Game of Thrones is one of the densest and most complicated shows on television, and
each episode is multi-layered and loaded with meaning.
As the show moves toward its epic conclusion, here's a look at some of the most important
lines from the final season.
And in case it's not already obvious: Major spoilers ahead, so please proceed with caution.
When Emilia Clarke's Daenerys and Kit Harington's Jon Snow finally arrive at Winterfell, they
meet the rest of the Starks and try to convince the Northerners to join their cause.
Early on, Jon mutters something important to Daenerys:
"Northerners don't much trust outsiders."
Daenerys doesn't exactly impress either of the Stark sisters, especially not Sansa, portrayed
by actress Sophie Turner.
As you can see by that pronounced side-eye, she clearly doesn't trust this foreign queen,
despite Jon's ringing endorsement.
This isn't a good sign for Daenerys, but it might not bode particularly well for Jon,
either.
As viewers know, he isn't actually the illegitimate son of Ned Stark at all.
He's the son of Lyanna Stark and Daenerys' brother, Rhaegar Targaryen.
This fact gives him the biggest claim to the Iron Throne.
Once the North discovers Jon's true parentage, it's entirely possible that they'll abandon
him.
Despite his utter devotion to protecting the North, he's also utterly devoted to the Queen
of Dragons.
Perhaps they'll see that Jon, who was actually born as Aegon Targaryen, is ultimately an
outsider.
The reunion between Maisie Williams' Arya Stark and Jon Snow was a highly anticipated
moment.
After all, Jon gave Arya her very first sword.
Though their time together in the first season was entirely too brief, it was clear that
they shared an intense bond.
When they meet again at the Godswood at Winterfell, it provides one of the show's biggest and
most satisfying emotional moments.
It even manages to get a rare smile out of Arya, who has hardened considerably over the
course of Game of Thrones.
Once the two broach the subject of Sansa and her clear distrust of Daenerys, Arya defends
her sister, much to Jon's surprise.
Standing her ground, Arya says of her big sister:
"I'm defending our family.
So is she."
Of course, she has absolutely no idea that the man standing in front of her isn't part
of her immediate family.
He's technically a Targaryen, not a Stark.
When Jon finally shares the truth of his lineage with Arya and Sansa, Arya immediately agrees
to honor his request and keep the big news a secret.
But acting on her distrust of Daenerys, Sansa soon shares the revelation with Tyrion, knowing
full well that doing so will most definitely set off a chain of events that could ultimately
prove quite problematic for the Mother of Dragons.
Fans have been waiting to see what's going on with Jon and Daenerys ever since their
first tryst at the end of the seventh season.
Well, a scene in the first episode of season eight gave viewers a sneak peek into their
rather peculiar courtship rituals, which include long, romantic dragon-rides through the sky.
After the two lovebirds finally decide to give their dragons a break, Daenerys spots
a nearby cave, saying to Jon with a smirk:
"We could stay a thousand years.
No one would find us."
Well, there's a reason this romantic scene might have felt a little familiar to you.
Her comment brings back memories of Rose Leslie's ill-fated character Ygritte, a Wildling that
Jon once fell in love with.
The doomed couple had their first intimate moment in a cave, and Ygritte also suggested
that they stay there forever.
"I don't ever want to leave this cave, Jon Snow.
Not ever."
Now that people are starting to learn that Daenerys is actually Jon's aunt, their romantic
relationship is probably just as doomed as the one between Ygritte and Jon.
Maybe Jon should start listening to his lovers, particularly when they suggest laying low
in caves.
Bran Stark has been a total weirdo ever since he took up the mantle of the Three-Eyed Raven.
He spent the season eight premiere lurking all over Winterfell and saying all sorts of
cryptic things.
One night, he has an encounter with Sam Tarly, portrayed by John Bradley.
When Sam asks what Bran is up to, he receives this response:
"...waiting for an old friend."
At the end of the episode, Bran's in the courtyard to witness the arrival of Jaime Lannister.
The last time Jaime saw Bran, he shoved him out of a high window after Bran caught Jaime
and Cersei in a rather compromising position.
But the "old friend" Bran is waiting for turns out to be Theon, who finally makes his way
back to Winterfell.
Driven by a need to redeem himself, Theon volunteers to lead the team that protects
Bran from the Night King during the climactic battle with the White Walkers.
Theon ultimately gives his life to try and protect his onetime foster brother — completing
his redemption arc, and following another line with huge importance:
"You're a good man."
When Jon Snow returns to the North with Daenerys Targaryen in tow, he's met with plenty of
disapproval.
One of the loudest voices is that of Lyanna Mormont, the diminutive but tough Lady of
House Mormont.
When the Northern nobles inside the hall of Winterfell are confused as to whether they
should refer to Jon or Daenerys as "Your Grace," Lyanna stands up and tells Jon:
"You left the North a king and came back a…
I'm not sure what you are now."
Unbeknownst to Lyanna, it's a rather pointed statement, considering that his true parentage
has been revealed to the audience and other characters are about to start learning the
news, too.
Really, he's still "Your Grace," except that he's not just the rightful King in the North.
He's the King of the Seven Kingdoms.
In an effort to bond with Jon's family, Daenerys pays a visit to Sansa during the season's
second episode.
She asks if the two can speak alone.
