Where do you go once the battle is won?
The third episode of Game of Thrones' eighth and final season "The Long Night," was all
sorts of intense and warning, spoilers ahead with the brutality and bloodshed of the Battle
of Winterfell nearly taking out our Westerosi heroes and letting the Night King and his
army of wights and White Walkers roam free.
But Arya Stark harnessed her inner ninja, evoked the spirit of Azor Ahai, and turned
the battle from a losing one to an instant success when she stabbed the Night King and
cut off his minions' lifeline in the process.
The side of the living won the Battle of Winterfell, the dead fell and so too did the Long Night,
and the sun began to rise over Winterfell once more.
So what comes next?
With just three episodes of Game of Thrones left and the perceived greatest threat already
eliminated, how will everyone move forward?
Thankfully, HBO hasn't left fans totally in the lurch after Episode 3.
The network released a preview for the upcoming episode that offers a taste of the events
to come after the Battle of Winterfell.
And boy, are they going to be wild.
In the teaser, Daenerys Targaryen, fresh off learning her lover Jon Snow is actually her
nephew and the true heir to the Iron Throne, states that the Great War is over and Last
War is about to fall upon Westeros.
What war might that be, and what will it entail?
Oh, you know, just a casual storming of the Westerosi capital of King's Landing, where
Dany will send her depleted army to march against the reigning queen Cersei Lannister.
The Lannister lioness isn't going to go down without a fight, of course.
In the eyes of many, Cersei has gone mad with power — and with grief over the loss of
her three children over the course of the series.
She may not have dragons, Unsullied soldiers, the support of very many in Westeros, or those
elephants she really, really wanted, but Cersei does have someone who matches her hunger for
dominance: Euron Greyjoy.
He's got violence to spare, a fierce loyalty to Cersei motivated in part by his desire
to continue their intimate relationship, and no qualms about killing.
Sounds like a perfect match for Cersei, right?
Plus, Cersei has Euron's Iron Fleet and the Essos sellsword force the Golden Company,
ringing in at 20,000 strong.
She's not exactly the underdog in this impending battle.
Still, Daenerys and company aren't all that worried about the fight Cersei and Euron will
put up in King's Landing.
The Mother of Dragons makes it clear that she and those who fought in the Battle of
Winterfell will win the Last War against Cersei, unseating her from the Iron Throne.
Addressing those who survived last episode's battle, Dany declares what the North will
do to Cersei when they sack King's Landing:
"We will rip her out root and stem."
It probably won't be all that simple.
And if and when Cersei is booted from the Throne Daenerys wants so much, who will be
the one to actually occupy it?
At this point, the battle for the Iron Throne is anyone's game.
Jon Snow, whose real name is Aegon Targaryen, is technically the rightful heir, but he's
never expressed interest in ruling the Seven Kingdoms.
His aunt Dany, who is next in line to the Throne, doesn't have as strong a claim to
power but wants it so much more and would sacrifice everything to make her dream a reality.
“Not Dany.
How about my queen?”
Some might try to push Jon to accept dominion, while others may try to strike him down so
the Dragon Queen can add another title to her massive list.
The same can be said for what people might do with Daenerys.
There also exists the possibility that neither of them will replace Cersei, and someone else
like, say, Sansa will succeed the Mad Queen.
It isn't just the core conflict between the powers in King's Landing and the forces arriving
from the North that fans have to look forward to on the fourth episode of Game of Thrones
Season 8.
Get ready for some tense face-offs: Jaime will stand against his sister after turning
his back on her during season 7; the Hound will see his brother, the Mountain; and Daenerys
will enter the room where her father was killed while he sat on the Throne.
History might repeat itself in two of these instances, with Jaime going from Kingslayer
to Queenslayer by ending Cersei's life, and Dany being overcome by her father's influence
and slaughtering her enemies without mercy.
She did it before with Samwell Tarly's brother and father who's to say she won't do it again
when emotions run high in King's Landing?
"The Long Night" is a tough act to follow, but all the pieces are in place for the next
episode of Game of Thrones to be an all-time classic.
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