'Game of Thrones' season 8 finale: Who deserves to sit on the Iron Throne?
After what has been dubbed the "worst" episode of 'Game of Thrones,' the finale is almost here. The verdict on who sits on the grand Iron Throne will soon be out, but the question as to who deserves it and who doesn't can be spelled out here, right at this moment as the raging momentum of our anticipations builds up to await the epic finale on May 19.
After the penultimate episode, it's clear that Daenerys Targaryen isn't the ruler people of the Seven Kingdoms vouch for. Destroying King's Landing, killing all the innocents and shunning her own cause, the beloved breaker of chains went all mad queen mode in the penultimate episode so excuse us that we don't include her on the list. The only rightful Targaryen heir to the throne remains to be...
Jon Snow
The secret son of Rhaegar Targaryen changed the entire dynamics of the game of thrones with his identity and he, of course, has more claim to the throne than the remaining contenders. Lord Varys was right to opine that Jon would make a "better" ruler than Daenerys, but Tyrion Lannister, who believed in the goodness of Danny, as the hand of the queen, sentenced his best mate to die for the sake of his queen.
In the penultimate episode, Tyrion knew he had made a major blunder by believing that Danny would make a just ruler. Now that the tables have turned, Tyrion may side with the rightful heir aka Jon Snow.
In season 6, it was revealed that Jon Snow is the secret offspring of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark and not a bastard son of Ned Stark. In season 7, there was a revelation that Rhaegar had annulled his marriage to Elia Martell and actually married Lyanna, which made Jon a trueborn Targaryen.
In season 8, Samwell Tarly told Jon of his origins and suffice to say, the game was changed. Danny was threatened by her lover-turned-nephew and this could have triggered her madness to burn King's Landing. If people loved Jon Snow, she would make them fear her.
But the reason Jon Snow would make a better ruler is because he does not thirst for power. Remember when Varys spoke wise words that a good ruler is someone who does not want to be a ruler in the first place?
Jon Snow, who scaled from a role in the Night's Watch to that of a leader real quick, and the one who returned from the dead, may reluctantly take the iron throne because people adore him and will likely love him more for his lineage. And given his wisdom and the fact that he knows something about leading people, he just might take the Iron Throne on universal appeal and hopefully, the stars are aligned.
Sansa Stark
If Jon Snow dies again, or abdicates his throne, his sister Sansa Stark would make a fit queen. Anyway, the game of thrones has been about powerful leading ladies, so with Cersei Lannister and Danny out of the picture, there is Arya and Sansa.
Arya isn't the one to sit, either on the throne or otherwise, she is a fighter and refuses to settle, take Gendry's proposal for instance. So Sansa Stark, with years of experience, brutal ones, have made her an experienced leader and a skillful survivor.
She's much better at taking wise decisions than Danny, remember the plan to send an army to King's Landing immediately after defeating the Night King? Missandei would've been alive had people, especially Danny, listened to Sansa.
When we first met her in Season 1, Sansa wanted to marry Joffrey to become a queen. She's been through so much since, but maybe the Lady of Winterfell still wants to be the queen and will make for an absolutely amazing queen. As a Lady of Winterfell, she ensured her people were not hungry when winter came, and that speaks volumes about the kind of queen she will make. In season 7, she also told Arya that beheading and executing people may seem satisfying but that's not how you keep it together when you're trying to fight a war.
Gendry
News alert: Baratheons have not been wiped off the map. Just like Jon who discovered his lineage, so did Gendry and guess what? Many opine he had a better claim to the Iron Throne than anyone else. Not only because he is Robert Baratheon’s only surviving bastard but also because his mother is still not revealed, and very well could be Cersei Lannister.
Reddit user AegonTargaryen points out two key things about Gendry’s mother: Gendry has no clear memory of her except that she had blonde hair and Cersei lost a child before Joffrey came, implying she and Robert had a child and it didn’t survive.
But because it's Cersei, it’s possible she lied about the child dying to protect her future children’s claims to the throne, the true Lannisters. Another Reddit user ler___ notes, in season 1, episode 2, Cersei makes mention of having a child with black hair who died and it could very well be Gendry.
In a short while, we will know who sits on the throne, but these three deserve a place and even if they don't make it to the Iron Throne, they have made their way to our hearts, Arya Stark included.