Brienne is one of the few characters in Game of Thrones who has always been truly honourable and since her introduction I've grown to love her and root for her to show the world how incredible a woman she is. Therefore, one of the highlights of this finale for me was seeing Brienne taking her place first as one of those representatives tasked with choosing the next ruler, and then on the Small Council, where she can help build a better future for the citizens of The Six Kingdoms (that still sounds odd to me). Who better to be Commander of Bran's Kingsguard? Having been knighted in 8.02 (one of the best scenes in the series for me) as a knight of the realm, once Sansa split the north away from the other kingdoms, it made sense to me that Brienne would step up in this way. Sansa has the support of the entire North again. She's home and safe, so Brienne can move on to serve and protect another of Catelyn's children. She wanted to be a knight, she wanted to serve the realm and she's always wanted to do good. If any character deserved to see their dreams come true in a world were we are used to that rarely happening, it was Brienne. The fact it is Brienne, who gets to take over from Jaime Lannister in her new role, is the final piece of the puzzle (I don't count The Mountain). Speaking of Jaime, the scene I'd said for years that I wanted to see if he really had to die, was Brienne filling his pages in the Kingsguard book with his good deeds. Ever since vile Joffrey mocked him for his empty pages and Brienne read the words, I've wondered if this would be part of the ending. Personally, I loved it and it was the scene that made me the most emotional this week. I know many have grumbled about Brienne doing this after Jaime left her in 8.04, seeing it as a woman serving the story of a man, but that's not how I see this plot line at all. Yes, it completed Jaime's story and yes, she perhaps described the events in the most favourable way, but bear in mind for his entire adult life, he was viewed in a negative light for an action which, like Jon's, was for the greater good. Seeing the devastation Dany caused only reinforced just how significant his choice was when he killed the Mad King. Yes, he broke Brienne's heart and I hated it (putting them together in 8.04 both gave me what I wanted, while also giving me what I didn't - thanks again to the rushing), but I also loved that be giving us this scene, they also brought to the forefront again, how special Brienne is. She has always done what was just and honourable and has always believed in the good in people and it was because of her that many of the deeds she added to the book even happened! Jaime may have hurt her, but we saw she wasn't bitter and wanted the good he did to be recorded. She didn't let his last action cancel out all the others. I also loved that it was clear in that scene that she still cared deeply for him and had forgiven him for being unable to leave his past behind. Why do I say that? She still carried Oathkeeper; in such a sparse room there was a lion statue prominent on the table behind her; and the music playing over the scene was (I think) a blend of "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" (played when she was knighted) and "I Am Hers, She Is Mine" (which has accompanied scenes with both Robb/Tulisa and Tyrion/Shae), reinforcing the special connection they shared. Add to that, the beautiful performance by Gwendoline Christie (she better be nominated for awards); you see the emotion Brienne is holding back in her eyes as she writes, as she takes her time to complete her task, all before she runs her hand over the page gently before closing it. Yes, it gives Jaime closure and honour again, but it also is a testament to who she is as a person. If we were all a little more like Brienne, we'd all be better for it. Few characters so richly deserved to end their story with all the respect and status they'd always dreamed of. I'm only sad we won't get to see all the good deeds that she will do, that will fill her own pages. A final musical chapter for television's most ambitious soundtrack I'm a big fan of film and television scores and few are ever as impressive as this one and a consistent comment about season eight from me and many others, has been just how incredible Ramin Djawadi's score has been. Over the years, he has created beautiful themes for characters, Houses, while setting the mood for every political manoeuvre and shredding our nerves while watching every battle. Season eight has seen him play with themes to great emotional effect and The Iron Throne was no different. His slower rendition of The Rains of Castamere, associated so heavily with the violence of The Red Wedding, heightened Tyrion's grief and I've already spoken above about his delicate way of bringing the history of Jaime and Brienne's relationship in to the story's end. Dany's tragic end contained callbacks to her and Jon's theme and we also had