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#so i just love this moment where tyrion is like BLAH BLAH I DON’T CARE
nightqueendany · 5 years
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Daenerys in Winterfell Promo(s) Breakdown
Because of course I was going to do this, right? Close look at the promo(s), what we can see in the background, analysis, comparison to Robert’s arrival at Winterfell, and pretty anti-Jonsa because they’ve been posting the wildest bullshit all day and I’m not here for it.
1) The “King” Greets the “Lord” of Winterfell:
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And they hug it out:
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The difference in the above scenes is in 1x01, Robert is very clearly the King of the Seven Kingdoms and is a visitor in Winterfell. Jon, however, was King in the North - briefly - currently is Warden of the North, and Winterfell is his home. He is not a visitor here, he is returning.
Yet because even the angle of the shots is almost exact between the two, we’re most definitely meant to draw a parallel between them. And of course. according to D&D, Jon is the rightful King of the Seven Kingdoms (whereas Robert was a Usurper), he just doesn’t know it yet, however Sansa is undeniably the Lady of Winterfell no matter which way you look at it.
2) The Entourage
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In the 1x01 scene, Robert has a whole slew of people behind him holding up both the Baratheon and Lannister banners. However, in the 8x01 scene, Daenerys is flanked only by Jorah - a disgraced lord from the north - and the only banners visible in the scene are Stark banners. Now, there are Stark banners visible in the 1x01 scene as well, but I think it’s interesting we don’t see the Targaryen banner in 8x01. Perhaps they are there but we just didn’t get them in this little clip.
However, under a Stark banner in the background is an Unsullied soldier:
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That’s not a Northerner. Very different armor. Distinct Unsullied cap. So while there are two Northern soldiers in back of Dany and Jorah, Dany’s still got at least one of her men in the castle with her aside from Jorah. Jorah also seems to be entering beside Dany as her protector. His position to her left and a little behind mirrors Brienne’s position behind Sansa, and of course, Brienne is Sansa’s protector.
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Which is interesting. Sansa is a Northerner protected by a Southerner and Dany is, for all intents and purposes, a Southerner, protected by a Northerner.
I think Jorah’s position at Dany’s side as she approaches Sansa and Jon is totally purposeful. It could have been Varys by Dany’s side, it could have been Tyrion, her Hand, it could have been Missandei announcing all Dany’s elaborate titles, it could have been anyone. But it’s Jorah. I think Jon, Dany, and Jorah would have decided on this entrance as it would show Dany’s connection to the North - a connection she’s had throughout the entire series since 1x01 - and that she isn’t just some Southern Queen who only wants to conquer and rule the North. She actually cares about the Northern people, enough to make one of them one of her closest friends and advisors, and is showcasing what he means to her by having him at her side. Again, it’s not Tyrion or Varys or Missandei. It’s Jorah.
Now, Side note:
I’ve seen lots of comments about Brienne here and I have to say, the Jonsas just don’t fucking know how to look at things from another character’s perspective! Like seriously, all they put forth are their dream headcanons and don’t even consider the facts.
So, Brienne. Let’s talk about dear Brienne for a moment.
First off, this could have gone one of two ways - either Brienne traveled back up the King’s Road with Podrick after the Dragonpit meeting as we didn’t see her after that scene OR she traveled with Jon and Dany back to Winterfell. I’m really curious to see which it is because honestly it could have gone either way.
Secondly, let’s talk about Brienne’s last encounter with Sansa, shall we? Last Brienne saw of Sansa, Sansa was essentially giving Brienne the boot, ordering her to go to King’s Landing - which, hello, could have been dangerous for Brienne as well as I’m sure Cersei would want Brienne dead for being close with Jaime and being Sansa’s protector! So there’s that. Also, Sansa was forcing Brienne away so Brienne couldn’t step in and protect Arya if she and Sansa escalated their feud. And lastly, this was at a time when Baelish’s tricks were at their most prominent, to the point where Brienne feared for Sansa’s safety should she leave Sansa alone with him. However, Sansa coldly dismissed Brienne to represent her interests at the Dragonpit meeting.
My thoughts? Brienne would likely not be too happy with Sansa. At the very least, she should be irritated with the way Sansa dismissed her like a common servant, not the woman who has attempted to keep her safe the last three goddamn seasons. At the most, Brienne may even have known about the drama with Arya and is disappointed with Sansa’s behavior, you know, almost killing her sister.
Anyway, moving on.
What are Brienne’s thoughts on Daenerys? Daenerys, unlike Sansa, showed up at the Dragonpit meeting in person. So plus 1 for Dany. Also, Daenerys was the epitome of calm and collected and fair during the meeting. Yes she rode in on a dragon, but she’s dealing with Cersei here. She’s got to show her strength. And not like Brienne has any love for Cersei anyway.
Brienne learns during this meeting that Dany has seen the army of the dead - all 100k of them. She may not know the circumstances under which Dany saw the dead, but that’s got to leave an impression. It tells Brienne that Daenerys cares enough to go see the enemy for herself and confirm it’s real and it’s serious. She knows that Daenerys is willing to put aside her quest for the Iron Throne so that she can help the Northerners fight the dead. And of course Brienne finds out that Jon - whom she’s described as “honorable” in the past - has bent the knee to Daenerys - under what circumstances, she doesn’t know.
But given what Brienne has found out about Dany in the span of this single meeting - she’s a badass bitch with dragons that could level the Red Keep at any moment should she wish - but that she hasn’t - that Dany has taken it upon herself to go North to see the Army of the Dead, and that Dany is willing to put aside her aspirations of becoming Queen of the Seven Kingdoms in order to fight the dead, it wouldn’t be difficult for Brienne to guess why Jon bent the knee - Dany’s a powerful ally, she cares about this fight, she’s willing to help. Of course Jon bent the knee.
Now, Brienne might take issue with Jon not lying to Cersei, her “fuck loyalty” line to Jaime seemed to point to as much as Jon’s loyalty to Dany was why Cersei left, but it doesn’t mean she would hold any hostility toward Daenerys.
So when Daenerys arrives at Winterfell in quite a different fashion than she did in King’s Landing, no entourage, no announcements, no dragons, Brienne should see the effort Daenerys is making in order to appear as an ally to the Northerners, not a threat. So all this talk of Brienne looking at Daenerys in disgust or looking at Sansa like she’s a queen, blah blah blah....is bullshit. No she fucking isn’t.
*Anyway, end of side note/rant on Brienne*
3) Entrance of a Queen
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The differences between Cersei and Daenerys here are so striking. For 1) again, as stated above, Cersei, like Robert, has an entire entourage behind her, including her children. Dany’s dragons are nowhere to be seen - they’re likely flying above our chilling outside the castle gates but still, it’s an interesting contrast (more interesting given Dany’s likely already pregnant in this scene and doesn’t even know it yet). 2) Cersei is dressed in warmer clothing for the climate but she is still unmistakably showing off her Lannister pride. She’s in gold and red - Lannister colors - and it’s very obvious. Whereas Daenerys’ Targaryen touches are much much more subtle. She’s only got her red ascot/scarf thing and her red gloves, plus the red tint to the grooves of her coat. That’s it. She’s wearing her usual chain of status but her hair is blocking the three-headed-dragon on said chain. And of course, the majority of her outfit is the white coat.
Michelle Clapton, GOT costume designer, has said she designed Dany’s coat in such a way that it served two purposes: she wanted Dany to be a “vision” when she saved Jon beyond the Wall, a fierce warrior queen, and she wanted Dany’s outfit to call back to the white furs the wildlings wear, making Dany “one” with her surroundings - one with the Snow. Haha, get it. It’s a sex joke.
But anyway, the fact that Daenerys arrives at Winterfell donning this look, not the exact coat from 7x06, but a similar one, most definitely shows her continued affection for Jon and makes this excellent book parallel:
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Then Ghost emerged from between two trees, with [Val] beside him. They look as though they belong together. Val was clad all in white; white woolen breeches tucked into high boots of bleached white leather, white bearskin cloak pinned at the shoulder with a carved weirwood face, white tunic with bone fastenings. Her breath was white as well … but her eyes were blue, her long braid the color of dark honey, her cheeks flushed red from the cold. It had been a long while since Jon Snow had seen a sight so lovely.
Sorry, I just love that quote. And if we don’t see some Ghost/Dany fluff in 8x01 with Dany in her pretty white “warrior queen” coat, I’m gonna fucking riot.
They are all convinced she is a princess. Val looked the part and rode as if she had been born on horseback. A warrior princess, he decided, not some willowy creature who sits up in a tower, brushing her hair and waiting for some knight to rescue her.
This coat of Dany’s is not just out of practicality because it’s cold. Her other coats seem equally warm, lined with fur and whatnot. No, this coat is sending a message, that message being: I’m with Jon, we’re in love, we are one, and I’m likely his new baby-mama. JK...but not really.
4) The Royal Couple
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In the 1x01 scene, we don’t get a shot that has both Cersei and Robert in it. And in the shots where the two do address one another, their bodies are angled away from each other with only their heads turned in the other’s direction. The looks on their faces are ones of disdain and we can already tell, especially by Robert’s dismissal of Cersei’s “surely the dead can wait,” that there’s is not a happy union.
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Daenerys and Jon however, are show standing side by side and they take up the majority of the shot - Cersei and Robert’s shots were from further back and were messy, cluttered with many other people - key characters - in the background, not just a few extras so far away we can’t even make out their faces.
