#'and reintroducing sansa to the stark family'

[mkstrigidae]

Was going to go to bed four hours ago and then accidentally wrote an emotionally excruciating and important scene for the second to last chapter of APWH whOOPS

[esther-dot]

I was thinking about the finale script again (a dangerous pastime), and it really bugs me that they note Sansa loves Jon, and he knows it. They link it with Jon not forgiving Sansa, but what struck me is that it is yet another way that Aemon’s quote covers so much of what happened in the finale. In the script they present Jon’s choice as killing one love for the other love because they forgot that the embedded dilemma is love v duty and that’s what they reintroduced in the same episode, but the line from Aemon is: “What is honor compared to a woman’s love?” And in light of the fact that it matters that Sansa loves Jon, I realized, this line is about being the object of affection. What is duty compared to being loved by a woman.

The script has the decision come down to Jon weighing his loves, but, if Jon is sucked down so deep into bad writing, cowardice, pandering to a certain fanbase his love for Dany, it reminds me of s6 when Jon refused to fight for Winterfell, and then they learn that Ramsay has Rickon, Sansa reaches across the table and takes Jon’s hand, rescuing him from his emotional spiral and pulling him back to all the ideals he has always had, reminding him of who he is, the obligations that come with it. So, instead of just looking at how Jon weighs his loves one against the other, a better way to look at it is: how do those loves weigh on him?

We don’t need to compare the tangibles of who did what for Jon. The fact that Sansa’s victory in the BotB is what led to Jon being crowned king vs Dany murdering half the population of KL in order to usurp him, or that Sansa spent all of s7 protecting Jon’s kingship while Dany spent the same season demanding Jon’s crown. When Dany learned of Jon’s parentage, no matter what Jon said about not wanting the throne, she could only see him as a threat to her, and yet, Jon not only accepted becoming KitN, but then he knelt to a Targaryen, and Sansa still assured him that he was a Stark, she still insisted he was her king, even after it all. I’m not talking about those, but the knowing and loving and trusting Jon as a person.  

Immediately before Jon killed Dany, he received an offer from her, a vision of their future, a version of love, but it was conditional, requiring him to ignore the unpardonable. She offered a form of love, but for how hard they tried to sell the J8neryrs romance in interviews, there were no personally meaningful exchanges akin to Arya and Sansa’s unconditional acceptance and faith in Jon even though they barely had screen time together in s8 which is captured in two of their lines: “You’re my brother” and “you know I do.”

Sansa’s inexplicable (if we take the scripts seriously) trust in Jon didn’t stop her from finding her own way of achieving her goals in s6 or in s8 because she knew better than to mindlessly follow someone else’s lead, but, she also knew Jon, and just as her dedication to her people was rewarded so was her faith in him. And while the script would have us believe that it’s a tragedy Jon had to choose between the Starks and a mass murderer, I think their love saved him as much as his saved them. 

Accepting Dany would have come at the price of every value Jon held, and he was finally able to reject her not just because he loved the Starks loving them didn’t stop him from kneeling or lying or dragging their men South to another war or very nearly accepting the burning of KL, but because he was beloved. I’m pretty sure this is a profoundly unfeminist take, we’re supposed to reject the trope of female love saves man, but sometimes, love is our lifeline, and just like in s6, in the end, it is his family that keeps Jon from being lost. 

[gascon-en-exil]

Joining the Game Late: S4E7 “Mockingbird”

Synopsis

It’s a three act play between Tyrion and his prospective champions - Jaime’s handicapped and Bronn’s been bribed, but good thing Oberyn’s still got that revenge motivation. The Mountain looks different every time we see him. The Hound teaches Arya how to crit. Ser Alister kennels the CGI. Daario gets nude for Dany, but his ass shot cuts to topless Melisandre to preserve the delicacy of the straight male gaze. Melisandre gets cynical on religion and heavy on the foreshadowing. Dany orders a citywide hit but backs down because Jorah is the only one around not thinking with his genitals...much, anyway. The Hound opens up about his fear of fire, and Brienne and Podrick stop in at the only inn in Westeros where Hot Pie helps them piece together the plot. Oberyn tells Tyrion about what was either Cersei’s first murder attempt or her first time playing with one of her brother’s dicks - could go either way. Sansa is unreasonably good at building snow castles, but her relatives are deranged and Littlefinger is a projecting pervert. He also makes Lysa Arryn fly.

