The Iron Throne

"This article is about the final episode of the series. For the throne of the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, see Iron Throne."

"The Iron Throne" is the sixth and final episode of the eighth season of Game of Thrones. It is the seventy-third and final episode of the series overall. It premiered on May 19, 2019. It was written and directed by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss.

Plot
The fate of the Seven Kingdoms is at stake as the final chapter of Game of Thrones is written.

Post-Battle of King's Landing
The episode begins with Jon Snow, Ser Davos and Tyrion taking stock of the ashes and rubble, that are now the only remains of Tyrion's once-home King's Landing. Tyrion leaves them and walks alone towards the Red Keep. He goes through what's left of the Red Keep, searching for Cersei and Jaime. He spots Jaime's golden hand under the rubble. Gutted by this sign, Tyrion clears away the rubble stone by stone and sees the corpses of his brother and sister. Meanwhile, Jon finds Grey Worm about to execute the remainder of the Lannister's forces and tries to stop him, telling him it's over. Grey Worm says it won't be over until Daenerys's enemies are defeated while Davos asks him, "How much more defeated do you need them to be? They're on their knees!" Grey Worm tells Davos he only obeys the queen's commands and Jon asks Grey Worm what are those commands. Grey Worm replies, it is to kill all who follow Cersei Lannister and that these men chose to fight for her. Grey Worm takes out his knife to execute the men and Jon tries to stop him. Immediately, all of Daenerys's soldiers take aim at Jon. Davos diffuses the confrontation, telling Jon they should speak with Daenerys. As Jon and Davos leave, Grey Worm starts to slit the prisoner's throats one by one.

Outside the gates of the city, the Dothraki are celebrating their victory, much to the displeasure of Arya. Jon pushes his way through the crowd of Dothraki and goes toward the gate, upon which a huge Targaryen banner is hanging. As Jon reaches the top, Grey Worm also appears and they exchange a tense look. Drogon appears with Daenerys and lands behind them. She walks out to address her army, amidst much cheering from them. "You tore down their stone houses, you gave me the Seven Kingdoms," she tells the Dothraki. She also praises the Unsullied. Dany now wants to break the wheel of command and enlists her army, the "liberators" to aid her in destroying the tyrants of the world, not just in Westeros. She promotes Grey Worm as the Commander of all her forces and the Master of War. Jon watches this, troubled. Tyrion comes to the scene, looking devastated by his brother's death. Daenerys looks at him and accuses him of treason since he freed Jaime. He replies, "I freed my brother, and you slaughtered a city," with a look of disgust, throwing away his "Hand of the Queen" brooch. She is visibly enraged by this show of defiance and tells her men to take him away. Perturbed, Jon and Tyrion make eye contact before Jon turns to face Daenerys. They share a tense silence before she leaves.

Arya appears beside Jon while he watches Daenerys leave. Jon is surprised by that the cousin he knew as his little sister is there and inspects her injured face, "What happened?" Arya tells Jon that she came to kill Cersei but Daenerys got to her first. She warns Jon that Sansa will never bend the knee to her. Jon looks unsettled but tells Arya to wait for him outside the city gates where he'll find her later. Arya stops him, warning Jon that he's a threat to Dany because he is a contender to the Iron Throne. "I know a killer when I see one," she warns him.

Jon visits Tyrion in prison. After asking Jon if he brought wine, he says that their queen doesn't keep prisoners for long, "I suppose there's a crude kind of justice. I betrayed my closest friend and watched him burn. Now Varys's ashes can tell my ashes, 'See? I told you so.'" He knows his death is certain and inquires Jon of what the other side looks like. Jon tells him, "Not that I've seen." Tyrion goes over his past sins, including betraying their queen. When Jon tries to tell Tyrion he didn't, Tyrion says he did, "I chose my queen, the people of King's Landing did not." Jon is unable to justify what Daenerys did and when he says the war is over, Tyrion questions Jon, reminding Jon that Daenerys is not done fighting. Jon is unsettled as Tyrion goes over how Daenerys has 'liberated' the people, including those of King's Landing. When Jon says Tyrion has been counseling her, Tyrion agrees, "Varys was right. I was wrong. It was vanity to think I could guide her. Our queen's nature is fire and blood." Jon is upset by the notion that blood defines who they are but Tyrion reminds Jon that Daenerys has killed more people than Tywin, Cersei and any of the evil people they knew. Jon goes over Daenerys's various traumas (Missandei's murder, Rhaegal's death), but Tyrion reminds Jon, "And she burned down a city for it." He forces Jon to pause when he asks, "Would you have done it?" and tries to make Jon see that, if he had been in the same place, knowing what it's like to be on dragonback with that power, Jon wouldn't have done the same thing. Tyrion realizes Jon doesn't want to betray Daenerys. Jon appears pained as Tyrion goes over Daenerys's history of killing evil men, and how everyone supported her for it, but she grew more and more powerful, more convinced of her rightness. Tyrion reasons that Daenerys will do whatever it takes to build the ideal world she wants.

