“Men decide where power resides, whether or not they know it.” – Lord Varys, the Spider, Master of Whispers, caster of large shadows.
Consider me considerably shaken.
The beginning of what is most certainly one of the better episodes of season 8 takes viewers immediately to the writing table of Varys, as he’s scribbling Jon’s secret identity in letter form to someone–I never caught who–when a little girl enters and tells Varys she fears she’s being watched (by Dany’s men). Moments later, viewers are watching as the queen gives a calm “Dracarys” order and Drogon barbecues our poor, bald Varys to death, punishment for his treason. This moment quietly sets the tone for the rest of the episode.
Dracarys, indeed.
If you’ve read my book reviews, you’ll know I don’t like to give out too many spoilers, if any at all. Lord Varys’s death is a pretty big spoiler, so as I’ve broken my own rule already, I feel like I should continue to do so. But, unlike our newly bonkers queen, I’ll try to hold a little bit back.
Long story short, Daenerys does her job as planned in the beginning, starting with Euron Greyjoy’s Iron Fleet, burning them to the ground, probably with a smile on her exhausted face as Greyjoy himself is flung from a burning ship. With Dany in the air and her armies (and nephew, Jon Snow) on the ground, King’s Landing is soon taken and the bells of surrender ring out. Does she choose to fall back, as everyone hoped she would?
Nope.
Queen Daenerys of the House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, The Unburnt, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Queen of Meereen, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Protector of the Realm, Lady Regent of the Seven Kingdoms, Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons goes full on Mad Queen, channeling her late father, obviously taking his chants of “Burn them all!” straight to heart. Apparently, the dragon doesn’t fall far from the nest.
Absolute chaos ensues, starting with Grey Worm. Being loyal to his queen, Grey Worm sees her continue burning the city through the surrender and he follows suit, tossing a dagger into one of Cersei’s surrendered (read: unarmed) soldiers.
And, I had hoped Grey Worm would get some kind of a happy life after losing his love in the last episode’s beheading, but now I hope somebody takes him out. Without killing Grey Worm (and likely Drogon) first, I’m afraid taking Little Miss Crazy Pants Stormborn out is going to be next to impossible. And let’s face it, if Westeros is ever to see any kind of peace, she has got to go.
Speaking of going, where is Bran in all of this? Obviously Winterfell. But, couldn’t he have given some kind of freaky bird boy warning before everyone else left? Nothing cryptic as usual, but now that the Night King is kaput, doesn’t he think his siblings and their friends might deserve at least a little bit more direction? We know he could tell them things.
I guess it’s a busy, lonely life being a three eyed raven, knowing everything and being able to stop things from happening, but choosing to just sit back and enjoy the show. Bran’s upper half is becoming just as useless as his lower half these days. I still like his character, though. For now.
Oh, and did I mention CLEGANEBOWL happened? Cause it did. Sandor Clegane says goodbye to Arya, telling her to leave or die, too, and she listens. She even calls him by his first name. And, then The Hound finds The Mountain and a fight ensues, but only after The Mountain kills Cersei’s hand by tossing him aside like a sack of potatoes. Cersei exits the scene and an epic staircase battle scene begins. With fire below and a dragon flying above, it’s a scene that could not have been more perfect for the end of the Cleganes. I won’t miss Gregor Clegane, but I will most certainly think of Sandor “The Hound” Clegane most fondly. I’m sure Arya will, too.
Oh, and somewhere in here Jamie and Cersei are crushed beneath the weight of the very castle they’ve built their entire lives around. Poetic justice, if you ask me, though there are those who disagree and think viewers were robbed of a more fitting, horrible death for the Lannisters.
The end of the episode was sort of quiet. Arya has a bit of a rough go of things as she tries to exit the city, but ultimately — after Jon directs his men and others to “fall back”– she finds a lone white (or dare I say “pale”) horse and exits.
So, what will this mean for the next and final episode? Probably nothing any of us will be able to accurately guess within 90% accuracy, if the last handful of episodes have any leaning on things. There are good theories out there, but ultimately there is only a few ways this could end. None of them will be pain free. More people will die. And nobody will come out unscathed.
Tyrion Lannister should probably disappear because if Dany gets wind he’s still alive, he won’t be for long. I have a feeling he’s in danger.
You got theories? I’d love to hear them. Drop a comment if you please.
Release date: June 2012
When Violet moves to Swallow Beach, she inherits a small Victorian pier with an empty arcade perched on the end of it, and falls in love immediately. She wants nothing more than to rejuvenate it and make it grand again – but how?
RELEASE DATE: 6/26/18
Rhiannon Writes On 