Fire and Blood

After last week's episode of Game of Thrones, I was trying to take a mental inventory. What still had to happen in the final episode? But I found that I could only clearly remember what happened to Daenerys. No surprise why, and I'll come back to that in a moment. But what about the rest of the characters? I couldn't remember what happened to them in the final chapters of the book.

Part of the problem was bleed-over between that first book and the next, A Clash of Kings. I picked up the second book immediately and began reading. Some events I was convinced were due to happen some time in season one, it became readily apparent as the season wore on were things I'd misplaced from the second book.

But part of the problem is that after the punchy, sit up and take notice impact of Eddard's execution, nearly everything else doesn't seem like such a big deal. Even when it's an important development, such as Robb Stark's countrymen proclaiming him "King of the North," it just doesn't leave the indelible mark of Eddard's final moments. So yes, there was the sense of a season finale in that things were being set into place for the next book/season -- Arya on the run, Sansa having to cope with new horrors at court, Tyrion being sent to King's Landing to try to reign in Joffrey, Jon Snow embarking on his mission beyond The Wall... but none of it felt quite "finale-like," right?

But then of course, there was the last big reveal, which anyone who'd read the books would have told you for sure would be the final moments of the season's final episode. I've had the same group of people at my house every week to watch the series -- mostly people who have read the books, but one who hasn't. And his comment as Dany was revealed in the ashes: "is that a dragon?!" pretty well says it all.

I think part of what makes this moment so big in the story is that until this point, there's been virtually no magic in this fantasy tale. Okay, so there are zombies -- but you get that in other stories with no magic. And yes, there were those spooky sounds coming from Drogo's tent last week as the witch worked her spell. But aside from those minor elements, A Song of Ice and Fire is much more "War of the Roses" than "War of the Ring," until...

Holy crap, dragons!

So yeah, the right note to end on. And hopefully, everyone is eager to come back next season and see book two adapted for the screen. I'm even more eager to dive into book five, due to be released now in just over three weeks. (At long last!) But either way, it was a great season of television.