The Wall is down, and while one incestuous couple has broken up (sayonara, Lannister twincest!), a new one has formed (hello, Targaryens!). There was a truce in the Seven Kingdoms, then there wasn’t, then there was again … but there really isn’t. “The Dragon and the Wolf†wrapped up a lot of loose ends for Game of Thrones, but it also created a lot of questions that we’ll be stewing over until the eighth and final season.
Does anyone ever sit down on a sea voyage in Westeros?
Tyrion? Standing and staring ahead. Davos? Same. Jon Snow? Couldn’t find a seat, despite the fact that everyone still thinks he’s a king. Missandei? Facing the port side, but on her feet. Jorah? Yup.
Who had the most awkward run-in at the Dragonpit?
It was the high-school reunion from hell: You not only had to slide around, awkwardly sizing up everyone you used to know, but you also recognized quite a few people in the crowd as murderous raving lunatics. Still, some duos had it worse than others. Cersei couldn’t have been delighted to see Tyrion, but she did manage to sit quietly while he spoke, so bully for her. When Theon last saw his Uncle Euron, he literally dove off a boat in fear and now he has to see him face-to-face. But the prize goes to the Clegane brothers. Even though the Mountain is just a pile of brainless flesh with oozing eyes, he nonetheless inspires sheer rage from his scarred and vengeful little brother.
Which was the cutest meetup?
Not everyone was bummed to see old acquaintances! Tyrion finally reunites with Pod, who saved his life in the Battle of the Blackwater and stood by him when Tyrion faced execution for Joffrey’s murder. They are adorable.
Then, Bronn assures Tyrion that he’s only looking out for himself and Tyrion practically whispers, “It’s good to see you.†They are extra adorable.
“I thought you were dead†should be a common greeting in Westeros, considering how often two people part under that impression. When Brienne tosses it out to the Hound, it’s almost admiring. In just a few quick snippets as they solidify their mutual admiration and care for Arya, these two also turn into the kind of besties who would never put on the necklaces, but totally feel the love. They are the most adorable.
What’s the weather situation in King’s Landing?
As Jaime rides alone from the capital in the wake of his confrontation with Cersei, snow flutters down from the sky. But earlier in the episode, there’s no telling whether it’s cold enough for Jon Snow to be wearing his Ikea cape or not. Cersei is in a dress-vest combo, Jaime is donning his armor, and Brienne is sporting an elegant fur ensemble, but the trees are green and birds are singing happy tunes. Bronn, the Hound, and quite a few others are only attired in the leather jerkins they wore all summer. Apparently, no dress code was indicated on the parley invitation.
Did Jon and Davos practice their Undead TED Talk?
It was so clearly, adorably rehearsed. “Now’s the part where you hold up the hand and I light it on fire. Got it, Jon?â€
Is Jon right that Daenerys might be able to have children?
The more you think about it, the more sense it makes. For several years now, Daenerys has believed she’s infertile because the cranky witch who got her husband killed said it was so. Is it possible that just … isn’t true? That Mirri Maz Duur lied? Could be, but what’s far more likely is that the prophecy the witch laid down — that only “when the sun rises in the west and sets in the east, when the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves†will Daenerys bear a child — is about to be fulfilled. After all, it’s no coincidence that just hours after Jon makes this point to Daenerys, he knocks on her cabin door and they practice that baby-making.
Do the Westerosi avoid wine while pregnant?
So controversial, right? Some doctors say a little sip here and then won’t hurt, others say any alcohol could have dire implications for your fetus. That’s why I don’t blame Cersei for passing on the goblet of fine Arbor red that Tyrion handed her. No matter what she did, someone would carp that she was a fool. Even pregnant queens aren’t exempt from judgment.
Was Cersei manipulating Tyrion throughout their meeting?
