# Game of Thrones 8.06 "The Iron Throne" 5/19/2019 Show Discussion **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 19, 2019, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-06-the-iron-throne-5-19-2019-show-discussion/834204 "2019-05-19T21:21:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 25
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-06-the-iron-throne-5-19-2019-show-discussion/834204/481 "2019-05-21T19:10:44Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Circling back, more than a few people called Bronn too corrupt to be Master of Coin. But is he? I never saw him as corrupt. He’s a sellsword, selling his service to the highest bidder. But I never saw him do anything particularly wrong. Probably the closest was considering killing his sister-in-law to inherit her castle, but I don’t think he ever went through with it. My impression was that he wanted the castle for the money of course, but also to be seen as a respected member of the landed gentry. And to be an important government official adds to his respectability. So I can believe that he won’t be corrupt. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-06-the-iron-throne-5-19-2019-show-discussion/834204/482 "2019-05-21T19:15:30Z")
We never actually saw the murderer for hire kill his sister in law, that means you can trust him! Really guys? ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-06-the-iron-throne-5-19-2019-show-discussion/834204/483 "2019-05-21T19:19:02Z")
You can absolutely trust him to do what’s best for Bronn, and if his ultimate goal is to be the founder of a new great house then being legit absolutely benefits him. Besides you have to imagine Tyrion would be smart enough to have Bran keep an eye on him, or at least tell him that he will. ---
**Author:** ![Ambrosio\_Spinola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de0a6/32.png) [@Ambrosio\_Spinola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambrosio_Spinola)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-06-the-iron-throne-5-19-2019-show-discussion/834204/484 "2019-05-21T19:37:27Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > You can absolutely trust him to do what’s best for Bronn, and if his ultimate goal is to be the founder of a new great house then being legit absolutely benefits him. Besides you have to imagine Tyrion would be smart enough to have Bran keep an eye on him, or at least tell him that he will. His personal corruption would be secondary to the fact that he doesn’t [know anything at all about finance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9Rya1JlUac). He should really have some sort of martial position instead. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-06-the-iron-throne-5-19-2019-show-discussion/834204/485 "2019-05-21T19:46:04Z")
My wife and I think the finale and the season as a whole work better if you know they are coming. I think this is especially true for the finale, which was really an epilogue of sorts. I think Jon looking back while the gate closes was a great moment. I support fully his ending. I think Sansa leaving the kingdom is just a fan-service way to give her something instead of making her bend the knee to Bran. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-06-the-iron-throne-5-19-2019-show-discussion/834204/486 "2019-05-21T19:51:26Z")
> [@Steve\_McQwark](#): > > But he was willing to switch allegiances if he was offered more money. It’s what he did with Jaime and Tyrion. If that isn’t corruption, whatever it is is kissing cousins\* with corruption. > > \*) I’m guessing that idiom is probably not used in Westeros as it would be considered redundant. snicker ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-06-the-iron-throne-5-19-2019-show-discussion/834204/487 "2019-05-21T20:14:10Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Nobody ever offered the kingship of the North to Bran. King in the North - and we’ve seen several holders of that title - are chosen by the Northern nobles. Not historically. The King of the North was a hereditary title held by the Starks for millenia before the Targaryen conquest, before the last one bent the knee to Aegon the Conqueror to prevent further bloodshed. And when the North decided to rebel, it was no coincidence that the lords acclaimed the historic heir to the original title as King of the North. There is no indication that the King of the North is routinely supposed to be chosen by the Northern nobles. At the time Robb was killed, the location of his heirs, Bran and Rickon, was unknown. Now it’s true the nobles acclaimed Jon as King despite his bastardy, but it was because it was believed he was Ned Stark’s son. No one has ever been known to hold the title who wasn’t a Stark. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-06-the-iron-throne-5-19-2019-show-discussion/834204/488 "2019-05-21T20:22:15Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > You can absolutely trust him to do what’s best for Bronn, and if his ultimate goal is to be the founder of a new great house then being legit absolutely benefits him. Besides you have to imagine Tyrion would be smart enough to have Bran keep an eye on him, or at least tell him that he will. Because Littlefinger was on the level? Because anyone other than Ned Stark was on the level? Bronn’s best attribute is that he knows that the Lords aren’t actually noble. They got there by stealing and cheating and killing until they had enough power to command respect. He tells Tyrion and Jaime as much. He legitimizes himself as a great Lord not by being respectable, but by being rich and powerful enough that people are forced to deal with him as an equal. I agree that Bronn not having any of the necessary skills might be a bigger issue, but it’s a 100% rock solid bet that Bronn cheats the system for extra advantage. ---
