Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 4: "THE LAST OF THE STARKS" {INITIAL REACTIONS}

Verdict: This was a tense, busy, overall pretty great episode, but they still absolutely needed 2 or 3 for the Long Night. Only 6 total was a mistake. Maybe it just would've cost too much, so they had to abridge TLN and shift back to political infighting. Thankfully only 2 eps remain to resolve everything. I just fear so many loose plot threads and points and tracks that were laid but never picked up again, people who may simply never be so much as mentioned again...I fear having to compile a list of those at the end. >< Surprise me, please. I wasn't left feeling cheated and deflated like last week, I am pumped for more, but...I kinda just want it to be over already, to see exactly what they've done to this story, to these characters. I get the sense they could've gone a couple more seasons doing buildup and introducing cool stuff that should come into play later, but when it came to actually writing the endgame, they may've choked. I just want to tear this band-aid off in one stroke.

[MINI SIDE-RANT: It's very difficult to be that excited at this point. There is NO FUCKING WAY you end S7 on the thrilling "OMFG THE DEAD HAVE FINALLY BROKEN THROUGH THE WALL AND ARE MARCHING SOUTH WITH AN UNDEAD DRAGON HOLY SHIT" note, only to face and defeat them in episode 3 out of 6. And then go, "Guess it's time to dethrone ol' Smirky McCuntface down south eh?" That is horseshit. That is not what I signed up for. I didn't know precisely what I signed up for of course, but I DO know it for DAMN well certain wasn't THAT. I haven't been hyperinvested in this show for years on end, to be let down like that. Surprise? Subverted expectations? Sure, it's nice to see that everyone actually can band together to defeat the greatest threat known to mankind. But there was still too much missing, and for it to happen that early/quickly...just ain't right...that said, do I still wanna see Cersei bite it? Naturally. Hate's as good a thing as any to keep you going. ;p I just can't believe I'm actually relieved that there are only two episodes left.]

Funeral scene: Touching moments with Dany/Jorah (NOW you kiss him!), Sansa/Theon (the pin! another loved non-boyfriend), Sam/Edd (yeah, ya got him killed, boyo), Arya/Beric (and likewise he died saving her, as apparently destined by the LoL.) They burn all the bodies but Mel's, since she turned to dust/ashes already. Jon gives a tremendously moving speech. Many actors are playing corpses ("ah, so that's why he's in the credits!" xD) Clearly this is what they meant about the "BoW" spilling over into ep. 4. And goddamn, how long did it take to assemble all those huge pyres? Each one didn't look like it even held that many bodies, and there would be friggin' thousands to burn...

Then, they go a-partying in the great hall to celebrate the survivors. Tormund, my man...omg. All the adulation and praise of Jon is making Dany long for the way the people of Essos had felt about her when she liberated them. Part of her must be regretting having ever set sail to Westeros. (And yeah, you've got Mel+Davos to thank for Jon being here at all. He does have a tendency to get himself killed or near-killed.)
"Blue eyes looking into blue eyes!" Tormund's having a ball, & seriously dug Jon's badass dragon-riding. (Goofy drunken man, you rode a dragon last season while the NK was hurling ice javelins at you. Sure, it is particularly impressive to pilot one against him by yourself when you're not its Targaryen parent and only recently flew for the first time. And I could be down with naming any of the people aboard that dragon king or queen, but anyhows...)
Dany's depressed that everybody would want Jon for a king more than her for a queen, even though Jon doesn't want it and she DOES want the chance to prove herself a good queen here. Which she kinda already fucking has, but they're not making as big a deal out of HER war heroism (*cough Varys she's one too, she did at least as much as Jon did during that battle COUGH*), HER gargantuan sacrifices. It's just to drive the bloody wedge, to show how much they all love Jon as opposed to the "outsider." She certainly hasn't wronged anybody. The MoD is gonna be stinging because she's worked so damn hard since S1 for her queendom in order to do great things with it and make needed changes--yet the writers are going to have other people ridiculously say, "Oh look what a crazy madwoman she's becoming," when in actuality she's angry-mad, and rightfully so. Not gonna hint at Jon "going mad" because he's a Targaryen too, huh?

Dany makes Gendry Lord of Storm's End, yay! But Arya still flat-out doesn't wanna be a lady, perhaps failing to consider that she could be whatever sort of lady she pleases--figures. Just wants to be a casual couple? And okay, the gesture was "clever" of Dany, but...so what? It was cool too. Works out great for everybody. That's something a good ruler would do--legitimize a heroic bastard and inspire his loyalty by making him a lord.
Is Sandor sorta...jelly? XD; He kind of seems to hate Gendry. And he no wanty no hoes, even fearless ones. The doggo barks one off. Poor Tormy!! Damn pretty boy from the south stealing his girl. ;; Like "wtf, it's not my fault I couldn't knight you myself--it was my idea!" It's a hard af choice, Brie. Or would be for me. He's disheartened that he doesn't seem to appeal to southern women. But Pod the Rod, man...he gonna git hisself another ho and give her the ol' magic cock/voice combo.

