Arya has great news for Gendry.
Jaime and Brienne respect each other so damn hard.
Tyrion drinks and isn’t sure he knows much of anything anymore.
Great Hall: Jaime is brought before a tribunal to decide his fate.
Jon votes to spare him as well.
We’re very happy Jaime’s going live.
Sansa voted against her.
Jon voted against her.
And Tyrion can’t seem to do anything right since season 6. can’t be too hard to find).
Tyrion and Jaime: Tyrion is kicking himself.
Jaime assures him that Cerise is pregnant for real, something many fans have been skeptical about.
You always knew exactly what she was and you loved her anyway."
Missandei and Grey Worm: Missandei says hello to some northern children and the kids abruptly leave.
Sansa and Dany:Last week Jon suggested to Dany that she just needed to get to know Sansa.
Well, here she is, totally making a solid effort.
Sansa sits straight-backed, practically looking down her nose at Dany.
Dany even takes Sansa’s hand.
They’re holding hands!
This is so weird.
Could it all work out just fine?
Then Sansa just has to ask: “What about the North?”
Which is a valid concern.
The North fought hard for their independence and want to keep it.
They’re interrupted by the return of Theon Greyjoy.
Ah, thinks Dany,one of my loyal allies has returned to my service!
And Theon goes straight into Sansa’s arms and says he wants to fight forher.Great.
Juuuuust great.Yet very smartly constructed, using the obligatory return of a character to sow more division between them.
Strategy meeting: Could this be the last Standing Around a Map scene onGame of Thrones?
If so, it’s a doozy.
Bran reveals the Night King wants to force Westeros into an “endless night.”
“That’s what death is, isn’t it?”
Dragonfire is mentioned but it’s also not clear if dragonfire works on him.
Theon volunteers to guard Bran.
You’d think somebody would say,Um, maybe somebody else?
Any other volunteers?But Theon seems sincere enough.
We’re repeatedly told the crypt is “the safest place.”
You know, the place storing all the corpses when the Army of the Dead is attacking?
That plan seems airtight.
This is one of those Tyrion ideas, isn’t it?
Jaime/Brienne: Jaime asks Brienne “for the honor” of serving under her command in the battle.
We’ve seen Jaime evolve in all sorts of ways throughout the series.
But is this the first time we’ve ever seen the man humble himself before another person?
His arrogance has been a defining trait for so long.
And being a leader in a fight is probably a situation that Jaime would feel most confident about.
Brienne is so shocked she doesn’t even know what to say.
Jaime points out that any knight can make a knight and “I’ll prove it.”
He unsheathes his sword.
And suddenly the whole moment turns and we realize: This isn’t casual chat.
This is now a ceremony.
“Do you want to be a knight or not?”
It’s an incredible scene, a rare moment of pure joy on this show.
I’m not crying, you’re crying!
“I thought about it so much and what it means to me conceptually.
It’s so emotional for the character to get something she wants and to be acknowledged.")
Now in this episode, they’re both becoming the person they’ve always wanted to be.
They meet a girl who has half her face burned off.
Shireen taught both Davos and Gilly to read, yet neither of them knows that.
The Hound, of course, is drinking solo.
Just one of many of the rather heartwarming moments in this hour.
Gendy and Arya: Gendry has made that weapon Arya designed.
She starts asking Gendry some awkward questions, like how many girls he’s slept with.
He tells her three, which seems to be an acceptable number.
He also casually drops that he’s sort-of royalty too, you know.
For somebody who’s not trying to flirt Gendry keeps saying all the right things.
“We’re probably going to die soon,” Arya says.
“I want to know what it’s like before it happens.”
They kiss and Arya gets undressed.
Gendry sees all her scars and is a bit stunned.
Clearly, this is not the same girl he met all those years ago.
Some thoughts: Arya has always been focused on survival and training and revenge.
She’s never been remotely interested in sex.
She likes him well enough.
He’s olderbut not that much older.
Arya wants to experience this whole sex thing before she might die.
Since her training in season 1, Arya’s internal mantra has been “Not Today.”
Well, tomorrow might be Today.
So what do you do the night before Today?
Should we look away?
There are other ways to show strengthlike being totally vulnerable with another person.
Now here’s Arya and Robert’s son Gendry getting together.
The camera cuts away as they get closer and we don’t see any more.
But if Gendry’s rowing and running prowess is any indication, Arya probably had a good time.
They’re about to break it up and Tyrion wants everybody to stay together a bit longer.
Tyrion is speaking for all of us here.
Can’t we have more?
DoesGame of Throneshave to end?
And more specifically: Does this have to be the last episode of all these characters together?
Because we know this massive battle isn’t going to happen without killing some of them, right?
Many somebodies?Allthe bodies?
Martin’s books only with mostly original lyrics here.
Iron Throne!Iron fking Throne?!
There’s a lot of strong emotions playing out on both characters' faces here.
And that’s our time!
The Army of the Dead is at the gates.
It’s the final season guys, gotta get the action moving again.
Is that your idea of a pep talk?
Not even lie, in this case.
Couldn’t Jon even hold off a bit longer on telling the truth?
That’s an excellent question.
Plus we’ll have our podcast up later Monday.
Each week during the season we’re giving away three bundle packs of multiple goodies from theHBO Store.
This week: Bundles of four Tyrion items.
Just answer a trivia question that will be in the recap.
This week’s question: How many times has Peter Dinklage been nominated for an Emmy forGoT?
