The last season of Game of Thrones has proven to be an explosive affair, upending the status quo and bringing a ton of major changes to the continent of Westeros as the remaining powers all vie for the right to sit on the Iron Throne. But after the series finale, these forces might have to think of an alternative.
In the final episode, fans are subjected to a shocking but understandable betrayal when Jon Snow stabs and kills Daenerys Targaryen after she’s gone off the deep end and murdered thousands of innocent people in King’s Landing.
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But then Drogon, her last remaining dragon, swoops in and honors the late memory of his mother in fiery fashion. He unleashes a belly full of flames on the Iron Throne, effectively destroying it before scooping up Daenerys’ carcass and flying away.
It’s a symbolic gesture in the grand scheme of things, Drogon is fulfilling his mother’s wish in breaking the wheel so that no ruler can spread tyranny across the land of Westeros ever again.
After last week’s episode, this might sit well with some fans, but the fact that the Iron Throne has been damaged is a major event in and of itself. This is the very item that everyone has been fighting over (well, everyone except the Night King) since the show first began.
Fans were thrown a major curveball last week when Daenerys lost her composure and embarked on a killing spree, forcing Drogon to burn the innocent civilians of King’s Landing alive in a fit of rage. Though she later tried to justify her actions as an attempt to free the entirety of Westeros from the influence of King’s Landing, her allies didn’t see it that way.
“There is something chilling about the way Dany has responded to the death of her enemies,” said co-showrunner David Benioff in the behind-the-scenes clip after last week’s episode. “Even when you look back to season one when Khal Drogo gives the golden crown to Viserys and her reaction of watching her brother’s head melted off. He was a terrible brother, so I don’t think anyone was crying when Viserys died, but…”
The Iron Throne might be gone, but Westeros still needs a new leader…
The final season of Game of Thrones ends tonight on HBO.