Davos is still thinking about Meli, and likely about her true age and the mystery yet surrounding her. (You ain't the only one who's lived to a ripe old age, but props for being such a survivor!) He's theologically bamboozled, frustrated by "her god," wondering what R'hllor will is now that they've "won his battle." Defeated the greatest challenge--and now what'll they do? Just continue to kill each other? Perhaps his perspective on it is somewhat off? Davos is expecting some sort of reward. Mel was right, and her god guided them all to victory--saved them all or aided them in saving themselves. Ser, try to understand who she was. You two Stannis/Jon stans weren't that different in the end; you just had different means and paths to get there. Mel did so much, worked so hard, gave so much for so many many years, right to the end. (He pretty much only waved torches.) EVERYONE SHOULD BE TOASTING HER. "Arya Stark the hero of Winterfell," yes yes yes, but she WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN if not for Mel. LAY. SOME. GOD. DAMN. RESPECT. ON. MY. BITCH'S. NAME. She's among those men and women acting as the shields to guard the realms of men. She didn't have anyone close to her, possibly not for a long time. (DAMN, do we need a Valyrian prequel.) So Davos, a true man of his word, didn't have to keep it, because she/the LoL did...and it was beautiful...and she was evidently right about her lord all along. He helped defeat (seemingly) his enemy, The Great Other--what say has he in the affairs of humans now? Also...Davos my man, come ON. Your adopted daughter didn't burn because they WANTED to kill her. Meli basically just saved humanity, which is what she's wanted to do from the start--and I bet she could've ended the NK herself if Arya had failed. Now I wanted Mel still around to help with the whole monarch matter, since Stannis and Jon/possibly Dany (the people she'd been backing) were [potential] rulers before potential saviors.

Sandor is the only remaining "LoL rep," so to speak, in a SENSE. MIGHT he need to communicate with...any of the fire-priesty peeps again? R'hllor, Mel and Beric in the beyond, Kinvara and the other Dany supporters in Essos?!?!? Hello?!?!?! (What was their point if they weren't going to show tf up when the shit finally hit the fuckin' fan?!?!?) Why didn't Sandor and Arya talk about Mel and Beric? At least acknowledge the fact that Mel is the hero behind Arya's heroism, among her other valiant efforts on behalf of the living. Well, I suppose they're both well aware. Everyone is. My girl Arry and my man Sandor (and maybe Bran, but probably not because he's fucking useless) fully disclosed to all everything that went on in that room after Beric passed, the reason Arya headed toward the godswood--oh, and if Jon was actually distracting Viserion to allow her in there, that could not possibly have been any less clear. That notion is probably grasping at straws.) BUT! What did Sandor and Mel talk about while they were apparently locked in that room together? Anything?? They'd be such an excellent pair!!! We should have gotten a scene betwixt them!! It's what we deserve!!!! >8@
O Lord, I am praying for tons of amazing shouldn't-have-been-deleted scenes. At the very LEAST the Mel-vs-NK one, because why would the supposedly legit spoiler source lie about that? Unless he was mistaken or it was a scene filmed to throw people off. But even D&D couldn't be stupid enough not to use it...I mean, I guess they were...but if they DID go to the expense of recording it, it should have been a painful cut, not an intentional "probably not gonna show this" one from the get-go. Anyway. The Hound's a got a nice horse.

Food for SanSan shipping? Yuck, no. He deserves better anyway. Cane Corso=/=hounds, Sansa, learn your damn dog breeds. For the sake of the joke though, okay. That was pretty good. But tbh, you haven't improved much since being that original insufferable "little bird..."
Never seen Brienne so drunk, giddy, beaming, cheery, chuckling--hey, that wasn't her, that was Gwen. xD Anyhow, she's a virgin. So tf am I, I don't find it that personal a question...but then, in her case it's likely not by choice. I'm already mourning the giant world-conquering Tormienne/Briemund babies that could have been (and still could be, really, especially if Jaime dies.) Speaking of Braime...THAT happened, yo. :'3 Lawl, imagine Cersei's reaction. So yeah, Tormund's taking his people back home to the "real north," along with Ghost so they don't have to waste more CGI on him. Poor unpetted, unhugged doggo's like, "I thought I was your best friend?" when Jon tells the guy he didn't save from the swarm of wights who somehow fucking miraculously survived anyway that HE was his bff. At least he finally acknowledged your presence, Ghostie. (Please tell me they're at least trading one wolf for Nymeria and her pack next week? Haaa,yeah right, not gonna hold my breath.) Be good to Ghost, Tormund...he ish gud boi...;;
Tormy thinks Jonno would be happier up there too, and yeah, he probably would, but yanno...DUTY. And I KNEW Gilly was preggers--it was either that or Sam had just been ensuring that she was extremely well-fed, lol. xD Again, not that pregnancy necessarily involves weight gain aside from the middle, but sometimes it does, so I had a feeling. Proud papa Sam thinks Jon needs to hear how babies are made 'cause he still knows nothing, haaaa.