Whereas Cersei and Robert were shown clearly at odds with one another, Daenerys and Jon are shown as a united front in front of Sansa. I wouldn’t go so far as to say this is structured in a “them vs her” type situation. But we’re most definitely meant to see Jon and Dany as a single unit - they’re even standing so close together you can’t even tell if they’re touching or not, which they may very well be - Jon could have his hand on Dany’s back, presenting her to Sansa or something, as he did in the EW cover, etc.
Their bodies are angled toward each other, especially Jon - only his head is turned to Sansa, the rest of his body is turned toward Dany. And of course, everyone is going to make of Jon’s expression what they will because hey, it’s fandom. But I think the body language says it all. He’s facing what he cares about and wants to protect most in this moment: Dany.
One parallel I would DIE if it happened...is if right after the intros in the courtyard here, Sansa - or someone - told Jon that Bran/Sam wanted to meet him in the crypts. Robert ignored Cersei to go see Lyanna’s resting place. It would be RIDICULOUS if Jon is pulled away from Dany to go to Lyanna’s resting place, to find out then and there who exactly he is....what would make it better still? If, unlike Cersei, Dany accompanied Jon - either because he wanted her to come with him or because she wanted to go and pay her respects to the Starks her father had killed - Brandon and Rickard. Like honestly, just thinking about this possibility gives me goosebumps. Please please please! Yes it would kick start the drama right from the get go but damn, it would be an incredible parallel.
5) The Nod
I’ve seen lots of posts already about Dany’s nod to Sansa, some neutral, most of it terrible. Either Dany’s “intimidated” by Sansa and is “gulping” and fearful after Sansa’s icy welcome and Sansa “putting Dany in her place” or “murdering” Dany with her look or whatever...OR Dany is “smug” and “stealing” Sansa’s home and is an “entitled bitch” for waltzing into Winterfell and “taking” what isn’t hers, etc. etc.
Which, for one, dumb fucks, make up your mind. Which the fuck is it? Is Dany scared of Sansa? Or is Dany smug that Sansa is “giving away her home” to her? Pick one. You can’t have it both ways. They literally contradict each other.
Dumb fucks.
Anyway.
What I found interesting, was that Dany’s nod seemed to parallel this moment with Olenna from 7x02:
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Dany’s nod to Sansa isn’t Dany being intimidated or being entitled or whatever other nonsense the antis have cooked up. It’s the same exact nod she gave Olenna after Olenna told her the people of Westeros wouldn’t obey her unless they feared her. This is Dany’s nod of acknowledgement. This is her “I respect you” nod while at the same time remaining regal yet possibly at odds with the person in front of her because of fundamental differences in their beliefs.
The only difference between Dany’s nod to Olenna and Dany’s nod to Sansa is that, with Olenna there was no awkward element of Dany trying to pretend she hadn’t just spent the last month fucking Olenna’s brother who’s standing right next to her and likely has his hand on her ass. JK JK...but seriously.
And last but not least
6) The “Wedding” Set-Up
Special acknowledgement to THIS Jonsa post about this topic for doing nearly all the work for me.
Dany is in a white frock - very wedding-ish
Jorah is at Dany’s side as she walks up to Jon and Sansa, as if “giving” Dany away to Jon.
Jon and Dany stand side-by-side before Jon’s eldest relative (since his father’s dead and in Northern weddings, the father conducts the wedding ceremony). So Jon and Dany standing before Sansa appears as if she’s the one who’s marrying them. Which, in all likelihood, she will be. 
Now, of course the Jonsa post argues Dany is “interrupting” the Jon/Sansa moment and she is “coming in between” the two of them, that Jon and Sansa appear as a “unit” here as Dany walks up but..
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^^This^^ Looks way less “unit-y” than this:
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Also, the argument that it appears Dany is “coming in between Jon and Sansa” and is interrupting them...uhh...
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Next we have ^^This^^ where Sansa is literally in between Jon and Dany.
The Jonsa post says Dany looks “insignificant” in the above photo of her walking up, as if she would be “insignificant” to Jon and couldn’t possibly shake the solid and sure relationship he has with Sansa and that Sansa is an Amazon goddess and Dany is a puny nobody.
But yeah, no. Even in the shot with Jon and Sansa looking at Dany as she approaches...that’s the thing. Jon is watching Dany approach. He turns his body fully away from Sansa to watch Dany walk up. And even gives his little head nod of approval as he sighs:
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Jon is like, Yep, that’s the woman I’m gonna marry right there.
And as Kit said, they return to Witnerfell as “not-so-secret lovers.”
But anyway, throughout the rest of the clip, he continues to have his body angled toward Daenerys and is presented as one with her, on the same level as her, not Sansa.
It’s as if, after their hug, Jon distances himself from Sansa to put himself closer to Daenerys. Because of course he would. Because he’s not fucking in love with his sister, he’s in love with Dany.
If we don’t get the parentage reveal right after this scene, I imagine the scene following it will be one which first brings mention of a potential “marriage alliance.” The way Jon and Daenerys stand before Sansa is just too perfect for it not to be brought up. Hell, out of context, it almost looks as if Jon and Dany are asking for Sansa’s blessing. And of course, Baelish didn’t utter that line in 7x07 for it to never get brought up again. A marriage alliance will get brought up, and haters can hate all they want, but it will likely be a discussion prompted by Sansa.
Anyway, that’s all I have guys. Tell me your thoughts.
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insp1rationalx · 5 years
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Spoilers for Game of Thrones season 8 episode 5 below
Just as a warning I did not enjoy this episode, and this post is going to be very negative. I have very few good things to say about this episode so if you genuinely enjoyed it then this probably isn’t the post for you. I don’t want to taint anybody’s perceptions if they enjoyed it, I hate spoiling the fun for others. On the other hand, if you like reading more negative (and maybe overly harsh) reviews or you just want a hot take then feel free to read on. 
Honestly, I really hate to say this, but this episode was by far my least favorite of the entire series for many reasons; the main reason that I’m going to complain about is the fact that the writing was not good at all in my opinion. This 1 hour and 20 minutes episode did not need to be this long. There was so much unnecessary editing and prolonged shots on the characters making shocked faces with no real purpose or meaning. Just a bunch of “Oh my gosh look at Daenerys! Oh my gosh look at the burning people!” Like yes we get it. No need to show each character doing it 10 times. I feel like this episode could have shaved off 20 minutes or even 30 minutes. There were so many moments during this episode where I realized I was just bored and unimpressed, and that’s horrifying to me because I have never felt that way before when watching Game of Thrones. There have been moments that I don’t find as captivating or interesting, but I would never go so far as to say I was bored and just excited for the episode to be over. It didn’t feel epic, or badass, or shocking, or tense. Just a whole lot of blah for me. 
I feel like the whole bit with Daenerys looking like she is going to show mercy when she hears the bells but then deciding to burn anybody anyway was pointless. The audience and characters already know Daenerys’ mental state isn’t great at the moment, and that the horrors of her life and immense pressure she is under are messing with her head. But Daenerys has never been one to go back on her word or her promises. She agreed to spare the people if she heard the bells, then did the exact opposite. It would have made far more sense for her to tell Tyrion immediately that she wasn’t going to listen to him and that she would just do what she felt is right. Tyrion had no reason to be shocked and mortified when Daenerys burned everybody. She is The Dragon, she is the Queen, and she has killed thousands before without hesitation. She views it as a sacrifice for the greater good which will come when she has secured the iron throne; he knows this better than anyone as her adviser. And Tyrion is incredibly intelligent. So why do I feel like he was so stupid this episode? There was no reason for him to help Jaime escape. Cersei has been nothing but cruel to him and Tyrion has no desire to help Cersei, and releasing Jaime was a guaranteed death sentence. Tyrion should have known his escape plan was destined to fail and that it wasn’t going to be an easy in-and-out secret operation. Its like a huge part of his character was completely forgotten. 
Jon Snow dealt with the same thing that Tyrion dealt with. Huge emotional shock and dismay at Daenerys killing people but again, Jon Snow, you already knew this! You saw the destructive power and iron fist she rules with. You know how she gains power. You know that she will slaughter, readily, easily, for the sake of the millions across Westeros and Esteros. So why do you look so surprised? I understand that there’s this ongoing theme with Jon Snow wanting to see the best in people and then being surprised when he sees their true colors, but this one was even more blatantly obvious than all the others!
Jaime spent 8 seasons building and developing his character, both individually and alongside Brienne of Tarth. For all of that development and change to be discarded in the span of one episode, for the sake of a love that was mutually abusive and downright evil with how Cersei has treated him, is such a slap in the face to all the writers and producers/directors who did genuinely try to make his character multidimensional. And what did this ending for him accomplish? It just tells us that Jaime will always go back to his old ways -- except we as an audience already know that he doesn’t. This change in his character was so sudden and it came out of nowhere, with weird timing. In a show that tries to tell us that people aren’t always as they appear, that even horrible people are capable of great change, and that forgiveness can be given to anybody who seeks it, they did a great job a making a character who neglects to take part in any of that in the end. What a waste of potential. Even if he didn’t end up with Brienne, its still a waste. 
And now Arya and the Hound. Well done Arya, you make it all the way to King’s Landing to kill Cersei and you turn and run as soon as the Hound tells you to. Since when do you take orders from him? Since when did you abandon the will to follow your own path? If she and the Hound faced Cersei and the Mountain together maybe they each would have survived, and Jaime could have gotten the fuck out of there without getting trapped in some dingy, dusty basement. Maybe the Hound wouldn’t have had to waste his strength and ultimately his life to take down an enemy that wasn’t even concerned with him at that point, because Arya would have been there to help him. Instead they think a slow-paced, anticlimactic fight is the way to go. Seeing them both go over the edge and into the flames was a relief because it meant I didn’t have to watch that pathetic fight any longer.
