Ice and Fire and Series Finale Predictions and Parallels

[jcmontea]

Been thinking about the Series Finale a bit and how much the show loves to do parallels and ice/ fire book ends inspired by George. AGOT after all famously ends with the birth of the dragons (Fire) after starting with the appearance of the Others (Ice). I think something similar will need to take place in the series finale. 

 

This idea inspires my prediction for the series finale. The last episode both needs to contain an Ice and Fire bookend within it and bring to a close what was started in the Pilot episode. 

 

The first episode ends with Jaime and Cersei throwing Bran out the window, showing right away how toxic and destructive their relationship is. I think then a fitting beggining to the final episode is Jaime and Cersei’s death. I personally think it will be Cersei poisoning both herself and Jaime with the tears of Lys (“When your tears have drowned you”) and then Jaime choking her to death in a rage (“the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you.”) before he sucumbs to the poison.But however it actually goes down, their death at the beggining is the important thing. This not only establishes a sort of justice for the crime they commited at the end of the first episode, but it starts off the episode itself with death - i.e. Ice. 

 

So we would have the very first scenes of the first episode being the White Wallers and the Snow of the North (Ice) and the very first scene of the last episode being two tragic deaths (Ice). Additionally, this alone would establish a bittersweet tone for the finale since Tyrion would have to process Jaime’s death in the final episode. But of course the actual Great War in the first five episodes will also create a series of traumas and deaths that will need to be processed by the survivors and further add a bittersweet tone to the finale. 

 

Additionally, there will be tons of problems the survivors have to face resulting from all the wars that we know if we have paid close attention to the show will not be easy to resolve. We won’t see their resolution. Whether they are resolved will be left ambiguous and for us to argue about afterwards. Specifically I am thinking of stuff such as how do the Dothraki adjust to life in Westeros, are the new rulers actually good rulers, is order established, how do they feed themselves in the winter, is the wheel broken, what happens to the nobility etc. But we will be left with a feeling of hope which leads into the ending of Fire. 

 

The most logical one is something regarding the birth of Dany and Jon’s child. This works on multiple levels. The episode starts with death (Ice) therefore the opposite has to be new life and birth (Fire). The end of the first season was Dany giving birth and then the end of the series is Dany giving birth. Not only poetic on a structure level, but a fitting end for the character so associated with motherhood throughout the series. Finally, the beggining of the series was the white walkers (Ice) and then the end of the series becomes the Targaryens - i.e. the Dragons - bringing forth new life (Fire). Then the series also ends with a litteral dream of spring which is a hope for new life and new begginings represented by an actual child. 

 

Leading up to the actual end in the back half of the episode they will play around with other sorts of births - a new government, a new monarchy, a new marriage, new relationships etc. Thus the end of the show becomes a series of various different “Dreams of Spring” (Fire) Although I don’t think the actual last shot will be a bloody baby coming out of Dany, something tied to that baby and the new royal family and a feeling of hope in the future of Westeros and the new beginnings taking place is appropriate.

 

Additionally, we won’t know if this new Targaryen baby and Monarchy and all these beginnings will be good or bad. Like life itself it can be one or the other. Again another thing for us to argue about afterwards. That is why life in the show is fire. Fire can serve for both creation and destruction. We won’t know which way it goes, but we will have hope which is the key. That is also why the Targaryens themselves are such a great metaphor for fire and life and why the show will fittingly end with them back on the throne (in addition to highlinting the pointlessness of war but thats another post). They are life and fire, capable of genius and greatness on the one hand yet madness and saveagery on the other. 

 

Just an idea, but this structure to the Series Finale seems to really make sense on multiple levels and would be an extremely fitting end to a show based on A Song of Ice and Fire. Plus, we would get both tragedy and glory, death and life, bitter and sweet in the series finale which is just another way of saying Ice and Fire.