Dany wants Jon to keep the parentage secret forever so things can just return to the way they were before it got complicated. And she knows Sansa's been corrupted (sho' 'nuff, Littlefinger's alive and well in her.) She thinks the only way this lovely incestuous relationship can continue and they can all coexist is if word doesn't get out--so naturally, multiple people know by the end of the ep. She's thirsting for love atm, and the romantic attraction is overriding the biological relationship since, after all, a loving nephew you didn't even know was your nephew sure beats a shitty brother you grew up assuming you'd have to marry. (I mean, girl, Jorah Fine-As-Fuck Mormont is RIGHT TF THERE WAITING, but...hokai.)
Of course Jonny doesn't want the throne, but feels he owes his fam the truth. And truthfully they OUGHT to be able to co-rule and balance each other, not officially married but simply paired...Dany, you *should* be okay with that if it becomes a real possibility. Please be reasonable? Little more tractable? I'm still with you. The writers are pulling this hopefully misleading "unstable" bullshit I knew they would, but things can turn around at the last second. Like Tyrion, I believe in you! Exercise your free will! They want other characters to convince you she's about to go full-on cuckoo instead of just "darker" (if they go through with that I'll rip the TV off the wall, carry it to them, slam it on their heads, and force them to buy me a new one. That'd just be giving in to shocking-yet-predictable-yet-wrong mediocrity. No, less.) This is forced. It's manufactured.

Arya, I'm kind of fucking disappointed in you this season, honestly. The NK kill should've been Mel glamoured as a friggin' White Walker, dammit. Or something like that. Arry's had enough kills. She didn't deserve that one. It didn't do much for her anyway, and she's shut eyes of all colors in the past. "We don't trust your queen," "I don't need allies," "she's not one of us" (cue the Simba's Pride song), oh jfc. Quit siding with Sansa. You guys are sounding almost like Cersei ("our family's all that matters." "Everyone who isn't us is an enemy.") Fighting together for their species apparently taught these scummy shitheads nothing. Lord of Light, just strike 'em all down, I'm fucking done...Arya and Dany should've gotten on swimmingly...this pod person nonsense is for the birds...
And Jonno, y u no swear Bran to secrecy? XD Just automatically trust him because he seems to have no desires anymore.

Fuuuuuuck you, Sansa, and your backstabbing vow-breaking. Sooo sick of this slimy girl. I knew you didn't enunciate well enough on "I swear it." Cheater. Still determined to be a troublesome stick in the mud while bringing nothing to the table. At least Arya respects Jon and was willing to keep whatever secret Bran revealed (the only use to which he's put, bafflingly, btw...???? #uselessbran strikes yet again. #orisitoverpoweredbranandhedmakethingstoosimple)

Tyrion is sticking to his guns and remaining loyal to Dany. Varys is remaining loyal to the realm. So there you go--he has been a good man all along, all about "the people" as he claimed. He does just want the greater good. He thinks about everybody else in the seven kingdoms, since he's one who came up from the bottom. And he's actually selfless. (So yes, very like Mel. They could have made a great pair if Varys weren't so understandably opposed to magical practitioners.) However. He may be turning on his chosen queen too quickly. It's understandable that she wants the quickest path to destroying Cersei, who will be the reason for bloodshed if it comes to that (and of COURSE it will, right? Already has. What can you do about this tyrant? What realistic options do you have? WELL, definitely some which the smart Team-Dany we know and love would try.)
I see some of Varys' points, but sided a bit more with Tyrion in the debates, I think...like, he's actively looking for reasons to betray Dany...but good on him keeping his word to her though? About looking her in the eye and being honest? Once? Before talking treasonously to Tyrion? =/ Y'all now have some pretty damn good reason to believe in destiny, at least some of the time.
But her worst impulses haven't come out yet. Sure, someone who's a good ruler but doesn't want power can still make a good ruler...Jon's already been forced into that position...still, he's living on borrowed time now? Will he even make it to the end? Was he resurrected in order to BE king, perhaps? Is that why Meli was able to bring him back? Perhaps if Dany has to sacrifice herself, Jon may rule...if either one, assuming there remains a throne at all...Idk, but has he fulfilled his ultimate purpose in resurrection, or is there more? What, indeed, will be the Lord of Light's input now?
Tyr trusts Dany to make the right choices; Varys the waffler is ready to change his mind again, thinking she's becoming a mistake who will only turn the people against her as well. Guess he just thinks he's perceiving familiar vibes or signs and is trying to preempt another possible mad-Targ situation. -.- At least he ain't down with incest, lululul. And he sure knows how gossip works. xD Again, Varys' foretold death better be somehow connected with what he heard in the flames and all the LoL stuff and Mel's prediction. Not bloody dragonfire, though you think you see where this shit is going. x_x Can Daenerys be a little more willing to bend and compromise? She is really being pushed to the limit here.