Commentary

I checked the wiki; this episode marks the introduction of the third actor to play the Mountain. It’s barely a speaking role so it’s not all that noticeable, but still.

Although this hour branches out considerably after the trial of the last one, Tyrion is still solidly at its heart. Jaime, Bronn, and Oberyn each visit his cell in turn over the course of the episode and work out why they will or will not champion Tyrion against the Mountain in his trial by combat. The structure here is very deliberate, but it’s still effective. Jaime and Bronn’s rejections, understandable though they are, still sting, and it’s hard to forget that Oberyn agrees to fight less for Tyrion’s sake and more for his own revenge. My favorite bit from these scenes might be a moment from near the end of the conversation with Bronn. Bronn has never been a character who’s interested me as much more than a source of occasionally good humor, but when he flatly tells Tyrion that he’s always valued Bronn because he’s an amoral bastard with no loyalty but to himself it’s both funny and strangely poignant. Of the various odd couple arrangements on GoT so far, this one might be my favorite because of just how odd but still functional they’ve been together.

The title of this episode and its climax, on the other hand, I’m less sure about as a whole. It’s not that Littlefinger is any less devious and frankly creepy than he’s ever been, more than the death of Lysa should have had a ton of impact (pun intended?) and yet...it kind of didn’t? She murdered her husband to jump start the plot of the series just so she could be with Littlefinger, and then in these two episodes she’s been reintroduced as this barely sane evil matriarch figure who’s left her son emotionally stunted and is willing to injure or kill her niece out of paranoid jealousy. Even so, she’s had remarkable little presence even in the episodes in which she appears both here and back in Season 1, such that Littlefinger shoving her out the Moon Door is more a piece of his own character arc than the death of a major antagonist or even the death of a member of the extended Stark family as Lysa technically is. Hard to develop that familial bond when you’re convinced your niece is sleeping with your man, I know, but this plot took five episodes to reach the Eyrie and just like that it seems to be over for all practical purposes. I wonder if Robin will ever appear again in any significant capacity, or if he’ll be nothing more than a cameo if he does appear. As for Littlefinger, as much as this episode represents a culmination when he kisses Sansa and then murders her aunt it pales in comparison to some of his previous showings, including his monologue to Sansa on the ship from earlier in the season.

Not much to add about Dany getting some from Daario or the quick slide into unrelated female nudity immediately afterward, but I don’t really understand why the show continues to play coy with Stannis and co.’s new destination this whole season when the last one ended with it clearly laid out. Were we supposed to forget that bit? It’s kind of hard to when so much foreshadowing in his story gets delivered via religious flame-gazing.

[whitewolfofwinterfell]

Thoughts on Game of Thrones 8.01

It’s 3am, I’ve just finished watching the premiere of the final season and wanted to share my initial thoughts so here they are: 

Everything felt very rushed but I appreciate that it was very difficult to make time for everything with the amount of reunions that had to take place in the episode 

Also a lot of what happened felt off somehow. I’m not sure if it’s just because I’m not used to seeing all of these characters on-screen together, but a lot of the scenes between characters felt somewhat forced and unnatural, but I can’t put my finger on why (does anyone else feel this way?)

Jon and Bran’s reunion was adorable - that forehead kiss though! 

