Game of Thrones 8.4 — “The Last of the Starks” Episode Guide
NED STARK KEPT THE MOST IMPORTANT SECRET FOR NEARLY TWENTY YEARS AND SANSA COULDN’T KEEP HER MOUTH SHUT FOR ONE DAY.
Sean: Start on a high note. End on a high note. In between? We have some THOUGHTS.
Quick editorial note up top: We’re doing things somewhat differently this week. Normally we do a scene-by-scene breakdown, but due to the whiplash in quality we felt, this week we’re going to look more generally at the highlights, lowlights and midlights.
Opening Thoughts
Sean: I think my biggest issue with this episode is one that has plagued Game of Thrones in the past (I first heard it on the Nerdette Recaps with Peter Sagal podcast, so shout-out to them). This issue is that very often the characters don’t make the smart or rational decision in the moment (or the one that seems smart or rational to the character). They often make really DUMB decisions for no other reason than to move the plot forward or allow the show to include a cool moment. And the part that’s really frustrating about this is that these same characters often DO make the smart/rational decisions. So them making dumb decisions feels very out of place. Also, many times the smart/rational decision could lead to some interstitial scenes that give the story time to breathe and develop.
Example: A rational thing for Dany to do after the Battle of Winterfell is, as Sansa and others point out, just chill and recover for a minute. Or slowly march down to Kings Landing over land. It is NOT to, once again, split her forces. Remember what happened the last time she did that, way back in Season 7? A large part of her army was ambushed at sea by a pirate and everal seemingly important characters died! Well, good thing Dany will never make that mistake aga… oh, goddammit. An extra week or so in Winterfell could also help make Dany’s “everyone like Jon more than me” thing develop more gradually. It could allow us time to see Sansa telling Tyrion that Jon Snow is actually Aegon VI feel more like a plan (as stated in the post-episode interviews) and less like a “gah, I just gotta get this out” moment (what it seemed to me). Taking more time could give the nascent Brienne and Jaime relationship time to develop as an actual thing. Or even if you buy that she would split her forces again, let Dany get back to Dragonstone, think her plan is working and THEN have Rhaegal shot down during an initial scouting flight to Kings Landing. Everything seems so rushed and people are making dumb decisions because of it.
Mike: My thoughts after watching this episode:
IF I WANTED BAD POLITICS I’D WATCH SEASONS 5–7 OF THE WEST WING
This is a question worth asking:
Mike: I agree with your core points here! My biggest TV show pet peeves are improper pacing and characters making dumb decisions to advance the plot (check and check). However, tactics aside (a big aside), I understand why Dany didn’t want to wait. She’s been on thin ice since arriving in Winterfell. Now that Jorah is dead, Dany only has Jon and Tyrion as friends, and those relationships are fractured at best. She received little to no credit for her contributions to the Battle of Winterfell, and since Jon told Dany the Aegon news, every second Dany waits in Winterfell is a second too long. Again, she should wait longer until their collective army heals, but she really can’t afford to in my opinion.
Sean: Yeah, I mean, I get it. But I also feel like if we had a normal 10-episode season that they could have had the big “I’m setting out as soon as is reasonable!” conversation at the end of E4 and then E5 they leave or are on the boats and that week of real-time would give things time to breathe narratively speaking.
Mike: Also, Dany is never returning to Winterfell. Even if she wins this thing and takes the Iron Throne. It’s an amicable split 😂
In other news, Cersei was rested and READY this week.
Sean: Yeah, I’m now becoming convinced that whoever wins the Iron Throne, Sansa is gonna rule the North kinda separately and nobody in the rest of Westeros is gonna give a shit.
And Cersei is setting herself up for a classic first-round letdown. She’s been in the lead for so long she hasn’t really had to do much lately and has kinda been coasting. Meanwhile, everyone else has been in do-or-die mode for the last month or so and, in spite of all the recent fatigue, they’re already locked in and ready to go. So basically Cersei is the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Mike: Oof, Tampa Bay. Has a team and a city been so perfectly matched?
