With only six episodes left in the entire
series, the second episode of the eighth and
final season of Game of Thrones had a lot
of groundwork to lay down as the show comes
to an end.
From Arya's big moment to Brienne's new title,
let's talk about the second episode of Game
of Thrones' final season, and what it all
means.
When Jaime Lannister turns up at Winterfell
to help in the fight against the incoming
army of the dead, he doesn't exactly receive
a warm welcome, and it's no wonder why.
Not only is Jaime forced to face down Bran,
the boy he once tried to murder when Bran
caught Jaime sleeping with his queen and sister,
but he also has to come face to face with
Daenerys, whose father he successfully murdered
— despite being a member of the Kingsguard
and swearing to protect him.
Meanwhile, Sansa Stark is still angry at Jaime
for turning on her own father, Ned Stark,
during their shared time in King's Landing.
But in the end, his friend and ally, Brienne
of Tarth stands up for the Kingslayer, convincing
Sansa to allow Jaime to stay safely in Winterfell.
Jaime may still be guilty of plenty, but it
looks like he'll live to fight another day.
Chances are good that the mercy shown by both
Sansa and Daenerys will have lasting effects
on the conflicts to come as the series wraps
up over the next few episodes.
Now that the two leaders have found some common
ground, it's possible they'll find a way to
work together to unite the Seven Kingdoms.
Then again…
After realizing that Sansa needed to be convinced
to accept her new queen, Daenerys sits down
alone with the eldest Stark and Lady of Winterfell
in the second episode, determined to win over
the stoic survivor and explain what she hopes
to accomplish during her time in Westeros.
The meeting seems to go well at first — Sansa
even cracks a smile, and the two join hands
as they talk about Jon.
But it all eventually goes south when Sansa
makes it clear that she doesn't want to relinquish
the North's claim for independence once Daenerys
takes the Iron Throne, leaving things just
as tense as they were before their chat.
Daenerys' intentions might be good, but it's
unlikely that she'll ever fully impress anyone
in the North, making it that much harder for
her to unite Westeros under her rule.
Daenerys may think she has Jon's loyalty,
but given how the other lords of the North
view Sansa, that may not end up being enough
to keep hold on the region in the end.
On the eve of one of the most frightening
and difficult battles throughout the entire
run of Game of Thrones, the characters prepare
for the conflict to come during what might
be their very last night alive, and everybody
deals with it in completely different ways.
While some, like Tyrion and Tormund, drink
heavily, others sing one last song, and some
achieve goals they've worked towards for their
entire lives.
Brienne of Tarth, in particular, has a banner
night when Jaime anoints her as the first
female knight in all of the Seven Kingdoms,
in one of the final season's most emotional
moments to date.
Aside from Brienne's new title, audiences
are given a quieter yet still incredibly tense
episode in the buildup to one of the series'
most ambitious battles yet, where the seemingly
unbeatable army of the dead arrives to take
Winterfell.
Even though some fans might have been disappointed
by the lack of action, the episode let viewers
spend a thoughtful and often funny hour with
some of their favorite characters, some of
whom probably won't be around after the next
episode's enormous battle.
Over the course of seven seasons, viewers
have watched as Arya Stark has grown from
a small, feisty tomboy to a fearless, faceless
warrior willing to mow down anything in her
path.
Now that she has finally returned home to
Winterfell and joined her family, Arya is
truly in her element.
During the eighth season premiere, she reunites
with Gendry, her old friend working as a smith
in Winterfell's forge, asking him to make
her a new, custom weapon, a request which
is as close to Arya will probably ever get
to flirting.
On the night before the battle with the Night
King, Arya makes a somewhat surprising decision,
visiting Gendry to pick up her new spear and
then seducing him, so that she can know what
it's like to be with a man before the day
breaks and the battle begins.
Besides serving as an incredible example of
one of the show's most powerful female characters
taking control of her sexuality and exercising
her autonomy, it also calls back to something
that King Robert Baratheon said in Game of
Thrones' very first episode about "joining
houses" with Ned Stark between Ned's daughter
and Robert's son.
King Robert was referring to Joffrey and Sansa,
but since Gendry is actually Robert's bastard
son and Arya is also Ned's daughter, it seems
as if the late king's prediction has come
true after all this time.
There's still plenty of secrets left to be
revealed on Game of Thrones.
But one of the series' biggest bombshells
— specifically, the one concerning Jon Snow's
real heritage — was blown wide open during
the eighth season premiere when Sam broke
the news to his stunned friend, who had to
grapple with the fact that he's the actual,
rightful heir to the Iron Throne...not to
mention that his new girlfriend is actually
his aunt.
After spending his life assuming that he was
nothing more than Ned Stark's bastard son,
Jon now has to consider the very real possibility
that he could rule all of Westeros, since
his parents, Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen
were rightfully married, making him a legitimate
royal.
Obviously, this creates plenty of awkwardness
between Jon and Daenerys, who only recently
consummated their new relationship.
But awkward family reunions aside, Jon breaking
the news to Daenerys about his real name and
potential title throws another wrench into
the proceedings; Daenerys, whose single goal
throughout the series has been to take the
Iron Throne, now has another rival to contend
with, with whom she has inconveniently fallen
in love.
Now that both characters know that the humble,
supposedly low-born Jon Snow is actually Aegon
Targaryen, Daenerys might turn on him entirely,
setting up a huge conflict between two of
the show's most important characters.
In terms of moments that'll have lasting effects
through the final episode of the series, keep
this encounter in the Stark crypt fresh in
your mind.
The conflict between Jon and Daenerys may
be on hold while they fight for the survival
of the human race…but once the Night King
melts into a puddle of goo, expect the full
repercussions of this conversation to become
much more clear in the light of day.
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