How did Bronn get his claim to Highgarden? That was just a deal with Jaime and Tyrion, one is dead and one is a prisoner. I'm sure there are other Tyrell lords who didn't die in the chapel. Did they just... let him? How did that even work?
The show likes to collapse all its noble houses down into just like 3-4 characters we see on screen so I guess we're supposed to assume the Tyrells really are extinct. In the books Loras isn't even the oldest son. Even the Freys who so notoriously numerous everybody expects them to tear each other apart as soon as Walder finally kicks the bucket, there's like what, a grand total of maybe 20 guys in the hall when Arya poisons them all?
But even setting that aside, yes, it's completely absurd that self-admitted jumped-up cutthroat Bronn gets one of the most important fiefdoms in the realm based on a promise made by the Lannister brothers at crossbow point and apparently nobody objects. Bronn should have disappeared from the series after he refused to be Tyrion's champion in the trial by combat, everything he did after that was either easily replaceable or actively bad. But I guess in a world where everybody actually accepts Bran being king we're just supposed to understand no one gives a shit about anything anymore.
How did Bronn get his claim to Highgarden? That was just a deal with Jaime and Tyrion, one is dead and one is a prisoner. I'm sure there are other Tyrell lords who didn't die in the chapel. Did they just... let him? How did that even work?
Hey man, a deal's a deal.
Also, I like Bronn, so I was fine with that. Probably not gonna be in the books, should they ever materialize.
Probably not gonna be in the books, should they ever materialize.
This! I don't think enough people are skeptical these books will ever happen. He may still write in the same world and even about some of the characters with reference to this time period, but I don't see a good reason for him to write his version of the same events in the long format of his usual books when there are other opportunities to explore like he's been doing lately.
I'm betting if he ever visits the future of Westeros, post HBO show happenings, he'll devote a chapter setting up what 'really' happened and move on.
Bran's Plan to Become King:
1. Get legs broken
2. ??
3. King!
Sooo... question, is Tyrion now on the hook for the debts owed to the Iron Bank?
Sooo... question, is Tyrion now on the hook for the debts owed to the Iron Bank?
I believe the promissory note reads the borrower's name as "The Iron Throne" and since that has been dissolved the debt would be cancelled. 
Excellent writeup Trichy. Thank you.
Bran's Plan to Become King:
1. Get legs broken
2. ??
3. King!
It would have been the Three-Eyed Ravens plan. Isn't Bran, for all intents and purposes, dead.
So maybe:
1. Disable innocent kid
2. Take over innocent kids body, after bringing him through endless suffering
3. ?
4. Children of the Forest finally gets revenge on the humans after ten thousand years.
Like a few others, I thought it was silly that the Unsullied didnt kill Jon instantly.
Grey Worm should have walked to all the nobles with Jons head in his hand. And Tyrions head in his other hand (though I could see him allowing Tyrion to live, they spent way more time together).
Likewise silly that the other nations would accept a deal where the North is independent, but they are not. Heck, if they wanted to break the wheel just a bit, a confederation of independent nations might have had a better chance of not failing completely the day "Bran" is gone.
Someone should really question Brans ability to rule - since they apparently didn't do it before it was too late. He is truly picking 'The best!' people for his cabinet.
What are the odds that Drogon got a few Fire God priests on his facebook profile, and are bringing Dany to them? How has Jon not learned that you always need to burn the body - as difficult as it might be in this case.
Overall I was happy with Jons ending (even if he realistically should have lost a head). Going to the real North felt right for him.
Aryas ending was good too. Or rather, it will be, if they make a spin-off. No really, you stupid show, you have brutally murdered most of my awesome spin-off concepts the last few weeks. Arya is still there. She is going to uncharted land. Do it.
It did feel a bit tooLord of the Rings though. Going into the West because you can't live happily ever after with what you have been through.
I kinda wished for a much more unhappy ending. But I am sure the ending could have been handled much worse. The biggest issue was the pacing, not the broad storylines.
-No seriously why does the Night's Watch still exist? Obviously we're not going to patch the hole in the wall and try to keep the poor wildlings out anymore, so...?
I have plenty of problems with the episode. But some people always wanting walls and border control to keep the wildlings out, is not exactly the most unrealistic thing here.
This is good stuff, thanks for sharing!
e: This, on the other hand...
NPR Review of the episode
In a speech to the assembled Unsullied and Dothraki (with Drogon throwing in the occasional screech, acting as the Joe C. to her Kid Rock), Yaaaas Queen Daenerys vows to continue her war, freeing the entire world from tyrants. "Will you break the wheel with me?"
I've read that through twice now Trichy. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. All interesting points.
Loved it.
