Review: Game of Thrones — “The Iron Throne”

And now our watch has ended.

I’ll try not to get too deep at the beginning here, but I can’t help myself. It’s over. Game of Thrones is over. I don’t know how to feel. I’ve had no sleep and this review will arrive in your hot hands kinda late, but I just need to let the idea that it’s over sit with me. I need to breathe.

Am I getting too deep? Perhaps. But I’d ask you to think of what you were part of. A cultural phenomenon that conjured so much between us from theories, to reviews, to intense discussions, crying, fighting and watch parties. I’ve spoken to people I’ve not spoken to in years who come out of the woodwork to discuss the show. We’ve formed such small, personal communities. We were part of something incredibly special.

But that’s not why you’re here! You’re here to read about and discuss the final episode of Game of Thrones. So let’s run it back.

“The Iron Throne” is truly the byproduct of a rushed, rushed final season. It’s an episode that has the potential to be truly exceptional and emotionally charged but a few of its emotional beats deserved to be explored further in, you know, more seasons.

I think that’s a sentiment shared by a lot of people; Game of Thrones probably shouldn’t have ended here. Season’s 7 and 8 should have been 10 episodes a piece that way the show is given enough breathing room to really pay off its new and old relationships. Instead, we get a rushed (x3) final season that had some truly shining moments, but left me relatively unmoved once it came to a close.

The episode opens on the result of Dany’s handy work to King’s Landing. Tyrion steps through the carnage, the quiet and the ash. Davos and Jon trail behind him and offer the assistance of some men to follow him to confront her. The quiet in all this is eerie and rather effective at conveying the sheer destruction she has caused.

Meanwhile, Dany gets her moment atop the stairs to the Red Keep. She’s conquered the Seven Kingdoms. Her journey truly is complete. Emilia Clarke’s performance throughout this was absolutely stunning, but this particular speech to the Unsullied and the Dothraki had me glued to the TV. Dany OWNS that fucking screen and that moment and it’s emphasised by a (on the nose, I’ll admit) fucking sweet shot of Drogon’s wings behind her.

And yet there was something missing here. This whole sequence in King’s Landing was felt mostly devoid of a proper tension. Dany’s threat to conquer the entire world gave us a moment where, perhaps, Tyrion or Jon would do something drastic, but the episode never really pushed us that way. However, we all knew she wasn’t going to make it far beyond that promise to her army.

This leads me to a scene that is a shining example of the rush job of the last two seasons: Jon Snow’s assassination of Daenerys Targaryen. This is a moment that could have hit perfectly, but our connection to Dany and Jon’s relationship is non-existent and artificially inflated because the show wanted to wrap things up quickly. Dany’s death didn’t feel big or at all emotionally charged, and I just cannot buy into Jon’s complete and total love for her being the motivating factor in driving the emotion of that betrayal.

Again, that’s not to say all deaths must be big and significant, but this is pretty much the ONLY moment we get where someone betrays another here. It’s the final knife for the show. It’s also Daenerys Motherfucking Targaryen. Yes, her arc is complete. She got what she wanted. But, man, what a flop of a moment between those two.

Two good things this scene has: (1) Emilia Clarke, who turns it the fuck on here, her eyes wide as she slowly approaches the Iron Throne. The look of accomplishment she shares with herself was really satisfying to see and; (2) Drogon melting the Iron Throne, but I’m only saying it’s good because it looked terrific and Drogon is just fucking sweet.

Let’s stay in King’s Landing, because the fallout to Dany’s death is quite significant. Why? C’mon, you fucking know. It’s because Bran is now the King of the Six Kingdoms. Elected by committee, Bran sits there like the useless sack of shit he has been for the last few seasons and says, “Yes, it’s why I’m here.” Yeah, okay, big guy.

My initial reaction to Tyrion’s suggestion of Bran becoming king was one that just said, “Wat?” But I sat there for a time and continued to look at the candidates for the throne and I got nothing. Edmure Tully stands up in an attempt to give a rousing speech but is promptly shot down by everyone because where the fuck has he been (captured and forgotten about) and he’s also a terrible shot.

I was a tad confused with Yara’s total 180 after shouting at everyone that Jon should be punished for his crimes. Yara being upset here feels justified, but once Tyrion talks about Bran and his journey she’s more than happy to say “AYE” and have Bran assume the mantle of king. I mean, fuck it, why not. If she says no then we need to work out how to keep the scene going, but at this stage the Greyjoys are nothing so whatever.

I literally have nothing for this decision. I guess it makes sense given the candidates were mostly trash, but this, again, presents another moment where I could have been moved and wasn’t. Bran’s arc over the course of the series was so interesting, especially his travels with Hodor and Meera to discover himself, but he’s not given us much since finally assuming the role of Three-Eyed Raven.

