WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!
The final season of Game of Thrones is right around the corner. Looking back, we can learn a lot from the characters we will soon leave behind.
Sansa Stark – Take Charge of Your Life
Sansa spent most of the show being a pawn in other people’s plots. She watched her father’s execution, was tortured by her former betrothed, was married off to Tyrion, shipped off to be Littlefinger’s puppet, watched Littlefinger push her Aunt Lyza through the Moon Door, and was married off to Ramsay, who treated her like a dog.
But somehow, Sansa managed to get the courage to take her life back.
When her demented husband Ramsay is locked in the kennels with his hounds, she watches as they devour him (literally). She uses Littlefinger to get her home back. She’s reunited with her sister Arya and brother Jon. She has Littlefinger executed when he tries to drive a wedge between her and Arya.
What can we learn from Sansa? It’s never too late to be courageous and take your life back. Only you can build the life that you want.
Arya Stark – Revenge is Never the Answer
Tough, fiercely independent and smart-mouthed, Arya Stark has a knack for finding trouble.
She flees the capital after her father is executed. She watches so many of her friends and family members die. Like Sansa, she’s tossed from one person to the next. Every night, she recites a list of the people who have wronged her, vowing to kill them.
Arya manages to tick off many of the people on her list, although she isn’t responsible for all of their deaths.
What does Arya really get out of all of these revenge killings? Sure, she learns how to fight and picks up a few handy skills from the Faceless Men who worship the Many-Faced God (i.e. the god of death). But ultimately, her passion for revenge has only led her down a dark path. She no longer trusts anyone, and she has a hard time fitting in with her family when they’re reunited.
Revenge will never give you what you want. It may give you some satisfaction for a short time, but it will only cause more suffering and perpetuate hate in the long run.
Brandon Stark – Don’t Let Anything Get in the Way of Your Goals
Bran has had it tough. He may not have seen his father’s execution or the murders of his mother and brother. But he was pushed out of a tower and will never be able to walk again.
That part is tough, but he does have some awesome gifts. As a worg, he can “take over” different animals, like owls and wolves. He’s the only person to encounter the Night King and live to talk about it. And as the next three-eyed raven, he can pretty much see everything that ever was, is and will be.
That’s a heavy burden to carry. But getting to be the three-eyed raven was a long journey. He had to find his way through the North beyond the wall, dodge nightwalkers and get away from Night’s Watch mutineers. He encountered the Children of the Forest and watched his protector, Hodor, die while trying to keep him from harm.
Brandon Stark teaches us that we can’t let anything get in the way of our goals. There will always be obstacles, some of which may seem insurmountable, but there is always a way to overcome those challenges.
Jon Snow – Do the Right Thing Even When It’s Hard
Behind Jon Snow’s brooding eyes and curls is an honorable man. He’s the guy who always does what he’s supposed to do because it’s right. And he’ll do it even if that means putting his own life in danger.
Jon joined the Night’s Watch early on, which meant sacrificing his chance of having his own family in order to protect the people of Westeros.
He first steps into a leadership role during the battle at Castle Black. He was willing to risk his life to take out Mance Rayder and stop 100,000 wildings from attacking. He has a knack for leadership. He fights for justice and what’s right. He’s a man of his word.
Integrity and honor are in short supply these days. We could learn a lot from Jon Snow’s unwavering desire to do the right and honorable thing. He literally rose from the dead, and his first intention was to stop the nightwalkers.
Even death can’t stop Jon Snow from trying to do the right thing.
Cersei Lannister – The Need for Control Can Leave You Paranoid and Isolated
Cersei has seen her fair share of heartache and grief. Her eldest son is poisoned at his own wedding, her youngest son jumps out of a window, and her daughter is also poisoned while traveling back home from Dorne.
But a lot of Cersei’s grief is of her own making. Her desperate need to control everything around her – her enemies, her children, her lover (who also happens to be her brother) – sent her on a downward spiral into paranoia. By the time we get to the final season, Cersei is isolated, alone and in a very unhealthy mental state.
