Welcome to part two of my Game of Thrones Rewrite. This post will solely focus on what I would have done with Season 8 of Game of Thrones based on the changes I made to seasons 6 and 7 in my previous post. At this point, my version of the story is completely different and will not continue the way the original season 8 did. To understand what’s going on in this post you’ll definitely need to check out Part I of the rewrite, click here to check it out. If you’ve already read it than continue below.
Season 8 will start almost a year forward in time. Jon has lost all of the cities in between the Wall and Winterfell. The Wildlings, half of the Unsullied, and some Northmen are all that’s left of Jon’s Army. Cersei and Euron are using wild fire, scropion bows, and the Greyjoy fleet as their main tools of conquest. They have already reclaimed Storms End and are advancing towards Riverrun but are still in a bloody war with the Dornish and the remaining Greyjoy ships in Yara’s control who has allied with Dorne. The first episode will basically teach us what has happened through exposition and war room meetings. Most of the reunions that happened in the original season 8 as well as many main character deaths of my version will be done through flashbacks peppered throughout the first two episodes.
The first battle of the season will be episode 2, the Battle of Winterfell. There we will learn in a flashback where Jon learns about his Targaryen lineage but doesn’t know what to do with it. He also has learned to command Viserion while riding Rhagal, the dragon named after his father. Jon’s forces seem to hold Winterfell after a gruesome episode but all hope is lost when White Danny comes on her ice dragon. She taunts Jon about the love they shared and distracts him long enough for the whites to destroy Winterfell. White Dany flees as Jon checks on his troops. In the carnage we’ll see Samwell Tarly be frozen to death by the Ice Dragon’s ice breath. The remaining forces retreat to White Harbor.
The next episode we’ll get Cersei and Euron defeating the Dornish, who send the Sand Snakes to murder the Queen. The Sand Snakes will be captured and tortured by Cersei while Euron conquers Dorne. Yara will flee with her last remaining ship. The episode then moves to a flashback of Jon’s first encounter with White Dany who tried to coerce him into joining the Dead in a parlay meeting. Back in reality, Tyrion, Sansa, Varys, and Jon’s remaining advisors convince Jon that the only way to defeat the dead is to take out Dany before getting to the Night King and Jon is the only one who could kill her which he finally accepts. He flies out with his two dragons and the episode ends.
The next episode happens with Jon on dragon-back, attacking whites and flying away to draw Dany out. He keeps getting more flashbacks that reveal deaths of main characters until he sees Dany flying towards him. After an amazing emotional battle Jon tries to reason with her, says he loves her, she tries to kill him and ends up killing Viserion, Jon’s extra dragon. Jon has a flashback to a battle where Ser Jorah Mormont pushes Jon out of the way and confronts Dany and gives a speach about how there is still good in her and how he loves her. She coldly kills him. Then he flashes back to another battle where Dolorous Edd is being overwhelmed by the undead army yelling “I am the shield that guards the realms of men!” as he takes his final breath. Jon will keep getting flashes of Dany killing his men. All of this motivates Jon to do what needs to be done. He maneuvers over Dany’s dragon as it lunges at him, jumps off of his dragon, and plunges his sword through Dany and her ice dragon as they plummet towards the ground. Rhagal lands near to see Jon atop the fiery carnage crying, holding Dany’s head in his arms. He pulls his sword out of her and it’s glowing red. This is how he forges Light Bringer, the sword of Azor Ahai, whose blade needs to be tempered with the blood of a loved one. He now has the determination and power he needs to kill the Night King with his sword of flame.
