Anothermi

Jeez Louise! Well, it's good to know where all those places people came from are. Robb's wife... Thoros... Missandei... Braavos! as far north as the Fingers where Littlefinger came from. How come it appeared to be so warm when it's only slightly less north than The North? (and the swoopy camera definitely confused me for this one. I was sure it was south of Pentos.

But they were Freys, not just anyone and everyone. And I doubt most of them were innocent if they were there. They were part of the Red Wedding. And laughed and told drunken stories about it after. Having said that I do believe there WERE innocent Freys somewhere.

Ooh. I feel a sequel forming. Or at least fan fiction. (don't read it. I have enough distractions to engaging IRL) After all. Robert becoming King signaled an equally finite feeling after the period of chaos HIS war engendered. The Wheel rolls on.

I have been an inveterate scrutiniz-er of all things shown via books or maps during a show. As mentioned above, I utilized freeze-frame and squinting with my head tilted to the side to harvest as much information as the show would yield. Like the History Book of the King's Guard and the Giant Tome of Ancestral lineage – Westeros. There were quite a few maps as well – starting with Season One where Maester Luwin was trying to teach Bran the history of Westeros and all Bran wanted to do was... anything else. (Hee! So he was punished for his inattention by having to become the repository of ALL the hisory of Westeros. Cruel and... unusual.) There were quite a number of maps we were shown and I laboured over them all, but I can't remember when or where they came up. The Bran one is the only one that really stuck with me. I think maps generally came up during battle planning. There was a LOT of that. So, I think a had a reasonable knowledge of the general location of places, but not fully accurate. I don't remember seeing Last Hearth anywhere, so it's always been “out there” (waves hand in indeterminate direction). So, the credits this Season were a “Gods” send (the Old Gods) in that respect. I also realize, in retrospect, how tragic it was for Sansa to send little Lord Umber to bring his people – after she'd learned that the WW had breached the wall. So, here's what I ended up knowing up to this Season: Dragonstone – I can't remember when, but I think it had to have been after we were introduced to Lord Lobster (Stannis). Freeze-frame works reasonably well for the credits and each new location was added to them. (something I may have learned from WhiteStumbler) So I knew it was an Island and gradually learned that it was at the north edge of Blackwater Bay (perhaps only after that battle) and that the Vale and Littlefinger's “Fingers” were north of that. All on the East Coast. Highgarden – Located in the Reach. Possibly called that because it reaches all the way from the edge of Kings Landing to the south coast. It boarders 5 of the 7 “wards” of Westeros. I knew it started close to King's Landing but thought of it as an amorphous blob in the middle of Westeros. Never imagined it actually had a coast. The Twins: At least you pretty much got this one correct. Your “transit map” youtube link added the information that the area just north of it (belonging to The North) was marshy and treacherous. That explains why it was either The Twins or the King's Road that most people had to use to get south of The North. That's helpful to me. I know Robb sort of explained why he had to cross at the Twins, but now I understand. Storms End - Located in the Stormlands. Can't remember when I learned that the Stormlands were also situated just south of King's Landing and along the east coast. I'm guessing that the scenes leading up to Renly's death must have been situated there. That would be our only glimpse of the Barratheon lands. I actually forgot where they were situated after a while, so I must have learned it early on when there was a reason to care about where it was. Casterly Rock: Two out of five so far, Ging. I do remember learning where this was located in Season 2 from Robb's battle planning maps. So, he fought the Lannisters via friendly territory (the Riverlands, seat of his mother's family) and close to where Tywin and the Lannister armies were laying waste to the Riverlands, but also close to Casterly Rock – with both a river and a road to get there. This was the map (IIRC) where I learned where the Iron Islands were as well. Dorne : I thought Dorne took up ALL of the south of Westeros. I also thought there must have been difficult and high mountains that kept it so separate from the rest of Westeros and therefor it was not quite the same. Some of this may be true in that the map you provided doesn't show any roads from any of the other “wards” into Dorne. Access by sea only. One error I made was that, despite the opening credits. I kinda thought Braavos was located at the south end of Westeros in the Dorne area!. Duh. I even knew it was a city state of Essos, but that's where my mental pictures place it! The Eyrie – I knew the Eyrie was east, but I don't quite know when. Possibly after Catelyn abducted Tyrion and took him there. What the map you provided shows, however, was how the Vale could choose to stay out of the conflict Littlefinger nurtured. It had nothing to offer but troops and sanctuary – both of which he needed. Riverrun: Another one pretty close. (south of the middle and west side of the North, but not coastal) I think it must have been the battle maps of Season two that helped here. I didn't realize for a long time that Harrenhal and the Inn at the Crossroads were also part of the Riverlands. Maybe not until the Hound and Arya went on their road trip. But I did know they were west of the King's Road. Essos – I new early on that Essos was the continent east of the Narrow Sea. From the Varys and Magister Ilyrio plot line and Robert and Ned conversations. I also think you and I had a conversation about all this back on TWoP, Ging. Things like: What is north of beyond the Wall? Does it reach as far as Essos? What is west of Westeros? How far east does Essos stretch? (we were told at least beyond Ashai* to the shadowlands) *(corrected the spelling of this word from seeing it on the map) Pentos – freeze-framing the opening credits showed that Pentos was pretty much directly east of King's Landing which explains why Ilyrio could sneak over for a quick visit with Varys. (no, it doesn't, because he'd be seen sailing into Blackwater Bay. But we did learn from Davos about the beach where a boat could be rowed into shore discretely, but Varys and Ilyrio met in the tunnels under King's Landing so it may have been the access that Tyrion knew of that helped him win the battle of Blackwater. Qarth – Honestly, I'm still not clear where all the places in Essos are located. Seems that the bigger city-states are along the west coast of Essos and the Dothraki (deserts) and the Lamb people lands are farther inland. I need to search out a map of Essos as good as the political one @gingerella found for Westeros.

