History Recap / GameOfThronesS8E4TheLastOfTheStarks

* DirtyBusiness: Varys's mentality in regards to keeping the people safe from a poor ruler. He doesn't have to enjoy it, but he'll do what he feels is necessary to secure a more stable realm.

* InformedFlaw: Varys claims that Jon is too subservient to Daenerys for it to be a good idea for them to marry, but so far on the actual show Jon has much more often been shown having an impact on Dany's thinking than the other way around.

** In recognition of his valour, Daenerys makes Gendry a Baratheon and Lord of Storm's End. This makes her look like a benevolent ruler with a desire for reconciliation and ensures that a once rebel House is ruled by a man who is personally indebted to her.

* TheNeedsOfTheMany: When Tyrion brings up Varys's lack of loyalty to any of the monarchs he's served, Varys reiterates his loyalty is to the realm. He even made this clear to Dany herself. In the event the Dragon Queen is willing to sacrifice tens of thousands of civilians to secure her throne, then their goals no longer align. If that means throwing his lot in with Jon Snow and removing her to save them from a despot, [[IDidWhatIHadToDo so be it]].

* DidntThinkThisThrough:
** Daenerys is so anxious to take the Iron Throne (as her power and accomplishments are being undermined in the North and [[ProperlyParanoid she is fearful]] those loyal to Jon will press his claim) that she forces her subjects to carry out an advance to King's Landing with tired and diminished forces. Sansa urges Daenerys to wait until their forces are rested enough to take on another war, but Daenerys is adamant they march now, for fear her enemies will become stronger the longer they wait. This comes to roundly bite her in the butt, as her fleet is attacked by Euron Greyjoy, who kills her dragon Rhaegal, sinks several ships, and captures Missandei, who is later executed in front of her under Cersei's orders.
** Daenerys raises Gendry to Lord Baratheon without taking into consideration that this gives him a claim to the Iron Throne, albeit one lesser than hers. However, this is glaring considering that Robert Baratheon didn't quite need a "claim" to sit in the Iron Throne, as his familial connection to the Targaryens was merely the technical justification for his crowning.[[labelnote: From the books...]]Robert was the grandchild of Rhaelle Targaryen, his grandfather Ormund's wife, and through this familial connection, he justified his ascension to the Iron Throne. Rhaelle was the youngest daughter of King Aegon V ([=AKA=] "[[Literature/TalesOfDunkAndEgg Egg]]"), the niece of Maester Aemon Targaryen of the Night's Watch, the sister of King Jaehaerys II, and the Mad King's aunt. Rhaelle's marriage to Ormund happened due to the fact that her brother Duncan (the crown prince) married outside his Baratheon betrothal to Jenny of Oldstones (the subject of Podrick's song in Episode 2), so the marriage was sanctioned in compensation to House Baratheon for denying them a liaison to the Royal Family. He would not be the only one of his brothers who broke his bethrotal, as his brother Daeron refused to marry Olenna Redwyne (later known as Lady Olenna Tyrell) because he might have been homosexual, and his brother Jaehaerys married their sister Shaera (becoming the Mad King's parents), spurning his betrothed Celia Tully. [[/labelnote]]

* DueToTheDead: The episode opens with the dead from the battle being burned. Jon delivers a eulogy, quoting phrases associated with the Night's Watch. A handful of characters give a last look to some of their fallen comrades; Jon with [[UndyingLoyalty Lyanna]], Daenerys with [[AllLoveIsUnrequited Jorah]], Sansa with [[LikeBrotherAndSister Theon]], Sam with [[TrueCompanions Edd]], and Arya with [[IOweYouMyLife Beric]].

* CrypticBackgroundReference: Varys offhandedly mentions the new Prince of Dorne has sworn to the Targaryen cause, but doesn't go into detail about who this new Prince exactly ''is,'' nor how he has laid claim to the title, especially since in the show House Nymeros Martell is extinguished both in trueborn heirs and bastards. [[labelnote:From the books...]]Trystane is actually the youngest of Doran's three children: [[AdaptedOut he has an older brother, Quentyn, and an older sister, Arianne.]] In the books Quentyn dies trying to steal Rheagal and Viserion, but Arianne and Doran are are still alive, and if Doran were to die before Ariane had married, the Dornish would have no problems being ruled by her. The Dornish noble houses closest in power to the Martells include the Daynes and the Yronwoods; in familial terms, the closest house to the Martells are the Ullers (as a matter of fact, Ellaria Sand -- last shown in the show to be a prisoner of Cersei -- is a bastard of House Uller herself).[[/labelnote]]
* CultureClash: An obvious solution to Jon's parentage would be to marry him to Daenerys, but when Varys points out that Jon is Dany's aunt, Tyrion explains this isn't a problem for Targaryens. However, while Dany would be okay with avuncular incest due to it being a Targaryen practice, Varys responds that Jon grew up in Winterfell where avuncular incest is not a thing.

