Welcome to the end of the world, Westeros, at least.

It seems only fitting that I review Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 6 as I started with Game of Thrones Season 1 Episode 1. What a long and crazy journey it's been.

Power corrupted almost absolutely revealing itself to be the biggest threat that ever loomed on Game of Thrones. It's not something that's only true in the realm of fantasy, so it makes the utmost sense in the contrast of the sprawling epic.

The war was over, but not for Daenerys. Her lust for power overshadowed everything else she believed to be true.

Unsullied. You were torn from your mothers' arms and raised as slaves. Now... you are liberators! You have freed the people of King's Landing from the grip of a tyrant! But the war is not over. We will not lay down our spears until we have liberated all the people of the world! From Winterfell to Dorne, from Lannisport to Qarth, from the Summer Isles to the Jade Seas! Women, men, and children have suffered too long beneath the wheel. Will you break the wheel with me?

Daenerys

• Permalink: Unsullied. You were torn from your mothers' arms and raised as slaves. Now... you are...

Daenerys was making choices based on her needs instead of the needs of the people, and once that got revealed, Jon took Tyrion's advice and killed her.

Tyrion, having seen enough death after the loss of Varys, Cersei, and Jamie, enlisted Jon to put an end to another tyrannical leader before she got too far ahead of herself.

Jon was the only one who could get to Daenerys not only because of his love for her but due to the trust of her remaining child.

Drogon trusted Jon as he trusted his mother, but in the end, he understood more than his mother.

Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 5 Review: The Bells

In what was a fitting end to a tale rife with the magic of dragons, it was a dragon who literally put an end to the Iron Throne, melting it in a moment of mourning only a child could feel for his mother.

That he understood the mother he'd loved wasn't the one he lost didn't make his gentle prodding of Daenerys to try to awaken her or his lifting of her to fly away any less moving.

Jon took the brunt of saving the world on his shoulders as the Unsullied wanted his head for what he did to their Queen. 

Before Jon had a chance to realize what he'd done, a council was formed of the Lords and Ladies of the Seven Kingdoms to determine his fate, and that of the soon-to-be-joined realms.

In a surprise to nobody, Sansa refused to join the other kingdoms even when her younger brother, deemed Bran the Broken, was nominated as the new king.

For any die-hard Game of Thrones fans, none of what occurred during the finale was shocking. It had all gotten leaked on the internet weeks ago (if not before the season began).

In a crazy turn of events, in a very short span of time the kingdoms who fought to the detriment of their people for years suddenly had a coming together moment that allowed them to see a light brighter than any summer they've weathered together.

With the razing of King's Landing and the death of another ruler, comedy took over the more treacherous moves that took place for eight seasons.

Watchmen Trailer: Ticking Down to the End of the World

If all of it had gotten time to breathe, the story might have felt welcome.

Game of Thrones began as a journey of the Starks and the Lannsiters above all others, and with the joining of Bran and Tyrion to rule with a familiar group, destiny was changed forever.

Unfortunately, there was an undercurrent of expediency well known to those how understood that David Benioff and D.B. Weiss took the shortest road to one of the greatest sagas ever told when they looked a gift horse in the mouth and decided to finish the series in six episodes instead of ten or more.

The ending got rushed to the point of a fantasy even greater than the story told given all we had grown to know and love over six seasons (or seven, depending on your view) got torn asunder in the space of six episodes.

Get HBO via Prime Video Channels for Addictive Dramas, Hilarious Comedies & Hit Movies

So as much as Arya the Explorer and Queen Sansa made sense in the overall picture, we deserved for their fates to be more than a footnote.

Jon's banishment to the Night's Watch meant the long, arduous story of his birth, death, rebirth, and the discovery of his heritage had, in the end, no impact on the story at all. Other than his reminder that love and duty go hand in hand sometimes in the worst possible of ways.

Jon wound up exactly where he was meant to be as a bastard. Ghost, though, one of the direwolves who helped form the cornerstone of the first season's drama, got his master back. 

Direwolves 1 - Dragons 1. That seems about right.

The other footnotes to the finale included Brienne updating Jamie's place in history in her own words, and Jon meeting other old friends in the north.

And let's not forget the beginning of A Song of Fire and Ice, too, which might have been a little too on the nose as if someone was asking for forgiveness.

Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 5 (or Weiss and Benioff's version of 300) seemed to be nothing but a visual feast they were determined to deliver showcasing the worst of humanity in fits of rage.

The dialog was so sparse that the hour could have easily been condensed to make way for more storytelling to wrap up the series.

Almost all of the important dialogue got captured in the Game of Thrones Quotes, so be sure to visit. 

For a story this robust to be dusted with the ashes of King's Landing isn't easy to swallow no matter how much fan service gets paid, but hopefully, everyone found at least one thing that left them a little thankful for taking the journey.

If you've taken the time to watch Game of Thrones online and elsewhere, you're a part of history. That's not something to shake a stick at, right?

Now that Game of Thrones (on HBO, at least) is over, it's time to think about what's next. Big Little Lies Season 2, Watchmen, Succession Season 2 (YES!), and Westworld Season 3 are all ahead.

Get your first look at Westworld Season 3 right now.

So what's in store for you?

Are you a fan of the Game of Thrones ending, or do you wish it could all have progressed at a slower rate so we could have had the vision George R. R. Martin planned from the beginning?

We know this much to be true: Game of Thrones whether liked, loved, or a letdown, in the end, was one hell of an epic adventure that captured audiences like only the rarest gem ever can.

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.