Game of Thrones is officially over, but not every plot line in the sprawling series was wrapped up neatly.
Warning! Spoilers for the Game of Thrones series finale lie ahead!
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Game of Thrones has followed dozens of different story line spread across two fictional continents, with countless characters. It makes sense that the show dropped some of these stories unceremoniously, and left others hanging in its rush to the finish line.
Some of the forgotten plot threads did not bear revisiting. There is no need to show us exactly what happened to Robett Glover, for example, the northern lord who betrayed Jon and fled Winterfell before the White Walkers attacked.
Still, there are some stories that were once more prominent that fans are left to wonder about after the series finale. There are characters left on the back burner that never got revisited, and heavy-handed symbolism that never got fleshed out.
There are also more straightforward questions, like main characters whose fate we do not know after the finale. Many of these were undoubtedly intentional, lending a sense of continued mystery to the world of Westeros and beyond.
This will not be the last fans see of Westeros, on the screen or on the page. There are two more novels coming from author George R.R. Martin, and another fictional history as well. There are also a few prequel shows in development at HBO, including one starring Naomi Watts that is already in production on a pilot.
Until then, the finale left things the way they will stand for a long time. Here is a look at the loose ends from the Game of Thrones series finale.
Drogon
Daenerys Taragaryen may be gone from the world, but her “children” are not. Drogon flies off after his mother is killed, and there’s probably not anyone on the planet who can take him down. The council letter mentions that the dragon is still out there, and Bran promises to keep an eye on him.
The continued existence of the dragon is a nice touch, in a way. It shows that Daenerys’ miracle was not in vain, as it did bring magic back to the world. It also leaves a specter of danger hanging over Westeros, as the dragon, or anyone who controls him, could rain fire on anyone at any time.
Meera Reed
Many fans expected to see more of Meera Reed, the companion that helped get Bran all the way to the Three-Eyed Raven and his subterranean city beyond the wall. In Season 7, she said an emotional goodbye to Bran before returning home to Greywater Watch to be with her family.
Meera and Jojen’s father seems to be a more important character in the books, and may play into the story going forward. Here, however, we are left to wonder what became of the fierce frog spear-wielding princess.
Faceless Men
At the end of Season 6, Arya fled the House of Black and White, killing another Faceless Man and stealing faces from the temple. At the time, it seemed like she would be running from the assassins for the rest of her life, but they never came back around to seek vengeance on her.
Some fans think it is odd that Arya never faced retribution for abandoning her training with the Faceless Men and using their powers for her personal gain. However, the writers had bigger plans for the assassin this season, and she had plenty to do as it was. Still, it would have been nice to see the sly grin of Jaqen H’Ghar one more time.
Craster’s Sacrifices
It was a big revelation that the White Walkers were made from the incestuous male infants sacrificed by Craster beyond the Wall. The wildling referred to the White Walkers as his “gods,” and for many it seemed like there was more to his odd worship than we saw. However, the Night King and his army fell in Episode 3, and we learned nothing more about them after that.
Daario Naharis
In Season 6, Daenerys leaves behind her lover, Daario Naharis, so she will be free to negotiate political marriages when she arrives in the Seven Kingdoms. She charges the sell-sword captain with keeping the peace for her in Slaver’s Bay, and we never saw him again.
This was out of character for the daring Daario, and many fans expected him to show up again, complicating Dany’s other plans. Whatever became of him, we never saw him or heard about him again, although things may go differently in the books.
Spiral Patterns
From the pilot episode, the White Walkers made spiral patterns from the bodies of their slain victims. The pattern appeared in various places, including the stones around the Wierwood tree where the Night King was made, and earlier this season when Ned Umber was pinned to the wall along with countless severed limbs.
Obviously, a symbol like this does not always bear overt explanations, but many fans were hoping for a more full-circle ending in this case. Instead, the White Walkers were wiped out in Episode 3, leaving no explanations for their strange, esoteric behavior.
Nymeria
At the beginning of Season 7, Arya briefly reunited with her direwolf, Nymeria. The giant wolf leads a pack of equally vicious normal wolves, terrorizing the countryside. Many expected these predators to reappear in the end, aiding mankind in one of its final battles. Instead, they were left hanging out there in the wild, even after Arya left the continent for good.
Cersei’s Prisoners
Finally, as far as we knew, there were many prisoners in the Red Keep when Daenerys knocked half of it down. Cersei had locked up Septa Unella there, the woman who chanted “shame” over her shoulder when she made her walk of penance. She also had Ellaria Sand and one of her daughters in chains down there, promising slow, painful deaths for all three.
Obviously, we can assume that these prisoners died in the attack on King’s Landing. Still, there was no time to confirm it. Some fans would have liked to have seen Daenerys or her men discovering what Cersei had left behind in the dungeons, perhaps as a sobering reminder of how power corrupts.
Next weekend, HBO will air a feature-length documentary on the making of Season 8 titled Game of Thrones: The Last Watch in the place of the series. It airs Sunday at 9 p.m. ET. The next novel in the series is expected soon, although no release date has been announced yet.
