Game of Thrones Philosophy Breakdown

In our final episode of the Game of Thrones Philosophy Breakdown, we are joined by friends to reflect on the philosophy and meaning from the entire series. 

Our guests are Charles Pustejovsky, Cameron Sorsby, Madison Kanna, Grant Parker, and Amanda Kingsmith.

They share how they got hooked on GoT, favorite characters and philosophical insight, and recommendations for managing your GoT withdrawals. 

The end is here and this week we are breaking down the final episode of Game of Thrones.

What led Dany astray? What is the best way to move forward when your enemies are defeated? What does the ending show about G.R.R.M.’s life philosophy and a lot more!

- Recapping the episode and sharing our first impressions on the finale of Game of Thrones.

- What spin-offs would we love to see?

- The dangers of idealism, empowering politicians/leaders, and optimizing for one metric

- Is the new government any better?

- What comes after you save the world?

- What Arya and Jon’s ending can teach us about the meaning of life?

- The difference between honor and reputation

- What does the ending of the show tell us about G.R.R.M.’s life philosophy?

• Checking in with listener answers to the question of if Dany burning down Kings Landing would make her worse than Cersei. 
• Recapping the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones, The Bells. 
• Varys decision to betray Dany and his death sentence. 
• Jon's decision to tell Arya and Sansa about his true identity and then not telling Dany that he did it. 
• Mercy as a strength
• Should we have known that Dany would make an evil decision? 
• Jamie and Cersei's end

• Answers to our question from last week, "Is there such a thing as a noble or good death?" 
• Recapping and reacting to what went down in the fourth episode of season 8 of Game of Thrones 
• What is the right way to act after someone's death? Do you owe a debt to the dead?
• Where should your loyalty lie, with your family or a lover? 
• Is removing tyrants no matter the cost evil? 
• Is Varys right to plot against Dany? 
• Davos pushing back against Stanis vs. Varys plotting against Dany
• Rational choice theory and Treason 

It's Battle of Winterfell time, and we're breaking it all down on this weeks episode of the philosophy breakdown.

In this episode:
- Recapping the epic battle of Winterfell
- Checking in with listener answers to our question from last week, what would you do on the last night before the battle of Winterfell?
- Appreciating the spectacle and resisting the urge to critique every small detail
- Our first reactions to seeing the end of the episode
- Philosophy of embracing or rejecting mistakes from our past
- How our currents goals and values impact our past and our views of the world
- What does it mean to have a good death?
- The Stoic idea of a noble death
- Dying with your boots on
- The cost of war

• Recapping the episode
• Looking back on our predictions about what Jon should do with the knowledge of who he is
• Sharing some of the best answers from Reddit on what Jon Should do 
• Ser Brianne and the philosophy of titles 
• Learning about the Night King's motivation and what evil truly is 
• Is the point Sam makes during the battle counsel about memory being the key to humanity true? 
• What is the best way to spend your last day on earth 

• Recapping what happened in the first episode of season eight 
• Our first impressions of the episodes 
• The power dynamics now that everyone is back in Winterfell and Jon has bent the knee and is it better to have one strong leader? 
• 17:30 - The free rider problem and the contributions normal people are making to the war effort. Is it right to seize food and resources from the citizens of the North? 
• How reputation and honor help solve the free rider problem 
• 30:00 - The Glover's not joining and the breakdown of trust, oaths, and responsibility in Westeros
• 37:00 - Is the Glover's decision to not join the war effort justifiable because Jon bent the knee? 
• 43:00 - Oops, I killed your family - Do you have a responsibility to deliver bad news to the people you work with? 
• 51:00 - The difference in Dany and Jon's approaches to power. Does Dany's ease of taking on power make her a better leader? 
• 54:00 - The difference between being indecisive and being reluctant to take on power
• Does Jon have an obligation to claim the throne? 

• What we covered last season 
• What we're looking forward to in season 8 
• Your favorite characters becoming white walkers 
• What the finale of GoT means for storytelling 
• The power and rarity of being able to share a story with millions of other people at the same time

Diplomacy, killing to save lives, redemption, and much more on this episode breaking down the philosophy in season 7 episode 7 of Game of Thrones.

White Walker Dragon!!!!! 

Plus is teaming up with evil to stop super evil wrong? What does it mean to die? Is death really the enemy? And more on this episode breaking down season 7 episode 6 of game of Thrones.