DOC:

The lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.

Game of Thrones has ended with my favourite whanau ruling Westeros, a glorious conclusion for my beloved Stark folk. That line from Sansa Stark encapsulates all the murky waters of how GoT was wrapped up, which feels more like confusion than resolution and as such, there is a strong basis for disagreement for how this all ended.

The Starks survived as a pack, but now Sansa, Bran and Jon are spread to the far corners of Westeros and Arya is going walkabouts. Four lone wolves, left to pick up the pieces of this new world and as strong as the wolf messaging was in the finale as Jon met up with the bro Ghost and Arya's ships were in full Stark mode, that we finished with four lone wolves felt a bit weird.

There are many nooks, crannies, weeds and holes that can be highlighted in how GoT finished. This all stems from what you or I, wanted to happen though and to suggest that others made wrong decisions because they were different to what you wanted, well that's a bit selfish and icky. Don't get me wrong, I was left with a whole lot of confusion and longing for a wee bit more 'behind the scenes' stuff with characters talking their way through the new reality, going all in on broadcasting the negative vibes towards the show is equally as silly though.

Which doesn't leave me much to discuss. I didn't want Bran to be King, nor did I want Jon to be banished to the Wall and I definitely didn't find it useful to have Bronn as the chief financial joker. The GoT folk made their moves and potrtayed them with the glitz and glam of the last telly show to capture the world's imagination like this.

A show that will now have one, if not multiple prequels or spinoffs. The finale seemed to lean into leaving many details open ended, without informative resolution for that exact purpose. That's fine, again I'd love to just have this one thing wrapped up with a sense of finality, but business is business.

There are now different predicaments fans will find themselves in, predicaments or categories. I'm firmly in the 'where's the nek book?' category, as the show has drawn me in and helped me find what tickles my toes in terms of a fantasy creation. I long for details, depth and exploration of characters as well as all the magic and mystery that tantalizes the mind.

How can one not be grateful to have been ushered into the GoT world? Because of this show, I've embarked on a specific journey of learning and as if Bran is doing his thing, I reckon it's all been for a purpose. Now I'm here, finely-tuned to see what George RR Martin does and to absorb whatever he has in store for us.

WILDCARD:

Endings are hard. Saying goodbye is hard. Putting away something that you’ve invested so much time in, spilled so much emotion over, is hard. There was never going to be a Game of Thrones final season that pleased everybody. After all, these characters aren’t even finished. Four Starks (one a half-Stark, tbf) have been spread out across the continent and even across the world and they each still have lives ahead of them, we’re just no longer a witness to them as the credits have rolled for the final time.

Brienne closed the book on the life of Jaime Lannister. She comprehensively completed his tale in the Wisden Kingsguard Annual and then gently turned over a blank page... where her name will presumably soon reside. Maester Samwell presented a fat-ass tome named after the novel series that the show is based upon (ripping off a scene from the end of Lord of the Rings, let’s be honest), somehow written in a way that excludes Tyrion Lannister and yet still claiming to offer a complete history of the realm since Robert’s Rebellion. But the book has been written all the same. And Tyrion himself made a speech about the stories that bind us together as he nominated Bran, the keeper of those stories and the memory of the realm, as the new king for that very reason. In the end it’s the story that counts. The journey not the destination. And where the story chooses to stop is where the future becomes unwritten. What happens next? We are not to know.

Jon is now chilling up with the Night’s Watch – surely the only person to ever be Lord Commander twice? – where he belongs. It was there that he earned his reputation and now that there’s peace beyond The Wall he can travel north without a worry and hang out with old mate Tormund as much as he wants… who once told him he was a Northerner at heart. The True North, that is. Even if he wasn’t born there, his most sacred connections have been his rivalry with the Night King and his empathy with the wildlings. He even fell in love with one… poor fella keeps having his ladies die in his arms. Good thing the Night’s Watch is celibate then. After all: love is the death of duty.

Daenerys was born in Westeros but she was never Westerosi. She realised that too, which led to all that followed. Dany wanted to rebuild the city from the ashes and she had the best intentions but Tyrion summed it all up best about where those intentions would lead her. She was not the queen for these lands and, just as Ned Stark did so many years before when he housed his sister’s child as his own bastard to protect him, Jon sacrificed his own reputation for the good of the realm. Varys would be proud. And so too would Jaime Lannister, the Kingslayer. Now we have a Queenslayer too. Tyrion said to ask him again in ten years whether he’ll ever come to terms with what they had to do. For Jon, killing Dany is a guilt he’ll carry the rest of his life… so lucky then that he’s a natural when it comes to brooding. And lucky he’s got his bestest beloved puppy dog for emotional support.

