Game of Thrones: Eastwatch

I will start every one of these posts off with this warning about spoilers. There will be plenty of spoilers. Seriously, if you have not watched the episode, do not read this post. I will also be mentioning stuff from the books. These are not straight up recaps of episodes, nor are they reviews. I will just mention the stuff I liked/disliked and probably give some opinions about what could happen next.

Well I guess all of those questions about whether or not Jaime was dead or if he would be reborn as an agent of the Drowned God (in a week there were like 23,483 theories–I will get to all that in a little bit). Instead, nothing crazy, Bronn saved his life and not because they are friends or anything, but because Bronn wants paid. My favorite part though is the meeting with Cersei. Jaime tells his sister that it does not matter what army you get, the Dothraki were out there killing for sport. It was fun for them. I think Daenerys proved her point at the damage her one dragon could do, let alone three. At least to Jaime Lannister.

So much happened this episode…where to even go after that

-The Tarly’s are no more. Randyll refused to kneel to Daenerys and she was forced to execute him. Dickon decided to join his father, which Tyrion pointed out was incredibly stupid. It is during these moments that we tend to fear that Daenerys may be going crazy. However, her conversation a little later with Jon Snow reveals that she is not as cold-hearted as she seems. She has to do some terrible things in order to rule from a place of strength, where she can truly do good.

-Speaking of Jon and Dany meeting up…I loved the Drogon scene. He sniffs Jon’s hand and does not eat or burn him alive. He can smell the Targaryen blood in him (or dragons are just magical and can sense shit like that, who knows). Daenerys seems to be impressed and spends the rest of the episode longingly looking at Jon. I wonder if it will be Tyrion who suggests the union between the two. Think about it, Jon will not bend the knee to her, so what better way to join North and South? Marriage! Isn’t that why she had to dump Daario because she knew she would have to marry someone for political gain? Who better than the King of the North? And her nephew.

-Tyrion finally gets a chance to use his mind to help things out. He suggests that they speak with Cersei and put a cease-fire on the war, while everyone deals with the White Walker Army. He and Davos head to King’s Landing so Tyrion can meet with Jaime. Tyrion definitely seems a little shocked by the carnage wrought by his queen, but also knows that she will the best thing for the Seven Kingdoms. The plan is a little crazy though, go capture a wight and bring it King’s Landing so Cersei can see that they are real. Meanwhile, she knew all about Tyrion being there with Jaime and allowed it because now her plan is to…well not exactly sure. Do what Tywin Lannister would do. So I guess make Daenerys think they are friends then murder her somehow?

-So who really thinks Cersei is pregnant? Also, remember her speech to Sansa way back when Joffrey was still engaged to Sansa? Cersei says something about how having a child will make everything okay, it will give Sansa some purpose. It was during one of those weird moments where Cersei was being kind to her captive. Well…is this what she is doing to Jaime? Does she that he is a changed man (and he really changed in regards to fatherhood when Myrcella told him that she knew he was her dad, then died) and figures that if he thinks they are having a kid, it will keep him on her side?

-Davos finds Gendry. I loved that they threw the “I thought you’d still be rowing” joke in there as a little bone for the internet. If you go to any site, there is always someone making a joke about Gendry rowing since season 3. Anyways, Gendry is ready to go. Davos barely had to say anything and the kid grabs his giant warhammer and is like “alright, let’s roll out.” His meeting with Jon Snow was also pretty cool. Just comes out and tells Jon who he is and why he wants to fight by his side (basically their dads were friends). You can tell that Jon likes him. Just think, if Gendry had made it to the wall, they could have bonded earlier! Weird thing, why doesn’t Gendry mention that he knows Arya? Maybe they discussed that during the couple month boat ride to Eastwatch.

Okay, quick Gendry theory. I never really put as much stock into him as most people. I thought he might be used as the smith who discovers how to forge Valyrian Steel. But after hearing him say that he is Robert Baratheon’s son…it hit me. Time to go down the prediction hole. If Jon & Daenerys marry, they could legitimize Gendry. Making him Gendry Baratheon. There are no other Baratheons left (that I know of), so Storm’s End needs someone. Could Jon then arrange a marriage between Gendry Baratheon and his sister? Securing the connection between houses? Now think about this, who could marry Sansa to further bind the kingdom? Hmm, tough one to consider. I mean, if Jon and Dany marry, Jon will rule with her from King’s Landing (or Dragonstone). That means there needs to be a Stark at Winterfell. Could the Stark name be in trouble of dying out? Whoa, so much to think about…

-Alright, you have read this far, so it is probably time to discuss THE HUGE REVELATION that every other review is discussing. Gilly is reading a book some High Septon, telling Sam about the number of steps at the Citedel, the number of windows at the Great Sept, etc. Then she asks what annulment means. After Sam tells her she keeps reading “High Septon performed an annulment for Prince Rhaegar and then immediately married him in Dorne to…” then Sam interrupts her and they decide to leave Oldtown since the maesters will not help defend the world.

Sorry, but this did not come as a huge shock for me. I have always assumed that Rhaegar married Lyanna somehow. I did not know if Westerosi customs allowed multiple wives or if divorce was a thing. The reason is that Rhaegar was a huge believer in prophecy and he believed that he was the Prince Who Was Promised (PWP). Later he thought it was his son, but then must have realized that the song of ice and fire would better fit with Lyanna Stark (ice) and himself (Dragon Prince=fire). Rhaegar was an honorable guy and he would not have wanted his son, who could very well be the PWP, to end up not sitting on the Iron Throne, where he would need all the armies he could to fight whatever was coming.

