 'lurking somewhere.'
Jon introduces Dany to Sansa, as Dany says, 'The north is as beautiful as your brother claimed, as are you,' but Bran interjects with, 'We dont’ have time for this.'
Young Ned Umber (Harry Grasby), the Lord of House Umber, says they need more horses and wagons, with Sansa telling him they’ll have as many as they can spare, tells him to send his people here to Winterfell.
Dragons in Winterfell: Jon tells Daenerys that Northerners don't trust outsiders, as the Winterfell townsfolk react in shock to the dragons flying overhead, including Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner)
Dany and Jon: Jon Snow tells Daenerys that Northerners don't trust outsiders, as the Winterfell townsfolk react in shock to the dragons flying overhead, including Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner)
Young Lyanna Stark (Aisling Franciosi) isn't too thrilled Jon has returned with the Dragon queen.
'You left a king and you came back, I don’t know what you are,' but Jon interjects, 'It’s not important.'
Lyanna adds, 'It is important. We named you king in the north,' but Tyrion interjects with a statement that isn't too popular with the Northerners.
'We have brought two full grown dragons and soon the Lannister army will join our cause but we must fight together now or die,' the half-man says.
Dany introduction: Jon introduces Dany to Sansa, as Dany says, 'He north is as beautiful as your brother claimed, as are you'
Reunited: Jon and Arya reunite, Arya asks how he survived a knife through the heart, he says he didn't, without mentioning the fact that he was resurrected by Mellisandre (Carice Van Houten)
Sansa has more logistical concerns, asking how they plan to feed everyone, and asking what dragons eat, with Daenerys answering, 'Whatever they want.'
Gendry is seen passing out dragon glass, as Tyrion reunites with Sansa, since the last time they spoke was at the Purple Wedding way back in Season 4, where King Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) was poisoned to death.
'We both survived,' Sansa said, with Tyrion adding that he underestimated her.
Tyrion tells Sansa that she has every right to be worried about her sister and Sansa doesn't believe that she will help them in their war, with Sansa adding, 'I used to think you were the cleverest man alive.'
Cersei: Back at the Red Keep, Qyburn (Anton Lesser) tells Cersei some 'terrible news' that the dead have broken through the wall, which Cersei replies with, 'Good,' as the Golden Army's ships are seen coming into the harbor
While the Night King has one dragon, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) still has two more - Drogon and Rhaegal - which she'll take into battle against The Night King, alongside Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and his new weapons forged from Dragonglass, the one substance that can kill White Walkers.
Jon and Arya reunite, Arya asks how he survived a knife through the heart, he says he didn't, though he doesn't mention that he was resurrected by the red priestess Melissandre (Carice Van Houten).
Jon mentions she still has her sword, needle, which she says she's used, 'once or twice.'
Jon asks where she was before that he could use her help with Sansa, Arya says Sansa is defending her family, and he says he's her family to, with Arya adding, 'Don't forget that.'
Back at the Red Keep, Qyburn (Anton Lesser) tells Cersei some 'terrible news' that the dead have broken through the wall, which Cersei replies with, 'Good,' as the Golden Army's ships are seen coming into the harbor.
Throne room: As the Golden Company leader Harry Strickland (Marc Rissmann, right) leaves, Euron wants to bed Cersei, but she reminds him that their deal was that would happen after the war
Euron's wish: When he persists, she says he's executed men for less, but he tells her they were lesser men, and while she turns to leave, she stops, allowing him to join her, as Euron gets his wish after all
On one of the ships, Yara (Gemma Whelan) is tied up to a ship, asking Euron (Pilou Asbaek) why he doesn't kill her, but he responds that he'd have no one to talk to if he killed her.
Yara says Euron picked the losing side, with Euron saying he'll just serve somewhere else, but first he wants to 'f**k the queen.'
In the Throne Room, Cersei is disappointed to learn that the Golden Company did not bring any elephants, which they are known for, but he says they aren't good for long sea journeys like the one they took to King's Landing.
As the Golden Company leader Harry Strickland (Marc Rissmann) leaves, Euron wants to bed Cersei, but she reminds him that their deal was that would happen after the war.
When he persists, she says he's executed men for less, but he tells her they were lesser men, and while she turns to leave, she stops, allowing him to join her, as Euron gets his wish after all.
Bronn: When he persists, she says he's executed men for less, but he tells her they were lesser men, and while she turns to leave, she stops, allowing him to join her, as Euron gets his wish after all
He's got company: Bronn (Jerome Flynn) is with a trio of whores, telling them he was the only man to kill a dragon, when he's interrupted by Qyburn, who tells Bronn he's needed by the Queen
Bronn's guests: Bronn has a foursome with three whores before he's interrupted by Qyburn
Nude scene: Bronn entertains three nude ladies in the Season 8 premiere
Getting comfortable: Bronn's fun doesn't last too long before he's rudely interrupted
Bronn (Jerome Flynn) is with a trio of whores, telling them he was the only man to kill a dragon, when he's interrupted by Qyburn, who tells Bronn he's needed by the Queen.
Qyburn says the Crown has wronged him and they want to right it, telling him there is a chest of gold in a wagon right outside.
Qyburn says the Queen's brothers (Jaime and Tyrion) are unlikely to survive their adventures up north, but if they don't, she wants Bronn to kill them... with the same crossbow Tyrion killed their father Tywin (Charles Dance) with in the Season 4 finale.
