Game Of Thrones Season 8 Breakdown: What The Ending REALLY Means

1. The Starks Got Their Happy Endings (Even Jon)

Considering everything that the Stark family went through over the past eight seasons, it seems only right that each of the survivors got their happy endings. They are in degrees, to a certain extent, but they all work.

Bran's goal was to defy the Night King and live his life as the Three-Eyed Raven, protecting the memories of man and their legacy on the realm. Him ascending to the throne of the Six Kingdoms is the perfect means for him to continue that while also delivering on the prophecy that he would "fly" at least in power terms.

Sansa casts off her abusive past and is free, restoring the rightful power and independence of the North and even Jon gets what his heart truly wanted. Even though he loved Dany, as Tormund said, he "had the true North in him" and his home was with the Free Folk. Admittedly, he's also a Night's Watchman, but since when has that ever limited him doing whatever he wants anyway?

And as for Arya... She was never going to be someone else's idea of what she SHOULD be. Her story runs in parallel to Nymeria's and her roaming free and seeking to explore the parts of the world that haven't yet been touched by map-makers absolutely fits her free spirit. Had she been caged in any way, or even left to sit by Sansa at Winterfell, it would have been a disservice to her arc.

It's right that each closes their own books on a positive, satisfying note. And in the end, it closes where it began. In the frozen North. Only with a dream of spring and not a threat of winter to come.

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