After years of civil war, a White Walker invasion, and the return of dragons, the Realm finally began to put itself back together in Game of Thrones‘ series finale, “The Iron Throne.” Here’s what a post-show Westeros looks like, which people will govern it, and how long the new peace could last.
King of the Six Kingdoms: Bran Stark
Bran the Broken, who will hopefully be successful enough as king to earn a new moniker, was chosen from among the most powerful remaining lords and ladies of the Realm to rule. The plan going forward is for new kings and queens to be selected from a small group of regional leaders, instead of children and relatives inheriting the throne.
The odds this will ever go as smoothly again are low, as future selectors won’t have the perspective of having just been nearly destroyed by infighting. Regional biases and personal desires will surely complicate the process in the future, but it should help to lower the chances of any more “mad” rulers. Of course, the powerful still rule and the commoners have no say in who governs, so the wheel hasn’t been broken; it just runs a little more smoothly.
As for Bran’s Small Council, it includes:
Hand of the King: Tyrion Lannister
Also presumably Lord of Casterly Rock (the Unsullied who took it for Daenerys are gone) and Warden of the West, Tyrion will have to entrust oversight of his familial home to allies while he serves in King’s Landing.
Master of Coin: Ser Bronn of the Blackwater
Maybe the show’s greatest winner, Bronn went from a lowly sellsword to Lord of Highgarden, one of the greatest castles in the Realm. He’s also Lord Paramount of the Reach—not quite a warden, but he’s in charge of the most fertile land in Westeros, which will in turn make him very, very rich. He might not be qualified to be Master of Coin, but he’s going to get a crash course in finances from his new roles.
Master of Ships: Ser Davos Seaworth
The Onion Knight will be tasked with overseeing the crown’s fleet and the Realm’s ports, with a focus on rebuilding trade in Westeros, which will be vital in restoring its coffers…which Bronn will try to use to rebuild its brothels.
Grand Maester: Samwell Tarly
Sam went back to the Citadel where he quickly (quickly) forged his chain, became an archmaester, and climbed to the top of their ranks to be appointed Grand Maester. Wow. Maesters can hold no titles and take no wives, so normally that would mean Gilly, Little Sam, and their unborn child went to live at Horn Hill with Sam’s mother and sister, but since nothing else about Sam’s meteoric rise makes sense, maybe he’s actually Lord of House Tarly and married to Gilly anyway. If he is, she will be in King’s Landing with him.
Lord Commander of the Kingsguard: Ser Brienne of Tarth
Arya and Sansa freed Brienne of her vows to protect them so she could be head of Bran’s Kingsguard (only Lord Commanders sit on the Small Council). Joining her is a faithful squire no more, Ser Podrick Payne.
Open Small Council Positions
Bran will need a Master of Whisperers, Laws, and War. Edmure Tully should probably not bother applying. Also, maybe the Three-Eyed Raven can be his own master spy? Just a thought…
Of course, Bran is only King of the Six Kingdoms. There’s also…
Queen of the North: Sansa Stark
Westeros chose a Northener as their king, but the North was allowed to become an independent Kingdom like it was before Aegon the Conqueror (when all the kingdoms were). Sansa was named Queen, and with Bran in King’s Landing the two should be able to live in total peace with one another. What happens when they are gone will depend on who follows them. The North will never have enough soldiers to fight the South, and controlling (let alone taking) the North is nearly impossible, as Cersei once told Joffrey.
However, just like Dorne eventually married into Seven Kingdoms, the day might come when even the stubborn Northerners reunite with the six southern kingdoms, especially if a Stark is offered the crown to do so. All it would take is one ambitious Stark, or even the right marriage, to make it happen. But for now the North is free to live as it wants, with Sansa in charge.
The (Other) Six Kingdoms
Robin Arryn is still Warden of the East from his seat of power the Eyrie in the Vale, with Yara Greyjoy as Lady of the Iron Islands, Gendry Baratheon as Lord of Storm’s End and Lord Paramount of the Stormlands, Edmure Tully as Lord of Riverrun and Paramount of the Trident, and an unnamed Prince as the new head of Dorne (and presumably Sunspear where the Martells had ruled from).
It’s unclear who has been given The Twins of the Freys and Last Hearth of the Umbers, or who the rest of the new faces at the Dragonpit were.
Unsullied
Grey Worm and the Unsullied went to the island of Naath, where he and Missandei had planned to go when Daenerys’ wars were over. With both of them gone, and Grey Worm knowing Westeros would never accept them, the Unsullied will protect the peaceful people of Naath while trying to make simpler lives for themselves.
Dothraki
They’re hanging around! They live in Westeros now, though where exactly is unknown. Jon passed some casually walking around King’s Landing on his way to the Wall, but how they will adjust to life in the Six Kingdoms remains one of the biggest questions. It could also lead to one of Bran’s biggest problems eventually, since Dothraki lead very different types of lives and had no say in choosing Bran as their leader.
The Bay of Dragons
Without the threat of the Mother of Dragons returning with fire and blood, how long can the Second Sons hold together three cities that were desperate to keep slavery? If the free people have had enough taste of life without chains, they might be able to unite and fight back any attempts to put them back into bondage, but this region seems most likely to erupt in war now that Daenerys is dead.
Wildlings, The Night’s Watch, the Wall
The Night’s Watch will remain in tact, despite their no longer being any White Walkers and Westeros being friendly enough with the wildlings that they were still at Castle Black when Jon got there. The North and Westeros might be glad they Brothers in Black are serving in generations to come, as wildlings resume raving south of the Wall, but maybe the freefolk won’t have to do that again.
As Jon, who might have been allowed to leave the Night’s Watch and live with the wildlings, went beyond the gate, there seemed to be signs of life emerging from the snows. If the Night King’s death means a lot less winter and a more temperate land, the wildlings might be returning to a new world essentially, with fertile grounds and a pleasant climate.
They can live peaceful lives in a beautiful land…until some southern king or queen decides to expand their rule past the Wall.
This is Westeros after all, and the wheel keeps on spinning and spinning.
Images: HBO