6. The Iron Throne
Jon returns to Castle Black, where he is reunited with Tormund and Ghost. As Sansa Stark takes her seat on the throne as Queen in the North, and Arya Stark sets sail across the seas on her own ship, Jon rides once again beyond the Wall, guiding the surviving Free Folk back to their home.
6. The Iron Throne
Of all the sights during the montage of endings, Sansa Stark taking her rightful seat as Queen in the North is easily the most delightful because it is also the most revelatory. From naïve young girl to wise and politically astute young woman, she played the game of thrones better than anyone in the later seasons and won independence by diplomacy instead of war. She outdid Robb and Jon, and finally did away with the last vestige of Targaryen rule in her homeland. Right down to her ginger hair, there is something vaguely Elizabethan about it all, which is ironic since so many of us predicted Dany would be the Westerosi Elizabeth.
Jon walks past Drogon (who regards him warily) on the way to the throne room, where Daenerys is busy experiencing wicked déjà vu. Her vision, back in the House of the Undying, of a throne room in ruins and covered in snow/ash is realized. But before she can actually park her keister on the Iron Throne, Jon enters, shouting about the "Little children! Tiny, tiny babies!" that she burned up just now.
But nonetheless, the remaining, completely human Starks are clearly the true winners of this game. In a beautiful final scene, the shots flip between Sansa taking the throne in the North, Arya preparing to adventure to unknown lands and Jon leading the wildlings out past the wall.
Tyrion reasons with a tortured Jon, "I know you love her. I love her too. Not as successfully as you. But I believed in her with all my heart. Love is more powerful than reason." Recalling Maester Aemon's words, Jon reflects, "Love is the death of duty." Tyrion agrees and says that sometimes, duty must be the death of love, "You are the shield that guards the realms of men. You've already tried to do the right thing, no matter the cost. You've tried to protect the people. Who is the greatest threat to the people now?" Tyrion acknowledges assassinating Daenerys is a terrible thing he's asking Jon to do, but says it's also the right thing. As Jon struggles with the idea of killing the woman he loves, Tyrion says he won't be the last man she executes and asks, "Who is more dangerous than the rightful heir to the Iron Throne?" Jon accepts being executed by Daenerys if that is her choice. He apologizes to Tyrion that it came to this, but Tyrion tries again, and reveals that both Sansa and Arya won't bend the knee which would put all of House Stark and the North in great danger. Jon says his sisters will be loyal to the throne, but Tyrion responds that the reason Sansa told him about Jon's parentage is because she doesn't want Daenerys to be queen. Jon says that's not up to Sansa; Tyrion agrees, but tells Jon he needs to make a choice, "And you have to choose now." Jon looks rattled as he leaves.
Daenerys comes to the throne room and sees the Iron Throne for the first time in her life, the same thing that she saw in the House of the Undying years ago. She is visibly overwhelmed by her emotions since to conquer this throne has been her lifelong dream. In awe, she goes to touch the throne as 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 a thousand swords look like in the mind of a little girl who can't count to twenty? 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 confronts her over 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 made a mistake, 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 that her way is the way to the better world. A distressed Jon asks her how she knows, and Daenerys assures him it's because she knows what is good and gently tells him that so does he. Jon tearfully says he doesn't know and asks, "What about everyone else? All the other people who think they know what's good?" Daenerys simply replies, "They don't get to choose." Daenerys embraces Jon and, sincere, she tells him to join her and that she wants him to help her break the wheel, trying to convince him of her new vision. Heartbroken, Jon declares, "You are my queen, now and always." They kiss and as they do so, an anguished Jon drives his dagger through her heart. Stunned, Daenerys collapses as Jon catches her. She dies in Jon's arms as he weeps over her body.
Weeks later, Grey Worm escorts a disheveled and grimy Tyrion to the Dragonpit. Sansa, Bran, Arya, Yara Greyjoy, Brienne, Davos, Gendry, Sam, Yohn Royce, Robin Arryn, Edmure Tully and the new prince of Dorne 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, but 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 Northmen outside the city gate and as a result, harming Jon wouldn't be in Grey Worm's interest. However, Grey Worm replies in equal measure, saying there are also thousands of Unsullied as well. Yara sides with Grey Worm because the ironborn agreed to follow Daenerys. Sansa states 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 defuses 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."
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Drogon immediately knows something has happened. He climbs into the throne room and nudges her body, trying to wake her, in the most genuinely emotional moment of the whole episode. When he realizes she's dead, he roars, and for a moment it looks like he may burn Jon alive. Instead, he directs his fire toward … the Iron Throne, melting it.
The Iron Throne is the highest seat of power in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire. It's sat by the king of Westeros as they rule the Seven Kingdoms. Aside from it being the name of the seat itself, the Iron Throne also refers to the kingship and monarch of Westeros. It's since been the cause of countless strife throughout the kingdom. A lot of people, from kings and nobles to servants and knights have died for the sake of this throne and what it ultimately represents.
Since the release of the first season of Game of Thrones in 2011, the Iron Throne has become an iconic image in pop culture. The throne itself has almost become synonymous with the series it belongs to. It's been referenced in other franchises so much that those who haven't seen the show at least know of the Iron Throne. As known as the throne is, there are also a lot of aspects of it a lot of fans don't know about.
He amassed over a thousand of these swords. With them, he had workers forge the Iron Throne with the dragonflame of Balerion and place it in the throne room in King's Landing. Several Westerosi historians have also proclaimed that the Iron Throne may have been created by armorers. Either way, the Iron Throne was created and House Targaryen has ruled from this seat for over two and a half centuries.
When the image of the Iron Throne for Game of Thrones was shown prior to its released, a lot of fans of the books were baffled by how different it looked from how George R.R. Martin described it in his books. The Iron Throne is meant to be tall and massive and has a flight of steps leading toward the seat itself. Hundreds of swords protrude from each side of the steps and around the throne.
The Iron Throne as depicted in House of the Dragon is a closer resemblance to the Iron Throne in the books. However, it's still somewhat different from how George envisioned the throne to look. The depictions from comic books and video game spin-offs of the series have also failed to capture George's intentions. To this day, the most accurate representation of George R.R. Martin's Iron Throne is the one done by a French artist named Marc Simonetti. This work was included in George's book The World of Ice and Fire.
The Iron Throne is said to be incredibly uncomfortable to sit on. The chair has a twisted sword behind it, which makes it impossible to lean back while sitting. The throne's arm rest is also plagued by sharp edges and twisted steel. During the events of Game of Thrones, 300 years after the throne was created, the swords on the Iron Throne still remain sharp enough to cut flesh. 041b061a72