The writers of the Game of Thrones series finale did a creditable job of figuring out where each character should end up. After two major battle episodes, in Winterfell and Kings Landing, I don’t think viewers would have had the patience to go through three more episodes of exposition to explain why the writers made the decisions they made. Viewers complained it felt rushed because it was missing those scenes, but to add on even one extra episode of internal politics would have ended the series on a flat note. A lot was left out, but they cut to the chase in each instance and any viewer who had been following the series can easily fill in the scenes that were not shown.
1) Obviously, neither Daenerys nor Cersei could be victorious in the end. They were both essentially too evil. Viewer complaints were there was not enough character development to explain why Daenerys could destroy Kings Landing and kill most of the residents between the shore and the Red Keep -- but there was. Her father was power crazy; her brother who sold her was power crazy; it runs in the family. She burned a lot of people before and didn’t have a track record of being benevolent. It didn’t matter that her previous victims were bad people. In her eyes, all Cersei’s subjects were bad people. And she had already told Jon she would rule by fear. Although she talked a good game of peace, love, understanding and prosperity like most dictators, it was all talk. In reality, her people were enslaved to her to keep fighting her non-stop wars. We believed her because it sounded good…and she was so beautiful. What could go wrong?
Daenerys had to go, and Jon was the only one who could get past Drogon and be ultimately forgiven by Drogon because Drogon recognized him as a Targaryen and accepted his decision. Drogon correctly put the cause of death as the iron throne.
2) Cersei could not be rescued by Jaime and boated away to live in peace and raise her inbred child in Pentos or anywhere. If she had lived to escape, she would have constantly nagged Jaime about raising an army and going back to take over Kings Landing again. She would not have let it go. She would have staged a comeback one way or another. She had to die. If she was winning the war when Jaime arrived, Jaime would have had to kill her like Jon did Daenerys for the greater good. And he would not have been able to emotionally after the baby was born and she was gearing up for her comeback, so it had to be now.
His seemingly unnecessary fight with Euron Greyjoy was to mortally injure Jaime so we didn’t feel that sorry for him dying trying to rescue Cersei. He might have made it to Cersei and out of the Keep in time. And then what? We’d be back to the unworkable scenario where Cersei would not accept exile. As stupid as that fight with Euron was, it was necessary to the story to delay and cripple Jaime so there was no possible hope for Cersei’s survival. And for fans who actually liked Jaime and Cersei, there was some satisfaction in seeing them die in each other’s arms. Come on, admit it, that was sad.
If they had escaped, would he have ever returned to Brienne? No. He couldn’t live in Winterfell, and that’s where Brienne’s job is. He’d be a traitor for letting Cersei escape, so he basically couldn’t live anywhere. How does a handsome man with one hand hide? Could he just have stayed in Winterfell with Brienne and never gone to Kings Landing? That was the original plan. But no. He got on a horse because it looked like Cersei was winning after Euron successfully killed the dragon Rhaegal. All they needed was one more good shot. He left Winterfell believing she might win and he’d have to kill her, and only he could get between her and the Mountain, just like only Jon could get between Daenerys and Drogon.
3) Jon Snow could not be king, no matter that he was heir to the throne. He didn’t want it. He was famous for not wanting it. And he didn’t have any king-qualities. He was brave and honest and did the right thing (like Ned Stark), but he was not a good decision maker. He was too gentle of heart. He was too romantic. Like Ghost, he was meant to be in the North. The whole punishment of going back to the Night’s Watch was just a scam to shake off the Unsullied’s demand for justice. Tyrion knew it, but he had to pretend anyway until the Unsullied left town. Jon in his heart knew it. He even asked, there’s still a Night’s Watch? He knew it was just an exile, but an exile with people he was comfortable with and his best friends Ghost and Tormund at his side. He can still visit Sansa from time to time. Who would know? Sansa rules over an independent kingdom and the Unsullied left the peninsula. Maybe Ygritte has a sister. Jon was never going to be king. It would not have worked, so just forget thinking that was the proper ending. We got the proper ending for Jon, and we knew it when he didn’t say good-bye to his direwolf. That was a red flagged clue he would see that wolf again.
4) Why did Greyworm have to be placated at all? Especially since he was leaving town anyway? Because he wasn’t leaving until he got justice. So there was a two-three week period that we didn’t see with the Unsullied and Dothraki in command of the city, all mad because of Daenerys. Greyworm – with his inborn slave mentality – couldn’t step up and be king. He wanted someone to tell him what to do, and he needed someone he respected to tell him. He knows that's how kingdoms work. So with Tyrion and Jon in jail for treason (letting Jaime go) and murder (queenicide), Davos probably had to send out some ravens immediately to convene all the regional leaders to rush to the dragon pit and somehow take back control of Kings Landing from the Unsullied and spring Tyrion and Jon from death row. Did we really need an episode explaining all that? No. Cut to the chase where the regional leaders convene. A king is selected, who names Tyrion his hand, so Greyworm, like it or not, has to accept the ruling and leave town, with the assurance Jon is going to a miserable exile on the wall (not). It took a council to free them from the clutches of the embittered Unsullied (or just Greyworm, the other guys are probably drinking and whoring somewhere, glad to be alive).
5) But why make Bran Stark king? Well, who else, really? We already explained why it couldn’t be Jon. Tyrion made too many critical mistakes – primarily trusting and believing in Daenerys – so he can’t be king, and he’s a Lannister and we’ve all had enough of them. Sansa was a possibility, but could we trust her to be kind and forgiving? Maybe she has gone through too much herself not to harbor an internal crazy queen. She loves the people in the North and is not likely to turn evil on them. That she could rule an independent kingdom was only allowed because Bran was her brother and saw what she endured. Any other king would have said no, and all the others didn’t dare chime in and ask to be independent kingdoms because Bran is not their brother. Also – he could warg into Drogon and smoke them. So that’s what happened.
6) Arya killing the Night King. Again, it couldn’t be Jon, because that would have made him too powerful and deserving to be king, and he was no king. Besides, was it not telegraphed that Arya has been training most of her life for this job? (Although the whole Night King and undead army plot did seem to fizzle out too easily, but it conveniently cleared out the land north of the wall for Jon and the wildlings to repopulate with some security and less winter. So there’s that. That had to be done to get a happy ending for Jon and Ghost. And there’s still a chance for Tormund with Brienne!)
7) Where did Drogon go with Daenerys? Could she be resuscitated like Jon? Did the dragon take her to a red priest? Possibly. But that’s a story for another day. And if anyone ever needs a dragon again, guess who could send him a psychic signal and get Drogon back to fight any evil that might pop up? Jon could. He’s Targaryen.
So, I completely understood the reasons for each of the plot decisions the writers made, and I can appreciate the reason why they didn’t do the extra episode between the killing of Daenerys and freeing Jon and Tyrion from prison because it would have been all talk and attaching notes to ravens and people packing up to travel to Kings Landing, while Tyrion and Jon eat gruel and reflect on their sins.
On YouTube, I’ve watched several videos where the Tubers complain about the ending and give their alternate endings, and although each time I think, well, that would have made a good story, too, in the end – really, think about it -- none of it makes as pure, logical sense as what the GoT writers ultimately came up with. (What you didn’t like, admit it, was not spending another two or three hours with these characters, even as dull as they would have been.)
It’ll be interesting to see what George R.R. Martin comes up with – probably the same ending and more beyond, but with thousands of extra pages of dialogue and adventures of minor characters in order to get there. But don’t hold your breath. That guy is never going to finish this story. Never. He has too much money now, and money always kills creativity. If love is the death of duty, a fat bank account is the death of motivation.
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