Mike: As Sean mentioned at the top, we’re going to switch up the style here and organize the following content like this:
- The Good
- The Bad
- The Funny
- The Awkward
- The WTF
We’ll see how far this goes!
THE GOOD
Sean: The opening pyres scene was FANTASTIC.
Mike: 100%! Dany and Sansa’s performances were incredible. Jorah and Theon killed it as dead people. And Jon’s speech almost had me in tears 😩😭
“We’re here to say goodbye to our brothers and sisters. To our fathers and mothers. To our friends. Our fellow men and women who set aside their differences to fight together and die together so that others might live. Everyone in this world owes them a debt that can never be repaid. It is our duty and our honor to keep them alive in memory for those who come after us and those who come after them for as long as men draw breath. They were the shields that guarded the realms of men. And we shall never see their like again.” — Jon Snow
Sean: Oh yeah. That speech had me like this gif:
My only real complaint about this scene is that the Stark pin thing Sansa puts on Theon’s corpse hadn’t really been established as a thing yet, so I spent a moment going “what is that?” But that was really it.
Mike: Ok, this wasn’t the only good scene of the show, but I do think it was the best scene in the show. There were other funny and WTF moments that could fit in this section but we’re trying to do something new!
THE BAD
HOW DID WHITE PEOPLE LET THIS HAPPEN?
Mike: Normally, we’d post a YouTube scene clip but this was just too graphic. I’ll let the memes speak for themselves:
Mike: And just like last week with the darkest episode in GoT history, another director-level employee decides to not only make excuses, but tell us the show was better because of it!
Counter fuckin point
And THIS point
Game of Thrones is so fuckin lucky Twitter is propping this show up. Look at how Christa Mrgan fixed this scene:
Sean: Yeah, that sendoff was kinda bullshit. I feel like they should have killed Ghost or released him into the wild a few seasons ago and just been done with it. Like, where the fuck was he during the Battle of the Bastards? UGH. Also, they could have done a MUCH better job of explaining WHY the Direwolves are hard to do. I’ve seen plenty of CGI artists and graphic designers explain it of the last few years on twitter — JUST SAY THAT SHIT OFFICIALLY!! People will understand if you don’t just bullshit them!
The coffee cup!
Mike: Ok, we know about the cup by now, but still doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun.
Starbucks jumps in on the fun:
And damn Sansa “Littlefinger” Stark is at it again:
Oh, and OF COURSE D&D we’re in this scene
And this!
Sean: The fact that they quietly deleted it overnight earlier this week shows how easy this was to fix. That nobody caught it until air is NOT GREAT
😡🤬 Dangerous Trope Alert 😡🤬
Hound: Used to be you couldn’t look at me.
Sansa: That was a long time ago. I’ve seen much worse than you since then.
Hound: Yes, I’ve heard. Heard you were broken in. Heard you were broken in rough. And he got what he deserved.
Sansa: I gave it to him.
Hound: How?
Sansa: Hounds.
Hound: [CHUCKLES] You’ve changed, Little Bird.
Sansa: None of it would have happened if you’d left King’s Landing with me. No Littlefinger, no Ramsay none of it. Without Littlefinger, and Ramsay and the rest, I would have stayed a Little Bird all my life.
Mike: Unsurprisingly, GoT fans caught onto this problematic scene quickly:
Sean: It’s WILD, especially given the history with this show and how it’s handled sexual violence in the past, that this made it through as-is without anyone saying something. I’m sure there was a better way to write that line (or that whole exchange) to get across the point they were trying to make. PROBABLY should have a few women in the writers room. Probably.
Really, Tyrion?! Really?!?
It’s a good question
Sean: Uh… she got pregnant? By her twin brother? You know what they say- the fourth time’s the charm *Shrug Emoji*
The Funny
Heartbroken Tormund
Mike: Clarification: Tormund’s broken heart isn’t funny, but his reaction was.
Mike: Tormund is deep in the Drake zone now.
Sean: It’s ok, Tormund. We’ve all been there. At least you have very good dog to keep you company now.