Also, Arya did nothing this episode except run around helplessly like the weak little girl we know she is NOT! Scared face after scared face, just her getting progressively grosser and weaker. Trying to help people even though its pointless and they aren’t going to do as she says. There was no point in her being in this episode if this is what we were going to get. She was so great at Winterfell! There was no need to taint her great victory against the Night King with this pathetic show. 
Cersei Lannister is a great character, although I do not like her in the slightest. But I will admit, she is crafty, manipulative, and ultimately very rational. She makes calm and informed decisions, and always has a game plan ready to be put into action. Instead we were given a weak and quivering Cersei, who is in denial about the fact that King’s Landing will fall and she will lose this battle. This would have been a great opportunity to showcase these abilities and skills of hers. Instead she is just degraded and the essence of her character is lost. It would have been believable if we saw a slow deterioration into this shell of herself, but instead we were thrust into it and expected to believe it. 
Yara’s part in the story was apparently forgotten. I guess shes just not relevant, so I don’t know why we wasted so much time on her. I would have really liked for her to ride in and face Euron but eh. Also, I’m glad Euron was killed, but I wish he wasn’t killed by Jaime. It just makes Jaime look like the jilted ex lover. 
Overall I felt no sense of urgency, stress, fear, anticipation, or tension in this episode. Even when all those scorpions were pointed at Drogon I did not care after the first few seconds because it was so obvious exactly what direction this episode was going to go. That paired with the shallow portrayal of grieving for Missandei that we were so graciously gifted put a bad taste in my mouth immediately. I wanted and expected far more from this episode. I feel as though this was a pathetic climax (or near climax) for such a great and intense show. I feel as though my time has been wasted. If the last episode follows in the footsteps of this one then I do not have high hopes for my enjoyment of it, which is terribly concerning because other than this episode, I do quite like this show and its characters. But hey, I’m just a fan. At the end of the day the writers and producers are free to create whatever they see fit, and I have little to no right to make demands. I’m just disappointed. I want to like it but I just couldn’t. 
Things I enjoyed in this episode
- Daenerys/Emilia Clarke is a goddess in my eyes
- Beautiful flying lizard breathes fire
- Cersei and Euron died
- ???? 
It means a lot when I say I disliked this episode almost as much as I disliked Avengers: Endgame. Because honestly... I don’t think I liked Endgame. Yikes. 
I’ll add more to this post if I think of anything else
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Game of Thrones 8.4 “The Last of the Starks”
I. Am. MAD.
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This...this week’s offering right here is an example of an episode I loved and loathed in equal measure. There were lovely moments of--
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And then...then there were even more ones of--
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Y’all know what I’m talking about. From Brienne’s heartbroken face to that motherfucking Northern stubbornness, to Missandei’s capture and death, to Jon still not knowing enough (he’s so naive), to Euron shooting poor Rhaegal out of the sky, to JON BEING A HORRIBLE WOLF-DADDY!
He just ABANDONED Ghost! Without even a pat goodbye! Even if he had to leave him, he could’ve at least spared a frigging goodbye. Yeah yeah budget blah blah. You couldn’t get an actual big, white, fluffy dog for the few seconds needed for Jon Snow to bid his wolfy buddy who RISKED HIS LIFE for him a proper farewell?! 
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I pet my dog and call him a good boy when he gets the ball and goes poop outside. You couldn’t spare more than a “laters, brah” nod to your poor puppy?!
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LOOK HOW SAD HE IS!
I want to hug him and kiss him and snuggle him and tell him he’s the goodest boi in the North. Pawning him off to Tormund to live Beyond the Not Wall where he knows no one, what’s the matter with you, Jogon of House Snowaryen?! 
Dany may be leaning a biiiiiit too far into her House Targaryen roots but at least she is a dedicated pet owner. We know she loves her...scale...babies? They have spines, right? Spine babies? Fire babies. 
Ugh, let’s get into this week’s slice of sadness. 
The episode opens with a massive funeral for those that died in the Battle of Winterfell. Including Jorah, Lyanna, Theon, Mr. Edd, and Beric, who is now definitely out of lives.
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Dany, crying, leans over Jorah’s prone body, kisses his forehead, and whispers something we’ll never know into his ear.
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At least, we’ll never know unless either Emilia or Iain decide to spill the deets. Iain Glen said in a post-ep interview with Entertainment Weekly that it was “something definitely profound”. But who knows, he could be bullshitting us and she actually said “I like muffins” or something and he had to lay there pretending to be dead.
On second thought, she’s English. So perhaps she prefers crumpets. 
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Sansa is sniffling over Theon’s body and places a House Stark pin in his shirt. Jon is looking out at this sea of corpses like--
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There is no more Ol’ Nighty to bring them back.
Or so we’re led to believe. 
The camera pans across the mourners and we catch a glimpse of our favorite furry friend.
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He’s such a good, loyal doggo. Wolfo? Direwolfo. 
Oh Jon I am so MAD AT YOU!
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Saving my rage for a bit further down. Barely.
Jon gives a farewell speech about all their dead--they defended the realms of men, no one will ever see their like again, etc. etc.--and then some of the mourners who knew the dead best are given flaming branches in order to set the bodies alight. In the North, they burn their dead. I guess cus the ground is forever frozen and one day someone from House Whyrevr said fuck it and lit his dead grandma on fire. 
Afterwards, they have a joint funeral/”glad we’re alive” party because of course they do. Kinda reminiscent of our shiva except people are sitting on chairs. At the head table, Jon is looking awkwardly at Dany--apparently, that whole “we’re technically related and oh you have a better claim to the throne than me” stuff has lingered beyond fighting for their lives. Damn. Not even surviving Team Undead’s invasion could get them out of that business. 
Elsewhere, Gendry asks the Hound if he’s seen Arya. Does Robert’s bastard have a wee more on his mind than all the death? Like, say, his wee-wee?
Some things never change, no matter what century it is.
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Gendry tries to stutter that it’s not about that but the Hound knows it is. Gendry’s alive and the dead are not. Might as well take ASS-vantage of it.
Eh? Eh?
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Srsly, this is like the worst party in the history of Westeros. Uh, aside from the Red Wedding (but not the Purple one, #ByeJoflecia). They just buried burnt a heap of their dead, two of their hosts are keeping a huge secret from everyone (and being super weird around each other because of it), and Dany’s endlessly fighting against that frigging Northern hardheadedness. It’s not GREAT, Bob.
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Speaking of that famous Northern jackassery, Dany sees an opportunity to crack that stubborn ice as Gendry crosses the party hall. Calling him over, she at first inquires about his parentage, asks him if he knows that Robert Baratheon kinda had her whole family killed and wanted to slaughter her as an infant. Gendry’s like “Whoa, did not know that he was my daddy until after he was dead” and Dany’s all “Yep he dead and so are Renly and Stannis so who’s Lord of Storm’s End?” and no one knows.
This is Dany’s chance to make good.
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Not only did Gendry survive the battle, he got laid and made a lord!
You go, Glenn Coco, Gendry Baratheon, Lord of Storm’s End!
Ser Davos, the onion knight (lol) leads the room in a toast to Gendry, the newest Lord on the block.
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Don’t be fooled cus he’s now a Lord, he’s still he’s still Gendry from the Forge.
Tyrion remarks that now Gendry will forever be loyal to her and Dany says that he is not the only one that is clever.
Sansa, hearing this, looks at her like bats just sprouted from her head and flew out her ears while her eyes turned red as she chuckled evilly. 
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Oh, come on! This is what people in powerful positions on the show do. That’s how they secure allies without, you know, marrying their allies. You want someone’s loyalty, do something for them. Dany’s not the first one to try that. And it’s not like she had Drogon Dracarys the hell out of one of Gendry’s enemies to secure that loyalty. She made him a damn Lord. 
The Starks are annoying me this season. Except when Arya laid the smacketh down on Ol’ Nighty. 
In another corner, Jaime and Brienne are celebrating by gettin’ crunk. She offers a halfassed excuse but Jaime’s all “Dude, we defeated a horde of zombies. Drink up!” and she does, giving him this look:
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Bow chicka wowowwwwwwwwwwwwww chicka chicka boom.
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Not that I can blame her. Aside from all that incestin’, Jaime’s a fine slice of Kingslayer pie.
Ser Davos of House Onion and Tyrion are talking about Melisandre, who last episode took off her necklace and aged into evaporation. Davos tells Tyrion that he swore to Melisandre he would kill her next time he saw her but he never got the chance, as she did it to herself. Or the Lord of Light took her. Or whatever. They don’t like him much. They fight his war and then he fucks off. 
Tyrion crosses the room to BranBot, who is reading in his wheelchair, which Tyrion calls a clever invention. I keep forgetting that wheelchairs aren’t really a thing in Westeros. 
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BranBot, as animated as he’s programmed to be, delights in telling Tyrion that it is reminiscent of the one Daeron Targaryen made for his nephew over a hundred years ago. Just your regular episodic reminder that BranBot is...BranBot. 
Tyrion says BranBot’s BranVision will come in handy as the Lord of Winterfell, which he technically is as Ned Stark’s last surviving “trueborn” son. But BranBot doesn’t want it. BranBot doesn’t really want anything or anyone. He totally just doesn’t care, man.