Since Bronn has a history with broth Jaime and Tyrion, it will be something to keep an eye on for the rest of the season, as fans will ultimately learn if Bronn will choose money over honor.
Qyburn: Qyburn says the Crown has wronged him and they want to right it, telling him there is a chest of gold in a wagon right outside
Crossbow: Qyburn says the Queen's brothers (Jaime and Tyrion) are unlikely to survive their adventures up north, but if they don't, she wants Bronn to kill them... with the same crossbow Tyrion killed their father Tywin (Charles Dance) with in the Season 4 finale
Power couple: Euron asks Cersei how he stacks up to both the late King Robert Baratheon and her brother, with Cersei saying he might be the most arrogant man she's ever met, and while she likes that, now she wants to be alone, with Euron telling her before leaving that he's going to put a prince in her belly
Prince: While she likes that, now she wants to be alone, with Euron telling her before leaving that he's going to put a prince in her belly
After their tryst in bed, Euron asks Cersei how he stacks up to both the late King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy) and her brother, which indicates how far that talk of her incest-fueled romance with Jaime have spread.
Cersei adds that he might be the most arrogant man she's ever met, and while she likes that, now she wants to be alone, with Euron telling her before leaving that he's going to put a prince in her belly.
On the Iron Island's ship, a number of guards are killed, with Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) coming to save his sister, who returns the favor by head-butting him, before picking him up as they leave together.
Yara says that Euron can't defend the Iron Islands and they can take their home back, but Yara says he wants to go to Winterfell to fight for the Starks.
While we don't see Yara and Theon go their separate ways, it seems Yara has made peace with her brother going off to fight for his adoptive family who raised him.
Siblings: Yara says that Euron can't defend the Iron Islands and they can take their home back, but Yara says he wants to go to Winterfell to fight for the Starks
Making peace: While we don't see Yara and Theon go their separate ways, it seems Yara has made peace with her brother going off to fight for his adoptive family who raised him
The Carstarks return to Winterfell, with Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham) telling Tyrion that they need to earn the Northerners' trust.
Davos proposes that Daenerys and Jon rule the Seven Kingdoms, a Varys (Conleth Hill) and Tyrion discuss the possibilities of their rule, as they watch Dany and Jon talk below.
Daenerys mentions to Jon that his sister doesn't like her, adding that she doesn't have to be her friend, but she is her queen, before a group of Dothraki soldiers ride up, telling her that her dragons are 'barely eating.'
Ruler: Davos proposes that Daenerys and Jon rule the Seven Kingdoms, a Varys (Conleth Hill) and Tyrion discuss the possibilities of their rule
Surprised: They fly through the snow-filled valleys of the north, as Daenerys looks on with surprise at Jon as they land, with Jon adding that she's, 'completely ruined horses for me'
How to ride your dragon: Daenerys and Jon head up to see the dragons, with Daenerys telling her that they don't like the North, and when she gets on to ride one, she tells Jon to do the same, but he doesn't know how to ride a dragon
Daenerys and Jon head up to see the dragons, with Daenerys telling Jon that her 'children' don't like the North, and when she gets on to ride one, she tells Jon to do the same, but he doesn't know how to ride a dragon.
Jon ultimately mounts the dragon as it flies off, much to the delight of Daenerys, who takes off with her dragon as well as they fly around Winterfell as Tyrion, Varys and Davos look on in awe.
They fly through the snow-filled valleys of the north, as Daenerys looks on with surprise at Jon as they land, with Jon adding that she's, 'completely ruined horses for me.'
He's off: Jon ultimately mounts the dragon as it flies off, much to the delight of Daenerys, who takes off with her dragon as well as they fly around Winterfell as Tyrion, Varys and Davos look on in awe
Terrified: Jon Snow is not in his element as he flies one of Dany's dragons
Jon takes flight: Jon Snow rides a dragon for the first time
A natural: Jon Snow gets the hang of riding a dragon
Back in Winterfell, Gendry starts forging weapons made of dragon glass, as The Hound starts picking on him, but Arya arrives telling him to let him be.
The Hound says she left him to die, but she adds that she robbed him first, with The Hound smiling, adding that she's a 'cold little b***h,' which is probably why she's still alive.
She shows Gendry the drawing of a weapon she wants him to make, as she flirts a bit with Gendry.
Blacksmith Gendry: Back in Winterfell, Gendry starts forging weapons made of dragon glass, as The Hound starts picking on him, but Arya arrives telling him to let him be
The Hound: The Hound says she left him to die, but she adds that she robbed him first, with The Hound smiling, adding that she's a 'cold little b***h,' which is probably why she's still alive
Arya's weapon: She shows Gendry the drawing of a weapon she wants him to make, as she flirts a bit with Gendry
Jon and Dany: Jon ultimately mounts the dragon as it flies off, much to the delight of Daenerys, who takes off with her dragon as well as they fly around Winterfell as Tyrion, Varys and Davos look on in awe
Jon comes to see Sansa, who tells him that one of their allies are not coming to join the fight, which leads to Jon and Sansa arguing about their new Targaryen ruler, with Jon stating she's not her father.
Sansa asks if he bent the knee to save the North, or because he loves her, which he does not answer.
Daenerys Taragaryen comes to see Samwell Tarly, the man who saved her longtime friend Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen), who seeks to reward him for his service.
