Game of Thrones Season 8: Episode 6
In the end ‘Game of Thrones’ was a lover’s lore that will be long remembered
As the battle was lost and won, everyone returned to where they belonged- some walked back to where it all started and some went ahead with their destinies now being written.
John Keats in the opening lines of his famous ballad, ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ had asked: “O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms, Alone and palely loitering”. By the end of the ballad we come to know of the knight’s despair upon being betrayed by an enchantress who had posed as a maiden, but gradually turned to be the greatest curse to befall upon him. By the end of Episode 5, Jon Snow loitered about the ruins of King’s Landing, unable to fathom the ruination which had dawned upon mankind. As much as, like the knight in the ballad, he had provided refuge to the woman who asked for help notwithstanding the advice of any other, in the end he was left baffled at the madness of the Queen who had set out to break the wheel of tyranny.
Every rebel turns into a tyrant in their process of rebellion, since every rebellion is after all the garnered cause of a more selfish desire. This was a simple message that ‘Game of Thrones’ has been trying to deliver throughout the eight seasons, but in the end, when redemption came it made sure that the story unwraps itself like a lover’s lore. Daenerys got what she wanted, a kingdom of her own ruled by her men, with no threat to her dragon. Her eyes glimmered when she narrated a story from her childhood to Jon about an Iron Throne made of thousand swords from Aegon’s enemy. When she speaks to Jon, she does not speak like a ruler but like a girl who grew up learning the history of her family with an extremely personal desire of sitting on the throne which belonged to her ancestors. She even invites Jon, who is now a pronounced Targaryen, to rule with her in a world where their definition of goodness is the ultimate reality. This was the last time we hear Daenerys speak, not as a Queen who has broken chains, but as a woman with a girl’s dream and a maiden’s heart.
Daenerys died in her lover’s arms. (Game of Thrones/ Twitter)
Just as every lore ends, Daenerys met her end in her lover’s arms- which can be treated as a conclusion hinted at in ‘Jenny’s Song’. The very first line of the song said, “High in the Halls of the Kings who are gone, Jenny would dance with her ghosts…”. Daenerys was left with nothing but memories in the end. Memory of a Khal who had found her, memory of a friend she had lost, and memories of all those who were gone that she no longer remembered them. Her last living memory would be that of Jon Snow, the man she had found and loved, and who ultimately puts her to rest. That scene marked the end of not only an entire dynasty but also the melting down of that only commodity for which the Seven Kingdoms have been up against each other. With Daenerys lying dead in the ground, Drogon melts the Iron Throne which was after all established by a Targaryen. This quite clearly marked the closing chapter of Fire and Blood, with several blank pages left to be written on. Also, with the closing of this chapter the ruination on screen minimizes and immediately there is a shift to the meeting of the Lords amid sunshine and paved platforms, which again indicated that if something is broken, something else will always turn up to fix it- hence, Bran the Broken.
Perhaps one of the most interesting and undefined turning points on the show, Tyrion’s declaration to no more allow a monarch’s reign but a leader who is chosen by his people was a well defined beginning of a new era. However, this era is ruled by someone who has lived in the present and seen the past. As Tyrion mentioned he is the living memory of the kings and queens who have ruled the lands long ago, and with Bran being elected as the rightful King, it also gives us a lesson in disguise. Not all who are strong, with many men under their command, are worthy to rule- it is only those who care not too much, not too less, who can pass an impersonal statement to those who look up to him. Bran’s election was not a prophecy fulfilled but a rational decision taken by a man, and that in itself is the highlighted aspect of ‘Game of Thrones’- its reliance upon reality to justify fiction.
Bran’s election marked the beginning of a new era. (Game of Thrones/ Twitter)
However, perhaps on a personal note what was quite heart warming was the fact the Stark children finally did what each had set out to do. Sansa freed Winterfell from the grips of the land which sheds blood at the drop of a hat, and as she sat as the Queen in the North, Sansa proved that when selfish urges are combined with the needs of the hour, it can be as fruitful as a selfless deed- sometimes even more. As for Arya, she remained true to her fate. She set out with the Stark banner to travel west where the map ends. Finally, we once again saw Jon Snow travel north of the Wall with his fellow Wildlings and Ghost, bringing his story to a full circle. This is where ‘Game of Thrones’ became a lover’s lore that will be long remembered. Jon fulfilled his destiny as the protector of all men and women by killing the woman- he loved- who had turned into a tyrant. But that certainly isn’t a cause for anyone to grief upon because even in death Daenerys perhaps returned to where she has always belonged- Essos. That was the closing chapter of HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’ - a show, epic in its proportion, humane in its ambition, and auteur in its conclusion. It was truly a milestone in TV series, and as the prequel is already in the making, this generation will return to Westeros throughout their lives.
