History YMMV / GameOfThronesS8E6TheIronThrone

** There is no conclusion scene of how Yara Greyjoy dealt with Theon's and Euron's deaths, and what she planned to do with the Ironborn in the future, especially when she’s not part of the Small Council and her last scene implying that she’s still loyal to Daenerys and demands justice for her death.

** Sam becoming a Maester after all. With him no longer being a member of the Night's Watch, and his father and brother dead, along with him seated with all the other lords at the council. It seemed like he was in fact going to be Lord Samwell Tarly of Horn Hill. We never see what happens to Sam's family but last we saw Gilly, she was pregnant and Maesters are forbidden from marrying. [[note]].Maesters are not supposed to marry and are actually supposed to be celibate, so his child with Gilly would be a bastard, Little Sam is likewise a bastard in the eyes of Westeros society though his true father would obviously remain a secret, and Sam's only other family, his sister was, last we saw, being married to House Fossoway, which leaves Sam's mother alone. [[/note]] Effectively, because Sam did not take this route (and no male cousins are mentioned), House Tarly will become extinct unless he did receive that pardon.
** Sam's suggestion of democracy could also have been developed in a more realistic way. Universal suffrage would have been laughable to feudal lords, but the suggestion of some kind of council, made up of the high lords, and maybe richer commoners, such as the merchants and the maesters, could have been plausible, and more in line with the history of England that it is based on. This would also address the contradictory message of the episode -- hereditary monarchy bad, but elective monarchy with hereditary aristocracy good? Given real life history as mentioned above, a proto parliament limiting a hereditary monarch would be a better bet for long term stability and reform than an absolute monarchy where the great lords compete for the crown every time the old king dies.
** The showrunners appear to have forgotten the issue of religion, altogether. Just how the Faith of the Seven would deal with a King who is not only a devotee of the Old Gods, but practically a physical embodiment of their religion would have made an extremely interesting story element. Likewise, the fact that the King comes from the North which has seceded from the Kingdoms is a peculiar political mix-up that is never brought up.
** The Westerosi demographic StatusQuoIsGod; the wildlings and Unsullied pack themselves off back where they came from and the Dothraki implicitly will as well, when historical precedent both in-universe and in the real world shows it would be more realistic for immigrants to remain in the Seven Kingdoms. There is no exploration of the cultural changes that would result, and it seems forgotten that the wildlings came south of the Wall to find more fertile land to settle on, something they have always wanted, and not just because the White Walkers were after them.

** Fans were upset that R+L=J amounted to giving Dany a reason to dislike Jon, and Jon a reason to deny Dany sex. The show never explores any potential identity crisis Jon might have or how it would change his feelings about things like Ned who lied to protect him. Likewise, we never see how Jon's family reacts to this knowledge, or the rest of Westeros learning that the Targaryens are still extant, especially as Edmure is Catelyn's brother and Yohn Royce grew up with Ned in the Vale.

** Sansa's comment about how Bran can't have children became a rich source of jokes, including questioning [[IncestSubtext why she even knows that]], claiming that it was her revenge for him telling her she looked beautiful on her wedding night to Ramsay Bolton, and responding to complaints about scientific accuracy[[note]]Many paralyzed men in real life can still be sexually active and even father children, so Bran's disability shouldn't inherently mean he's infertile[[/note]] by saying that Sansa just meant Bran's terrible new personality would drive women away.

** Jokes about the Unsullied once again re-spawning. [[labelnote:explanation]]Between both [[Recap/GameOfThronesS8E3TheLongNight the battle against the White Walkers]] and [[Recap/GameOfThronesS8E4TheLastOfTheStarks getting ambushed by Euron's fleets]], it was heavily implied that Daenerys' suffered major losses to her forces, and yet here Grey Worm states that the Unsullied still number to 1000 men and have the Northern forces in a deadlock concerning Jon's fate.[[/labelnote]]

** Bran wins by doing absolutely nothing! [[labelnote:explanation]]A parody of the infamous [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6PxRwgjzZw Luigi Wins by doing absolute nothing]] from the VideoGame/MarioParty fandom. After all the build up of Bran becoming The Raven ended with an anticlimax in ''Recap/GameOfThronesS8E3TheLongNight'' where it was revealed that he really didn't have a masterplan, many viewers were left bemused that Bran got named the new King despite being so divorced from the plot.[[/labelnote]]