Jon and Arya’s reunion has been the most highly anticipated reunion of the series, but when it happened it just felt, I don’t know, anti-climatic? Something about the energy in that scene felt weird to me and I don’t know if it’s just because it’s been so long since I’ve seen Jon and Arya on-screen together or if it was the script or the acting or just me being tired (I woke up at 2am especially to watch the episode and now need to sleep again after posting this because I have to get up early tomorrow for uni)

Sansa’s attitude towards Daenerys was hilarious and very satisfying to watch. She didn’t even try to hide her distaste being all like ‘what do dragons even eat’ and ‘I’ve worked my ass off to save food for winter, but I sure as hell ain’t feeding your armies’. I’m not particularly a fan of rivalries between two female characters, but in these circumstances Sansa’s feelings are completely valid and understandable and I’m intrigued to see how this will unfold throughout the rest of the season

What Daenerys said to Jon was kinda weird though. Like the basis of what she said is ‘Your sister doesn’t like me and that’s fine, she doesn’t need to, but I am her queen and she needs to respect me and if she doesn’t, I’ll find a way to make sure she does’ and then it cuts to Jon just smiling sweetly at her like.... she’s just threatened your sister in so many words. Or am I just reading between the lines there and jumping to the wrong conclusions? 

Lady Mormont was right to ask the questions she did. Like Jon returns to Winterfell with Daenerys, two armies and two dragons in tow after having bent the knee to her and yet doesn’t even attempt to stand up and give an explanation to his people???

I love Jon but this episode just made me realise that he’s not an effective leader at all, and the idea of him being able to rule the Seven Kingdoms is just funny at this point because there’s no way he’d be capable

The Sansa and Tyrion scene was much needed, I only wish that it was longer! I really think that they have this unspoken understanding and connection which is very underrated and I hope there’s more scenes between them in the season 

Jon riding Rhaegal was honestly just so dumb. I have no idea why the writers thought it was appropriate to throw that scene in there, it felt incredibly rushed and out of place. The whole thing just felt comical and not in a good way. 

Plus that scene with Jon and Dany afterwards was the most cringe thing I’ve ever seen. I like Kit and Emilia but their romantic on-screen chemistry is terrible. It feels like I’m watching an auntie and nephew on screen... oh, wait, sorry, I am #burrrrrn.

We were robbed of a Stark scene with all of the siblings in a room together but hopefully we’ll get one in the upcoming episodes

Cersei’s scenes were totally forgettable. She’s one of my favourite characters, but at this point it feels like she’s being pushed out of the story since almost everyone else is gathered at Winterfell

I really don’t care about Euron and I just wish they’d kill him off already. He’s a waste of screen time 

Theon is going to go to Winterfell and fight alongside the Starks to make up for the fact that he didn’t fight and die beside Robb and I’m so emosh about that

Arya and Gendry’s reunion was rather....flat 

So was the scene between Arya and The Hound, it felt like it was just thrown in there for good measure for no real reason

MY POOR BABY SAM. The way his lip trembled and how he cried he deserves more

I do kind of respect Daenerys for telling Sam the truth, but also like...she was so insensitive. She literally burned Sam’s father and brother alive and just kinda told him as if it was no big deal. There wasn’t even an apology... that’s kinda dark

The scene with Jon and Sansa was way too short. They have a lot to remedy and talk about and that scene barely scratched the surface of it. But I’m glad to see that Sansa will still call him out on his shit 

I’m so glad we haven’t had to wait for Jon to find out the truth about his parentage. I half expected that it would be dragged out until half way through the season, so thank god they did it in the first episode 

It made sense for Sam to be the one to tell him and the scene in the crypt between them was one of my favourites. 

Also, I was so relieved that Sam told Jon that Daenerys killed his family, perhaps that will put a dent in Jon’s rose tinted goggles

Jon’s reaction to finding out the truth was kinda chill. I mean, there’s no one way to react to that kind of life-changing news, but he seemed to just accept it without really asking any questions.........And the fact that Ned lied to him his whole life is probably the least significant thing to take from learning that you’re the rightful heir to the Seven Kingdoms and that you’ve fucked your aunt..... but hey, I’m not here to judge 

Generally something felt off about the way Emilia played Daenerys in this episode. I hate to say it because it’s not really a bad thing, but she was just too smiley and overly friendly. In some scenes I felt like I was watching Emilia not Daenerys (particularly in the scenes with Jon, they were just so cheesy, I felt like I was just watching Kit and Emilia messing around on screen and having fun)

JAIME IS IN WINTERFELL, YAAASSS. I was disappointed he wasn’t in the episode more, but that end scene was great - him and Bran just locking eyes #AWKWARD. I’m so excited to see what will happen with Jamie this season 

Also did Bran just sit outside in the courtyard all day and night??? I swear he didn’t move for the entire episode. How did he not freeze to death?

