game of thrones ending season one

I Rewatched Season One Of ‘Game Of Thrones’ & Discovered That The Finale Made Perfect Sense

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Now that the dust has well and truly settled over the Game of Thrones finale, an episode panned by the majority of viewers, we are looking back to see how we even got here.

Like many fans, I was desperate to make sense of the GoT ending, an episode that left so many strings untied and fell short of explaining almost all of the cryptic clues it left across the entire series.

ICYMI, it all came unravelled as Daenerys was killed by Jon after massacring all of King’s Landing, which led to Jon being sent to live out his days with the Night’s Watch.

This was followed by Bran being voted to sit on the Iron Throne, while Arya left Winterfell to explore what was beyond the map and Sansa was crowned Queen of the North, now an independent kingdom.

Most of the negative feedback came down to the fact that no one liked Bran – the man awarded the Iron Throne for having “the best story” – because well, there are a long list of characters that have a better story than him, plus it didn’t seem like Bran ever wanted the title to begin with.

In short, it just didn’t make sense.

In an effort to understand the underwhelming ending, I watched season one of the show and was surprised to witness that there were obvious callbacks that actually predicted the series’ conclusion. Sorry to say this, but it checks out.

In fact, most of their fates were already decided in the first season so we can’t really say we didn’t see this coming.

Here are some hints from season one of what was to come for some of our fave GoT characters:

Arya

For those who wanted Arya to end up with Gendry, I get it. It would appear that they belong together but towards the end of season eight Arya rejects Gendry’s proposal to marry him and become the Lady of Storm’s End.

She tells Gendry: “You’ll be a wonderful Lord, and any lady will be lucky to have you. But I’m not a lady. I never have been. That’s not me.”

While it might have shattered all our dreams, it actually checks out. Back in season one when Ned Stark is still alive (RIP!), he tells his daughter Arya that he plans for her to “marry a high Lord and rule his castle.”

Arya quickly replies: “No. That’s not me.”

Her story comes full circle so for the series to end with Arya leaving her fam to explore the unknown world is a fitting ending for someone that wanted to rebel against what is expected of her.

Sansa

From the very first episode, Sansa wanted to be a queen. Through the season it becomes apparent that she is not so much longing to be married to Joffrey, but to rule. Once her father is executed, it becomes apparent that Sansa wishes to return to Winterfell but the king forbids it.

Over with Catelyn and Rob Stark they are fighting for the North’s independence from the rest of Westeros and to no longer be ruled by the Lannisters.

This is a feat finally achieved by Sansa before taking her place as rightful queen and no one could say she didn’t bloody earn that title after what she endured throughout the series. She not only got to go home but she also became a queen. It all makes perfect sense.

Jon

Jon Snow’s ending is perhaps the most frustrating. He doesn’t become king, in fact his true identity as Aegon Targaryen is not revealed to anyone beyond Bran, Sansa, Arya and Tyrion. Instead he is imprisoned for killing Daenerys before being banished to live out his days at the wall and rejoin the Night’s Watch.

While Jon’s fate might seem senseless, he is actually given the life he envisioned for himself way back in season one. Since the very first episode all Jon wanted was to belong and he channeled all his energy into being accepted into the Night’s Watch.

Jon’s ultimate dream was to be a ranger and be free to explore the north so its fitting that the series concluded with Jon going off to explore beyond the wall with his Wildling bestie Tormund and fulfilling that destiny. It’s also perfectly paralleled with episode one beginning with three rangers entering through the gates.

The only difference between the seasons is that the Night’s Watch were often wary of the Haunted Forest, but Jon and his gang ride straight into it. Most importantly, Jon got reunited with the pupperino Ghost, who he met way back in the first episode of season one. Aww.

Daenerys

The most contentious part of the finale for many fans was whether Daenerys’ demise was earned as it appeared that she flipped from good to evil pretty damn fast. However, a Reddit user @poub06 reckons her destiny was already written in season one by none other than Aemon Targaryen – who refused the throne after the death of his brother.

In a scene that largely went under the radar, Aemon is living with the Night’s Watch and seeks out Jon and admits his true identity. He then tells Jon the cruelty he witnessed with the Mad King on the Iron Throne telling him “And the children! Even the little children.”

Ring any bells? It is pretty damn similar to the final words Jon exchanged with Dany.

Some fans reckon he was warning Jon what was yet to come and that it might up to him to make it stop. But tbh the series still did Dany dirty and the Mother of Dragons deserved better.

Bran

The first season sees Bran become disabled after Jaime pushes him out of a window. Before this happened it was hinted that he was destined for great things but honestly, who the hell knows? I’m still not convinced Bran deserved the Iron Throne but I’m deeply biased and firmly on #TeamTyrion.

That being said, on Twitter a poster from the first season was unearthed that saw Ned Stark sitting on the Iron Throne. Nothing too suss here, but who dat sitting right next to him? A raven. Bran first starts dreaming about raven’s in season one. That you, Bran?

So turns out Bran could have been destined all along to take the Iron Throne. But that doesn’t mean that he earned it or that the fact that Cersei was killed by a pile of rocks was anything less than a fucking waste of time.

At least we can embrace this small comfort that some parts of the GoT ending were justified.