Now the interesting thing is how this could play out. So, if Bran tells Jon that he is actually Jaehaerys Targaryen II, Daenerys might very well believe it, but she would also say that technically he is still a bastard. But now they have proof (I am sure during that revelation, Gilly will be like “Sam, didn’t that High Septon write about a marriage between a Prince Rhaegar?”) from the High Septon that Jon’s birth was pure…WHICH MEANS that Jon Snow is actually the rightful ruler of Westeros. His claim would trump Daenerys. She will probably have to bend the knee to him. Or they can joke about it on their wedding night (will Jon call her Aunt Daenerys?).

-Littlefinger is trying to pit Arya and Sansa against each other. He knew Arya was following him and placed the letter that Sansa was forced to write, urging Robb to come bend the knee to her beloved Joffrey. How will Arya react? Or is this part of an even bigger plan from the Stark children? Find a way to bring down Littlefinger?

-How cool is the team of Jon Snow, Tormund, Gendry, Jorah, Thoros/Beric, and the Hound? They need a spin-off show of just them doing amazing things. The Westerosi A-Team. Also, Davos was killing it this entire episode. “I am pretty useless out there.” Tormund “Yes you are.” Or whatever was said. Actually Tormund was hilarious too “did you bring the big woman?” But as always, it is Sandor Clegane who makes me laugh the hardest “oh shut the fuck up, are we coming with you or not?” For those of you still hoping for a Clegane Battle, my guess is that the Hound will help take the wight back to King’s Landing. And Cersei will order FrankenGregor to kill him for abandoning Joffrey in battle.

-Theories…damn, it seems like after every episode, there are more theories about Azor Ahai/PWP/Stallion Who Mounts the World/Drowned God Stuff…etc. First of all, the show rarely seems to mention those prophecies and when they do, they seem to combine it all into one. Secondly, my theory (which pertains more to the books) is that you will be able to fit any character into one of those prophecies. Seriously, type a characters name then add Azor Ahai and you will find a page dedicated to it. Usually with pretty good evidence. I have seen Ser Davos, Jaime Lannister, Daenerys, Jon Snow, Ramsay Bolton, Theon, Euron, Victarion, Tyrion….and it could probably keep going. If readers think that at some point Jon Snow is going to pull out a sword that magically becomes Lightbringer, they are probably going to be disappointed. GRRM has always said that prophecies can be misunderstood and wrong. I bet there is never a moment where some character fulfills all of it. For years people will debate and argue over which character was actually Azor Ahai or any of the others. And whether or not they are all the same. It would be the genius in his writing to leave it intentionally vague and open. The reader decides. That is just my theory though. But I can tell you that after this episode there will probably be a theory (most likely on Nerdist) that Bronn is Azor Ahai and here are seven reasons why. And I would undoubtedly read it and go “huh, that makes sense.”

Author: Ngewo

3 thoughts on “Game of Thrones: Eastwatch

  1. There were so many scenes that (after how many seasons of not-always-great television) had me sitting back and smiling, admiring how good the show is. Similar to when I watched Fringe season 3 or Heroes season 1. Just really good stuff. It’s interesting how much they’re hurrying the show. You know that travel took months, but they just speed past it. Was that dragon Drogon? I swear that altohugh the subtitles said stuff like DROGON: [ROAR], she actually spoke a different name. Viserion? I’ve got to say – Gendry was always a throwaway character when I read about him back in the first book, but I like this new Gendry, approaching Jon Snow and talking about how their fathers fought together.

    You’re way deeper down the rabbit hole than I about theories. Heck – I put down A Dance with Dragons about halfway through. I just got bored. And I _never_ do that with books.

  2. I’ve got to break this into two parts because when you type too much in your comment box, the submit button gets pushed down and you can’t click it.

    Regarding Jon Snow, Tormund, Gendry, Jorah, Thoros/Beric, and the Hound: Linda and I theorize that seven will go out, and probably three will actually return. It sucks, because you know they’ll kill off characters here. How many will come back as white walkers? You know that Jon Snow will live. And you know Tormund and Beric Dondarion will likely die. But what about the others? I really like the characters. I guess what I really want is a badass scene of each of them killing tons of walkers before being overwhelmed. I guess The Hound has to live to confront his undead brother. Does this mean Jorah needs to sacrifice himself? Seems likely.

  3. I keep seeing the idea that Jorah dies/turns into a wight, and is the one they bring to King’s Landing as the proof. The same theory out there for the Hound (which gets us a ZombieCleganeBrothersBattle).

    Here is a theory I came up with the other night, while in the state of a bad fever…so it may be out there. What if the Night’s King magic to raise the dead, also allows him to see through their eyes (like Bran does with ravens) and what if when one of his wights is near the Mountain, the Night King is able to take control of that dead monster and have it attack everyone. Who comes to the rescue? Sandor Clegane.

    Here is how I see the scene playing out….

    Jon and whoever is left (probably Beric) take the wight (Jorah) to King’s Landing, along with Sandor. When they get to the palace, Cersei has the Hound arrested. As they are leading him away, that is when the Night King takes control of FrankenMountain, who starts hacking at everyone. Qyburn tries to command him, but is killed. Jon gets thrown to the side like he is nothing. No one can stop him. The Hound knocks out his guards, grabs a sword and screams GREGOR and we finally get the showdown everyone wants. They battle, it is epic, Sandor can only defeat him by wielding Beric’s fiery sword and overcoming his own fear of fire (remember, fire kills wights). But Sandor takes a bunch of wounds and also dies (or does he? Maybe Beric passes his Lord of Light gift on to the Hound, bringing him back because Beric–who probably also dies and is brought back in the North, has been saying that each time, there is a little less of him when he comes back. Maybe now he is completely ready to fully die…)

    Whoa, that was a bit much.

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