Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 6: Thoughts

[Contains Spoilers]

The credit sequence gave me chills because there would be no more of Game of Thrones. George RR Martin had said that the ending was going to be bittersweet and it already started to feel like it. They still show Last Hearth in the credit sequence, which nobody knows why. Winterfell is still in ruins and this time, so is King's Landing. We start the episode with Tyrion walking the streets of King's Landing gingerly, looking at all the destruction that Dany has brought to the city. It's started snowing or it is still raining ash. Behind him are Davos and Jon. At a point, Tyrion leaves them to go somewhere on his own. Davos and Jon find Grey Worm and the Unsullied executing the remaining five Lannister soldiers. Jon tries to stop Grey Worm and the situation gets very tense and it looks like the allied forces are not allied anymore. Davos suggests they, him and Jon go speak to the Queen and they leave. 

We see Tyrion picking his way through more rubble. He walks through the cracked floor of the map room and the Hand's council room. I thought he was going to go see Dany but when he takes a torch and climbs down the stairs, I realise he isn't going to go see Dany. He finds the Dragon skull room full of rubble and beneath the rubble - a golden hand. Yes, Cersei had been a hateful character the entire series, and Jaime had left Brienne crying in her night gown out in the courtyard but they were Tyrion's family and he had done everything he could to save them, and he had failed. He removes a few bricks to uncover Jaime and Cersei - dead in each other's arms. The melancholic "Rains of Castamere" was a nice touch to the scene. Still, it felt brutal to see Tyrion crying over Cersei, who never even gave two shits about him when she was alive. 

Then we see Arya walking the demolished streets of King's Landing (where did her horse go?). She comes to a clearing where the Dothraki are running around on their horses (where did this lot come from? are they being secretly resurrected by Dany, now that she's turned evil?) She sees Jon walking through their ranks. He's headed towards this platform high from the ground where a huge Targaryen banner is already hung down the wall. It looks like what's left of the outside of the Red Keep. Jon climbs the steps and finds Grey Worm already there. Drogon flies overhead with Dany on board, no doubt. Jon gives a look which I can't understand. He seems pretty disappointed in what he's reduced to at the moment. When he reaches the top of the step, Dany walks in and it instantly becomes the grandest scene in the entire history of cinematography (for me). Drogon spreads his wings and takes off but not before making it look like Dany has grown her own wings. And she has eyes only for her army. In a way that sounds very like a delusional dictator does, she thanks them for their service in giving her what she wanted. She names Grey Worm her Master of War. (Tyrion joins them in the platform from the back). She then asks the Unsullied to help her conquer the world. She's talking in foreign languages all the while, and I wonder if Jon even understands what she's saying - he does perk up when she mentions Winterfell which doesn't even sound like Winterfell. This is a dark scene, one in which a dragon riding "queen" is proclaiming to "free the world" of tyrants with none of the carefully-tread soft words but hard promises that ring terrifyingly loud. The Dothraki start screaming, the Unsullied start banging their spears to the ground, Dany is basking in the glory and it starts to get unbearable and luckily I'm not the only one to feel it because Tyrion comes forward and throws his Hand pin on the ground giving up his position. So, he gets taken as a prisoner. Well, also because he committed treason by freeing his brother and calling on her slaughtering of the millions. Jon and Dany exchange a weird look and she leaves him there. Arya sneaks upon him and gives him some real talk about how Dany would always see him as a threat because of his parentage. She also mentions Sansa who would never accept Dany as her queen (damn these northerners). She's planted a seed of doubt in Jon's mind.