Maybe you and I don’t take our need for control to such extremes, but her behavior is a perfect example of what can happen if we do let it get to that point. We can’t control everything, and sometimes, we can’t protect the people we love from bad things happening to them.
To give up control is to accept the world around you, and that, my friends, is the route to happiness.
Jamie Lannister – People Can Change
If you think people can’t change, Jamie Lannister might change your mind. At the start of the show, Jamie was a lot like his sister Cersei: smug and full of himself.
But things changed for Jamie when he was captured while fighting Robb Stark. He was chained to a post, left in the dirt for weeks. He had his hand cut off by one of Roose Bolton’s sell-swords, named Locke. He bonds with Brienne of Tarth, and he learns what it’s like to live like a common man.
When Jamie returns, he’s a changed man. And by the time we get to the final season, he starts coming to terms with just how paranoid and far gone his sister had become. Of course, he still struggles with his love for Cersei, but he’s a changed man in every other way.
Tyrion Lannister – Never Forget Who You Are
It’s one of Tyrion’s most famous quotes: “Never forget what you are, the rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor and it can never be used to hurt you.”
Tyrion is a wise man. He drinks, and he knows things. But apart from his brother Jamie, all of his other family members wanted him dead his entire life. He was blamed for the attempted assassination of Brandon Stark, then blamed for the death of Joffrey.
But Tyrion manages to escape certain death, and he finds himself beside Daenerys as her Hand. He never forgot who he was, although he needed a little help along the way. And now, he uses his natural instinct for politics and his knowledge to try and do good in the world.
Daenerys Targaryen – Nothing is Impossible
The odds were stacked against Daenerys from the start. She fled to a foreign land with her brother when her father was murdered. Her brother married her off to Khal Drogo in exchange for his army.
But if it wasn’t for her marriage to Khal Drogo and her time as a Khaleesi, Daenarys never would have had her dragons. She never would have had the courage to lead the Dothraki, free slaves and build an army.
Daenarys made the impossible possible.
It wasn’t an easy road getting there. She was raped, beaten and betrayed. But she made it, and she is unstoppable.
The Hound – There’s Good in Everyone
The Hound, born Sandor Clegane, is the character you love to hate. He’s a jerk (in a hilarious kind of way), but he also has a bit of kindness in him.
As a child, Sandor Clegane’s brother, the Mountain, put his face to the fire. It left his face disfigured, and he spent much of his adult life taking out his anger on other people through violence.
But eventually, the Hound’s conscious gets the best of him, and we start seeing his good side – even if he’s still a bit twisted at times. He saves Sansa, and attempts to escort Arya to her Aunt Lysa. Eventually, he joins the Brotherhood without Banners and helps Jon Snow capture a wight.
The Hound shows us that everyone – no matter how terrible they may seem – has some good in them.
Brienne of Tarth – Always Keep Your Word
Brienne of Tarth is a woman of her word. Honor means everything to her. She first swore her sword to Renly Baratheon. After his death, she vowed she would bring the Stark girls back to their mother.
Brienne swore an oath, and she intended to keep it – even after the Stark girls turned her away. She pursued Sansa and watched over her from the sidelines until she proved she was worthy of being her protector.
Brienne’s commitment to keeping her word gives her a reputation for being reliable, honorable and trustworthy. These are traits that will get you far in life.
Don’t make promises you can’t keep, and do the things you say you’re going to do.
Sam Tarly – Knowledge is Power
Sam’s thirst for knowledge and love of reading makes him one of the most valuable characters in the show, even if his value isn’t entirely obvious.
It’s Sam’s reading and research that found a cure for greyscale and saved Jorah Mormont. It’s Sam’s research that found the dragonglass mine underneath Dragonstone.
Sam teaches us that we should never stop learning, and that knowledge can be just as powerful of a weapon as a sword.
Game of Thrones may be coming to an end, but the life lessons we learn from its characters will live on.
Rene is a creative, little gnome. When she’s not diving deep into research on health and wellness, she’s spending here time out in nature, growing her homestead, photographing wildlife, doing yoga or enjoying a zen (depending on the day) moment with her fur babies. And on top of all of that, she’s a professional writer by day, helping businesses around the world grow.