She had become a serial murderer. There's a fine difference. (wink)

Yes, indeed. I agreed with Jon that a Name did not define the person. Dany may have still had a quick temper, but the sense of "destiny" and the enabling of her path to power had much to do with shaping her as an adult. She started as Visaerys pawn and once she learned she could and did have power, she made sure no one else would ever treat her like that again. But, like in the tower at Qarth, she had one thing that gave her power and at that point they were strong enough for her to use them. Her last, but best resort to protect herself. And she used it every time she felt cornered.

Hee! I loved that moment too. But that lesson from his great uncle (grand uncle?) was one that Jon both struggled to learn, yet took to heart. That and "The man who passes the sentence must wield the sword". Both of those lessons were visible in Jon's struggle over agreeing with Tyrion. To Tyrion, it was easy to see Dany's fatal flaws and to act on that knowledge (even though he, too, allowed Varys to die before he let himself believe it) because his next act would just be to convince someone else to take action. Jon knew that if he accepted what Tyrion was saying (passed the sentence) HE would have to wield the sword. And his love for Dany was at war with his duty. That was nuanced writing. Yes, Jon - although not an interesting man - lived a very interesting life. He was, in spite of his initial rigid adherence to "the rules", constantly learning life's lessons. He wasn't entertaining, but could enjoy a good joke - at the right moment. There were only 3 other living Targs that we were shown: Visaerys, Dany and Aemon. Only Aemon, of those three, showed us that there were alternatives to the crazy. We learned that Rhaegar, his father, was also an alternative, but Jon never saw him and neither did we. But, upon reflection, I'd say that Jon's Targ-ness came from Aemon and the rest of him came from Ned.

It's located on the south (slightly western) coast in the ward-dom of Highgarden lands. It is west of Dorne - which I thought took up the entire south of Westeros, but doesn't. You need to scroll right down to the bottom of the map that is the very 1st link Ging posted. (before the embedded youtube. It's location explains why Sam and Gilly's scenes traveling there were so interminable (at least).

Thanks, Ging. I think it was Llywela who wanted to know where everything is. I've spent more time than I care to remember freeze-framing the opening credits trying to get the lay of the Land. That was one thing I really liked about this final season. The opening credits. Thanks Show.