Jon goes to visit Tyrion is his cell where he, Tyrion further adds fuel to Jon's shaken belief over Dany. Jon tries to defend Dany's actions but he knows in his heart that he's wrong. When Tyrion gives him enough reasons to prove Dany is "evil" in her blind belief that her destiny is to liberate the world "no matter the cost", he has to sit down because it's too much. Tyrion goes, "Love is more powerful than reason" to which Jon replies, "Love is the death of duty" and Tyrion (with an unmistakable skepticism in his voice) asks if he just came up with that and I scoffed. Tyrion can't believe someone can be wittier than him, Jon Snow, all of the people. And even I had to scratch my head to remember who had said it because, obviously Jon Snow isn't the sharpest tool in the box. He says Maester Aemon had said it, and Tyrion visibly sighs a breath of relief (this cheeky man) and he sees an opportunity and grabs it without delay. He says, "Sometimes, duty is the death of love", and boom, another attempt at getting Jon to act hits home. Tyrion's shot at getting Jon to act on the basis of the fact that Dany will not end at Tyrion's execution fails but his mention of his sisters seems to work.

Lost in thought, Jon heads towards the Red Keep and by now it's snowing a lot so much so that things are starting to get eerily white. At the base of the castle, the door is guarded by a camouflaged Drogon who sniffs at Jon but lets him go. We don't get a close-up shot of Jon's face while Drogon is sizing him up so from afar, so it looks pretty impressive how Jon didn't even flinch at having the massive beast looming so close to him. Dany walks to the throne room where almost everything is destroyed - half of the walls is gone, most of the ceiling is missing but the throne is standing tall. She goes over to it with a look of complete enthrallment on her face, but as she touches it, Jon comes to join her. He starts complaining about the Lannister soldiers being executed, about little children being burnt, about Tyrion being imprisoned but Dany just responds with her own reason. When anger doesn't work, Jon tries pleading, but Dany is beyond moral and ethical reasoning. She is flying high on her own grand scheme and she doesn't see any reason why they should bother with mercies in the short term when she can "build a new world". I felt so bad for Jon for failing to save Dany from the dark side that I almost didn't see how this could resolve. He loved her too much but he also loved his honor, so when she mentions that others don't get to choose, he brings her close, tells her she will always be his queen, kisses her and drives a dagger through her heart. Kit is an amazing actor but I really couldn't stand the look of shock he had on his face when Dany fell dead on his arms. I would've preferred the continuity of the grieved face he had when he murdered her. Thank God, he returns back to that pained face in a couple of seconds. 

We hear Drogon's scream and we also see him flying off in the background and I think, that's it? the dragon is bound to a living dragon rider and once they die, the dragons just fuck off? But no, I was so wrong to even think that. Drogon lands in the throne room and Jon realising the threat gently puts Dany on the floor and goes to stand on the side. Drogon sniffs dead Dany and even (oh this broke my heart to a million pieces) nudges her dead body a couple of times. When he realises, she's dead, he turns to Jon and starts to do his snarling. He lets out a roar and the next time he looks at Jon, he opens his maw and we can see a fire building in his belly, ready to roast. Jon readies himself for the execution (and so does everyone else - is Aegon Targaryen fireproof too?). But instead of Jon, Drogon burns the Iron Throne and melts it making it the Iron Puddle. Without so much as a goodbye, Drogon lifts Dany's body and flies off.

Some time must have passed because we see Tyrion in his cell looking rough being woken up and taken to the Dragon pit. It's stopped snowing and there's sunshine. At the Dragon pit, we have a council of some lord and ladies of Westeros - we have Bran, Sansa, Arya, Davos, Brienne, Gendry, sweet Robin, Yohn Royce, Samwell Tarly, Edmure Tully, an unnamed Prince of Dorne, Yara and four unknown characters who I'm sure are from notable houses. Sansa demands that the Unsullied free Jon, Grey Worm denies, Yara demands justice for Dany by letting the Unsullied do what they want with Jon, Arya threatens to cut Yara's throat - tension arises in the air. Davos has to calm everyone down. He tries to talk sense to Grey Worm but when he offers the Unsullied to start their own house at the Reach, it makes no sense - the Unsullied are eunuchs, they cannot procreate, so their "house" will die by the end of their generation. Another thing I didn't understand is why the Unsullied waited for justice from the men who wanted Jon's well-being. Also where did the Dothraki fuck off too? May be, they saw their Khaleesi being murdered so they might've gone to find another Khal, idk.  