Giving thanks: Daenerys Taragaryen comes to see Samwell Tarly, the man who saved her longtime friend Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen), who seeks to reward him for his service
Pardon me: Samwell seeks a pardon, because he borrowed some books from The Citadel and he borrowed a sword from his family, which Daenerys realizes is Randyll Tarly (James Faulkner), who she had burned alive in Season 7
Samwell seeks a pardon, because he borrowed some books from The Citadel and he borrowed a sword from his family, which Daenerys realizes is Randyll Tarly (James Faulkner), who she had burned alive in Season 7.
A distraught Samwell says that he will now be able to return home, now that his brother Dickon (Thomas Hopper) is the Lord, but she tells him that he stood with his father and he's dead too.
Samwell runs out of the room, distraught, when he finds The Three Eyed Raven, asking him what he's doing out here, and he responds by saying it's time to tell Jon Snow the truth.
The Three Eyed Raven says Jon trusts Samwell more than anyone and now is the time.
Dany: Samwell tells Jon that Daenerys executed his father and brother, but Jon didn't know, telling Sam he's sorry but he needs to end this war
Jon Snow waits in the crypts below Winterfell, when Samwell comes to see him, but he can't quite make out the words to tell him.
He tells Jon that Daenerys executed his father and brother, but Jon didn't know, telling Sam he's sorry but he needs to end this war.
An angry Sam asks if he'd do the same thing, and he says he's not the King in the North anymore, he's actually the King of the Seven Kingdoms, before telling him his mother is Lyanna Stark and his real father is Rhaegar Targaryen.
'You've never been a bastard. You're Aegon Targaryen, the heir to the Iron Throne,' Samwell tells him.
Jon says that his father Ned Stark was the most honorable man he's ever met, asking if he lied to him his entire life, with Sam telling him that he did it all to protect him.
Crypts: Jon Snow waits in the crypts below Winterfell, when Samwell comes to see him, but he can't quite make out the words to tell him
Angry Sam: An angry Sam asks if he'd do the same thing, and he says he's not the King in the North anymore, he's actually the King of the Seven Kingdoms, before telling him his mother is Lyanna Stark and his real father is Rhaegar Targaryen
True king: 'You've never been a bastard. You're Aegon Targaryen, the heir to the Iron Throne,' Samwell tells him
Jon says Daenerys is the queen but Sam says he's not, stating that Jon gave up his throne to save his people, asking Jon if she would do the same thing.
Somewhere in The North, Beric Dondarion (Richard Dormer) and Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) are seen alive and well, their status unclear after the Season 7 finale when they were at Eastwatch as The Night King destroyed The Wall.
They're seen at a dark castle as they run into Eddison Tollett (Ben Crompton), who shows them an undead boy spiked to a wall, which comes screaming back to life before they set it on fire.
Beric: Somewhere in The North, Beric Dondarion (Richard Dormer) and Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) are seen alive and well, their status unclear after the Season 7 finale when they were at Eastwatch as The Night King destroyed The Wall
Dolorous Edd: They're seen at a dark castle as they run into Eddison Tollett (Ben Crompton)
On fire: Edd shows them an undead boy spiked to a wall, which comes screaming back to life before they set it on fire
Back at Winterfell, a hooded figure arrives on horseback, revealed to be Jaime Lannister, who sees Bran Stark, the boy he threw out of the Winterfell tower in the first episode of the entire series, which crippled him for life.
Jaime threw the young boy out of the window in the pilot episode because he was climbing a tower in Winterfell and saw Jaime making love to his sister Cersei, so he threw the boy out of the window, to protect their affair.
He has a shocked look on his face as the first episode of this final season of Game of Thrones has come to an end.
The final season continues with the second episode of Season 8 on Sunday, April 21 at 9 PM ET on HBO.
Spoilers throughout the entirety of 'Game Of Thrones' follow.Game Of Thrones is over. The world's most popular show, based on one of my very favorite fantasy series ever written, has aired its last episode.
It was . . . pretty good, too. In 80 minutes, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss wrapped up a show that's spanned eight seasons, two continents, seven Houses and hundreds of thousands of corpses, and they did a decent job at it, considering. There was no way this show was going to give us the perfect conclusion, not after it began rushing toward that conclusion. The first ten minutes of tonight's series finale should have been the last ten minutes of this season's finale, with another season in the offing detailing the fight of Jon Snow and the other rebel Lords and Ladies against the tyrant Dragon Queen.
Instead, it's all over, with so much story left untold. In an ideal world, Season 7 should have been 10 episodes setting up the conflict with the Night King. Season 8 should have been another 10 episodes resolving that conflict and setting up the showdown with Cersei (Lena Headey) as well as further establishing Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) as a dangerous, mentally unhinged conqueror. And Season 9 should have been the evisceration of Cersei and King's Landing and the fight against this new Queen of the Ashes, out to liberate all of humankind, through blood and fire.
She knows she's right because she knows what's good, she tells Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) in the snowswept throne room we saw a glimpse of way back in the House of the Undying.
'What about all the other people,' Jon replies, 'who think they know what's good?'
'They don't get a choice,' Dany responds, thrusting a knife into her own heart in the process, though she doesn't realize it until it's too late. Jon Snow has executed conspirators, true, but he's never been one to go out and save the world by taking away other peoples' freedom. That's not true liberation, and while Jon hasn't ever really been much of a liberator, either, he's always had a sense of right and wrong. Dany has lost sight of that. Or, rather, Dany never quite realized that the means to an end actually matter. To her, the ends were the only thing that held any meaning at all.