Where was Brienne? It would’ve been epic if she’d have been in the courtyard of Winterfell when Jaime arrived and he locked eyes with her first and then turned his gaze to Bran

Overall, after such a long build-up I always think that premieres of new seasons tend to be underwhelming, and that’s how I felt about this episode. Nothing particularly stands out to be as being excellent or a really fantastic scene, most of it was just...meh. Like I’ve already said, I appreciate that the time constraints limit a lot of what can be included and this episode is really just to introduce new characters to each other and reintroduce characters that have been apart, so it’s essentially just setting up the dominoes for what will follow in the rest of the season. There are so many possibilities of what could happen this season and it’s so promising, and I’m very excited to go on this journey, because my expectation is that it will only get better with every episode. 

For now I’m giving this episode a 6/10 rating.

[thestagthatlovedthewolf]

Vague prompts one for Aegon/Myrcella, 20 - Promise 😊😊

Thank you so much!!! So happy to get some Aegon and Myrcella - really adore you for this!!! Expect some silliness :)

Aegon’s half brother had actually invited him for a party at his apartment and since Aegon was free he didn’t waste the opportunity - he never got many chances to spend time with his younger brother. Aegon was also bringing his girlfriend, but he was awfully regretting it - it seemed Myrcella used to have a huge crush on Jon’s cousin/best-friend/roommate, Robb. Aegon wasn’t jealous, he knew Myrcella loved him, but he was pretty sure she was going to torture him the entire night.

“Cella, please promise me you’re going to behave,” he pleaded.

“I’m not doing nothing wrong.”

“You’ve been scrolling through Robb Stark’s instagram all day, and talking about his abs.”

“They are great abs, Aegon.”

“You’re so annoying,” he said, knocking his head on the elevator wall. She laughed at that.

“I promise not to kiss Robb Stark.”

“I know you’re not going to kiss him.”

“I promise not to ask him to take his shirt off, but–”

“You were going to ask hi to take his shirt off?” he asked as the elevator reached Jon’s apartment floor.

“I won’t. But I‘ll look if he takes it by his own accord.”

“You’re impossible,” he said, reaching the door and ringing the bell.

“I promise I love you,” she told him with a cocky smile.

“Aegon,” Jon called, opening the door, before he could say anything else.

“It’s great to see you, brother,” Aegon said as he entered the house. “You remember Myrcella.”

“Of course,” he said greeting her and kissing her on both cheeks. “Arya and Sansa are here, they will be excited to see you.” Myrcella had had many sleepovers at the Stark house - her father had always wanted her to be close to the Starks.

“I’m happy to see you again,” she said, “I think as a kid I didn’t even realize you were a Targaryen. You don’t have any of the weird family names.”

“Hey!!” Aegon complained.

“My mom and the Starks raised me mostly. And hey, we can’t all have the same name,” Jon said.

“Yeah, just think how stupid would it be if we were all called Aegon,” Aegon said with a laugh.

Then Robb came in, before Jon could answer or Aegon say anything else, Myrcella smiled her boyfriend and prepared herself to be reintroduced to Robb.

“Myrcella!!” he exclaimed, “I haven’t seen you in years.”

“Hi, Robb,” she said, “You look great,” she said as he hugged her.

“You too.”

Aegon cleared his throat at this.

“That’s my stupid boyfriend, Aegon, also Jon’s brother. He’s jealous.”

“So he knows you had a crush on me?” Robb asked.

“You knew?!” she asked surprised.

“Everyone knew, Cella,” Sansa said with a laugh as she came into the room, followed by Arya and someone she knew to be Robb’s wife. And Aegon was laughing too, as he stepped over and introduced himself and then whispered to Myrcella.

“I promise you can hide your red face behind me.”

“Thank you,” she whispered as she hid her red face on his shoulder, before being dragged away by the Stark sisters.

