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The biggest questions from the Game of Thrones series finale

What about Mereen? Where's Drogon? What's west of Westeros?

Liz Prugh May 20, 2019

0 4 minutes read

Whelp, it’s over. The Game of Thrones series finale aired last night, and it left fans (unsurprisingly), with a lot of questions. Whether you’re one of the many who believes that the writers phoned-in the final season of the critically-acclaimed HBO series or not, the watch has now ended. All that’s left to do is break down what the writer’s have given us, and not get too teary-eyed, because remember: A prequel series is headed our way!

**This post was updated at 2pmEST on May 20 (see below about Varys.)

Here are some of the biggest questions left after the Game of Thrones series finale.

Sansa is now Queen of the North. Does this mean north of The Wall, too?

Collectively, fans are happy about Sansa’s reign as Queen in the North. She saved the northerners from the evil Ramsey Bolton by bringing in the Knights of the Vale during Battle of the Bastards, and she unwaveringly has been standing up for their Independence ever since.

But what parts of The North does she rule, exactly? Jon is now a part of the Night’s Watch (I’ll get to that in a minute), and we last saw him escorting the Free Folk back north of The Wall—where the snow is melting and vegetation is growing. Greenery equals crops, crops equal profit and food… and maybe I’m thinking too deep into this, but I can’t see Sansa and her kingdom letting all that good land be some sort of unruled paradise where Tormund and his people just kick it.

Remember, the Seven Kingdoms worked together to share crops, product, and the like, and now The North is Independent of all of that. Sure, Sansa will work out some sort of trade deal with her little bro/“someone else now” Bran the Broken, but I can see that not going as smoothly has one would hope.

What about Daario? And Mereen?

Remember when Daenerys left for Westeros after she burned the Khals, broke up with her boyfriend Daario of the Second Sons (sell swords), and told him to stay in Mereen and hold her reign for her? Let’s also remember that Daario said (in some words), “he doesn’t give a shit about anyone but her, and only follows her”? What do you think Daario and the Second Sons will do once they hear their queen is dead?

Will Yunkai, Astapor, and Mereen fall back into their old ways, now that they know Dany and her dragons are no longer a threat? It’s unlikely that King Bran or Queen Sansa will care to step-in and take over for Dany’s conquers in Slaver’s Bay and beyond. This section brings more questions than answers, so drop your thoughts on this in the comments.

So… is the Iron Bank just cool with a bunch of lords picking the net king?

Tywin Lannister, like him or not, was one of the toughest and most feared people in all of Westeros, and even he told his daughter Cersei that they must kneel to the Iron Bank. Will the Iron Bank be cool with Stark & Co. choosing Bran as the king of the (now six) kingdoms and just carry on like normal? The Small Council scene seemed to say yes.

The Grand Master theory to wipe away all magic in Westeros would support this ending, and it’s hard to imagine that the Iron Bank wouldn’t be happy with Dany and dragon(s) out of the picture.

The prequel series has to be about what’s West of Westeros, right? Otherwise… who cares?

I love world history as much as the next person (like, a lot. Check out me and my husband’s Game of Thrones history podcast, A Podcast Remembers.) But, it’s been a bit of a struggle for me to get on board with a prequel series when we know what happens in the end. (Even if that prequel series is set ten thousand years before the events in Game of Thrones.)

Arya tells Jon as they are saying goodbye that she is going to sail west of Westeros, because no one knows what’s beyond their kingdoms. Game of Thrones author and creator George R.R. Martin famously has used our own world history as a foundation for the world he’s created, so it’s exciting to think that there’s a whole other hemisphere in a World of Ice and Fire with history we know nothing about. Not only does that give us a whole new mess of mythology, but new theories, new characters… a clean slate. I’m here for it.

Are the Iron Islands their own kingdom, too?

Do we really care? Not really. But it’s a question nonetheless. If the Iron Islands and The North declare independence, wouldn’t everyone else? Yara didn’t ask for independence when Sansa did for The North while everyone was choosing Bran as the king, so I would assume the Iron Islands fell in-line with their new king. Everyone’s probably tired of fighting anyways, right?

What happened to all of those letters Varys wrote? Who were they sent to (if at all)? Does anyone care that Jon is “the true heir”?

Based on the “Republic-esque” way Westeros is choosing a leader now, it’s assumed no one cares who Jon’s parents are, right?

Where the hell is Drogon?

Maybe he went to Valyria, which would be fitting. Dany being laid to rest in the ashes of her ancestors is kind of poetic, and honestly I wish that would have been shown onscreen like how we saw Jaime and Cersei laying in the rubble together. It feels a bit cheap that we didn’t see where Drogon took his mother. There is a little silver lining, though—at least not all of the dragons died (or direwolves.)

So, the Targaryens/Valyrians are officially wiped out?

Jon is the last (known) descendant of the dragonlords of Valyria, and since he’s back at the Night’s Watch, he can’t marry or have children, which means the line dies with him. I’m sure there are other magical people in the world (check out our podcast on that), but it can’t help but feel heartbreaking that the Targaryen line is just… gone.

What is the point of the Night’s Watch?

I’m really hoping that “the Night’s Watch” was just a cover to shut up the Unsullied and let Jon live a life of leisure with Ghost, Tormund and Co. north of The Wall. Jon looking back at The Wall’s gates as he rode into “The Real North” seemed like a goodbye glance, so I’m just going to go with that.

There are A LOT more questions that need answering, but here’s a start. Drop your thoughts in the comments—we want to theorize with you!