I didn’t say all of these were good “Game of Thrones” episodes, I said they were essential, and unfortunately, the series finale, “The Iron Throne,” definitely counts. After seasons 7 and 8 proved to be enormous disappointments compared to the rest of the series, it’s safe to say that fans were dreading what might happen in the finale (speaking from experience, I was certainly filled with dread … and was, unfortunately, proven right). Here’s the thing: A lot of stuff that happens in “The Iron Throne” (and its preceding episode “The Bells,” which is basically sort of like the first half of the finale) felt inevitable. Daenerys was probably always going to follow in her father’s footsteps and become the “Mad Queen.” A new monarch was likely going to be chosen to run Westeros. Main characters would probably die. Still, the way it happened wasn’t just rushed. It was lame.
In “The Bells,” Daenerys goes bananas after losing Missandei, a large faction of her forces, and two of her dragons, so while approaching King’s Landing on Drogon’s back, she simply torches the city without bothering to spare any civilians. (Cersei dies in the process because she and Jaime insist on hugging underneath a big loose pile of rubble in the Red Keep.) When “The Iron Throne” opens, Daenerys has overtaken King’s Landing, and many of her Dothraki hordes have somehow suddenly respawned thanks to her victory. But Tyrion and Jon are pretty worried that their new leader just committed a mass genocide. Tyrion, who’s imprisoned for giving up his position as Daenerys’ Hand of the Queen, implores Jon to handle the situation, so Jon — who, up until this point, was Daenerys’ lover and her nephew, because he’s actually been a secret Targaryen this entire time and not a bastard at all! — stabs Daenerys before she can even sit on the dang pointy chair she’s been lusting after for eight seasons.
Jon is exiled to the Night’s Watch (which doesn’t need to exist anymore because the Night King and his army have been defeated), Bran is named King of the Seven Kingdoms for really no reason at all (and given the unbelievably rude name of “Bran the Broken”), Sansa is named Queen in the North, Arya sets off to find what’s “west of Westeros” (can’t Bran, who’s now multitasking as the omniscient Three-Eyed Raven, just tell her?!), and all is, generally, well that ends well. “The Iron Throne” stinks, no matter how many staunch defenders I can find right here at /Film … but it’s still an “essential” episode of “Game of Thrones,” for better and, certainly, for worse.
“Game of Thrones” is streaming on HBO Max now.