As far as goodbyes go...well, goodbyes suck. At least this one is only a partial. We still have the books and get that ending. Martin can be the hero, if he wants. Or he can give us the exact same thing and make us love it, proving his skill. I'll take either or a mixture.

Since this is a goodbye for my favorite show, I'll focus on the things I liked about the finale. I cried when Jon and Arya said goodbye. I cried when Brienne had to finish Jaime's story. Could any of us ask more than that? For the final words about us to be written by someone who loved us, and who knew and understand the best parts of us. That eased SOME of the pain I felt at the Jaime ending. Dany had perhaps the best shot in the whole series, when the dragon unfurled its wings behind her. Beautiful. Emilia also acted her ass off this episode. When she was talking to Jon, I didn't want her to die. I thought of all she'd gone through, and I almost understood how she could come to such a conclusion. And she doesn't get to decide, but everyone else does? Screw that. Sophia also acted her ass off, and if there is any character they improved from the books, it is her. She was fierce by the end, and she deserved the North. I'm glad she took it. Drogon made my heart hurt, and s/he revealed such intelligence by burning the throne. Dany's baby understood FAR more than any of us realized. I hope s/he had some magic left to heal Dany. She deserved better. All she needed was to be loved well, and Jon screwed that ALL up. I also would (obviously) watch the hell out of an Arya spinoff. We deserve that ****. I enjoyed some of the humor, too. It felt like the first season in that regard. There was also a note of the more things change the more they stay the same. I don't know how I feel about that. I want to believe things change; people change. Maybe they don't.

I think that covers all the things I liked about the ending. I ended the series loving Arya, Jaime, Sansa, Brienne, Bronn, Davos, Drogon, and all our wonderful direwolves. I also loved many along the way and mourned their passing. In the end, I loved Dany, too, and I wanted better for her. Life was not fair to her, but life is not fair.

My final thoughts? The Queen is dead, **** the king. All hail the North. And Westereros...may it be everything Arya, our Warrior Princess, desires.