Hey everyone, welcome back to another review for the 8th and final season of Game of Thrones,
looking at Episode 2, titled A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
Okay, so where to begin with this one, as a super fan of the series I of course loved
seeing all the characters interacting and spending time together on the night before
the battle, but at the same time I’m already so heavily invested in these characters that
I was hoping more story development, as I felt this episode slowed down the momentum
they created from the first episode.
I get that this was basically a deep breath before plunging into the misery and despair
of the approaching battle, but for me at this point I just wanted the story to move forward.
But that being said I still very much enjoyed the episode, as, for me at least, it contained
some of the most emotional moments in the entire series.
So diving into my top 5 moments of the night, I’ll start at the very end, with Jon and
Dany in the crypts of Winterfell, discussing his true origins as the son of Lyanna Stark
and Rhaegar Targaryen.
I hated this scene, but still had to include it in my top 5 moments because of how impactful
it was to the story.
I have nothing against how the scene was made from a production stand point, but I do have
problem with Jon revealing a secret that important and devastating moments before they had to
fight for their lives.
The only justification I can think of, is that Jon might not be able to fight at his
best if he’s burdened by the stress of holding onto his secret, but by telling Dany all he
did was pass that stress onto her, a dragonrider who, aside from perhaps Bran, might be the
most crucial person in the entire battle.
To me this felt another easily avoiadable mistake from the Stark men, like watching
Ned when he told Cersei about his plans to expose the truth about her children, or watching
Robb marry Talisa instead of the Frey girl.
I can only hope that it works out better for Jon then it did the others.
At number 4 there was a scene I enjoyed infinitely more and that was watching little Lyanna Mormont
telling her cousin Jorah to piss off when he tried to stop her from fighting in the
battle.
It seems impossible not to love this girl who, in my view is the biggest badass on the
show since Khal Drogo.
Give her a few years and a few more battles under her belt and she’ll be unstoppable.
Although the interaction between Sam and Jorah that followed was more important to the story,
it was Lyanna’s moment that stole the scene, made even better when she stopped herself
before leaving to wish Jorah good fortune, because it’s great to see that beneath that
tough exterior she does have a good heart and cares for her family.
At the number 3 spot I choose Jon’s war council before the battle, where our heroes
gathered to discuss their plan.
While I loved seeing so many of my favourite characters in a room together, it was pretty
heart breaking thinking about how many of them will be likely be killed in the next
episode, a feeling that was lurking in the background of every scene.
Their plan to lure the Night King out in the open doesn’t quite make sense to me, as
I don’t see why the Night King would risk attacking bran in the middle of the battle,
when he can simply surround the castle, defeat them, and then kill bran once it’s over.
But since Bran came up with the plan and he has experience with the enemy leader, maybe
he knows the Night King is arrogant or impulsive and will not be willing to wait.
I was also a bit confused as to why they didn’t discuss the enemy dragon in more detail, but
maybe it’s assumed the other dragons will take care of him.
At the number 2 spot, there was the scene that almost made it to number 1 because I
loved it so much, and that was seeing the night’s watch veterans Jon, Ghost, Sam and
Edd all gathered together one last time.
Discussing the how far they’d come and the friends they’d lost, in this moment it seemed
no bond in all the world was stronger than that of these 4 individuals, who’d been
together since they were first recruited into the Night’s Watch, were among the first
in the seven kingdoms to face the white walkers in battle, and were now leading the effort
to save humanity from the coming darkness.
Although both Jon and Edd have changed a lot, nothing is more impressive than Sam’s transformation
from a self proclaimed coward who couldn’t hold a sword to the first man to kill a white
walker, proudly listing his accomplishments before demanding a place in the final battle.
Also ghost is back, which is awesome, though he definitely deserves more screentime.
And finally for my number one moment of the night, I choose the scene which inspired the
title of the episode, when Brienne of Tarth finally fulfilled her lifelong dream and became
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
There’s a lot to say about this one, so first of all, just as a beloved character
I nearly had tears in my eyes seeing how happy she was at the end of the scene.
As far as I can tell there were two moments in her life where she accomplished lifelong
pursuits, the first was when she was named Kingsguard to Renly Baratheon.
This was no doubt the honor of her life up to that point, but unfortunately she had no
one to share it with.
Although the King was fond of her, they weren’t close enough to be friends, and everyone else
looked at her with contempt because she insisted on being a warrior and refused to accept the
traditional role of a noble lady.
But this time, not only was she fulfilling her dream of becoming a Knight but she was
being knighted by one of the most famous warriors in the kingdom who asked to serve under her
command, and was surrounded her by friends who respected her and even a not so secret
admirer, allowing her to fully embrace the joy of the moment, and genuinely smile for
perhaps the first time in the entire series.