Could Cersei have known Tyrion would ask her back to the table? Probably not. But once he was there, it’s pretty clear she sees her opening and takes it. If Cersei refuses to move forth with any negotiations, she risks Jon and Daenerys’s troops laying siege to King’s Landing. There are, after all, an army of the Unsullied and the Dothraki sitting right outside the walls with two dragons. But by backing out of the agreement and then stepping back in after she’s been wronged, she has some leverage. She’s using the opportunity to negotiate perfectly for herself. As she later explains to Jaime, her army will not go north; it will retake the lands in the south while she lets Dany’s forces battle the White Walkers on their own. And by letting Tyrion know she’s pregnant, she’s finally given him reason to find her sympathetic — and perhaps to spare her life in the future, if it comes to that.
Did Theon’s missing penis save his life?
You’d think that people would be a little more sensitive to the fact that this man had his genitals removed by a skin-stripping psychopath, but really, folks have been pretty rubbish to Theon about his missing penis. Which is why the glorious look on his face when his fellow Ironborn kept, repeatedly, kicking him in the former penile area, might have filled your heart with glee. After eating rats, losing fingers and toes, and suffering through a brutal case of PTSD, Theon finally found a perk to losing his twig and berries. A cheap shot to the balls couldn’t throw him off. In fact, it actually let him gain the upper hand, thus saving his life and allowing him to sail to save his sister Yara from … okay, yeah, Theon is still dead meat.
How did Arya and Sansa piece together Littlefinger’s crimes?
Sansa unpacked a lot of information during Petyr Baelish’s surprise trial. She accused him of murdering Lysa Arryn, indirectly poisoning Jon Arryn, and setting off the entire chain of events that led to war between the Starks and the Lannisters. Oh, and also setting up her father, Ned Stark. “None of you were there to see what happened,†Baelish exclaims to the crowd in the hall. “You held a knife to his throat,†Bran interjects at this point. Baelish spins to look at him in wonderment, “You said, ‘I did warn you not to trust me.’†Littlefinger’s face registers shock. Arya then jumps in to say that Baelish lied about the dagger she’s holding in her hand, the dagger that was nearly used to execute Bran and which passed from Littlefinger to Bran to Arya just a few episodes ago.
It’s that interjection from Bran that explains how Arya and Sansa put together the case against Littlefinger. Who could possibly investigate exactly what he did in the past? Where he was? Whom he spoke with? The people he killed and sabotaged? Well, Bran could. With some prodding from his sister Arya — who already suspected Littlefinger of plotting to tear apart the Stark family so he could have Sansa under his control — Bran simply went back in time and observe Baelish’s actions as the Three-Eyed Raven. The lesson here? Don’t try to lie to a woman whose sister is an assassin and whose brother can see all of history.
“Chaos is a ladder,†Bran echoed back to Littlefinger a few episodes ago. It was a sly message that Bran could see precisely what Baelish did and hear exactly the words he said. Now, he and his sisters brought those words and deeds back to haunt Littlefinger and put him in his grave.
Why didn’t Sam give Gilly any credit for finding out that crucial bit of information about Jon’s parentage?
It turns out Sam wasn’t ignoring Gilly when she read aloud the passage explaining Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark’s secret marriage. He was just absorbing the information while ranting like an Ivy League freshman (whose professors are really so demanding, oh my God, do they really think I can handle all this reading) so that he could casually drop it into a conversation later and fail to give a woman any credit for it. On Game of Thrones, even the best dude is an ass sometimes.
Are Tormund and Beric still alive?
It’d be an extra large helping of irony, wouldn’t it, if after Beric’s big speech last week about how the Lord of Light kept him alive because the god has a plan for him, he died in a freak attack like this one? Which is precisely why it’s within reason to assume he isn’t dead. (Plus, it’s hard to believe they’d wipe a fan favorite like Tormund off the face of Westeros without even a glimpse of his body.)
So let’s focus on what we saw: The scene took precaution to show the Wall collapsing just yards away from Beric and Tormund before an entire section came crashing down. If you noticed, a quick shot reveals that a few of the guard stations atop the Wall are still extant despite the dragon-size hole Viserion put in it. And those guard stations look exactly like the ones behind Beric and Tormund in our last glimpse of them. Is it possible they came down with the Wall? Absolutely. But I wouldn’t bet against these two.