Hey 3.5 readers.
SPOILERS!
Alas, it’s over. This show that was a Super Bowl for nerds lo these many years has come to an end. Despite all the criticism it is taking, it’s over and I’m grateful HBO made it. I do think the last two seasons were a bit rushed and some plot points were forced but overall, it gave us a real ending. It didn’t cop out or give us a do it yourself ending. Choices were made and an actual resolution was given.
Jon Snow takes out his boo and Daeny croaks, effectively stopping her from become fantasy world she-Hitler. Drogon is so pissed and just as you think he’s going to burn up Jon, he burns up the Iron Throne instead, pissed that his mother died over a lousy chair.
He then grabs Daeny and swoops off and frankly, if you ask me, Jon Snow was too honest for his own damn good. Instead of admitting to the deed he should have just been all like, “Dudes. Check it out. I was all trying to get up in my girlfriend’s snootch with my iron bone when that damn dragon went crazy and burned up everything and flew off with Daeny so…oh well that sucks but I guess if y’all want me to be king now, I’ll do it.”
Meanwhile, it does seem out of left field that Bran would become king. It was sad that the lords and ladies laughed at Sam’s suggestion of pure democracy, but at least there will be a little bit of thought put into picking the leadership from now on.
While Bran does seem like the least douchiest character and the least likely to use the throne for ill, they spent the last couple of seasons pointing out to us that Bran had become a supernatural being, the mystical three-eyed raven who is above all titles of nobility. He refused to become the Lord of Winterfell for this very reason. There’s sort of a nod to the fact that apparently Bran saw all this coming and was ready to be named king all along and it looks like the realm will be in good hands but still, I don’t know. You can’t just say the kid is a god for several seasons and then suddenly say oh yeah and he can be king too.
I thought the romance between Brienne and Jaime was forced. Those two seemed like, at best, they had a respectful friendship.
It seemed unlikely that the Unsullied would have accepted anything less than Jon Snow’s head on a pike. They wouldn’t have been ok with him just going to the Wall.
What happened to the Dothraki? I don’t recall an answer. Those berserkers are just roaming the countryside, raping and looting I assume. Sorry. Maybe that’s dothraki profiling.
Snow has a better than expected ending. The Watch doesn’t interfere as he leaves and joins the Wildlings. His life won’t be fabulous but at least he’ll be free…free in the cold barren north but free.
Arya will become an explorer. Sansa is Queen of the North. The Stark children really clean up and make out like bandits in the end, all except Jon.
To my surprise, it was actually a happy ending when I expected that everyone would just be totally dead or someone terrible would end up ruling.
Jon and Daeny’s talk about power and Daeny talking about how people who disagree with her are evil is a bit scary and has some echoes to the world we live in today as we have all become so politically divided.
Anyway, I know the show is taking a lot of heat but hey, that means people love it enough to have strong feelings about it. I think it ended well, though again, it does strike me as odd that Bran could be a three eyed raven and king at the same time.
STATUS: Shelf-worthy.
Bookshelf Battle 