* ICanRuleAlone: Tyrion and Varys discuss how Daenerys has run things for so long she really wouldn't be comfortable sharing the Iron Throne with anyone, especially a man she was required to be subordinate to. It's noticable that Daenerys herself never mentions the marriage solution to Jon even though she doesn't have the same issues with an incesteous marriage.

The Long Night is over. Outside the walls of '''Winterfell''', the survivors of the battle for the Dawn mourn and bid farewell to those who died fighting. Daenerys weeps over Jorah's funeral bier, mourning for the oldest friend she had. Sansa does the same for Theon, pinning a direwolf head pin to his chest, acknowledging him as a true Stark at the end. Arya and Sam grimly look over the bodies of Edd and Beric, mourning the men who saved their lives at the cost of their own, while Jon mourns over Lyanna Mormont, the girl whose faith and loyalty to House Stark set the current path of his life in motion. Jon delivers a heartfelt eulogy, noting that the fallen put aside their differences and fought together against an evil that threatened to devour them all. ''"Everyone in this world owes them a debt that can never be repaid"'' Jon declares. ''"It is our duty and [[ItHasBeenAnHonor our honour]] to keep them alive in memory, for those who come after us, and those who come after them, for as long as men draw breath! [[MeaningfulEcho They were the shields that guard the realms of men, and we shall never see their like again]]."'' The gathered begin to light the pyres, sending the fallen to their rest, and denying any would be necromancer the chance to defile their rest again.

* BrokenAesop: While Varys' sudden support of Jon as King of the Seven Kingdoms is grounded in his previous assertions that he only wants what's best for the Realm, him saying that a ReluctantRuler would be the right King is a sharp departure from the man who castigated Robert for being disinterested in ruling and as Exhibit A as to why someone who doesn't want the throne is not inherently the person best suited to rule. Varys went from telling Tyrion in Season 5 that Westeros needed "A monarch who can intimidate the high lords and inspire the people" to, in this episode, using Daenerys' habit of doing just that as an argument against her.

** Tyrion attempts to use Varys's, "[[Recap/GameOfThronesS2E3WhatIsDeadMayNeverDie Power resides where men believe it resides]]" line while held at bow point, but Bronn shuts him up before he can finish. Bronn in turn reminds Tyrion that [[Recap/GameOfThronesS1E8ThePointyEnd he promised to double the price if Bronn was ever paid to kill him]].

** Missandei, right before being killed by Gregor, yells "Dracarys" to Dany. She's telling Dany to [[FlashbackToCatchphrase ''burn them all''.]]

* Catch22Dilemma: The main problem with deposing Cersei. Cersei has offered the citizens of King's Landing refuge in the Red Keep. Daenerys wants to siege the city and remove Cersei by force, but if she does so she'll have to slaughter thousands and will taint her legacy as a liberator, fomenting future revolt against her rule. On the other hand, there's no other way to get Cersei off the throne, because she's too irrational to ever surrender.
* CharacterDeath: Two deaths: Rhaegal as the second dragon to die after Viserion; later, Daenerys' handmaiden and best friend Missandei.

* ConflictingLoyalty: What tears apart the new regime after the Dawn. Being torn by loyalty, favor, and acclaim and old traditional grudges.

** Tormund is reduced to sobbing when Brienne chooses Jaime over him. Luckily, a servant girl with the hots for wildlings is willing to cheer him up.
** Arya turns down Gendry's proposal, even though she cares for him, because she has no interest in becoming a Lady.