Mike: Yeah, not like it’s a competition or anything, but I think between Tormund and Brienne, Tormund is on top right now.
Another point: If we’re being honest, Tormund’s game was mad creepy and unsurprisingly resulted in Brienne not giving him a real chance.
That’s Not Me
Mike: Arya had to let Gendry know what’s what!
Mike: All jokes aside, Arya has been telegraphing this move for awhile.
🚨 Callback Alert x 2 🚨
“No, that’s not me.” — Arya, Season 1
Arya-Nymeria Reunion, Season 7
“Nymeria, it’s me, Arya. I’m heading north, girl. Back to Winterfell. I’m finally going home. Come with me. Come with me…That’s not you.” — Arya
Mike: Unfortunately, Gendry wasn’t present in these two scenes and I think that would have really helped him here.
Tyrion joins the latest dance craze
Mike: For the uninitiated, the “Woah” dance is below. I’ll be honest, I still don’t know what the definitive version is because this video has 45 different ones. If you know, tell me please.
Queen Cersei, Protector of the Realm, Stealer of Late Night Fast Food Happiness
You are NOT the father, Euron
Mike: Which leads to my favorite memes of the episode:
Emo Dany
Mike: Dany was MAD into her feels. Trust me, I get it. Thankfully, I’m not one to go drink because I’m sad, but I AM one to get sad when I drink 🤷🏿♂️ IT’S NOT A GOOD COMBO, DANY.
Also, this is scene just sucks because, again… JON DIDN’T DO SHIT. Besides riding Rhaegal after Dany took initiative to help the ground forces and distracting the Night King a couple times, his scorecard is real bare. Yet, here we are giving props to Jon just for getting on a damn dragon. It’s fucked up.
Sean: Yeah, Dany could have definitely pushed back on that. Or even one of his sisters. HE’S ALWAYS FUCKING UP AND NOBODY REALLY REMEMBERS!!
The Awkward
The Thrones of Our Lives
Mike: Game of Thrones goes daytime soap! Seriously, you put this on CBS right after Price Is Right, throw in some of that horrible smooth scrolling cinematography and you have a three decade powerhouse in the making. YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT WORLD BUIL —
Ok, got off track here. My bad.
There’s just a lot going on in this scene:
- You’re related! And tipsy (or drunk)! And you’re both hot! MUCH CONFLICT
- Should Dany just give up her multi-year quest (filled with death, deceit, and sacrifice) to become Queen because her nephew has a better claim AND DOESN’T EVEN WANT THE THRONE? I don’t think so.
- But Jon’s whole life has been dictated by secrets kept from him (for good reason I may add), so his reward after learning his true identity is to take up the Ned Stark silence throne? As much as we want Jon to stop telling the truth at the worst possible moments, we know he ain’t gonna listen to us.
- Remember, both characters are in impossible situations and everything is bad so just get used to it!
Sean: Yeah, this scene was a lot of info dump in very little time. Another one where having more episodes could let these points develop a bit more. It all still feels rushed.
Mike: A-greed.
WTF Bronn?
Mike: I love me so Bronn Bronn, but I think this is another casualty of trying to squeeze every storyline into six episodes. This scene did not feel well-placed at all IMO. So Bronn just happens to get to Winterfell right after the battle? Did he get there too early and decide to just chill out with some binoculars? I’ll give him and the showrunners the belief that he was able to slip into Winterfell undetected while everyone’s celebrating but that’s where the believability stops for me.
Sean: This is becoming a cliche for me, but THIS IS ANOTHER SCENE THAT WOULD MAKE A BUNCH MORE SENSE IF EVERYTHING WEREN’T SO COMPRESSED INTO 6 EPISODES. Like, I THINK this inn or whatever is supposed to be in WinterTown, the town OUTSIDE Winterfell. But that hasn’t been effectively established. ONE MORE SCENE IS ALL IT WOULD TAKE.
Mike: One positive note: I loved when Bronn called out Jaime and the Lannister family double standard:
Bronn: The way I see it, I only need one of the Lannister brothers alive.