Now aside from that there is also the historical context of this scene which makes it even
more interesting, as Brienne of Tarth, in the books at least, is a descendant of Ser
Duncan the Tall, a famous Knight who mentored a young targaryen prince nicknamed Egg, who
grew up to be King Aegon V.
There stories, known as the Tales of Dunk and Egg, were combined in a book titled A
Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which makes it pretty amazing that his descendant Brienne
was continuing his legacy.
They also shared another similarity, as some say Ser Duncan the Tall was never actually
Knighted, and lied about it for all his life, meaning that before this scene, both Brienne
and Dunk were great warriors that should have been knights but technically were not.
Yet another interesting note about this connection, is that Ser Duncan the Tall and his King Aegon
V both died in the tragedy of summerhall, during a failed attempt to hatch dragon eggs.
As Summerhall burned, Ser Duncan died heroically saving the king’s grandson Aerys and granddaughter
Rhaella, who was pregnant and gave birth to Rhaegar Targaryen soon after.
Among those in attendance at this tragic event, was a woman known as Jenny of Old Stones a
friend of the woodswitch who prophesied that a prince that was promised would be born from
the line of Aerys and Rhaella Targaryen, who were the parents of Rhaegar and Daenerys and
grandparents of Jon Snow.
Jenny was a common girl but married Prince Duncan the Small, a son of Aegon V, and so
the sad song which Podrick Payne sang while they were gathered by the fire, was about
Jenny of Old Stones who was there at Summerhall and saw the deaths of the people she loved.
Although no one died in this episode, the best kill of the night goes to Tormund’s
story about killing a giant at the age of ten before being fed giants milk by his wife.
As the story got increasingly crazier and everyone looked at him with confusion, I couldn’t
help but think that this story probably kills with Wildling women.
For the best line of the night, we go back to Jon, Ghost, Sam and Edd on the wall, after
recounting all they’d survived and the friends who were gone, Edd says in a voice both proud
and sad, “last man left, burn the rest of us.”
Exploring more interesting moments and some final thought before giving my score, when
Arya was in bed with Gendry a thought came to me, and was combined with a feeling a got
while Tyrion was talking to Jaime about ripping Cersei apart once he was a undead wight.
I think it may be possible that after Tyrion of Jaime is dead, Arya will take their face,
go to Kings landing and kill the Queen.
But after that, I think she may reunite with Gendry who will then kill her, and take off
his face to reveal he is a faceless man, settling their outstanding business, and that the real
Gendry died during the approaching battle.
I also got the feeling that even if Dany survives the battle, she is not going to be queen of
the seven kingdoms.
Since coming to westeros almost no one has welcomed her, aside from a few noblemen who
want to win her favour.
Everyone else looks at her as a foreign conqueror rather then the rightful queen, and I got
that feeling again this episode, as her attempt to make peace with Sansa failed, her subject
Theon came back not for her but for Sansa and the Starks, those truly loyal to her like
Grey Worm and Missandei also feel uncomfortable and want to leave these lands, and in the
end she even learned that she is not the rightful heir to the iron throne.
As much as I don’t like the Targaryens, I do like Dany and its pretty sad seeing her
work so hard all her life to return to a land she thought was her home, only to be rejected
at every turn.
Finally I just want to make some last minute predictions about who I think will survive
the battle of Winterfell in the next episode.
Going into episode 3, my gut is telling me that most of our heroes will die, but those
that survive will be Tyrion, Arya, Daenerys, Sansa, Daavos, Lyanna Mormont who will inherit
the sword heartsbane, Missandei but not Greyworm, Varys, and Sam Tarly, who will then find and
burn the bodies of his friends jon and edd.
As for the dragons I think they will die, as will the direwolf Ghost and even Nymeria,
who I think will appear during the battle with an army of wolves to help Arya and the
Stark Army.
Now for the overall I gave this episode a solid 8.5 out of 10, only losing some points
because the story stalled a bit, but even so as a fab this was very worthwhile and rewarding
episode to watch.
So that’s my opinion, but what did you guys think, be sure to let me know in the comments
and remember to check out the episode and season recaps to get caught up on what happened,
which can all be found in my channel playlists, and if you haven’t already why not check
out the neww book The Thrones Effect, written by a number of ASOIAF youtubers with Chapter
5, titled Eye of the Beholder, written by Civilization Ex.
If interested, click on the link in the description box below, where The Thrones Effect is currently
available as an ebook, while the physical copy and audiobook will be released soon.
But that’s all for now guys, have a great week and I’ll see you next time.