With ‘Eastwatch‘ clocking in at 71 minutes long, you could hardly be blamed for struggling to remember everything that happened during the fifth Game of Thrones episode this season.
But even without that, HBO always packs in more to an episode than is possible to gleam from your first viewing, or even second or third.
As always, here’s a bunch of shit you might have missed first watch.
1. Daenerys didn’t completely destroy House Tarly.
Sure, Tyrion might have argued that – and Randyll and Dickon Tarly were certainly burnt to a crisp – but another Tarly remains: Samwell.
That being said, it was very Mad King of Dany to execute a father and son like that, kind of like how Aegon II Targaryen executed Rickard and Brandon Stark by burning Rickard alive and forcing Brandon to strangle himself. And then you’ve got Cersei currently undergoing a drawn-out mother-daughter execution. This show is big on homicides for the WHOLE family, huh.
2. These are the prophecies the maesters were laughing at.
After Sam tries to convince the maesters to believe Bran‘s letter, they joke amongst themselves (shoutout to this Redditor for the quotes).
“It brings to mind the work of Jenny of Oldstones, the charlatan who claimed descent from the children of the forest,” says one.
“Don’t forget the prophecy of Lodos, who promised that the Drowned God would rise up and destroy Aegon the Conqueror,” says another.
Jenny of Oldstones, the wife of Prince Duncan Targaryen, was friends with the wood witch who prophesied The Prince That Was Promised, so STFU you old dumb maesters. THAT WILL BE REAL.
And as for the Lodos prophesy: is the show hinting at another Euron Greyjoy annihilation? Or, as Lodos called on the krakens of the deep to raise up with him and take down Aegon I Targaryen’s warships (they never appeared), are we possibly going to see another mythical creature? Unlikely, imo. But damn it would be cool.
Those maesters were dicks, anyway. I’m glad Sam stole their books.
3. Davos’ line to Gendry was a TOTAL wink to the audience.
When Davos finds Gendry in a King’s Landing armoury, he tells him, “I thought you might still be rowing.” Is it… do you think that… maybe… the GoT writers have gone on the internet?
The joke has never once been made before.
Still rowin’…#GoT
— Joe Dempsie (@joedempsie) June 18, 2014
Sorry to include this major breaking of the fourth wall in a ‘things you missed’ round-up, but it needed to be mentioned.
4. And Gendry’s weapon of choice is a nod to Robert Baratheon.
Robert famously used a warhammer in battle, so it makes poetic sense that his bastard son Gendry would be wielding one as well.
5. What was Qyburn saying to Cersei when Jaime walks in?
According to this Redditor, he was saying, “I can give you something,” and she replies, “That won’t be necessary.” The Redditor reckons it was in relation to the pregnancy Cersei then reveals to Jaime.
There is just so much to unpack in this pregnancy, which somehow gets overshadowed by the entire rest of the episode. Is Cersei lying about it, and simply trying to manipulate Jaime? Is it legit? How does this factor in to the prophecy that Cersei would have three children, all of whom would die? And for that matter, what about the only baby Cersei had with Robert Baratheon, who she tells Catelyn Stark died from a fever? (Note: in the books she did not carry the pregnancy to term, telling Ned Stark she aborted the foetus by drinking Moon Tea.) And if Cersei openly flaunts her incestuous relationship with her brother, what will that do to dissension amongst her people?
I need a drink. Moving on.
6. Dany’s expressed her ‘leaving the world a better place’ sentiment before.
It seems a weird thing for Dany to be so concerned about righting the world when she is literally burning men alive, but at least she acknowledged it this season.
So that line she tells Jon as he’s leaving for Eastwatch, about “leaving the world a better place than we found it”? It’s what she also said to Yara and Theon Greyjoy when they joined her side towards the end of last season. Maybe try sticking to your guns, Dany, hey.
7. Here’s how Thoros of Myr and Jorah Mormont know each other.
The meeting in Eastwatch wasn’t under the happiest of circumstances, and it brought together a bunch of characters who haven’t interacted in seasons – or ever, as far as the audience is concerned.
Thoros and Jorah actually met before the events of ‘A Song of Ice and Fire‘, before Jorah was exiled from Westeros. They both fought in the Battle of Pyke, when King Robert sought to squash the Greyjoy Rebellion. Thoros was notably the first man through the breach, with Jorah not far behind him, earning himself a knighthood for his bravery.
Joran and Ser Barriston discuss the siege in season three, and Jorah notes that Thoros was “waving that flaming sword of his.” Ser Barriston affectionately calls Thoros a “bloody madman”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1pPQwXsZx0&feature=youtu.be
8. We’ve seen the letter Arya finds before.
It’s the letter Sansa Stark was forced to write when she was captive at King’s Landing. We’ve got more detail on that HERE, but judging by Littlefinger‘s creepy lurking after Arya finds it, it looks like he’s planting it to drive a wedge between the Stark sisters. And between paying random girls off and chatting to the northern Lords, that man needs to die, like, yesterday.
9. Yes, Gilly just dropped a major Rhaegar Targaryen bombshell.
And Sam didn’t even noticed. We go into more detail about it HERE, but basically Gilly uncovers a record of Rhaegar Targaryen annulling his marriage to Elia Martell and wedding Lyanna Stark in secret, meaning that Jon Snow isn’t just a Targaryen but the rightful heir to the throne.
10. Sam is repeating his own father’s words back to Gilly.
And he doesn’t even know his dad and brother are dead yet. When he leaves the Citedel, telling Gilly, “I’m tired of reading about the achievements of better men,” he’s echoing Randyll Tarly’s words to him at dinner the season prior: “You managed to stay soft and fat, your nose buried in books, spending your life reading about the achievements of better men.”
Sam, you cured the incurable greyscale. CHILL. You’re doing amazing, sweetie.