[hoopslab]

Game of Thrones S7 Ep1: Winter has been a long time coming

SPOILERS FOR GAME OF THRONES ON HBO, UP THROUGH EPISODE 1 OF SEASON 7

Way back in 1997, I started reading this book called A Game of Thrones, the first in a promised series called A Song of Ice and Fire. It was an outstanding book, taking many of the standard concepts found in sci fi/fantasy novels and turning them on their heads. The book had this crazy de-centralized cast with maybe 10 point of view characters, many of them children, that told the story from several different angles at once. There was no clear-cut protagonist, and the closest thing we were given to a central “hero” got killed before the first book ended. 

While there was a lot of political intrigue among the adult characters, who all were playing the Game of Thrones on some level, I found myself most interested in the young characters. The 7-year old Bran, who got thrown out of  a window, was paralyzed, but seemed to be developing a third eye. The 9-year old Arya, who was already fiery and took no stuff from anyone, beating up the whiny Prince Joffrey to get one of the first out-loud cheers of the story. The 14-year old Jon Snow, who seemed to get a raw deal from day 1 with a “step mom” who hated him and a life-long birth as a celibate monk on The Wall before he was old enough to have to make that decision. And of course, the 13-year old Dany, who was abused and exploited by a sadistic and desperately weak older brother and ended the story by reintroducing the music of dragons to the world.

I’ve waited literally 20 years to find out what those young characters would do when they grew up. And on Sunday, I finally started to get answers to some of those questions.

Let’s talk about the first episode of season 7 of Game of Thrones, on HBO, which sets the stage for the final stretch of a story marathon that has already extended for more than half of my life.

Dany’s return to Westeros

I’m starting with the end of the episode, because it’s the stone whose ripples affect the most other main characters. Daenerys Targeryan ended Season 6 on a boat, traveling with an armada of ships that were bringing her Doethraki hoard, her Unsullied warriors, and the rest of her army towards Westeros with her three dragons flying overhead. At the end of the first episode of Season 7, she finally arrived. She landed at Dragon Stone, at a castle that had seemingly been abandoned after Stannis Baratheon took his show on the road in Season 2. 

Dany’s return, in Episode 1, focused on the emotional aspect of the homecoming. She had been born at Dragonstone, but other than that had never set foot on the continent that she believes herself destined to rule since being exiled as a baby. She’s had a crazy, turbulent life on the run with her big brother that ultimately saw her sold as a “wife” into a situation that was a short step above slavery, and ultimately growing into a warrior-queen and conqueror of nations on other continents. Thus, on the show, they focused on how mega of a deal it was for her to finally be back on the land of her birth...from her feeling the sand with her hands, to her slow walking tour of her new home base. Her line to Tyrion, “Shall we begin?” was the last line of the episode, and really whets the whistle for what should be an epic storyline in this penultimate season of the show.

The Hound sees the White Walkers coming

This whole storyline is a departure from what we’ve seen in the books, to date. The last published book in the series, A Dance with Dragons, did not have the Hound traveling with the Brotherhood without Banners. In fact, in the book series, it hasn’t even been confirmed yet that the Hound is still alive. And Beric Dondarion had long-ago passed his...gift...on to a certain Stone-hearted character that was not resurrected on the show. So, before late last season, I wasn’t looking for the Hound and the Brotherhood to be marching together up North.

However, Episode 1 gave the Hound a feature section and foreshadowed a big role for him moving forward. First, they had the crew re-visit the exact cottage where the Hound and Arya had visited and the Hound had stolen the life savings of a man and little girl. Fast-forward to the present, and the man and little girl are dead (seemingly by the man’s hand) after they apparently ran out of food. The Hound is clearly responsible for their misery...and for one of the first times, he actually seems to feel and acknowledge that guilt. His digging graves for them, because that’s all that he can do at this point, shows clearly that he has grown as a character from a henchman without feelings (that could strike down Micah with no remorse in Season 1) into a more nuanced warrior at this stage of the game.

