1) Winter is here
Eastwatch is finally in the credits. As stated previously, we're massive fans of any new location appearing in the opening titles.
Geeky but so, so satisfying.
2) The Tarly dilemma
Before she burned Dickon and Randyll Tarly, Daenerys gave any soldiers that were loyal to House Lannister an ultimatum. "All I want to destroy is the wheel which has run over the rich and the poor, to the benefit of no one but the Cersei Lannisters of the world," she said.
You have to give it to Dany, she's abiding by her principles.
She also said " “Together, we will leave the world a better place than we found it," a line that's eerily similar to her conversation with Theon and Yara in Meereen"“We’re going to leave the world better than we found it," she told the Greyjoys.
This being said, how will Daenerys feel after she finds out that out a Tarly saved Jorah's life when he contracted greyscale?
3) Cersei still reigns at the game of thrones
"Maybe we can count on Tyrion to intercede on our behalf." It's almost like she knew something was going to happen involving her youngest brother.
After rightfully accepting Jaime's council, there was something very ominous in her line that "She (Daenerys) has the numbers. If we want to beat her we have to be clever. We have to fight her like father would have."
How did Tywin win his battles? Well, after getting outfought on the battlefield, he was only able to finally beat Robb by ambushing him at the Red Wedding. He also opened the doors of the Red Keep to let Robert Baratheon's men take King's Landing during the final hours of The Mad King.
Cersei now knows that she she'll never defeat an army of Dothraki and Unsullied that's being led by three dragons. In order to beat Dany, expect some of that famous Lannsiter deception and back-stabbing to appear in the next few weeks.
4) Widow's wail
Dany happily proclaimed that her dragons are "not beasts, they're my children."
Ok, technically every character in Game of Thrones is someone's child and has died, but look at things objectively.
House Stark lost Rickon and Robb. Tommen, Joffrey and Myrcella were all taken away from Cersei. Ellaria Sand has to watch her 'favourite' daughter rot in front of her in the cells of King's Landing. Dany also lost a child due to blood magic.
Foreshadow.
5) The Mormonts
Jorah the explorer finally made his way back to Daenerys and his status as Lord Friendzone is still as safe as it ever was.
This being said, things did seem civil between her new suitor, Jon Snow, and Dany's long-term ally, Jorah.
As we know, Jon served under Jeor Mormont when he was in the Night's Watch, but the show hasn't really discussed why Jorah and his dad have a relatively frosty relationship. In his earlier days, Jorah had a distinguished career and became knighted for his bravery at the Siege of Pyke during the Greyjoy Rebellion. He married Lynesse Hightower, but his new wife had expensive tastes that Jorah struggled to fund.
To fund Lynesse's spendthrift ways, he sold poachers on his land to slave traders, which is illegal in the Seven Kingdoms. After his father found out about this, he was exiled and found work as a mercenary.
It's also worth noting that Jon's bravery, loyalty and strength was first seen by Jeor Mormont when he killed a wight at Castle Black. This episode ended with him leaving the gates to journey beyond the Wall to capture a wight.
Nice throwback.
https://twitter.com/nickhlywiak/status/896932945126203392
6) That awkward moment when...
Jon looks awful jealous here.
Dany reciprocates this emotive look when she learns that Jon is planning on leading the expedition beyond the Wall to capture a wight.
'I've grown used to him (The King in the North),' she says. Doesn't take a Maester to read between the lines there.
Take a look at her facial expressions when 1) Jon touches Drogon, 2) she learns that Jon will be leaving, and 3) their farewell on the beach.
https://twitter.com/JonyTargaryan/status/897046215111589888
Also, Jon's final line to Dany," I wish you good fortune in the wars to come,” is exactly what Ser Arthur Dayne told Ned Stark at The Tower of Joy when he went to rescue his sister, Lyanna.
7) Arya knew where to look
When Arya picked the lock to Littlefinger's bedroom, certain people felt she knew where to look because of this passage below.
Granted, the fact that the bed sheet was unfurled was also a big hint, but it's an interesting theory.
8) The new bromance in Westeros
Gendry this is Jon. Jon meet Gendry.
Eerily reminiscent of the moment when Ned Stark meets Robert Baratheon in the very first episode.