As others have mentioned, I would have loved it more if there was a season each for:
The end of the Others
Dealing with Cersei
The Aftermath of the Scouring of King's Landing
The remaining 'lords' are right, democracy is a ridiculous suggestion because generations upon generations of Weterosi smallfolk have been trained to be fatalistic about their (um) fate. There are mechanisms in Weterosi culture to enforce this. The sigals and self-aggrandizing lore of major and minor houses have different meaning to different socio-economics groups, especially at the extremes of society.
To the nobles and maesters, the sigals and words are an attempt at boiling down the worldviews of great families to a pithy essence and also colors to distinguish troops on the battlefield.
To the masses, the iconography takes on a new and more colorful life. Among the smallfolk, it would probably be common to think all Starks are werewolves (i.e. wargs) and that it's not a jump believe a King who is an omniscient Three Eyed raven (the sigal on Ser Brieanne's armour was a rad touch) with timey-wimey superpowers as the defining point of Bran's legitimacy as ruler...except this time the power is real and literal and not an abstraction like the Lannisters roaring with power or the sombe, hearty, yet dangerous dire wolves of Winterfell.
That's a long way of saying no, the proles don't get to choose their leader and there is no need to justify Bran's rule with them.
The show actually does a great job of summing this up. There is an example of this in Euron's only good line of dialog while he's dragging Yara to the Red Keep and points out that the smallfolk don't care about who sits on the throne, they just like severed heads (so they can see their pain has a personified locus of vengeance).
Two more notes:
I can't explain how much I loved that Dany addressed her subjects in a mix of Dothraki and Valarian. Westeros and the common tongue are just a small part of her 1000 Year Reich.
Can someone please lay War Pigs on top of Dany's dragon entrance. I will have to do it myself if no one fills this obvious gap in reality.
Shrug. The whole episode looked great. I thought everything that happened up until Jon stabbed Dany was quite stupid. Everything after that was only a little stupid but also mostly satisfying.
I don't think King Bran makes a ton of sense. Who, exactly, in this world understands what it means that Bran is the Three Eyed Raven? But he's got a famous name and famous family, and naming a king who is incapable of having heirs is an interesting way to start the new order proposed by Tyrion.
Also: declaring Bran to be "Bran the Broken!" and calling him that all the time seems quite rude!
I spent some time wondering who that foppish young noble was until I realized it was Sweet Robin and laughed.
Why does the North need to be an independent kingdom when the seven (now six?) kingdoms are being ruled by a Stark? Couldn't they have called Bran "King in the North and King of the Six Kingdoms" or something, with the understanding that the North determines who succeeds Bran as King in the North separately from the rest of Westeros and the next ruler need not rule combined? I like seeing Sansa as Queen, I'm just not sure why, other than them just telling us a bunch of times that the North wants to be independent, that demand would still hold when there's a Stark on the throne.
When we see Jon leaving north of the wall at the end, are we supposed to take that as part of his duties with the Night's Watch? Or, given that he is with Tormund and a bunch of wildlings, is this meant to be Jon abandoning that and going to live among the wildlings? The way Jon stops and looks back at the gate closing behind him seemed significant, but I wasn't sure what it signified.
I don't like Arya's end. I get why it wouldn't be good to like install her as a Lady somewhere. But it feels like they knew they couldn't do that, and also wanted to give her a bittersweet ending of sorts, and so they just picked at random a reason for her to leave. I don't recall any backstory or other suggestion that "what's West of Westeros?" is a question in this world that anyone cares about, much less that Arya cared about. I don't see why she couldn't just be the commander of the North's forces, or a trainer of noble assassins, or, better yet, just chill for a bit now that she no longer has to be running for her life or coming for her foes' deaths. Or wouldn't Arya be an awesome Master of Whisperers for Bran?
The idea that Grey Worm would respond to Jon murdering Dany by being like "well dang, Tyrion's right, it happened in King's Landing so the yet-to-be appointed King or Queen has jurisdiction over this, I will solemnly respect the rule of law of this place I have been in for about three minutes" made no sense to me.
Did we ever see or hear any indication of how anyone knew that Jon killed Dany? Jon stabbed her while they were alone and then Drogon melted the place and flew away with her body. Jon could have easily walked out of there and said "OMG, Drogon totally lost it and ate Dany and flew away!" and no one could have said otherwise. Or he could have even just said "huh, where did Dany go?" It's certainly in-character for Jon to volunteer the truth when it is neither helpful nor necessary, but it's weird we didn't see that happen or even hear it described.
I hated this episode much less than the two climactic episodes (last episode and the Battle of Winterfell) and thought it was basically okay. I think this season overall could have been improved significantly if they just had 3 more episodes to tell the story, but oh well. What's done is done. I might go load up the audio book for a Dance with Dragons and be sad to know that Roy Dotrice won't be narrating any future books that do come out.
Oh, I didn’t know he died until now. That’s sad. He’s probably in my top 4 audio book readers (is narrators the term for them?) of all time.
If I was on foreign soil and all of a sudden the legitimate claim to the throne/our leader died I’d probably take Jon Snow captive as a bargaining chip too. Never got the sense Greyworm was really in it for the conquering, he just did as he was told.
