We finally know who sits on the Iron Throne after one of the most-watched shows in history aired it’s series finale. We watched for years to see who would rule over the kingdom of Westeros, and it’s not the person a lot of fans were rooting for.
Season 8 of Game of Thrones had a lot of twists and turns; It built off seven years-worth of very detailed storylines and character arcs. We finally saw the Night King’s army tear at the walls of Winterfell and Daenerys take on Queen Cersei. While Season 8 is the shortest season with only six episodes, there was a lot to cover before the show’s epic conclusion.
Small details matter in Game of Thrones. Upon re-watching the series, there are several subtle hints about the story’s conclusion, but the final season also inverted a lot of expectations.
In case you missed it, here is a brief recap of the season. Warning: Spoilers ahead.
Season 8 begins where the last season left off: The Army of the Dead has destroyed the Wall and is destroying everything in their path, while the living still bicker amongst themselves. Queen Cersei welcomes Euron Grayjoy and the Golden Company into King’s Landing – even though they didn’t bring any elephants. Bronn is hired to assassinate Tyrion and Jamie, who have already made their way to Winterfell to defend against the Night King and his White Walker army.
The highlight of the first episode was Jon Snow learning that he is Aegon Targaryen, which had been revealed at the end of Season 7. The episode ended with Bran locking eyes with Jamie for the first time after he learned he caused his accident back in Season 1.
Episode two allowed the audience to see characters that had interlocking histories together interact. It was the calm before the storm. This episode wrapped up a few smaller timelines, such as Jamie apologizing to Bran and then knighting Brienne of Tarth. Bronn catches up with Tyrion and Jamie, but they promise him Highgarden, so he doesn’t kill them.
While episode two was very quiet and character-driven, episode three was action-packed and attempted to bring the audience into one of the most important battle sequences in the series. Some fans complained that the episode’s lighting was too dark to see the details, but it allowed us to get a more realistic view of the battle. This episode is one of many that subverted expectations; many people thought Jon Snow would become Azor Ahai and kill the Night King, but instead, Arya stabbed the Night King in the chest with a small dragonglass dagger. This seemed a bit rushed, considering the show had been building up this fight for seven seasons.
With the Night King defeated, the remaining three episodes are dedicated to the battle between Daenerys and Cersei for the Iron Throne. There is a lot of material that is covered over the span of three episodes, and there is a major shift in Daenerys’ attitude. Because many people rooted for Daenerys in earlier seasons, the change in attitude seems abrupt. While episode four is dedicated to wrapping things up in Winterfell and heading south to King’s Landing, we do see an unexpected attack and the death of a major character.
