The Dragon Has Landed
By Jonathan Aquino
Saturday Stories
May 18, 2019
I
One of the many things I'm grateful for is that there is no drama in my life. I have seen a lot of it in the things I read, and while I feel rejuvenated with quiet moments with a book, I'm glad the drama cannot touch me. I'm currently reading, aside from the metaphysical books by Dolores Cannon and Ruth Montgomery, the Game of Thrones graphic novel series. I'm now on the twelfth, which began when young Bran was abducted by Wildlings and ends when Ned Stark was attacked by Jaime Lannister – all shown in Season 1 of the "Game of Thrones" saga on HBO.
II
The next episode next week will be the last. Season 8 would only have six. In Episode 5, Daenerys destroyed King's Landing with her one remaining dragon. There was an agreement that when the church bells ring, it would signal the surrender of the kingdom, and they rang, but she went on her attack – burning even innocent women and children. Her Unsullied and Dothraki armies killed the surrendering soldiers. It was a bloodbath.
III
There was so much death as the bells rang throughout the realm. The episode was perfectly titled "Bells." It reminds me of the 1624 poem by John Donne:
is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine;
if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe
is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as
well as if a Manor of thy friends or of thine
owne were; any mans death diminishes me,
because I am involved in Mankinde;
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; It tolls for thee..."
IV
It also calls to my mind a scene with Tyrion and Varys in Season 2 when the bells of King's Landing were ringing as they prepared for the attack of Stannis Baratheon to seize the throne in what would be known as The Battle of Blackwater Bay:
Varys: "I've always hated the bells. They ring for horror. A dead King, a city under siege..."
Tyrion: "A wedding..."
Varys: "Exactly."
Varys would later be executed by Daenerys. In the chaos also came the epic final showdown between the brothers Sandor and Gregor Clegane – The Hound versus The Mountain. And as Cersei and Jaime Lannister tried to escape, they were buried alive in the rubble. I hope Daenerys dies next, if only for either Jon or Bran to claim the Iron Throne, not her. Everybody on Arya's death list – Joffrey, Cersei, the executioner Ilyn Payne who killed her father Ned Stark, the knight Meryn Trant who killed her teacher Syrio Forel, Walder Frey who killed her mother Catelyn and her brother Robb, and many more – are all dead. Time for a new one. As the mysterious Faceless Men assassin Jaqen H'ghar always said: "Valar morghulis" – "All men must die."
Game of Thrones
Season 8
Episode 6
See My GOT Notes on Facebook
Photo courtesy of Comixology.com
No comments:
Post a Comment