The Dragon Queen's time at the Stark family home has been fairly fraught thus far, and
Sansa has been skeptical of this Southern newcomer, frustrated by her relationship with
Jon and highly distrustful of her.
During their first private meeting, Daenerys seems to charm Sansa quite a bit, telling
her that she's traveled all this way because of her love for Jon.
She reveals her softer, more vulnerable side to Sansa, and Sansa does seem to warm up…
if only for the moment.
At one point in their conversation, Sansa says:
"Men do stupid things for women."
She's referring to Jon letting Daenerys take control of the North, but her words could
practically be a thesis statement on one of Game of Thrones' underlying themes.
From the attempted murder of Bran to Littlefinger's many schemes and Jon's dangerous plan to capture
a lone wight, so many misfortunes have befallen men as they attempted to impress women.
This one sentence succinctly sums up one of the show's central concerns.
On the eve of the epic Battle of Winterfell, most of the characters gather up for one final
night together.
They consider their own mortality, sing, drink, and try to satisfy their every desire… just
in case the army of the dead overtakes them before dawn.
During a discussion by the fire, Sam Tarly chimes in, saying that the loss of memories
is the worst fate of all, and telling his comrades:
"That's what death is.
Forgetting."
Sam tells his friends that they all might they die, leaving their names and legacies
lost to time.
It becomes clear that Sam is determined to keep the memories of his loved ones alive,
no matter what happens during the coming battle.
This all fits in quite nicely with one of the most popular theories about Sam.
Thanks to his education at the Citadel, many people believe the series concludes with him
writing the titular "song of ice and fire."
He might be destined to transcribe all the heroic acts of the people around him, so their
feats can live on forever.
After his speech, it seems even more likely that Sam will be the chronicler of the entire
Game of Thrones story.
Since he's not a strong fighter or contender for the throne, it seems like historian is
the perfect role for him to play as this saga thunders towards its finale.
Here's hoping he's a faster writer than George R.R. Martin...
The Battle of Winterfell takes place at the ancestral home of the Starks, so it's no wonder
that the family is front and center.
While Sansa is stuck down in the crypts, her sister Arya is out there fighting for her
life with a full arsenal of weapons at her disposal.
Since they reunited in season 7, the sisters have been working together to hold the North
and protect the Stark family.
Now that they've reached adulthood, they seem to have arrived at a place of mutual respect
and love.
This becomes clear when Sansa laments that she can't be altogether helpful during "The
Long Night."
Perhaps she even feels a bit jealous of her bolder, brasher sister.
When Arya gives her sister a dragonglass dagger, she tells her:
"Stick 'em with the pointy end."
Sound familiar?
Back in season 1, Jon gave a small sword to Arya and offered her the exact same instructions:
"Stick 'em with the pointy end."
Perhaps Arya is subtly suggesting to Sansa that she believes they're both equally formidable
warriors.
Melisandre came out of the woodwork just before the Battle at Winterfell began.
She wasted no time showing off, lighting the weapons of every Dothraki warrior on the frontlines…
a pretty cool flex, if you ask us.
However, she had plenty more to do during this battle, and it's all tied to Arya Stark.
After several horrifying and grueling run-ins with wights, Arya finds a brief moment of
safety alongside the Hound and Melisandre in a locked chamber in Winterfell.
For the first time in years, Arya seems just about ready to throw in the towel.
Luckily, Melisandre reminds her of a prophecy she made in season 3 during their first meeting.
"I see a darkness in you.
And in that darkness, eyes staring back at me."
"Brown eyes, green eyes, and blue eyes."
Melisandre pauses before "blue eyes" to suggest that Arya is the one who will ultimately take
down not only the Night King, but all of his blue-eyed brethren.
Arya's tryst with Gendry raised plenty of eyebrows.
But it was a serious thrill getting to watch Arya pursue the object of her desire, and
the night clearly meant a lot to Gendry.
After the Battle of Winterfell, Daenerys names Gendry the Lord of Storm's End.
Gendry immediately finds Arya and tells her that he loves her, asking for her hand in
marriage.
Any Game of Thrones fan who's been paying attention to Arya's story knows exactly how
this moment will play out.
Even though she clearly cares about Gendry, she turns him down immediately:
"I'm not a lady.
I never have been.
That's not me."
This is a subtle callback to a moment she shared in season one with Ned, after her father
suggests she might one day become the lady of a great castle.
“No.
That's not me."
Arya has undergone quite a remarkable transformation throughout the course of the show, but she
still knows who she is… and who she isn't.
Sansa Stark's evolution on Game of Thrones has seen her grow from a whiny pre-teen to
a consummate survivor and shrewd strategist.
Characters within the show have noticed her incredible growth just as much as audiences
have.
During the celebrations at Winterfell in the fourth episode of the eighth season, Sansa
reunites with the Hound, who references the abuse she suffered at the hands of her late
husband Ramsay Bolton, a sadistic madman who brutalized her within an inch of her life.
Once she tells the Hound how she dispatched Ramsay — with hounds — the warrior lets
out an impressed chuckle and tells her:
"You've changed, little bird."
He tells Sansa that if she'd left King's Landing under his protection, she never would have
had to deal with these horrible men and such awful circumstances.
But Sansa has a perfect line of reasoning prepared:
"Without Littlefinger and Ramsay and the rest, I would have stayed a little bird all my life."
She makes it perfectly clear that this little bird isn't so little anymore, and can fly
just as well as anyone — or anything.
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