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| (Photo Credit: HBO) |
Game of Thrones
Season 8, Episode 2
By Garrett Yoshitomi
With the final season of Game of Thrones featuring a shortened episode count, coming into season eight, it felt as if every remaining episode would need to be jam packed with Hardhome-esque battle sequences and rapid-fire character development, in order to wrap up all the show's scattered, yet pivotal loose ends in a satisfying way. However, the first episode of season eight was methodical in its pacing, setting the table for the season to come, rather than overtly advancing the plot. Season eight, episode two, ‘A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms,’ follows suit in this regard, as it spends most of its time focusing on character development, through a series of reunions between the characters whom we’ve grown to love over the past eight years, as they all prepare for what could be their final stand.
Unlike in last week’s episode, where the character reunions functioned more as a practical way to touch base with the show’s major chess pieces, the reunions in ‘A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms’ are lighthearted in nature (and occasionally outright humorous), allowing viewers to reconnect with characters in an emotional sense – a conscious outcome designed to raise the dramatic tension and increase our already high investment in what should be Game of Thrones’ most lethal battle, yet. Somewhat paradoxically, it’s the fact that our heroes are well aware of their impending doom that causes them to loosen up with each other in the face of what could be their last night together. There’s something about an air of “we’re all going to die anyway” that makes it much easier to throw caution to the white winds.
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| (Photo Credit: HBO) |
Amidst all these touching character moments, however, it’s the golden lion himself, Jaime Lannister, who ends up stealing the show. Jaime’s arrival at Winterfell was teased at the end of the season premiere, and we get to dive right into the consequences of his arrival, as this week’s episode tees off with Jaime confronting a council of Daenerys, Jon, and Sansa. For the first time since season two, Jaime is forced to answer for his role in Ned Stark’s death and the atrocities his house committed against the Starks during the War of the Five Kings. While Jaime’s come a long way since his smarmy, child crippling days of season one, this scene is a nice reminder that even events that happened at the beginning of the series can still have far-flung consequences, and The North remembers.
Ultimately though, Jaime has changed since the start of the series, and his growth is rewarded when Brienne of Tarth, (in some ways the catalyst for this growth), vouches for the man who once saved her life, convincing Sansa, Jon, and Daenerys to spare the former Kingslayer. The rest of this episode effectively functions as Jaime’s own personal highlight reel, as Nikolaj Coster-Waldau earns episode MVP honors for bringing out the best in other actors in every scene he’s in. Whether he’s serving as the affable straight man to Peter Dinklage’s half-drunk Tyrion, or bringing just the right amount of levity to his scenes with the noble Gwendoline Christie, throughout the episode, Coster-Waldau’s earnest charm proves capable of both carrying scenes, as well as fading into the background just enough to let the rest of the cast shine.
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| (Photo Credit: HBO) |
Nowhere is this more evident than when Jaime knights Brienne in what could be the scene of the episode. Jaime and Brienne have a complex, but incredibly endearing, relationship that traces all the way back to season two. The two have been “shipped” romantically by fans far and wide, and while nothing has ever materialized onscreen, at the very least they’ve both demonstrated the kind of genuine mutual appreciation for each other that’s hard to come by in Game of Thrones. Despite her initial protests during the Great Hall scene, Brienne has always wanted to become a knight, but as she clarifies for Tormund, Westerosi tradition forbids it for women. Not only is this scene visually moving, amazingly well-scored, and well-acted, but it also perfectly captures Game of Thrones’ unparalleled ability to provide a meaningful pay-off to two characters’ storylines almost a decade in the making. If you want a scene that’s emotionally the polar opposite of the Red Wedding, this is probably it.
Unfortunately, this episode isn’t quite as kind to Tyrion as it is to his older brother. At the beginning of the series, Tyrion is established as a character who’s able to escape sticky situations and best his foes with cleverness, rather than physical force. In other words, he has a skillset deftly suited to both playing, and winning, the game of thrones. Tyrion reaches the zenith of his power in season two, when he’s named Hand of the King to his nephew, Joffrey, and eventually leads the Lannister army to victory over Stannis Baratheon’s failed assault on King’s Landing. Although Tyrion’s impact on the battle goes unacknowledged by characters in the show, viewers know that Tyrion’s bravery and wit are what helped turn the tide of the Battle of the Blackwater.
