If you were one of the people who complained that not enough main characters died in The Battle of Winterfell, then your prayers for death were answered. Tonight’s episode provided two significant deaths that will send shockwaves throughout the Seven Kingdoms. The Night King may be dead, but the true ruler of Westeros still remains. Cersei reminded us that she’s still top dog on Game of Thrones. Here’s my review for Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 4, “The Last of the Starks.”
Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 4: “The Last of the Starks”
-The episode opened with a tearful goodbye to our fallen heroes from the Battle of Winterfell. Lyanna Mormont, Beric Dondarrion, Theon Greyjoy, Dolorous Edd, and Sir Jorah Mormont were the biggest names who tragically fell last week. Jon led a tearful ceremony that ended with the dead being burned. After the battle of ice and fire, ice may have taken many lives, but fire prevailed in the battle of the dead versus the living.
-If I were apart of the Battle of Winterfell and the living defeated the dead, you better believe I would drink my face off until the sun came up. It was time to celebrate as the remaining survivors joined together for a grand feast full of food, wine, and sex. That’s not the worst way to celebrate defeating an army of dead wights and white walkers.
-Congratulations to Gendry on becoming the Lord of Storms End! If you believe Daenerys did this out of the goodness of her heart, think again. Dany knew that Gendry had a claim to the Iron Throne so what was the best way to make sure he’ll never go for the crown? Make him a lord and give him a lot of land. Good move on Dany’s end, but nothing she does will ever surpass the respect the North has for Jon.
-When did Game of Thrones become HBO After Dark? HBO may have removed adult entertainment from the network, but tonight’s Game of Thrones turned Winterfell into a brothel. It seemed like everyone who was anyone wanted to hook up. Tormund couldn’t win over Brienne, but he won over a Northerner instead. Podrick probably spent the night with a lady. Even the Hound caught the eye of an innocent woman. Love was in the air! Fresh off of becoming a Lord, Gendry professed his love for Arya and Arya expressed her joy with a kiss. However, Arya turned down Gendry’s proposal because she is not a lady. Poor Gendry.
-It turns out the Hound has a soft spot for Stark girls. The Hound is not physically attracted to anyone, but he is attracted to confidence and toughness, which are two qualities that are present with both Arya and Sansa. As the saying goes, tough times don’t last, but tough people do and Arya and Sansa are two of the toughest people alive.
-Although love was in the air for most, a black cloud loomed over Jon and Dany’s relationship. Daenerys abruptly left the party because she knows that the North will always fight for Jon and despite whatever he says, the North will always want Jon to be their true king. When Dany confronts Jon later in the night, the two share a passionate kiss, but that spark quickly dissolves because of their secret. If your true love turned out to be your relative, I’d venture to say that you’d lose that spark as well.
Although Daenerys has always exuded confidence, in her meeting with Jon, we finally saw something we haven’t seen in a while, which was a look of nervousness. No matter how many times Jon says he doesn’t want the throne, the fact remains that Jon has a better claim to the realm than Daenerys. Jon could bend the knee one hundred times and it wouldn’t matter because Jon is the last male Targaryen and nothing is going to change that. Dany begs Jon to keep his lineage a secret, but Jon wants to tell his sisters the truth. Jon’s greatest strength and weakness is his loyalty. Jon is just like Ned Stark. His loyalty may cost him his life just like it did with Ned.
-A relationship that was born in Season 3 finally had its payoff as Brienne and Jamie had sex. Nice *Borat voice*. I’m not trying to take away from a sweet moment, but I find it ironic that the one woman Jamie sleeps with besides his sister (lol) also has short blonde hair. The only difference (besides incest) being Brienne is a good person and Cersei is, well, not.
-I was happy that Bronn returned to the show, but I wasn’t thrilled to see him with the crossbow that Cersei gave him. Thankfully, Bronn didn’t kill the Lannister brothers, but he did use them to get a sweeter deal than the one promised by Cersei. This isn’t the last we will see from Bronn. There was an interesting tidbit from Season 5, Episode 4, where Bronn and Jamie discussed how they would like to die. Bronn wants to die a boring death, while Jamie wants to die in the arms of his love. Sadly, both of these warriors might receive what they want in the end.