They're going in ye olde predicted direction at every turn, yeah. -.- We'll see where it ends up...

Bronn scene: Terrific dialog, he makes some great points. Thought it might be interrupted by someone attacking him from behind or something. xD He's now waiting for either Highgarden, or to get to kill Jaime and Tyrion. Kk. According to my dad, it takes longer than that to load a crossbow, though.
"I am happy that you are happy."--Tyrion-Entei

Hooooly shit, Cersei truly is a supreme evil who must die horribly. (But then what else is new?) Euron, I hate you again--like, truly loathe. I liked you for one episode. He's enamored of Cers, ofc, and she gonna pass off Jaime's kid as his. Hmm. Still no sign of a Jonerys babe...
Rhaegal's death was shocking and horrifying, Jesus Christ. *,-,* Get Gendry on crafting some damn dragon armor STAT. Dany's rage is palpable--they're taking even more from her. Another child. Her best friend. (Missandei...!! Oh, poor Grey Worm. He is now so hyper-invested in slaughtering this horrid evil incarnate and all of Dany's enemies mercilessly.) This is bullshit. I am fucking furious. Irate. Wish Euron's fleet could've been dracarys'd without risking Drogon getting hit by those super-scorpions.
"Dracarys"--was waiting for some effect from that, but it was just Missy proclaiming loyalty to her queen as her final word. (Also I half-expected a Frankensteined Rhaegal to appear because what else can go wrong, but nah, Qyburn couldn't possibly do it that quickly even after learning from the Mountain. Aka Cersei's headsman. ><)
That was some nice swimming though, Varys (A KNOWN MERMAN) and Tyrion and everybody else.

Cleganebowl=guaranteed now, right? Hells yeah. The Hound wants his brother. Arya wants Cersei, but I hope Jaime slowly chokes the life out of her. He ditched his totally heartbroken new gf, claiming he's still the kind of guy who'll do anything for his #1 hateful sis rather than the "good man" we know him to be. Please Jaim-boy, do da right thing again. (I predict he does feel guilty and want to go rid them of his psycho-sis, and was just trying to protect Brienne. Like Arya did with Nymeria, or Tyrion with Shae...grr.) If Jaime doesn't make it, Brie...go make those damned monster babies already, please. Tormund is an awesome guy who freakin' worships the ground you walk on, what more could you want?

Sandor & Arya are on the road together again (pleeeeeease discuss whatever you & Mel chatted about during the war, Clegane, I know it must've been good)--also heading toward King's Landing of their own accords, and not planning on returning north. 8-| [How come Dany's not using Arya to assassinate Cersei, and how come Arya's not telling Jon/Dany that she plans to do so...?]
HoQ (Hand of Queen) vs. HoQ...oh Qyburn, I kinda wanted to like you. But now you really have no reason to turn on Cersei, eh? Unless you wanted to make a sudden noble stand, but nah, she's been too good to you, and is in an advantageous position. The one who's using her hateful hated (and stupid af) people as human shields. Nope, Qyburn the mouthpiece ain't budging to compromise and work with Tyrion. "We seem to have reached an impasse." (Did he say they were in Naath? What did I hear?) And Tyrion, you fool. Cersei's a monster who loved her children in a selfish way because she, herself, her own wants--that was always what came first. She was always #1. Cersei only cares what she desires, what's best for her and by extension the people/things that "belong" to her. But not even what's truly best for those people...always her. Fuck everyone and everything else. She's the only mad queen on the block. Also, why do her fingers look so stubby? An illusion caused by that giant ring? Thought she was gonna push Missy...;0;

"Not a monster," huh Tyrion? Oh. It. Is. ON.
Maybe Dany should just burn all these fuckers down and start afresh. >8|
"'Cause baby you're a fiiiiiiiirework...!"

Casualties: Rhaegal, Missandei
What have we learned so far this season? Vomiting=celebrating. Tormund's always had blue eyes. Uhh...he's our teacher? Oh, and good, we still have some Dothraki. Their charge wasn't genocidal, as had been suggested.

Preview: says basically nothing, looked similar. Oy.

Random: For some reason on the downstairs TV, the first scene with Dany & the dragons was the first time I ever momentarily perceived them as looking kind of...fake? OR sensing the green-screen? But I waited for it and it didn't happen again on my TV. Hunh. Maybe it was just me.