22 best moments from Game of Thrones season 8

16. Theon’s final charge

There are swan songs, and then there are swan songs. Like Jorah, Theon is a character who has betrayed those he’s closest to…but unlike Dany’s stalwart night, Theon’s mental baggage is so severe that he often finds himself caught in a PTSD-inspired cycle. Theon often has the opportunity to do the right thing, but doesn’t. Even before his horrific time with Ramsay Bolton, this was something he struggled with.

When Robb Stark sent him to make an alliance with the Ironborn, Theon instead captured Robb’s home in a hopeless effort to impress his estranged father. When faced with death, with torture, with failure, Theon has proven that he will typically run. He tries to be brave — occasionally, he even succeeds — but the damage done to him is simply too great for him to be reliable.

But as Bran the Broken would say, all that led Theon to where he is now. For Theon, season 8 is all about redemption. He willingly volunteers to defend Bran, against whom the Night King has a special vendetta. Theon fights bravely, defending Bran right up until the Night King strolls into the godswood and it becomes clear that there’s nothing more he can do.

Bran telling Theon that he is a good man broke my heart, because it is such a simple thing…but for Theon, who has had more time to reflect on his horrible wrongs than arguably anyone else on the show, it is a moment of absolution.

In the end, Theon — who has run from death time and again — ends his life by running toward it willingly. It’s an ending he can be proud of.

Honorable Mention: Sansa pinning her direwolf onto Theon as he’s laid to rest in the following episode was heartbreaking. She never got the chance to tell him that he is just as much a part of the Stark family to her as any of her blood relatives. It’s easy to imagine how much that gesture would have meant to Theon. And Sophie Turner’s mournful acting was top notch.