-Did you really think Jon wasn’t going to tell his sisters about his true lineage? OF COURSE he was going to spill the beans to Sansa and Arya. Jon couldn’t keep a secret if his life depended on it. It’s like Jon has never been to high school. News spreads like wildfire in high school. Nothing stays private and once a secret hits the hallways, it’s going to spread until every last person knows the truth. Dany might think she can keep Jon quiet, but Jon knows he can never tell a lie. He had to tell Arya and Sansa. Plus, once he told Sansa, you knew she was going to tell someone. That person just happened to be Daenery’s hand, Tyrion.
-Speaking of Sansa, her case for being the one who reigns supreme to end the show is getting stronger and stronger after each episode. Dany wants to go to war right away and move south, but Sansa cautions her and says to let her army recuperate. It turns out that Sansa was right. As Dany weakens, Sansa grows stronger. Dany may be able to win a battle, but Sansa can win a war. An interesting point was brought up in this article in the NY Post. Sansa, not Daenerys, may be the one to take out Cersei.
-Tyrion may still believe in Daenerys, but Varys does not. Varys is a schemer and he heavily teased that he will do anything for the realm and if that means betraying Daenerys for Jon, then so be it. Tyrion also knows in his heart that Jon should be King, but he’s not willing to give up on Dany just yet. Notice how Tyrion mentioned treason with Varys. What happens to those who commit treason? They die. My prediction is that Varys will burn for treason at the hands of Daenerys.
Note: Do you actually believe Varys won’t tell anyone about Jon being a Targaryen? HA. Tyrion revealed Jon’s secret to the man who has “little birdies” everywhere. All of King’s Landing might know about Jon’s lineage before Daenerys battles Cersei.
-Daenerys and the rest of the audience for that matter seemed to forget about Euron Greyjoy and his fleet. However, Euron did not forget about her. Euron reminded us that he is a dangerous force that must be taken seriously when he ambushed Daenerys’ troops and killed her second dragon, Rheagal, with the dragon-killing Scorpion. Not only did Euron kill a dragon, but he also destroyed Daenery’s fleet of ships and captured Missandei.
Note: Game of Thrones rarely kills characters offscreen. We saw Rheagal fall to his presumable death, but is he really dead? I think he is, but do not be surprised if Rheagal shows up next week. Also, do not forget about Yara and the Iron Islands. I expect her fleet to show up to take on Euron.
-My biggest takeaway tonight is this: Cersei has and always been the true villain of the show. The Night King was bad, but Cersei is evil. While everyone plays checkers, Cersei plays chess. Cersei is always two moves ahead of everyone else. Inviting the people into Red Keep was a brilliant move because Cersei knows that if Daenerys burns innocent people alive in order to take King’s Landing, Daenerys will never be accepted as the Queen. It’s a brilliant move.
-I’ve never been more confident in my life that Jamie is going to kill Cersei. Although Brienne begged him to stay with her, Jamie left and said that he is hateful just like Cersei. Jamie had to do this in order to let Brienne go. Jamie is not going to King’s Landing to save Cersei. Jamie is going to King’s Landing to kill Cersei in order to save Westeros. This was my number one prediction coming into the season and I’m sticking with it. Here’s a rough prediction as to how it happens:
- The Hound and Arya infiltrate King’s Landing and reach Cersei.
- The Hound fights his brother, The Mountain.
- Arya attempts to kill Cersei, but is stopped by Jamie.
- Jamie defeats Arya in a battle but spares her life.
- When Cersei believes Jamie came to save her, Jamie turns on his sister and kills her.
-I’M NOT READY TO SAY GOODBYE TO GHOST.
-Finally, let’s discuss the second shocking death of the night. The battle is set. Both Daenerys and Cersei want the other to surrender, which we all know will never happen in a million years. Tyrion begs Cersei to surrender in order to stop the violence and save the lives of innocent people. Cersei responds by ordering Sir Gregor to behead Missandei. Game on. Your move, Daenerys.
-Is Daenerys the Mad Queen? After tonight, she’s about to go scorched Earth against Cersei and King’s Landing. She lost her dragon, best friend, and lover. Once again, Daenerys is alone and can’t trust anyone. Right now, all she has in the world is her rage and her dragon. Missandei’s “Dracarys” was a message to both Daenerys and the audience. Whether you like it or not, hell, fire and brimstone are coming to King’s Landing. Get ready for fire and lots of it.
What did you think about tonight’s episode? Leave your thoughts in the comments or tweet us @unafraidshow.
Check out Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 3 Review