And for Dany, the whole concept of 'breaking the wheel' was always just about her taking more power so that she could dispense what she believed to be justice. It's a truly terrifying megalomania and one that I think she's had all along, we just didn't always see it.
Like her companions, we were blind to all the warning signs. What would Jorah (Iain Glen) think of Dany's turn? Would he love her still? Would he have been able to do the deed? In a sense, I wish it had been him instead of Jon. Jorah has loved her for so much longer. But he died defending his queen, and perhaps he would have forgiven her even this atrocity.
The Road Less Traveled
So much in this episode would have been truly great if we'd just gotten here more naturally. Jon's resistance to Tyrion's hard truths about Daenerys and the threat she posed to the world might have made sense if Jon and Dany's relationship had been even half as convincing as Jon and Ygritte's, or if this had been a conversation between Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) and Jorah. If Jon and Dany's love had been more fleshed out and convincing, I could understand his unwillingness to hear Tyrion's words. But there's nothing about Jon Snow's character that would defend Daenerys in this situation. He clearly believed that what she did was wrong, that what she described in her speech to the Unsullied and Dothraki was abhorrent, the words of a self-deluded megalomaniac.
If the show had convinced me that he truly loved her with an undying passion, that his love would truly overshadow his reason, his duty, then I'd believe Jon's brief break with reality. This scene would have felt earned. Instead I wanted to slap Jon in the face and shake him and tell him to stop being so bloody stupid! (To be fair, this is not the first time I've felt that way about Jon. You know nothing Jon Snow).
In the end, because he's Jon Snow, he does the right thing and kills Daenerys Targaryen, Mother of Dragons, Breaker of Chains and 'Liberator' of King's Landing (or at least mass murderer of that city) before she can liberate another population.
Then we hear the dragon coming.
Drogon is massive at this point, and when he flies down into the throne room, through gaps in the wall he inflicted, we get a real sense of his vastness. It's a terrifying moment. I thought for sure that Drogon would try to burn Jon and that the fire would have no effect and Jon would very obviously be a Targaryen that Drogon would defer to.
I'm glad that didn't happen. Instead, Drogon melted the Iron Throne, as if even he acknowledged that it was that lust for power that led his mother to her demise. In the end, he still demurs to Jon, bowing before he flies away, Daenerys clutched gently in his talons.
Time Jump
Weeks later— the time jump is quite jarring—Tyrion is taken from his cell to face the gathered nobles of Westeros. Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) and the Unsullied have kept the Imp and Jon Snow in chains ever since Daenerys was killed and taken away by Drogon, perhaps to Valyria. It's astonishing they both weren't executed immediately to the point where I find it almost unbelievable.
In any case, weeks go by and the fate of the Seven Kingdoms must be decided, as well as the fate of Tyrion and Jon Snow.
This is the beginning of the denouement we've all been wondering about. What happens when the final boss is dead, when the show has to wrap up its many threads? Well, let's see . . .
- Tyrion comes before a smattering of nobles— the Starks, of course, plus Davos (Liam Cunningham) because he's always around despite being a very minor knight, and Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) and a grown Robin Arryn, plus Edmure Tully (Tobias Menzies) and Sam Tarly (John Bradley) and various others, including a new Dornish prince whose name is never uttered. I'm not sure why this specific crowd gets to decide the fate of the Seven Kingdoms. After all, some of them are representatives of Great Houses, but others are not, merely vassals to greater powers. I suppose the power vacuum is to blame—and the fact that these types of details, once so important to the show, no longer matter much.
- They decide, at Tyrion's urging, that Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) is made king and that from now on kings are chosen by the noble Houses rather than by birth, because kings' sons are monsters more often than not. Everyone agrees, including Bran, and Bran The Broken is named king. 'Why do you think I came all this way?' Bran (aka the Three-Eyed Raven) says.
- Bran names Tyrion Hand, a fitting punishment for all his screw-ups according to the new king. This seems to convince Grey Worm. Grey Worm also agrees to Jon Snow being sent back to the Night's Watch, and for some reason everyone adheres to this plan even though Grey Worm and the invading armies all leave and they could just have Jon come back to Winterfell a few months later.
- Sansa (Sophie Turner) is the only one who doesn't bend the knee to her brother. She insists on the North maintaining its independence and Bran agrees (nepotism, that) and Sansa ultimately becomes Queen in the North, which she deserves.
- Arya (Maisie Williams) heads out West of Westeros on a crazy exploration adventure. She will eventually find the New World and carry over Westerosi germs that will wipe out half the indigenous population, making her an even more terrible mass murderer than Daenerys.
- Actually this really felt like a spinoff moment to me. Arya The Explora, the new show from HBO about a crazy badass female assassin exploring uncharted lands, finding ancient treasures and getting into one wild high jinks after another.
- In King's Landing, a new council is formed with Tyrion as Hand, Sam as Grand Maester, Bronn (Jerome Flynn) as master of coin (because I guess Tyrion really did give him Highgarden even though that's utterly ridiculous) and Brienne as commander of the King's Guard (I think?) She does write down nice things about the previous commander, Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) who is very much dead, by the way, along with Cersei in the rubble, and who 'Died protecting his Queen' according to Brienne's history. Very big of you, Brienne, but then your heart was always bigger even than your imposing stature.
