[1]
Winter is here! Oh wait, that’s just the ashes from the dragonfire that burned down King’s Landing. We also get a tearful reunion among siblings as Tyrion uncovers the hidden corpses of Cersei and Jamie after falling victim to BRICKARYS! Say what you will about the eighth season’s narrative but we can all agree that the big reveal of the Lannister twins underneath all that rubble was a beautifully shot scene. Alas, we’ve got one less incestuous couple in the world. We think that these two deserved a more extravagant send-off rather than being hit by freaking rocks. #TwincestIsWincest
[2]
Shout-out to the visual effects and cinematography team for blessing us with a stunning scene featuring Daenerys walking out as Drogon’s wings are outstretched behind her making it look like she sprouted dragon wings of her own. If that ain’t a G move, we don’t know what is! A new “deal with it” GIF was born at that very moment. The show further drives home the point, with what little time it has left, that Dany is too far gone for redemption. Launching into a speech pertaining to world domination under the guise of liberation is not a good look.
[3]
We like the one-on-one bro talk between Tyrion and Jon Snow about dealing with Daenerys. At this point, we’re starting to think that, “She’s mah kween!” was just copy-pasted throughout Jon’s script with the frequency that it’s uttered. The gradual close-ups on both characters as they’re partly obscured by shadows reflect the darkness they’re dealing with from within. Once they dropped this call-to-action gem, “Love is the death of duty. Sometimes, duty is the death of love,” ya’ll know something’s about to go down. Plus, we bet this quote’s going to start popping up on the social media bios of softbois everywhere.
[4]
Daenerys getting a feel for her new digs at the open-air throne room is a mood. Jon approaches her like someone would a crazy ex but she is still holding out hope after being queenzoned and auntiezoned. Although we already saw it coming, it still came as a shock when Jon suddenly plunged the knife in Dany’s heart mid makeout sesh. We could attribute that to the mad acting chops of Emilia Clarke during her death scene. (A real heartbreaker this one is!)
When the song, “Died In Your Arms” perfectly describes what happened to both of Jon’s lovers, you know that doesn’t bode well for his love life. On the lighter side (because Lord of Light geddit?) of things, by R’hllor’s good grace Jon may have partly fulfilled the Azor Ahai prophecy by killing his beloved. But damn, Jon couldn’t even let our girl Dany sit on the throne for a few secs before killing her off! That’s some ice-cold treatment!
[5]
You know Jon is screwed when a CG dragon can outstage him with an award-winning performance. Drogon is a visual effects marvel as his face contorts in grief and pain over the death of Daenerys. You can almost see the despair in his eyes as he attempts to nudge Dany. Another win for the visual effects department. We were ready for a dragon versus human beatdown but to our surprise, Drogon melted the Iron Throne instead. Perhaps, he aimed for the Iron Throne in order to destroy the symbol of a flawed power structure, which drove his dragon mother to madness. We wonder where Drogon flew off with Dany…there’s been much speculation surrounding his whereabouts. He could be returning to his birthplace where Dany first showcased her unburnt abilities. One thing’s for sure though, Drogon is in the running to be the goodest boi in the realm.
[6]
Ah yes, the fellowship is reunited and the infamous water bottle scene takes place. The cool council comprised of the House leaders is like a who’s who of Westeros. This is the first time we’ve seen these characters all together just chilling in their chairs trying to decide who’s going to be the next ruler. Sweet Samwell Tarly suggests a democratic system, which is met with incredulous laughter. Yeah, we hear ya! Even our modern democracy is a joke at this point. We found the moment where Edmure Tully (we almost forgot that this dude existed) shoots his shot and gets subsequently blocked by Sansa one of the most hilarious scenes in an overall bittersweet farewell episode. She told her relative to sit the eff down and shut the eff up and isn’t that the dream we hope to achieve during family reunions? Can we also talk about how Robin Arryn looks less like a creepy horror child and more like a pretty boy with a certain demographic of GoT fans in a tizzy over this dude.
[7]
Tyrion pushes for Bran the Broken (couldn’t they have thought of a less offensive name? Bran the Wheely One?) as his candidate and the guy ain’t even feigning surprise. “Why do you think I came all this way?” Has Bran been playing everyone including the audience this whole time? Homeboy was AFK the whole season and came out the MVP in the end. If he’s such an omniscient presence, couldn’t he find some way to prevent the slaughter? The unfortunate implications of having an all-seeing ruler will mean the dawn of panoptic surveillance and an authoritarian state. It’s a good thing Sansa peaces out as the North becomes an independent country. All hail LeBran James the king and the end of privacy as we know it!
[8]
The moment Brienne started journaling, we knew it was going to be the birth of a thousand memes. We hope our exes are just as kind as her when they start talking about us. Let’s face it, Jaime definitely pulled off a dick move at the end.
[9]
We got chills during this montage of the Stark siblings/cousins suiting up and preparing for their own adventures. Arya the explorer wants to go west of Westeros to the island of spin-offs. Where will she end up first? HBO’s other show Westworld?
We also couldn’t help cheering for Sansa when she became Queen of the North! And honestly, it was comforting sight to see Jon Snow taking up the cloak once again. We even get a heartwarming scene of Greyworm sailing for Naath (Missandei’s home) to liberate its people. You know what’s not so romantic, though? Foreigners of the island have been known to contract the deathly Butterfly Fever. We’re not sure if that was established in the series so they still might be safe.
[10]
It comes full circle for Jon Snow as he goes beyond Castle Black and heads for the true north with his other fave redhead Tormund. Guess he’s gonna be the new Mance Rayder and become the King-Beyond-The-Wall and lead the Free Folk.
Damn the ninjas chopping onions because we got teary eyed hearing the main theme song for one last time. (Hold up! There are lyrics to this song?! Ominous chanting counts.) It’s not the greatest ending ever written but it was a satisfying one. Now that the magic has left the world in the form of Drogon, we’re back to the mundane. Thank you, Game of Thrones for all the feels. And shout-out to David Benioff & D.B. Weiss for giving us something to fangasm and rage about for eight years. Almost a decade ain’t long enough!