But the most important revelation was that the Hound can now see visions in the fire (that he’d even get close enough to fire to look is HUGE for him), and that those visions were of the White Walkers. The Westeros universe is full of legends, and the priests of the Lord of Light have perpetuated some of those legends. The fact that the priest Thoros has been able to resurrect Beric from death so many times would suggest that Beric’s life is somehow important to the Lord of Light in his goals...and one of his biggest assumed goals is to counter the White Walkers. But perhaps, it’s not Beric (or the non-existent Stone Heart) that are the important ones...perhaps Beric was kept alive specifically to bring the Hound to where he needs to be, so that HE can become one of the leaders against the White Walkers? I look forward to finding out.

The Lions and the Krakens

Cersei ended last season with an absolute G move, wiping the priests of the Seven and the Tyrells completely off the map. Of course, in her gloating glee, she also abandoned her son who took that opportunity to commit suicide. This left Cersei as the queen, with absolutely nothing to humanize her, which caused even Jaime to look on in horror.

This season opens with Cersei one-step away from cackling laughter on the “evil overlord” scale, with Jaime seemingly terrified as he tries to figure out a way to move forward when the world hates them and his partner is channeling her inner Mad King (er... Mad Queen). Cersei’s power move is to partner up with Euron, the other evil monarch on the board, who happens to own a sea armada and has a history as a pirate. 

While the partnership pairs the two most odious families/live characters on the  board, it was also necessary because...Jaime was right. Cersei and crew were sitting ducks without allies, but with the GreyJoy armada they can at least make it interesting. They still seemingly have no counter to the dragons, but it would seem that they are set up to cause their own brand of mischief in the short term.

What can Bran do at Castle Black?

Bran Stark was my favorite character in the books, and though some of his development/training has been less exciting on-screen than I’d have hoped, I have still been anticipating his role as an adult. In Episode 1, he finally makes it back south of the wall with his entry to Castle Black. Like Dany’s return, this is another potentially big stone thrown into the pond...but unlike Dany, no one else is aware that Bran even exists. 

On the political front, there’s the very real question of what happens in the North, where Jon Snow has been declared King, when it is learned that a true-born son of Ned Stark is still alive? But more importantly, to me, is what Bran may be able to accomplish as the Three-eyed Raven? Will he be able to communicate through the trees to other characters? Is he just going to walk the past to learn more important stuff? Will he tell Jon that he’s the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna? Will he warg into something powerful and fight? Jon and Dany are, on paper, the most important protagonist-like characters in the story. But Bran is a wild card, and after 20 years I’m really looking forward to seeing how his storyline plays out.

Sam and Sir Friend Zone at the Citadel

Sam Tarley got some on-screen time in Episode 1. His initial montage of duties was...gross. No other way to say that, really, but I guess the show did a good job of conveying that he has scut duties that are repetitive and seemingly endless, and that have kept him from doing any major learning. His stealing of the key to the forbidden section, and subsequent learnings on Dragon Glass, could be important in moving the narrative along. But we (meaning the viewers) already knew that Dragon Glass was a thing, so I’m curious what else he’ll learn of value that makes his time at the Citadel worthwhile.

Also, the 1-second cameo of (presumably) Jorah Mormont’s scaled hand in the dungeon/hospital should have future significance, as well.

Winter came for the Freys

The cold-start of the show, with Arya masquerading as Walder Frey and essentially destroying the Frey House was...fun. Maybe it shouldn’t have been, because Arya is still a young girl that has now effectively become a trained serial killer...and I should probably worry for what this bodes for her moving forward. But...yeah, I can’t lie, I’ve enjoyed watching her reap her revenge on the odious Frey family for the Red Wedding. 

Like Bran, Arya is another wild card that could have a major effect on things moving forward, that no one else even realizes is alive. While Dany is the obvious power on the board, the four Stark kids have a lot of juice themselves...it’s just dispersed, and currently unharnessed. Will the 4 remaining Starks ever become aware of each other and start to work together? If so, they’d be incredibly powerful. But, that’s a pretty big what-if.

Jon, Sansa & Littlefinger...& Dany?

One of the most big assumptions for ASoIaF readers on the message boards, back in the day, was that Jon Snow and Dany Targeryan were on a crash-course to become the big power couple of the series. Jon was “Ice”, Dany was “Fire”...and together, they could run things. And, this could still happen.

