My heart goes out to King’s Landing. I never thought it would. Prior to mowing down a city with fire after it had surrendered, Danaerys Targaryen had been showing signs of a mental collapse. But I don't think anybody could have predicted it would be so extreme, resulting in the killing of thousands of innocent people in the worst massacre of the whole series. It’s the most diabolical action ever taken in Game of Thrones, which says a lot when you consider the show has spawned people like Ramsey Bolton and Jeoffrey Baratheon, two tyrants who were as pure evil as they come. Cersei Lannister was a third tyrant, but she wasn’t quite as bad as her male predecessors. Now we have a fourth tyrant, our golden-haired hero Khaleesi, who makes the most radical character transformation out of anyone in our long journey.
The reasons for her collapse are already much debated. She completely snapped once she obtained the power she'd sought for so long. It all started when John Snow told her the truth about being the son of her brother and therefore her nephew. She’d lost the greatest claim to the throne, and her lover at the same time. “The Long Night” was emotionally draining for everyone, but she lost the closest friend out of all, in Jorah. Then she lost her second dragon, had an innocent Varys killed for “treason”, a foreshadowing of what was to come. Her realization that the people loved John more than her, and that he would be a better leader, kindled a kind of jealousy we weren’t aware she was capable of having. The last straw came when Cersei had the wife of an Unsullied killed. It was loss, wrath, revenge, exhaustion, jealousy and suspicion, all rolled into one. Nobody could fully understand Danaerys' emotions at the time but herself. She is a prime example of how good people become bad. With enough stress, it can happen to almost anyone trying to make the world a better place, changing them into the very thing they tried to eradicate from it. Conquerors often adopt this mindset when rallying support, that the violence necessary to rid the world of suffering is inevitable, and that all the warfare will be justified after the new kingdom establishes an era of unprecedented peace. They mistakenly believe that they are the only ones waging war for peace when they're really no different from the conquerors they condemn as tyrants. Violence begets violence, no matter what your intentions are.
Before this happened, my mom had asked me who I thought would come out on top as King of Westeros when it was all over. I’d predicted Tyrion, without any confidence. The obvious answer was John, but that was a little too obvious, and if there’s one thing the writers of Game of Thrones have been consistent in, it’s in allowing the less obvious take place. After this event it’s even more clear that John will take the throne, yet now that it’s more obvious, my prediction stands. Tyrion never asked for the throne, just like John. He is just, clever, merciful, firm when he needs to be: all good traits in a king. He may not be as physically strong as John, but he might be just as effective, perhaps more. The Greek philosopher Plato thought that philosopher-kings would be the most effective type of king, and Tyrion fills more of that criterion than John. When it’s all over, and everyone has killed each other off and finished their senseless fighting, I believe he’ll remain standing because he’s the only person in the Seven Kingdoms that could be perceived as an ally by all parties. Being the highest-ranking Lannister left might forgive him for what happened at King’s Landing. Obviously, he helped the north and the south in a way that nobody but Danaerys had. Lastly, we shouldn't forget that he's a game player, while John is not. Throughout the series he has played the cleverest minds trying to get the throne, foiling them and supporting them at different points. By the series title alone, Tyrion's rise would make the most sense out of anyone.
PS: I grieve for Sandor Clegane, my favorite character in the whole series. Who would have thought his brother was a fucking zombie!?
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