When Jon was sent North to the Wall I said to my girlfriend, I hope he goes north of the Wall and lives with Tormund (Kristofer Hivju) and Ghost. I mean, he obviously can't keep his Night's Watch vow when it comes to never having sex, and this seemed like the right thing for Jon Snow, who was never really at home in the Seven (now Six) Kingdoms. Besides, they really don't need a Night's Watch anymore.
Lo and behold, that's exactly what happens! We get a great moment between Jon and Ghost, who's missing an ear but still makes Jon smile, a rare thing these days. Jon leaves with Tormund and the Wildlings, and heads into the wild north. We see a sprig of wild grass coming up from beneath the snow. Summer is coming.
Verdict
Well again, I think the finale's flaws were mainly born out of rush. All of this could have been earned; very little of it was. Dany's transition from killing evil men to killing women and children was far too hurried to work properly, but given the right amount of time and TLC, it could have been one of TV's most incredible character arcs.
I liked this episode, and at times I thought it was truly brilliant. Drogon emerging from that pile of snow, ruffling ice from his wings, was such a cool moment. The shots of King's Landing in the snow and ash were unbelievably beautiful. There is no other show that is so visually evocative (something only matched by its gorgeous musical score).
But the lords and ladies of Westeros picked a new king in five minutes, when we've spent eight seasons fighting a bloody war over who would sit on the Iron Throne. And the Iron Throne itself may indeed be melted, but we still have a king ruling over the smallfolk, while the lords and ladies of Westeros laugh Samwell Tarly down when he suggests democracy.
Actually, thank god they went with the Magna Carta version instead of the Utopian Westeros Democracy, and thank god that we see the Small Council bickering with one another as our parting shot from these characters. Meet the New Wheel, same as the Old Wheel. That's good, and like so much of this episode felt right.
But I'm still not quite sure about Bran being named King. Yes, it makes perfect sense. The one person who wants it even less than Jon Snow, but has the wisdom and foresight to actually rule well. Jon would have been a terrible king—well meaning, but too blockheaded and emotional to ever rule with real justice. Bran is the better choice, but it still feels like it came out of left field.
I'm very glad Jon killed Daenerys and not Arya. Arya has already killed the Freys, Littlefinger and the Night King. She didn't need another notch on her belt, and at least Jon loved Daenerys, making his deed all the more terrible. Jon Snow, Queenslayer, but also Aegon Targaryen, heir to the Iron Throne. His trek north ensures that the Targaryen line is truly dead. Any child he bears now will be a Wildling, far removed from the politics of the Six Kingdoms plus the North (which will need a name beyond 'the North' soon).
Peter Dinklage was phenomenal in this episode. He's really been the thread that ties this entire season together, and even though it seems like he just keeps making mistake after mistake, all of his mistakes are well-meaning. He learns, however slowly. That scene where he digs his siblings out from the rubble, weeping, was incredibly powerful. Then again, the Lannisters always did have the best actors.
There are still loose threads, of course, including what Arya does out West. Drogon is another big wild card, still looming despite the show coming to an end. Bran thinks maybe he can find the erstwhile beast, but what then?
Perhaps a sequel show instead of just prequels? For my part, I want to write fan fiction detailing the war of Jon Snow and the rebels against the Tyrant Dragon Queen, who truly believes her war machine is one of liberation. (Daenerys would make a great Legend of Korra villain, actually, and actually that show would have probably done more justice to her character than this one).
Scattered Thoughts:
- I'm seriously so happy about the Jon/Ghost reunion and the fact that Jon and Tormund are gonna go make trouble in the True North that I can almost forgive everything else.
- Speaking of CGI creatures, Drogon has never been so alive, so emotionally real. Very impressive.
- I hope Sansa gives Robin hell in some way now that she's a queen. That creepy little kid should not be left off the hook so easily.
- Yara Greyjoy (Gemma Whalen) really ended things badly. She defended Daenerys despite what the dragon queen did to King's Landing, as if she were some blind follower instead of a woman of action and reason. The show really bungled this character from start to finish.
- Sam really did come out with the damn book A Song Of Ice And Fire but at least he didn't write it. There was worry that Sam would have been penning all of this and that he was secretly the George R.R. Martin of the series and that it would all end with him dipping his pen in the inkwell and writing 'The End' before shutting the vast tome. Fortunately this was more of a joke, and one at the expense of Tyrion's vanity. I can live with it, if only because it very much feels like the show was teasing fans back.
- This was a hell of a show, people. No matter the flaws in this season and last, no matter the various bad decisions over the years (changing Sansa and Littlefinger's storylines so drastically remains one of the show's gravest sins) it's still one of the best TV shows ever made. At least this did wrap things up in a way that's satisfying if imperfect. This wasn't the sort of controversial non-ending we saw in The Sopranos or the equally controversial and confusing ending of Lost. This was an actual ending, with character arcs tied up and the story coming to a close. Sure, we can see that it all keeps spinning, all the politics and all the pettiness and all the rest, but at least every major character left standing was accounted for, at least to some degree.
- Watching Jon ride off into the north was such a perfect way to finish the series. After all, the first episode/book opened with members of the Night's Watch riding into the wilds north beyond the Wall.
- Oh man, that shot of Daenerys walking with Drogon behind her, and the dragon spreads his wings and it looks like Dany has wings . . . that was brilliant. Lots of great shots like this tonight.
- Why does a city of the dead need either ships or brothels?
