(SPOILERS AHEAD!!)

The premise of this blog is for those familiar with the TV series Game of Thrones, but others may get a kick out of its conclusion, so please — read on.

Bored with regular TV, the hubby and I have started re-watching Game of Thrones. For those few of you uninitiated, it’s an eight-year series about nine noble families who fight for control over the lands of Westeros, while an ancient enemy returns after being dormant for millennia.

There are articles across the Internet about who is the smartest in the series.

Screen Rant (https://screenrant.com/game-of-thrones-cast-smartest-characters/) thinks Says Tyrion Lannister is the smartest:

“Although he exhibits self-destructive behaviour, such as drinking himself into oblivion and cavorting with ladies of the night, his quick-wit, natural intelligence and sharp tongue mean he can, and does, keep up with the best of them.

Collider  (https://collider.com/smartest-game-of-thrones-characters-ranked/) thinks Davos Seaworth has proven to be one of the keenest and practical-minded characters on the show.

No doubt, his experience during his smuggling days has honed his judgment and opened his eyes to the true nature of man. It’s also made him a master of abstract thinking who has learned to anticipate all given outcomes. It’s that level of preparedness that makes him quite proficient, and not just in a street smart way either.

Human Performance Technology (https://blog.dtssydney.com/the-3-smartest-characters-in-game-of-thrones)  likes to give the smart crown to Lord Varys, aka “The Spider.”

(Varys) is cunning, clever, mysterious, and in my opinion the most dangerous mind in the game. It is no small feat that Varys raised himself from poverty to power, selling secrets as his route to becoming the wealthy and well-informed “Master of Whisperers.” If you take his raw intellect, as seen in the quick-witted exchanges with Tyrion, stir in the high-level knowledge accumulated at the royal court, and layer over the life skills acquired at street level, Varys looks formidable.

And even Forbes (https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2013/03/30/in-game-of-thrones-whos-the-smartest-tyrion-petyr-varys-or-tywin/?sh=1fc289c67df6) chimed in.

Petyr ‘Littlefinger’ Baelish has no background, and no backing. He has nothing to fall back on and he fights alone. Petyr sees through people, and he never lets his emotion gets in the way.  While other people simply react to what’s happened to them, Petyr actively creates chaos, stirs up the dirt, purposefully sabotages relationships, creates suspicion, frames innocent people … when everyone is fighting each other for reasons they don’t even fully understand, he was laughing in his head.”

Yet, the most fascinating point of view – and one I really agree with – is CBR (https://www.cbr.com/game-of-thrones-drogon-smartest-character/). They conclude that:

“But in a show where Jon knew nothing and did everything, Bran knew everything but did almost nothing, and a swath of questionable — and at times, dumb — decisions led the Seven Kingdoms to the brink of collapse, it turns out this decision by Drogon (the dragon), as well as what he did after incinerating the king’s seat, truly paints him as the smartest character in the entire series.

“Drogon shows an awareness of something a lot of folks just weren’t cognizant of, which is that the Iron Throne represented lust, greed and corruption, all of which tore Westeros apart and repeatedly led it to the brink of collapse.

(Tyrion,  Daenerys) …didn’t see the throne as pure evil like Drogon did, and while you may think he’s just a fire-breathing beast to command, the creature proves to be the hero who knows what’s best for the future of the Six Kingdoms because the end of the throne inevitably means a resetting, a recalibration and a new map towards tomorrow.

“He’s suffered just as much and, while it may be a form of ham-fisted symbolism, focusing his dragon fire on the item so many died for over the past eight seasons (was) his way of not just letting his frustration out, but doing what Dany couldn’t do — let go.”

When you think about it, this reasoning makes perfect sense. There were thousands upon thousands of deaths in the GoT universe, all for the right to rule a kingdom. To be king (or queen). To be the be-all do-all.

All contenders fought with a future dream of ruling with justice and fairness and peace. But ruling in itself was the madness to the method. It was still persecution. Oppression. Someone/a group of someones may have been needed to show others right from wrong, but in Westros there was no choice. Right and wrong was whomever won the battle. Whomever had more soldiers. Whomever had more people alive in the end.

The dragon tired of man’s constant destruction of both each other and the planet. So he said the hell with all of you – I will destroy the symbol that you all have fought for. After all, the symbol is only an illusion.

My vote goes with the dragon.