I had a discussion late last night with my friend, Dan, who didn’t understand why people hated Bran and I think the key point to people’s hate is that Bran hasn’t been given much to do ever since assuming the role of white-eyed useless sack of shit. He’s not offered much to me, personally, and I truly can’t see what he offers the Six Kingdoms which I think is a result of the show not being totally sure of what Bran is and what they want him to become.

I would absolutely be happy to hear anyone’s suggestions when it comes to who should rule, because I want you to look at the council in that Dragon Pit and tell me there’s someone better to take the lead. I just can’t see it, as much as I think Bran becoming king is fucking hilarious and kind of a joke.

The episode ends with a montage of sorts, following those that survived the battles prior. Brienne adds to Jaime’s history in the book of knights; reminding us of her relationship with him, but also reminding us of what the show did to his arc at the last minute — I actually really loved this moment from Gwendoline Christie who sold her respect and love so well while writing Jaime’s history down. Holy hell, I’m glad she survived. We get to see Pod as a knight! Tyrion forms his own small council as he’s selected as Hand of the King. The council that’s formed consists of Samwell Tarly, Davos Seaworth, Brienne of Tarth and Bronn of the Blackwater.

I’ll admit it’s very sweet seeing Sam become a full maester, but really not cool dumping a big book that says, “A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE :)” on the table. I felt that was a bit tooooo meta… especially for a show that doesn’t do meta. Yet, the Small Council scene was rather sweet because we’ve been entrenched in their histories compared to those before them. I’ll miss them terribly.

And after all that, we end the episode with the closure of the Stark children. Arya heading west, Sansa becoming Queen of the North, Jon heading out with the Wildlings after being served with a pointless life sentence to the Night’s Watch.

Arya heading west to explore and discover what’s not mapped feels like a solid end for her. She’s a character that has gone from girl-in-training to an unstoppable and almost unflappable force of nature, and her ties to the land of Westeros feel appropriately undone by her travels around the world over the course of the series. I’m truly, truly going to miss her.

I’m also fine with Sansa claiming independence for the North. Sansa’s not been given much to do over the the season and after Littlefinger’s death, so her purpose, really, was to unite the north and fight for its independence. This might have been something that I cared for on a deeper level if I was given more glimpses into her struggle to gain that right for her people, but we’re robbed of that because the show cheated its way to the end. I’ll miss her (I think John might be mad that I said that.)

Jon’s life sentence to the Wall has little weight, because the Night’s Watch doesn’t exist, but also why doesn’t he just wait until Greyworm and Co. took off to sea? I mean, it takes all of, what, 15 minutes for ships to sail far enough away for it to not matter. But I guess Jon is true to his word and loyalty and honour, so he might as well continue that line into the sunset. Plus! He gets to see Ghost and Tormund again, so that was really nice!

Although, am I missing something here? Jon’s bloodline has been such an important through-line for the show for so long only for it to be kinda glossed over as the episode came to a close. If the show is going to place so much weight in that particular piece of information then I’d probably recommend that it’s covered in those final moments.

I guess it’s undone by the fact that the monarch is selected by committee and not by lineage, and we all knew that Jon was just going to say, “No lmao,” anyway. It’s just… the show doesn’t do a very good job of selling the “dawn of a new era” with no reliance on bloodline; it just abandons it so all that work and build up and reveal over the last two seasons has mostly resulted in fucking zip. Still, despite how much of a dumbass that dude is, I’ll miss Jon terribly.

I don’t want these reviews to end. I really don’t want to press the “Publish” button. I truly don’t. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of Game of Thrones moving forward (until the prequel series’) so the reviews are now done. This has been such a superb personal experience watching and reviewing the show from day one, talking to my roommates about it, meeting everyone at netball and telling them to “SHHHH” because I haven’t seen it, going dark on Facebook and Instagram and having people message me about the episode anyway.

Game of Thrones is finished and it may not have gone out as superbly as I’d hoped, but I’m so truly glad that I had 8 years to share something with people around me and around the world. The Rains of Castamere, The Battle for Winterfell, Hardhome, the Bombing of the Sept of Baelor, The Viper fighting for Tyrion’s life, Tywin and Arya’s moments together in Harrenhal; all of these moments and more are part of a truly large and (mostly) wonderful story.

I can’t thank everyone enough for their support and continued reading over the last 8 years. I want to thank John, Emma, Sampson, Hugh, Tom, Sarah, Liz, Dan, Jess, Jazz, the Taviani family & the Collins’ family for their continued scheduling their time around the podcasts and also feeding me and paying for my Ubers to their places at 10pm at night. It meant the world.

There won’t be a show like this again. So I ask you cherish and remember the best moments of this show, remember the bad, remember your reactions, share the stories and theories you have moving forward and looking back. As Tyrion said here, stories unite people and nothing beats a good story. Sure, this particular story lost its wheels before the finish line, but the journey there has been one that united all of us for 8 years.

It’s been a journey I won’t ever forget.