GoT Final Assignment

Corey Shea

Game of…Inconsistency?

The ending of Game of Thrones received a wide variety of reactions, mostly negative, including those of the cast.  Many of the show’s stars were not happy with the way the series ended; the fans even more upset.  The conclusion of Game of Thrones was inconsistent with all the events leading up to the finale.  This can be seen through inconsistencies in character arcs and the storyline. 

Character Arcs

One inconsistency in character arcs is that of Arya Stark.  Beginning in the very first episode, we found out that Arya wanted to be a fighter and through her story, she began her sword training in King’s Landing sparring with Syrio, and eventually ends up training with the Faceless to become an assassin. Arya uses the skills she developed to take out enemies on her “kill list,” including the Freys, and ultimately defeats the Night King in season 8.  Then comes the series finale where Arya decides to become an explorer, which has nothing to do with what she spent 7 seasons training for; this does not match her character arc at all. 

Another inconsistency is Daenerys Targaryen’s character arc.  When we are first introduced to Dany, she is made to seem like a liberator, freeing slaves across many cities.  We then begin to see a slight shift into her becoming more like a conqueror, since she wants to take back the Iron Throne and conquer Westeros.  Then comes the final season where we see Dany almost instantly become more like a “mad king” with no lead up or anything.  Her character development seems rushed as it came from nowhere right at the beginning of the final season.  Dany spent a lot of time trying to free slaves and make the world a better place, just for her to use her dragon to wipe out an entire city killing thousands of innocent people just to gain power; this is not the Dany that we have been with throughout the series.  Even after she takes over King’s Landing, we are left with almost a “Hitler” vibe when she is standing above her army talking about conquering and freeing other parts of the world and not stopping until they accomplish their goal. 

The Storyline

While Game of Thrones is full of plot holes and inconsistencies, the biggest problem I had with the series ending is about Jon Snow.  It was revealed around season 7 that Jon’s true identity was Aegon Targaryen, a secret that had been kept all of Jon’s life.  This meant that not only was Jon not a bastard, but he was also the rightful heir to the throne.  Of course, this created conflict with trying to remove Cersei from power, but it also did not sit well with Dany because she wanted the Iron Throne for herself (and spent the entire series trying to get it).  Then Jon goes and kills Dany to prevent her from becoming another “mad king” and does not even take the throne of get punished.  Emilia Clarke, who plays Dany, even spoke out about how Jon basically gets away with murder.  Normally, any act of treason end with that person being executed, however, Jon’s punishment was to return to the Night’s Watch any not bear children.  Some other issues with that are one, the Watch isn’t even needed anymore since the Night King was defeated and there is nobody ensuring Jon stays there, and two, Jon gets to be with his friends and Ghost so it’s not really a harsh punishment; however, the biggest issue is that there was a big deal made about Jon being the rightful heir to the throne and yet he was not even elected as the new king, but instead Bran the Broken was made king.  It seems as though all previous events had no significance on the series ending since Jon wasn’t made king and since Arya isn’t even becoming an assassin which is what she spent majority of the series training for.  This series was enjoyable for the most part, but there could have been more consistency in the plot and character arcs throughout the series which would have made it even better.