Game of Thrones: 5 Alternate Endings Better Than the One We Got

In my opinion, one's enjoyment of the series finale depends on two things. First, whether you believe and feel invested in the moral shift that occurs in Daenerys during "The Bells." Second, your overall ability to ignore the things about that episode that lack logic. For example, Tyrion's choice to turn on Varys rather than shield his friend from death doesn't make sense considering Varys helped smuggle Tyrion to freedom after the murder of King Joffrey in season four.

So what if Varys doesn't die and Daenerys chooses to kill Jon instead? Don't get me wrong, I am well aware that having Jon kill his beloved queen is poetic, but c'mon, we all saw it coming. So if the creators really wanted a final season that aroused shock and awe, they wouldn't let the Mother of Dragons renege on her own words. Don't forget, when Tyrion walks into her chamber to inform her of a betrayal, she already knows and replies, "Jon Snow."

To have her kill Jon would align with her history of foregoing love for duty. Consider season four when Daario Naharis professes his love for Daenerys. Even though the feelings are mutual, she rebuffs him saying the best thing he can do for her is kill her enemies. She then agrees to marry Hizdahr zo Loraq, a former Meereen slave trader, for the sake of power. When Hizdahr betrays her, she kills him. And even after all that, she still leaves Daario behind as she sails for Westeros to assert herself as queen. The point here being, if power is that important to her (and if she can burn a city), she should have no trouble killing the one person who could beat her to the Iron Throne.

Arya ends season eight on a redemptive path. And after years of vitriol and revenge, peace is an important element to add to her character — otherwise she could eventually go to the same extremes as Daenerys. Nonetheless, as a fan of the show, I wanted her to use her Faceless Man skills one more time. Wouldn't it have been wonderful if instead of Qyburn dying a quick death at the hands of the Mountain, Arya tortured him and took his face on her way to kill Cersei?

Better yet, what if after the destruction of King's Landing, having seen the carnage first hand on the ground, Arya steals Grey Worm's face and attempts to kill Daenerys? Now, I know that having Arya kill the Night King and the Dragon Queen is almost giving her too much power, but we could always have Jon stop her so that he can do the task himself. This would maintain the heartbreak of having to kill the woman he loves.

However, I personally believe that having Arya kill Daenerys is just as strong because we would get the repeated image of Jon losing a loved one by the hands of another. Remember, how Olly shot Ygritte in season four, and how Jon cradled her body after she died? Visually, the moments are eerily similar. Why not tie them together with a narrative bow that makes sense and utilizes the history of the show?

Brienne actually has a lovely ending as the head of the Kingsguard. We even enjoy the touching tribute she gives Jaime by preserving his legacy in the official ledger and finishing it with the words, "He died protecting his queen." However, I'm not a big fan of the way we left her at the end of episode four, crying over a man.

How about an ending where Brienne goes full John Wick? She could ride to King's Landing with the intent to kill Cersei for the indirect role the queen plays in destroying her heart. Yes, I am well aware that this is not in line with Brienne's honorable nature. But why should we let the lack of logic ruin our fun when the series has sidestepped this issue in the past?

Having Brienne go after Cersei would bring closure to her relationship with Jaime and force him to make a choice that's more difficult than simply walking away. Does he fight Brienne to save his sister or does he side with Brienne to take down a tyrant? This would also give Cersei more to do than drink wine and look out the window all season. She'd either have to fight or use her cunning in new ways, since Brienne only responds to honesty and a pureness of heart.

And of course, how awesome would it be to see Brienne charge through the Hound and the Mountain to slit Cersei's throat?

In the fourth episode of season eight, we have a wonderful scene where Bronn walks in unannounced, threatens the Lannister brothers, and extorts Highgarden from them. And yet, that's the extent of his work this season other than accepting the crossbow from Cersei in the premiere and his jokes about brothels in the finale. In the past, Bronn has been a pivotal character, saving Tyrion in his trial by combat at the Eyrie and convincing Jaime to help his brother escape King's Landing after the death of Joffrey.

Why not do more with this character? His scene with Jaime and Tyrion proves that a win from Team Daenerys gets Bronn a better deal, so why not have him turn on Cersei? After all, he is a sellsword.

In our version of this story, he'd return to King's Landing intent on killing the queen. If he succeeds, we have another spitfire of a showdown for the finale between Bronn and Jaime ± which would be more satisfying one than the last-minute douchery of Euron's attempt at a fight. But more importantly, adding another name to Cersei's list of foes would build tension in the audience and make us wonder how she'll die. Will Arya get to her first? Will Brienne get to her first? Or will Bronn?

Now, I don't want to turn this into English class, but there's one cardinal rule of creative writing: show, don't tell. All this simply means is don't talk about it, be about it. The series finale, however, ignores this rule entirely. The episode mostly contains people sitting around, chatting and speechifying like some never-ending city council meeting. Even Daenerys stands in front of her troops and gives a lengthy discourse about the lands she's going to conquer, but she never does anything to take action.

What if she actually waged her next battle? Think about this: the first location she names for her next attack is Winterfell. Not the North. Not the lands beyond the Wall. She says, "Winterfell." Call it what you will, but that's a direct threat to Sansa. And to be perfectly honest, the show would have been so much better — and given Jon an extremely personal reason to kill his queen — if Daenerys had followed through on her threat. In fact, this is the second major time she's articulated her desire to challenge Sansa. The first time occurs during her conversation with Tyrion about the traitors in her midst in episode five. She says, "[Varys] knows the truth about Jon . . . because you told him. You learned from Sansa, and she learned from Jon, though I begged him not to tell her."

Of course, her love for Jon is the element holding her back, but this show has always been about backstabbing and duplicity. So, the ultimate double cross of Jon's affections, especially after he spurned her desire to remain lovers, would be to attack his sister. She doesn't have to succeed, but the effort should have been made since the seeds were planted the minute Daenerys arrived at Winterfell.