His Watch Has Ended: Euron Greyjoy

Pilou Asbæk as Euron Greyjoy.

Game of Thrones has entered its final season and that means it’s time to take stock of the show as a whole. But rather than do a set of episode reviews, we decided to take a little inspiration from the books for our post-mortem. George R.R. Martin’s still unfinished series features chapters based on the point of view of its characters, so each of these posts will review their individual journeys in the show as they come to their end, whether peacefully or violently - this is Thrones, after all.

We’ll ask the same set of questions for each character, reflect on where they came from, where the events of the series took them, and where we leave them. How effective was the show’s approach to the character, and is their ending satisfying? What purpose did each character serve throughout the series?

If it isn’t already obvious, this is MEGA-SPOILER territory, so beware if you’re not fully caught up on the show.

Euron Greyjoy

Where Did He Come From?

The captain of the Silence, the lead ship of the Iron Fleet whose crew has had their tongues cut off, Euron is the brother of Balon Greyjoy, the former Lord of the Iron Islands. He is introduced in Season 6 as one of the show’s new villains after Cersei consolidates her power following the elimination of House Tyrell, the Sparrows and the Faith Militant.

Where Did The Show Take Him?

Not very far. A much darker and deeper character in the books with ties to dark magic, Euron is a sniveling, cookie-cutter villain who hangs around Cersei a lot and departs briefly to recruit the Golden Company. He spends much of his time talking a big game at the Iron Islands and in King’s Landing lusting for Cersei.

Where Does His Story End?

Mercifully, at the hands of Jaime Lannister, at the foot of the Red Keep in a duel that nobody cared for or will ever learn about, seeing how there’s no witnesses.

Does The Character Redeem Himself?

What’s to redeem? For a show that prides itself on three-dimensional characters, the self-proclaimed King of the Iron Islands was as flat as an ironing board, and has no character arc of his own.

Is Euron’s Ending Satisfying?

We knew he was never going to survive, but his final showdown with Jaime lacked substantial build-up, emotional stakes and good choreography. Watching two men with ambiguous motivations hit each other with rocks while writhing around in pain was a mood killer in the sacking of King’s Landing.

What Role Did This Character Player In The Overall Storytelling?

None, really, which is why Euron was such a disappointing character. He won over the Ironborn in a non-violent conflict against Yara, which was shocking for such a supposedly ruthless character, and in his own words, his only true motivation was that he wanted to “fuck the queen.” Even the Golden Company he recruits had little screen time.

Best Moment On The Show

There were very few, but I’ll give Euron credit for one thing: he got rid of the stupid Sand Snakes.