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| (Photo Credit: HBO) |
But, it wouldn’t be Game of Thrones if characters’ fortunes weren’t viciously turned on their heads at a moment’s notice, and since that point in season two, Tyrion’s political influence has been on a slow but sure descent, eventually culminating in his self-imposed exile from Westeros after murdering his father, Tywin. Eventually, Tyrion does see his status rise again, once he finds himself in the council of Daenerys in Meereen. However, even then, Tyrion still could not escape his ever-expanding list of failures. Since joining Dany in season five, Tyrion has managed to botch the negotiations with the slave masters of Meereen in season six; made several strategic miscalculations in season seven, leading to the major military loses of the Iron Islands, Dorne, and Highgarden; and more recently, underestimated his hated sister, Cersei, believing that she would actually agree to a ceasefire while the North was fighting the White Walkers, when in reality she’s been building up her forces with 20,000 hired swords from the Golden Company.
After Jaime confirms that Cersei will not be sending Lannister reinforcements north, Daenerys lashes out at Tyrion for getting duped, and points out all of his recent failures, leading him to believe that she will soon replace him as her Hand, with either Jorah Mormont or Varys. However, thanks to some surprising convincing by a mildly reluctant Jorah, Dany decides to forgive Tyrion, and publicly expresses a vote of confidence in his abilities during the battle planning scene in the Winterfell war room. Dany, again at the suggestion of Jorah, also opts to try a softer approach when it comes to mending fences with Sansa Stark. The two share a pleasant scene bonding over their experiences as women rulers and making short jokes about Jon. Twice in one episode, Daenerys is talked down from anger, and persuaded into pursuing the diplomatic path, rather than the “burn people alive” path.
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| (Photo Credit: HBO) |
As I mentioned in my review from last week, Dany will be one of the crucial players in the end game of Game of Thrones, and her ability to forgive and compromise will play a big role in how her story turns out. If given the proper council, Dany clearly possesses the capacity to charm and placate, but at this point it’s probably not her first instinct when something doesn’t go her way. When it comes to smaller scale issues of managing her relationships with her allies and advisors, Dany can afford initial missteps, as long as she eventually works things out as diplomatically as possible. But what happens with bigger issues that can’t just be smoothed over with a smile and some polite conversation? Two such issues are raised with Dany in this episode, and both time she’s interrupted before she can provide an answer.
From a storytelling perspective, I think this actually bodes well for Dany, and it’s telling that the writers would choose to prevent her from responding in what likely would have been an overly displeased way. Simply put, by interrupting Dany from initially reacting in anger, the writers are serendipitously giving her the time she needs to come to the kind of level-headed conclusion that this episode clearly demonstrates she’s capable of arriving at. Dany’s not blind to the benefits of negotiation. In season six, she wisely granted the Iron Islands their independence in exchange for Yara and Theon Greyjoy’s fleet, and the same outcome could be on the table for Sansa and the North. On the other hand, whether or not she cedes her claim to the Iron Throne to Jon is entirely uncharted territory and remains to be seen. But, given the emphasis this episode places on Dany’s willingness to compromise, I’m not quite ready to write this off as a possibility for the Mother of Dragons, just yet.
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| (Photo Credit: HBO) |
Next week’s episode marks the halfway point of the last season of Game of Thrones, as well as the first extended episode of the season, clocking in at one hour and twenty-two minutes, the longest episode of season eight. Before the end credits could even drop on episode two, though, fans had already started deciphering every line of every scene to try and figure out which characters had just spent their final night among the living. It’s no exaggeration that next week’s episode will be one for the ages. With Miguel Sapochnik, director of Hardhome and Battle of the Bastards, at the helm, and rumors circulating that episode three will feature the longest battle ever to be filmed in television and movie history, it’s quite possible that we could be in store for one of the greatest episodes of television ever.
