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Which Side of the Coin did Game of Thrones Season 8 Land On: Madness or Greatness?

*Warning: Spoilers for the whole series ahead*

With the unveiling of HBO's Game of Thrones Season 8, fans have been divided in terms of how it was received; was it total madness or absolute greatness? Currently over 1.5 million disapproving viewers have petitioned to remake the final season, calling out complaints of poor writing, rushed conclusions, unprofessional mistakes, and subverting expectations that were founded on in-canon prophesies. On the other side of the coin, others still found the season to be enjoyable, even though it wasn't the ending anyone necessarily wanted nor expected. So who is right? Was the outcome of season 8 madness or greatness? Is there even a difference between the two, and how does that affect how we view our beloved characters versus those we perceive as evil?

 

“Madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin. Every time a new Targaryen is born, the gods toss the coin in the air and the world holds its breath to see how it will land.” ― George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords

 

This quote from George R.R. Martin's A Storm of Swords works as a great analogy to the weight season 8 carried in regards to the impact it would have on the entire TV series. Imagine season 8 as the coin; one side is its triumph in greatness, the other is complete madness and failure. In the case of season 8, the story-lines were forcibly rushed to meet the desired screen-time allotted by the writers, and in doing so, they spun the coin faster, blurring the images of heads versus tails or greatness versus madness. How the coin ultimately landed is not as definitive as one might expect, rather it is dependent on your own perspective, just as the concept of breaking the wheel differed in the eyes of Daenerys versus the council that initiated the reign of Bran the Broken.

Does that make Daenerys evil or just insane, and do the two coincide? Countless quotes about the correlation of madness and greatness have been shared throughout time, as well as the differences between mad and evil. The prevailing message among them all is that you cannot have one without some of the other. The coin analogy was originally used in context to the Targaryen lineage of madness, and it was clear in season 8 that the fated coin of our beloved Dany had finally stopped spinning. To many, the memories of her as a young and naive girl back in Season 1 had been tarnished and renounced that greatness we had seen in her; despite our witnessing of her gradual ascendancy to rule as analogous to the wavering odds of her descent into madness.

While some believe this portrayal of Daenerys was unjustified and a mere result of poor writing, others, like myself, think this was actually a spot-on decision for her character arc, regardless of the overall execution. It begs the question, was she always predestined to become mad like her father, Aerys II Targaryen aka the Mad King, or was it simply due to the series of traumatic circumstances preordaining the events at the battle of King's Landing? It is worth noting that she was not only betrayed by her trusted advisor, Varys, in Episode 5, but also lost her second dragon, Rhaegal, as well as her best friend and adviser, Missandei, in Episode 4, in addition to Jorah in Episode 3, which is enough loss to make anyone question their own purpose and sanity. However, the show seemed to suggest a deeper-rooted cause. The introduction to Episode 5, The Bells, recounted the foreshadowing threats to Daenerys' character arc throughout the series.

 

"Every time a Targaryen is born, the gods flip a coin." [Cersei Lannister, S2E7] "The Mad King gave his enemies the justice he thought they deserved." [Ser Barristan Selmy, S5E2] "Children are not their fathers." [Tyrion Lannister, S7E3] "Be a dragon." [Olenna Tyrell, S7E2] "You have a gentle heart." [Jorah Mormont, S2E5] "Targaryen, alone in the world, is a terrible thing." [Aemon Targaryen, S5E5] "You don't want to wake the dragon, do you?" [Viserys Targaryen, S1E1]

 

These quotes represent more than just the infamous knowledge and fear that is tied to the Targaryen name. They characterize Daenerys' internal struggle not only throughout her path to conquering Westeros, but especially in the volatile and transitory moment when she decided to give no mercy to Cersei and the innocent civilians of King's Landing. Moreover, these once spoken words hold a tragic weight in us knowing none of these characters are still alive, with the exception of Tyrion, who chose to leave her side as Hand of the Queen after the massacre. It was with the loss of Daenerys' closest allies, including that of Jon Snow romantically, that our Khaleesi had found herself completely isolated from love and had begun her conquest as the Mad Queen with fear.

Thus, to those who still criticize the show for not hinting at or executing this transition well enough, it is important to remember that even without loss, power can go to one's head and their sanity can flip a switch on a dime. I personally feel very strongly about this character development, in the most positive way, because it satisfies me to have witnessed a story-line that humanizes the Mad King through following the development of his daughter in both her wavering power and state of mind. While Aerys II Targaryen was vilified from the beginning of the show, we are now able to recognize that he likely achieved some sort of greatness prior to his demise, just like Daenerys.

