Game of Thrones Season 8 Finale: Three Ways It Could Go

Well, after two years of waiting for the final season of Game of Thrones, it seems as if the penultimate episode polarised audiences in a way not before witnessed in TV. Following Daenerys' rampage throughout King's Landing - where she finally said goodbye to her morals and started killing innocents - a petition was created on Change.org, with over half a million fans pushing for Season 8 to be remade.

And look, we had our problems with the last episode too, and we've scrunched our noses at some of the bad writing this season (there's been more than a fair share of clangers), but we're not hear to debate any of that. With two days to go until the show gets wrapped up, we take a look at three possible directions it could take.

The 'Happy' Ending

I use the term 'happy' with some degree of hesitation here. Following the events of the last episode, it's hardly like that any ending is going to be 100% 'happy'. Still, there's a way for the plot to be resolved in the next episode that might suggest that we'll leave Westeros as it prepares to pick up the pieces, rebuild itself, and pave the way for a steady, prosperous future.

The main way that this is likely to happen is with Arya, Tyrion, Jon - or possibly someone else - killing Daenerys, and the major families and rulers coming together to decide on the right king, queen, or elected ruler(s) to bring stability to the continent. It's not inconceivable that this would happen. With Cersei and the Lannisters having been disposed of in the last episode, and the Baratheons long gone (apart from Gendry, who seems to have been suitably appeased with Storm's End), there's not really anyone left to challenge Daenerys' claim to the throne. This means that she could be offed and replaced with a more compassionate ruler - someone who doesn't desire the role, and therefore would be best suited for it. Could be Jon? Tyrion? Sansa? All viable options.

The 'Sad' Ending

George RR Martin diehards know not to sit on the side of hope, so it's perhaps more likely that the show will end with the characters you want to live dying, and the ones you want to die living. In our opinion, the 'sad' ending would involve some situation where the Mad Queen Daenerys consolidates her power in Westeros through fear and might (she's still got one dragon, and apparently an unlimited amount of respawning Unsullied and Dothraki), as well as killing those who betrayed her - ie Tyrion - and those who betrayed her by proxy - ie Sansa. These actions might be enough to provoke a confrontation with Jon which could then see him getting killed as well.

If Daenerys truly believes in installing a dynasty in the kingdom then - like any good dictator - every means, no matter how shocking, will justify the ends. This seems to make the most sense; the last few seasons of Game of Thrones have been full of victories for the underdogs, 'The Battle of the Bastards' and 'The Long Night' are cases in point, but last week's episode felt like the tide turning back to chaos. The centre won't hold. The worst are full of passionate intensity. You get the point.

The Realistic Ending

Again, we're taking a reach with our definition of 'realism', considering that this is a show with dragons and ice zombies in it, but one thing that both the books and the TV shows have done well over the last 10 years is show the most realistic shades of human behaviour - warts and all. This was a show that received critical acclaim because it didn't take the easy roads that other shows did for the sake of dumbing it down for the viewer. Game of Thrones revelled in the complexities of human behaviour. It showed us how a capricious king could decide at the last minute to cut a major character's head off. It showed us that a novice leader could make the mistakes that would get himself, his wife, and his army murdered at a wedding feast. In Game of Thrones, nothing was certain. Petty jealousies could spark major battles. Secrets and sexual quirks could spark wars.

There's been a tendency for Game of Thrones fans to debate who will end up on the Iron Throne on the last episode as if that person is somehow the conclusive 'winner'. This seems to me like a misunderstanding of everything that's been happening for last 72 episodes. Whoever does end up on the throne, it won't end with them. Let say it is Daenerys - then you can imagine large swathes of Westeros going into rebellion even as the series finishes. Say it's Jon or anyone else - you can imagine various kingdoms demanding full autonomy from the yoke of all these perpetually tyrannical rulers (wouldn't you be sick of all the fighting?). That's before even mentioning individuals. What will Sansa be plotting at the end of the show? What long-held resentments does the ever-composed Davos hold? What plans will Tyrion be making? Who fills the power vacuum in Dorne? How would the people of the Reach react to Bronn becoming their Warden? No matter what way this goes, a realistic ending would be one which shows that wheel - the one which Daenerys promised to break - spinning on and on.