While I was a late convert to the HBO version of George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire fantasy books, I was onboard for the final two seasons and finished watching the series finale last night. In some ways it was satisfying and others terribly wrong. If you have not watched the final episode ( and I can't imagine you haven't) spoilers follow.
I have compared, and I imagine Martin did also, his fantasy with modern day politics. If you substitute electoral defeat and media defenestration for sword cuts and dragonfire, you can picture some of the characters as modern day politicians. Sansa Stark especially captures the long slow climb from frilly female also ran to her final gig as Queen of the North. We can only hope that life imitates art in 2020.
Less believable, but also hopeful is the disposition of Dany Targaryean by her nephew/lover Jon Snow, alias Aegon Targaryean. Her death and the melting of the Iron Throne by her grieving dragon is a foreshadowing of the end of the tRump presidency although Dany is a much more sympathetic character than our president*
The elevation of Bran Stark to the throne was unexpected, but to me at least ultimately satisfying. The character with the least human empathy is now in charge of the millions of citizens of Westeros. There is no way this happens in real life unless a similarly lackluster but knowledgeable VP becomes president through succession due to the death of his running mate. This is where the comparison of GOT to real life breaks down. I await the final books of the series to see how Martin handles the character arc differently from the TV producers.
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