Jason O’Toole
Credit: HBO
After two years of waiting, the final season of Game of Thrones has arrived. In light of this, we here at ETG thought it prudent to break down the highlights from each of the final six episodes of this monumental series. Through the years this series has made the fantasy genre more mainstream than anything since Lord of the Rings. It has been a fantastic journey with some great moments and some very sad ones. This conclusion will no doubt carry with it the most devastating emotional bombs the show has brought thus far. Beware of SPOILERS for the second episode of season eight of Game of Thrones. Stay tuned each week to ETG for all the highlights from this final season. Also, if you missed out on our breakdown of episode one you can check that out here.
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We open this episode immediately where we left things with the arrival of Jaime Lannister. He is being grilled by Daenerys about the murder of the Mad King and the fact that he is alone and not leading the army that Cersei promised. This seems strange because Dany is definitely aware that her father was a crazy person that needed to be stopped. She seems to be using this as an opportunity to assert her dominance as the future Queen of Westeros. Luckily for Jaime, Brienne is quick to jump to his defense claiming that he is an honorable man. She recounts their time together and relays that without him she would have been raped and most likely killed. Dany still does not seem convinced until Sansa claims that no one is more honorable and loyal than Brienne. If she vouches for Jaime than that should be good enough for anyone. Jaime claims that he promised to fight for the living and that is what he is here to do. The scene is a very tense moment of an otherwise calm episode as all involved prepare for the coming battle with the Night King.
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The greatest moment in this writer’s opinion comes when several characters gather to relax and unwind before the coming battle in the great hall. This gathering consists of people that at one time or another have tried to kill the Starks, yet here they all are about to put their lives on the line to defend Winterfell. We get to see Tyrion, Jaime, Brienne, Podrick, Davos and Tormund Giantsbane, who has the greatest moment in the episode recounting his tale of drinking giants milk to make him strong, gathered around the fire sharing drinks and stories. The conversation quickly turns to Brienne and how she never got to be a knight. She claims that is never something she needed until Jaime realizes that it doesn’t take a King to make a knight. Another knight is all it takes. He commands Brienne to step forward and kneel for her Knighthood. He commences with the ceremony and for the first time ever we see Brienne smile, which is extremely creepy. It is a beautiful moment and most likely the last happiness these characters will have. Ser Brienne will lead her troops into battle next week.
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One big highlight from this episode continues something set up last week as Jon finally reveals to Dany that he is a Targaryen and her nephew, which doesn’t seem to bother her as much as it should. Even though Jon has repeatedly stated that he doesn’t want to be a King, Dany seems worried that this revelation means her claim to the throne is weakened. The thing I really don’t understand about this scene is that it seems like this should be a good thing as both Jon and Dany are Targaryen and can be the future King and Queen of Westeros. This seems like a no brainer but Dany doesn’t take the news that way. We will have to wait until the dust settles to see how this plays out. We are also still unsure who the third dragon is. The dragon has three heads and rumors have been circulating for a while that Tyrion might be the third dragon. It would be amazing to see that his mistreatment at the hands of his family was not for nothing. I’m not quite sure I believe this rumor but we will all find out soon enough as Game of Thrones brings this epic tale to a close in the coming weeks.
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Oh, and a quick bonus one. Arya and Gendry have sex and I have to say that this made me all kinds of uncomfortable. I understand that this is a move that is done to humanize her a little bit but we have watched Maise Williams grow up before our eyes. It’s a beautiful scene and not near as explicit as other sex scenes the show has given us but it is still uncomfortable. The directors let Maise Williams decide how far she wanted to go which is a good thing because it could have been much worse. Everyone may very well die once the Night King arrives, so just like with other scenes in the episode everyone is going for broke. Stay with ETG every week for more on this final season of Game of Thrones.
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