It has ended; no one is happy, everyone seems angry, most are sad.
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The Game of Thrones saga ended on Monday with a finale that has been talked about and envisioned by fans since 2011 – and much longer than that for the fans of the books by George R.R. Martin. The reactions this episode have been mixed, compared to last week’s ‘The Bells’, which let loose a storm among fans who vented on social media with memes and signed petitions for a repeat on the entire season. Now George, the onus is on you to give us the finale we deserve, and we can count on you to never give us what we want.
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Meanwhile we will continue to celebrate and lament this incredible show and its unique story. To start that process, here are our favourite moments from the show. We have also listed the ones that broke our heart to watch, in a good way, and the ones which made us question the tale’s existence. We’ve also thrown in some weirdos for good measure.
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*MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD*
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Our best 5 moments in Game of Thrones
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1. Night King’s death at the hands of Arya
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Please let us clarify – we think the Night King’s death came too fast for us to appeciate the story arc, but we loved that Arya Stark was the one who finally killed him. Her skills, her entire character’s growth led to this one moment – where she kills someone (something?) whom no one could seemingly hurt – including a fully grown dragon.
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2. Justice for Ramsay Bolton
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As we sat down to finetune this list, we realised that Bolton was the most horrible villain of all in the show. A sadistic, extremely cunning and ruthless killer, his death at the hands of Sansa Stark – someone whom he incessantly tortured – killed by his beloved hounds is one of the most satisfying moments on the show.
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3. Joffrey’s murder and Ollena’s death
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Interconnected for obvious reasons – Ollena Tyrell poisoned Joffrey Baratheon and Jaime (Joffrey’s father) poisoned Ollena – these two scenes are incredibly satisfying. Joffrey, the tyrant son of a tyrant mother, deserved what he got while Ollena Tyrell went out with her dignity intact after proudly announcing for Cersei’s benefit that she killed Joffrey.
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4. Daenarys buying the Unsullied army
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One of her key acquisitions in her journey to the throne, Dany shows true strength and cunning in this moment, though we didn’t know it when the scene started. She promises her little Drogon to the slave masters in exchange for the Unsullied fighters who feel no pain, no love, no nothing, and are loyal to whoever owns them. Once ownership passes, Daenarys lets Drogon burn his first-ever human before unleasing her Unsullied army on their erstwhile owners, the slave masters.
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5. The Iron Throne melting
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Dany promised to ‘break the wheel’ and Drogon may have symbolically done it for her as he melted the coveted Iron Throne in all of 10 seconds. This throne has been the death, literally also, of kings and queens throughout ages.
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5 worst moments emotionally
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1. Hodor
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Need we say anything? Hodor.
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2. Ramsay Bolton rapes Sansa
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Again…silence from us – and a link back to the second of our favourite scenes.
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3. Khal Drogo’s death
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Daenarys was sold to Khal Drogo but being Khaleesi is what got her a lot of things, including her dragon eggs. Khal Drogo, undefeated in battle with his long braided hair, died a sad death – poisoned by magic and inadvertently at Dany’s hand. She even refers to him when talking to Sanza of her true love, saying other than Jon Snow, she has only trusted one other, “a much taller man”.
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4. Theon running
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Theon Greyjoy was a lot of things, but Ramsay Bolton with all his torture brought out the best in him – however morbid that sounds. Theon, for a split second thinking he could run away from Bolton and his hounds before being recaptured in a cruel game is a definite tearjerker moment. At that point, Theon is truly broken and half a man.
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5. Viserion dying
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The first dragon to die, Viserion’s death was quite sudden. The Night King killed him with a well-aimed spear before bringing him back from the dead spewing blue flames.
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6. The Red Wedding
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The Red Wedding hosted by the Freys, supported by the Lannisters, breaks all the honour codes that the seven kingdoms imbibe in a single night. Robb Stark, his pregnant wife, Catelyn Stark, Grey Wolf (Robb’s direwolf) all die, along with their troops, when Walder Frey orders every Stark guest be killed as they dined.
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Worst show moments that just don’t make sense
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1. Rhaegal’s death
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A mature dragon, flying very high above the ground alongside Drogon and Dany, Rhaegal shouldn’t have just dropped out of the sky. He was a dragon, and as George R.R. Martin repeatedly states – killing a full-grown dragon is difficult, if not impossible. Rhaegal deserved a fighting death.
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2. Bloopers
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The Starbucks cup in “The Last of the Starks”, the plastic bottle in the finale “The Iron Throne” – as fans we’re all done with these mistakes.
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3. Ghost
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The direwolf is the sigil of the Starks and from day one in the show, and the books, these animals are all important. The treatment of Ghost in this season has been dismal and tweeps were really angry with how easily Jon Snow brushed aside the white direwolf he named and raised.
4. Bran is King?
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What, when and how – these can’t cover all the questions we have – did we just miss years of character growth? Plus, now there are new questions that are rushing through our minds – did he know? did he orchestrate the whole thing?
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5. Dany’s character assasination
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Let’s not even start. If you want to read a rant, here you go.
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Weird moments all around
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1. Catelyn Stark’s sister breastfeeding a grown child
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This is an oddity that just keeps on startling years later. And considering they brought the boy back years later for the finale – well, that’s one throwback we did not need.
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2. Littlefinger
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Petyr Baelish, or Littlefinger, may have been an old hand at the Game of Thrones, but it was his lust for the Stark women that proved to be not only his strangest trait but also his downfall. First there was the creepy leering at Catherine Stark. Then, after orchestrating Sansa’s escape from the Veil and her rape by the Bolton boy, he professed his love for her. No, let’s not keep this weirdo in the family, thank you.
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3. Rickon Stark, was he written in to the show just for his death scene?
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So the lone wolf will die but the pack survives? Sure, sure…unless you are this poor fool. Then the villan will just make you run and hunt you down. What a waste of potential.
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4. The man beyond the wall giving up baby boys to the White Walkers.
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So he lives beyond the wall, has a cult made up of his own daughters, whom he has sired. He gives the Knight King all his sons and so he’s left to his own devices. Considering this exchange, why did no one thing to ask the oddball how to communicate with the Frosty?
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