Tyrion reasons with a tortured Jon, "I know you love her. I love her too, but not as successfully as you. Love is the death of duty Look at my brother. Sometimes, duty is the death of love." Jon reflects, "Love is the death of duty." Tyrion agrees and says that sometimes, duty must be the death of love, "You're the shield of men. You've already tried to do the right thing, no matter the cost. You've tried to protect the people. Who's the threat to the people now?" Jon is silent as Tyrion tells him it's a terrible thing he's asking Jon to do but says it's also the right thing. Tyrion won't be the last man she executes, "Who is more dangerous than the rightful heir to the Iron Throne?" Jon is fine with being executed by Daenerys and finds himself unable to commit to killing her, apologizing to Tyrion. However, Tyrion tries again, "And your sisters? Do you see your sisters bending their knee?" Jon says Sansa has no choice but to acquiesce but Tyrion is vehement Jon has a choice, "And you have to choose now." Jon looks rattled as he leaves.

Troubled, Jon walks through the ruins of the Red Keep. From under the snow, Drogon appears, comes face to face with Jon, and goes back to sleep.

Daenerys comes to the throne room and sees the Iron Throne for the first time in her life. She is visibly overwhelmed by her emotions since to conquer this throne has been her lifelong dream. As she touches the throne, Jon appears. Daenerys tells him that when she was a child, her brother would tell her that it was made from the thousand swords of Aegon's fallen enemies, "What do 1,000 swords look like in the mind of a little girl who can't count to 20? I imagined a mountain of swords too high to climb. So many fallen enemies, you could only see the soles of Aegon's feet." Jon says he saw Grey Worm executing the Lannister prisoners in the streets but Daenerys defends it is necessary. Jon protests, "Necessary? Have you been down there? Have you seen? Children! Little children, burned!" Daenerys says she tried to make peace with Cersei but she used their innocence against her, "She thought it would cripple me." Jon urges her to forgive Tyrion and the people of King's Landing, who she's ordered to be executed. He pleads with Daenerys to make them see they're mistaken about her, make them understand she isn't this person, "Please, Dany." However, Daenerys says she can't and is resolved, "We can't give in to small mercies," she rallies. Jon urges her that they need a world of mercy but Daenerys tries to convince Jon this is the way to the better world. A distressed Jon asks her how she knows and Daenerys says it's because she knows what is good and so does he. Jon says he doesn't know and asks, "What about everyone else? All the other people who think they know what's good?" Daenerys says, "They don't get to choose." She embraces Jon as she tells him she wants Jon to help her break the wheel together, trying to convince him of her new vision. An anguished Jon declares, "You are my queen, now and always," and as they kiss, he drives a dagger through her heart, catching her as she falls. As Daenerys dies in his arms, Jon weeps over her body.

Drogon arrives behind him as a grieved Jon holds Daenerys under the falling ash. When Drogon approaches, Jon lays Daenerys down and both he and Drogon linger over Daenerys' body. Jon gets up as Drogon tries to wake his mother to no avail. Jon prepares for Drogon's flames and waits for his impending death. However, Drogon does not kill Jon; instead, he channels his rage towards the Iron Throne and melts it down. He proceeds to gently pick up his mother's body and flies away in the gloomy sky, still bellowing in grief.

