Game of Thrones Series Finale - This is the End!

If I had to pick one emotion that presides over the rest right now, it would be relief.  I was feeling really hopeful as we headed into this season.  Sure, Season 7 was largely disasterous, but surely the showrunners, writers and producers were listening to Talk the Thrones and would right the steeply canting ship before it was too late.  The first episode started off slow but first episodes of seasons always start off slow.  The 2^nd episode (‘twas the night before Winter fell) was largely filler but it was entertaining filler and I enjoyed it.  Even after the 3^rd episode, when the Night King appeared to be vanquished, taking the entire undead threat with him, I was holding out hope that there would be some genius twist to make it all worthwhile.  It was after the 4^th episode that I realized the fan theories and debates would be far more interesting and meaningful than the actual show.  At this point, I braced myself for a rough final 2 episodes.  I really reset my expectations, and thank goodness for that!

Despite being annoyed at having to reset expectations in the first place, I have to admit that I really loved the first ½ of this episode.  I still think they rushed into Daeny’s turn to the dark side way too fast and it felt cheap, unearned and disjointed.  BUT, once you just accept that it happened, then the first ½ unfolded beautifully.  From Jon and Tyrion surveying the carnage, to Daeny’s crazytown conquerer speech, to Tyrion discovering Jaime’s and Cersei’s bodies, I was completely engrossed.  I was 100% sure Jon was going to kill Daeny the moment he leaned in and kissed her but that didn’t make it any less powerful.  And what followed (a grief-stricken Drogon melting the iron throne that caused so much pain and death by him and for him) was truly unexpected (by me, at least).

I almost stood up, leaning forward and bracing myself for the action that was sure to follow.  But instead of Jon riding Drogon to the North (once a dragon’s rider dies, he can choose a new one) or seeing a violent clash between Jon and Grey Worm, we got a f*cking fade to black?!?!?!  Really?!?!?!

And from the moment that I realized the show was pulling the ultimate time-skip copout, I was resigned to a shitty ending.  Did the show think this was last the last book of The Hunger Games where Catniss conveniently passes out every time something interesting is about to happen?  On what planet is the discovery of what Jon did not something we need to see?  What happened?  Did Jon confess?  Why didn’t Grey Worm, who was already acting like it was The Purge before Daenerys was murdered, kill him? 

And even after we fast-forward a few weeks (or months?), we’re just left with more questions.  Who invited the nobles to all come to King’s Landing?  Why did they come (Sansa repeatedly, and wisely, refused to go South for fear of stepping into a trap)?  Why would Grey Worm ask the nobles what to do with Tyrion or Jon?  Why didn’t Grey Worm kill Tyrion, Jon and all of the nobles? Why did the nobles keep good on their promise to send Jon to the Wall even though Grey Worm left with his entire army before Jon?  Why did we take an odd turn toward slapstick (Edmure’s bafoonery and the small council joking about brothels) right after one of the main characters (who was a brooding Debbie-downer for most of the show) had to kill another main character (who we loved for most of this show) that he loved?

These are all good questions with literally no answers that could possibly make any more sense than Tyrion’s weird explanation for why Bran should be king (Stories?! Stories?!).

Still, I do want to touch on a few other things that worked for me:

• ·      Jon ending up in the North.  I don’t agree with how he got there but I agree that’s where he should be.
• ·      Sansa.  Queen of the North, long may she reign!  We knew she wasn’t going to bend the knee and I’m glad she didn’t die for it.
• ·      Arya.  Sure, we have literally no indication that she might have the heart of an explorer, but whatever.  I guess exploring might give the same adrenaline rush as murder?
• ·      Daeny.  I repeat that they really did her wrong with her accelerated turn to being bad, but I do think this is where she will ultimately end up in the books.  I’m looking forward to reading how it should have happened, instead of this shoddy way.
• ·      Brianne/Jaime.  I read a theory that she would complete his story in the book of knights and I’m so glad it came true!  What a beautiful way to end their story.  I just wish the show hadn’t taken such a strange turn to romance-land because it was unnecessary and weird.  But I absolutely love that Brianne completes his story in a truthful but kind way, showing that she understood his motivations (even if no one else, including me and the actor that plays Jaime) did.
• ·      The wheel being broken… kinda.  I was hoping that without the Iron Throne, we might get a whole reset on the idea of royal rule and get something more like a parliament elected president/prime minister.  Instead of dying for democracy Daeny died for Bran the Broken and the promise that the nobles will somehow agree on electing a ruler without quarrel every generation without going to war again?  Unlikely…

Even though the show is over I am going to blog again soon regarding my thoughts on the series as a whole.  For now, I’ll just say that I really wish I had stopped watching after Drogon so gently picked up Daeny’s body.  Not knowing what happened next would have been better than what did happen next.  I am disappointed but at least it’s over and now I can be certain that however GRRM tackles these characters latter years, it will be better than what Benioff and Weiss did.