- I'm still puzzling over Drogon's reaction, melting the Iron Throne, sparing Jon. I need to think about this more, and maybe you have some thoughts you can share as well.
- I love how they made the Iron Throne look so puny here, and how Dany talks about the way Viserys told stories about how big and intimidating it was. I was just thinking of the artwork I've seen for how the Iron Throne is supposed to look. Like so:
This glorious artwork is from Marc Simonetti via DeviantArt. Now that's a throne that could impale a monarch.
I'll probably have a follow-up post tomorrow about all of this once I've had time to really sit with the episode and its implications longer. For now, I think it did the job it needed to do, even if part of me knows that with more time and care we could have reached this point and had it feel so much more poignant and powerful.
I'm very curious to hear your thoughts. I know this will be deeply controversial. Even a perfect season finale would be. Fans simply have so much of themselves (ourselves) invested in this by now. So many theories. So much promise and so much disappointment. It could never please everyone. I think it did a decent job at trying, but I will always wonder 'What if?'
I wish we had another season or two of this show to watch together and talk about. I do plan on reviewing the first two seasons, however. I started these reviews in Season 3 (you can find links to all my reviews here) and I want to remedy all that's missing. It might be fun to go back and watch this show from the beginning again, and if you'd like to join me on that journey, look for new reviews of old episodes later this summer.
Thanks so much for reading these reviews and talking about this amazing show with me over the past five years or so. It's been pretty incredible, both the show and the enthusiasm from readers who come and talk about it with me each week. Thanks so much. I will definitely miss this. I'll be reviewing new shows going forward, so stay tuned for that. And then there's the Game of Thrones spinoffs to look forward to, plus The Witcher on Netflix and whatever Lord of the Rings stuff Amazon has on the burner.
Hit me up on Twitter or Facebook to talk about the series finale of Game of Thrones. And check out our latest Game of Thrones podcast below:
'>Spoilers throughout the entirety of 'Game Of Thrones' follow.
Game Of Thrones is over. The world's most popular show, based on one of my very favorite fantasy series ever written, has aired its last episode.
It was . . . pretty good, too. In 80 minutes, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss wrapped up a show that's spanned eight seasons, two continents, seven Houses and hundreds of thousands of corpses, and they did a decent job at it, considering. There was no way this show was going to give us the perfect conclusion, not after it began rushing toward that conclusion. The first ten minutes of tonight's series finale should have been the last ten minutes of this season's finale, with another season in the offing detailing the fight of Jon Snow and the other rebel Lords and Ladies against the tyrant Dragon Queen.
Instead, it's all over, with so much story left untold. In an ideal world, Season 7 should have been 10 episodes setting up the conflict with the Night King. Season 8 should have been another 10 episodes resolving that conflict and setting up the showdown with Cersei (Lena Headey) as well as further establishing Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) as a dangerous, mentally unhinged conqueror. And Season 9 should have been the evisceration of Cersei and King's Landing and the fight against this new Queen of the Ashes, out to liberate all of humankind, through blood and fire.
She knows she's right because she knows what's good, she tells Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) in the snowswept throne room we saw a glimpse of way back in the House of the Undying.
'What about all the other people,' Jon replies, 'who think they know what's good?'
'They don't get a choice,' Dany responds, thrusting a knife into her own heart in the process, though she doesn't realize it until it's too late. Jon Snow has executed conspirators, true, but he's never been one to go out and save the world by taking away other peoples' freedom. That's not true liberation, and while Jon hasn't ever really been much of a liberator, either, he's always had a sense of right and wrong. Dany has lost sight of that. Or, rather, Dany never quite realized that the means to an end actually matter. To her, the ends were the only thing that held any meaning at all.
And for Dany, the whole concept of 'breaking the wheel' was always just about her taking more power so that she could dispense what she believed to be justice. It's a truly terrifying megalomania and one that I think she's had all along, we just didn't always see it.
Like her companions, we were blind to all the warning signs. What would Jorah (Iain Glen) think of Dany's turn? Would he love her still? Would he have been able to do the deed? In a sense, I wish it had been him instead of Jon. Jorah has loved her for so much longer. But he died defending his queen, and perhaps he would have forgiven her even this atrocity.
The Road Less Traveled
So much in this episode would have been truly great if we'd just gotten here more naturally. Jon's resistance to Tyrion's hard truths about Daenerys and the threat she posed to the world might have made sense if Jon and Dany's relationship had been even half as convincing as Jon and Ygritte's, or if this had been a conversation between Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) and Jorah. If Jon and Dany's love had been more fleshed out and convincing, I could understand his unwillingness to hear Tyrion's words. But there's nothing about Jon Snow's character that would defend Daenerys in this situation. He clearly believed that what she did was wrong, that what she described in her speech to the Unsullied and Dothraki was abhorrent, the words of a self-deluded megalomaniac.
If the show had convinced me that he truly loved her with an undying passion, that his love would truly overshadow his reason, his duty, then I'd believe Jon's brief break with reality. This scene would have felt earned. Instead I wanted to slap Jon in the face and shake him and tell him to stop being so bloody stupid! (To be fair, this is not the first time I've felt that way about Jon. You know nothing Jon Snow).
In the end, because he's Jon Snow, he does the right thing and kills Daenerys Targaryen, Mother of Dragons, Breaker of Chains and 'Liberator' of King's Landing (or at least mass murderer of that city) before she can liberate another population.
Then we hear the dragon coming.