The Dragonpit council
Weeks later, Grey Worm escorts a dirtied and grimy Tyrion to the pit. Sansa Stark, Brandon Stark, Arya Stark, Yara Greyjoy, Ser Brienne of Tarth, Ser Davos Seaworth, Gendry Baratheon, Samwell Tarly, Yohn Royce, Robin Arryn, Edmure Tully all are present there. Jon is also imprisoned for regicide but he's not brought forth along with Tyrion. When Sansa asks where Jon is, that he was to be brought along with Tyrion, Grey Worm replies that he decides what to do with their prisoners and it is their city now. Sansa is not appeased, explaining there are thousands of Northman outside the city gate and as a result, harming Jon wouldn't be in his interest. However, Grey Worm replies there are also thousands of Unsullied as well. Yara Greyjoy sides with Grey Worm because the Iron Born agreed to follow Daenerys Targaryen. Sansa replies Yara agreed to follow a tyrant and Yara responds Daenerys freed them from a tyrant, that Cersei is gone because of Daenerys and Jon Snow put a knife through her heart. Yara wants Jon executed but Arya warns her not to say another word about killing her brother or she'll cut her throat. Davos diffuses the situation, saying they've had enough of cutting each other's throats. He gives Grey Worm's men credit for their aid in the war against the undead and if it weren't for them, they would have lost. He suggests Grey Worm take land in the Reach and start their own house, "We've had enough war. Thousands of you, thousands of them. You know how it ends. We need to find a better way." Grey Worm says they do not need payment, they need justice for Daenerys's assassination and insists Jon Snow cannot go free. Tyrion reminds him that he does not get to decide that, the power rests with their new queen/king. Grey Worm asks the assembly of lords and ladies to decide the new ruler. They start looking at each other. Edmure Tully rises from his seat and starts to give a speech but is cut short by Sansa who asks him to sit down in a brazen show of contempt. Edmure is visibly embarrassed by this and sits down. Sam comes up with the idea that the new ruler should be chosen by "everyone", not only the lords and ladies but by all the people of the kingdom, (which might be from the influence of voting for the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch) a hint towards the modern system of democracy. This is met with scornful laughter from almost everyone. Edmure and Lord Yohn talk about giving votes to their horses and dogs, betraying how they view their subjects.

Davos asks Tyrion his opinion. According to Tyrion, stories unite people. He concludes "And who has a better story than Bran the Broken? A boy, pushed from the tower, who couldn't walk but learned to fly; the crippled boy who crossed the wall and became the Three Eyed Raven. He's all our memory. Who better to lead us to the future?". Sansa objects by mentioning that Bran cannot father any children. Tyrion replies that it is good since sons of kings are often vain and cruel as she well know, referring to Joffrey 's cruelty. Tyrion asks Bran whether he will accept the crown, even though he does not want it. Bran replies, "Why do you think I came all this way?". Tyrion waits for the reactions of the other leaders. All of them slowly start saying "Aye", one by one. Sansa is hesitant about this and says that she believes Bran will be a good king, but the North will be an independent kingdom. Bran gives his assent to her demand. Bran wants Tyrion to be his Hand but Grey Worm objects to it. He says Tyrion has to atone for his sins. King Bran says Tyrion has made a lot of mistakes and he will spend the rest of his life rectifying them, this will be his atonement.

Tyrion pays a visit to a dejected Jon in prison. He informs him that to placate everyone, a compromise has been reached and he is going to the Night's Watch. Sansa and Arya wanted Jon to be pardoned while the Unsullied wanted Jon's head. The compromise makes neither party happy but both have accepted it, Sansa and Arya understanding that Bran needs to make peace. Jon wonders, "Was it right? What I did?" Tyrion corrects Jon, "What we did," but Jon responds, "It doesn't feel right." Tyrion tells him to ask him again in 10 years. Jon believes they won't ever see each other again but Tyrion is not so sure, "A few years as Hand of the King would make anyone want to piss off the edge of the world."

A Dream of Spring
A defeated Jon is shown leaving King's Landing for the Wall. The city is bustling with people again and all the buildings and the Red Keep has been rebuilt. As Jon goes to the port, his eyes meet Grey Worm's as Grey Worm gives him a fierce look. Grey Worm takes the Unsullied and sails for the island of Naath, keeping his promise to Missandei of protecting the people of the Island of Naath.