Hee! I, too, wondered how the Council meeting room survived so very, very intact. From Season One we learned that it must not be a big detour from the Throne Room (reduced to rubble by this episode) and the council chambers. Ned walked through it to report to Robert (in the council room) when he arrived in King's Landing and Paycelle spoke with Ned there to pass on the ravengram (that everyone else had read) about Bran being awake (IIRC) and Varys and Littlefinger had the "chaos is a ladder" conversation in the Throne Room while either coming from or going to the Council Chamber. WHO SACKED the continuity person before the show was over???? I can't remember, but I think Tyrion may have made a comment about his participation never being acknowledged. And we knew that, had it not been for Brienne, everything Jaime did after slaying the Mad King would be missing from the King's Guard book. I'm hoping that WhiteStumbler might remember something of this. (I'm also pretty sure that it was an in joke.) I checked the Character Guide and found Maegor Targaryen aka Maegor the Cruel. Built the Red Keep in King's Landing. HE wasn't called Maegor the Builder... but Bran the Cruel wouldn't work either. Bran the Builder sounds like a children's show spin-off to me. Oh, and another Targ King was called Aerion Brightflame because he drank wildfire thinking it would make him a dragon. (it did what it does instead) Seems that Kings are remembered more by their silly names than their real ones. I just want to add that I think Queen Elizabeth (1st of her name) seems to be the model Queen Sansa was based on. Not her whole story, perhaps, but that grandiose coronation brought QE One to my mind. Just saying.

My 1st lesson. You just called us Unsullied in high Valyrian! (google - of all things - told me so.) I know I must have heard that phrase from Dany but I never saw it before - and I'm still struggling with the pronunciation. No, I don't think I'll start learning High Valyrian nor Dothraki. Thankyou.

And now posing as the Lord of the Riverlands. And I wondered if the ugly mug sitting between him and Sam might have been some Frey relative so distant that he missed out on the Red Wedding and the Meal Arya made of Walder at the Twins. Looks like Lord Royce? who was training Robin may have done a decent job. Was he the guy sitting beside Robyn at the Westeros council-in-the-field? Anyway, he's alive and still Lord of the Eyrie.

Well, well, well. Not the conflagration I was banking on (I wasn't really banking on one, but it's a fun way to open a post). But a feel good ending. I'm guessing they decided to break the wheel of how a show is run and let everyone who worked on the show have a say in how to end it. I say this because a number of spitballs I flung just this past week were incorporated (kinda, sorta, maybe) and I am no screenwriter. 1 – Jon and Tyrion made a date to piss off the Wall. OK, just Tyrion agreed to piss off the wall, but Jon would be there with him for old times sake, right? And Tyrion mentioned what people's attitudes might be in ten years time. I'll take that as a nod to that part of my pissing-off-the-wall speculation. 2 – Brienne DID find the nobleness in Jaime going back to try to save Cersei. And I very much liked that she put the heretofor unsung good deeds he's done in the grand tome that is the history of the King's Guard. 3 – Jon and Ghost answered my question re: is there any scene where Jon shows affection to his direwolf. I stand corrected. 4 – Jon seems to be taking my advice to open the borders between the south and north of the Wall. (kinda) But he didn't make a brief stop to pay his respects over the pyre he burned Ygritte's body on. (shame) But on the up side, I liked the sly reference to the children of the forest in the ending visuals beyond the wall. Only now they are the children IN the forest. 5 – Podrick seems to have been made a King's Guard? He's been knighted at least. Sir Podrick Payne. Other random things I noted: Jon is now able to kill someone out of love, but still not able to leave the Nights Watch. (Yay for the shout out to Aemon Targaryn and his wisdom. See? They're not all crazy!) Edmure Tully is alive and just as delusional as he started. (Note to self – don't expect people who languish in dungeons to learn anything. I'm talking to you, Ned.) Robin Arryn seems to have learned something. And he certainly looks better. Less like a... I don't know what, but it's a good thing he doesn't look like that anymore. I couldn't remember some of the other still-living Westerosi lords present at that council (so suddenly). Just the new Prince of Dorne because of his outfit. I recognized a couple of faces but can't put a "House Name" to them. Grey Worm (even Davos couldn't remember his new name) seems to be cooling down and Gingerella got her wish that he would go to Naarth. Also looks like the Dothraki were bound back to Essos on the ships. Not that a point was made of it because who gives a shit about them anymore. Right? (I'll get over it. I'm sure I will) Arya plans to follow the goal she expressed (to Lady Crane, the Actress in Braavos she couldn't kill) of traveling west of Westeros. I speculate that she will discover an uncharted land across that sea and later it will become a new country and call itself the Arya-n Nation. (groan) And leaving the best for the last. King Bran-the-Broken plans to rule in the style of Robert Barratheon. No, not seducing prostitutes and leaving the day to day business to the council, but seducing Drogon! And leaving the day to day business to the council. Some things never change. A series final is a difficult thing to pull off successfully. So I can live with opting for flippant humour and Fan service and not making much sense. Yes I Can. (It could have been really bad).