Tryion tries to speak but Grey Worm silences him, for a second, because he starts speaking again and this time, he says the fate of Jon should be decided by the king or the queen, which Westeros doesn't have one anymore (yet). Grey Worm allows the high lords and ladies to make their choice (I mean, I feel sad for this foreign soldier who knows nothing about the game of thrones in Westeros and he feels he has no option but to bend to their rules). In the next scene, we see Edmure Tully speak a few words about himself and try to sway the council to vote him to become the next king. It's hilarious at best, and pathetic at worst, but his character has been providing comedic moments for us throughout the series and I don't know why we would stop now. Sansa silences him by asking him to take a seat but that makes the other lords snigger even more. Samwell Tarly suggests something that sounds like democracy but his suggestion is laughed at as well.  And all the lords and ladies eventually have to turn to Tyrion who puts Bran's name forward stating that he, Bran has "the best story" among all, and in doing so he also christens him Bran the Broken. Sansa has to put her two cents in that no one asked and say that Bran's penis doesn't work, which according to Tyrion is a good thing because "sons of kings can be cruel and stupid".

Tyrion tells Grey Worm that that's the kind of wheel that Daenerys wanted to break. He then asks Bran if he wants to take the crown and (in a very indifferent tone) Bran replies, "why do you think I came all the way?", in other words, yes motherfucker, I'll wear the damn crown, I devised everything in such a way that I'd be King of the seven motherfucking kingdoms. Everyone assents to make Bran the Broken the new king of Westeros but Sansa says, but no little brother, I'd like a kingdom of my own, I want to wear a crown myself and make the princes and princesses that I grew up dreaming about. And of course Bran agrees. (I listened to a podcast where this host said, if that was the case, the unnamed prince of Dorne should've said, "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken, bitches!" and peaced out.) Anyways, so Westeros is now ruled by the Starks, Ned Stark would've been proud. Everyone hails the new king and the king, two seconds into his reign, appoints Tyrion as his Hand. Grey Worm seethes at this "justice" where the king demands the Hand to spend the rest of his life righting the wrongs he did. So, in the next scene, we see a poorly bearded Jon being sent to the Wall to the Night's Watch. Jon looks very grief stricken, like he's unsure of whether he made the right choice by killing Dany, to which Tyrion wants to share the blame for. 

In the next scene, we see Jon preparing to leave for the north and the Unsullied preparing to leave for the Isle of Naath (and that made me tear up a bit). Oh and the Unsullied have their helmets off; I don't think I've ever see any other Unsullied's face (except the one that got daggered in Meereen). Jon gets his goodbyes from his cousins (it still feels awkward to call them his cousins). Sansa's farewell is generic, but Arya's goodbye is very emotional. She plans to go west of Westeros like she always wanted to. Jon seems proud of her but she seems sad/happy about leaving her family behind (especially Jon) until she didn't know when. (When Gendry proposed her, I was very happy for that couple but Arya's rejection felt right too. And when the white horse had come to pick her up, I had thought she'd go to Gendry which would've made me satisfied but not very happy because that's not Arya. I feel like Arya got to be one of the characters that got to see a very satisfying end that was true to her character). Jon then bends the knee to Bran and oh my god, he looks creepy with that limp joke of a hair. Jon apologises for not being there when he, Bran needed him the most to which Bran gives his staple answer, "you were exactly where you needed to be", i.e you were wrecking havic in Dany's mind which led her to go cray-cray and burn all of King's Landing, and which led him, Bran to be king. 

Brienne is reading the White Book, where she comes to the page of Jaime Lannister and as we all know, it's only partially written. All it mentions is how he got to be in the Kingsguard and is known as the Kingslayer. It also mentions that he served under King Tommen I after the murder of King Joffrey I by "Tyrion Lannister!". I hope she corrected that first! Also, it took me a few beats to realise that holy shit, our girl made it; she became the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard! So she starts writing, telling every good deed that ser One Knight Stand did after season 1. (It bothered me how Brienne turned the page without letting the ink dry, ugh). Brienne's words were too kind. Even if Jaime abandoned her in the end, she only chose to make people see the better side of this self-proclaimed "hateful man". Tyrion (and Littlefinger of seasons ago) was right. The world is remembered as the stories are told. Brienne's last words "Died protecting his queen" also managed to get me in the feels.

