Emilia Clarke (left) and Kit Harington in the season finale of “Game of Thrones”
Spoiler alert: If you have not yet seen the final season of the HBO series “Game of Thrones,” turn back now. However, if you don’t care about the show at all, then you may proceed.
By the end, it was about House Stark. From the looks of things, it always was.
The first family we are introduced to on “Game of Thrones” is the Starks. Ned Stark (Sean Bean) is seen beheading a deserter from Castle Black, witnessed by his sons Robb (Richard Madden), bastard Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright). Bran is instructed not to look away. With only the smallest of flinches, he does as he’s told.
However, only minutes later, we discover that his sister Arya (Maisie Williams) is far better with a bow and arrow than he will ever be. We also meet the lovesick Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner), who pines for the golden-haired heir to the Iron Throne, Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleason), the eldest son of King Robert (Mark Addy) and Queen Cersei (Lena Headey).
For eight seasons, fans of the series have watched faithfully, if not unflinchingly, the ruling houses of the seven kingdoms of Westeros battle it out for the ultimate prize: the Iron Throne, the seat of power in King’s Landing capable of turning even the best of humans into tyrants.
We have watched the ascent of Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) from her being sold into an arranged marriage to Dothraki leader Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa) into the slave-liberating, dragon-riding conqueror with her eye on the throne.
We have also witnessed the discovery that Jon Snow isn’t a bastard at all, but the son of Rhaegon Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, which means he has an even better claim to the throne than Daenerys does.
There are more houses to remember, including House Baratheon of Storm’s End, House Tyrell of Highgarden, House Tully of Riverrun, House Arryn of The Eyrie, House Frey of The Twins, House Mormont of Bear Island, and House Greyjoy of the Iron Islands, each with its own lords and ladies, alliances and enemies, all chess pieces in the greater game.
Over its entire run, there have been moments that elicited gasps of horror and glee. Here are a few of my personal favorites:
1. The higher you climb, the greater the fall
In the pilot episode, Bran climbs a tower and witnesses something he wasn’t supposed to: Queen Cersei and her twin brother, Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), having sex. At the end of the episode, Jaime pushes Bran out of the window with the intent to kill him. It was at this point that I was hooked to this new show.
2. When the sun sets in the east
From the word go, the tandem of Emilia Clarke and Jason Momoa had me as a fan reeling and rooting for them. Sure, their initial sexual encounter was rape (which is different from the original source material by George R.R. Martin), but over the course of the season, they fell madly in love with each another. Every time Clarke and Momoa were onscreen as a pair, we could feel their chemistry, and I can only imagine how much fun they had working together. As for which moment really got me, it was when she was eating a stallion’s heart while gazing into his eyes. Dayum.
3. Off with his head
Sometimes, it doesn’t pay to be noble. Ned Stark was one of the more morally righteous characters in the show. Unfortunately, this trait doesn’t guarantee one’s survival. King Joffrey, whose portrayal by Mr. Gleason made him one of the most deliciously evil characters in “Game of Thrones,” sentenced Ned to die. The death was witnessed by both his daughters, something neither of them would ever forget.
4. The Rains of Castamere
There are certain songs that signal surefire death, and nothing signaled the Red Wedding better than The Rains of Castamere. This was what preceded the most shocking bloodbath on the show, killing Robb Stark, his bride Talisa (Oona Chaplin), and his mother Catelyn (Michelle Fairley). Viewers could only stare in terror.
5. Jon vs Ramsey
Oh, the numerous battles: The Battle of Blackwater Bay, the Battle of the Bastards, the Battle of Winterfell, the fall of King’s Landing. My favorite one is the Battle of the Bastards, which begins with the youngest Stark brother Rickon (Art Parkinson) getting killed by Ramsey Bolton (Iwan Rheon). Jon is unable to save him. How it ends though is poetic: Ramsey’s wife is Sansa Stark, and it is her involvement by calling on the Knights of the Vale to help Jon’s side that wins the battle. And, she ultimately kills Ramsey by setting his own hounds on him.
6. Wake up, Mom…
Thanks to technology, the CGI dragons are able to convey even the most complex of emotions, and it’s the final scene of Drogon (Daenerys’ remaining dragon) after his mother’s death that got me all choked up. After Jon plunges a dagger into Dany’s heart, Drogon flies into the throne room and tries to wake her up. In a fiery rage, and with Jon standing in front of him fully prepared to take his wrath, he sets afire the Iron Throne itself, melting it into molten metal. It’s a fitting end to that symbol of power and corruption: it was forged with dragon fire, and it’s by dragon fire that it is destroyed.
7. Assassin’s Creed
Arya is a well-trained assassin, and thus was the best person to take down the Night King, the leader of the scariest band of zombies on any television series ever produced. She came flying out of nowhere, and when she was caught in the Night King’s clutches, she switched the dagger from her left hand to her right, and dealt the fatal blow that shattered him into pieces, taking all the Wights and White Walkers along with him. Now that is one serious badass.
8. I want her to know it was me
Dame Diana Rigg played Olenna Tyrell, the matriarch of Highgarden for five seasons, throwing shade like no one else on the show ever has, and ever did. At the end of her time on the show, she confesses to Jamie Lannister that it was she who orchestrated the death of Joffrey Baratheon on his wedding day to her granddaughter Margaery (Natalie Dormer), requesting that Cersei be told. It’s the final blow from this magnificent madame—and no one could’ve delivered it the way she did.
9. That’s my good boy
Jon finally petted Ghost before he headed North of the Wall, satisfying every pet lover on Twitter who expressed outrage at his seeming indifference in an earlier episode.
10. Not dead yet
And speaking of Jon, he rose from the dead, thanks to the intervention of the Woman in Red, the Lord of Light priestess Melisandre (Carise van Houten). After his brothers in the Night’s Watch stabbed him to death, he comes back, and executes his killers. Melisandre’s own arc from child killer to eventual savior of Winterfell and by extension all of Westeros was truly satisfying to watch.
There are many more moments from the show that I’ll want to rewatch, as well as full episodes to revisit.
Truly, “Game of Thrones” was landmark television, and for all its triumphs and flaws, this was a ride that was fulfilling in every way. To everyone involved in the creation of this amazing achievement, thank you. Our Sunday nights/Monday mornings will never be the same.