** Daenerys raises Gendry to Lord Baratheon without taking into consideration that this gives him a claim to the Iron Throne, albeit one lesser than hers. However, this is glaring considering that Robert Baratheon didn't quite need a "claim" to sit in the Iron Throne, as his familial connection to the Targaryens was merely the technical justification for his crowning.[[labelnote:From the books...]]Robert was the granchild of Rhaelle Targaryen, his grandfather Ormund's wife, and through this familial connection he justified his ascension to the Iron Throne. Rhaelle was the youngest daughter of King Aegon V ([=AKA=] "[[Literature/TalesOfDunkAndEgg Egg]]"), the niece of Maester Aemon Targaryen of the Night's Watch, the sister of King Jaehaerys II, and the Mad King's aunt. Rhaelle's marriage to Ormund happened due to the fact that her brother Duncan (the crown prince) married outside his Baratheon betrothal to Jenny of Oldstones (the subject of Podrick's song in Episode 2), so the marriage was sanctioned in compensation to House Baratheon for denying them a liaison to the Royal Family. He would not be the only one of his brothers who broke his bethrotal, as his brother Daeron refused to marry Olenna Redwyne (later known as Lady Olenna Tyrell) because he might have been homosexual, and his brother Jaehaerys married their sister Shaera (becoming the Mad King's parents), spurning his betrothed Celia Tully.[[/labelnote]]
* DirtyBusiness: Varys' mentality in regards to keeping the people safe from a poor ruler. He doesn't have to enjoy it but he'll do what he feels is necessary to secure a more stable realm.

* DownerEnding: Jon tells his adoptive sisters the truth about his parentage and despite swearing them to secrecy, Sansa tells Tyrion about Jon's true parentage. Tyrion then proceeded to tell Varys. This results in a budding internal turmoil in Daenerys' camp. Jaime ultimately backs down from his and Brienne's RelationshipUpgrade to return to Cersei, feeling Brienne is too good for him. And finally, Rhaegal and Missandei are both killed.

** Lampshaded by Tormund to Sandor after seeing Brienne walk away with Jaime. However a serving girl [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys with a thing for wildlings]] is entirely willing to offer Tormund SexForSolace as well. Sandor [[LeaveMeAlone rudely rejects another girls' offer]] and continues to drink.

** Bronn is out of patience for his years of Lannister service, and holds the two brothers at bow point if they don't agree to give him what he's owed. Tyrion promises him Highgarden to top Cersei's offer of Riverrun.

* EarAche: Ghost survived his charge into the wight ranks with the Dothraki, but lost part of his ear in the process.

** Zigzagged, as Tyrion fails to notice, unlike Jaime, that Bronn's carrying a loaded crossbow. This is particularly worrisome for Tyrion as the last time he saw said crossbow, ''he was using it on someone''. Justified, as he is at that point ''horrifically'' drunk.

* FairWeatherFriend: Varys has cemented himself as this. When he learns the truth about Jon from Tyrion, he decides he is the better choice for ruler. Tyrion calls him out on this. “How many kings have you served? 5? 6? I’ve lost count.” [[note]]--Aerys II, Robert I, Joffrey I, Tommen I, backed Viserys Targaryen's claim and later Daenerys I. That said, he was genuinely loyal to Aerys II and never undermined the Mad King who after all was the one who gave him the gig of Master of Whisperers and brought him to Westeros to start with--[[/note]] Varys claims out his loyalty has always been to the realm, not its rulers, seemingly forgetting that he loyally served Aerys II "the Mad King" and didn't lift a finger against him.

** Tormund heads North of the Wall again saying that the wildlings belong there, and Jon and Ghost belong there too.

-->'''The Hound''': Of course it's about that you twat. Why shouldn't it be? The dead are dead, and you're not.

* HeirClubForMen: Varys unashamedly believes this. He feels that Jon being the male heir gives him an institutional, legal, and cultural advantage over Dany, and he's more ready to believe in him being right for the throne than Dany.[[note]]Politically, he's got a point. Most of Westeros practices male-preference primogeniture. Although even without taking gender into account, as the son of Crown Prince Rhaegar, Jon simply comes before Dany in the line of succession -- a crown prince's younger siblings will only inherit after his own heirs have died or renounced their claim as Maester Aemon did.[[/note]]
* HiddenDisdainReveal: Played with. Bronn and the Lannister boys reveal their opinion to each other. Bronn admits he never saw either of them as anything more than his "meal ticket", and Jaime actively calls the man who saved his life several times a "cutthroat" rather than a friend or a comrade. Tyrion appears to be the only one who seemed to have liked Bronn but even he's amazed at the level of anger and resentment that Bronn shows. However, Bronn doesn't kill them immediately like Cersei ordered, because he doesn't think she'll win and knows he can extort a better deal out of Tyrion.

