Ringside Report Reviews Game Of Thrones Finale: (Spoiler Alert)

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By Anthony “Zute” George

Yes, there will be spoilers. And perhaps an insult or two.

The popular HBO series Game of Thrones aired its final episode Sunday night. Whenever a longstanding, gargantuanly popular, series like GOT has a send off it is an event, before, during and after its airing. GOT’s sendoff, however, was a little bit different than other television giants such as Seinfeld, Breaking Bad, NYPD Blue, The Cosby Show and M*A*S*H*, in the sense that there has been a significant layoff since the last season of Thrones.

During that painfully long layoff, anticipation and theories grew aplenty, so much so that there was no possible way this shortened finale season of six episodes was going to satisfy the fans and quench the insatiable thirst of the buildup they created in their minds. Having said that, I felt that under the circumstances, this last season was very satisfying, and the series finale was splendid.

It appears that a positive review of GOT’s finale is as rare as a poor member of Congress. Which is confusing. Many fans hated this series ender. I feel very sorry for you because you missed such a terrific piece of storytelling and acting.

The finale began with Tyrion Lannister; portrayed by Peter Dinklage with a flawless flare, for eight terrific seasons, walking through the carnage of Kings Landing that he had to feel responsible for. Afterall, he went through great efforts, as well as betrayal, to support his Queen Daenerys, portrayed by the seductive, slinky, Emilia Clarke.

Now that the damage from the Mother of Dragons was done, Tyrion had one objective in mind, search for his beloved brother Jaime Lannister. When Tyrion finds Jaime dead, buried under the rubble he helped cause, alongside his wretched sister Cersei, he breaks down. Afterall, Jaime was the only family member who ever cared for the unfortunate dwarf, a point we were so beautifully reminded of in the previous episode, when Tyrion and Jamie; played by the dashing Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, had their last tear-jerking scene together.

A lesser man would have high tailed it far away from Daenerys, by now she had to know that Tyrion, her Hand, betrayed her by releasing Jaime. Indeed, death was coming. But Tyrion has grown into an altruistic character, so, instead, he approaches his Queen and shuns her actions, throwing his Hand emblem away in protest. A great opening sequence.

Now a prisoner, Tyrion is visited by Jon Snow; played by Kit Harington, the other altruistic character among heathens, who also stood by his now destructive Queen. When approached by Snow, Tyrion does not beg for his life, nor does his apologize for his defiance, instead, he tries to coax Jon Snow into stopping Daenerys into causing any further carnage, which she all but laid out as her next move to her devoted Unsullied Army at the onset of the episode. Knowing that Jon is the only person left on the planet to be able to put a stop to the Mother of Dragons, Tyrion pulls out all the stops to convince Snow of what he must do. He begged him. Another great scene, full of great emotions and acting; as was the entire episode.

Dinklage all but secured another Emmy Award with his work in season eight, and both Emilia Clarke and Kit Harrington were gripping as well

What happened next was one of the most visceral, sad and unexpected things ever witnessed on television. Jon Snow approached his beloved Queen, chastising her for what she did, and begging her to spare Tyrion, as well as Cersei’s leftovers. When it was abundantly clear Daenerys only had one thing in mind, piling up more bodies for the cause, Jon had no choice but to trick his Queen and betray her. A knife though the heart during a moment of love. Gripping.

If that was not enough drama for you, Drogon, the only dragon left, Daenerys’ baby, immediately knew its mother was gone and reacted with rage. As one would expect. Towering over Jon Snow, Drogon was furious and devasted. He reigned fire, not on the murdering Snow, but on the throne, the symbol of power responsible for so many corpses.

Drogon had enough of this thirst for power and acted in frustration. Then swopped his dead mother up with compassion, leaving the destruction that took everything the dragon loved. You know a show is doing something right when it could craft such an emotional, dare I say it, human, moment from a fictional dragon. It was hard to fight back the tears.

For those who are in an uproar about the fate of The Mother of Dragons, Jon Snow had to kill Daenerys, as it was so true to his character. From the beginning, ‘the Starks’ bastard’ was the most unselfish, altruistic, character of the series. Always looking for the greater good, never giving up on what is right. Such people do not do unconditional love. And Jon could not give Daenerys his. He knew he had to put an end to her terror. Not one more innocent life was going to be taken on his watch. That was the essence of Jon Snow from the beginning.

And just like in life, such a person as Snow rarely becomes the most powerful. So, it also made perfect sense that Snow was condemned to the night’s watch, to prevent further bloodshed.

The outcomes of the other characters made sense as well.

All those who were pure evil got what they deserved. Jaime was not going to get away with the attempted murder of a child. Cersei had more reasons to pay than anyone in the then seven kingdoms. They both were not going to get away with incest. Buried alive, side by side. Poignant.
Those who flourished deserved it.