If anyone truly thought there would be a happy ending for Daenerys after watching episode 5, then I applaud you for holding onto that hope, almost innocence, of who she once was. But in the wise words of the disturbed Ramsay Snow/Bolton, "If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." Throughout the series, Game of Thrones has repeatedly shown that life is not a fairy-tale, nobody is perfect, and one's perspective of justice may represent another's idea of evil. Albeit, murdering an entire capital's population after their pleaded surrender seems pretty black and white evil, and clearly Tyrion and Jon ultimately agreed.

 

"My father was an evil man. My sister was an evil woman. Pile up all the bodies of all the people they've ever killed, there still won't be half as many as our beautiful queen slaughtered in a single day."

― Tyrion Lannister, S8E6

 

Tyrion was suggesting, just based on kill counts alone, that Daenerys was more evil than his father and sister ― and sure, that's one objective way to look at it ― however, I would not write her off as entirely evil, rather her latest actions inhibited it. Just like her father, she truly believed her vision of a new world justified her actions; failing to see herself becoming a tyrant like her predecessors. To look at it subjectively, one's intent to do good while in actuality inflicting evil is one way to prove their madness.

The intentions, and therefore state of minds, of many Game of Thrones characters can be called into question under this philosophy, such as Tywin Lannister, who seemed to be one of the most rational and stable in mind and action, and yet could be perceived as evil. It is understandable why Tyrion viewed his father as such, as he once recounted that he was happily married to a woman named Tysha for a fortnight, until Tywin found out and it was revealed that she was only a whore who was paid to satisfy Tyrion for one night. Tywin then forced Tyrion to watch as his guardsmen paid for her services, only for her to have disappeared thereafter, leaving Tyrion heartbroken (however, there are some significant differences in the books that I suggest you read about). Surely Tywin's actions expressed some level of evil, as we all know his complex hatred for Tyrion had always conflicted with his loyalty to the family name:

 

"You are an ill-made, spiteful little creature full of envy, lust, and low cunning ... I cannot prove that you are not mine ... [S3E1] I wanted to carry you into the sea and let the waves wash you away. Instead, I let you live. And I brought you up as my son. Because you're a Lannister." [S3E10] ― Tywin Lannister

 

This hatred, however, existed mainly because Tywin's wife died in childbirth with Tyrion. Like many characters ― Daenerys, Cersei, and Tyrion himself to name a few ― the loss of their loved ones was often the driving force towards acting on internalized pain and hatred. So what differed these characters from one another, if their actions were mostly caused by a complexity of undying hatred and unconditional love? This combination played an essential role in the downfall for all of these characters, with the exception of Tyrion, who although held some hatred towards his father and sister, did inherit the same principles in loyalty as Tywin. Due to his self-imposed hierarchy of loyalty, he betrayed his closest companion, Lord Varys, in good faith of his queen, then betrayed her in an attempt to save his brother. The only significant instance when Tyrion acted on hatred was when he killed his father and Shae after being betrayed and heartbroken once again.

In terms of Daenerys and Cersei, their losses are quite comparable; both lost their husbands as well as all or most of their children. Sure, Cersei had not loved Robert Baratheon for a long time, as it was clear he longed for Lyanna Stark/Targaryen while Cersei had always deeply loved her twin brother (but we all know she also mourned the loss of Jaime's dominant hand... Ahem). And yet the difference lies in their own self-purpose; Cersei lived for her children and they had always been her priority, meanwhile Daenerys lived for the Iron Throne and the love for her children and followers came in the process. When it came to the Battle of Winterfell and the Battle of King's Landing, Cersei's only concern was the well-being of her unborn child, while Daenerys continuously fought for the throne despite losing her loved ones in the process.

And yet, if intent is what separates these characters and their malicious actions from one another, should we not recognize the possibility that characters like Tywin and Cersei could have also been mad? Given their traumatic history, who is to say, behind their calm complexion and calculated actions, that they aren't categorically evil, but in actuality believe their actions are justified based on interpersonal reflection of past experiences? Given their greatest feats, namely Tywin's rebuilding of the Lannister name and Cersei's burning of the Sept of Baelor, who is to say, behind these successes, they in turn caused their deepest regrets? Tywin's obsession of legacy caused perpetual denial of his own children and thus his death, while Cersei's paranoia of the prophecies only led to their fruition with her killing Margaery, and in effect, Tommen. To quote the late Ray Bradbury, "Insanity is relative. It depends on who has who locked in what cage." This can be taken both literally and figuratively.

In the case of Tyrion's abuse from his father, he was the caged individual looking outward to a father who disregarded and loathed him, had destroyed any love Tyrion ever received from his partners, and had arrested him for murder charges of which he was innocent. When the roles were reversed and Tyrion had control over his father's fate, Tywin proceeded to say "you're my son," expecting Tyrion not to betray his own family, but that quickly changed to "you're no son of mine" once he was shot [S4E10]. Our perception of these characters differ compared to what they would perceive of each other in these moments, just as the perception of madness versus greatness looks different depending on which side of the cage you're on. Comparatively, Cersei was caged in part by her father and society's expectations to marry someone other than Jaime, which stopped her from living out a truly happy life, but she had also let the prophecies of the witch, Maggy the Frog, dictate her fears and obsessions. Another literal sense is when Tyrion and Jon refused to acknowledge the impending doom of following their mad queen until it was too late and were then imprisoned by her. In the figurative sense, Daenerys had locked herself in her own cage, as she gave into fear and hatred yet still expected love from Jon and the people of Westeros.

