#all chicks

In my previous post, I discussed the ongoing ship war between the Jon/Dany and Jon/Sansa factions.  I can understand why both sides would want a happy romantic ending to these characters lives (beyond the fact that they are all insanely good looking); fairy tales always end in a marriage.

But I just don’t see that happening (because GRRM is a sonuvabitch) and also that just doesn't seem to be where the narrative is going. Let’s start with Jon:

Jon is the epitome of the fairy tale figure, the orphan who is actually a prince, the bastard who is actually true born, the one who starts low and rises high and receives all the approbation he didn’t get early life.  If this was a folk tale, he’d end with a crown and a beautiful wife.

But...

He is also apparently the subject of a prophecy or a Chosen One, which is the last thing you want in life. These people are usually born to suffer and die for a higher cause. If they are lucky, they get some help in the end and get to choose rather than being chosen (Buffy) or they are drained of vitality and allowed to retire/die (Frodo), find wisdom after suffering a personal holocaust (Oedipus), or they are tortured to death (Christ), but the Chosen One doesn’t get to live fr him or herself usually.  

Jon is Chosen (probably). He suffered. He gave up love for a higher cause. He died and came back to life to save the world.  He is (probably) going to carry a flaming sword into battle against the Night King and die there for the world that mostly rejected him, fought against him when he tried to save it, and betrayed him. He’s never going to get that happy ending. He was made to be a martyr.  Jon and Dany will probably have sex (shrugs). They may even fall in love, but they have no future because he has no future.

That brings us to our warring would-be queens and the reason why I think this show is going to end with women in charge.

Cersei, Dany, and Sansa are similar in many ways. All three weren’t taken seriously in their youth. All three held ambitions that seemed out of their reach. All three are women who suffered sexual assault/rape at the hands of husbands or family. And they all learned to survive and managed to outlive all of their enemies.  All three of these women have what it takes to be the queen, and frankly, I can’t see the narrative taking a turn and allowing Evil Mad Queen Dany to be deposed by Good Jon Snow. I also don’t see Sansa de-powered and then only powerful through her connection to a man.  The narrative took us here and put these three women in high positions for a reason---to put one of them in charge in the end.  

Their storylines and their ultimate character resolutions will have little or nothing to do with romance.

Dany?  She has her share of haters and the negative analysis of her actions (burning people alive, crucifying people, etc.) are perfectly legitimate. But there is good there, too. She genuinely cares for her subjects and she empathizes with the downtrodden because she was one of them. Sadly, she was also raised by a mad man (her brother) to believe that she was essentially a god and that any steps taken in her rightful ascendance to the throne are justified. On top of that, Dany suffered tremendous blows to her self-image throughout her life (treated like a sex object, a slave, an animal to be traded and mated), and the one thing that kept her stable was the image of herself as queen. She moves forward when other people would have given up because she has an absolute belief in herself. 

The question becomes then, when the long night comes, will she be willing to put her life on the line to save people, even if that means she never get to be queen?  Right now, the answer to that question is no, I think.  

But I think the events of season 7/8 will change her. Her relationships with Jon, Tyrion, and (probably) Sansa and her experiences beyond the Wall will show her the ultimate smallness of her ambition in the face of what other people are willing to sacrifice to defeat evil and save the world. She will risk her life and the lives of her dragons. 

And when it is discovered that her dragons and their magic is the reason that the Night Kings has returned, she will make the decision to kill her children. And she will finally become the queen who rules through compassion rather than fear.

On to Sansa:

Sansa has been engaged once and married twice, first against her will and second with her consent although she could never have known what she was consenting to with Bolton. She has suffered plenty due to the ineptitude (Ned), cowardice (The Hound), and poor decisions (Robb) of men. Why in the world would her story end with a marriage? Because she wants or needs to share power or be subordinate to a man? That is what marriage would mean. 

The story needs to end with Sansa standing strong on her own and rebuilding the North. I see her as a Widow Queen (can’t be a Virgin Queen cause she’s been married) starting with control over Winterfell and the Dreadfort at minimum since she’s the last living Bolton. All Hail Gloriana!

Cersei is a dark mirror to both Sansa and Dany. Raised to view herself as superior, never taken seriously, full of frustrated ambition and rage, she was raised without a conscience, without any restraints, and without compassion. This is the Mad Queen. She’d set fire to Kings Landing before she’d let Dany take it. She’d let the Night Walkers take the world if it took ker enemy’s lives first. She’s never going to get it. She’s never going to rise above herself and become something greater. She’s going to die and almost certainly at Jaime’s hands.

Dany and Sansa: Single Co-Queens

 I think they will split the realm in two, and Dany will be the Queen in the South and Sansa, Queen in the North. She might name Sansa her heir since she cannot have children. The Targaryen line dies with her and so does magic.

Dany will rule justly without her dragons (those beautiful killers have to die, sorry), and Sansa will rebuild the North.