WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for the series finale of Game of Thrones.
Daenerys Targaryen’s Season 6 speech about how the great houses of Westeros “are all just spokes on a wheel” crushing those on the ground was more prophetic for the show than the actual prophecies teased in the book. In the series’ end, the wheel is broken -- melted, in fact. The great houses that she named, “Lannister, Targaryen, Baratheon, Stark, Tyrell,” have all been weakened in the series. Some of these bloodlines are completely eradicated.
All of the great houses have schemed for hundreds of years to claim the Iron Throne, ever since it was first forged. When Aegon the Conqueror took a kingdom, he would take their swords and, in doing so, amassed an enormous collection. His dragon, Balerion the Black Dread, melted the swords, which were then used to create the impressive throne that many future Targaryens would sit on.
The great houses of Westeros have hatched many plots, using a range of techniques from marriage alliances to assassinations, all to get closer to the Iron Throne, the literal seat of power. As such, the Iron Throne became the symbol of power for the show, and the more people who clamored for it, the more deaths came. We have only to look at the wars and death toll of the series from Season 1 for proof that fighting for political power has been a bloody business.
The Iron Throne’s Victims
Many have sat on the Iron Throne in the series as hand or king. The series began with King Robert Baratheon, the great warrior turned drunk. King Robert was successful as a leader of a rebellion, but less effective as a ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. In the first episode, Robert travels to ask Ned Stark to be his hand, bringing the Lannisters to Winterfell, which, as we know, leads to Bran getting thrown out a window and the ensuing bloodshed of the Stark and Lannister feud.
We remember Ned Stark as a good man who got caught up in dirty politics and was unjustly beheaded by the order of King Joffrey. Before his murder, Ned did briefly sit on the Iron Throne as King Robert’s hand, which is forgettable in the grand scheme of the show. However, it is part of the death toll that the Iron Throne has exacted.
Joffrey Baratheon’s death at his wedding is one of the more memorable deaths on the show. His face turns an unnatural shade of purple at the Purple Wedding. His death was a result of the Tyrells' plotting, since they would rather Margaery rule alongside Tommen, who was younger and more kindhearted, thus easier to manipulate. Tywin Lannister, as Tommen’s hand, notably sat on the Iron Throne during Tyrion’s trial for Joffrey’s murder. Later, sitting on the privy, Tywin died with two crossbow bolts to the gut by the son he tried to punish from the seat of power.
Cersei sat on the throne as a frantic mother in the Battle of the Blackwater, seconds away from killing herself and Tommen. She didn’t take the poison, which was her last resort since she refused to let her enemies capture her or her child, yet it’s interesting that Queen Cersei and King Tommen sit on the Iron Throne later in the series, and both of them die anyway. Tommen lept out a window after witnessing the horror of the Sept of Baelor’s wildfire explosion. Cersei died in the show’s final season as the Red Keep fell around her and Jaime.
The way monarchy works is the only way to be crowned is if the predecessor dies. The Iron Throne is no exception to this rule. In the series finale, the only way to get rid of the throne, the wheel of power that’s gone on for so long, is with someone dying -- in this case, Daenerys Targaryen.
Daenerys, who started with nothing but a wedding dress and gifts, became consumed by her desire for power. She who once preached about liberating people is now murdering thousands of innocents and speaks about how she plans to continue conquering. She walks reverently up to the Iron Throne and only gets to touch it before Jon kills her in an act that he hopes saves thousands of lives. Drogon, grief-stricken, melts the Iron Throne with his fire by flying away with Daenerys’ body. The throne that was forged by dragon fire was also destroyed by it.
The Uncertain Future of Westeros
So, now the remaining great houses have to decide who should rule. At the urging of Tyrion Lannister, Westeros becomes an oligarchy. There is still a “King” of Westeros, but they will no longer be born. They will be voted into power by a council of Westeros’ lords and ladies.
This world that George R.R. Martin has created has consistently shown that power and proximity to power corrupt people. Who's to say that this voting process can't later be corrupted? It’s doubtful that the lords and ladies of Westeros will suddenly stop scheming to be the next ruler or hand of the king.
The North has asserted its independence from the Seven Kingdoms, and it’s surprising that Dorne and the Iron Islands didn’t follow suit. Dorne was the last kingdom from the original seven to be conquered; resistance is in their blood. Additionally, it seemed Yara Greyjoy wanted independence for the Iron Islands earlier in the series, which makes sense considering their reaving lifestyle. This council formed at the series’ end seems tenuous, as further conflict seems on the horizon for Dorne and the Iron Islands when they see the success of the North’s independence.
Progress is slow. We only see the direct aftermath of the council’s vote for Bran to be king. Yet, in the scene with Tyrion as hand leading a meeting with the masters, nothing has really changed. They still have the same titles -- Master of Coin, Master of Ships, etc. -- and the same preoccupation with money and prostitutes. There is no longer an Iron Throne since Bran is ruling from a different kind of chair, but the priorities of the lords and ladies of Westeros are still the same. Westeros could once again be embroiled in a grapple for power as it always has been for its entire history, but for now the book is shut on that story.
Game of Thrones stars Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister, Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister, Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen, Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark, Maisie Williams as Arya Stark and Kit Harington as Jon Snow.