Sansa, Arya, and King Bran meet Jon before he leaves. Sansa asks for Jon's forgiveness. Jon consoles her by saying "The North is free, thanks to you." Sansa responds, "But they lost their king." Jon tells her, "Ned Stark's daughter will speak for them. She's the best they could ask for." Teary-eyed, they share an emotional embrace. Jon wants Arya to come see him at Castle Black, but Arya gives him a sad smile when she tells him she's not coming back North. Sansa asks her where she's going. Arya's going west, "What's west of Westeros?" Jon returns her sad smile, "I don't know," and Arya tells him, "No one knows. It's where all the maps stop. That's where I'm going." Jon asks, "You have your Needle?" Arya tells him she has it right here and starts to cry. Jon wipes away a tear. They share a long hug. Jon turns to Bran and kneels, "Your Grace, I'm sorry I wasn't there where you needed me," he apologizes. "You were there exactly where you needed to be," Bran says in his usual quizzical fashion.

Elsewhere, Brienne is going through the annals of the Kingsguard and finishes the record for Jaime. Reluctantly she adds, "Died protecting his Queen," with tears in her eyes.

Tyrion, at the Small Council chambers, is met by Davos and Bronn, now the Lord of Highgarden. Samwell also arrives, now appearing to be the Maester of King's Landing, and presents a book called "A Song of Ice and Fire," written by Sam and Grandmaester Ebrose, about the wars after Robert's Rebellion. Tyrion asks whether he is mentioned in a positive or negative light. Samwell informs him that he is not mentioned at all, much to everyone's amusement. Brienne and the new King also arrive. Bran enlists his advisors to find Masters of Whispers, War and Law, while he himself will look for Drogon, who was last spotted East. He leaves the room with Podrick who is now a knight. Tyrion asks Bronn, who is also the Master of Coin, to provide food supplies from Highgarden, to which Bronn assents. Davos asks for funds for rebuilding the navy. Tyrion talks about building a good sewer system to improve the hygiene of the city. Bronn talks about rebuilding brothels and they start squabbling with each other, apparently signalling a return to normalcy.

Jon reaches Castle Black and sees Tormund on the castle walls look down at him with an approving smile that Jon has come back North. Jon reunites with his direwolf, Ghost, who is missing an ear and visibly scarred like Jon.

Sansa takes on the mantle of Queen in the North at Winterfell.

Arya stands looking contented on the bow of her own ship which flies the Stark banner; she sails forth towards unknown lands and an uncertain fate.

Jon Snow and Tormund lead the wildlings outside of Castle Black. All the wildlings look happy to return to their homes after a long time with the threat of the White Walkers lifted from them. The show ends with the shot of them going into the forest with the theme music playing in the background.

Appearances

 * Main: The Iron Throne/Appearances

First

 * Lord Une
 * Unnamed Northern Lord
 * Unnamed Riverlands Lord
 * Unnamed Vale Lord
 * Unnamed Prince of Dorne
 * Unsullied Captain

Deaths

 * Daenerys Targaryen

Cast
Starring
 * Peter Dinklage as Lord Tyrion Lannister
 * Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Ser Jaime Lannister (Corpse)
 * Lena Headey as Queen Cersei Lannister (Corpse)
 * Emilia Clarke as Queen Daenerys Targaryen
 * Kit Harington as Jon Snow/Aegon Targaryen
 * Sophie Turner as Lady/Queen Sansa Stark
 * Maisie Williams as Arya Stark
 * Liam Cunningham as Ser Davos Seaworth
 * John Bradley as Samwell Tarly
 * Isaac Hempstead-Wright as Bran Stark
 * Gwendoline Christie as Ser Brienne of Tarth
 * Jerome Flynn as Ser/Lord Bronn
 * Kristofer Hivju as Tormund
 * Joe Dempsie as Lord Gendry Baratheon
 * Jacob Anderson as Commander Grey Worm

