Game of Thrones ended with Sansa being hailed as the Queen in the North - something that was foreshadowed when Daenerys' attack on King's Landing split the map in the Red Keep down the middle, dividing the North from the southern kingdoms.Īs with Daenerys' death, this ending brought the story full circle. Only six, rather than seven, because Sansa's condition for giving Bran her vote was that the North would remain independent - as its people had already decided back when they chose Robb Stark to be the King in the North, and later Jon Snow to succeed him. Though Bran didn't particularly want to be king, he had already seen that it was his destiny, and the assembled council elected Bran Stark as the new ruler of the Six Kingdoms. Moreover, as the Three-Eyed Raven, Bran is the keeper of all of Westeros' stories and memories. Tyrion suggested that "Bran the Broken" would be the best choice since his story of being crippled as a child, then going on a great journey north of the Wall and becoming the Three-Eyed Raven was powerful enough to make people believe in him as a ruler. Instead, he was taken prisoner by the Unsullied, and it was left to the lords and ladies of the Seven Kingdoms to choose a new ruler - no longer beholden to any rules of bloodline or inheritance. Many assumed that if Jon were to kill Daenerys, he would be crowned King of Westeros. Related: Game of Thrones' Original Book Plan Would’ve Ruined Jaime In The Show Ned’s Children Rule Westeros (& Beyond) The reign of the Targaryens was truly over.
It was appropriate that Daenerys' death should herald the destruction of the Iron Throne since she and Jon were the last of the Targaryen line, and Jon's punishment for her murder is to join the Night's Watch again - taking no wife and fathering no children. The throne had been built 300 years earlier by Daenerys' ancestor, Aegon I, who conquered Westeros with the help of his sister-wives and established himself as the first Targaryen king. Shortly after Daenerys' death came a symbolic breaking of the wheel, when Drogon unleashed his grief by melting the Iron Throne into a puddle of molten steel. It was a decision that didn't necessarily sit right with every fan, especially considering Daenerys' half-baked journey toward becoming the Mad Queen.
Daenerys was killed by one of her most trusted allies, Jon Snow, who used that trust to get close enough to stab her (like Aerys before her). Also, like her father, Daenerys' madness was her downfall: her burning of King's Landing (which even triggered the wildfire caches Aerys had hidden all those years ago) is what ultimately led to people turning away from her. Tywin Lannister led his army into King's Landing, while Tyrion Lannister smuggled his brother into King's Landing. Like her father, she was betrayed by her Hand - a Lannister, in both cases.
All the events of the series were set in motion by that act - from Robert Baratheon ascending to the Iron Throne, to Daenerys and Viserys' exile in Essos, and the Lannisters claiming a position of power in King's Landing.ĭaenerys Targaryen's death brought this story full circle. Game of Thrones may have begun seventeen years after Robert's Rebellion, but the show's story really began with Jaime earning his title of "Kingslayer" by stabbing Aerys II in the back, after the Mad King gave orders to burn down the city with wildfire. Daenerys Dies the Same Way Her Father Did Here's how they did it, where things lie at the end of the series, and what it all means. Weiss faced a considerable challenge in wrapping up Game of Thrones' story, from the defeat of the White Walkers to the question of who would rule Westeros in just six episodes. Related: Everything We Know About House Of The Dragon There were fantasies about Jon and Daenerys ruling side-by-side as a wise and benevolent king and queen, but that wouldn't quite have fit with the description of the finale as "bittersweet." Instead, almost all of the fan-favorite characters made it to the end - including Ser Davos, Bronn, Tyrion, Brienne, and Sam, who made up King Bran's Small Council. It's about as happy an ending as fans could have hoped for. Meanwhile, Jon Snow headed beyond the Wall once more with the Wildlings, and Arya Stark sailed west in search of new horizons. The show ended with the Iron Throne destroyed, the old system of choosing Kings and Queens eradicated, Bran Stark elected as the new King of Westeros, and Sansa Stark ruling the North as an independent kingdom.
Game of Thrones - HBO's thrilling epic historical fantasy series - finally came to an end after eight seasons, and the finale brought the story full circle in many ways.