Reign ends for flawed but fabulous Game of Thrones

When Game of Thrones made its modest debut, no one imagined it would become the defining TV phenomenon of the decade.

The Game of Thrones cast gather for a final episode picture.

WARNING: SPOILERS

Eight years ago, when HBO’s Game of Thrones made its modest debut, no one imagined a sex-drenched medieval fantasy featuring dragons and zombies would become the defining television phenomenon of the decade.

And as of yesterday’s episode on Foxtel, it’s all over. Endings can be a raw and divisive experience for audiences; perhaps more so in this case for Australian ones, who could rightly conclude that the federal election last weekend delivered superior twists and turns.

Fiery stare ... Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen. Picture: Foxtel

Inarguable at least, were the ratings: a record 1.5 million people across Australia watched the long-awaited final episode.

The sixth and last episode of the hit-series, entitled The Iron Throne, was watched by around 1.08 million on Foxtel’s pay-television platform, and 471,000 across its streaming services, according to Foxtel.

The dramatic features of the ­finale, The Iron Throne, were deserved, if unsurprising.

Daenerys Targaryen had been the show’s beloved dragon-riding heroine until she burned the inhabitants of an entire city, simultaneously winning the Iron Throne and forfeiting her moral claim to it with her ends-justified-the-means ­utopianism.

A deadly embrace: Dany is stabbed in the heart by Jon. Picture: Foxtel

Her lover (and nephew) Jon Snow chose duty over love and stabbed her during a passionate embrace in sight of the throne she had long coveted. And Bran Stark, the wheelchair-bound boy wizard, was crowned — as most bookmakers had predicted.

Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) and Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner). Picture: Foxtel the final episode of "Game of Thrones," that aired Sunday, May 19, 2019. (HBO via AP)

Did all of this unfold with ­panache, poignancy, suspense? No. Rather, it felt like the efforts of a creatively exhausted production.

But Game of Thrones did live up to its promise as a philosophical meditation on the nature of power. After all those characters who tried to take the throne by bloodright or force, the lords and ladies of Westeros voted for Bran. And since his paraplegia would prevent him having heirs, they agreed to gather again in the ­future to choose his successor.

Kit Harington as Jon Snow. Picture: Foxtel

Elsewhere, Arya Stark sailed west to discover what lay beyond the edge of the maps, Sansa Stark was crowned queen of an independent North, Drogon flew away with Daenerys’ body, while Jon re-joined the Night’s Watch as a negotiated punishment for killing her.

But perhaps the last words belong to Tyrion (or George R.R. Martin, the author on whose books the series was based, whom many suspected of speaking through the character).

“There’s nothing in the world more powerful than a good story,” Tyrion said. “Nothing can stop it, no enemy can defeat it.”

For all its flaws, Game of Thrones has enthralled tens of millions across the world for almost a decade with one very good story. It will neither be forgotten nor surpassed anytime soon.

The HBO show has won a record 47 Emmy awards.

A prequel, dubbed Bloodmoon, is reportedly being filmed in Belfast.