The Queen Of Ashes

When the bells tolled, Daenerys had a choice. She could have accepted the surrender of King’s Landing, as Tyrion encouraged her to do. Instead, she chose to become the Queen of Ashes and burn them all.

Is Daenerys Beyond Redemption?

Once upon a time, Daenerys Targaryen stole our hearts. She was the Breaker of Chains, our beloved Khaleesi, and the liberator of Slaver’s Bay. She swore that she did not wish the be the Queen of Ashes. But after the destruction of King’s Landing and the slaying of thousands of innocents, is she now the final villain on Game of Thrones?

If so, it is a remarkable transformation, but it’s also one that the show (and maybe George R.R. Martin) had been foreshadowing for a long time now. Dany’s always had a penchant for burning her enemies, starting with the witch that killed Kal Drogo. Add to the list the slave masters, the Khals, the Lannister army, the men of House Tarley, poor Varys, and now nearly everyone in King’s Landing. In fact, she accomplished what her father, the Mad King, only dreamed of—burning them all.

In the final episode, however, will we witness her redemption or her destruction? And is she even worthy of forgiveness? Cersei was terrible, but she was not such a threat to the realm that it warranted the destruction of King’s Landing. Daenerys claimed the Iron Throne through fire and blood, the way her ancestors conquered the Seven Kingdoms. But will anyone support her after this? I think not. She’s lost Tyrion and Jon. All she has is Drogon.

Is Cersei Gone?

I did not expect Cersei to meet her end by being crushed by the remains of The Red Keep, but that sure looks like what happened. If so, the prophecy of Maggy the Frog did not mean what we thought. I always suspected the Valonqar (the “little sibling”) of Maggy’s prophecy, who was supposed to choke the life out of Cersei, would be Tyrion or Jaime. But it looks like the “little sibling” (if the prophecy had meaning at all) was the youngest Targaryen, Dany. And choking one’s life out must have been a metaphor for being crushed to death under tons of rubble.

As for the Mountain, we finally saw the Celganebowl, and it mostly lived up to the hype. I do think it was apropos for the Hound to plunge into fire—the one thing he feared most—to get his revenge on his brother. Also, I especially like how Sandor talked Arya from going down the same, deadly road to revenge. As for Qyburn and Euron, good riddance.

Now, this being Game of Thrones, I suppose we could see Cersei crawl from the rubble. But I doubt that will happen. As wicked and cunning as she was, Cersei never did anything as terrible as what Daenerys just did. And if Dany is now the show’s final villain, how does it serve the story to bring Cersei back?

Will Jon Stop Dany?

Neither Jon nor Tyrion wanted to believe Daenerys would become the Mad Queen. But “The Bells” proved to both of them that they were wrong. And now that Dany has gone breaking mad, I cannot imagine them supporting her. Even more, Jon knows he can use his true heritage to save the realm. As the rightful king, he could unite all the houses against Daenerys, and the only way she can stop them is by burning down every city in the Seven Kingdoms. It turns out Varys was right all along.

For eight seasons, the show has set up Jon to be its hero. There was a twist along the way with Arya killing the Night King, but unless hero Jon was just one big red herring, he has to play a role in saving the realm now. George R.R. Martin promised a bittersweet ending to A Song of Ice and Fire, and pitting Jon against Daenerys is sure to give us one, no matter how it turns out.

Or Will Arya Save the Realm?

By killing the Night King, Arya Stark became the true savior of the Seven Kingdoms. Even Melisandre, who never met a prophecy she didn’t misinterpret, realized this during “The Long Night.” Last episode’s scenes with Arya witnessing the horrors caused by Daenerys and her dragon have to mean something, right?

One of the longest-standing prophecies in Game of Thrones is that of Azor Ahai, the Lord of Light reborn who would save the realm. The prophecy holds that Azor Ahai would be reborn “amid smoke and salt.” So, was Arya standing amid the ashes of Kings Landing and surrounded by the saltwater of Blackwater Bay supposed to be telling us something? If Arya is Azor Ahai, it explains why she was the one to kill the Night King, and it begs the question of whether this second-coming of Azor Ahai has one more job to do. It’s hard to think otherwise, but it’s also difficult to believe that a single character could save the world twice in one season.

This is all a long way of saying that I have no idea how Game of Thrones is going to end. And I wouldn’t prefer it any other way.