the rousing farewell to the Starks, blending the theme most associated with their House, with the series's theme, while also throwing in echoes of their past (Arya sailed away to echoes of the same theme she had at the end of season 4 for example). Few shows have scores that are so ingrained in the emotions of the scenes, that you can see them as you listen to the music on its own, but season 8's music in particular certainly achieves this. Ramin, please hurry up and announce international dates for the next Game of Thrones music tour! Until then, I'll have the albums on my constant playlist! A visual masterpiece, setting a new bar for television & film! Even those less happy with this season have agreed that visually, nothing compares to Game of Thrones, in terms of the quality of the cinematography, visual effects and overall production values. In a way, I think we've become complacent about how each episode has a visual quality that surpasses not just other television shows, but most films too and the finale certainly didn't drop the ball in this area. We had the terrifying images of Dany addressing her armies, the breathtaking image of her literally being a dragon, as Drogon's wings unfolded behind her, the haunting echoes of her vision of coming face to face with the throne and the incredible framing of her death in Jon's arms. Drogon has now become so realistic, that you simply accept that there's a huge dragon on screen, screaming at the loss of its mother, nudging her lifeless body and then unleashing fire, finally removing the damn throne from the world! Plus, that Stark montage? Gorgeous. I only hope this series has set the bar for other shows to try and surpass in the future. Then there were all the little nods / call backs to the last eight years..... Okay, I admit, I didn't pick up on all of these on the first viewing and I assume I've not even noticed them all yet, but the series finale was full of nods to the show's past, some obvious and some wonderfully subtle. There were the breathtaking costume choices (look at Sansa's coronation dress - weirwood leaves, dire wolves and fish scales, to represent every aspect of her heritage), the old jokes (Tyrion is clearly never meant to finish that brothel joke, while Stannis' influence on Davos' grammar remains strong). Lord Varys was also annoyingly correct that the history books won't mention Tyrion (boo!), although giving the book the obvious title was a bit cheesy, while Tyrion has gone from the rebel in the Small Council dragging the chairs around, to the man leading a group of his own choosing. We had Greyworm keeping his promise to Missandei and heading to the beaches of Naath, while Arya, the girl who was once no one, sailed away proudly declaring she was a Stark. We also saw a nod to how The Iron Throne is described in George R.R. Martin's books when Dany recalls what she'd heard about it, a possible appearance by Hoyland Reed at the Dragonpit gathering, as well as a nod to Martin's as-yet unwritten seventh book, A Dream of Spring, with the green shoot visible through the snow, as Jon leaves The Wall, as well as a mirror of how episode one began, as the gates of Castle Black rose to let him pass through. Each one of these made the conclusion to the series more satisfying for me. Feel free to point out all the ones I've missed! Looking forward, by looking backwards It's sad to end this post without being able to speculate on what will happen in the next episode. Instead, we have a number of prequels in various stages of development to look forward to. They are all being made with HBO, so the production quality should remain and George R.R Martin is involved too, in some more than others. We don't know much yet, other than the rumours that the first of these prequels to go in to production is going to look at the first Long Night. The casting for this series also has me hopeful, as it contains some of my favourite stage actors (especially Denise Gough, John Heffernan). Nothing can replace Game of Thrones for me in this world; the characters are just too special, but I'll certainly be tuning in. I might write a few posts reflecting on various aspects of the series, now that the story and the characters' journeys can be viewed as a whole, but for now, I'll end by saying, that despite my sadness that season eight was so short, when there was enough rich material to give us so much more, I'm satisfied with how the story ended. Overall, it made sense to me, even the elements that I'd loved to have turned out differently (I'm looking at you Jaime and Dany). Few shows grab my attention the way this one has (it was after season two that I read the books) and few stories have offered me so many incredibly complex and compelling characters to invest in emotionally. It'll be a series I return to many times in the future and it will undoubtably remain one of my favourites and for that I'm grateful to everyone who has had a hand in its creation.