The script for the Game Of Thrones finale has been released online, providing details which weren’t necessarily conveyed in the episode.
Game Of Thrones came to a controversial end back in May this year, with cast members recently subjected to scrutiny over the backlash to season eight at Comic-Con.
With the show picking up a whopping 32 Emmy nods, the script for the nominated final episode The Iron Throne has been released for everyone’s perusal – opening the gates for haters to maul every word.
So what’s the key takeaways from the script? Here’s the standout moments which didn’t sing from the screen.
Daenerys Targaryen is definitely dead – but where did Drogon fly with her body?
A big question hanging over the finale was where Drogon flew off to with Daenerys Targaryen’s body, with some believing she could have possibly survived being stabbed by Jon Snow.
The script not only confirms Daenerys did actually die, but it offers a clue to where Drogon was heading to. A segment reads: ‘He heads out toward the eastern sky, flying over Blackwater Bay. It’s not a dusky beauty shot; it’s gray and lifeless, as befits a funeral.’
The indication is Drogon perhaps flew back to Dragonstone, which makes sense considering it’s the ancestral stronghold of House Targaryen.
It was snow not ash falling at King’s Landing
Back in season two, Daenerys saw a vision in the House of the Undying which saw a glimpse inside the throne room of the Red Keep in King’s Landing reduced to ruins and covered in snow.
This vision came to fruition in the season eight finale after her descent into the mad queen territory, although the destruction in the battle for King’s Landing led many to believe it was actually ash and not snow falling from the ceiling.
Turns out, it was snow after all – with the script making a specific reference to her past vision.
The script reads: ‘Dany stands in the Throne Room. It looks just like it did in her vision, only the area behind the Iron Throne has been destroyed altogether. I.e., no window behind throne, Lannister or otherwise.
‘The snow falls lightly through the collapsed roof as she steps past the pillars, down the central aisle.’
It’s minor, but Reddit can sleep easy on the ash vs snow debate.
Drogon wasn’t as poetic as we believed
In one of the episode’s defining scenes, Drogon melted the Iron Throne to a crisp. After the death of Daenerys Targaryen, it’s largely been interpreted as a profound moment of symbolism to destroy the power-lust race which caused her demise to begin with.
Turns out, showrunners Dan Weiss and David Benioff didn’t spell this out quite as poetically – simply stating Drogon set fire to the throne because it was simply in the way.
After Drogon breathes fire on ‘the back wall’, the script reads: ‘We look over Jon’s shoulder as the fire sweeps toward the throne – not the target of Drogon’s wrath, just a dumb bystander caught up in the conflagration.’
In other words, the Iron Throne was just a ‘dumb bystander’. Great.
Jon Snow and Sansa failed geography
This isn’t exactly a revealing detail, but one particular description has caused furore online because it’s generally baffled everyone who has scanned over it.
After Arya Stark asks what’s west of Westeros as she looks to venture off solo, the script reads: ‘Jon and Sansa look at each other. They both failed geography.’
In the context of the rest of the bleak script, it feels like a slightly misplaced gag. Although, against all rational reason, maybe there is a Westeros equivalent of GCSE’s?
The untold reasoning behind Bran’s appointment
A primary sticking point with the finale was the decision to crown Bran Stark as ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, which many felt wasn’t earned coming off the prior episodes.
While the script isn’t exactly forthcoming with details to flesh out this decision (although it does make sense on the surface), it does feature some character thoughts which weren’t conveyed in the finale.
When it comes to Edmure Tully, whose leadership bid was shot down by Sansa, it reads: ‘Edmure is still miffed he wasn’t given serious consideration, but he expects he’ll have influence at court if his crippled nephew is ruling.’
While Gendry was simply ‘happy to go along’ with the decision, it’s the motivations for Yara Greyjoy’s agreement which perhaps would have benefitted from some clearer explanation in the show.
Referring to Yara, the script reads: ‘Yara has heard that her brother died defending Bran. She knows this choice would make Theon happy.’
Again, it’s a minor detail – but tying up ends like these helps convince audiences on these big twists.
You can catch-up on Game Of Thrones on NOW TV.
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