** Bran wins by doing absolutely nothing! [[labelnote:explanation]]A parody of the infamous [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6PxRwgjzZw Luigi Wins by doing absolute nothing]] from the VideoGame/MarioParty fandom. After all the build up of Bran becoming The Owl ended with an anticlimax in ''Recap/GameOfThronesS8E3TheLongNight'' where it was revealed that he really didn't have a masterplan, many viewers were left bemused that Bran got named the new King despite being so divorced from the plot.[[/labelnote]]

** Westeros under the rule of a BenevolentMageRuler with the consciousness of earlier Three-Eyed Ravens and the Children of the Forest underneath is presented as the best way forward, except others believe that having a sorcerer in a position of authority, one who now has perfect {{Clairvoyance}} and who plainly has [[BlueAndOrangeMorality a morality above ordinary human concerns]] in charge is terrifying, since there's no real way to move or counter Bran without it somehow being in some way AllAccordingToPlan, while also cancelling out free will in the process. Making it even more terrifying is that the ''previous'' three eyed raven lived to the ripe old age of ''several hundred years'' and ultimately didn't even die of old age, implying that [[ImmortalRuler Bran's rule could conceivably last for multiple lifetimes]].

** Westeros under the rule of a BenevolentMageRuler with the consciousness of earlier Three-Eyed Raven(s) and the COTF underneath is presented as the best way forward, except others believe that having a sorcerer in a position of authority, one who now has perfect {{Clairvoyance}} and who plainly has [[BlueAndOrangeMorality a morality above ordinary human concerns]] in charge is terrifying, since there's no real way to move or counter Bran without it somehow being in some way AllAccordingToPlan, while also cancelling out free will in the process. Making it even more terrifying is that the ''previous'' three eyed raven lived to the ripe old age of ''several hundred years'' and ultimately didn't even die of old age, implying that [[ImmortalRuler Bran's rule could conceivably last for multiple lifetimes]].

** Grey Worm ends up fulfilling his promise to Missandei before the Great Battle of Winterfell, going to Naath with many Unsullied to protect the island. Sounds happy enough (if [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]] due to the fact his love is dead), but if the TV version of Naath is the same as the books, then the butterflies kill half of any visitors due to [[https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Butterfly_fever a horrific flesh-sloughing disease.]] that only the Naatheen are totally immune to. While no doubt some Unsullied were taken from Naath, Grey Worm was not, and if these butterflies exist in the show's continuity[[note]](Davos mentions Naath's butterflies when meeting Missandei in Season 7, and a butterfly is the sigil beside Creator/NathalieEmmanuel's name in the opening credits)[[/note]], it's likely he's going to die a painful death or watch his fellow Unsullied die painful deaths around him.

** Grey Worm ends up fulfilling his promise to Missandei before the Great Battle of Winterfell, going to Naath with many Unsullied to protect the island. Sounds happy enough (if [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]] due to the fact his love is dead), but if the TV version of Naath is the same as the books, then the butterflies kill half of any visitors due to [[https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Butterfly_fever a horrific flesh sloughing disease.]] that only the Naatheen are totally immune to. While no doubt some Unsullied were taken from Naath, Grey Worm was not, and if these butterflies exist in the show's continuity[[note]](Davos mentions Naath's butterflies when meeting Missandei in Season 7, and a butterfly is the sigil beside Creator/NathalieEmmanuel's name in the opening credits)[[/note]], it's likely he's going to die a painful death or watch his fellow Unsullied die painful deaths around him.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: ''Robin Arryn'', of all people, has gained quite a few admirers when he appeared -- far from a sickly, spoiled boy, he seemed to have [[HeIsAllGrownUp grown into a handsome, well-adjusted young man]].

%%Discuss it, don't edit-war over it. Commenting out until resolved.
** For those fans who have always seen Daenerys as a villainous character, her death was quite satisfying.

** The rest of the 6 kingdoms struggle to recover economically and financially as the North and the lands beyond the wall will no doubt flourish as the Iron Bank’s interests will no doubt turn towards them with untapped raw resources and a lack of infrastructure and manpower which will cause the Bank to invest heavily in the reconstruction, development, and re-population of said lands which can also see the Riverlands split and merge with the North permanently to share in the economic benefits.

