Freshwater Literary Journal 2021

Jessica Handly The Doom of Heroes Ten years, and it all led up to this.

The evening of the series finale of Game of Thrones found me in Cape Cod with two of my closest friends. Gathering around the laptop with glasses of wine, snacks, and somewhat cautious expectations, we hopped onto HBO to let the games begin. We took bets on who would be the first character to go, and while all around agreeing it would be a “Shakespearian” ending; everyone would die. But we never thought the entire series would die like this.

Our enthusiasm dropped by the minute. A chorus of “What?” “Why?” and “I feel like I’m not even watching the same show anymore,” sounded through the room. Nothing made sense. The world had fallen into chaos. None of us could sleep that night, and hashed and rehashed everything that had gone wrong the next day. Even at Cape Cod, the sun was a little dimmer; the world had grown a little darker. I looked out across the ocean and watched that dragon fly away along with all hope for some sense of closure.

That was the day heroes died.

Nearly two years have passed since the end of Game of Thrones. The dust has settled, the people have spoken. The fans, the actors, and George R.R. Martin himself have weighed in on the topic. A now-infamous petition came and went, demanding HBO rewrite the most controversial and troubled season in Game of Thrones history. Although the petition picked up steam amongst fans, caught the notice of some notable Game of Thrones actors, and even the showrunners themselves, it was never taken very seriously by anyone except those who signed it … including me. I felt moved to put my name to this subtle protest after watching a program that had come to underscore the last ten years of my life go down in a flaming wreck along with King’s Landing; the strongest women in an internationally renowned fantasy series were ultimately left speechless. Last spring, during lockdown due to the COIVD-19 pandemic, HBO posted on social media encouraging viewers to watch the show from beginning to end once more. What a backlash! Many responses to HBO’s post should never be repeated in polite company.

Back in May of 2019, I was splitting my time into thirds: as a writer, a mother, and an English Instructor in higher education. As an instructor, I spent a good deal of time discussing the Hero’s Journey. The Hero’s Journey has always been with us, from Achilles to Hercules, to Harry Potter and Moana.

Each hero begins in the ordinary world … what life is like for him or her before they begin their adventure. Game of Thrones very obviously followed two main characters from the very start as they began their journey. It was about Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen. Jon’s journey began in the ordinary world of Winterfell and Daenerys in her brother’s keeping. There was a call to action: 80