But, last season, when Sansa and Jon reunited at the Wall there was this odd sense that they were acting less like brother-and-sister and more like lord-and-lady. I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but their on-screen chemistry sparked enough of a buzz that the actors that play the parts have been asked about it and online shippers have started putting them together.

Whether there is any future to the shipping or not, it’s clear that the showrunners are playing up the conflict between Jon an Sansa as they try to figure out how to run the North. Sansa questions Jon’s every decision, but not in a constructive way...more in an undercutting way, the way that she called him out for his decision on handling the Umber and Karstark families in the middle of a meeting. It seems as though she could have conveyed her opinion to him 1-on-1, and they could have hashed that out before they got in front of the people. On the other hand, the argument can be made that Jon hasn’t listened to her enough, and that she’s speaking the kind of sense that could have saved Ned and Rob...if they hadn’t been so set in their ways. Is Jon going down the same path to the same end?

Add in that Littlefinger stays in Sansa’s ear, constantly telling her that she should rule (instead of Jon) and empowering her with his army and options...and there’s definite potential for Sansa to go her own direction. And in the previews for Episode 2, there’s certainly a hint that Jon may be considering a meeting with Dany. At the least, there is a Jon-Sansa-Littlefinger ruling triangle and very potentially a love-triangle as well...and Dany’s introduction to that volatile brew could have very real political, and/or romantic, consequences.

Takeaway

This was just episode 1. I’m really looking forward to watching how this plays out over the next two months, which will ultimately set the stage for the End Game in Season 8. Winter has been a LONG time coming...20+ years for me...and now that it’s here, I’m going to love watching it burn!

[chestnutpost]

The Crypt-ic ‘Game Of Thrones’ Theory Haunting The Final Season

This post was originally published on this site

With only weeks left until the debut of the final season, “Game of Thrones” fans are going crazy over every bit of promotion released by HBO. So you can imagine when the long-awaited Season 8 trailer finally hit the internet, a flood of theories followed. 

One of the most interesting predictions sprouted from the first few seconds of the trailer, which showed a terrified and bloodied Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) panting and apparently running for her life through the winding halls of Winterfell. 

This behavior is unlike what we usually see from the fearless vigilante, who has trained the entire series to become a cold-blooded killer, even able in Season 6 to fight in total darkness.

So what would frighten Arya? An onslaught of wights? Those creepy, long-haired White Walkers? The Night King? 

Or perhaps Dead Ned. 

After brightening up the very dark trailer, some Redditors seemingly discovered that two men appear to be chasing or following Arya down the hallways. Some said they were a pair of wights, while others guessed Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Samwell Tarly (John Bradley). Then there was mention of Ned Stark (Sean Bean) and the undead Kings of Winter. Could it be that they had awoken from their crypts?

[SPOILERS] Brighter photo showing guy (or guys) behind Arya while she’s running from r/gameofthrones

Since the release of the Season 8 teaser showing Jon Snow (Kit Harington), Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) and Arya in the crypts, some fans have revived the old theory that our beloved Ned, as well as his deceased family members, would rise from their vaults and join the great battle against the army of the dead. Why else would there be catacombs full of the corpses of lords and ladies if not for an epic reason?

The theory was forged from hints in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series of novels. For example, in A Game of Thrones, Jon has a telling dream: “In the dark he’d heard the scrape of stone on stone,” the book reads. “When he turned he saw that the vaults were opening, one after the other. As the dead kings came stumbling from their cold black graves.” If that isn’t a clue that deceased Starks could come back to life, feed me to the dogs. 

Still, we shouldn’t assume who those long-gone Starks, if resurrected, will fight for. Arya looks injured in the trailer, so whatever is chasing her may not be so nice. But knowing how honorable the Starks are, a few fans speculate the dead would be stumbling to stand alongside the living.

The trailer possibly provides even more evidence of this crypt-ic theory. 

First, Arya confidently says, “I know death. It’s got many faces. I look forward to seeing this one,” presumably in reference to the Night King and his army. She’s not afraid, and she’s for damn sure ready to take down some wights. But once again we see her terrified and running from something ― something that she clearly wasn’t keen to see. As one Redditor put it, “She knows death, but does she know undeath?” You know, like her undead daddy? 