** Sansa demanding autonomy for the North potentially opened the door to the question if any of the other Kingdoms also should have made their claim for independence. Particularly Dorne and the Ironborn, who both had thrown their lot in with Daenerys and threatened to back up the Unsullied if Jon was not punished. Then again considering how they’d been shafted since Robert’s Rebellion independence might be around the corner for them.
** Sam becoming a Maester after all. With him no longer being a member of the Night's Watch, and his father and brother dead, along with him seated with all the other lords at the council. It seemed like he was in fact going to be Lord Samwell Tarly of Horn Hill. We never see what happens to Sam's family but last we saw Gilly, she was pregnant and Maesters are forbidden from marrying. [[note]]. Maesters are not supposed to marry and are actually supposed to be celibate, so his child with Gilly would be a bastard, Little Sam is likewise a bastard in the eyes of Westeros society though his true father would obviously remain a secret, and Sam's only other family, his sister was, last we saw, being married to House Fossoway, which leaves Sam's mother alone. [[/note]] Effectively, because Sam did not take this route (and no male cousins are mentioned), House Tarly will become extinct unless he did receive that pardon. Considering the Maesters sat on critical information on how to defeat the Night Walkers and Jon’s true identity for all this time Sam could’ve easily Blackmailed them into changing their laws, after all considering how studious Sam is what other secrets the Maesters kept that they don’t want King Bran or anyone else to know about.

** The Westerosi demographic StatusQuoIsGod; the wildlings and Unsullied pack themselves off back where they came from and the Dothraki implicitly will as well, when historical precedent both in-universe and in the real world shows it would be more realistic for immigrants to remain in the Seven Kingdoms. There is no exploration of the cultural changes that would result, and it seems forgotten that the wildlings came south of the Wall to find more fertile land to settle on, something they have always wanted, and not just because the White Walkers were after them. But as it’s been made clear in the final shot that the Far North’s frozen state was artificial in nature the Wildlings no longer have to stay south of the wall as all the issues that caused them to try to begin with are no more.

** Drogon burning the Iron Throne could easily be interpreted as this, as it was the source of all the conflict that plagued Westeros. Even though various characters have committed atrocities without using the throne as a source of inspiration, and the fact that the title is "Game of Thrones" in the plural and not singular (i.e. all thrones should be the problem, not just this one), it has been a symbol of all the conflict in the series due to the fact that it sitting on it is meant to be seen as having total power across the realms. Drogon burning it comes across as the writers screaming that the throne was not what was important. More over as nearly everyone in-universe considered the Iron Throne as the ultimate symbol of power and domination it was destroyed by the one individual who cared not one bit for any of that stuff: as what use does a dragon have for a tiny chair made of partially melted swords?

** Drogon burning the Iron Throne could be easily be interpreted as this, as it was the source of all the conflict that plagued Westeros. Even though various characters have committed atrocities without using the throne as a source of inspiration, and the fact that the title is "Game of Thrones" in the plural and not singular (i.e. all thrones should be the problem, not just this one), it has been a symbol of all the conflict in the series due to the fact that it sitting on it is meant to be seen as having total power across the realms. Drogon burning it comes across as the writers screaming that the throne was not what was important. More over as nearly everyone in-universe considered the Iron Throne as the ultimate symbol of power and domination it was destroyed by the one individual who cared not one bit for any of that stuff: as what use does a dragon have for a tiny chair made of partially melted swords?

** Fans were upset that R+L=J amounted to giving Dany a reason to dislike Jon, and Jon a reason to deny Dany sex. The show never explores any potential identity crisis Jon might have or how it would change his feelings about things like Ned who lied to protect him. Likewise, we never see how Jon's family reacts to this knowledge, or the rest of Westeros learning that the Targaryens are still extant.

** Sansa demanding autonomy for the North potentially opened the door to the question if any of the other Kingdoms also should have made their claim for independence. Particularly Dorne and the Ironborn, who both had thrown their lot in with Daenerys and threatened to back up the Unsullied if Jon was not punished. Then again considering how they’d been shafted since Robert’s rebellion independence might be around the corner for them.

** The Westerosi demographic StatusQuoIsGod; the wildlings and Unsullied pack themselves off back where they came from and the Dothraki implicitly will as well, when historical precedent both in-universe and in the real world shows it would be more realistic for immigrants to remain in the Seven Kingdoms. There is no exploration of the cultural changes that would result, and it seems forgotten that the wildlings came south of the Wall to find more fertile land to settle on, something they have always wanted, and not just because the White Walkers were after them. But as it’s been made clear in the final shot that the Far North’s frozen state was artificial in nature the Wildlings no longer have a to stay south of the wall as all the issues that caused them to try to begin with are no more.