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Tyrion envies BranBot’s ability to not give a shit and and BranBot tells him not to because--
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Yes, yes. You’re an “old soul”, BranBot. BranBot calls himself a grandpa in a teenager’s body. He forgets what generation he is and refers to people his own age as “you youngins”. He constantly crows that he is a “proud introvert” who’d rather be reading. We KNOW, BranBot!
Tormund leads a toast (with his awesome tusk cup) to the Dragon Queen and everyone cheers so maybe Dany’s making headway. She herself turns her own toast to Arya, the hero of the Battle of Winterfell. 
Jaime, Brienne, Tyrion, and Pod are playing a Westerosi version of Never Have I Ever with wine and Tormund, a bit drunk off his red ass, is going on and on about how awesome Jon is. Meanwhile, Dany is listening and though she toasts him she knows that she will always be an outsider to these people and they fucking love Jon.
Also, this happened:
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“May I have your name?”
“Daenerys Stormborn, the Unburnt, Queen of Meereen, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Mother of Dragons.”
“Okay, that’s Daniellris Shoehorn, the Sunburnt, Keen of Mean Girls, Bean of the Sandals and the Thirsty Hen, Call Sweetie of the Eight Assed Bee, Brother of Wagons. Is that correct?”
“Ugh. Just write Dany.”
“Okay, Fannie.”
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The PTB at HBO have since digitally removed The Cup from the episode but wah bro I think they should have kept it in. That’s hilarious. I want to live in a world where Starbucks exists on Game of Thrones. And it survived the battle. Of course House Styrbycks is right around the corner from Winterfell, conveniently situated at the heart of the town square. 
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And you better believe there’s a ride-thru for the horseman on the go.
I enjoy how HBO came out with a statement that Dany ordered herbal tea. I can see Dany ordering herbal tea.
In warmer climes, though, she’s definitely a dragon fruit smoothie girl.
Aside: Liam Cunningham recently went on Conan and gifted him The Cup:
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He swore it was the actual cup. How is that even possible?! Wouldn’t someone have tossed it after all this time? And the fact that it was still around had to signal to someone on set that a) trolol a person in Consistency fucked up and at least one dude on GoT knew it before the ep aired and b) that Emilia’s discarded latte appearing in a scene would be gold. 
I want to believe it’s legit. I want to believe so hard that it’s the real Cup and that all these circumstances came together to land the Cup in Liam’s hand all this time later. I want to, and so I shall.
(Yes, I know it is not the real Cup but shh I want to BELIEVE!)
So, Dany is watching everyone have fun and be close with each other, especially how everyone seems to love Jon here, and she’s feeling even more like an outsider (and not a bit insecure about her claim to the throne) and she gets up and leaves. Varys starts to follow her with his watchful Varys eyes.
Jaime, Brienne, Podrick, and Tyrion are still playing their game and getting increasingly drunker doing so. Drunker and more giggly. Everything’s all well and good until Tyrion suddenly sits up, looks Brienne in the eye, and accuses her of being a--dun dun dun--virgin. Pod nonchalantly sips his wine.
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Brienne clambers out of her seat and mutters that she has to piss. Tormund, also drunk as a skunk, stumbles to their table, celebrating, and asks--
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Well? Who did shit in Tormund’s pants?!
It’s kinda awks because Tormund is into Brienne but Brienne has feelings for Jaime and when did GoT become a teen soap opera? It’s like The North 00000 up in here.
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Tyrion pours more wine into Tormund’s tusk as Jaime follows Brienne out.
Dramz. Will they? Won’t they? Stay tuned next week!
No, they totally will right now. 
But first, Tormund is going to bitch.
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I was cheering for Tormund to win his Big Woman, I really was. But then Jaime showed up and their chemistry just...reignited. 
Tormund expresses sadness until a Northern lady volunteers to take up his time. The Hound continues to drown his sorrows--tho idk what he’s sad about, he’s alive--ignoring even the prospect of sexytimes until Sansa, finally able to make eye contact with the Hound, shares his table. It was a long time ago when she couldn’t even look at him, back when she was just a little bird. But now she’s a dark phoenix (see what I did there? Because Sophie Turner is starring in Dark Phoenix!) risen from the ashes, having had her revenge against her latest torturer/husband, Ramsay Bolton via his own hounds.
None of if would’ve happened if Sansa had left K.L. with the Hound way back when. But Sansa gently squeezes his hand and says that without Ramsay, Littlefinger, and all those assholes, she’d still be that same naive little bird.
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Anyone else get the vibe that David and D.B. are kinda...trying to justify what Ramsay did to Sansa here? Just an itty bit? All that’s missing is Sansa belting out Christina Aguilera’s “Fighter”. 
Outside, Arya is practicing her archery skillz when Gendry, the new Lord of Storm’s End, is imbued with way too much enthusiasm after being dubbed by Dany and legit blurts out a proposal to his one night stand right then and there.
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Ugh. I can’t wait until my shitty copy of Phhotoshop arrives. Until then I have to use paint shop. Look at those corners! They are making me itch.
Anyway, Arya obvs rejects Gendry’s proposal and it’s d’awww. Gendry is like that guy you hook up with once because he’s hot and afterwards, he won’t stop calling you and texting you and trying to add you as a Facebook friend and messaging you on Twitter suggesting that you fly to Michigan to meet his parents for Thanksgiving. This is something I know nothing about.
Ah, now we’ve circled back to the Jaime and Brienne Show!
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That’s if he’s not still obsessed with his siiiiiiiiissssterrrr (she’s a psycho!)
Brienne’s throwing more wood onto yet another hearth (there are a lot of hearths in Winterfell) when Jaime knocks on her door and unceremoniously proclaims that she did not drink when Tyrion accused her of being a V to the gin. He pours her some Dornish red and mutters about it being hot in here; Brienne has learned in the North to always keep a fire going. Jaime has learned in the North that he hates the fucking North. Brienne counters that it grew on her.
Jaime wonders if Tormund Giantsbane also grew on her. He seemed quite sad when she left.
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He wants the V-card and the V.
Jaime chuckles awkwardly and begins to pull at the collar of his shirt because “it’s bloody hot in here”. Brienne watches him warily for a second until she gets annoyed and unties the garment herself.
You see where this is going.
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First time for Jaime, too. He’s never slept with a knight before.
Has he ever slept with anyone who isn’t his sister before?
Shows how much he cares about Brienne. Letting someone in who isn’t Cersei. That’s a good, non-incestuous step forward, Jaime.
It’s a big moment for Brienne, too, aside from the obvious. She’s had a thing for Jaime for years. This is like that guy you’ve been secretly pining for suddenly realizing he’s totally into it.
In the next scene, Dany confronts a “slightly drunk” Jon, who did not know Ser Jorah very well, but he is pretty sure that if he would’ve chosen a way to die, it would have been protecting Dany. Dany knows Jorah loved her, but she couldn’t love him back--not the way he deserved, not the way she loves Jon.
They kiss and it’s like before Jon ever found out he’s also Aegon until--
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“Does Westeros have any support groups for this? Maybe I should ask Ser Jaime.”
Jon wishes that Dany had never told them that they were related and I’m sitting here like--
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He would’ve figured it out sooner or later, right? I mean, if he knew he was half Targaryen and all and Rhaegar was his daddy. I understand math is hard but...
Dany tries to forget and sometimes almost succeeds until tonight when she saw all those people gathered around him, looking at him like I’m The Hero! People have looked at her like that before, lots of people, but not here, not on this side of the Narrow Sea. She begs him not to tell anyone of his Targaryen lineage, to swear Samwell and BranBot to secrecy, so that things could go back to how they were before between them. 
But Jon must tell Sansa and Arya because family and nobility and Starkism and all that. And we all know Sansa no likey Dany, despite the fact that HER ARMIES SAVED YOUR NORTHERN ASS.
She begs him some more and he promises that she is his Queen and they can all live together. And they can, if Jon keeps his trap shut.
In Brienne’s quarters, if the animal pelts are a rockin’, don’t come a-knockin’!
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Warm enough in there now, Brienne? 
In the War Room--damn, don’t we all aspire to have a War Room?--our favorites are gathered around the Great Table or whatever with a map of Westeros in the center and some old timey Checkers pieces standing in for the two sides’ respective armies. Obvs, the Battle of Winterfell has depleted Dany and Jon’s forces greatly, but they still have enough to wage hell on Cersei. Yara has taken back the Iron Islands in her name, and the Prince of Dorne pledges his support. Still, Cersei has the Golden Company led by Guyliner Greyjoy and the Lannister Army fresh and ready to fight. 
Dany is not appeased. No matter how many noble people declare their fealty to her, while Cersei still sits on the Iron Throne, she can still call herself Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.
Jon, Tyrion, and Varys reassure her with talk of dragons and the people of K.L. having rebelled against their King before. Sansa adds that she wants to give the armies time to recuperate, which is also--
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--since they just fought Team Undead and all. But Dany wants to hit up K.L. NOW NOW NOW because the longer they wait, the stronger her enemies become. Or something.
Someone’s starting to lean a wee too far into her Targ roots. It’s just common sense, Dany. Take a chill pill.
But Jon sticks up for his GF. Very sternly, he swears the North will honor its commitments and allegiance to the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms and blah blah blah. 
Dany appears smug.
