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In the second half of The Iron Throne, though, the ash clouds clear and the mood brightens.
Sansas lips part ever so slightly (with wonder?)
as she sits on her throne and surveys the bannermen acclaiming her the first-ever queen in the North.
Winter is passing, it would seem.
Like the closing scenes with the Starks, its a moment that looks to a possible future.
Build the new world with me, Daenerys pleads.
But the Dragon Queens grand sociopolitical vision has always been rather undercooked.
Its not easy to see something thats never been before, she assures Jon.
And Jon knows what good is, too, she insists.
He asks for assurance; she demands childlike faith.
(Like me, you may also find the etymology ofutopia Greek for no place evocative here.)
This gap in Daeneryss vision puts her in good company with the rest ofGame of Thrones characters.
What sort of new world could be built on such thin imaginative foundations?
The story doesnt say because it had to get on with the plot.
Which is why Bran, the Stark who stayed behind, is left out of this montage.
Hes the one sibling who cant face the future eagerly, warily, or any which way at all.
Personally, I struggled with my reaction to these final scenes.
Butthe more I sat with it, the more it felt like a gift.
But theres no reason we cant pick up the pen, too.
