Aquaman #65 does indeed function as the "period on the end of the sentence" of DeConnick's run, but not just because of the way in which it functions as a goodbye to characters that tie all the way back to her very first arc on the title, "Unspoken Water," and everything that's happened since. It's also an issue that has to contend with an even bigger question than whether or not Arthur and Mera will tie the knot, something DeConnick hasn't been shy about promising to readers (and, a few weeks ago, to SYFY WIRE). That question is what becomes of Atlantis and the various undersea factions as DeConnick has devoted a major chunk of her run to Mera's quest to disband the Atlantean monarchy? To find out how DeConnick's final word on that subject plays out, you'll have to read the issue, but DeConnick said the idea to bring it up in the first place came from her own fundamental discomfort with the idea of the monarchy existing at all.
"For me, I didn’t understand how [monarchy could work with] these characters that represent these ideals, and particularly these very American ideals, right? DC characters are red, white, and blue, really. I know we are an international brand, but there is something about the values that are such American values. So, this idea that we have this undersea monarchy that’s always this continual battle for who’s owed the throne? No, that is not how that should work at all," DeConnick explained. "That’s a moral issue. That’s wrong. And I think it’s a problem I have with a lot of contemporary... I’m sure my mentions don’t want this, but this is a problem I have with a lot of contemporary fantasy.
"Game of Thrones, in the end, the thesis, what does Game of Thrones seem to be telling us? 'You’re pretty much born who you are, and you’re the crazy fire lady. You’re going to be the crazy fire lady.' You know what I mean? It was all about what was owed by birth. And some of the stuff they have done with Star Wars, too [referring to Rey's power originating in her bloodline]. I happened to be listening to a thing about Ben Franklin this evening as research for another project, and a line jumped out at me. Professor H.W. Brands makes reference to '...the dawning of a world in which an individual’s ability, not his birthright, would be the yardstick by which his success might be measured.' I think that's what I was trying to get to. Something beyond both birthright and biology.
"I really and truly believe this. I believe that Atlantis being a monarchy in 2020 was a problem. So, that was where we went with it. I don’t know if it will hold. That is not my job. But what felt authentic to me was that once Mera understood that, that she would have to act, because I think that’s who she is."