We also see Varys (Conleth Hill) in the trailer, looking very worried while presumably sitting in the crypts with the women and children of Winterfell. It harks back to the time Varys spoke with Ned in the dungeon of King’s Landing after he was arrested for treason. Could it be that he has seen a ghost? 

HBO

HBO

Jon and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) are also seen looking somber in the crypts ― a place he and other members of the Stark family tend to go when they’re seeking solace or an escape from reality. (Possibly an escape from the crushing news that your lover is actually your aunt.) Is he praying to the old gods and the new that he could speak to Ned and Lyanna Stark, his secret mother, to learn more about the truth of his parentage?  

The constant appearance of the crypts in the lead-up to the Season 8 premiere is hard to ignore. In the aforementioned teaser, Jon, Sansa and Arya look at statues of themselves before turning around to a freezing fog creeping its way in. To many, that was a sign of the dead Starks ― like the Dead Men of Dunharrow in one of Martin’s influences, The Lord of the Rings — who could be joining their family to defeat the Night King, undead vs. undead. Except, like Benjen Stark (Joseph Mawle), their undeadness could take on a different form. 

You’re probably thinking, “Isn’t Ned a pile of bones by now?” Or “Catelyn and Robb Stark weren’t buried in the crypts after the Red Wedding was orchestrated by Walder Frey and the Lannisters.” 

After Ned’s execution, we know Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) took Ned’s remains to Catelyn (Michelle Fairley) while she was out at war with her son Robb (Richard Madden) when he was the King in the North. We’re presuming she sent Ned’s rather small coffin back to Winterfell to be buried alongside Lyanna. (His statue in the crypts is considered proof that the coffin made it to Winterfell.) But even if his body is bones by now, we’ve seen skeleton wights, so Ned could take on a similar form, or he could, like the ghost army in LOTR, simply be a spirit. Ooooooo. 

As for Catelyn, in the books she’s still around in the form of Lady Stoneheart. For those who are unaware, after the Freys toss Catelyn’s body in a river, it drifts for days before Nymeria, Arya’s direwolf, pulls it out. Soon enough, Beric Dondarrion finds Catelyn and gives her the “kiss of life,” dying in the process. So, unlike the flaming-sword-wielding Beric (Richard Dormer) on the show, he dies and she rises, set on killing any Frey she can find. 

In a 2017 interview with the Chinese edition of Esquire, Martin reportedly said keeping Lady Stoneheart would be the biggest change he would make to the show. 

“In the book, characters can be resurrected,” he said. “After Catelyn’s resurrection, it was Lady Stoneheart who became a vengeful and merciless killer. In the sixth book, I still continue to write her. She is an important part of the entire book. [Keeping her character] is the change I most wish I could make in the [show].”

Did showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss take Martin’s request to heart? Although it would be odd to suddenly introduce Lady Stoneheart on the show, if Ned is resurrected in Season 8, surely she could make an appearance, as could Lyanna, Rickon Stark and Robb (headless or not).

Another Reddit user made a great point about the founder of House Stark, Brandon the Builder, which fits with this Dead Ned theory: 

Basically, Brandon wouldn’t have done all he did had it not been for a larger plan ― especially when it comes to the Starks’ burials. The kings of Winterfell would have known better than to leave corpses unburned, as they had experience with White Walkers and must have been aware of how wights are created. 

And another point: Martin’s A Clash of Kings reads, “Magic had begun to go out of the world the day the last dragon died.” Magic was clearly restored when Dany’s trio of dragon eggs hatched, reintroducing creatures that had not been seen in Westeros for centuries. Now, when the dragons arrive at Winterfell, the magical forces lying deep within the crypts could be sparked. And there are theories that it’s not just dead Starks down there but also a dragon. In Martin’s The World of Ice and Fire, a little bit of Winterfell history speaks volumes:

Yet the smallfolk of Winterfell and the winter town have been known to claim that the springs are heated by the breath of a dragon that sleeps beneath the castle.

And so our watch begins. 

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