House Stark Pulls Through as the Ultimate MVP of the Game of Thrones Series Finale

Updated on 5/24/2019 at 4:30 PM

Welcome to the final Game of Thrones: MVP of the Week, a weekly feature in which we crowned the character who stood out most during each episode of season eight. The MVP may have had the most kills, given the best monologue, or died the most heroic death. (Hey, we're just covering all our bases!)

Who knew we'd be here, Game of Thrones fans? Well, lots of people predicted several different theories that made it into the show's series finale (myself included), but damn if we knew it would end like this! There are so many loose ends that fans were hoping to be tied up by the end of it all, but in a season as uneven as season eight has been, we were never going to get an ending that feels completely right. Or coherent, even, to be honest. But there's one part of the finale that I don't mind acknowledging, even if it leaves us all with more questions than answers: the fate of House Stark.

From the very beginning of the series, it's felt like House Stark gets the short end of the stick. Their patriarch dies after being falsely labeled a traitor, then their matriarch and king die after being betrayed by their "allies," with their bodies desecrated in the foulest of ways. The remaining trueborn children are scattered all over Westeros and beyond, losing hope of seeing one another ever again. Oh, and their ~~half-brother~~ cousin winds up on the Wall seeing the wildest sh*t and low-key just trying to get everyone to stop making him responsible for things.

But in the end, House Stark comes back swinging! Oh, Ramsay Bolton still thinks he's one of the big boys? Cut him down, feed him to his dogs. The Night King is coming through, murking innocent people and trying to end the world with a Long Night? Hold Arya's beer while she handles that. Need some new rulers to handle the bag since y'all let a "liberator" get so powerful, she almost couldn't be stopped? Say less, just hand them their crowns. Honestly, Game of Thrones ends up being about House Stark's glow-up after adversity, and, since nothing else about this season makes sense, I'm going to take that and run with it. Keep reading and get ready to toast those kooky Northerners who come through winning in the end.

Sansa Stark, First Queen in the North

Look, we all know I have firmly been on Team Sansa since day one. But you have to admit, one of the few moments of the finale that feels right is the secession of the North from the Seven Kingdoms. Ever since Sansa escaped King's Landing, she's had a singular goal in mind: returning to Winterfell and ensuring her family never falls into the clutches of the South again. And honestly, if it wasn't for Sansa, the Starks wouldn't even have Winterfell in the first place. So, as a young woman who was held prisoner, sold into marriage, and beaten as punishment for her brother's campaign as King in the North, it's beautifully poetic to see Sansa be the Stark who finally secures the North's true freedom. And she doesn't ask for it, she declares that the North will be independent, like bad b*tches do!

Sansa has been destined for queenship since the first moment she's on screen, and it's fitting that after being right about basically everything, she gets her well-deserved crown. She isn't able to keep her family close, but she does get to see them go off to live their best lives, which is almost as good. In the end, the delicate Stark pawn outlives everyone who ever doubted her and comes out on top. A queen at her finest.

Bran Stark, King of the Six Kingdoms

It's the Summer of scamming, and Brandon I Stark is here to teach us his tricks! OK, so maybe Bran didn't know he was going to be king the whole time, but considering how rarely he actually tells anyone anything, it's not my fault that I'm suspicious. Somehow, the youngest Stark manages to wind up on the Iron Throne, and he still doesn't have to do a damn thing. Bran Stark is the millennial who baby boomers accuse us all of being, but with Three-Eyed Raven powers.

I'm still not sure exactly how Bran is going to work as the King of the Six Kingdoms when he doesn't even want to be a Lord of Winterfell and is obviously going to skip his duties to track down Drogon or just spy on everyone with his ravens, but I guess it doesn't really matter. It's the council that matters, right? Right . . .

Arya Stark, West of Westeros

Honestly, Arya deserves a vacation. She's been through a lot, and she's the one who killed the Night King! And after being tossed around like a hot potato during Daenerys's rampage through King's Landing, she could use a little rest and relaxation. But it's safe to say this Stark's adventures are far from over. She's off to explore the unknown, which I'm still a little confused about since all she's been wanting to do is reunite with her family. But again, we can't have everything! Considering how many times Arya has been on the brink of death, I can give her a break for skipping town and embracing the open sea. But you know what would be great on a trip like that? A lord with lots of experience rowing.

Jon Snow, a Free Man

Oh, Jon. When you compare the man in season eight's finale to the man just two seasons ago, it's like looking at two completely different characters. But there's one thing about both of them that stands true: Jon Snow just wants to be free. He's usually the man who will do the honorable thing for the greater good, and all it has really gotten him is more grief. He's been a commander, a king, and a warden of the north, but rarely has he been genuinely happy. By the time he kills Daenerys, he doesn't even know if he's doing the right thing or not.

Personally, I think Jon's ending is the most fitting one for him. All he's wanted since he was killed back in season five has been some peace and quiet. But there's always been another battle to fight, another evil to combat, another lover who turns out to be your aunt. Or maybe that just happens once. Regardless, as Tormund tells him in episode five, he has the blood of the true North in him. He's finally able to just be whoever the hell he decides to be, rather than dealing with all the politics that come along with his identity. Get your wild man on, Jon!

So, MVP of the Finale Goes to . . . House Stark!

Talk about starting from the bottom! The Starks all have dismal beginnings to their journeys, but in the end, they survive their worst. They've truly seen the pitfalls of power, personally faced the most evil of evils, and come out the better for it. And they're also, like, one of the few Houses that consists of more than one sole member; how wild is that?! Anyway, three cheers to House Stark, rulers of the Seven Kingdoms combined!