Jon comes back to his new base at White Harbor battered and bruised. Yara arrives there as well to inform him that Cersei beat the Dornish and reclaimed the Riverlands and that her uncle destroyed her fleet. The Lannister forces are marching North and are only a day away from White Harbor. Yara warns of her uncle’s imminent attack on White Harbor by sea. She has no means to stop him but Davos steps up and offers his smuggler skills to help assassinate him. Brienne also volunteers to help Yara. Knowing that they won’t be able to hold off the army of the dead with the Lannister forces at their tails, Jon gives Tyrion, and Sansa command of the remaining Unsullied to hold off Cersei. Jaime
(who has lost an eye and has a short spear in place of the hand he lost. This now makes him a competent fighter) argues that he knows Cersei’s forces well and it won’t be enough, especially with the her wildfire but he is dismissed by Jon who still doesn’t trust him. This forces Jaime to go rogue on a mission South in a last attempt to convince Cersei. He recruits the Hound with the promise of killing his brother who he reveals is alive and with Cersei. Arya catches him sneaking off and after a brief fight and agrees to accompany Jamie on his mission stating that she doesn’t trust Jamie (Jaime’s arc of the season will be earning trust from the other main characters). Plus, she’s been wanting to kill Cesie for a while. Jon uses the remaining forces to fight the undead. His goal is to kill the Night King so Bran offers himself as bait for the Night King which Jon refuses. He orders Tormund Giantsbane and Podrick Payne who is now a knight and fully capable to protect but they argue that drawing out Bran is the best move while Jon argues how there is no honor in using a cripple as bait The argument goes back and forth but there’s no clear winner. We shift to Sansa and Tyrion who are looking out from atop the castle walls. Sansa brings up their marriage and they laugh about simpler times. After a couple of jokes Tyrion touches Sansa’s hand and their eyes meet but they are cut off when they hear three blows of a horn signaling the coming battle and the episode ends.
The final episode is multiple missions happening at once. Sansa and Tyrion commanding and confessing their love of each other, Team Yara sailing into battle, Team Jamie heading to kill Cersei, and the Northmen marching into battle while Jon and Rhaegal wait for the Night King. Team Yara’s mission happens first and is quick and goes smoothly. Davos and Brienne have their heart to heart about fighting for different Baratheons and how Stannis used dark magic to kill Renly while smuggling them onto Euron’s ship. Brienne kills the guard and Yara kills Euron. Team Jamie is a little more messy. Arya uses her faceless assassin skills to get past the guards and into Cersei’s tent. There, the Hound finally gets to fight his brother Gregor in a battle to the death (CLEGANE BOWL), Arya kills the rest of the guards, while Jamie tries to talk sense into Cesei. Arya lets her guard down long enough for one to get the upper hand forcing the Hound to jump in and save Arya but Ser Gregor uses this to drive a sword through his chest. Arya responds by stabbing the mountain through the eye but is quickly overwhelmed by the other guards. Cersei convinces him to kneel by bringing up the twins that are supposedly his who are being held by two wet nurses. He finally submits by taking off his spear hand throwing it in front of Cersei and kneals before her. While bent down he sees a surrounded Arya crying over the Hound’s body and all the dead soldiers around him. A tear rolls down his cheek and he quickly grabs the spear hand with his left hand, rises, and stabs Cersei in one quick movement. Jaime looks down on Cersei’s dead body in despair and says “Why have the gods made me love a hateful woman?” before closing her eyes. The guards take their focus off Arya to kill Jaime. Arya uses the distraction to kill the remaining guards, the Hound gets his moment with Arya before he dies.
Meanwhile at the battle of White Harbor, Tyrion and Sansa are holding off the Lannister army fairly well, while Jon and his forces are fighting and losing to the undead. Jon is flying over the army and swooping down to fire blast the undead but can’t get to close without getting hit by the ice javelins. We then cut to Bran who successfully drew out the Night King in the Godswood with seemingly no protection. Ser Pod and Tormund pops out to defend him but the Night King quickly kills poor Pod after a matter of seconds and slowly advances. Tormund surprises the Night King and does a bit better but is eventually tossed aside. Bran wargs and uses some ravens and other animals to attack the Night King which works for only a moment before he kills them all. Finally, the Night king has a sword to Bran’s neck and is about to kill him when Jon swoops in on Dragon back. They talk for a bit and the Night King explains his motivation.
