Photo: HBO
Game of Thrones is very quickly coming to an end. We all know this, but now it really really feels like it. Now that the army of the dead is a thing of the past, two major conflicts remain. Daenerys vs. Cersei, and Daenerys vs. Jon Snow. This episode sets up the first of those two battles. The pacing is all over the place in these episodes, but with the shortened season it’s something we just have to accept, so here are our top five takeaways from the episode and what they mean going forward.
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Daenerys begins to descend into the Mad Queen.
For a scene without her saying any dialogue, Emilia Clarke certainly put on an amazing performance in the end of this episode. The show has been hinting at it for a while, but she hasn't been trustworthy, and has been more ruthless than necessary. After Missandei was murdered in front of their whole army, it appears Daenerys will murder hundreds of thousands to take the iron throne. Her thirst for vengeance could be her undoing, and the hero we've been rooting for since season one could end up being the final villain in the finale.
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Jamie leaving Brienne for King's Landing.
The scene of Jaime leaving is being misinterpreted by many viewers. The show wants us to believe it's because he wants to go be with her, or perhaps save her, but we expect he plans to kill her. He said all the terrible things he did to return home to Cersei and rode off to get to her. Him facing his troubled past was apart of his redemption arc that is not yet completed. Still, there's no telling if he will succeed in a plan to kill her, or if he would even be able to go through with it.
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Sansa has her own plans.
The writers seem to be jumping through hoops to get the audience to hate Sansa. While she may end up being right in the end about Daenerys, the show is bungling giving us any perspective whatsoever. We continue to see her giving attitude to characters that we do get a point of view of. It's bad storytelling, but it doesn't mean the story will end up in a good place. After finding out the truth about Jon Snow's heritage, she goes around and very quickly spills the beans to several people. She gave Jon her word that she wouldn't, so we should expect that she'll have to answer for that.
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The Hound is heading for 'The Cleganebowl.'
It was made clear during the Battle of Winterfell, and several times before, that The Hound is suffering from severe PTSD, and it's because his older brother The Mountain. Although he is some sort of Frankenstein monster now, The Hound has been seeking revenge for most the series, and it appears it's finally going to happen. He said he has "unfinished business" and without saying what it was, he head off, with Arya in tow. There can be only one thing he means by that. Don't expect it to go exactly how we think it will though, this is Game of Thrones after all.
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Varys conspires to make Jon Snow the King
A pretty sharp pivot in this episode with Varys. He very quickly surmises that Daenerys is a tyrant and upon discovering Jon Snow actually has a claim to the throne, decides he will be the better king. He believes it enough to flat out tell Tyrion that he has a plan in place to kill the Queen. This conflict he has within himself between the two is what the finale will be all about (after Cersei is done away with), he just better hope he picks the right side.
