Jeri
Jacquin
Currently
on Digital from HBO Home Entertainment comes the final season of a series that
has captured the heart of the world as we all became part of GAME OF THRONES.
Our time
in Westeros has come to an end and that saddens me in a dual way. I came to
enjoy my Sunday evenings all cured up with my yarn crocheting while watching
(yes I can crochet without looking) the antics of heroes and villains I either
openly cheered and jeered or even secretly cheered.
The cast
of GAME OF THRONES is one fans have felt they have watched grow into their
characters. From the first season even I wasn't sure what this was all about
having not read the books but was immediately curious with each episode. I'm
not sure if it was because I wanted to see if Sean Bean lived (as he tended not
to do with his characters) or my love of period pieces but week after week I
stayed.
The
journey of the Stark clan with Ned (Bean), Catelyn (Michelle Fairley), Robb
(Richard Madden), Sansa (Sophie turner), Arya (Maisie Williams), Bran (Isaac
Wright) and the bastard Jon Snow (Kit Harington) didn't take long to be put
under the thumb of the Lannisters’.
Speaking
of a dysfunctional family led by Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance), daughter
Cersei Lannister-Baratheon (Lena Headey), along with sons Jamie (Niolaj
Coster-Waldau) and Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) made sure fans appreciated their own
families more. Of course dangling on that family tree was also the kid most likely
to be strangled by the masses Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson) amongst the rest
of the kids.
Then
there was this little blonde Targaryen girl named Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) who
was traded to a very tall Dothraki leader in the form of Jason Momoa. Of course
there is a history of craziness in her own family that she needs to come to
terms with. That little marriage brought out the Mother of Dragons who flew her
way into creating an army as we all cheered her on.
Of course
behind the two families were such characters as Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen),
Samwell Tarly (John Bradley, Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen), Lord Varys (Conleth
Hill), Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham), Aidan Gillen as Lord Baelish, Brienne
of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie), The Hound (Rory McCann), Missandei (Nathalie
Emmanuel), Bronn (Jerome Flynn), Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson), Melisandre (Carice
van Houten), and the beloved Hodor (Kristian Nairn).
There are
so many characters to name that I just don't have enough room or time to write
this all out so let’s move on and know that I am giving credit to every
character as they are due with our humble thanks.
Onward,
each season the story line grew bigger and bigger, so much so that I couldn't
wait to go to Comic Con and sit in on the panel AND happily receive a goodie
that included an awesome bag and inside a book so that I could read what I was missing,
Seeing the casts on panels, it was fun to hear them talk about their time on
the show as well as trying so very hard not to give anything away.
As the
story unfolded season after season there was plans, survival, death, secrets,
destruction, betrayal, power struggles (with family and with distant family)
and all in the name of the Iron Throne and who will end up sitting on it. We
began with Robert Baratheon and his friendship with Ned Stark and ended up with
Joffrey being the next king (and I use a small 'k' because it fits him).
Joffrey was the kind of king who would burn the wings of flies with a
magnifying glass while his mother Cersei stands behind egging him on.
That's
when Sansa gets put into play between the Starks and Lannisters but there is oh
so much more to that story. As the houses begin to shift and loyalties become
apparent, the one person who isn't loyal to anyone is Tyrion and that's when I
started cheering for him. Yes, I understand that he has a problem with
prostitutes and he likes to spout that 'That's what I do, I drink and I know
things!' becoming his (and our) mantra.
We
watched weddings, funerals, battles, enemies from far away and enemies close up
fighting for supremacy, lack of love, a few crushes, women being passed on and
men being passed over, magic, dragons, friendships (both faked and deserved),
honesty wrapped in lies, and oh so much more in Westeros. Our loyalties, like
the characters in Westeros, were solid - until they weren't.
The break
between season 7 and 8 was the longest break in the show and fans believed, as
I did, that it was because the last season would be epic. We bit our collective
tongues when it was announced that there would only be six episodes, and we bit
even harder when we learned collectively that it would be almost two years
before the end would happen. Okay, we are die-hards, we can take
it…right….RIGHT?
And so we
all did, rumors would drop here and there and speculation about what would
happen in the final season kept fans going until the first trailer dropped. I
think the world might have stopped spinning for a second or two when that
happened. It didn't give us much but it was something and we were raised to
believe that it was better than nothing.