** Assuming Jon could have gotten away with killing Daenerys and only got caught because he willingly confessed (supported by the fact Yara knows Jon specifically stabbed her in the heart), it's possible he may not have done it solely out of guilt, but also to prevent Sansa and the other lords from forcing him onto the throne.

** Assuming Jon could have gotten away with killing Daenerys and only got caught because he willingly confessed (supported by the fact Yara knows Jon specifically stabbed her in the heart), it's possible he may not have done it solely out of guilt, but also because he knew it would significantly lower the possibility of him being crowned king.

** Assuming Jon could have gotten away with killing Daenerys and only got caught because he willingly confessed(supported by the fact Yara knows Jon specifically stabbed her in the heart), it's possible he may not have done it solely out of guilt, but also because he knew it would significantly lower the possibility of him being crowned king.

** Assuming Jon could have gotten away with killing Daenerys and only got caught because he willingly confessed(supported by the fact Yara knows Jon specifically stabbed her in the heart), did he confess solely out of guilt or was it also because he knew it would torpedo any chance of him being crowned king?

** Sansa rules over a truly independent North, and is now tasked with getting the vast country back on its feet after the White Walker invasion and somehow obtaining resources, plus several of the great lords will likely have issues with being ruled by a woman. The Iron Bank will no doubt be more than glad to assist Queen Sansa in her efforts (as a new independent kingdom with untapped raw resources yet lacking in both infrastructure and in desperate need of manpower after years of war especially with the climate in the north no doubt becoming more agreeable to agriculture is something the Iron Bank wouldn’t pass up).

** Jon has made a new life beyond the Wall with Tormund as his loyal ally, making his way among people he once fought and some may still have grudges over that, plus opening the door to anyone else who wants to escape Westeros for a simpler or better life. And again he will no doubt have the Iron Bank’s support as well.

** When Drogon melts the Iron Throne, the molten iron looks more like lava than actual molten iron, which glows brightly with heat. To be fair though it is known that many of the houses who’s swords made up the Iron Throne had acquired Valyrian steel swords from before the Doom so these blades would likely require the intense heat of something like Drogon’s fire to destroy.

** Drogon burning the Iron Throne could be easily be interpreted as this, as it was the source of all the conflict that plagued Westeros. Even though various characters have committed atrocities without using the throne as a source of inspiration, and the fact that the title is "Game of Thrones" in the plural and not singular (i.e. all thrones should be the problem, not just this one), it has been a symbol of all the conflict in the series due to the fact that it sitting on it is meant to be seen as having total power across the realms. Drogon burning it comes across as the writers screaming that the throne was not what was important.

** There's something immensely satisfying about seeing Drogon melt the Iron Throne to a puddle of molten goo, knowing that the pursuit of power led to centuries of atrocities in Westeros. The destruction of a symbol of tyranny signifies the promise of a better future for all kingdoms.

%%Discuss it, don't edit-war over it. Commenting out until resolved. ** For those fans who have always seen Daenerys as a villainous character, her death was quite satisfying.

** Sansa rules over a truly independent North, and is now tasked with getting the vast country back on its feet after the White Walker invasion and somehow obtaining resources, plus several of the great lords will likely have issues with being ruled by a woman.

** Jon has made a new life beyond the Wall with Tormund as his loyal ally, making his way among people he once fought and some may still have grudges over that, plus opening the door to anyone else who wants to escape Westeros for a simpler life.

** When Drogon melts the Iron Throne, the molten iron looks more like lava than actual molten iron, which glows brightly with heat.

** Sansa demanding autonomy for the North potentially opened the door to the question if any of the other Kingdoms also should have made their claim for independence. Particularly Dorne and the Ironborn, who both had thrown their lot in with Daenerys and threatened to back up the Unsullied if Jon was not punished.
** Sam becoming a Maester after all. With him no longer being a member of the Night's Watch, and his father and brother dead, along with him seated with all the other lords at the council. It seemed like he was in fact going to be Lord Samwell Tarly of Horn Hill. We never see what happens to Sam's family but last we saw Gilly, she was pregnant and Maesters are forbidden from marrying. [[note]]. Maesters are not supposed to marry and are actually supposed to be celibate, so his child with Gilly would be a bastard, Little Sam is likewise a bastard in the eyes of Westeros society though his true father would obviously remain a secret, and Sam's only other family, his sister was, last we saw, being married to House Fossoway, which leaves Sam's mother alone. [[/note]] Effectively, because Sam did not take this route (and no male cousins are mentioned), House Tarly will become extinct unless he did receive that pardon.