This episode hit the climax button when Jon slipped a dagger into the heart of his queen. He then stared down a dragon… only for Drogon to decide instead that the pointy iron throne must have done the deed so he melted that thing down so bad not even Lord Gendry Baratheon could fix it. Then he flew away, taking the body of his human mother with him. The further away the better, as Bronn said. This world cannot handle the kind of power that a dragon provides.

Now, I’m of the opinion that Bran the Broken ain’t the ideal leader out there. Better than Edmure Tully would have been so shout out to Sansa for slapping him down but Bran isn’t the most compassionate dude out there. Very zen-like and I appreciate that. But yeah… methinks Tyrion will be doing most of the heavy lifting in that council room. Also if Sansa just straight up declared independence in front of everyone then why did nobody else bother to claim the same? I guess none of them have a brother as king and all those houses are pretty worse for wear after the last eight seasons. Doubt there are too many armies left. I mean, Yara was the best set to rebel but Euron kinda gutted her entire fleet so probs a non-starter there.

But let’s be honest, the realm is not set for eternal peace all of a sudden. Eventually there’ll be some drama… Dorne didn’t have a lot to say on the matter. The northern and midlands lords were all sweet but they’re in the bag with the Starks so of course they are. This wasn’t quite elaborated upon in this episode but we spent just enough time after the big climax to realise that picking up the pieces of the Seven/Six Kingdoms and rebuilding it will not be easy. There are council seats left empty. People going hungry. New characters will have to rise to prominence, there’ll be Littlefinger type hustlers keen on taking advantage of the chaos. Hearts have been left broken (poor Gendry). Families destroyed. We never did find out what happened with the messages Varys sent off. Nor did we ever come to understand the mythology of the white walkers… though Jon’s got plenty of time to get in on a few archaeological digs now. And who else is keen for The Adventures of Arya Stark in The West as a spinoff show?

The world of Game of Thrones will (hypothetically) keep turning in its own (fictional) way but this is where we get off. Whatever follows is not for us to know. Our stories were that of a broken boy who learned the benefits of meditation and became king. A bastard without a place in the world who turned out to be the most noble amongst them all, risen from the dead to save the world but bound by that same nobility to murder the one he loved. There was the imp, forced to use his wits to survive time and time again but somehow he did and now is the second most powerful person in the kingdom. Look at what Sansa had to overcome to get to where she is. Same for Arya. Same for Brienne. Same for Samwell. And of course there was the story of the queen who could have been had she not allowed herself to be corrupted by grief, vanity, and unthinkable power.

There are our stories. Our stories are what binds us together.

GOT S08E06 Power Rankings

1. Bran the Broken – Didn’t think himself suitable for Lord of Winterfell but it turns out he was playing the long game, of course. He’d better bring Meera back as his queen though, that woman deserves more than an apology after all she did to get him to this point.

2. Tyrion Lannister – And all of a sudden he’s the tallest Lannister left alive. Take that, dad!

3. Sansa Stark – Independence for the north. A brother on the throne. No more Dragon Queen. All in a good season’s work.

4. Maester Samwell Tarly – He had one stupid idea about trying to implement a democratic election as if that was somehow a foolproof idea to keep narcissistic fascists out of power, lol. But he looks good in them robes and the fella’s got all the books to read now.

5. Brienne of Tarth – Surely she’s the new head of the Kingsguard? Ain’t none better. Her handwriting’s a tad sloppy though.

6. Bronn of Highgarden – Think of the refined sassiness of Lady Olenna and now think of Bronn’s caustic tongue and consider that he now lives in her old house with all her riches. That feels a tad risky… unless you’re a brothel owner that is.

7. Drogon – Because that Iron Throne needed all sorts of burning. Especially because, you know, Bran’s already got a chair of his own. Wasn’t exactly wheelchair accessible anyway.

8. Jon Stark – He didn’t want it and he didn’t get it. He’s back where he belongs doing the work he’s best at. Not sure why the wildlings had to wait to let him through though when there’s a big ass hole in The Wall.

9. Arya Stark – Got there too late to kill Cersei and Jon took are of Dany for her. No wonder she’s running away. She’ll always have the Night King shanking though.

10. Robin Arryn – Tell you what, people laughed at Tormund’s story of being breastfed by a giant but by the looks of young Jon I guess extended breastfeeding well into you teens isn’t such a bad idea.

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