‘Throne’ for a loop!
SHOCK ENDING TO ‘GAME’
The Iron Throne is now a wheelchair.
In a shocking twist, the coveted Iron Throne that power players in “Game of Thrones” vied to sit on since the start of the series was burned and melted by dragon fire in Sunday night’s series finale.
Then Brandon Stark — crippled since being pushed out a window as a child, and a dark horse in the race for the throne — ascended to rule Westeros from his mobile chair.
The move was made possible after the two favorites to take the throne, lovers Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen, shared one last kiss before Jon stabbed her dead.
The finale picked up where last week’s episode left off, showing the aftermath of the destruction of King’s Landing after Daenerys used her dragon, Drogon, to torch the city to the ground. Not content with just getting revenge on the evil queen Cersei Lannister, Dany needlessly burned alive innocent women and children after the city’s bells were rung to signal surrender.
Her actions were viewed as unforgivable by both her trusted adviser, Tyrion Lannister, and Jon Snow, her lover and nephew.
Tyrion wanders around the ashes of King’s Landing, his former home, surveying the damage. He then heads straight to the Red Keep castle, where he knew his sister Cersei, the queen and ruler of Westeros, hid during Dany’s rampage. It’s also where he told his brother Jaime to go after freeing him from Daenerys’ forces in last week’s show.
Tyrion’s worst fears were realized when he saw the golden hand of his brother Jaime sticking out of the bricks that fell on him and Cersei. He pulls off the bricks until he sees that the siblings and lovers died in each other’s arms.
Daenerys later tells Tyrion, “You freed your brother. You committed treason.”
Tyrion responds, “I freed my brother, and you slaughtered a city,” before removing his Hand of the Queen pin — symbolizing his job as her adviser — and tossing it.
He’s then taken prisoner by Dany’s forces.
Meanwhile, both Sansa and Arya Stark try to make Jon understand that he’ll be next on Daenerys’ hit list since, as the true heir to the Iron Throne, he’s her biggest rival. Tyrion also tries to drive that point home when Jon visits him where he’s being held captive. He tells Jon he should kill her before she kills him.
“It’s a terrible thing I’m asking,” Tyrion says. “It’s also the right thing. Do you think I’ll be the last man she’ll execute? Who’s more dangerous than the rightful heir to the Iron Throne?”
Jon leaves, insisting he can’t do it. He then finds Daenerys approaching the Iron Throne as ashes still fall from the building she burned around it. He begs Daenerys to forgive Tyrion.
When it’s clear she won’t, and that she has no remorse for the lives she brutally took, he embraces and kisses her. “You are my queen, now and always,” Jon says before stabbing her.
Drogon, the dragon, senses his mother has died and freaks out. While it initially looks like he’ll direct his fire at Jon, he instead torches the Iron Throne until it melts to the ground.
With no clear ruler, Tyrion and Jon are held prisoner by Dany’s army commander.
Tyrion is brought before a panel of lords and ladies to decide his fate. Tyrion demands that they, the most powerful people in Westeros, pick a king or queen.
He also convinces them that that the king should be Bran, given his all-knowing powers and ability to see the past. “He is our memory,” Tyrion says. “The keeper of all our stories. Who better to lead us into the future?”
The group elects Bran as the ruler of Westeros. His big sister Sansa is later seen being crowned Queen of the North. Tyrion becomes the Hand of the King, Bran’s most trusted adviser.
Jon is sent back to the Night’s Watch as punishment for killing Dany, but he doesn’t seem to mind. When he arrives at Castle Black, he’s reunited with his direwolf, Ghost.
And Arya Stark sails away on a ship, headed west of Westeros. “That’s where all the maps stop,” she says.
The series, based on George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels, debuted in 2011. Since then, it’s scored 128 Emmy nominations, picking up 47 of those awards, the most ever by a drama series. They include three wins for Outstanding Drama Series and three Outstanding Supporting Actor trophies for Peter Dinklage.
Martin wrote on his blog earlier this month that three “Thrones” spinoffs in development at HBO “are still moving forward nicely.” One of those has been green-lit by the cable network and will be set thousands of years before the events of “Game of Thrones.”
It’ll explore the origin of the White Walkers and the history of the Stark family, among other things. Naomi Watts has been cast in the lead role in this collaboration between Martin and screenwriter and producer Jane Goldman, who co-wrote films like “X-Men: First Class.”