Is There Life After Game of Thrones?
As the final episode of Game of Thrones is now airing this weekend, I thought it would be a great time to reflect on how far we've come, where we are today, and where (I think) we're going to end up.
Filming for the first season of the show began right around the time I started a new relationship, and when the TV premiere finally aired, the two of us had just gotten married. We followed the development of the show through the internet, and my subscription to Entertainment Weekly, and I was SO excited about it. I hadnāt read any of the books at the time, but I managed to read all 4 of them (A Dance of Dragons hadnāt been published yet) before the show came off hiatus to begin airing Season 2.
I have to confess - Iāve been a Jon Snow fan from Day 1, and I immediately understood that he was going to be absolutely vital to the story - I just had no idea at the time what that would mean.Ā
When Game of Thrones began airing in 2011, I was 27 years old. My husband was 31. I had a 7 year old daughter, some betta fish, and a fiddler crab.
Today, she is now 15, and has just watched the previous seasons of the show to catch up within the past 2 months. Weāre going to watch the finale together. Iām now 35 years old, and my husband is 40. Weāve been through several job changes, got some different pets, and I went back to school and finished my college degree in English. 8 years down the road, we are still passionate about this show...but there are a lot of loose ends that are leaving me with questions, and I want to talk about them in case they arenāt addressed in the final episode.
I have an odd sinking feeling that an hour and 20 minutes is not enough to tie up all of the loose ends that currently exist, and Iām worried about it.
1. Varys was writing a note in the beginning of Season 8, Episode 5. Who was he sending it to? He burned a note in the candle fire later - was it the same note? Were we supposed to believe he didnāt get to send the one he wrote initially? Varys has long been described as the Master of Whispers - Iām not sure he wouldāve spent that time knowing he was about to be snuffed out of existence by his queen without spreading his message to someone else first. Varysā work could continue to haunt Daenerys Targaryen long after he is gone. After all, who are his little birds going to report now that he has met his demise?
2. For a long time now, I have felt like Daenerys isnāt going to make it to the end. Recent developments have shown me that my assumptions are likely correct. I donāt believe the book series is calledĀ āA Song of Ice and Fireā because itās about Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen ruling together. I think itās calledĀ āA Song of Ice and Fireā because itās about Jon Snowās discovery about who he is and who he needs to become in order to protect his people. My biggest issue is wondering how the people who know and believe the story are going to be able to convince everyone else - there are people that are not going to believe it.
3. Jaime and Cersei Lannister may not be dead. We donāt yet have proof.Ā
We have major plot points still in playĀ
4. Why are Sam and Gilly leaving? Jon is going to need a Maester. Sam canāt just spend all that time in the Citadel and decide heās going back home - thatās not how being a Maester works. Also, Iām pretty sure Maesters donāt have children--will they even allow him to be one knowing that he has a family now? Maesters have always kind of been presented asĀ āsupposed to beā monk-like figures.Ā
5. Whatās going to happen with the wall? Is the Nightās Watch even necessary at this point, now that the threat of the undead has been eliminated?
6. What is Branās role going to be in the realm now that the Night King has been defeated? Iām not sure what purpose remains for the Three-Eyed Raven.
7. Are there any Children of the Forest left? If so, what is their purpose in the larger picture, and what does it mean for Westeros?
8. Is Tyrion going to accept the seat of command at Casterly Rock, if he is the only member of Tywin Lannisterās immediate family left alive to do so? Or will he remain by the side of whoever comes out on top as the ruler of Westeros?
9. Iām fairly confident at this point that Sansa Stark will rule on as the Lady of Winterfell, but what is Aryaās place in the kingdom? Does she even have one?
10. Do we care about Robin Arryn at this point? I mean, Iām pretty sure heās still up in The Eyrie, but what Iām not sure on is if heās important to the rest of the story anymore.
11. Who gets the dragon in the great Targaryen divorce? Will the dragonās loyalty shift to Jon?
12. Someoneās probably going to have to kill Daenerys Targaryen in the final episode. My question is NOT whether or not this is going to happen, but WHO is going to be the one to strike the final blow?
13. Will we get to know who is in line to rule after the Targaryen line finally ends? The current prospects have no living heirs to carry on their names, and I want to know whatās going to happen down the line.
14. How does the Lord of Light fit into all of this? Does the end of the show have a religious message?
My theory for the finale?Ā
Daenerys will be sentenced to execution for her destruction of Kingās Landing and thousands of innocent people by Jon and Sansa, and the sentence will either be carried out by Arya or Drogon. Jon Snow becomes Aegon Targaryen, 11th of his name, 998th Commander of the Nightās Watch, The Last Targaryen, and he may very well rule until the end of time, because Iām not sure he can die anymore. Melisandre may well have rendered him immortal. About what happens to the rest of these characters, I have no idea at all...but I canāt wait to find out.