I’m not going to pretend that I know what George RR Martin has in mind for the Night King’s motivation so for this rewrite I’m going to go with him despising humans “who live to kill each other” and have descended Westeros into chaos and misery blah blah blah. Jon presents an offer similar to what Jaime offered Rob after the battle of the Whispering Wood and what Jon offered Ramsay before the Battle of The Bastards. “No need to drag out this war” Let the war be decided on the battle of them two. No dragons or outside help. Just a one on one fight. If the Night King wins, Jon is dead and he has an opportunity to get another dragon and rider but if Jon wins the war is over. The Night King accepts on the condition that he swears upon the graves of Daenerys and his adopted father Ned Stark which he does. Jon jumps down from his dragon and they fight. It’s a crazy sword fight and the Night King is almost overwhelmed by Jon’s sword Ligthbringer and it becomes obvious that the two are evenly matched. The battle goes on but Jon is tiring and is getting slower. Finally, Jon swings but is disarmed by Night King he rolls to grab his sword but the Night King presses his cold blade against Jon’s neck. The Night King praises Jon for his courage and honor then grants him last word. Jon thinks back to all the loved ones that died for the cause and all of those who are still alive. He thinks back to his adopted father Ned Stark teaching him to be honorable. Finally he looks up and says “Forgive me father… Dracarys!”
Rhagal descends upon the Night King with a blast of fire. It’s not enough to kill the Night King but it distracts him long enough for Jon to get the upper hand. The Night King tries to defend himself but Jon pulls a few quick dirty looking moves that and finally knocks the Night King down by sweeping his feet. He doesn’t wait for any last words and finally plunges Lightbringer into the Night Kings heart. The Undead army immediately melt and the war is over. Tormund wakes up and asks what happened and Jon replies “We won”
(The reason Jon needed to smirch his honor was because the entire series we saw men of honor die and plunge the world further into chaos the sake of honor. Jon needed to sacrifice his honor, which is at this point all he has left, in order to save the day.)
We then flash forward many years to the spring. We see Yara ruling the Iron Islands, Lord Tyrion and his wife Lady Sansa walk the streets of Casterly Rock, Old Tormund looks upon the ruins of the broken down Wall with his sons (the Wall is no longer necessary since the source of all White Walkers is dead), Arya is laughing while on a hunt with Gendry.
Then we flash to a Brienne wearing a White Cloak and a young boy beside her. She is walking up a hill to meet the king who is surrounded by advisers overlooking Kingslanding.
The kings herald presents the king. “Kneel for you are in the presence of King Jaehaerys of the House Targaryen, the Third of His Name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm and Lands Beyond the Wall, the Resurrected, Slayer of the Dead, and the Prince Who Was Promised.” Jaime kneels.
“No need for that. Rise, Ser Brienne” says the aged Jon Snow who has changed his name to Jaehaerys, after the great Targaryen King who was known as the Conciliator. “You seem uneasy old friend”
“It’s your son, your Grace” Brienne answers a bit uneasy gesturing to the boy “Today in the yard the prince was asking again about the Undead… about white walkers. I think he’s ready” Jon smiles bitterly and dismisses his party. He gestures to his son to come forward. Together, they walk forward and look upon the city.
Finally Jon sits down on a rock and gestures his son to sit with him and speaks.
“Come Eddard, let me tell you a story. A song of Ice and Fire.”
Roll Credits.
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(Maybe I’d add an after credit scene of Bran using his Three Eyed Raven abilities to visit the past. He climbs up the steps to an abandoned tower in Winterfell and as he gets higher he hears moaning. He walks into the room where Jaime and Cersei were screwing way back in the first episode of the show. He watches his past self catch the twins in the act and watches Jaime walk over. As Jaime turns to young Bran, older Bran’s eyes turn white and he says “Kill the boy” and Jaime instantly pushes young Bran out the window. We see Jaime walk back to Cersei and Bran smiles and continues “Let the man be born”)
Roll the rest of the credits
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So that’s my take on how Game of Thrones should have ended. In my version we maintain an interesting story while throwing in some fun surprises along the way. Dany’s story becomes the tragic story of a hero turned to the pawn of a villain. We saw a bastard born child rise to King of the Seven Kingdoms, but at a terrible cost. Let me know in the comments below what you liked and disliked.
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Almost everything is better than D and D gave us but I don’t like happy ending.
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One could argue that it’s a bitter sweet ending but I hear you
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