Yes. I referred to him as "her dead love". I don't think she got to see her dead baby except in that vision at the tower in Qarth. I prefer to think of her as "mower of roofs". (hee. How the mighty have fallen) Sorry. Still can't take that whole goes-crazy thing seriously. They ARE the other castrati IIRC. But perhaps not "root & stem" like Varys. Still, I'm not sure about "populating" anyplace. That wasn't what they were made for. But they could still remain there - maybe even peaceably. If they can make it as a group across the sea, I think they would be the ones doing the taking. (once they've regained horses) not the other way around. Lay low... build up some power... then their back, terrorizing the little people in the deserts of Essos.

Thanks for adding those two. I'd be lost without that guide. And I want to shout out to Maximum Taco (aka Max Taco) from TWoP who provided our first Character Guide) We few have so many to be thankful to.

I like the idea of both Jon and Tyrion ending at Castle Black - both pissing off the top of the Wall. They'll be the hermits on the Wall. In ten years they'll be thought of as long dead and part of the stories Old Nans all over Westeros tell children at bedtime. Only new intrepids will dare to visit the Wall to find they are alive and spouting some kind of unintelligible wisdom. /flight of final fancy I don't follow how the LoL is still in play that his wanting or not wanting Jon in "the lineup" would have any affect on anything. I thought all the LoL believers have died. Their Job successfully executed. No. Not quite the grandiose vision we had spitballed way back then. It's made me wonder about that scene in Quarth where Dany seemed to have to choose between two options: Her dead love and child (presented, at least, as a warm and loving place) OR the empty, destroyed shell of her dream to return "home" to the place of her birth and her family's greatest achievements. (a cold and unforgiving place) Neither vision was appealing. Hee! The new, lovable, REDWALKER. (Also very good at killing)

In advance of the coming finality of the GoT Final, I want to give profound thanks to all the many White Cloaks who built and maintain this unprecedented habitat. I know it hasn't been smooth sailing for you all but I have felt supported and protected by you all (sometimes not understanding decisions until a while later). All Hail !!! @SilverStormm @Mya Stone @Which Tyler @David T. Cole @Skywarpgold @Athena @raven (hope I haven't forgotten any of you. Let me know if I have)

I would never have imagined that, back in 2010, when I crawled -battered from the regular threads- into the relative safety of the TWoP Completely Unspoiled thread (one thread. One very long thread!), that I would survive with a small, but valiant band of diehards defending our Unsulliedness (and promoting our silliness) for 8 more years! But I appreciate the variety of our far flung opinions. We've had such a good time together. Shock! Disbelief! Outrage! Insight. Pigshit. Puns! I believe show endings are difficult to navigate, so I face this one with jaw and fists clenched - hoping for something positive to take away. However small. Thank you all who shared spitballs over the years. (some of you now with the benign bookwalkers) This has been an almost unbelievable life event. Certainly one I couldn't have foreseen... nor would have missed.

