Game of Thrones 8.2 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms'
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All problems in Game of Thrones can be boiled down to one simple point: Lyanna Stark makes people stupid. And by people, I mean men. Not only did Robert Baratheon launch a kingdom-ripping rebellion over her, but even decades after her death, simply standing iGame of Thrones 8.2 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms'
All problems in Game of Thrones can be boiled down to one simple point: Lyanna Stark makes people stupid. And by people, I mean men. Not only did Robert Baratheon launch a kingdom-ripping rebellion over her, but even decades after her death, simply standing in front of Lyanna’s statue is still the go-to place for people to make very poor political decisions. And by people, I mean Jon Snow. This week’s outing in Game of Thrones was all about the calm before the storm. We know the Night King and his endless supply of ice zombies is coming. Everyone in Winterfell knows they’re coming. And quite early in the episode, the timeline for coming Battle of Winterfell is set—everyone, and everything, stands a very good chance of being dead before the dawn. That gives every character a chance to take the stage for a moment and have one—possibly—last chance to show us who they have become over the course of seven plus seasons. Some of these are spot on: Tormund Giantsbane gets to tell a tall tale about the origin of his name, and to leer appreciatively at Brienne. Jaime and Tyrion get to admit to each other that their days of wanton incest and carefree debauchery, respectively, are behind them. And in what might be the most touching moment of an episode chockablock with tender glances and rueful last statements, Brienne of Tarth kneels on the cold stones of Winterfell and is made a knight of the seven kingdoms by the man who knows all about losing … and regaining … the honor that knighthood is supposed to embody. Oh, and Arya has sex. Which is a perfectly acceptable response to impending doom, and a much better option than setting around with a morose Sandor Clegane and a preachy Beric Dondarrion, both of whom are former members of Arya’s bedtime Kill List. However, let us say thanks that the producers of Game of Thrones for once restricted themselves to shots of Arya’s scarred back … because for those of us who have just finished rewatching the whole series, a girl is perpetually twelve. Despite all these moments ranging from sex to introspection to drunkeness to drunken introspective sex, the episode sometimes falls flat when it comes to making the audience feel the impending doom coming closer by the moment. Soldiers have long had the saying that their job is long stretches of boredom interrupted by rare moments of sheer terror, but even knowing that one of those rarities is right ahead doesn’t make the boredom a whole lot more interesting. However, there are a number of instances in the episode whose impact will surely echo even after the local scramble against the deadites is done. Assuming, as the increasingly slappable Bran puts in doubt, there is an after. Read more