HBO Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones season 8 episode 6, the series finale, aired last night and “The Iron Throne” proved to be one of the lowest-rated episodes in Game of Thrones history, according to ratings. Despite many disappointed fan reactions, the episode featured a handful of some really great callbacks to earlier episodes that brought some of our favorite characters’ arcs full circle.
This article will explore some of last night’s GoT episode in detail, so this is your official MAJOR SPOILER WARNING. Do NOT continue reading if you aren’t caught up on the series or season, and if you don’t want anything ruined before you get to watch “The Iron Throne.”
When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.
The series finale premieres tonight at 9PM on @HBO. #TheFinalEpisode
Tonight’s episode saw the aftermath of Daenerys Targaryen’s rampage on King’s Landing, what was left of the city after she and Drogon torched it, and Jon’s reaction to her decision to murder thousands of innocent people. The episode only really showcased one significant death, (the lack of deaths surprised many), and almost every storyline wrapped up in a nice, neat, semisweet package, which is far from what most expected for the end of the series. Despite the badass scene with Drogon destroying the Iron Throne, the entire episode itself was pretty slow and basically involved everybody going their separate ways.
With so many great Easter eggs and references to previous episodes sprinkled throughout “The Iron Throne,” we wanted to roundup some of our favorites in case you might have missed them, or didn’t make the connection during the episode.
The Wall’s Gate Closing
HBO
Probably the most obvious callback, GoT’s final scene closely mirrored its opening scene. In the first scene of the show, “Winter is Coming,” three brothers of the Night’s Watch venture out of Castle Black, and we see the gates closing behind them as they head into the North. It is a pretty memorable scene, as the wights were introduced shortly after.
In the final scene of season 8 episode 6, titled “The Iron Throne,” Jon joins Tormund, Ghost and the rest of the Free Folk as they head back to the “real north,” which brings everything full circle from the very beginning of the show. Jon actually turns around to watch as the gate closes too, before heading out into the unknown with his Wildling companions.
A Throne of Ash & Fire
During last week’s penultimate episode, we saw one of Bran’s visions from season 4 coming true, as he had seen the shadow of a very large, fully grown dragon flying low over the city. This week, both Bran’s season 4 vision and Daenerys’ vision from all the way back in season 2 when she was in the House of the Undying came true. During her time in the House of the Undying, Dany envisioned herself walking up to the Iron Throne, although the throne room appeared to be covered in snow or ash. At the time, many wondered if it was a sign of winter finally arriving and the Night King winning the war, or if it was a sign of King’s Landing’s destruction.
After Dany unleashed the full might of Drogon on King’s Landing, the two burned the city to a heap of ashes and left the throne room half demolished. What many fans initially thought was snow in season 2, turned out to be ash covering the fallout after Dany lit the city on fire. She even reaches out to touch the exact same spot on the throne before Jon enters the room and puts a knife in her heart.
Brienne & The Book
HBO
Back in season 4, after Brienne helped deliver Jaime back to King’s Landing, he rewarded her with his set of golden armor and the Valyrian steel sword Oathkeeper, which was made out of Ned Stark’s broadsword Ice. During the scene, Jaime and Brienne are looking at The White Book, which records all the deeds of all the men who have served in the Kingsguard, and he states “It’s the duty of the Lord Commander to fill those pages, and there’s still room left in mine.”
Brienne, now the head of Bran the Broken’s Kingsguard, decided to finish writing Jaime’s story in The White Book while wearing her golden armor. There was very little written about Jaime until Brienne added to his chapter (remember Joffrey’s snide comment to Jaime?), to let future generations know that Jaime Lannister was more than just a Kingslayer. She ended his chapter writing he “Died protecting his Queen.”
What’s West of Westeros?
A callback to a season 6 episode involved a scene where Arya was speaking to Lady Crane, who is patching her up after she was stabbed, when she asks Arya to come with her to Pentos. Arya declines her offer, and when Lady Crane asks her what she will do, she responds “Essos is east and Westeros is west, but what’s west of Westeros?”
During the season 8 finale, we see Arya pack up and set sail to find out what exactly is west of Westeros, giving thousands of fans hope that there will be a spinoff revolving around her exploits to the west.
Pissing Off The Edge of The World & Grammar Lessons
There were other small callbacks throughout the episode that we still wanted to mention, although they weren’t as big and/or obvious as the above. Tyrion’s comment about “pissing off the edge of the world” was a callback to the first season, when Tyrion traveled to the wall to do just that. Davos got to correct Bronn’s grammar, a kickback to his grammar and reading lessons with Stannis and Shireen Baratheon, and Tyrion arranging the chairs around the table was reminiscent of his time with the small council when his father Tywin was still alive.
Fans were also outraged during season 8 episode 4 when Jon refused to pet Ghost after sending him back to the north, but Jon’s reunion with Ghost during the finale helped curb some of that bitterness in the end (that one wasn’t really a callback, we just wanted to mention that Ghost finally get the pets he deserved).
Did we miss any callbacks or hidden Easter eggs throughout the episode? What were your favorite callback scenes? Let us know in the comments below!
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Game of Thrones Season 8 Finale: The Best Callback Moments in “The Iron Throne”