We get to the Hand's small council (or is it the King's small council?) where Tyrion arrives earlier than others and starts rearranging the chairs. The viewers apparently lost their shit for this scene because they thought it was a terrible idea for the writers to waste a few moments portraying Tyrion's OCD rather than utilising them to patch a few plotholes. Anyways, Bronn, Davos and Sam arrive. Apparently, Bronn is the Lord of Highgarden and Master of Coins, Davos is Master of Ships and Sam is the Grandmaester. Sam presents "the Song of Ice and Fire" to Tyrion and the storytelling slips a bit when Sam mentions that Tyrion isn't mentioned in the story which is bullshit. Tyrion had a great hand in the shaping of Westeros after the death of Robert Baratheon. This archmaester is a shit writer I suppose, like Dan and David in season 8. Tyrion doesn't get to say anything further about this since Bran gets wheeled in. He points out that the council is missing Master of Whisperers, Master of Laws and Master of War. Okay, he can see everything, so he can be the Master of Whisperers, he can administer perfectly good justice so he can be the Master of Laws and he can bloody warg into anyone which prevents war, so he can bloody be the Master of War. Sorted. But he's got the job of finding Drogon which somehow seems like an exciting idea so ser Podrick comes in to wheel him out. 

After Bran leaves, the small council are at each other's throats, and I won't say I didn't enjoy it. Bronn is trying his best to live up to his lofty titles, and he had almost nailed his high lord lingo when he slips at one point. Davos who learned to read not two seasons ago corrects Bronn's grammar and he gets called out for being Master of Grammar. I love this scene.

We go over to the Wall where a horn is blaring. Ah I missed this place, as bleak and dreary it may be. Jon arrives and he sees that Tormund is waiting for him.

I think we get to the end of the episode because the wistful "the North remembers" theme starts playing in the background and we get a montage of the Stark children getting on with their lives. Everybody is getting ready for something - Arya for the voyage and Sansa for the coronation. Arya is at the head of a ship which has the Stark banner. Sansa is dressed regally and heading towards the great hall of Winterfell. Arya is walking among the ship crew, Sansa is walking amidst the lord of the north who are bending their knees one by one, and Jon..Jon is walking amidst the wildlings. Jon gets greeted by Ghost and all over the world a cheer went up. The Game of Thrones main theme is playing now. Oh the feels. When they show Arya standing at the head of her Stark ship, it is heavily reminiscent of the time she left Westeros for Bravos. I had absolutely loved that ending. She was a scared little girl then who was running away but she's now a woman grown who is chasing something. It's a really good scene. I'm glad Dan and David got this right. While Jon seems to be heading beyond the wall (and is quite happy about it), Sansa is crowned and hailed as "Queen in the north", which I don't grudge her; the girl earned it. Arya sails off and Jon rides out of the gate with Ghost and Tormund and a bunch of wildlings. 

Beyond the Wall is still bleak as ever but we see a sapling shooting out of the ground and it sure looks like "Dream of Spring". I also liked how most of the wildlings are women, children and old people since the men were lost during the battles. Jon turns around to see the gate being shut after them. Alright, I was under the impression that he became the 1000th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch but where's he headed off to? Well, he's headed off to the haunted forest by the looks of it but why? I guess it won't matter, we won't get the answer to it now but what matter is that a peppy GoT main theme starts playing and we see a smile come across Jon's face which means he's happy. I hope he finds a nice wildling girl, falls in love again and fathers many Targaryen babies. The end.

There will be no more Game of Thrones but man, I want to see what happens to so many characters. Who will Sansa marry? What happened to Drogon? Where does Arya go? How does Westeros fare under Bran's kingship? Do the Unsullied find happiness in Naath (given that the show ignores the fatal butterflies in the island)? What do they do with all those Dothraki? What is the Night's watch doing? Does Bronn do alright in the end (well, I've always cared for this character)? And most importantly, does Tyrion get his own vineyard?!