Silently, Arya and Sansa trade glances like--
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Tyrion narrates that Jon will lead the remaining forces up the Kingsroad while a smaller group of them will take a fleet to Dragonstone while the Queen will follow on...dragonback.
Jaime will remain at Winterfell as a guest. 
The camera ticks to Brienne’s expression at the mention of her former crush and new lovah’s name:
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She’s trying to outwardly remain passive, but inside--
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She’s getting laid and she’s not dead. Those are good times in Westeros.
Dany completes the conference and Arya demands a word with Jon. Outside, Jon is like “We’d all be DEAD if not for her” which is again DUH and Sansa snides “Arya’s the one that killed the Night King”. Arya wouldn’t have had the chance to kill the Night King without Dany’s armies because they’d all be DEAD. Seven Hells, you people are ridiculous. “We don’t trust her, ShE’s nOt OnE oF Us.” That is an absurd reason not to trust someone. I’m from New Jersey. It’d be like me about to be murdered and refusing help from someone because they’re from Florida. Don’t trust her because of her personality not because of where she is from.
And then, like a naive idiot, Jon actually thinks because he swore them to secrecy, Sansa and Arya will for sure totally keep his true lineage behind zipped lips.
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This here was one of the scenes that made me roll my eyes so hard, they almost got stuck.
From that, thankfully, GoT moves on to one of my favorite scenes of the episode. Jaime and Tyrion sitting there over drinks gossiping like yentas. Jaime’s giving his younger brother all the deets vis-a-vis his liaison with Brienne. When Tyrion doesn’t say anything snide, Jaime is visibly uncomfortable, and Tyrion claims he’s happy Jaime is happy. 
And--
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Tyrion has been waiting for ages to make tall person jokes.
He also wants to know what she’s like “down there”. Jaime calls him a dog.
But then Bronn shows up, finally after Creepy Qyburn hired him to kill Cersei’s “traitorous brothers”, a bit drunk off his ass, brandishing that crossbow. After he smacks Tyrion in the nose, he tells them that Cersei offered him Riverrun, but he knows the Queen is fucked after seeing Dany’s dragons, even with their depleted forces. And Cersei can’t pay up if she’s dead, so...
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So Tyrion counters the offer. Highgarden for Riverrun. Bronn would be made Lord of the Reach. It’s certainly open now that House Tyrell has been decimated (RIP Olenna, you ultimate badass). Jaime blanches. How could Tyrion just give him Highgarden? Well hell, it’s better than being dead. 
Jaime doesn’t think Bronn will seriously kill them. Jaime is wrong.
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Jaime scoffs Highgarden will never belong to a cuttrhoat but Bronn laughs pish-posh. Isn’t that how all the great Houses started? Kill a few hundred, they make you a Lord. Kill a few thousand, they make you a King?
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Tyrion gives Bronn-y his word he’l give him Highgarden as long as they take King’s Landing. Bronn opts out of leading the fight, but wishes the brothers luck with a casual “Don’t die”.
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The Hound yells “FFS!” when he meets up with Arya on the Kingsroad. Yep, they’re both goin’ Kings Landing way. Nope, Arya doesn’t really care to hang around, even if she is the hero after knifing that horned fucker. Yes, she probably will abandon the Hound again if he gets hurt.
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They both have “unfinished business”. Arya to scratch Cersei off her infamous Kill List. The Hound, presumably, to finally fulfill our fantasy of Clegane Bowl!
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Elsewhere, Dany is getting ready to leave the fucking frozen North, petting her dragons. And on this show, that is not a euphemism. One of them, presumably Rhaegal, takes flight.
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While Drogon remains with her, that mama’s boy.
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On the bridge, Sansa is watching Drogon and Rhaegal lift off, trying to shoot them down with her eyes.
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Before he leaves, Tyrion tries to convince her one more time that Daenerys is it, or at least a way better option than Cersei, and he believes in her, her people love her, Jon loves her, etc, and he’d totes appreciate it if they were at least allies, and he turns to leave as the camera pans close on Sansa’s face; she calls him back to spilleth the beans..eth.
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Did I win?
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As Jon is loading up his Horshon Wagon, Tormund jokes that he’s not riding the dragon down south. Jon laughs that Rhaegal needs a break; he doesn’t need Jon weighing him down.
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Tormund says that he has had enough of “the south” and plans to take the Free Folk back Beyond the Not Wall through Castle Black. It’s not home, not where they belong. Or, suddenly, where Ghost belongs either after EIGHT YEARS.
Yeah, this is where I RAGE.
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Jon insists the North is no place for a direwolf and asks Tormund to take Ghost with him back Beyond the Not Wall, where he knows no one, will be lonely, and have to contend with even colder weather than what he’s used to. Tormund tells Jon that he has the “real” North running through his veins and “maybe” they’ll meet again before he departs and Jon goes to HUG EVERYONE. 
ALMOST.
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RAGE! RAGE AGAINST THE JONCHINE!
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I know, I know working with the CGI wolves is ExPeNsIvE, blah blah. I DON’T CARE. There are dragons that spit actual fire on this show. Y’all couldn’t substitute a real big, white, fluffy doggie so Jon could bid his furry friend a real goodbye?! This was the saddest scene in GoT history. Forget Ned’s beheading or even the Red Wedding. This right here is inhuman.
The episode’s director, David Nutter, tried to defend himself, weakly, by insisting he thought this way was more powerful. He obviously does not own dogs. Or any pets of any kind. He did not anticipate how much we all love our furry friends. As soon as the episode aired, Twitter lit up with #GhostDeservedBetter. Poor Ghostie. He lost an ear for you! You’re leaving forever. I snuggle my dogs when I just leave to go to the bathroom. I shall honor Ghost here, First of His Name, Protector of the Realms of Men, the One Eared and the White Furred, Warden of the North. Or at least Warden of the Woof. 
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I had to watch this portion a few times to get the right screenshots so now I must go snuggle my own doggies. And tell them they are my own little direwoofies and I will never ever leave them. Especially for King’s Landing.
Jon “I’m the worst Wolf Daddy in Westeros” Snow rides off and Sam, Gilly, Tormund, and Ghost watch him go, even after his owner slighted him, because he is the goodest boi on the continent.
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On the way to Dragonstone, Tyrion has immediately spilled to Varys because let’s be honest: Jon’s true parentage was always going to stay a secret for about, meh, an hour? And now eight people know--Jon, Dany, Sansa, Arya, Tyrion, Varys, Sam, and BranBot. Which makes it less a secret and more info. If the internetz had existed back then, the whole of Twitter would’ve known within fifteen minutes. #JongonSnowgaryen would trend worldwide. Westeroswide? 
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I need to start following The_Mastr. 
People like Jon. They follow Jon (even tho he’s a terrible pet owner). If this were to get out, Dany would lose the North--Winterfell and the Vale. Sansa would see to that. 
Tyrion suggests marrying them and they could rule together. They love each other, but Varys ain’t so sure Jon could ever see beyond that whole “she’s his aunt” thing. And Dany doesn’t like to have her authority questioned. Then Tyrion cheerfully suggests that Cersei could end up killing them all anyway and that would solve their problems.
And then Guyliner Greyjoy comes out of nowhere and motherfucking shoots down Rhaegal!
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I literally gasped “NOOOOOOOOO!” out loud when this happened. My animal-loving heart can only take so much, Game of Thrones. There’s a fan theory that technically we didn’t see Rhaegal die and two somethings appeared in the sky in the trailer for the next episode so he could come back with a vengeance. Please come back with a vengeance, Rhaegal. 
Dany is furious that Captain Maybelline shot her baby and orders Drogon to make a beeline for him. But afraid for her other baby’s life, she turns at the last minute. Euron, annoyed that he only took down one dragon, instead aims for the boat carrying Team Daenerys, which explodes under the force of multiple scorpion arrows. 
All of them swim to shore--all of them, except one. Just before the arrows flew, Grey Worm ordered Missandei to seek refuge on the skiff, and, when we shift to the castle gates, we see Cersei presiding over thousands of innocents who will be caught in the crossfire of war between her and Dany, her child (which she tells Captain Maybellne is his), and a captured Missandei.
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In the War Room at Dragonstone--every Great House has a War Room, it seems--our merry band is presiding over a map of King’s Landing where Varys looks Dany in the eye and begs her not to attack the castle. They have Missandei, they killed Rhaegal, yes, but thousands of innocents are held inside the Red Keep, which is Cersei’s modus operandi. Varys pleads with her not to destroy the city she came to save but Dany believes she has a destiny to rid the world of tyrants, and she will fulfill it, no matter the cost.
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That sounds vaguely culty, Dany. It wasn’t that long ago you were doing all you could to avoid a battle inside King’s Landing, cus you didn’t wanna destroy the city and the people you were gonna rule over. What happened? Don’t go all Aerys on us.
Tyrion suggests offering Cersei her life in exchange for the throne to avoid carnage. Dany knows Cersei will never go for it, but it’s good for PR, anyway. The people will know that Daenerys Stormborn tried to avoid bloodshed, and Cersei Lannister refused.
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Take it back a few, Dany. Just a few, mkay?
At the hearth--there is always a hearth chat going on, and Dragonstone is no exception--Tyrion and Varys are having A Talk. Varys has served many tyrants, and they all talk about destiny and stuff. But, Tyrion negates, Dany has walked through fire and made dragons and lived, maybe she really is destined to rule the Seven Kingdoms. 
