Same Old Thrones

Well, for a thing that started with Ice and Fire that sure ended on a blandly bureaucratic note. Like, who would have through after eight long years, numerous kings and queens, endless betrayals and countless innocent lives lost that the Iron Throne would be decided because of…electability? Yeah, you know, the male candidate with the best story. Nothing to do with gender or the patriarchy. Just, you know, a likable story. I’d totally vote for a female Queen of Westeros, just not that female Queen of Westeros.

Yes, a show that dared us to soar with the dragons has ended with a king no one wanted, who isn’t even really a person, but darn if he doesn’t have a good story. And have we mentioned that he is a he? Remember, “ Men decide where power resides, whether or not they know it.” I mean, they even wrote that directly into the dialogue – unironically. Men. Decide. Where. Power. Resides. OK, got it, fellas.

You can practically hear Benioff and Weisss saying, “Look, I like Warren Sansa, too. But it’s too much to have her rule all Seven Kingdoms right now. Especially after the Hillary Daenerys debacle. We don’t want another Trump Joffrey, do we?”

Also, can we talk about Tyrion Lannister embodying the maddening ability for straight white men to fail up? He served as hand for King Joffrey Baratheon. King Joffrey Baratheon: Dead. Served as hand for Queen Daenerys Targaryen. Queen Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lady of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, Lady of Dragonstone, Queen of Meereen, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, the Unburnt, Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons: Dead.

And now he gets to be Hand of the King for Bran the Broken, too? And while we are at it, why would all those Lords and Ladies listen to a prisoner who is literally in chains in the first place? (While laughing uproariously at the idea of democracy, pish-posh unwashed rabble!)

Cool story, bro. Well, at least Sansa got The North and Arya peaced out of the narrative entirely.

In giving us a neat and tidy bureaucratic ending to the Game of Thrones, the writers have decided their story was strong enough to transcend the times it was told in. But, here’s the thing, it isn’t. I’ve read a couple round-up of reviews of the “Game of Thrones” finale and I’ve noticed an undeniable trend. Men seem OK with it. Women are pissed. Because the world we live in continues to have men decide where power resides – right down to controlling our bodies and our uteruses. Politics is always personal, and intricately intertwined with our entertainment.

We have invested almost a decade in Daenerys and Sansa and Arya and Brienne and Yara and even Cersei freaking Lannister. We thought a world where dragons painted shadows across the sky and wolves strode like stallions through the wilderness and a woman would not be burned no matter how big the stake that anyone could rule. But, you see, men decide where power resides. So, in the end, it was the same old game after all. The Patriarchy is alive and doing extremely well in Westeros.

It’s not easy to see something that’s never been before. And Game of Thrones decided not to even try.