Penultimate episode: The Bells There is a lot to digest with this episode. Much has been said about “Mad” Dany so I'll pass on that except to mention that the image of Drogon (& Dany) “mowing” the roofs of Kings Landing while “Mad” Cersei watches from her tower is stuck in my head – unfortunately more like Road Runner cartoons than like anything horrifying. I kept wondering why she went all OCD and had to follow the rows of roofs so hyper methodically? Instead of going after her opponent? And of course Cersei wasn't much better doing her best Blanche Dubois routine... “The Red Keep has never fallen” as she watched the city crumble around her. Those two stood out, but the real crazy pants was Urine. I guess that's not as important because he hadn't changed. He'd always been crazy. (but I keep feeling there is a double standard lurking in these portrayals.) But, on to what I did like... The Lannister sibs: (I, for one, felt A Show handled this ending well) They have been the poster children of dysfunctional Westeros. They were deprived of their mother's love due to Tyrion's birth – so he missed out on love completely – but the other two missed a lot as well. Cersei allowed that death to make her bitter, but Jaime appears to be the one who inherited the loving spirit that (may) have lived in their mother. I loved seeing the bonds that bound Tyrion to Jaime (which made him unreliable to Dany as his love of Jaime came before his adulation of her). I appreciated that they accepted each other for who they were and could rely – as much as the circumstances allowed – on each other's word. And then Cersei and Jaime. While I wouldn't describe it as a great love story, it was a human love story – warts and all. I knew when Jaime heard of the situation Cersei was in, that he had to return to her. I may have spitballed that he would end up killing her, but as his way of saving her, not for any other “noble” reason but just for his love of her. As he told Brienne in the bath at Harrenhal? “You can't choose who you love.” At the time, IIRC, he was referencing both his love for his sister and hers for Renly. As @Pallas posted back in the S06E01 thread: Jaime's often been the one to rally her (Cersei) with his recklessness. And his coming back for her when all her dreams were crumbling was what she needed to bring her out of her state of denial. She could face the end with him. The irony of Tyrion revealing the safe route out to Blackwater Bay – the route Dany, Viserys and their mother would have taken to escape death-by-the-Mountain – and then having it be blocked because of Dany destroying King's Landing – was not lost on me. Also the writing of Jaime and Cersei's end coming full circle to S01 where he tells her (once again) that there is nothing else, nobody else... Just them. Now I can't say I had a lot of sympathy for Cersei, but over the entire series I have felt for her from time to time and this ending for the ill-fated twins is one I can accept and appreciate. I think the writers quite liked these characters to give them such an end. I just have to note that it's been hard, but I've had to let go of A Show's rule that if a death is not literally shown – it's not a death. Given that this is the penultimate episode, I believe they both died under the rubble. (And I believe Brienne of Tarth would find a nobleness in Jaime's decision. One she always knew he had.) The Hound/ Sandor Clegane: Another good ending – for the Hound, anyway. Sandor, like Arya, had experience trauma as a young person and found purpose to carry on in his resolve to get his vengeance from his Brother. It made sense to me that this would be his final act. What I wasn't expecting was that the character arc he had taken would make him the only person who could teach Arya that there is more to life than Vengeance! That was his best bit. On the other hand... I was sorely disappointed that the Mountain pretty much remain “the Mountain” from S01 to S08. I kinda hoped we might see that Qyburn's interference with his body would have resulted in some level of degradation of him as a person. I even hoped that Sandor may have wavered in his purpose to kill his brother upon seeing him such a shell of his former self. But this was not to be. Apparently the Clegane sibling hatred was cast in stone to the point that Mountainstein regained his free will when challenged by his brother. (eyeroll) This part was a fail for me – even though I did not expect Sandor to survive the process of taking his brother out. Weak, in my humble opinion. It also made the death of Qyburn unsatisfying for me. Sure he was destroyed by his own creation. Cliche! I thought he deserved a bit more than that. Varys: At least Varys remaining Varys – somewhat inscrutable – from the start of the series to the end made sense to me. He was both always the same, and always changing to suit the circumstances. I keep thinking there was a scene between Melisandre and Varys where she implied that he knew what the voice he heard said (when his “parts” were thrown into the flames). I'm wondering if what he heard was the last thing Dany said to him “Dracarys”. It kind of fits with other things people have heard in flames. He heard how his “destiny” would end. Too bad that wasn't make clear, but perhaps the show runners forgot about that, or felt it was too obvious? Grey Worm: Here is another character who went off the rails due to his personal emotional journey. His story is not yet over, but I felt that his mental state mirrored Dany's. The irony of his situation, however, was not lost on me. He was “bred” to be Unsullied. His castration – unlike Varys – was supposedly to keep him from forming attachments that would affect his decisions as a soldier. But (and I like the point they were making here) human emotions are greater than just those conjured up by the hormones of procreation. Varys accepted the power that being a eunuch afforded him, while Grey Worm learned to accept his humanity – and all it's pain and fear. Did anyone else notice that Dany called him by a different name before Jon came to see her in the Dragonstone strategy room? It was subtitled because she spoke to him in Valyrian. It looked like a birth name. Perhaps signifying that he had become a "real boy", like Pinocchio? Arya's epiphany was also an important part of this episode, but I am waiting to see how A Show chooses to end her story. And Urine Greyjoy's end was more like a Monty Python sketch than anything else, so he's finally gone. OK. That's all the (high profile) characters that I can remember at this point. So my remarks are over.