Killing Jon would just guarantee a war with very little upside. Not like they could just sail on back across the ocean.
I’m glad the series is over, I have a feeling if the books ever get wrapped they’ll be quite different.
I think my last weighing question is. Did Jon need to live? Did it even make sense for him to?
The assumption I'm making here is that if the Red god brings you back to life its because you still have a purpose. Jons? To kill Dany to re-balance things or something along those lines. So once she's dead and the scales of power re-balance. Jon can go back to being dead.
It is not so much I wanted him dead but the overall tone of the show I don't think any fan would have been upset if he died. Executed by Grey Worm. Ned style with the survivors of kings landing watch. Tyrion forced to watch and thinking he is next.
Very much felt like a very safe ending for the writers with Jon getting to pet Ghost and walk away free.
I’m glad the series is over, I have a feeling if the books ever get wrapped they’ll be quite different.
A line I've heard you use a lot's been running around my head today, about "earned moments." It feels to me the central emotional relationship of the end of season 7 and season 8 between Dany and Jon didn't work for me. Pacing? Probably. Not a lot of chemistry between Emilia Clarke and Kit Harrington? Also possible. I think I had more of an emotional reaction to Drogon's reaction to Dany's death than the actual stabbing.
Edit: Also running around my head today? If King Friday the XIII had a dragon, he would have torched X the Owl's tree if he ever talked smack about him.
Great write-up! Can we share this?
I've read that through twice now Trichy. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. All interesting points.
I agree - awesome synopsis on the whole thing and the re-sequencing of the events in historical order - as opposed to the way they were presented to us as viewers - was especially enlightening. There was really only one point that I didn't agree with:
I know there’s never been a show like Game of Thrones, and I don’t believe there ever will be again.
There was another very GoT-like show. Another very popular show. Another show where almost no one was safe and the season finale was just as divisive. That show...
Also Rome. Without Rome there would have been no GoT.
Great write-up! Can we share this?
Sure. I'm fine with that.
Rahmen wrote:I've read that through twice now Trichy. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. All interesting points.
I agree - awesome synopsis on the whole thing and the re-sequencing of the events in historical order - as opposed to the way they were presented to us as viewers - was especially enlightening. There was really only one point that I didn't agree with:
I know there’s never been a show like Game of Thrones, and I don’t believe there ever will be again.
There was another very GoT-like show. Another very popular show. Another show where almost no one was safe and the season finale was just as divisive. That show...
I actually think that's a fair point. The Sopranos pretty much defined the entire arc of this era of prestige television we're in. I don't think you have Game of Thrones without it. Or Deadwood. Or The Wire. Or Breaking Bad. Or Mad Men, etc.
But when I say we won't see another show quite like GOT, I'm referring to more factors than just the risk presented to characters. Game of Thrones was popular in a way that none of those other shows accomplished. In addition, it seemed almost tailor made to inspire think pieces and commentary, from the difference between book and show, and the investment we had in the characters and stories. In an era in which streaming has rendered the idea of watching a show live as somewhat archaic, Game of Thrones somehow stood out as the exception, remaining appointment viewing for millions of people. This show fused the writing, plotting, and cinematography styles inspired by shows like the Sopranos with the obsessive fan culture normally limited to communities like Star Wars and Doctor Who. The combination was incredibly influential. That's what made this show unique, and while I know every network is going to try to duplicate the phenomenon, I genuinely don't think you can catch that lightning in a bottle again.
Oh, I didn’t know [Roy Dotrice] died until now. That’s sad. He’s probably in my top 4 audio book readers (is narrators the term for them?) of all time.
Yeah, it makes me want to bitterly blame GRRM for taking too long, but then again, Dotrice was 94 when he died, so it was probably always dicey whether Dotrice would finish. The Ringer did a great article on Dotrice and his history with the books a few weeks back, it's worth reading.
This show fused the writing, plotting, and cinematography styles inspired by shows like the Sopranos with the obsessive fan culture normally limited to communities like Star Wars and Doctor Who. The combination was incredibly influential. That's what made this show unique, and while I know every network is going to try to duplicate the phenomenon, I genuinely don't think you can catch that lightning in a bottle again.
yeah, that really hits the nail on the head.
Also..
Am I the only one who got really excited for a fraction of a second when it seemed like Jon might turn and join Dani? I mean, I knew deep inside that he wouldn't, 'since that would be a super interesting twist, but man.. for just a moment...
The Ringer closing out its stellar GoT coverage in a blaze of glory
Evil or Incompetent: The Bran Stark Edition
The Seven Iconic ‘Game of Thrones’ Scenes That Season 8 Makes Worse
Middcore, you're being a major downer in this topic the past couple of days. Is there anything about Game of Thrones that you like? If so, maybe you could share it!
Huh?
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