Drogon is massive at this point, and when he flies down into the throne room, through gaps in the wall he inflicted, we get a real sense of his vastness. It's a terrifying moment. I thought for sure that Drogon would try to burn Jon and that the fire would have no effect and Jon would very obviously be a Targaryen that Drogon would defer to.
I'm glad that didn't happen. Instead, Drogon melted the Iron Throne, as if even he acknowledged that it was that lust for power that led his mother to her demise. In the end, he still demurs to Jon, bowing before he flies away, Daenerys clutched gently in his talons.
Time Jump
Weeks later— the time jump is quite jarring—Tyrion is taken from his cell to face the gathered nobles of Westeros. Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) and the Unsullied have kept the Imp and Jon Snow in chains ever since Daenerys was killed and taken away by Drogon, perhaps to Valyria. It's astonishing they both weren't executed immediately to the point where I find it almost unbelievable.
In any case, weeks go by and the fate of the Seven Kingdoms must be decided, as well as the fate of Tyrion and Jon Snow.
This is the beginning of the denouement we've all been wondering about. What happens when the final boss is dead, when the show has to wrap up its many threads? Well, let's see . . .
- Tyrion comes before a smattering of nobles— the Starks, of course, plus Davos (Liam Cunningham) because he's always around despite being a very minor knight, and Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) and a grown Robin Arryn, plus Edmure Tully (Tobias Menzies) and Sam Tarly (John Bradley) and various others, including a new Dornish prince whose name is never uttered. I'm not sure why this specific crowd gets to decide the fate of the Seven Kingdoms. After all, some of them are representatives of Great Houses, but others are not, merely vassals to greater powers. I suppose the power vacuum is to blame—and the fact that these types of details, once so important to the show, no longer matter much.
- They decide, at Tyrion's urging, that Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) is made king and that from now on kings are chosen by the noble Houses rather than by birth, because kings' sons are monsters more often than not. Everyone agrees, including Bran, and Bran The Broken is named king. 'Why do you think I came all this way?' Bran (aka the Three-Eyed Raven) says.
- Bran names Tyrion Hand, a fitting punishment for all his screw-ups according to the new king. This seems to convince Grey Worm. Grey Worm also agrees to Jon Snow being sent back to the Night's Watch, and for some reason everyone adheres to this plan even though Grey Worm and the invading armies all leave and they could just have Jon come back to Winterfell a few months later.
- Sansa (Sophie Turner) is the only one who doesn't bend the knee to her brother. She insists on the North maintaining its independence and Bran agrees (nepotism, that) and Sansa ultimately becomes Queen in the North, which she deserves.
- Arya (Maisie Williams) heads out West of Westeros on a crazy exploration adventure. She will eventually find the New World and carry over Westerosi germs that will wipe out half the indigenous population, making her an even more terrible mass murderer than Daenerys.
- Actually this really felt like a spinoff moment to me. Arya The Explora, the new show from HBO about a crazy badass female assassin exploring uncharted lands, finding ancient treasures and getting into one wild high jinks after another.
- In King's Landing, a new council is formed with Tyrion as Hand, Sam as Grand Maester, Bronn (Jerome Flynn) as master of coin (because I guess Tyrion really did give him Highgarden even though that's utterly ridiculous) and Brienne as commander of the King's Guard (I think?) She does write down nice things about the previous commander, Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) who is very much dead, by the way, along with Cersei in the rubble, and who 'Died protecting his Queen' according to Brienne's history. Very big of you, Brienne, but then your heart was always bigger even than your imposing stature.
When Jon was sent North to the Wall I said to my girlfriend, I hope he goes north of the Wall and lives with Tormund (Kristofer Hivju) and Ghost. I mean, he obviously can't keep his Night's Watch vow when it comes to never having sex, and this seemed like the right thing for Jon Snow, who was never really at home in the Seven (now Six) Kingdoms. Besides, they really don't need a Night's Watch anymore.
Lo and behold, that's exactly what happens! We get a great moment between Jon and Ghost, who's missing an ear but still makes Jon smile, a rare thing these days. Jon leaves with Tormund and the Wildlings, and heads into the wild north. We see a sprig of wild grass coming up from beneath the snow. Summer is coming.
Verdict
Well again, I think the finale's flaws were mainly born out of rush. All of this could have been earned; very little of it was. Dany's transition from killing evil men to killing women and children was far too hurried to work properly, but given the right amount of time and TLC, it could have been one of TV's most incredible character arcs.
I liked this episode, and at times I thought it was truly brilliant. Drogon emerging from that pile of snow, ruffling ice from his wings, was such a cool moment. The shots of King's Landing in the snow and ash were unbelievably beautiful. There is no other show that is so visually evocative (something only matched by its gorgeous musical score).
But the lords and ladies of Westeros picked a new king in five minutes, when we've spent eight seasons fighting a bloody war over who would sit on the Iron Throne. And the Iron Throne itself may indeed be melted, but we still have a king ruling over the smallfolk, while the lords and ladies of Westeros laugh Samwell Tarly down when he suggests democracy.
Actually, thank god they went with the Magna Carta version instead of the Utopian Westeros Democracy, and thank god that we see the Small Council bickering with one another as our parting shot from these characters. Meet the New Wheel, same as the Old Wheel. That's good, and like so much of this episode felt right.
