There is no single fan-approved replacement for the Game of Thrones finale. The alternatives documented by viewers and commentators range from giving Daenerys’s transformation more time to letting the White Walkers reach King’s Landing. Here are 15 distinct ways those proposals and theories could have changed the ending—and what each would have paid off.
Why fans imagined different endings
Some critics of the finale focused on pacing and character development, particularly how quickly Daenerys shifted from liberator to mass killer. Others objected to Bran becoming king, wanted Sansa to rule, or felt the White Walker threat ended before it had reshaped the wider conflict. These are selected proposals and reactions, not evidence of a unified fan consensus.
Washington Post pop culture reporter Travis Andrews interpreted the series as being “primarily about the corruption of power, the destruction war brings and the shortsightedness of humanity.” That reading helps explain why proposed endings differ: some seek a more tragic reckoning, while others want clearer character payoffs or a more consequential supernatural threat.
15 alternatives fans and commentators proposed
1. Have Jon and Daenerys destroy the Iron Throne together
A BuzzFeed community contributor imagined the last two Targaryens reuniting to destroy the throne with dragonfire. The symbolism reverses the throne’s origin: rather than claim the object that embodies conquest, they end the “game” it represents. This was a submitted fan alternative, not a deleted or confirmed version of the show’s ending.
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2. Let the Night King march on King’s Landing
Washington Post contributor Travis Andrews argued that the Night King’s advance south would have made the story’s greatest threat matter to the whole realm, especially after Westeros failed to unite against it. This version would shift the climax from a sudden resolution at Winterfell to the consequences of political division.
3. Let the White Walkers win
Syfy Wire describes an outright annihilation ending in which the White Walkers prevail. It is bleaker than simply bringing the Night King to the capital: the human story would end in defeat rather than surviving to rebuild. The article also quotes Ramsay Bolton’s line, “If you think this has a happy ending, you haven’t been paying attention”—dialogue that captures the appeal of a genuinely grim conclusion, not proof that every viewer wanted one.
4. Give Daenerys’s turn more time
Several Washington Post contributors objected to the speed of Daenerys’s shift from liberator to mass killer. Andrews wrote that “Daenerys deserved more” time to make the transition believable. Ross May similarly said it took only three episodes for her to switch from “breaker of chains to blazer of children.” A slower turn could preserve the destination while giving viewers more time to see how her losses, choices, and pursuit of power led there.
5. Make Sansa queen of the Seven Kingdoms
Washington Post commentary and BuzzFeed community members proposed Sansa as ruler, pointing to her political growth, experience, and leadership. This alternative makes her arc culminate in governing the realm rather than ruling the North. It is a recurring suggestion in the cited sources, not a measured majority preference.
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6. Put Sansa on an independent Northern throne
A related possibility is to keep Sansa’s victory focused on the North: make her an independent queen while another ruler governs the southern kingdoms. That would foreground self-determination and give her political arc a payoff without requiring her to inherit the Iron Throne. It is a natural extension of the documented Sansa-as-ruler proposal, rather than a separate reported fan consensus.
7. Make Bran the Night King
TV Guide discusses fan theories linking Bran’s time travel and the Hodor fixed-point story to the Night King. Under this theory, Bran’s connection to the past would become a direct part of the central supernatural conflict. The show did not reveal Bran to be the Night King; this remains speculation about how the clues might have been developed.
8. Let Bran warg into a dragon
Another theory covered by TV Guide imagined Bran warging into a dragon. The show left the possibility of future dragon-warging open, but did not use it as the finale’s solution. Making it central could give Bran a more active role in the last battle while connecting his abilities to the dragons’ importance.
9. Fulfill the Valonqar prophecy through Jaime
In the book version of Cersei’s prophecy, “Valonqar” means little brother; the show omitted that wording. Fans therefore theorized that Jaime, her younger twin, might kill her. Having him do so would give the prophecy a direct payoff and make the siblings’ relationship decisive in the endgame, but it is a book-lore theory rather than an established show clue.
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10. Fulfill the Valonqar prophecy through Tyrion
Tyrion was another fan candidate for the Valonqar. This version would make his family conflict and the book prophecy converge, while avoiding the assumption that Jaime must be the one to kill Cersei. As with the Jaime theory, the show never confirmed that the omitted prophecy was meant to determine Cersei’s fate.
