Game of Thrones: Why the cutworm is headed to the island of Naath

By Tina Amini

Warning: complete spoilers for the final of the Game of Thrones series!

In the last episode of Game of Thrones, Gray Worm does not have a ton of options. His queen – the only goal of his life and his actions – is dead. Missandei, her only romantic prospect, is dead. And so he turns to the remaining connection that he has – Naath.

Naath is the birthplace of Missandei. She remembers her white sand beaches and lush vegetation for the cutworm in a heartbeat between the two. Although this is also the place where she was first taken as a slave – at age five she was abducted at Slaver's Bay where she was introduced for the first time as a translator – Missandei was very good memories of the famous beauty of Naath. During the last season of Game of Thrones, she told Gray Worm that she wanted to return to Naath once the war was over and he promised that they would go together when the time came.

Even though, with Missandei, this idealized future is now dead, Gray Worm is committed to honoring his last promise to his lost love. We can assume, because of their relationship and Gray Worm's unwavering commitment to the women of his life, that he intends to visit Naath despite the fact he can not keep half of his promise, when he would have brought Missandei back to his country. In the absence of war, we assume that he plans to bring his Unsullied command to a peaceful country in order to live the rest of his life and admire the beauty of Naath told by Missandei. Although he lost his only true love, visiting Naath remains his only connection with her.

Naath is not known for the political and violent unrest that Westeros is experiencing. Missandei explains this to Gray Worm during Season 8 when she tells him about the peaceful inclination of his people. "We can not protect ourselves," she said. "My people are not peaceful," replied Gray Worm. "We will protect you."

In fact, Naath is considered a country so peaceful and defenseless that he was particularly vulnerable to slavers who invaded and looted slaves. George R. R. Martin's books further describe Naath's disease and explain the butterfly fever that invaders and non-natives might experience – known to melt the flesh of bones. Partly because of this, Naath has never been conquered – it has only been invaded temporarily for the theft of defenseless people who will then be sold to Slaver's Bay. It is not known if Gray Worm and his Unsullied troops can defy the local conditions of Naath and avoid the inevitable death that results from prolonged contact with the Naath butterflies. Let's hope they build an immunity along the way or that they do not show that it's gunshot.

For more information on the finale, check out the great meta reference from Game of Thrones.

And watch the cast of Game of Thrones say thank you to the fans below.