 

"It's not easy to see something that's never been before ... Be with me ... Build the new world with me ... This is our reason ... We do it together, we break the wheel together." ― Daenerys Targaryen, S8E6

 

And yet this desperation of love and idealizing a world centered around a romance that Daenerys expressed in her last moments was eerily similar to the "no one / nothing else matters" ideology of the Lannister twins. What separates the two, however, is the selfishness of Cersei as she was willing to let the world burn as long as her baby lived versus Daenerys causing the world to burn in order to build a new one from its ashes. With all that these women have lost and obsessed over, it would be fair to acknowledge that Cersei, too, may have been mad. It is also fair to say that in the minds of both these characters, they truly believed that their actions were justified because the results would bring them the utmost greatness, whether it was a new world or new child.

It is much more difficult to claim whether other characters, such as Tywin, were mad due to traumatic circumstances that may have occurred outside of what was presented within the show. When Tywin told his son about the urge to drown him as an infant, this was told in a cold, calculated tone meant to hurt Tyrion. However, it does not do justice to how Tywin must have really felt in that deciding moment of whether to kill his own son and what that state of mind would have done to him. And yet what allowed Tyrion to live was that he was of Lannister blood, which represented Tywin's utmost beliefs of legacy and greatness. More examples of characters portrayed as almost, if not entirely, evil would be Joffrey, Ramsay, Euron, and the Night King. However, due to the nature of Game of Thrones and the massive world Martin had and continues to create, it wouldn't be absurd if he revealed more of the story-line behind the Night King in a way that brings a more human or sympathetic side to his character, or provide more backstory for Euron who was criticized for being too much of a flat-character in the show. Even still, regardless of whether you agree with this depiction of madness and how it may bring some humanity and backstory to characters perceived as villainous, the questions still remain: are madness and greatness inextricably bound or can one exist without the other? What about evilness? And where does that leave you in terms of enjoying the last season? I personally like the coin analogy for madness and greatness, as well as its representation of the season. I managed to love characters during their darkest moments because of the complexity of their arcs and the consistently phenomenal acting. It is fascinating to compare how the different characters reacted to the fine line between greatness and madness, especially when they could no longer tell the difference between the two.

From following these characters throughout the series, I have a sense of both satisfaction and mourning in its conclusion. I think the depth was still there for what we were given, but the pace of the season didn't match the others and in turn perhaps didn't give all of the characters enough time to take their rightful bow. Still, as a creator myself, I was disheartened to hear about the petition. I understand many fans were angered by this final season, and I know that frustration comes from a place of love and passion for a show they've dedicated years to watching. However, no matter how the season was received, the cast and crew put all their effort into producing a form of art that they love just as much as you, if not more. That in itself should make anyone realize this season was not a failure, not madness, but one interpretation of concluding these story-lines in the Game of Thrones saga that is now canon. Where's the petition to have a sporting rematch when your favourite team or player doesn't perform well but you paid money to watch it? What about a petition to have Martin finish the last two novels? Haven't you learned anything from Game of Thrones? If you don't get what I mean by that, go watch it again.

Whether you signed the petition or not, whether you agree with anything I've said or not, all things must come to an end. Thankfully, there is still so much to appreciate and explore in the world of Game of Thrones, whether it is through re-watching the series, reading the books, or awaiting the numerous spin-off series in the works! And if this ending wasn't for you, Martin has said, "There are characters who never made it onto the screen at all, and others who died in the show but still live in the books," so there may just be a different conclusion for you yet.

To conclude, I'll leave you with these masterful quotes that express the characters of Game of Thrones and the execution of Season 8 perfectly:

 

"These are grey fucking characters ... with major flaws and they fight and lose against their own personal demons ... It's humanity." ― Dan Schneider, Funhaus Editor

"I think the writing has always pushed beyond the conventional rules and terminology ... There's frustration in feeling a character has stagnated or gone backwards or made the same mistakes or done the opposite of what you might expect ... But there's also something daring in keeping your characters maliable and contradictory ... [It] can be a deeper exploration of humanity." ― Ethan Marrell, aka Ozzy Man Reviews

"Nothing fucks you harder than time." — Davos Seaworth

 

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! Do you agree or disagree? Who was your favourite character in season 1 versus season 8?

Also, click the link below and determine your fate with one toss of a coin... Will you descend into madness or greatness? Heads is madness, Tails is greatness. Comment your fate below!

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