"Game of Thrones" fans stunned by answer to who will win the Iron Throne
Spoiler alert ahead: If you haven't watched the final episode of "Game of Thrones," turn away now.
The watch for "Game of Thrones" has ended. After eight seasons of war, fire-breathing dragons, ice zombies and constant political turmoil, the series finale aired Sunday night. And like many endings for iconic shows, some fans were left disappointed by its conclusion.
Leading up to the final episode of Season 8, Daenerys Targaryen and her dragon, Drogon, carried out a fiery mass genocide in Kings Landing and killed her nemesis Cersei Lannister, elevating Daenerys as the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. In the season finale, as Daenerys stood triumphant before her intimidating array of armies, her two remaining loyal advisers, Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister, are tormented by fears she will become a tyrant.
Tyrion resigns as the queen's Hand and is jailed, but he convinces Jon to help him conspire against Daenerys. Jon — Daenerys' love interest as well as her nephew — meets her in front of the Iron Throne and during a romantic embrace, he stabs her in the heart. Twitter users couldn't believe their eyes.
Like many shocked fans, Drogon couldn't accept her death and tried to wake her up. It let out a heart-breaking shriek and burned the Iron Throne to a molten pulp before flying away with Daenerys' corpse.
With Westeros leaderless in the aftermath of Daenerys' death, the lords and ladies of the Seven Kingdoms, including the Starks siblings, the prince of Dorne, and Robin Arryn gathered to pick a new ruler. A handcuffed Tyrion suggested Bran Stark should be named the new king because of his powerful backstory and the fact that Bran would never have troublesome offspring to succeed him. The others agreed unanimously, and "Bran the Broken," who survived a multiple-story fall, became a quadriplegic and then the "Three-Eyed Raven," began his reign. Despite Bran's character arc, some Twitter fans weren't so thrilled with the idea.
Sansa pulled out of the Seven Kingdoms and reclaimed independence for the North, becoming the queen of that kingdom. Arya headed west to see what's "west of Westeros." And Jon, as penalty for killing Daenerys, is sent to the Nights Watch for life. He's reunited with the Wildings, old friend Tormund Giantsbane, and his beloved direworf, Ghost — the latter considered one of the best parts of the season finale.
Of course, it would be hard for any ending to fully satisfy all of the millions of devoted fans who've obsessively followed the twists and turns of "Game of Thrones" for all these years. Complaints started building the week before the finale, when more than a million disgruntled fans signed an online petition asking for a complete rewrite of the show's last season.