A stealth assassin, on her own, would never have been able to get near the NK. This story is a jigsaw puzzle that only works when all the pieces are finally in place. Many things that had to happen to ensure a fighting chance against the NK and the AotD: As Tyrion pointed out, Robert's unwillingness to accept, or even recognize, that the woman he loved did not love him. Peter Balish's bitterness towards anyone and everyone better than him in any way and his ability to create the chaos he used to rise above them. Ned's honour. (nuff said) Sansa's naivete and Arya's non-conformity. Both pushed beyond limits they didn't know existed and in the process gaining the wisdom to achieve their goals coolly and collectedly - not in the heat of anger. Jaime pushing Bran from the tower and paralyzing him. (as Bran mentioned, without that he would never have become the TER) Jon having to be killed and then resurrected. He won the hearts and mind of the fighters from Westeros and then Dany, herself, who won supporters from the lands of the far east. (not to mention providing Dragons). That's just the tip of the iceberg. It's the old hip-bone-connected-to-the-thigh-bone metaphor. And this is the weakness for Dany and her dragons. When Aegon the Conqueror arrived, no one had ever seen dragons. No one, therefore, had imagined what it would take to defeat one. That is not true now, and what we haven't seen is anyone in Dany's circle addressing that flaw in the plans. As far as who takes out Cersei? I can think of a number of options, but for me, the most satisfying would be Jaime - but he would do it to spare her a worse fate (same as she was prepared to do to Tommen) because "you can't choose who you love". She always loved her children and he always loved her. The worst fate I can imagine for him would be that he survives after saving her an ignominious death and bares the name of Queen-slayer/ sister slayer into old age. The show runners might take pity on him, though, and let him die with her. But on the other hand, it could be Bronn. All set to take out Jaime (or Tyrion) and realizing that she is even less likely to give him the monetary compensation he's been after all these years than they are? Like I said. There are a number of vertigo inducing options.

I've don't remember ever seeing Jon be loving with his Direwolf. All the other Starks seem to have had a personal relationship with their Direwolves, but not Jon. Guess he thought they were both considered the "runts" of the litter/family and Jon was hyper sensitive to things like that so didn't want to form a club with Ghost. They were just associates don't-you-know. Anyone know of a scene that would disabuse me of this impression?

Thanks @gingerella. I've been ogling googling them. I'm sure I've heard of Fresians before, but clearly didn't retain enough to recognize one when I see it.

