Game of Thrones turned out to be a tragic story in the end. Except for the remaining members of the Stark family. The remainder of the Starks seemed to be the only ones to achieve true happiness. However, was that a good thing? Were all the characters who met their fates throughout the show worth it to see the Starks happy? Or did the equally intriguing characters introduced along with the Starks overshadow them?
From characters like Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal) to Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), and including members of the Stark family themselves, was it worth it to lose all these amazing characters so that Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead-Wright), Sansa (Sophie Turner), and Arya (Maisie Williams) could be happy? Even characters like Jon Snow, who is a Stark sort of, didn't get a fully happy ending.
Should the Starks have been written differently so that fans would root for their happiness no matter what? Or was it the other characters that should've changed? Game of Thrones' ending shocked the audience. And not in a good way. The HBO series built up so many wonderful characters, only to throw most of them away in favor of the Starks. It's not necessarily the best idea. Especially when Game of Thrones is supposed to be a different kind of fantasy story. It's not just about one hero or even a group of them. It's supposed to be more complex than that. Game of Thrones is more about how people have the possibility of choosing good or bad at every moment. That everyone has a dark side and a light side.
To build up so many complex characters only to write them off, in the end, is lazy writing. Of course, Game of Thrones did not need to keep all of its characters. Some characters would need to be sacrificed, yet not all of them. Especially since the Starks, particularly Bran, were not built up to be intriguing protagonists. All of them went through a lot to get to where they are, yes. Bran lost his ability to walk. Sansa was a captive of the Lannisters for quite a while. And Arya's story, probably the most interesting of the bunch, has her always on the run. Yet the Starks, apart from maybe Arya, for the most part, lack the moral complexity that makes other Game of Thrones characters so compelling. In a story of mostly anti-heroes who do good, characters like Bran and Sansa feel out of place.
These two don't feel like the type of characters to make tough decisions for the good of everyone. Which makes it even stranger that Bran and Sansa both end up ruling at the end of Game of Thrones. The writers attempted to fix their mistake in season 8 by making Bran and Sansa slightly more complex. But like with many other stories in the final season, it ended up falling flat. As for Arya, she is a lot more intriguing than her siblings, but her story ends up falling flat as well. Why does she want to travel west of Westeros? Especially when she's been on the run for seasons and seasons. Fans would think she'd want a break from traveling. As far as Bran having the best story, that's ridiculous. He doesn't even have the best story of the remaining Starks; that's Arya.
And it's still a bit of a mystery why Sansa wants to be Queen in the North so badly. It mostly looks like her brother Bran did her a favor by giving the North independence. That makes Sansa look bad, especially compared to characters in past seasons who would have put actual effort into gaining a kingdom. It's hard to imagine Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer) or Daenerys would've just asked a sibling for a kingdom. No, they would've taken it on their own and done so in a compelling way. The happiness of the remaining Starks in Game of Thrones does not seem to be worth it. Not with all the characters who were sacrificed along the way. Perhaps if Bran and Sansa were more morally complex and Arya's story had an actual reason for being what it is, fans wouldn't have minded.
But as it is, the other intriguing characters absolutely overshadow the Starks. And so many of them shouldn't have had to be discarded simply so that three of the Starks could get their happy ending. If the writers wanted most fans to be ok with the Starks being the sole protagonists, they should've been written in a more interesting way. Of course, not every Game of Thrones fan will agree. The Starks have their fans as well. And that's fine. Yet most fans will probably agree that Game of Thrones is known for its compelling characters. And it wouldn't have hurt to see more of them thrive alongside the Starks.