Westeros was a bit of a wreck by the end of Season 8 of the HBO adaptation. Ripe pickings for a highly mobile horde of savage warriors who live to loot and pillage. The only way the cities of Essos survived was to offer the Dothraki huge bribes to pass by. Not many in Westeros have that much to barter with right now so what would stop the Dothraki plundering their way across the continent? The Lords and their new King – and Queen in the North – should be worried. Except, the Dothraki seem to have vanished in a puff of smoke, rather like their fake annihilation at Winterfell…
There was no sign of them on the Unsullied ships.
How can they stay anywhere in Westeros? They don’t build cities so they can’t be offered castles. They don’t create anything so they can’t be offered land. All they do is ride and pillage. No-one in Westeros will accept that.
Ned Stark rightly said he would fear the Dothraki when they learn to run on water. Well, they made it across the ‘Poison Water” in Daenerys’ fleet. Its remains sailed off with Little Worm to the Isle of Naath, Missandei’s birthplace.
Who else would possibly accept a blood-thirsty horde of Dothraki on their ships? How would the Dothraki pay for it? Without their quasi-goddess queen, how would they brave the ocean again?
This sums up the fatal fails in logic and storytelling which crippled the final series.
Remember, just a few episodes earlier it looked like not a single Dothraki was left alive after that spine-tingling charge at the Battle of Winterfell. It looked breathtaking as their weapons ignited and they thundered towards the forces of the Night King. The moment every flame extinguished was chilling and created a major mood for what was to come.
Except there are two massive problems. Firstly, did they really come all this way, across the poison water and seven long series just to die in a totally futile way? What a waste of a plotline – like so many others.
The second problem is it was implied this was the entire Dothraki force. None were seen elsewhere in the battle and very few at the mass funeral. So how did Dany have fresh hordes ready to sack King’s Landing?
Seven sensational series followed Danerys being sold to Khal Drogo, losing him, winning his khalasar and then captured and taken to Vaes Dothrak where she spectacularly burned all the khals alive.
What was the point?
The ending rendered most of what had come before pointless AND still failed to explain where they went or what happens next.
The Dothraki basically sum up everything wrong with the final season of Game of Thrones. Sure, you’d rather not have them on your doorstep, but they still deserved a far better fate. Or any fate at all.