Slower than expected given the breakneck pace of later seasons, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” was most like classic Thrones, full of character interactions rife with competing feelings and power dynamics.
The show and its characters took a respite this week in the calm before the White Walker storm. Your enjoyment will depend on how much you like the show’s handling of its character reunions in lieu of action or plot momentum.
Jaime’s judgment by Dany, Jon, and Sansa for his litany of offenses leads Brienne to stand up for him. But we still get dead-eyed Bran and his whole “I’m not Bran, it doesn’t matter anymore, etc.” It’s an underwhelming payoff to the premiere’s ending.
Absolutely nobody is surprised by news of Cersei’s betrayal. That’s great. Still dumb to introduce Cersei’s pregnancy solely to convince Tyrion trusting her is an actual option. Dany’s haughtiness grates in this setting and it seems intentional to contrast her with Jon and their coming, ah, familial conflicts beyond the Great War.
The knighting of Brienne is the best scene in the episode, playing almost as a wedding between her and Jaime*. His banter with Tyrion is a welcome return to a less fraught time for the brothers. As such, we got the last laughs we’ll probably get for a while. The Night’s Watch (yay the reunion b/t Jon, Sam, and good ole Edd) and wildling survivors returned heralding the coming dead. Tormund seems absolutely at peace with the genocide of his people. Ok.
*It was low-key funny how Jaime reacted to Brienne’s lack of knighthood. Basically, he goes “Any knight can make a knight . . . (eyes widen) . . . wait a tick, I’m a knight . . . I could name you!” Fortunately, the scene itself is heartwarming enough to overcome this.
Arya stays pro-active, hanging out with the Hound and Beric for as well as flirting with and later banging Gendry. The Baratheon bastard hammers home (pun intended) how scary the undead are by calling them Death incarnate. Arya of course says Death has many faces, which just makes me yearn for a Faceless Men comeback some more.
The war council scene also becomes an embarrassing exposition of themes as well. Such spelling out diminishes the import of the very themes it invokes. We get it. They’re fighting Capital-Death. Telling us over and over just makes us seem like the writers think we don’t.
They have the classic Independence Day/Avengers doomsday prevention scheme: blow up the mothership. In this case, the Night King. Bran offers to be bait to draw him out (apparently NK holds Three-Eyed Ravens in special contempt) and says he doesn’t know if dragonfire can finish him off because “no one’s tried.” Guess we need a whole prequel show to explain how that’s possible.
Jorah counsels Dany to forgive Tyrion for his plot-required stupidity (because Iain Glen has made the character a sweetheart) and to talk to Sansa. The latter chat goes well-enough. Dany shows subtle tact and social maneuvering . . . until Dany declares again her intent to take back all the Seven Kingdoms, including the North. Unlike Jon, that’s something Sansa can’t accept.
Eleswhere, Jorah and young Lyanna Mormont (best character or bestest character?) get a moment and Sam gives him Heartsbane for the coming battle. That feels nice after Jorah accepted his father’s bequeathal of the Mormont blade Longclaw to Jon.
I’ll always have a soft spot for Theon. Other than Brienne’s knighting, his hug with Sansa got me choked up. The Lady of Winterfell’s understandable desire for independence adds context to the very first thematic teaser for season 8, which saw ice overwhelm the north and fire the south, meeting in the middle to form a new wall of black stone, perhaps obsidian aka dragonglass at the Neck.
An appropriately bittersweet ending for this saga could be Jon and Dany, in love but riven by relation and royalty, driven apart as monarchs of separate kingdoms, a split Westeros.
Grey Worm and Missandei make plans for the future and at least acknowledge the unsuitability of their present environment (which just brings to mind wtf is up with the Dothraki? Are they raping and pillaging the North? How’s the cold ghost grass treating them? Their zillion horses well-fed?)
We wrap up with the continued consequences of perhaps the most devastating lie in Westerosi history. I’m all for heightened drama but why oh why does Jon wait until mere moments before the big battle is the time to tell Dany this impossibly huge secret he discovered – he is Aegon Targaryen, son of her brother Rhaegar and Lyanna Stark, heir to the Iron Throne ? The writer’s thumb pushes the “maximize conflict” button a bit transparently here.
And of course, Jon’s confession to a shocked Dany essentially triggers the endgame: White Walkers arrive with their army of undead.
Btw, where the fuck was Varys?
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