** The Westerosi demographic StatusQuoIsGod; the wildlings and Unsullied pack themselves off back where they came from and the Dothraki implicitly will as well, when historical precedent both in-universe and in the real world shows it would be more realistic for immigrants to remain in the Seven Kingdoms. There is no exploration of the cultural changes that would result, and it seems forgotten that the wildlings came south of the Wall to find more fertile land to settle on, something they have always wanted, and not just because the White Walkers were after them.

* InformedWrongness: Tyrion's speech to Jon about Dany's entire story leading to her FaceHeelTurn relies on shaming [[YouBastards the audience]] for cheering on Daenerys when she went PayEvilUntoEvil on the Slavers of Astapor, the Wise Masters of Meereen, and the Dothraki Khals, which ended up feeding her MoralMyopia. This would be fine if it weren't for the fact that PayEvilUntoEvil has been consistently glorified when enacted by every other surviving character framed as "good" by this episode. For instance, Arya (who [[{{Gendercide}} mass-murdered]] every living male Frey), Sansa (who fed Ramsay to his own dogs), Jon Snow (when he beheaded Janos Slynt), and Tyrion (when he killed his father).

** While ElectiveMonarchy seems like a way to ensure that tyrants will not take the throne, history has shown these tend to revert into hereditary monarchies or collapse into [[BalkanizeMe Balkanization]] in the long run.[[note]]Even InUniverse: as per the Histories and Lore segments, the Iron Islands are actually an ElectiveMonarchy too, on paper. In practice, this means the lords of the islands convene in the Kingsmoot and name the eldest Greyjoy son when the current Lord Greyjoy dies.[[/note]] Indeed, the lack of hereditary successor may actually ''lead'' to civil war, as even if Bran has a solid recommendation for his successor, they may not be one all the lords desire for whatever reason (perhaps even ''because'' the new ruler would be ''too good'' to the smallfolk as happened to a degree with Aegon V), with the usual "bloodline" excuse no longer available to fall back on. [[HistoryRepeats The game of thrones will almost certainly continue...]] [[labelnote:Historically...]] The last time an ElectiveMonarchy was extensively exercised in real life, the result was the Holy Roman Empire, which experienced continuous civil wars and near-endless political bickerings between rival noble houses for many generations. This fiasco only ended when a greater power (namely ''Emperor'' UsefulNotes/{{Napoleon|Bonaparte}} of France) dealt it a deathblow that dissolved it in the 19th century. [[/labelnote]] It seems that the characters all decide the main problem with the throne was it being hereditary (though hereditary electors and a hereditary monarchy in the North is apparently just fine), rather than it holding basically unlimited arbitrary power, which is ''not'' [[HollywoodHistory how most medieval monarchies actually worked]]. Sam's idea adapted into some sort of Parliament/Witan and a rudimentary constitution, combined with a continuing dynasty founded by Jon or Gendry, would've been a more nuanced and historically realistic way to end the show.

** The Westerosi demographic StatusQuoIsGod; the wildlings and Unsullied pack themselves off back where they came from and the Dothraki implicitly will as well, when historical precedent both in-universe and in the real world shows it would be more realistic for immigrants to remain in the Seven Kingdoms. There is no exploration of the cultural changes that would result, and it seems forgotten that the wildlings came south of the Wall to find more fertile land to settle on and not just because the White Walkers were after them.

** The Westerosi demographic StatusQuoIsGod; the wildlings and Unsullied pack themselves off back where they came from and Dothraki implicitly will as well, when historical precedent both in-universe and in the real world shows it would be more realistic for immigrants to remain in the Seven Kingdoms. There is no exploration of the cultural changes that would result, and it seems forgotten that the wildlings came south of the Wall to find more fertile land to settle on and not just because the White Walkers were after them.

** Weiss and Benioff were reluctant to confirm if the White Walkers were finally dealt with; should they still exist, the wall is missing a huge section and the reason why it kept them out for so long was because it had magic enchantments, which are a lost art in the present era.