Varys considers How To Solve A Problem Like Jon Snow. Who may not be a problem so much as a solution. Who would make a better ruler, Jon or Dany? Varys knows Jon doesn’t wanna rule, which is partly why he bent the knee, but maybe a good ruler would be someone who doesn’t want to rule at all.
And Jon’s a dude, which, in ye olden times, was important. Also why he’s got a tighter claim to the throne than Dany does. They’re talking treason right now. Tyrion accuses Varys of abandoning all of the kings he served under. Varys reaffirms that he will always serve what’s best for the realm and the people, thousands of whom will die if the wrong person sits on the throne. 
Tyrion asks what happens to Dany and Varys gives him a look like “What do you think?” 
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At Winterfell, the Northerners are rebuilding while Sansa and Brienne are being all secret-like, talking in whispers and glancing at Jaime. He follows them, having the creeping sensation that they’re talking about something that pertains to him. When he asks what’s up, Brienne tells him that they just got word of Guyliner Greyjoy’s ambush on Dany’s ships, Rhaegal’s death, and Missandei’s capture. 
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And another for Jaime Reacting to Bad News screenshots:
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BUT what exactly is he reacting to? That Cersei is going to die or that he isn’t going to do it himself?
That night, Jaime is watching Brienne sleep, then creeps outside to pack up his mighty steed to head back to the capital. Too bad Brienne wakes up and catches him. The city is going to be destroyed, they all know this. And Jaime doesn’t have to die alongside Cersei.
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Jaime doesn’t think he’s a good man. He pushed a boy out of a window and crippled him for life (which led to him becoming BranBot) for Cersei. He strangled his cousin to get back to Cersei. He would’ve killed every man, woman, and child in Riverrun to get back to Cersei. She’s a monster. And so is Jaime.
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And then he leaves and Brienne is heartsick and her POOR FACE. 
THIS EPISODE IS KILLING ME.
But--and I know a lot of other people think this, too--after I wrung my hands a bit, I thought about this moment. I think Jaime’s going back to K.L. to off Cersei himself, leaving Brienne to believe he left because he thinks he doesn’t deserve her. It still SUCKS but it’s less sucky than thinking he’d rather have his twin sister’s V. 
In said capital, the remaining Unsullied and Dothraki forces, along with Dany and her merry men, are lined up outside the gates. Cersei, Pirate von D, and Cersei’s ever lurking zombie Mountain are on the battlements with a chained Missandei. The camera sweeps to show both sides and when did King’s Landing get so FLAT?
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Isn’t King’s Landing supposed to be all lush and hilly? What has Cersei done to the place?! This is Dubrovnik, ffs!
Creepy Qyburn comes out of the gates and Tyrion goes to meet him, Hand to Hand. Queen Daenerys demands Cersei’s unconditional surrender and the return of Missandei, unharmed. Queen Cersei demands Daenerys’ unconditional surrender. It’s a stalemate and they’re not getting anywhere so Tyrion tries to appeal to Creepy Qyburn’s logic. They have a chance to prevent bloodshed. To not cause the screams of thousands of children as hellfire is rained down upon them. It’s not a pleasant sound, Qyburn agrees. Alas, he still goes on about Cersei being the one true Queen so Tyrion pushes past him to speak to his sister himself.
Meanwhile, the rest of us are all--
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Dany also thinks this is not a good idea.
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Some of the Lannister army up on the battlements with Cersei and Co get their bows and arrows ready but as Tyrion approaches, Cersei waves them off with a smug smile. Calling up to her, Tyrion says he knows Cersei doesn’t care about the people of the Seven Kingdoms; they hate her and the feeling’s mutual. 
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He mentions her children, her unborn child. How she loved them more than life itself. And just because her reign is over doesn’t mean her life has to end, her her child has to die. 
Just for a moment, one moment, it appears as if his words are getting to her. Cersei takes a deep breath, lets it out shakily. Lena’s acting in this instance is superb. And then, she crosses to Missandei as Dany and Grey Worm race toward the gate in alarm, and murmurs “If you have any last words, now is the time”.
Missandei’s last word?
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With her last word, Missandei is telling Dany to fuck it all and burn King’s Landing to the ground.
Cersei gives zombie Mountain the nod to take off Missandei’s head, and poor Grey Worm can’t watch as the undead monster kills his girlfriend.
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Dany shakes, turns, and walks away as Cersei smiles triumphantly.
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The Mother of Dragons is so done fucking around, y’all.
Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh this episode was a ride. I wanted to wring SO many necks. Jon Snow, how does it feel to be the villain of the internet? Jaime, you best be headin’ back to K.L. to kill Cersei. Don’t you be breaking Brienne’s heart for nothing. Burn it all down, Dany! #Cleganebowl!
I am EXCITE for the penultimate ep. So EXCITE!
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occupyvenus · 7 years
Text
I don’t buy it - Jon isn’t “a northern fool”
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!! SPOILERS FOR LEAKED EP 6 AHEAD !!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just don’t buy it. I still believe that Jon is playing Danielle (btw we are using this name so it won’t show up in the search, not as an insult), going “undercover” as he did with the wildlings, to ensure she helps against the white walkers. Want to know why? Keep reading, but I warn you this got ... very, very, very long. 
This turned, more or less, into an analysis of the entire Jon x Danielle interaction over season 7 somehow, even though it wasn’t really supposed to be that. Just to be clear about this: If you are a hardcore j0nerys shipper who doesn’t like people having different opinions.... you better stop reading right now. All nasty comments will be deleted without exception. If you see things differently and are open for a civil conversation, well don’t let me stop you. I’m not trying to “hate” on somebody else’s ship here, but as a fan of the series I can analyze and interpret the things happening. J0nery is one of the things happening right now.
They way I see it, there are three key issues to their relationships that can be seen both as motivation for them working and being together, and as distinct sources of conflict. Both internally for each character and in their interpersonal relationship. 1. the personal aspect | their personal feelings for each other, generally and specifically romantic 2. the political aspect | Jon’s duty to stand for an independent North vs Danielle's desire to rule over all Seven Kingdoms 3. the ... “end of the world” aspect | the looming threat that will end them all
At the beginning of ep3 Jon and Danielle were opposed on everyone of those issues: They didn’t know or particularly like each other, they both are relentless about their political decision, Danielle doesn’t believe him about the WW’s and/or is only ready to help under certain conditions.
At the end of ep6 these three issues seem to perfectly align, all conflict seems to be resolved: They are clearly, if not in direct words, admitting their love for each other, Jon has given up his claim on the Northern Crown, Danielle has decided to destroy the night king and his army.
This could be the natural progression of the story. My question is whether this resolution, despite being rushed, was properly portrayed, developed and flashed out over those 3 episodes. Whether the last interaction between Jon and Danielle was earned, whether Douchebag&Dumbass (they earned those nicknames by butchering Arya’s and Jaime’s character, btw) used their limited screen time to build up to this moment. After all, the (supposed) J0nerys romance is clearly meant to be the “emotional climax” of this season.
Now when you look at all their interactions over the season you notice that something is missing. Something very important when developing an intimate personal relationship such as a romance. There is no real human bonding moment for them. Though I supposed that’s not completely true. Danielle does share a few personal issues with Jon, but we never hear Jon talk about anything personal and/or private with her. 
This starts in their first interaction when Danielle talks about her hardships, while Jon keeps shut about his and when she later talks about their dead brothers and Jon doesn’t really respond to the topic. This pattern persists when she asks for his advice on the beach, clearly indicating that she came to value and respect his opinion, while he is resisting to give her a clear answer, responding only with a vague statement praising her previous achievements and alluding to her potential. He doesn’t just outright says what he thinks, as he has f  If he was sure about Danielle having a “good heart” and trusts her, wouldn’t he feel free to just speak his mind? But it seems he’s afraid of saying the wrong thing, worried about alienating or offending her. Which makes sense, he is in a very vulnerable position right now, basically her prisoner, and needs her to be on his side. Pissing her off is the last things he would need. 
The interesting thing about the cave scene is that while it is shot as the most “romantic” scene for those two characters - the location, the lighting, the dramatic music score, EC’s line reading - they don’t really talk about anything personal in it. Not really. Their shared appreciation of the locations historical significance makes for a bit of a human connection, I guess, Danielle is definitely guilty of some heart-eyes, Jon puts on a more sympathetic face as well, but despite what EC’s voice is trying to tell you: The topic of this conversation is neither personal nor romantic. It ends with their thus far unresolved conflict: To kneel or not to kneel, that is the question. 
The dragon petting session was definitely a moving moment for Danielle and finally Jon being a secret targ means ... something. But Jon makes it pretty clear that his targ-blood doesn’t immediately make him regard dragons as cute pets. When his statement about them offends Danielle, he corrects himself and calls them “gorgeous beasts”. Again, she is sharing something personal and important - her connection to her dragons - but Jon doesn’t respond with an equally meaningful story. It’s obvious that he doesn’t approve of her actions - wait until he finds out about the Tarlys - so their one-on-one conversation ends on a conflicted note. I’m pretty sure that Jorah views heartthrob Jon Snow as a potential love rival (what man wouldn’t?), but I don’t think that Jon looks jealous at all. Mostly confused about the weird, old, know slaver that just showed up.
