At the end of Game of Thrones, many people are upset, but we’re not among that number.
As is often the case in this age of mass television and video consumption the likes of which we have never seen before, the phenomenon that finds the viewer at odds with the creator’s vision of his or her final product is more prevalent than it has ever been.
For Game of Thrones, we have all been in whirlwind regarding what should and should not be as far as the Iron Throne of Westeros is concerned. Now, alas, after six seasons of turmoil, blood, secrets, and intrigue, Game of Thrones has come to an end that some believe are rather unceremonious.
From the very beginning, we chose the houses of Westeros that we believed should sit on the Iron Throne and this was largely based upon the manner that said characters manifested traits that we related to.
The Lannisters, with their emphasis on wealth and appearances, the Starks, emphasizing family, tradition and truth, the temperamental Baratheons of House Baratheon, House Tully, controllers of the Riverlands and all access to it, House Greyjoy, lords of the Iron Isles who were defeated by the Ned Stark of House Stark after being lured into a land battle, the fiercely independent House Martell of Dorne and House Tyrell of Highgarden.
There were a great many people who immediately took to the House Stark due to the manner in which they Ned Stark lost his life in pursuit of revelatory truths. For opposite reasons, there were many people who were repulsed by the Lannisters, and for reason ranging from the crippling of Bran as a youth, to the double-cross that had Ned Stark separated from his beloved head.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-re0clqxRVQ
The case of a Targaryen to return to the Iron Throne was most stubbornly pursued by Danaerys Targaryen, with the destruction of King’s Landing being the culmination of what was supposed to be a war of independence, at least in theory, for King’s Landing and the rest of the population of Westeros, from a royal family as far detached from the sensibilities and concerns of the common folk as the Moon is from the Sun.
At this point, many of us are flabbergasted by how the whole thing went down. That’s largely because the personal code of conduct that most adults use to regulate their own behavior is also used to judge the sensibilities of others.
It is this reason why it didn’t surprise me to see the number of people on Team Dany were black.
Indeed, the whole “Breaker of Chains, Black Girl Is My Bestie, Plus A Black Guy Is My Lead Soldier” troupe that she worked for the past five or six years had a largely female contingency of Black Twitter cheering her every move along the way.
Well, that is, right up until Missendei lost her dome piece thanks to a mighty wack of The Mountain’s Sword.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WTWQ21Naok
Indeed, even though I admittedly was curious about the direction that her character would take, anything dealing with slaves, whether freeing them, employing them or whatever, gets a major side eye from me.
Her “Breaker of Chains” moniker was a major turn off, but the potential for mercy that enraptured many of who allied themselves to her cause was cast aside as delusional when she strode mighty Drogon and turned King’s Landing into a giant ashtray full of half burnt blunts.
Throughout all the hardship and turmoil, House Stark’s resilience is the single most apparent thread that is apparent throughout the entire series. From the moment her mother Catelyn Stark lost her head, I became ever more aware of the mortality of Arya Stark.
Bran’s story arc as a Wog made his importance ever more apparent, especially when his brother Rikon got did dirty by Ramsey Bolton during the Battle of the Bastards.
And let’s not forget how Jon Snow’s Targaryen blood really didn’t amount to any kind of protection at all because, at the end of the day, he ends up going back to being basically being the shift manager at his old job. No royal trappings, no queen, but at least he’s got Ghost, his trusty direwolf.
The culmination of all these events we’ve witnessed over the years alludes to the truly evil, as well as the truly good, will ultimately finding and destruction as their ultimate reward.
As Drogon became aware of the death, he burned the coveted Iron Throne to slag of molten metal. While some grew confused at this scene, one which saw Jon Snow standing face-to-face with Drogon and expecting certain death.
Drogon’s refusal to kill Jon aka Aegon, as well as his destroying of the throne, was a satisfying tie-up of the arc for me. People wanted Drogon to go off and kill Jon, but then what?
Though it would satisfy the fans temporarily, the noble, if somewhat dimwitted, the story arc that saw Jon Snow banished to Night’s Watch, eventually made leader, his truce with the Wildlings, his murder, and subsequent rebirth.
Indeed, even his irritating inability to keep a secret, all informed us that Snow’s importance to the overall arc was too great for even him to die.
Though, admittedly, Bran being named King of Westeros and the Six Kingdoms, with the North being an independent region with Sansa as Queen in the North, I was a bit annoyed at how Bran was all like ‘Surprise! I knew I was gonna be king’ after being all Goth for most of the sixth and seventh season.
Also, shout out to Tyrion Lannister. It’s cool that the only Lannister with any redeeming quality at all was ultimately spared.
But it ain’t all bad. Not at all. Dany’s death at the hands of Jon was predictable and inevitable given his strong since values and Dany’s refusal to use mercy and balance to deal with her defeated enemies.