Guest Starring
 * Gemma Whelan as Queen/Lady Yara Greyjoy
 * Tobias Menzies as Lord Edmure Tully
 * Daniel Portman as Ser Podrick Payne
 * Rupert Vansittart as Lord Yohn Royce
 * Lino Facioli as Lord Robin Arryn
 * Richard Rycroft as Maester Wolkan
 * Gabriel Akuwudike as Unsullied Captain
 * Noel Harron
 * Toby Osmond as the Unnamed Prince of Dorne
 * Andrew Bicknell as Unnamed Riverlands Lord
 * Michael Benbaruk as Lord Une
 * Frank Jakeman as Unnamed Vale Lord
 * Niall Bishop as Unnamed Northern Lord
 * Padraig O'Grady as Crying Man
 * Edin Duffy
 * Shane Whisker
 * Lorcan Strain as Villager 1
 * Ella-Rose Sands

Cast notes

 * 15 of 16 starring cast members appear in this episode. Hannah Murray as Gilly is the only living main character to not appear.
 * Cast members Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister) and Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister) appear only as corpses.
 * Adam Behan, Andrew Burford, Carlos Castillo, Nick Chopping, Matt Da Silva, Josh Dyer, Pete Ford, Rob Hayns, Michael Homick, Rowley Irlam, Jonny James, Jason Oettle, Andy Wareham, and Ben Wright were stunt performers in this episode.

General

 * Sansa correctly states that the North was once an independent kingdom and that the Northmen fought to regain that independence. Left unsaid is that all the other regions of the Seven Kingdoms (save for the Riverlands and the Crownlands) were also once independent kingdoms. Two of those other regions had also fought for independence from the Iron Throne in recent memory: The Iron Islands had also fought for independence in the War of the Five Kings and the Greyjoy Rebellion and the Riverlands had attempted to join with the North under Robb Stark. So it's a bit curious that only the North demands independence.
 * This episode marks the return of Edmure Tully and Robin Arryn, both of whom have not been seen since Season 6 ("No One" and "Book of the Stranger", respectively).
 * Robin Arryn, interestingly, is the longest-ruling lord of a Great House in the entire series, having been the Lord of the Eyrie and de jure head of House Arryn since the death of his father, Jon Arryn, in the first episode.
 * Daenerys Targaryen is the only named character to die in this episode, and the last character to die in Game of Thrones.
 * When Brienne is updating Jaime Lannister's entry in the White Book, she writes that he fought in the "Battle of the Goldroad" - a name invented by Game of Thrones Wiki itself. In behind the scenes videos from Season 7, the showrunners didn't bother to give it a formal, in-universe name, and just referred to it as "the Loot Train Attack" (capitalized) in production materials. Various review sites also pointed out it would be silly to consider this an in-universe name. After several rounds of discussion, the Game of Thrones Wiki Administrators invented on their own the in-universe name "Battle of the Goldroad" - on the logic that they were stated to be crossing the Blackwater River, but were not within sight of King's Landing, and the only other crossing is father upstream from the city, where the Goldroad crosses over it. This could indicate that the TV writers have read this very wiki itself to copy the name the Administrative staff invented, because they never came up with their own in-universe name for it.
 * It is worth noticing, however, that it's uncertain if the exact content of Brienne's writing was from the script itself, or if it was invented by the props department - who are usually more concerned about getting such specific details right, by respectfully copying what fansites determine (i.e. several heraldry designs in later TV seasons were actually fan versions hosted on Game of Thrones Wiki that they copied).
 * Since updating the White Book is the responsibility of the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, it can be assumed this office has been granted to Brienne, although it is not mentioned on-screen.
 * When the Great Council gather at the end to elect a new king, Samwell suggests the idea of letting everyone decide who gets to rule everyone (ie. democracy). This is deemed hysterically funny, with some even saying they would ask their horse. This illustrates the intellectual leap required to go from feudal societies to democratic ones.
 * The attire of the Kingsguard changes once again upon Bran's ascension to the throne. Interestingly, they still lack their signature white cloaks.
 * Podrick has been promoted from a squire to a knight and is a member of the new Kingsguard.
 * Tyrion addresses Bronn as Lord Paramount of the Reach, the first time the title has ever been mentioned in the show as well as the first time, in fact, any Lord Paramount title has been mentioned.
 * Such titles have been mentioned before, like Lord of the Riverlands and Defender of the Vale, but Lord Paramount has never been stated once by any of the characters until this episode.
 * The Iron Throne is destroyed by fire from a black dragon. It was created using the dragonfire of another black dragon.