11. Rework the Battle of Winterfell and keep the Night King alive
Mamamia described Think Story’s 16-minute alternate-ending video, which retained the first two episodes but changed the Battle of Winterfell. In its version, women and children leave the crypts for the hall, Jon helps people escape through tunnels, Bran wargs into Viserion, and the Night King survives. The survivors then head south with the threat still active. Mamamia reported more than one million views for the video when its article appeared in May 2019; that is a dated figure, not a current view count.
12. Let the Night King’s survival change the southern campaign
Think Story’s surviving Night King also offers a different bridge between the battle in the North and the struggle for King’s Landing. Rather than treating the supernatural war as finished before the final political conflict, the alternate version carries that danger south with the survivors. It keeps the White Walker plot central through the endgame, though the account does not establish a single final resolution for the threat.
13. Change Daenerys’s choice when the bells ring
In 2022, author Holden Sheppard published a freely available, noncommercial fanfiction rewrite beginning as the bells ring over King’s Landing. His roughly 5,500-word draft changes Daenerys’s choice at that point. It offers a specific, readable example of an alternate ending focused on one pivotal decision, and Sheppard presents it as his own preferred version.
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14. Give the Iron Throne’s legitimacy a direct answer
One post-finale question recorded by Mamamia was why a prisoner got to make the ultimate decision about who would be king. An alternate ending could address that concern by showing a clearer process of political consent or a public choice among rulers, rather than allowing an improvised gathering to settle the succession. This is a response to a criticism of the finale’s political logic, not a documented single fan-written ending.
15. Explain why the Night’s Watch still exists
Mamamia also recorded viewers asking why there was still a Night’s Watch. A more conclusive ending could show what threat, if any, the institution is meant to guard against after the White Walker conflict, or explicitly dissolve it if its purpose has ended. That would give the worldbuilding a clearer final note instead of leaving its continued existence as an unresolved question.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How the alternatives differ
| Proposal or group | Tone | Main character payoff | Threat resolution | Setup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Destroy the Iron Throne together | Hopeful, symbolic | Jon and Daenerys reject the object of dynastic power | Not specified by the proposal | Throne symbolism; fan proposal |
| Night King reaches King’s Landing or White Walkers win | Tragic to bleak | Emphasizes the costs of division over a single ruler’s arc | Threat becomes decisive or humanity is defeated | White Walker storyline; separate proposals |
| Extend Daenerys’s transformation | Tragic, more gradual | Develops the turn before its consequences | Does not itself change the supernatural outcome | Character development; Washington Post contributors |
| Sansa rules | Potentially hopeful | Rewards political growth and leadership | Does not itself change the supernatural outcome | Show character arc; suggestions in Washington Post and BuzzFeed |
| Bran is the Night King or wargs into a dragon | Speculative, supernatural | Makes Bran’s powers central | Could recast the conflict, but the theories do not specify a confirmed ending | Fan interpretations of show events; TV Guide |
| Valonqar kills Cersei | Tragic, prophecy-driven | Makes a Lannister sibling decisive | Does not itself change the supernatural outcome | Book prophecy; omitted from the show wording |
| Think Story alternate video | Suspenseful, unresolved | Gives Jon and Bran active roles in evacuation and battle | Night King survives and remains a threat | Reworks the Battle of Winterfell; Mamamia’s 2019 account |
| Sheppard fanfiction | Alternative character choice | Changes Daenerys’s decision at the bells | Not stated in the cited description | Fanfiction published in 2022 |
What these alternatives can—and cannot—settle
The proposals draw on different kinds of material: show events such as Bran’s warging, book lore such as the Valonqar, or symbolic readings of the throne. A theory can make an ending feel more connected without proving that the show intended that payoff. Likewise, the documented suggestions reveal a range of concerns but do not establish what fans as a whole prefer today.
Syfy Wire frames the tonal choice as more than “happy ending” versus total destruction: it considers annihilation, a conventional happy ending, and a mixed outcome, favoring a balance that allows some hope without removing the series’ moral complexity. That middle ground helps explain why many alternatives change one part of the ending—its pacing, political logic, or threat—rather than simply making every character survive.
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