6 Things You Might Have Missed in the 'Game of Thrones' Finale 'The Iron Throne' [SPOILERS]

This story includes spoilers for 'Game of Thrones' Season 8 Episode 6, "The Iron Throne."

No matter how you feel about the finale of Game of Thrones, “The Iron Throne,” which premiered last night, it goes without saying that many of us are in mourning today. One of the greatest shows in history has come to an end, and while the ending might not have been exactly what we were hoping for, we’re sad to see it over. But of course, there’s always re-watches, and one for the finale might be necessary. Emotions were running high while watching the final episode, with many small-but-important details likely going unnoticed. Here are six things you might’ve missed in the episode.

1. No More Lannisters on the Iron Throne

As the Game of Thrones opening credits are known illustrate new changes in the Seven Kingdoms, it only made sense for the finale’s to include a few adjustments after King’s Landing was burned down in the episode prior. One which might’ve gone unnoticed was that above the Iron Throne, the lion head representing House Lannister was absent, signaling that Cersei Lannister was no longer the queen.

2. Daenerys as the Angel of Death

Many fans on social media were quick to point out how beautiful the shot of Drogon flying up behind Daenerys was, which momentarily gave the illusion that the Mother of Dragons had wings. But it also made her look like an angel of death with the dark lighting, and considering the darker tone of the scene. This foreshadowed her death which came shortly after, at the hands of Jon Snow.

3. The Major Lord of the Rings Nod

There are multiple references to The Lord of the Rings throughout Game of Thrones, but the finale saw one major parallel between the two fantasy franchises. As Vanity Fair predicted, GoT’s Iron Throne basically became the ring from LotR. And unfortunately, that brings upon a comparison between Daenerys and Gollum. “But like Tolkien’s Ring of Power, the Iron Throne seems to corrupt and breaks all who touch it and all that would possess it. You win the game of thrones, or you die. Daenerys may want the throne the most, and, arguably, has done the most to get it,” Vanity Fair wrote.

Ultimately, the final episode showed the Iron Throne being destroyed, just as the ring was in Lord of the Rings, and Daenerys was brought down with it. While it’s difficult to see similarities between Dany and a character like Gollum, they did meet a very similar fate.

4. Brienne’s Callback to Season 4

Although Brienne of Tarth got her heart broken by Jaime Lannister earlier in the season, she still took it upon herself to fill out his history in the White Book during the finale. We saw the pair discuss this “duty of the Lord Commander” back in the fourth season, as Vanity Fair points out. In the scene, Jaime told Brienne that there was “still plenty of room” on his page. So after his death, Brienne, now the head of the Kingsguard, respectfully wrote down all Jaime’s his heroic acts, even concluding with, “Died protecting his Queen.”

5. Tormund Predicted Jon’s Fate

As a fan on Reddit had theorized earlier on in the season, it seems Tormund knew Jon would be back in the north after the battle at King’s Landing. During their farewell at Winterfell, the Wildling was not convinced they would never see each other again. After embracing, Tormund told Jon, “You got the north in you, the real north.” Some thought the conversation hinted at Jon’s fate in the finale, and it totally did.

6. The Final Scene Mirrored the First

While countless events have happened since the show’s pilot to the finale which 

changed Westeros forever, the final moments of last night’s episode were almost identical to the opening scene in the first season. As the finale saw Jon going back up north with the Wildlings, we get a scene of them traveling beyond the wall. This is similar to how the series started, which showed a few members of the Night’s Watch treading into the same unknown territory.

This article also appears on Mental Floss.