Finally, Someone Else Admitted To Liking This Episode!

Finally, someone else admitted to liking this episode!

8x04 Some takeaways (P1)

Although I’m quite frustrated that D&D still deprive us of Starks’ moments and the pack vibes, in general, 8x04 is quite a good episode in my opinion. Here I’d like to share with you my thoughts on some of the key moments in the episode. I will mainly focus on the state of warfare, my interpretation of the main players’ motivations and concerns, and my view on whether their decisions (based on the set of information each one has in hand) are good for the realm. Always keep in mind that beside Family-Duty-Honour, the running theme since the beginning of the series has always been anti-war. 

1. Fact: The Stark-Targaryen alliance is not in good shape for another warfare

The episode starts with the aftermath of the Long Night. Tens of thousand died. The survivors are all wounded, drained out and devastated. Let’s do some maths to compare the Stark-Dany’s force to that of Cersei-Euron’s at the moment.

Stark-Dany: Before the battle against the Dead, the North and Vale had 20.000 soldiers. Dany had 40.000 Dothrak, 8.000 Unsullied, the remaining of Yara’s force and 2 dragons. In total, they had around 70.000 soldiers and 2 dragons. After the battle, the size of the alliance shrinks massively. Half of the Unsullied are gone and so are the Northmen, so I assume the same survival ratio applies to the Vale and Dothraki. Thus, altogether they have around 30.000 soldiers left and 2 dragons, however all in bad shape. 

Cersei-Euron: the remaining of the Lannister army, the Iron Fleet (full strength), 20.000 sellswords from the Golden Company. So I assume they have more or less the same number of soldiers as Stark-Dany alliance. Well-rested, well-armed, well-positioned for defense behind the high walls of KL, and fully-equipped with balistas to counter the dragons. 

I will discuss the rational strategy for each side in later part. For now, we clearly see that any wise leader must understand this is not the time to wage another war. Best thing to do now is giving everyone a rest to recover from the battle fatigue before starting a new campaign. (Better not to actively wage another war at all. But if they really have to, give the soldiers a break first.)

2. The King’s speech

As usual, Jon delivered his iconic “coming together” speech. Despite giving away his crown, he is still the true commander-in-chief. By the way, where was Dany? The Queen is not really familiar with “setting aside differences to fight and die together so that others might live”, hers are more about “will you kill my enemies in their iron suits and tear down their stone houses” or “bend the knee or die”. So Jon took the job, and he did it well. 

It is our duty and honor to keep them alive in memory for those who come after us and those who come after them for as long as men draw breath.

Highlight: This war for the survival of mankind is a war worth fighting and dying for, because it ensures hope and a surviving chance for the future generations. (But the coming war for the Throne might not because it sacrifices lives for power.) Note that Sansa was always in the background during this part of Jon’s speech.  –> Hint: They might very well be the ones that pass on these memories to the future generations. Having children of their own, perhaps?

3. Dany legitimizing Gendry as a way to exert her power

The next scene was the banquet, where Dany legitimized Gendry to everyone’s surprise. There was tension in the Hall with several reaction shots before Dany finally revealed her offer to make him Lord Gendry Baratheon of Storm’s End.

Gif: gendry-aryas

Tyrion: And a Lord of Storm’s End who will be forever loyal to you. 

Dany: See? You’re not the only one who’s clever. 

Was Dany trying to gain an ally? Not necessarily. Gendry does not have yet any bannermen or wealth, so he is not of immediate use to her. What Dany wanted to show people was, she was a powerful Queen who was to fear, but she could grant mercy as she wished and make or break a Lord in just seconds. Pay attention to her word choice. She first highlighted to Gendry his father’s crimes to her family and herself to make him scared: “You are aware he took my family’s throne and tried to have me murdered?”. Then she showed everyone that she could be merciful if she wanted to, and she could grant one title and wealth at her will, “You are Lord Gendry Baratheon of Storm’s End, the lawful son of Robert Baratheon. Because that is what I have made you.” 

If Dany really wanted to reward Gendry because of his contribution in the war, she would have highlighted the fact that he fought bravely and he was a great blacksmith who forged the weapons to fight the Dead, so he deserved this. No. She didn’t talk about his contribution at all. She made it clear to everyone, he became a Lord because she wanted to. 

People in the background chanted: That’s easy, isn’t it?

If the Queen could easily do everything at her will, she could make a Lord and give wealth to him in seconds, then she can strip away titles and wealth in seconds too. What is more interesting was the exchanging look between Tyrion and Sansa thereafter, both did not seem to be excited with the Queen’s generousity at all. They both knew that the relationship between the Queen and the Lady of Winterfell was strained and tried to figure out what kind of underlying message Dany wanted to convey. 

My interpretation: The Queen was sending a fair warning to the Lady of Winterfell. See how easily I reward Gendry, a bastard son of the man who stole the Throne from my family? You’d better behave, or I can strip you off your title and land as easily as I make a Lord out of him. 

Gif: allons-ymrholmes

So very probably, Dany wanted to warn Sansa that the Queen could strip away her land and title at ease. But if she intends to do so, who would she grant Winterfell to? The possible candidates are Bran (the only living trueborn son of Ned) and Jon (the supposed bastard, if he stays silent about his parentage). Some of you might think that this is a very Tywinesque move that Dany could never think of. But I think this is very possible. Otherwise, Sansa and Tyrion would not have exchanged that suspiscious look.

Both Tyrion and Sansa were aware of Dany’s possible hidden agenda. Tyrion then did a bit of reality check with Bran. He was always curious about the crippled boy and his adventure, and now he wanted to test what the boy wanted. He praised Bran’s extensive knowledge and said that it would be useful as Lord of Winterfell. Arghh, but Sansa is currently the Lady of Winterfell, why did Tyrion give hint to Bran that he was the only trueborn son of Ned Stark and should be the Lord of Winterfell? I think Tyrion was trying to figure out the power dynamic within the Stark family and what each of them might want. Do they want power, or do they want something else? Bran made it clear to Tyrion that he didn’t really want to be the Lord of Winterfell anymore. (Maybe he did when he was a kid, but now he doesn’t.) Since Tyrion didn’t know about Jon’s parentage yet, so to his knowledge the contenders for Winterfell are only Jon and Sansa. In Tyrion’s eyes, Jon is clearly in Dany’s favor since he is her lover. If Dany legitimizes Jon and gives Winterfell to him, Sansa would be empty-handed. To certain extent, Tyrion cares for Sansa’s well-being, that’s why he approached Sansa and raised his concerns to her before he left.

- to be continued -