Game of Thrones final season [spoilers]

[arewethereyet]

Episode 2.

Just another "get together and talk" episode.

The real action begins next episode.

I suppose they could have done away with some 'get together and talk' episodes if they had done the big battle/war first.  There would have been fewer people to engage in conversation.

The talks are needed to further the storyline and to answer some questions that would probably have remained unanswered had the characters died in the first episode.  I also think you will get plenty of action as I doubt the battle(s) will be wrapped up in one episode.

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OMG!!!!!

Again, for what it was and the role it played in the overall season, this was a good episode.

Dany

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Dany coming face to face with the Kingslayer was pretty good.  I thought, seeing the preview for this episode, that Dany was going to say something like "You killed my father and I dreamed about what I'd do to you if I ever saw you.... but we're fighting the Night King so join the party!" and I'm very glad it didn't go down like that.  The lesson she learned in seasons past that she needs to listen to her advisers is one that has stuck with here, even if she didn't want to listen to Tyrion on this one.

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Tyrion

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He done fucked up with Dany.  His penchant for being too clever for his own good is biting him in the ass and it's amazing of Jorah that he stood up for Tyrion and told Dany how much she needed him for the fights ahead.

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Brienne

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Loved that Brienne stood up for Jaime like she did and that it was Brienne and Sansa's relationship that saved him.  The read I got from the scene in the moment was that Sansa just steam-rolled Dany's authority by saying basically that if Brienne vouched for Jaime then that was good enough to be getting on with.

I also loved that after Jaime's reception ended Sansa took off, then Jon followed, and then Dany was left at the head table looking like "WTF? Am I not queen? Aren't I supposed to leave first??"

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Sansa

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Loving how secure in her role of Lady of Winterfell she is.  She has come into her own over the last few seasons and become a force to be reckoned with.  In her audience with Dany I kept thinking over and over again that Dany was toooooooootally playing that whole interaction wrong.  And how Sansa starts to apparently soften to Dany, I kept thinking of Little Finger's words about putting yourself in your opponent's shoes and figuring out what they want.  Sansa is smarter than Dany, I think, gives her credit for.  And I loved how at the end of their interaction Sansa was like "But what about the North? We're not bowing to an outside ruler again" and Dany kind of realizes that Sansa is going to be harder to win over than she initially thought. SO GOOD!!!!!!

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Theon

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I'm back to shipping Sansa and Theon.  It's true.  Theon's journey to this point has been torturous and the way Sansa just runs over to him and bear-hugs him should be a huge warning to Dany, as are all of these reunions going on.  Theon came back to Winterfell to atone for his wrongs and the fight for his family, the Starks.  For as honorable as Brienne is, she's there to fight with and for the Starks.  The Wildlings are there because of the compassion of Jon and though they don't recognize him as their king, they are there basically fighting with Jon.  Sam and the Night's Watch are there to fight with an for Jon.  Sandor was basically adopted into the ranging party that went North to capture one of the army of the dead and found a group in which he could belong; if he could be said to be fighting for anyone, he would be fighting for the group formed by Jon's quest to save the living.  The North have declared for the King in the North and elected Jon as that king.  The Northerners long for a Stark in Winterfell, which is when their lives are the most stable and the North is the safest.

The people of Westeros want the Starks, they don't want Dany.  And I think this episode was a big red flag for her in that respect.

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Arya

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Arya fucked Gendry!!!!!!


Awwwwwww yeeeeeaahh!!!!! You get yours, girl!

She has her dragon glass spear and her cherry popped and now she's gonna kill some zombies!

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Gendry

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Is Gendry going to rediscover how to make Valyrian steel?  I thought once in the last episode and again in this episode that he was going to figure out that Valyrian steel is some mish mash of dragon glass and steel or that, like, proximity to dragons helps create it or something but alas, he just boned Arya.

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Jon

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Jon telling Dany about his bloodline went about as well as I thought it would.

The thing Dany doesn't understand about Jon, though, is that he doesn't want to be king, and even if he did or if people wanted him to be, he would reliquish to Dany simply to save his people just like Sam said in the last episode.  He gave up his crown to save his people, would she?  No.   That's why people are loyal to Jon and that's why Dany doesn't get.

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Ah, so good.  So many thoughts, too, must get to work though.

Dany

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So much of Dany's previous acceptance was based on her being the wife of Khal Drogo and then freeing so many enslaved people.  

She is now running into resistance and hasn't figured out that her attitude and the fact that she is unknown to many isn't earning her many friends/allies.


I recall-I think it was Tywin- saying of Joffrey that any man who has to say he is king is no true king.  Dany seems to have a similar habit of mentioning that she is queen.  I am starting to think she is not going to come to a happy ending.

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