Game of Thrones

I suppose I should offer some thoughts on the series finale of Game of Thrones.

But before we get to Sunday’s big send off, a word on the previous week’s penultimate episode, “The Bells”. Therein, Daenerys Targaryen saddled up her dragon, Drogon  (Drogon? Really? Does Daenerys have a pet hamster named “Hemster”? A goldfish named “Gildfish”?) and burned King’s Landing to the frickin’ ground.

Well, that’s one way to end a war.

It’s also one way to commit genocide. 

A lot of GoT fans were not happy with this development for Daenerys.  Over the course of the series, Daenerys Targaryen has made a lot of cold calculations in her quest for power with a lot of blood on her hands. 

Daenerys has not always been a very good person but there was this idea that her ruthlessness was in pursuit of a greater good. But her harsh and unyielding quest for power, for whatever reason, also put her on a path towards madness.  When your core strategy is to MAKE things happen and FORCE them to go your way, you’re heading for a breakdown when things ultimately do not go your way. 

And this what happens to Daenerys Targaryen when she engages in a quite literal scorched earth take down of King’s Landing.

A lot of fans were upset over the sudden abrupt turn of Daenerys Targaryen from “harsh leader with good intentions” to “genocidal maniac”.  I think there was a sense by the writers that “uh oh, the series is coming to an end and we’re running out of time for Daenerys Targaryen to become the Mad Queen”.  

Game of Thrones writer and creator George R. R. Martin is often referred to as a gardener, a writer who takes times to sew seeds and tend to long term ongoing development of plot points and character arcs. It takes a long time to plant and grow a garden. By comparison, it takes no time to harvest it.  

It takes weeks to grow a carrot; it takes seconds to pull it out of the ground. 

The current writers, moving past Martin's novels, have a schedule to keep.  

Too abrupt or not, the damage was done. Daenerys Targaryen was now the Mad Queen.

It would be too much for destiny to be kind to her now. 

At the half way mark of “The Iron Throne”, that destiny comes to claim her. Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen share a kiss. 

Then Jon stabs  Daenerys to death.  

No Iron Throne for Daenerys Targaryen, paying the ultimate price for her descent into genocidal madness. 

No Iron Throne for Jon Snow who is banished to the Night's Watch for killing Daenerys Targaryen. 

No Iron Throne for anybody after Drogon, distressed by Daenerys’ murder, melts the damn thing into slag. 

There is still a winner of the Game of Thrones:  Bran Stark is named ruler of Westeros by a council of lords and ladies. Bran’s defining attribute is he’s there. 

Bran Stark's name was on the project team list. He attended meetings, occasionally brought snacks.

In the end, he wins by being not dead, not mad and still there. 

OK, Bran Stark doesn’t get everything. Sansa Starks gets to rule over, I don’t know, Australia, maybe? 

Anyway, that’s my post on the ending of Game of Thrones.

Oh, a disclaimer and maybe I should’ve said something earlier. 

I have never seen a single episode of Game of Thrones.