Jaime: Highgarden will never belong to a cutthroat.
Bronn: No? Who were your ancestors, the ones who made your family rich? Fancy lads in silk? They were fucking cutthroats. That’s how all the great houses started, isn’t it? With a hard bastard who was good at killing people.Kill a few hundred people, they make you a lord. Kill a few thousand, they make you king. And then all your cocksucking grandsons can ruin the family with their cocksucking ways. Highgarden.
If you don’t know about Lann the Clever and the start of House Lannister, check out this video (narrated by Jaime Lannister)! It will not surprise you.
I SWEAR IT
Mike: I love how Jon builds and builds and builds the setup, only to be like, “Bran you tell ‘em.” 😂💀 However, I do like that Bran had to eventually spill the beans to someone important after he made Sam tell Jon in the Season 8 premiere.
Sean: Yeah, it’s time Bran actually had to do some of the heavy lifting here.
Mike: Also, I respect Sansa and Arya pushing back on Jon for swearing to something they don’t even know yet. I mean, sure, he’s my “brother” but I have no clue what you’re going to tell me.
Even with all that, respect to Arya for not saying shit. She just peaced with the Hound 😂
Mike: Arya and the Hound back together again! 😍 CLEGANE BOWL IS BACK ON! ⚔️ Arya’s going to King’s Landing to kill Cersei (but I don’t think she’s gonna be able to do it 😬😱)
Meanwhile…
SANSA HAD ONE JOB
Sean: Yet ANOTHER example of something that would make more sense if… you know what, y’all get it by now.
Mike: Hahaha yes. But we can say what we want because 7.4 people read these reviews each week. All that being said, the way Sansa broke the news to Tyrion made sense to me.
I see it a couple ways: her waffling nature at the beginning of the scene was most likely to her struggling to betray Jon’s trust. There are at least three examples from prior episodes of Sansa having misgivings about the way Jon wants to do things, so that’s factored in here as well. Ultimately, she decided to go against Jon’s wishes and support him for the Iron Throne over Dany.
Even though her delivery didn’t come off as Littlefinger-esque as possible, she won’t be shocked to learn that half of Westeros knows about the secret before Jon gets to King’s Landing.
Treason (treason, treason, treason-son-son-on….)
Mike: Get it? It’s an echo because they’re talking treasonous shit in a GoTDAMN THRONE ROOM. Look, Varys makes a lot of sense until you realize that he’s backed and supported a lot of bad leaders. His words don’t match his resume. 🔥 BURN HIM DANY 🔥
Sean: Basically the two smartest political actors left in the Seven Kingdoms TALKING TREASON IN THE THRONE ROOM WHAT THE FUCK ARE Y’ALL DOING???
Mike: DEAD
HOW DO YOU NOT EXPECT EURON TO SURPRISE YOU?
Sean: I mean, it’s not like Euron surprised you in the middle of the night last season, wiping out most of the fleet and killing or taking captive several key allies. WHY WOULD YOU BE WORRIED?
Or was Dany set up?!
Mike: GoT YouTuber Talking Thrones posted an interesting video speculating if Dany was set up. If you don’t want to watch the video, essentially he points to a few candidates: Sansa (her Dany disdain is well-documented), Qyburn (not necessarily betrayal, but the Little Bird network he acquired after becoming Cersei’s hand could have picked up some info), and Varys, which, after the treason convo he had with Tyrion, makes the most sense.
Mike: However, I found the traitor and…
GHOST HAS A LEGIT POINT.
GoT Brienne out in the housecoat cryin for her baby oh no!
DEAD
TRUE
Mike: But these are my thoughts exactly:
Mike: I believe Jaime fully intended to stay with Brienne forever. He showed as much by staying back in Winterfell while everyone else headed down to King’s Landing. However, once he heard Cersei & Euron’s attack on Dany he knew he couldn’t sit this fight out.
So he decided to use the classic “I haven’t changed” routine to appear more evil in the hopes of making the breakup easier for both sides. Obviously, this move rarely works. But I respect the attempt.
He’s not getting back with Cersei. He’s going back to end this shit.
