I thought it was a little unbelievable that Grey Worm would take Jon prisoner for weeks awaiting submission to someone else's authority on deciding his fate after Jon assassinated Daenarys. Maybe old Grey Worm (and by that I mean the one from two episodes ago), but not the new unthinking murderbot Slay Worm.
Hell, it's inconceivable to me that the Dothraki didn't have something to say about it either, given how worked up Daenerys had gotten them over the idea of going around and "liberating" the whole damn world. They should have been rampaging around the countryside by the time the Kingmaker council was held, based on what we know of the way Dothraki khalasars act after their leaders have fallen.
I laughed my ass off like someone was proposing Westerosi democracy (sorry Sam) at Dungeon Master Edmure trying to throw his hat in the ring for kingship and getting told to sit down by Sansa. Considering Cersei was just offering Bronn Riverrun less than a month ago, that means Lannister forces still held it, so was he still being held as a hostage at The Twins by the Lannister and what surviving Frey forces there might be until Cersei was dethroned?
Last we knew, the only remaining Freys were Kitty Frey, Walder's widow post-culling by Arya, and Roslin Frey, Edmure's wife. Last mention of Edmure was indeed Walder imprisoning him once more in a cell at the Twins (despite Jaime's offer to have Edmure, Roslin, and their child sent to Casterly Rock instead), so who knows how he was released. Maybe whoever took over the castle after the Freys were all killed thought it was more advantageous to free the former Paramount of the Trident, given that the Lannister support base at the time was dropping quick.
I know it's damn unlikely, but I'd love to see some follow-up HBO films set ten years after like Tyrion suggested to show everyone's progress and whether they were able to sustain this experimental government or if more of the kingdoms had Wexited like the North did. The Iron Born didn't seem too happy and are always independence minded, and the Dorne will probably only stay so long as there's a marriage proposal to Bran, which who knows if he's even interested in such earthly pursuits anymore.
Wouldn't surprise me in the last if the Hightowers at the least would end up rebelling against the upjumped sellsword that somehow inexplicably came to be landed at Highgarden.
I got the distinct impression from Jon's wistful turn back at the closing of the gate at the Wall that he might just say fuck it and stay North of the Wall with his BFF Tormund and Ghost (Jon and Ghost scene FTW), and they'll adopt some Wildling kids with Uncle Benjen dropping by from time to time to play hide-and-seek with them. What is even the function of the Night's Watch now except as a dumping off point for everyone's undesirables? What are they, like a snow patrol now? Park rangers? I'm a little surprised that Grey Worm accepted Jon's "punishment" so easily; it was like the Klingons accepting Kirk's demotion to captain in ST-IV, they were essentially giving him back what he always meant to do.
I'm leaning towards thinking that the whole "send him to the Night's Watch" thing was a ploy and that there isn't really a Night's Watch anymore (although we did see
some men in the traditional uniform at Castle Black even beyond the two that escorted Jon north, who could easily enough have been plants by Sansa to appear authentic).
I’m not so worried about ten years. Thirty, forty years, fifty years. When Bran’s health starts failing and the next generation of ambitious people are rising. Unless Tyrion crafts some kind of constitution limiting the King’s power, the power struggle to succeed Bran will start the wheel turning again. The power struggle to win those votes next time will be underhanded and vicious. The wheel has not stopped, just the brakes have been firmly applied.
I was saying much the same to my wife last night after the episode was over. The short term isn't the issue here; it's the next succession, whenever that comes. Their only real hope here - and even this one is weak, to me - is for Bran to live as long as the former Three-Eyed Crow in this version of the story, to the point where the generation living at the time can't imagine a different way of being ruled any longer.
The writing was on the wall. Daenerys went into full megalomaniac mode. The pretext to "free the people of the world," while ignoring that she'd be incinerating most of them along the way. Uh, conflicted to say the least. Also, I don't think she'd make a good ruler. She simply had power via money and a WMD. She didn't earn any kind of military or political savvy. No way, no how.
I'm sympathetic to some criticisms re: Dany's more overt shift this season, but as you and others have pointed out we've definitely had sign posts along the way to point towards this outcome. There are two good ones from her time in Mereen that come to mind. The first being her conversation with Hizdahr zo Loraq in which she initially expressed very little concern over the Great Masters that were executed in retaliation for the murders of the slave children, and later on when Hizdahr is instructed via Jorah to tell the Wise Masters of Yunkai that they can either "live in [her] new world or die in their old one."
(I didn't have one... but I will most definitely watch whatever prequel they come up with)
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