A Rewritten Finale

Published May 22, 2019 · Updated July 6, 2022

Here’s my rewrite. I took your advice to go big and go weird. But, sadly, was unable to stick to 500 words…it’s a good read, though, so let’s hope you find a way to abridge and feature it on the pod.

Episode 6 opens the same as it did – Tyrion and Jon surveying the ruins of King’s Landing, Dany giving her victory speech, Tyrion quitting as Hand and trying to convince Jon to assassinate Dany. Jon enters the Throne Room to see Dany sitting the Iron Throne with Drogon at her back. She has a wry smile on her face. “I don’t imagine you’re here to congratulate me on my victory, are you?” Jon balks. Then Tyrion is brought into the room in chains. “Do you think I would really leave you – Aegon Targaryen – alone with Tyrion Lannister without my Unsullied telling me of your conversation? I love you, Jon. Really I do. But as my former Hand once said ‘Duty is sometimes the death of love.’ I alone have the right to sit this throne and I alone have the duty to those who serve me to break the wheel. I have no room for those who would doubt the righteousness of our cause. Dracarys!” Tyrion burns.
“Jon, you defended me, but you do not truly love me. You do not believe as I need you to. I will let you go North, back to your family. But if you ever set foot into any other of my Kingdoms, you will burn.” Jon heads North with his army back to Winterfell. Over the coming months, Dany consolidates her strength with an alliance with the Lady Reaper of Pyke and the Iron Fleet, with the submission of Dorne, and with the allegiance of the Free Cities of the Bay of Dragons, led by Daario Naharis. Dany systematically expands her reach over Westeros and Essos, brutally destroying any who would stand in her way. Great Houses are cast down, with Dany’s loyal lieutenants installed as viceroys over conquered lands. Many great lords are executed in public by burning. Dany did suffer some losses. A particularly stubborn sellsword insisted that High Garden was his castle and murdered Daario for “serving the bitch who killed my friend.” But otherwise, Dany’s progress was absolute. Meanwhile, Sansa musters her forces in the North with those fleeing from the Vale and Riverlands flocking to her banner. Gendry Baratheon, the newly appointed Lord of Storm’s End was quick to betray his queen and joined his forces with the Starks, much to the relief of his banner men and small folk. Yet it is clear that the Northern Alliance cannot defeat Dany’s growing power, and so Sansa makes arrangements to march South to King’s Landing to bend the knee. Of course, this is a ploy with the hope that Arya can successfully assassinate Dany, sparing the North an inevitable choice of submission or death. Bran has been no help at all, sitting motionless in the Godswood by the Wierwood tree for days. None know why. Jon, for his part, is despondent – he feels responsible for setting Dany’s conquest into motion and is paralyzed by guilt. Tyrion’s words echo through his mind. Sansa, Arya, and an honor guard prepare to make the trip South but are stopped. The sisters and Jon are summoned to the Godswood by Bran – he finally awakens. He tells Jon there is a way to defeat Dany, but only at great cost. Jon must die. Bran explains that he has spent the last months observing the rituals of the Children of the Forest, learning their secrets. The ritual used to create the White Walkers was developed ages before its first use. The Children had created the spell originally to be used on a willing subject – a Child of the Forest – as a failsafe for the inevitable day that another race would find and populate Westeros and when magic would fade. It was intended as a way to keep a few of the Children alive for eternity and to keep future races in check, preventing them from destroying Westeros. However, a rogue faction of Children sought to modify the spell to work on men during their war with the First Men – they arrogantly believed they could use the spell to control an unwilling human subject and use powerful ice magic to defeat mankind. They were wrong. The Night King – the once-leader of the First Men – was uncontrollable and due to his unwillingness to die, was consumed with hatred for the living upon his conversion. However, Bran believes he can perform the ritual in the Godswood and convert Jon to the new Night King. As a willing subject, his conversion will permit the ritual