Sean: I think he’s going to eventually kill Cersei, but I think they’re trying to make us think he’s getting back with her. Otherwise why would they have him give that spiteful speech? He coulda told Brienne that he needed to leave and take care of this and it would be easier without her there. Or he could have even just peaced out in the middle of the night! This feels like the Season 8 version of the Sansa/Arya storyline in the later half of last season — they’re working towards a final scene and are creating unnecessary conflict to get there.
Mike: Yeah, both of those are rational alternatives, but, again, this isn’t a rational show. I think, while executed poorly, they chose the right way for Jaime to end this. He wanted to sound horrible AF to prevent Brienne from coming with him. Looks like he succeeded there. Sucks for Brienne tho.
“Love is bliiiiiiiiiind,
and it’ll take over your miiiiiiinnnnndddd”
Mike: I’m sorry Brienne. Here’s a cute gif of you and Davos:
THE WTF
Dracarys, Fuck These ^#^&@&!T^ Up!
Mike: Remember: THERE IS NO HAPPINESS IN THIS SHOW. When they showed Missandei and Greyworm smiling at each other and holding hands on the boat, we should have already known what was up. It was confirmed when people started washing up on the beach 😩
Sean: Yeah… after Greyworm survived last week I thought they were in the clear, but after they were holding hands on the boat? UGH.
But what a badass way to go out
Mike: Definitely in the “Lyanna Mormont” category of epic deaths.
Sean: I like how in Episode 2 she was all “My people are peaceful and not aggressive” and now she went out with a solid “FUCK THEM ALL UP REAL BAD”
😬 Fun interview 😬
Dany Hair Issues
And poor Greyworm
But there’s also this:
Next Episode Thoughts
#TeamDany final stand
Mike: DOUBT DANY AT YOUR OWN PERIL YALL. She’s been pushed to the brink every season and is at her best when she listens to herself. But see I feel like you don’t believe what I’m saying so I 👏🏿 guess 👏🏿 I 👏🏿 need 👏🏿 to 👏🏿 remind 👏🏿 you 👏🏿
And of course this badass scene:
DANY HAS ONE MORE TRICK UP HER SLEEVE JUST WATCH I HAVE NEVER BEEN WRONG BEFORE.
Note: I highly suggest you watch this scene again. What Tyrion says to Dany here is almost a mirror image of their conversation in this episode.
Sean: Yeah… Dany and Greyworm are gonna institute the Purge on Cersei and King’s Landing, and Jon isn’t gonna like that. NOT ONE BIT
Mike: 😍 KILL 😍 THEM 😍 ALL 😍
🚨 AARON RODGERS CAMEO ALERT 🚨
Mike: If Aaron Rodgers is the new Night King I will FREAK.
Sean: That would be sick, but he’s probably gonna be a soldier that throws something at someone. Like Noah Syndergaard did in the baggage train scene last season — he tossed a spear at some Dothraki before presumably getting fried by Drogon.
Someone is dying. Who’s it gonna be?
Mike:
- Greyworm
- The Hound
- Varys
- Jaime
- Arya
- Tormund (he’s a Southern man now!)
Sean:
- Varys
- Jamie
- The Hound
All good choices. I don’t think we’re gonna see Tormund again, unless it’s an epilogue scene with him and Ghost chilling and having wacky adventures beyond the Wall.
Mike: Haha yeah I agree, I just have Tormund in my GoT fantasy league and I need to make some major moves tonight.
Sean: I also think Greyworm is gonna survive the whole thing, and Arya too. They’re going to have to figure out how to live lives without constant war. Or go seek it out….
I’m gonna add:
- The Mountain (killed by The Hound, who is then mercy-killed by Arya)
- Cersei (Killed by Jaime)
- I dunno… Yohn Royce? Qyburn?
Mike: Qyburn is on my fantasy team too! Stay away from him, Sean!! KILL EVERYONE QYBURN YOU DESERVE THE IRON THRONE!!!!
Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this post, hold down that applause button until you hit 50! Our very lives depend on it 😭