When Bran’s letter arrives, Danielle is trying to strike a more personal tone by telling Jon she’s happy for him, but Jon is going straight back into politics and EotW territory. This would have been a perfect opportunity for Jon to show his “human” side a little bit more. Forgetting about everything else for a minute, sharing ... something, just something about his long lost siblings with the supposed love of his life. But nothing, straight back to White Walker talk. Danielle is obviously worried about Jon going on this stupid ass mission, I have no doubt in my mind that she is head over heels for him at this point. But Jon? He calls her a stranger. He asserts his position as king (Y’all are disappointing Tywin this season) and makes it clear that she can’t force him to stay on this island. Danielle is obviously in too deep to care about it anymore. (It’s a shame Dickon never had a chance to seduce her... ). 
Last, but not least their farewell scene  She states that she has grown fond of him, while Jon is keeping the conversation proper and formal. While Danielle is longingly looking after him, Jon doesn’t turn around. This fact is even more emphasized by Jorah’s presence who does take a last long look at the woman he loves, whom he might never see again. Why not have Jon do the same? Why not have Jorah turning around only to see them two exchange a long meaningful look, causing some love-triangle tension? Don’t tell me that Douchebag & Dumbass would be “above” this. 
Compare it to Jon meeting Gendry. They talk about their fathers (why Gendry has come to care so much for his sperm donor is anybody’s guess, btw), joke a bit and connect. Jorah and Jon have a similar conversation about their fathers in ep6. We have an interaction like this for most, if not all characters who are forced to or decide to work together. We see this with Tyrion & Jorah, Sansa & Bran, Bronn & Jaime, Tormund & the Hound, Brienne & Arya etc etc. Because in order for us to care about the bond two people share, we need to see that bond being formed. We need characters to tell each other about their feelings, experiences, opinions, families, traumas, etc. for us to get emotionally involved with their relationship. We simply have no interaction between them where they connect as human beings. Especially Jon never brings up any private issues. We never see them actually getting know each other as people. Which is so so odd. If their love story and relationship was this important to the overall story, wouldn’t they want to make sure we get emotionally involved in it? 
They could have easily written in Jon telling Danielle about his “father”. This is a difficult topic for them, considering the rebellion and stuff, but he brings up good old Ned to almost every single person he talks to. Jon has some serious daddy-issues and it would make sense for him to defend his father to Danielle. To make her see that he wasn’t the kind of man who sends assassin after newborn children. But not once do we see him go “I can’t speak to Robert and you might not want to hear this, but my father was the most honorable dudebro in all the seven kingdoms, blah blah.” Btw, why did Varys never tell her that Ned quit his job because he didn’t agree with Robert? He could have chimed in, overhearing them “by accident” and tell that story. Them having a conversation about Danielle’s father, the rebellion, this conflict and tension between their houses would have given real depth to their relationship. I would even consider them sorting out these issues a key requirement for them to even have a healthy, mutually loving relationship. Why were they never brought up? Why do we never see Jon talk about anything that matters to him as a person, other than the threat beyond the Wall and his duties as king? 
What I’m trying to say is that their personal interactions are biased toward Danielle. She has made obvious heart eyes, talked about personal issues and showed that she gained trust in Jon. I’m not saying that Jon isn’t attracted to her or dislikes her completely. But, at least everyone should be able to admit that up until their goodbye in episode 5  Danielle looks a lot, like a hella lot, more love-struck than Jon. Even if one could argue that Jon has his moments where he shoots her a tender look, the disparity is pretty apparent.
But then in ep6 immediately after Jon wakes up on Danielle’s ship (btw, at least Jon didn’t decide to ditch WF for KL by his own choice. Of course Douchebag&Dumbass had to put him straight on a boat, because as so many people - me included - pointed out: It makes no sense for him to want to go. He should have want to go to WF by all means, home to his family and his people, preparing them for the threat that is getting really fucking close), he basically hands her everything she wants on a silver platter, without any coaxing from Danielle whatsoever.
Don’t you think that’s at least a very drastic, sudden shift in his behaviour? Even if we assume that he has changed his mind about Northern Independence eg he’s willing to kneel in exchange of her help, even if we assume that he has developed serious feelings for her, why would he be the one to bring this up? Why would he be so direct about it all of a sudden? Why not wait until Danielle mentions the whole kneeling issue, hoping that maybe she’s ready to put the political struggle aside now that she’s seen the enemy with her own two eyes - as was Jon’s original plan - but still being ready to give in should she press on about it? I wouldn’t begrudge Jon for doing so, but just giving up the north by his own choosing, proclaiming her “his queen” -ugh- stands in direct contrast to his convictions so far.
What has changed? Seriously, what happened between the end of e5 and the end of ep6 that could have made Jon do a literal 180 on this topic? . Let’s look at the conversations Jon has with his suicide squad companions, shall we?
Jon talks to Tormund in Eastwatch | It’s interesting that Jon doesn’t try to distinguish between Cersei and Danielle in any way. When Tormund asks which queen he has to convince, he simply says “both”. Though I was under the impression that Danielle already believed him - maybe still a bit unaware about the true extent of the issue - and this was first and foremost to get Cersei on board. He could have said “Danielle won’t risk sending her armies north until Cersei is convinced” or something like that. If he was already in love with her and believes her to be “his queen” -ugh- wouldn’t he come to her defense? Wouldn’t he try to put the “blame” for this stupid, stupid, stupid idea firmly on Cersei?
Jon talks to the Brotherhood without Banners in their Cells | The one thing to notice here is that Jon makes it clear that nothing else matters anymore, everyone who still breathes is on the same side. We have to work with people we neither like, nor trust because all of these squabbles don’t matter anymore. The only thing that counts is defeating the Night King.
Jon talks to Jorah | This would have been the perfect opportunity to bring up Danielle. Seriously, when I saw them starting talking I was already shielding myself for some “isn’t she just amazeballs”-comments from Jorah and maybe even Jon. Simply because ... well it’s Jorah’s favourite subject in the whole world and if Jon really was jealous he could have asked some side-eyes question about his relationship with her. Jorah himself could have pulled a Tyrion a la “Kh*leesi is the most wonderful person in this world, you will see that and then call her your queen -ugh- too.” Have Jon say something a la “D*enerys, she is quite an impressive woman.”. He’s talking to someone who knows the woman he supposedly loves very well, why isn’t he prying for some information? But she isn’t a topic of conversation between them at all. Similar to many of the things mentioned above, while this scene doesn’t necessarily refute any potential romantic feelings from Jon’s side, it is clearly a missed opportunity to shift our focus on them.
Jon talks to Tormund | Danielle comes up, but again not in a personal context. Another missed opportunity to mention the emotional aspect of their relationship. Since, you know, this is Tormund. They could have easily written in a comment a la “What does a fucking dragon queen look like?” or something like this. If you need a shameless character who doesn’t care about personal boundaries and just outright asks inappropriate questions, Tormund is your man. Hell, it wouldn’t have been out of character for him to straight out ask whether “Jon’s little pecker got happy with the dragon queen while he was south. Is that why he took so long?” or something alike. But no. He only asks “so you’ve met that dragon queen?” and Jon takes the conversation into the political direction. He brings up that she’ll only help if he bends the knee and Tormund this train of thought by highlighting the Jon/Mance parallels in this situation once again.
Jon talks to Beric | His talk to Beric revolves around the whole Lord-of-light, brought-back-from-the-dead, what-are-we-fighting-for issue. Beric states that they are not fighting for some king or queen, but for life itself. Weird that Jon would proclaim a woman “his queen” -ugh- not 30 min later. Jon rehashes a line from his night’s watch vows: The shield that guards the realms of men. This is a call-back to his conversation with Half-Hand back in season 2(?), who reminded him that “we are the watcher’s on the wall” before he died and told Jon “to do what needs to be done.” Does anyone remember how Jon infiltrating the Wildlings went down? 
Looking back at the three big issues surrounding the relationship between Jon and Danielle, only two of them were brought up in their time apart: The impending threat from the dead, how fighting them is all that truly matters and Jon’s dilemma of bending the knee to get Danielle’s help. She is never mentioned as a love-interest. The personal side of this equation is not addressed between him leaving DSt and him being saved by her.
Which is weird, because ... a bunch of dudebros alone in the wilderness, some of them even talk about ladies and sex and dicks (emmy nominated writing, folks), would have been a great opportunity to bring this up. But instead the theme of Jon’s conversations seem to be “proud men and their downfalls”. Something that has been mentioned many, many times over the season. 
His conversation with Jorah (like he didn’t talk about Danielle with Jorah -kh*lessi loving- fucking mormont.) also revolves around the topic that honorable men don’t always get what they deserve. Jorah’s father was killed by his own men, Ned was executed. Plus the Mance dilemma is connected to this as well. “Pride” and “honor” are more or less the same thing when you think about it. This plays back into the “Northern fool” narrative the season has been setting up since episode one. We here about three men who found their untimely death because, or despite of, their own kind of honor. Jon has been warned by Sansa not make those same mistakes and Jon himself has admitted to coming to close to doing just that. But more on this later. 
All of Jons interactions and seeing how effective the dragons truly are explain why he has made the decision to bend the knee, at least why he’s ready to give in to her demands, not why he would actively give it up. But there were no conversations that would allude to his growing feelings for Danielle. At all. If that was the “emotional climax” of the episode, shouldn’t they put in a few things hinting at it?
I would also like to mention how very odd his behaviour after waking up was. The first thing he said wasn’t “where am I?”, it wasn’t about his uncle who just died to save him (which I would assume would be the first thing that comes to mind). It wasn’t Danielle asking him “How did you get out of there??!! We all thought you were dead.”. Before Danielle could say anything, he tells her how sorry he is about Viserions death. I’m not trying to be insensitive here, I know that her dragons are immensely important to her but to Jon? His uncle was just killed in front of his eyes, shouldn’t that be the thing he is heartbroken about? He didn’t even build any kind of personal connection to Viserion specifically. He should have started this conversation with many other things, but he very deliberately chose to start with that.