But I'm still not quite sure about Bran being named King. Yes, it makes perfect sense. The one person who wants it even less than Jon Snow, but has the wisdom and foresight to actually rule well. Jon would have been a terrible king—well meaning, but too blockheaded and emotional to ever rule with real justice. Bran is the better choice, but it still feels like it came out of left field.
I'm very glad Jon killed Daenerys and not Arya. Arya has already killed the Freys, Littlefinger and the Night King. She didn't need another notch on her belt, and at least Jon loved Daenerys, making his deed all the more terrible. Jon Snow, Queenslayer, but also Aegon Targaryen, heir to the Iron Throne. His trek north ensures that the Targaryen line is truly dead. Any child he bears now will be a Wildling, far removed from the politics of the Six Kingdoms plus the North (which will need a name beyond 'the North' soon).
Peter Dinklage was phenomenal in this episode. He's really been the thread that ties this entire season together, and even though it seems like he just keeps making mistake after mistake, all of his mistakes are well-meaning. He learns, however slowly. That scene where he digs his siblings out from the rubble, weeping, was incredibly powerful. Then again, the Lannisters always did have the best actors.
There are still loose threads, of course, including what Arya does out West. Drogon is another big wild card, still looming despite the show coming to an end. Bran thinks maybe he can find the erstwhile beast, but what then?
Perhaps a sequel show instead of just prequels? For my part, I want to write fan fiction detailing the war of Jon Snow and the rebels against the Tyrant Dragon Queen, who truly believes her war machine is one of liberation. (Daenerys would make a great Legend of Korra villain, actually, and actually that show would have probably done more justice to her character than this one).
Scattered Thoughts:
- I'm seriously so happy about the Jon/Ghost reunion and the fact that Jon and Tormund are gonna go make trouble in the True North that I can almost forgive everything else.
- Speaking of CGI creatures, Drogon has never been so alive, so emotionally real. Very impressive.
- I hope Sansa gives Robin hell in some way now that she's a queen. That creepy little kid should not be left off the hook so easily.
- Yara Greyjoy (Gemma Whalen) really ended things badly. She defended Daenerys despite what the dragon queen did to King's Landing, as if she were some blind follower instead of a woman of action and reason. The show really bungled this character from start to finish.
- Sam really did come out with the damn book A Song Of Ice And Fire but at least he didn't write it. There was worry that Sam would have been penning all of this and that he was secretly the George R.R. Martin of the series and that it would all end with him dipping his pen in the inkwell and writing 'The End' before shutting the vast tome. Fortunately this was more of a joke, and one at the expense of Tyrion's vanity. I can live with it, if only because it very much feels like the show was teasing fans back.
- This was a hell of a show, people. No matter the flaws in this season and last, no matter the various bad decisions over the years (changing Sansa and Littlefinger's storylines so drastically remains one of the show's gravest sins) it's still one of the best TV shows ever made. At least this did wrap things up in a way that's satisfying if imperfect. This wasn't the sort of controversial non-ending we saw in The Sopranos or the equally controversial and confusing ending of Lost. This was an actual ending, with character arcs tied up and the story coming to a close. Sure, we can see that it all keeps spinning, all the politics and all the pettiness and all the rest, but at least every major character left standing was accounted for, at least to some degree.
- Watching Jon ride off into the north was such a perfect way to finish the series. After all, the first episode/book opened with members of the Night's Watch riding into the wilds north beyond the Wall.
- Oh man, that shot of Daenerys walking with Drogon behind her, and the dragon spreads his wings and it looks like Dany has wings . . . that was brilliant. Lots of great shots like this tonight.
- Why does a city of the dead need either ships or brothels?
- I'm still puzzling over Drogon's reaction, melting the Iron Throne, sparing Jon. I need to think about this more, and maybe you have some thoughts you can share as well.
- I love how they made the Iron Throne look so puny here, and how Dany talks about the way Viserys told stories about how big and intimidating it was. I was just thinking of the artwork I've seen for how the Iron Throne is supposed to look. Like so:
This glorious artwork is from Marc Simonetti via DeviantArt. Now that's a throne that could impale a monarch.
I'll probably have a follow-up post tomorrow about all of this once I've had time to really sit with the episode and its implications longer. For now, I think it did the job it needed to do, even if part of me knows that with more time and care we could have reached this point and had it feel so much more poignant and powerful.
I'm very curious to hear your thoughts. I know this will be deeply controversial. Even a perfect season finale would be. Fans simply have so much of themselves (ourselves) invested in this by now. So many theories. So much promise and so much disappointment. It could never please everyone. I think it did a decent job at trying, but I will always wonder 'What if?'
I wish we had another season or two of this show to watch together and talk about. I do plan on reviewing the first two seasons, however. I started these reviews in Season 3 (you can find links to all my reviews here) and I want to remedy all that's missing. It might be fun to go back and watch this show from the beginning again, and if you'd like to join me on that journey, look for new reviews of old episodes later this summer.
Thanks so much for reading these reviews and talking about this amazing show with me over the past five years or so. It's been pretty incredible, both the show and the enthusiasm from readers who come and talk about it with me each week. Thanks so much. I will definitely miss this. I'll be reviewing new shows going forward, so stay tuned for that. And then there's the Game of Thrones spinoffs to look forward to, plus The Witcher on Netflix and whatever Lord of the Rings stuff Amazon has on the burner.
Hit me up on Twitter or Facebook to talk about the series finale of Game of Thrones. And check out our latest Game of Thrones podcast below: