Game of Thrones Finale Trailer Teases the Aftermath of Dany’s Decision
In Game of Thrones penultimate episode, “Two Bells,” Daenerys Targaryen reduced King’s Landing to smoking rubble. It was a decision that marked her arrival—or better yet, descent—as the Mad Queen. The long arc of her character from captive to savior had finally come to rest at despot. She didn’t have to torch King’s Landing and murder innocents. She won the Last War was. The Iron Throne was her. Yet she did it anyway, for reasons that remain unclear (no matter how much the show has hinted at this break, psychotic or otherwise), and the results were spectacularly horrifying. The teaser for the series finale is an atmospheric, dialogue-free glimpse at the aftermath of her monstrous decision. Cersei Lannister is dead, but the Seven Kingdoms now have a new problem—Dany herself.
The finale will concern itself with what’s to be done with Dany—if anything can be done about a woman this powerful and this mad. She has a dragon, the Unsullied and Dothraki, and no reasons whatsoever to play nice with anyone who might challenge her. In “Two Bells” she decided once and for all she would rule by fear, not love. In a telling and crucial moment with Jon, the noble northerner seemed to recoil from her touch. Although Jon has claimed, again and again, that he doesn’t want the Iron Throne, he saw with his own eyes what Dany did. Surely he won’t be able to convince himself, let alone his sisters, that she is fit to rule.
Then there’s the recipient of the letter of warning Varys was writing—who this is, and how they might figure in the finale, won’t be known until next Sunday. There is also Arya Stark, who was in King’s Landing on a mission to kill Cersei and ended up trying, and failing, to save innocent peoples’ lives. The episode ended with her, bloodied and horrified, upon a pale horse. She will likely have some strong feelings about Dany, and she has the skills to possibly do something about it.
Check out the trailer here.
Featured image: Season 8, episode 5 (debut 5/12/19. Photo: HBO