If I’m allowed to put this in colloquial terms, he is sucking up to Danielle. Just as he’s been doing in ep4 when she asks for his advice, just as he did in ep5 when he didn’t think “beautiful” was the right word to describe her “children”. This is before Danielle promises to destroy the night king with him, it seems to me that he is doing what he’s been doing for the entire season: Catering to Danielle’s feelings and wishes. Soothing her temper. Not saying the wrong words as not to alienate her. Rather than holding his tongue or beating around the bush, as he has done before, he actively says exactly what she wants to hear. And that’s exactly how that interaction progresses.
Jon establishing physical contact to create an intimate atmosphere, “using” her obvious crush on him, going a bit further by inventing a fun nickname for her, him calling her “my queen” -uuughhhh-, giving up the North and saying that what the Northern Lords want doesn’t matter because they’ll change their mind once they see how amazeballs she is. This entire conversation revolves around her, Jon only talks about things that are supposed to make her feel good. Again, there is no mention to how Jon survived. Jon apologizes for going on the dumb wight hunt ... when it wasn’t even really his idea?! Tyrion came up with the plan of catching a dead and bringing it to cersei. Why is he taking all the blame for this bullshit plot? 
Danielle isn’t taking at least some part of the blame herself “if only I had believed you, all of this wouldn’t have happened. Viserion would still be alive”. The next comment might be fueled by a bit of salt and left-over range from yesterday, so don’t take it too seriously, but “you have to see it to believe it.” sounded almost like an excuse. “Don’t apologize, it’s good this happened, this isn’t your fault. But it isn’t mine either, because how could I know?” This would be consistent with her characterisation so far. She is not willing to admit any mistakes, not even to herself. If I look back, I’m lost. But Jon doesn’t point any fingers either, not even in the most subtle way “we had to do it to convince you and cersei”... which is odd. As said above take this last paragraph with a grain of salt, because it was written with an ounce of salt.
Why would he just call her “D*ny” all of the sudden? He hasn’t called her anything but “Your Grace” until now. This comes out of nowhere. It’s pretty easy to create a narrative leading up to this moment, btw. Why not have Danielle offer to address each other on a first-name-basis? Do it on the beach when they say their farewells, Jon calls her “Your Grace” and she answers with “Daenerys is alright.” Jon only nods and turns away. At first Jon declines because of the whole (potential) political, I-can’t-love-you-because-THA-NORTH, so-I-have-to-stay-formal thingy, but after she saves his ass he calls her D*enerys for the first time. She smiles, obviously moved by this and he jokingly says “or maybe D*ny?” and the show can take it from there. Sounds a lot more romantic and a lot less random, right? It would take two lines of dialogue to make this seem a lot more natural and a lot less suspicious and ooc.
Side-note: After Danielle leaves the room and Jon opens his eyes (did he only pretend to sleep?) he looks exhausted, exasperated. Not like a man who just shared a very intimate moment with the woman he loves. It just doesn’t add up. Why is Danielle lovingly looking at his sleeping face not the last shot? 
Altogether, their “romantic relationship” is still as one-sided as it was before, only now Jon is actively pushing for it to be that way. All in all his behaviour is way over the top. It sounds like a man who’s simply trying to woo a woman for one reason or another. If they had taken it down just a nudge I would have believed it. If they had shown some restraint to either the romantic tones or the kneeling issue, I would have taken it as Jon’s genuine feelings. But this way? It’s too much, too sudden, without having a proper build up to it. It’s just not how “Jon” would act.
This is mostly what if comes down to: the romantic hints over the season were really, really on the nose - dramatic, emotional scores and line reading that do not match the tone of conversation (cave scene), or third characters spilling it out for the audience (davos), or moving deep into soap opera territory (boat scene) - but just as superficial. All these hints are thrown into our faces without properly being set up or developed. There were countless possibilities to give it some real depth and as little trust as I have in Dickheads&Douchebags writing abilities I don’t understand why they wouldn’t use them. As much as I disagree with a lot of their choices I can contemplate why they are doing stupid. The whole stupid arya vs sansa subplot is there to create some tension and drama in WF. I get it. It’s stupid as hell but I at least understand where the stupid is coming from. I know what they are trying to achieve with that stupid. But this? Half-assing the big love story of the show? The only explanation that makes some sense to me is that Jonnearrris is a red herring. 
A really well executed one, btw. Make sure the audience can’t miss it, but also prevent them from forming a real emotional connection to it. After all it is supposed to distract from the real storyline (I’m going to assume jonsa & targbowl) not compete against it. You want the audience to be shocked, but not hate you for ruining the most amazing, emotionally involving love story you’ve ever seen.
This leads me to my final conclusion: There are only two options here.
a) Dickhead & Dipshit missed out several obvious opportunities to flash out Jon’s feelings, because ... just because, and fucked up to effectively use their limited screen time to develop the grand love story of GoT. The cave scene, for all it’s romantic lighting, background music and line reading, concludes on the very political issue of northern independence. Dragon petting could have been used for Jon to make a personal statement (I have a direwolf I love and miss very much - as does the audience, btw - I wouldn’t call him “my child” but I got the connection you have going on with those lizards), instead Jon isn’t to keen of the fire breathing lizards and their conversation ends with him not being to sure what to think about her victory on the field of fire. Their goodbye scene could have been used to have them throw a last longing glance at each other, instead Danielle looks on while Jon has his back turned and doesn’t look back. Jon’s conversation with Jorah could have been used to cause and highlight some tension between them since they are “in love” with the same woman, instead it revolves around honorable, upright men and their deaths. His conversation with Tormund could have been used for some light-hearted guy-talk, as is Tormunds speciality, but instead it’s about the lives Mance could have saved if he had let go of his pride (and honor) and knelt. Again, there isn’t much in the season that would outright refute any romantic feelings from Jon’s side, he at least seems attracted to her and perhaps a bit intrigued (she is beautiful and a very fascinating woman if nothing else), but I can see missed opportunities to have Jon’s feelings mentioned or emphasized left and right. So many that it’s hard to believe Dumbass & Douchebag aren’t aware of it. If the entire season was building up to this “revelation” in ep6 and the following boatbang in ep7 wouldn’t they have used everything they got to actually build up to it? If this truly is where the show is headed, they did a very very lousy job. And don’t tell me that all the things I mentioned above would be “too cheesy” because the last Danielle / Jon scene in ep6 was fucking cheesy as hell. Btw, maybe my Jonsa-shipping-goggles make me a bit “immune” to all this, but if that’s the case, jonnearis-shipping-goggles make people overly perceptive to it as well. This accusation goes both ways.
Which leads me to the second option:
b) They didn’t mention the personal aspects of this plot point because they don’t really matter. Because things are not as they seem. They emphasize the political and “end of the world” issues in Jon’s story line and his relationship to danielle because those are the things influencing his behaviour, most importantly the drastic shift in his behaviour between leaving DSt and reuniting with Danielle on the boat on their way to the stupid stupid dragon pit meeting: He is giving up on his political agenda and uses all means possible to make sure Danielle helps them. He has learned from his predecessors mistakes (Mance not kneeling - and dying, Ned being to trustworthy - and dying, Robb falling in love with a foreign woman - losing his people - and dying) and is now using that knowledge for his advantage. There are only three possible payoffs to the “Northern fool” narrative: 1. Jon is making the same mistakes as the men he’s compared to and will suffer similar consequences (unlikely, since he is aware of that and has already broken with his mance-persona), 2. he does the same mistakes without it backlashing because Danielle is just so amazing (very unsatisfying storytelling) 3. he learned from it and doesn’t make the same mistakes. He goes along with everything she wants, tries to win her over by all means possible because what he said is true “D*enerys is their last hope”. Not only in this specific event of stupidly getting trapped by the Army of the Dead in the middle of a frozen lake because ~someone~ thought it was a great idea to go on a fucking idiotic wight hunt, without horses, adequate manpower or any real plan, but also in the grander scheme of things. If Danielle doesn’t help them (what if she refuses to go back north after one of her dragons was killed there?) they are fucked. That’s why Jon went to DSt in the first place, later admitting that is was a stupid idea, that’s why he went beyond the wall to catch a fucking wight, even though that was a really bad idea. All his actions this season were motivated by defeating the threat to the north. All of them (except for choking Littlefinger, *cough*). Even reuniting with Bran and Arya had to take a backseat to this issue. Is it really that far-fetched that his ooc-behaviour at the end of ep6 is the same? If you consider all the things mentioned above? He can’t risk her bailing on him, so he does everything he can to cater to her feelings and desires voluntarily and up-front, to make sure she fights the WW’s, to make sure she doesn’t have any excuse to leave them high and dry.
I would also like to mention that this theory doesn’t even need to implement any possible dark!dany or targbowl or just general endgame speculations. Except for one paragraph, this is solely based on what happened on screen this season. This isn’t about me being a salty shipper either. It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of any j0nerys romance really, but the big pay off in e6 was simply unearned. Either Dickhead & Dipshit fucked up writing a romance or they are presenting us with a wonderfully crafted red herring. Being the optimist I am, I’ll believe in the second until proven wrong. 
I teased to write a “little something” about this issue, but it turned into a “fucking big something” instead. Thanks for sticking with me until the end!
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