Bran the Broken had to be the king; if you did not get that much, I am sorry you wasted your time watching over seventy-three hours of programming. The books will most likely have a different outcome, but for television this outcome was apparent. It is also important to note, that before Jaime pushed Bran off the tower, he was a brat who was jealous of his more gifted sister and was disobedient to his parents. Who knows what Bran would have become had he not been pushed by Jaime? He certainly was no Jon Snow, pre attempted murder.

Sansa Stark, who wanted to be royalty from the onset, and paid oh so dearly for her desires, finally got what she wanted. Taking the opportunity as it arose. Whether or not she deserved it is up for debate, but she certainly suffered enough during her quest for power.

Arya Stark, she was never meant to be behind a wall. Her journey began when she saw her father beheaded. Arya witnessed horror created demons of revenge, that manifested into a journey of the Faceless Man. When there was no more revenge to be had, it made sense that she would embark on a journey of the unknown of a different kind.

One of my favorite scenes of the finale was that of the newly formed council for King Bran. Let us examine that council

Tyrion: The Hand. A familiar position for the last of the Lannister’s, but now with newfound purpose. No longer is he the hand of the dreadful Joffrey, or the destructive Mother of Dragons. Tyrion now councils the all-knowing Bran, and it appears he can indeed make up for all his sins, and care for the unfortunate, which he risked his life for on more than one occasion.

Bronn- Master of Coin. My biggest critique of this season is there was not enough Bronn. Jerome Flynn is spot on in his performance of a character, who cannot be considered noble, but was always a man of his word. He entered the Lannister’s world by stepping up to protect Tyrion in his time of need and never failed to deliver what he set out to do. Tyrion was his loyal cash cow from the start, and he never betrayed him. His reward, a seat at the table. And how great was Flynn at this meeting? The most sarcastic and flip character of them all. Cracking wise at Davos for correcting his grammar; which is hysterical because at one-point Davos was illiterate and now he is correcting speech (great writing). Bronn also lobbied to rebuild brothels, saying with a straight face he was not exactly sure ships take precedence over brothels, as Brienne suggested.

Classic Bronn.

Samwell Tarly: Grand Meister. Once condemned to the night’s watch, the Oliver Hardy-like character was never a great fighter, like Bronn, but was indeed the first human to kill a white walker. At his time at the watch, he was loyal to Jon Snow, even when it was easy not to be, and was always one of the smartest men in the room. There could be no better Grand Meister.

Davos Seaworth: Master of Ships. More practical than smart. But always compassionate. Davos managed to survive many battles despite the fact that he was not much of a fighter. Davos is a combination of skill and a lot of luck. Remember Blackwater? Indeed, Davos’ presence at the table will prove to be a great asset to King Bran.

Brienne of Tarth: Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. The only person at the table who could give Bronn a run for his money in battle. Along the way she defeated The Hound, fell in love with Jaime and never broke her promise to Catelyn Stark to protect her children. She put her short-lived love affair with her beloved Jaime in her rearview mirror by making sure his accomplishments were put into record in the Book of Brothers. Where else was she going to wind up?

Podrick: Kingsguard. Podrick first made a name for himself by saving Tyrion’s life at the battle of Blackwater, and for turning the ladies of the brothels on their heads with his tantalizing, toe-curling, lovemaking. He will be sure to make a better Kingsguard than Jamie Lannister.

Indeed, Bran the Broken is in fine hands. The only regret we should have is that we do not get to see what kind of progress is made throughout the six kingdoms with this team, who is albeit green, but ready to work for the people.

Tyrion saw to it that kings were no longer going to be born but chosen. The system was broken and the smartest man in all the kingdoms saw to it that it was changed. We can learn from GOT with our own broken political system. If only in the real world, men and women with the best intentions for the people were in charge. That is not the case for the most part in the United States, and it is even worse throughout a good portion of the world.

I raise this question for all those who hated the finale. When the credits ran, did you not want to continue to follow the journeys of Jon Snow, Sansa Stark, Arya Stark and Drogon? Did you not want to see how Tyrion, and the like, lead Bran the Broken as King? I do not see how you can say no. In that sense this finale hit the right marks. A good series finale resolves many big issues, but keeps the strongest characters going. Leaving some questions unanswered. Leaving the audience wondering what their next journey will be. NYPD Blue did this exceptionally well, and so did Game of Thrones.

As s side note: To all those people who petitioned HBO to redo this final season, I challenge you to write your own season. The odds of you coming up with something as concise and dramatic is as likely as the iron-handed Jamie Lannister beating Bronn in a battle.

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