Random things of note from this episode: While I liked the ritual burning of the dead, (looks like these folks took your advice @Llywela) I looked at the pyres and thought “that's not nearly enough”. And I was left wondering where the AotD re-dead went. And someone had enough energy to rake the snow to hide the blood stains and the dirt and the plowed up-ed-ness? Like it's a Japanese sand garden or something? But the shots of Jorah/ Dany, Theon/ Sansa, Beric/ Arya and Lyanna/ Jon managed to keep me on track. (wipes tears) Like others, I was very happy to see the battle scarred Ghost there paying tribute to his fallen comrades. And in his usual place... somewhere other than where Jon is. (wink) I, for one, appreciate that Jon thought enough of his direwolf to leave him in the North. That IS where he belonged. They were never that close anyway – except when Jon was killed. He was either locked in some dark space at Castle Black or wandering places North of the Wall out of sight of Jon. Remember, the Direwolves who went south ran into trouble. One was killed (Lady) and the other got chased away but lived to built her own tribe (Nimeria). Not that the north was safe for direwolves either, but north of “the North” seemed safe enough for Ghost. Jon doesn't seem to be the kind of person you'd want to be a pet of. Rhaegal anyone? Perhaps Jon has bad sigil-animal karma. I was glad to see that Sansa had stored the food she'd gathered deep enough under Winterfell to survive the carnage the AotD and Dead!Viserion wreaked on it. It was also good to see at least one shot of the reconstruction underway. I'm having to assume all this happened some time after the Battle. Weeks? A month or more? I got the feeling that more time must have passed since Jon and Dany headed north because Cersei had time to build a LOT of dragon piercing weapons! (sing it: let's do the time-shift again) It was a bit crammed with wound up plot threads, but we got to see the new dynamics taking hold that most likely will come into play in the final episodes. We also got to see Gendry get something good out of being Robert's bastard. (Not!Leeches!) And not Arya (I'm not a Lady. That's not me) Stark. (sadface for him) And Brienne choosing Jaime. I was disappointed – I was on team Tormund – but it kinda makes sense when I remember how she idolized Renly. She just wasn't into Tormund's type. I like the Sansa/Hound interaction and the Tyrion/Bran one clarified – if anyone still needed it – that Bran is not really a Stark anymore (so don't make him be a little lord again). I was happy to see Podrick survived, but in A Show's haste to get Brienne laid, poor Podrick was left looking very alone at the table. Speaking of uncomfortable dialog (mentioned by Direwolfpup above) I found Tormund's praise of Jon a bit... almost un-typical. Especially when he extolled brave Jon getting on the dragon and fighting – with Dany right there. Jeez. It's not like he commandeered the dragon. SHE made it possible and they fought from dragon back as equals. She even weilded a sword to defend herself by Jorah's side. Follow that with the Tyrion/ Varys conversation in the Dragonstone throne room and I believe we got it. Part of the game for the throne will be the back room gender comparisons. Regardless of what the contenders think. What ever. On second watch, the scene between Dany and Jon had echo's of the past in it. Dany spoke the political truth to Jon, but he is too much like Ned to put political saavy above his honour. I believe it will cost him dearly. And I don't care who “wins”. There is no winning after you've defeated Death. And I want to point out that Those Who Are Dead CAN (and do) die. Bronn's appearance? With the crossbow? I saw that as “if Bronn-with-a-crossbow appears in Act one, he's going to DO something with it by Act three.” (move along. nothing to see here) The Hound's Horse. OMG! What a beauty!!! I had to rewind a couple of times just to ogle it, and then a few more to catch the dialog between Clegane and Arya because I kept getting disracted. It walked like it was a supermodel on the catwalk. Check it out. Knees high and one foot placed directily in front of the other foot. Classy. Someone needs to make a gif of that walk. Ohh, Yes. The scene between Clegane and Arya was fun and a great throw back too. Clegane: You gonna leave me to die again if I get hurt? Arya: Probably Clegane: (quiet grin/giggle and head shake) Jon's goodbye to Tormund left me with the phrase “You've got the north in you. The real north.” My brain went a little lateral with that and I wondered if Ygritte had got Jon pregnant? He's died and been brought back. Who's to say it couldn't happen? (I'm thinking it would end in a rudimentary cesarean section so I hope not). Perhaps it was all the other callbacks that led me down that path? Or perhaps Jon will be laid to rest north of Castle Black, near Ygritte? Dany is not his soul mate as far as I am concerned. I'm going to stop here cuz I don't want to remember the last bits.

I was pleased to note that Tyrion got a line expressing these sentiments in The Last of the Starks episode. He's talking with Davos who is whinging about how the Lord of Light gets them to fight his war for him, and win, and then just fucks off. No signs. No blessings. Don't know what he wants. Nowhere to be seen. Tyrion tells him he will never be happy thinking those thoughts but Davos doesn't want to be happy. Tyrion says "Your in luck. We may have defeated THEM, but we still have us to contend with." (drink)

I frequently have had problems linking the episode content with the title so thanks for opening this up. I think Sansa has to be the last of the Starks. Bran is now the TER, Arya is headed south, and whatever happens, she stated she wasn't coming back. She is no longer a "northerner". Jon, while an official Stark by blood, is also Targaryen and (as Tormund pointed out) dedicated to a broader view of the north. Not just the Starks and their Bannermen. I feel Sansa got a little side tracked - perhaps due to having to engage in so much intrigue in her formative years - into betraying her Starkian values by breaking her promise to Jon. Ned would never have done that. And Sansa wasn't doing it for Jon either but to further her people in the north. Both an admirable motive and blatant political maneuvering.