Then that
first Sunday brought us all back, and sometimes in groups, to see who would
finally sit on the Iron Throne. Bets were placed, surveys taken, and polls done
with different opinions varying with Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister, Daenerys, Arya
and Sansa being the top picks. Of course I had my pick which I will save till
the end of this rant, rave or otherwise.
As the
finale drew near, I put my favorite Westeros shirt on and filled up my Tyrion
"that's what I do is drink and I know things' cup and prepared to see who
would finally sit on the Iron Throne.
In Season
8 Winterfell brings Jon and Daenerys against the White Walkers and the Night
King. There are still secrets that are about to be dropped and Arya has a plan
of her own. Theon decides he must return, as does Jaime Lannister to help in
the fight for Winterfell and Sam reveals a startling truth to Jon. Euron is
back in King’s Landing making sure that Cersei understands what it is he wants
and that’s to share the Iron Throne.
Jaime
doesn’t hesitate to share what he knows about Cersei and Brienne is happy to
see him. Bran sees Jaime and the time has finally come to talk about what
started all of the madness. Bran decides that he should be the one to bring the
Night King out knowing what he truly wants. Sansa isn’t giving an inch where
her distrust in Dani is concerned.
The
battle against the White Walkers bring the soldiers, Unsullied, and Dothraki to
put together their plan. Melisandre brings her own brand of help as well as
well as Jon and Dani riding the two remaining dragons against Viserion. All
those fighting see people they love fall and rise again in this battle that can
only have one outcome.
Decisions
have to be made about King’s Landing as Dani makes Gendry a Baratheon. With his
new title he hopes there is one person in the Stark family who will be a part
of his new kingdom. Jaime and Brienne have a moment of their own but it isn’t
to last an a particular loyalty can’t be forgotten. Jon tells his Stark
‘siblings’ what he knows about his lineage but it doesn’t stop the army from
moving towards King’s Landing.
Tyrion
continues to stand with Dani as they all set sail when Missandei is taken by
Cersei, there will be no surrender when her friend is taken. He also learns
that Jaime has been captured and he will do what a brother must for a brother. Varys
has plans of his own as well not trusting that Dani has what it takes to sit on
the Iron Throne and that causes his betrayal.
All of this
leads to Dani doing the unthinkable, Tryion telling Jon that what was done was
unconscionable and the Iron Throne still for the taking. It is time to finally
see who will take power and what that future looks like for them all.
Yes,
that’s all I’m going to say because I think it’s very important that those
who have not seen the final season have their own chance to jaw drop. So, what
did we learn on our journey? We learned that absolute power corrupts absolutely
so sometimes melting a throne is best and love doesn't conqueror all, in fact
in Westeros love could get you killed and usually did. We understood many
things about the trials of some characters and we embraced others who seemed un-embraceable. Twisted
life lessons but lessons all the same.
From the
very beginning we all knew this was a game, a game among men and women for a
throne, something that didn’t care about any of them was easily taken away. A
game of life and death and there was plenty of that to go around from all the
seven kingdoms.
We also
learned that loyalty exists, friendships can come from the most unlikely
places, that family (even dysfunctional ones) will beat each other up but let
no one else do it and that magic is in the eyes of the beholder. All of these
things are what makes us love GAME OF THRONES even when we are disgruntled by
it.
We will
all settle in time, we will watch and re-watch until a comfortability sets in.
We will wait to see if the prequels that are rumored will give us back our
Sunday's evenings of being whisked away to another time, another place and
another story and restore our suspension of disbelief.
In
Westeros, after everything, they are beginning again. In our own imaginations
let us hope that the choices made in the finale send them all on their way to a
peace not known in Westeros for eight season.
So we
should all take a collective deep breath and remember, there will be box sets
coming of every season to enjoy whenever you feel the need to visit old friends
and enemies. It should keep us busy until we see the first trailer to the
prequel to GAME OF THRONES.
In the
words of Tyrion and the truth is in it, even after everything that has happened
in the years we've all invested in GAME OF THRONES, "even knowing what I
know now, I'd do it again" - and we will.
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