to have its intended effect-he will remain Jon Snow, but will be able to grasp the cosmic, metaphysical balance and imbalance across the world of the living. He will achieve greensight, of a kind. Jon submits – as Tyrion said, he is the shield that guards the realms of men. We cut to Sansa on horseback and a small honor guard approaching King’s Landing to meet Dany. Dany sits perched on her dragon, a large army outside the city gates in a show of force. Dany smiles – she is glad to see the last kingdom in rebellion submit to her new world. She lands her dragon to greet Sansa. Yet Dany’s smile fades as the sun is blotted out by clouds and a familiar cold wind blows over the city. Snow begins to fall. Jon, draped in the black of the Nights Watch and the ice of the undead, rides forth on a risen Rhaegal, landing in front of Sansa and removing her from the battlefield as Jon steps off the dragon’s back. The honor guard, upon closer inspection, are undead. Suddenly around King’s Landing, the mass graves from Dany’s massacre begin to stir. The corpses of those slain in the name of her reign march from out of the now raging ice storm. In vain, Dany shouts “Dracarys”, burning only the undead. Jon remains unscathed. On foot, Jon, the Northern Army, and hoards of the undead plow through Dany’s army and breach the gates of King’s Landing on foot with Rhaegal’s help from above. The new Army of the Dead is solely under Jon’s command. In a direct contrast to Dany’s sack of the city, Jon’s forces surgically take down Dany’s men, sparing those who surrender and keeping civilians from harm. Jon enters the Throne Room, as he did so long ago, to see Dany sitting the Iron Throne with a gravely wounded Drogon protecting her. Knowing full well that Drogon cannot hurt Jon, she tries to reason with him. She tells him she loves him, that she was simply trying to build a better world. Jon appears unmoved. It is only when Dany falls to her knees that Jon’s steely gaze breaks and for a moment, a glimpse of Jon’s humanity comes through. He frowns and whispers “Duty is the death of love” and plunges a sword of ice through Dany’s heart. Drogon shrieks to the sky and falls dead beside the Throne. Jon places his hand on the mangled iron chair and it begins to freeze at this touch, only then to shatter into wayward shards. Forced in fire, destroyed with ice. Jon flies northward on Rhegal’s back. He releases the dead from his grasp and they too shatter. The blizzard clears and Jon Snow, the Half Dragon, the White Wolf, the Twice Dead, the Night’s King is gone. We cut to the Unsullied who surrendered or survived being permitted to sail to Naath under Grey Worm’s command. And see various living lords and ladies of Westeros and their personal guard walking through the city to the Dragon Pit. There, Bran is leading a council. The council had agreed that the future King or Queen of Westeros would be chosen, not born. First, the North was granted it’s independence at Sansa’s insistence – they had slain and then raised the dead to save the realm. They deserved that much. With that, she and Arya leave as various lords and ladies begin to speak about becoming the next ruler of the Six Kingdoms. Arya sails West of Westeros, saying a tearful goodbye to her sister. Sansa is crowned Queen in the North, a white direwolf standing guard beside her throne. We see Brienne, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard write Jaime’s story in the White Book. We see Grand Maester Sam Tarly arrive to fastidiously arrange the chairs in advance of the arrival of the Hand of the King, Bran the Wise. Brienne, Sam, Lord Davos Seaworth, Master of Ships, and an unnamed Dothraki as Master of War (not everyone remained loyal to Dany) find their place at the Small Council table. At once, all but Bran stand and mutter, “your grace.” Bran says “Your grace, we serve at your pleasure. Though I carry one last command from another ruler. You saw what became of Daenerys Stormborn. You were chosen among the great lords and ladies of Westeros to rule wisely and justly. You were chosen to reign, but also to serve. There is a King whose reign over Westeros is absolute. He does not expect perfection, but rest assured, if you set down the path of tyranny one thing is certain. Winter will come.” END.

We never see who is chosen to reign because ultimately, it doesn’t matter.

Cheers,
Ken L

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