9) Ours is the Fury
"Mine (first kill) was some Tarly boy at the Battle of Summerhall. My horse took an arrow so I was on foot, slogging through the mud. He came running at me, the dumb high-born lad, thinking he could end the rebellion with a single swing of his sword. I knocked him down with the hammer. Gods, I was strong then. Caved in his breastplate. Probably shattered every rib he had. Stood over him, hammer in the air. Right before I brought it down he shouted, "Wait! Wait" - Robert Baratheon.
Well, Robert's bastard is excellent with a hammer also.
He also manged to forge the Baratheon sigil - the stag - into the hammer. See, he's doing more than just rowing!
10) The life of an actor
Recognise this guard before? He played the 'buffoon' version of Ned Stark in the theatre company that Arya fraternised with.
We guarantee that the Google searches for 'fermented crab' will massively increase after that scene.
11) Gendry's alias
Clovis is a bloody hysterical name, but there's far more too it than that.
Ser Davos may have thought on his feet and created a funny moniker, but Clovis is actually a name that's given to a form of stone tool technology. The Clovis culture is a prehistoric Paleo-Indian culture, named for distinct stone tools - thank you Wikipedia.
How does this fit into Game of Thrones? Well, Jon has a plentiful supply of dragon glass and he'll need somebody to weaponise it. How about his new best friend Gendry? He is a weaponsmith after all.
Also, in Season 4, we see Tywin Lannsiter instructs a random blacksmith to melt down Ned Stark’s sword, “Ice” in order to make “Oathkeeper” and “Widow’s Wail.”
Who is this blacksmith? Tobho Mott, a.k.a. the man who taught Gendry everything he knows. Essentially, Gendry might have some knowledge of Valyrian steel which people think has close connotations with dragon glass.
After all,Valyria was a volcanic region and we know that dragon glass is an abundant material in volcanic regions like Dragonstone.
12) " Your father's daughter indeed"
We got another throwback scene when Jaime and Cersei paid homage to their father.
"The lion does not concern himself with the opinions of the sheep."
Tywin's legacy lives on but the Lannisters will need his intelligence and cunning when it comes to dealing with Jon and Dany.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3kX3mzCSQ4
Clip via -ExploreWesteros
13) Suicide Squad
They're all going beyond the Wall in an effort to catch a wight but let's put this into context.
We have a guy who was left for dead after his duel with Brienne - The Hound
A knight who should be dead already after contracting greyscale - Ser Jorah
A weaponsmith who probably should have drowned, starved or been sacrificed to the Lord of Light - Gendry
A man who should've been killed by the Night's Watch, the Boltons or the White Walkers - Tormund
A guy who keeps dying - Beric Dondarrion
The King in the North who got stabbed to death at Castle Black - Jon Snow
And finally, a man who brings people back from the dead - Thoros of Myr
Now they're all going off to fight the dead like some weird 'Fellowship of the Wight.' Yep, that team seems about right!
What about this shot? Breathtaking.
14) The Thoros and Jorah connection
After meeting in the Eastwatch cells, they instantly knew each other. How?
Well, during Balon Greyjoy's first rebellion, (nine years before the events of Game of Thrones) the army of King Robert Baratheon laid siege on Pyke.
In the first wave of attack, it was Thoros of Myr who ran in first with his flaming sword. Ser Jorah wasn't far behind him as they took on the Ironborn stronghold. Jaime Lannister and Ned Stark were also involved in the battle.
This act of courage is why Jorah was knighted even though he is a northerner. In the aftermath, Theon Greyjoy was made a ward of House Stark as hostage to ensure fealty from the Greyjoys.
15 The night is dark and full of terrors
The Hound's vision tells of "ice, a wall of ice. The Wall. It’s where the Wall meets the sea. There’s a castle there. There’s a mountain, looks like an arrowhead"
Well, Jon's quest to find a wight beyond the Wall will bring him into a familiar area.
Why? Well, the arrowhead mountain is where the Children of the Forrest created the Night King.
Are Jon, The Hound, Gendry and co marching onto the headquarters of the White Walkers. It sure does look like it.
It also featured in that scene when Bran was 'marked' by the Night King.
16) The scroll
Littlefinger was awfully careful to get his hands on, and ultimately hide, that raven scroll.
We've a far more in depth
discussion about that here.
17) Gilly's bombshell
You have to love family history in Game of Thrones.
More on that
revelation here.