**Author:** ![Hellestal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hellestal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hellestal)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-06-the-iron-throne-5-19-2019-show-discussion/834204/489 "2019-05-21T20:24:12Z")
Bran set the whole thing up. He knew it was going to happen, he three-eye raven’d that shit. Starting at least from the time Jon learned his ancestry. This is why he was pestering Sam to tell Jon. He knew Jon was going to be a dipshit and tell Sansa, knew Sansa would tell Tyrion, knew Tyrion would tell Varys, knew Varys would betray Dany and make her feel paranoid, knew Dany would flip her shit and murder a few hundred thousand innocents, knew Jon would stab Dany to end the madness and leave the throne open. Or the dais, rather. The platform where the throne used to be is going to be wide open. Just waiting for him to wheel his ass onto it. He was grinning the whole way down from Winterfell to the ruins of King’s Landing. On the inside. On the outside he still looked like a creep. He saw it all, peeps. Oh? And those rumors that he can’t have children? Lies. The plumbing works. After Tyrion consolidates power, the inevitable revolts ruthlessly crushed, he’s gonna get married and the wife is going to start popping out princes. Bran of House Broken, first of his name, is going to found a dynasty of pasty-faced successors that lasts a thousand years. That’s my story and I’m stickin to it. I wish they’d gone a little slower. Last season could’ve used an extra episode, this season maybe one or two. But I enjoyed the hell out of that, all things considered. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-06-the-iron-throne-5-19-2019-show-discussion/834204/490 "2019-05-21T20:26:49Z")
In the small council meeting, I think Samwell Tarly said something about the sewers needing to be improved and how that could improve public health. It seemed to me that between him, Tyrion and Bran, Westeros might be beginning an Age of Reason, in which science and thought drive government decisions. And it will be interesting what happens when a criminal or civil dispute (a tavern brawl or a he said, she said) can be settled definitively by a monarch who can see for himself what really happened. Perhaps a more equitable and fair society will develop? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-06-the-iron-throne-5-19-2019-show-discussion/834204/491 "2019-05-21T20:29:12Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > All true, but in my head canon he’s still ridden off to be King in the North. In fact up in me noggin…the Free Folk wern’t waiting on Jon at Castle Black…they CAME BACK to escort HIM North. You’re confusing the King of the North (of the Northern Kingdom) with the King-Beyond-The-Wall, which is a non-hereditary title held by whomever can unite most of the Wildlings in the area north of the wall. Mance Rayder was the last King-Beyond-The-Wall. In fact, it does appear that Jon is abandoning his post at the Wall. But if at that point he actually is Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch again he can command himself to do whatever he wants. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-06-the-iron-throne-5-19-2019-show-discussion/834204/492 "2019-05-21T20:34:10Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > You’re confusing the King of the North (of the Northern Kingdom) with the King-Beyond-The-Wall, which is a non-hereditary title held by whomever can unite most of the Wildlings in the area north of the wall. Mance Rayder was the last King-Beyond-The-Wall. > > In fact, it does appear that Jon is abandoning his post at the Wall. But if at that point he actually is Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch again he can command himself to do whatever he wants. the Lord Commander is above the law? Sounds like current events. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-06-the-iron-throne-5-19-2019-show-discussion/834204/493 "2019-05-21T20:39:34Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > In fact, it does appear that Jon is abandoning his post at the Wall. But if at that point he actually is Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch again he can command himself to do whatever he wants. I think it’s just as likely he’s the 1000th LC of the NW and simply escorting the surviving Wildlings north to repopulate the lands beyond the wall. But I also think the ambiguity in Jon’s ending was intended, and different people can come to different conclusions. Abandoning the Night’s Watch to become King Beyond the Wall would be another great ending for him. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-06-the-iron-throne-5-19-2019-show-discussion/834204/494 "2019-05-21T20:43:55Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I think both are correct; the raid on Ollie’s village was led by Tormund and Ygritte, but I could swear there were big skinhead dudes (the cannibals) there as well. They didn’t climb the wall with our intrepid heroes, did they? I haven’t been able to confirm that the the Thenns were part of Tormund’s party that climbed the Wall. I think they may have joined them afterward after climbing themselves. But although Tormund et al seemed to have an established system for climbing the Wall, my point stands that raiding parties couldn’t have brought back much with them if they had to re-climb the Wall with it. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-06-the-iron-throne-5-19-2019-show-discussion/834204/495 "2019-05-21T21:01:10Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I haven’t been able to confirm that the the Thenns were part of Tormund’s party that climbed the Wall. I think they may have joined them afterward after climbing themselves. But although Tormund et al seemed to have an established system for climbing the Wall, my point stands that raiding parties couldn’t have brought back much with them if they had to re-climb the Wall with it. When the Thenns meet up with Wildling raiding party, Tormund asks if Mance sent them, so they didn’t cross over the wall together. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-06-the-iron-throne-5-19-2019-show-discussion/834204/496 "2019-05-21T21:07:57Z")
Now the one who has _really_ violated his Night’s Watch Oath is Samwell, since he’s not only had sex with Gilly, he’s fathered a child with her. Technically speaking, he’s also been AWOL ever since he left the Citadel, where Jon ordered him to go. He never received orders to leave. He could be freed of his oath by a King, but we haven’t seen that. Now he is a maester, but that doesn’t get him off the hook since maesters also take a vow of celibacy. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-06-the-iron-throne-5-19-2019-show-discussion/834204/497 "2019-05-21T21:14:55Z")
as someone mentioned how is Sam a maester? He did not complete his studies from what we know. Or maybe I am forgetting a scene where he mentions finishing the studies. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-06-the-iron-throne-5-19-2019-show-discussion/834204/498 "2019-05-21T21:23:07Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > as someone mentioned how is Sam a maester? He did not complete his studies from what we know. Or maybe I am forgetting a scene where he mentions finishing the studies. In the [Small Council meeting at the end](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BOkcVK8J5g), Tyrion refers to him (and he refers to himself) as Archmaester\*, and he is wearing a maester’s robes and chain. Maybe he finished his degree through correspondence school.😉 In what is sure to be a disappointment to the ladies of Westeros, in the same scene Podrick appears wearing the armor of the Kingsguard\*\*, who are also sworn to celibacy. \*He’s also evidently Grand Maester, the one assigned to Kings Landing. \*\*Brienne evidently is Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-06-the-iron-throne-5-19-2019-show-discussion/834204/499 "2019-05-21T21:43:43Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Not historically. The King of the North was a hereditary title held by the Starks for millenia before the Targaryen conquest, before the last one bent the knee to Aegon the Conqueror to prevent further bloodshed. And when the North decided to rebel, it was no coincidence that the lords acclaimed the historic heir to the original title as King of the North. There is no indication that the King of the North is routinely supposed to be chosen by the Northern nobles. At the time Robb was killed, the location of his heirs, Bran and Rickon, was unknown. Now it’s true the nobles acclaimed Jon as King despite his bastardy, but it was because it was believed he was Ned Stark’s son. No one has ever been known to hold the title who wasn’t a Stark. (nitpic) It’s King _in_ the North or now Queen in the North. There’s probably some reason why it’s not King or Queen _of_ but who knows. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-06-the-iron-throne-5-19-2019-show-discussion/834204/500 "2019-05-21T22:00:05Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > (nitpic) It’s King _in_ the North or now Queen in the North. There’s probably some reason why it’s not King or Queen _of_ but who knows. My 2 cents: Robert Baratheon, and then Renly, claimed to be King _ **of** _ the Seven Kingdoms. When the North rose up under Robb Stark, they made a point that they didn’t want to be ruled by some southerner. They would choose a king who lived there, not someone who exerted influence from afar. Therefore, the King _ **in** _ the North. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-06-the-iron-throne-5-19-2019-show-discussion/834204.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-06-the-iron-throne-5-19-2019-show-discussion/834204.md?page=26)