The end of Game of Thrones was understandably divisive. Many elements of the series end seemed rushed and somewhat nonsensical, and it ultimately felt like the series was trying to cram everything it could into it's final few episodes when the amount of story those episodes told would typically have taken up at least a few seasons of the show.
But what has very clearly been one of the bigger issues for fans of the show is the endings of each individual character's story. It seems like some of the characters got the endings that they always dreamed of (or at least always deserved), while others finished off the series in a way that did no justice to their character or their story. So here's 5 GoT characters who got appropriate endings, along with 5 who's endings were astoundingly lackluster.
Fitting: Tyrion Lannister
Tyrion has always been one of the smartest men in all Seven Kingdoms, but his success as a Hand has not been what one might expect for someone as brilliant as him. Unfortunately for Tyrion, his personal decisions have reaped a lot of destruction in Westeros, and responsibility for the unstable political climate in the country disproportionately rests on his shoulders.
So, just as Bran the Broken said, what better punishment is there for Tyrion than once again becoming Hand, and ultimately having to be the one to clean up this awful mess that the reign of Dany and the Lannisters hath wrought?
Deserved More: Jaime Lannister
Jaime Lannister went through quite the character transformation over the course of Game of Thrones, and nothing punctuated that more clearly than when Jaime was finally face to face with Bran Stark once again.
The world was just as shocked as he was, because it was almost easy to forget that he was once the man who tried to murder a child in order to keep his affair with his twin sister a secret. So then, it was incredibly disappointing when Jaime decided to ditch Brienne (along with all of his character development) and return to King's Landing to once again tie his fate with Cersei.
Fitting: Samwell Tarly
Okay so, in fairness, Samwell Tarly never actually became a Facebook official maester of the Citadel. So the fact that he is now Grand Maester of the remaining Six Kingdoms does feel like a bit of a cheat.
But after the reigns of people like Maester Pycelle or Maester Qyburn, it's more than understandable and more than a relief to know that now Sam is the Grand Maester. And while he didn't get there through a traditional route, it's safe to say that Sam is likely cleverer, more educated, and most importantly more experienced than nearly anyone else who's done the job.
Deserved More: Cersei Lannister
It feels weird to say that Cersei Lannister's ending deserved more than she got, since she was basically the worst nightmare of Game of Thrones for nearly it's entire run. She was more destructive than the Night King himself, for god's sake.
But it's for that exact reason that Cersei's ending seems like such a flop. If she were going to die, it should have been epic. It should have been closer to what she deserved. But dying in a roof collapse with the love of her life was an abrupt and strange end to this massively influential character.
Fitting: Grey Worm
Although Grey Worm was Daenerys Targaryen's most faithful warrior and servant, it's obviously no mistake that once the war was over that he decided to take all of the Unsullied to Naath to protect the peaceful people there.
And it's clear that Grey Worm's life will never be free of violence, he's going to Naath specifically to do violence in service of those who will not, but after a lifetime as a slave and then as a warmonger it's only right that he and the rest of the Unsullied get to retire to a beautiful and peaceful tropical island.
Deserved More: Daenerys Targaryen
You know, there are worlds in which Daenerys Targaryen's descent into madness could have made sense. But unfortunately, we do not live in that world.
There was plenty of backstory to explain why Dany might burn King's Landing to the ground and she even had justifiable reason to go literally scorched earth on her enemies towards the end (after all, two of her dragons were dead and they were the only real power she had, why give anyone else the opportunity to kill Drogon too). However, none of that seemed to factor into what she actually did and why.
Fitting: Brienne of Tarth
Brienne of Tarth isn't just a warrior. She is a knight in the most honorable and purest sense of the word. She lived her life dutifully and with unbreakable strength, and she was a better representation of knighthood than almost every knight in the Seven Kingdoms.
So the fact that Brienne was not only knighted before her end on the series, but that she actually became Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, was a brilliant end for this brilliant character. Brienne finally got the respect on her name that she deserved, and her dreams really did come true.
Deserved More: Jon Snow
To be honest, Jon Snow's entire character arc was downright bizarre in retrospect. He's one of the greatest warriors who ever lived, he was resurrected through the will of the Lord of Light, and he is literally the rightful heir to the throne of Westeros.
Presumably Jon's resurrection will be excused by the fact that he needed to be brought back specifically to kill Dany, but it's just strange to have seen everything that Jon has gone through and realize that after all of this insanity, he is essentially going back to the exact same life he had before.
Fitting: Sansa Stark
Sansa probably got the best character story out of every character on the series. She always had fanciful dreams about benevolent queens and honorable kings, and she wanted nothing more than to be queen of Westeros.
But then she met the people that she fantasized about, and realized that they were more terrible than she could have imagined. So that transformed everything about Sansa's perspective. She still wanted to be the benevolent queen, but now it was because she could use it to protect people, not because she wanted people to love her. And after all of her suffering and hard lessons learned, she made became the woman she truly wanted to be.
Deserved More: Arya Stark
In theory Arya Stark's conclusion could have made some sense, but it seems to fly in the face of everything her character went through and learned. One of the running themes for Arya was that no matter how far Arya ran from her old life, she was still Arya Stark and Winterfell was still her home. Everything she ever did was to either avenge or protect her family.
So then, it's absolutely baffling that after finally reuniting with them, Arya decides to take off on what looks like little more than a suicide mission across the unknown seas to go further from her family than she'd ever been before.