Just like the past two episodes, episode eight of Game of Thrones was fairly slow as not many major twists and turns came about like we saw earlier this season with Jon Snow’s resurrection or the death of Hodor. However, this episode did set up massive implications for the rest of season six.
Additionally, if anything is for certain, every Reddit theory you’ve read about Game of Thrones this season is false and won’t be coming true after this week’s episode. Let’s take a closer look as to why.
ACROSS THE NARROW SEA…
Specifically in Braavos: Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark, told reporters back in April she thought fans would be disappointed with her storyline this season.
In episode eight, we see Arya seek out the help of Lady Crane (RIP) in order to heal her stab wounds. Arya does just that, but also gets Lady Crane killed by the Waif (RIP). This leads to Arya eventually killing the Waif and then telling Jaqen H’ghar, screw you, I’m going home, after truly being invited to join the faceless men.
That summary of Arya’s plot in season six episode eight probably could’ve been more detailed, but then again, what really else is there to add because that’s exactly what happened. While it would’ve been awesome to see Arya battle the Waif, having them fight in the dark tells us that if Arya has learned anything over the last 16 episodes — since she entered the House of Black and White in season five, episode two — it’s that she can fight in the dark and that’s about it… for now.
Specifically in Meereen: Tyrion, we’ve missed you. The “world’s most famous dwarf” had to say goodbye to Varys as he’s on a journey back to Westeros (more on that later). This led Tyrion back to the pyramid where he finally got Grey Worm and Missandei to open up and drink some wine.
After their friendly little chat, the trio looked at a green screen — I mean, a siege by the Masters. But actually, the CGI done to create those ships attacking Meereen was absolutely fantastic and, in my opinion, some of the best CGI done on the show thus far.
Absolutely out of nowhere during the siege, Dany comes back. While many people may complain this was all a little bit rushed, as it’s stretched out in the books, it’s important to keep in mind that there are still two episodes left in the season and Dany still has no ships. Therefore, she could be in Meereen for a little bit longer dealing with the Masters. On top of that, there were clips of the Sons of the Harpy attacking Meereen in trailers before the season that we haven’t seen this season yet.
IN KING’S LANDING…
It’s truly surprising that anyone, especially a little Sparrow, would try and attack the Mountain. Just look at the size of him? Well, we finally heard Cersei’s well publicized and promoted line “I choose violence,” and it resulted in a Sparrow’s head being ripped off with ease.
Out of all that happened in King’s Landing, the most important set of lines are what Qyburn told Cersei after King Tommen announced there would no longer be trial by combat allowed in the Seven Kingdoms. The rumor Qyburn is speaking of is most likely the wildfire being stored all across King’s Landing. The way it plays out in the books (SPOILERS BEWARE) is that Cersei is so fed up with Tyrion escaping, that she uses the wildfire originally stored under King’s Landing by the Mad King to blow up the Tower of the Hand because she suspects Tyrion is hiding there. Some people believe this instead will be adapted in the TV show as Cersei blowing up a different building in King’s Landing where many of her enemies will be.
Two plus two = it’s easy to understand what her plan from here on out is, thanks to Qyburn’s help if you read between the lines. Kaboom.
IN THE RIVERLANDS…
It’s nice to see the Hound back doing what he does best, beating the living crap out of people. Now that he’s back to his violent self, the Hound kills four members of the Brotherhood before stumbling along our old friends Beric Dondarrion and Thoros of Myr.
It was genuinely surprising to see these men again as the last time they appeared on screen was way back in season three episode seven. But after a long hiatus, it’s nice to see the Hound is possibly joining forces with them to hunt down some of their joint enemies.
Also in Riverrun, believe it or not, was the siege of Riverrun and House Tully. It was great to see Bronn back at it with Pod, although it was even better to see Jamie and Brienne of Tarth hashing things out again.
This was another journey that seemed like a little bit of a waste of time, unless Brienne runs into an old friend, but once again, more on that later. Overall, it seemed like Brienne didn’t really accomplish anything at the moment on her journey South other than give the Blackfish a couple extra hours to live. Riverrun is back in the hands of the Freys and Lannisters and Brienne going back up North to protect Sansa.
IT IS KNOWN…
Just like last week, this episode had a very narrow focus and the storylines were pretty simple at first glance. That’s why the recap above was very straightforward and to the point. On top of that, that’s why I’ll expand into potential theories broken up in this episode, and why a lot of what happened could end up making the final two episodes two of the best yet.
First across the Narrow Sea, because let’s just get that out of the way. Arya’s storyline had a lot of potential and could’ve been very interesting. But it’s hard to ignore that the last two seasons for Arya felt like a massive waste of time. What really did she learn? And if she did learn something, why was she able to break all of the supposed rules of the Faceless Men and yet still got an invitation to join them?
As for Meereen and Dany and company, the siege has started and could get worse, but it’s hard to not keep thinking about how many ships the masters sailed into the city with. If they dock those ships and Dany’s Khalasar arrives shortly after he, their timing will be beyond perfect. The Khalasar, three dragons, unsullied, and second sons should be more than enough to not only stop the siege, but potentially take over those ships and finally get Dany sailing towards Westeros.
Before we move away from Meereen, it’s important to go back to the short scene between Varys and Tyrion. Varys made it clear that he is sailing to Westeros to gather support for Dany. But who would support her? The Martells, that’s who. During Robert’s Rebellion when Dany’s family was overthrown, the Martells supported the Targaryens. Since the beginning of the show, the Martells haven’t really been involved in most of the big battles. As a result, they have a massive army that could be of use to Dany once she sails West.
Moving on to King’s Landing, Cersei won’t be able to use the Mountain for trial by combat, but that doesn’t matter to her. To add up the 2+2 equation laid out earlier, one can assume the rumor Qyburn and her spoke of in terms of the wildfire will be used to potentially blow up the throne room during her trial in front of the High Sparrows. If that’s the case, it could be a massive curveball thrown by the writers because one would assume King Tommen would be in there along with possibly Queen Margaery.
As for Reddit and other websites where Game of Thrones theories are discussed, there’s long been a theory that Cersei would be able to choose trial by combat to decide her faith. Before the battle, she would choose the Mountain to be her champion. As for the faith? Well, after last week’s episode, many thought the Hound would go back to King’s Landing and be the faith’s champion, thus setting up CLEGANEBOWL. Sadly, that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore now that trial by combat is banned in the seven kingdoms.
Another big theory being talked about not just on Reddit, but among fans everywhere, is where on Earth is Lady Stoneheart. For those who don’t know who Lady Stoneheart (LSH) is, stop reading now, but just in case you won’t stop, her real name won’t be used here. Anyway, with LSH constantly being mentioned by her real name in nearly every storyline AND the return of the Brotherhood, many people thought LSH would finally arrive in Game Of Thrones this week or at least by now. After all, she did first pop up at the end of the third book, A Storm of Swords, in George R.R. Martin’s series.
Overall, episode eight wasn’t as exciting as most this season, but it did potentially set us up for Lady Stoneheart (thanks to the return of Beric, Thoros, and the rest of the Brotherhood), Arya’s return to Westeros, Cersei going kaboom, and Dany’s sailing West. If all of that isn’t exciting enough to make this episode a little bit better, than I don’t know what to tell you.
AND NOW THEIR WATCH IS ENDED:
Six members of the Brotherhood, a Sparrow, one would assume some Tully soldiers, one would assume massive amounts of people in Meereen, Lady Crane, the Waif, and the Blackfish.