Callbacks

 * Jon cradles Daenerys's body in a similar way to how he cradled Ygritte when she died in "The Watchers on the Wall".
 * Jon recalls Maester Aemon's words to him in "Baelor": "Love is the death of duty." Aemon also told this to Sam in "The Watchers on the Wall".
 * Daenerys enters the ruins of the Great Hall, covered in ash, recalling a vision she had in the House of the Undying, in "Valar Morghulis".
 * Whilst incarcerated, Tyrion recalls strangling his lover, as well as shooting his father in "The Children".
 * Tyrion once again tries to tell the story of bringing a jackass and a honeycomb into a brothel. He first attempted to tell the tale as part of his "confession" to Lysa ("A Golden Crown") and again to Missandei and Grey Worm in "No One."  Each time, he is interrupted and never finishes the story.
 * Brienne updates Jaime's entry in The Book of Brothers, which was first seen in "Two Swords".
 * Joffrey comments that Jaime's entry was brief, but by the time Brienne filled it in, there was much more to it.
 * Jon reminds Arya that she has "her needle" - a callback to the sword which he gave her in "The Kingsroad".
 * Arya fulfills her dream to explore the uncharted waters west of Westeros, a dream she told Lady Crane about in "No One". She repeats to Jon what she told Lady Crane, that nobody knows what's west of Westeros and that's where all the maps stop.
 * Samwell Tarly tells Tyrion that the A Song of Ice and Fire book does not mention him, a callback to Varys telling Tyrion that the histories would not mention him in "Valar Morghulis."
 * The fact that Tyrion isn't mentioned in the in-universe A Song of Ice and Fire book is ironic since Tyrion is the character with the most chapters than any other of the viewpoint characters in the actual novels. This meta-reference could have been intentional by the writers of the show. Also, it is quite strange that Ebrose would not mention Tyrion Lannister in his book due to him playing a huge part in the War of the Five Kings: his abduction by Catelyn Tully caused the early engagements between Houses Stark and Lannister, his defense of Blackwater Bay caused Stannis Baratheon to fail to conquer King's Landing and his assassination of Tywin Lannister started the downfall of House Lannister.
 * Jon and Ghost's reunion plays out similarly to their reunion in "First of His Name."

Errors

 * When Bran Stark is voted King at the Dragonpit, a plastic water bottle can faintly be seen behind Samwell Tarly's left foot. Another bottle is behind Davos Seaworth's foot.
 * Tyrion and Jon refer to Arya and Sansa as Jon's sisters, and Arya says Jon is her brother - although they know Arya and Sansa are Jon's cousins. This could be due to that Jon, Sansa, and Arya still see one another as siblings, regardless of blood connection.
 * Edmure says he is a veteran of two wars, although he has only participated in the War of the Five Kings.
 * Sansa says Bran cannot father children (presumably due to his maiming). Actually, paraplegic people can have sex and sire children.

TV Series vs Book Ending, & the upcoming Prequels

 * From the Game of Thrones Wiki Administrative staff:

The TV series has increasingly diverged from the novels, particularly from Season 5 onwards. In multiple cases showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss directly stated that these changes were not due to time constraints, or the need to "streamline" any adaptation into a TV format, but because they simply prefer the changed version.

It is impossible to know, therefore, if the fates of characters in the TV series will be at all similar to what will happen to them in future novels of the A Song of Ice and Fire series. Many storylines have been drastically changed. Conversely, it is entirely possible that the fates of several characters will end up being fairly similar, in broad strokes, to what happened in Season 8.

Game of Thrones Wiki itself will remain active and devoted to this TV franchise as a whole. Whenever the next novel is released, check back with the wiki to see a thorough comparison - on every article's "In the books" section - of how events in the TV series differed from those in the novels.

Meanwhile, instead of going "dark" or fading away, HBO wants to keep the momentum of this franchise going, and is already considering three potential Game of Thrones prequel projects. One of them, about the Age of Heroes and the Long Night, will begin filming in June 2019, within a month after this series finale. Check back on these articles for regular updates on the upcoming prequels.

In the books
[This section will be updated with comparisons when the sixth and seventh novels are released.]