** Once again Cersei deceives a man into thinking that he is the father of her child by Jaime. One wonders if Euron took notice of Tyrion mentioning her baby, even though Tyrion shouldn't know about it yet if it had been conceived when Euron and Cersei slept together.
** Varys is once again counselling restraint to a Targaryen monarch in the interests of protecting the people of King's Landing. He had formerly counselled Aerys II not to let Tywin Lannister and his troops through the city gates, ostensibly to reinforce Aerys, seeing it as a TrojanHorse which would lead to a violent sack of the city and a massacre of the ruling family. (As it happens, Varys was right.) The difference is there Aerys II was petitioned[=/=]besieged by the Lannisters, while now it's the Targaryens doing the besieging.

* ICanRuleAlone: Tyrion and Varys discuss how Daenerys has run things for so long, she really wouldn't be comfortable sharing the Iron Throne with anyone, especially a man she was required to be subordinate to. It's noticable that Daenerys herself never mentions the marriage solution to Jon, even though she doesn't have the same issues with an incesteous marriage.

* IJustWantToBeNormal: Poor Jon is not taking the revelation of his true identity very well at all in this episode (for that matter, neither is anybody else). Thanks to this revelation, he can't feel comfortable being with the woman he loves, due to being related to her, and may now be caught in a battle for the Iron Throne against her, which he never wanted. When Tormund tells Jon that he would be happier Beyond the Wall, Jon actually agrees, but sadly notes that he can't abandon his people.

** When Varys and Tyrion are discussing Jon, Tyrion asks Varys how exactly he intends to get Daenerys to back out of her claim. Varys gives him a long MeaningfulLook which Tyrion is strained by, clearly aghast that Varys is willing to plot Dany's assassination if necessary.

** Tyrion hasn't quite grasped the fact that he, of all people, should not bring up the subject of her children to Cersei, as she considers him partly responsible for their deaths, despite how warped a logical stance that may be. As such, his sincere pleas are taken as a veiled threat towards her and her baby. Cersei may love her children but it has never stopped her from engaging in behaviour that openly endangers their lives.
* ItsNotYouItsMe: When she turns down Gendry's proposal, Arya tells him that he'll be a wonderful lord, but she's not a lady.

** Cersei refuses to kill Tyrion when given an opportunity to do so and hears him out, uncharacteristically noble of her. Tyrion offers her and her child peace, and promises no bloodshed, as long as she abdicates the throne. For a moment, it seems like Cersei considers it. Then she kills Missandei, effectively dooming many of her own people to violence because she's that mad with power.
** Bronn reveals himself to be one. Not only is he willing to kill Jaime and Tyrion for lordship of Riverrun but he actually seems like he ''wants'' to kill them, which calls into question whether or not he was actually Jaime and Tyrion's friend to begin with, or if he was truly OnlyInItForTheMoney. Tyrion promising him Highgarden gets him to back off, but Bronn makes it clear he's pretty fed up with getting strung along and if they mess him around again, he'll come back to kill them.

** Jaime scoffs at the idea of Bronn being Lord of the Reach because of his background. Thing is, the Reach is the richest and most populous region of Westeros and their nobility are tied with the Vale for snobbishness. Bronn getting all that and keeping it is unlikely, as Littlefinger's life showed.
** By the same token, Bronn has been getting stuffed around by the Lannisters for several seasons now -- they keep promising him more and more and never paying up, in shameless defiance of their [[CatchPhrase family words]]. He's [[AtLeastIAdmitIt never pretended to be anything other than a sellsword only out for himself]] and he wants what he feels he's owed, and when you consider how much he's done and how litle he has to show for it, it's hard to argue with him.
** Varys will betray a monarch (or anyone for that matter) if it serves his goals. However, as he points out, the highborn seldom think much of the smallfolk caught in their game of thrones and the wrong ruler can get millions killed. Someone must serve in their interest and that sometimes means getting rid of the tyrants or serving the best option available, until someone better comes along.
** Tyrion begs Cersei to surrender to save her child. However, having already caused the death of Daenerys' 'child' Rhaegal, she has no reason to think that the Dragon Queen will be merciful. Furthermore, like Daenerys and Sansa, Cersei has first hand experience of what it's like to be at the mercy of those more powerful, and like both women feels it's better to risk everything and go down fighting than be put in that position again.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: Daenerys tries to charge the Greyjoy fleet with Drogon after Rhaegal is killed, but thinks better of it at the last moment and veers off before she's too close to dodge their ballistas.
* LastOfHisKind: Drogon is now the last living dragon in the entire known world.[[labelnote:From the books...]]Assuming they are still thriving in Asshai; there are also several Targaryen dragons that left captivity alive, like Good Queen Alysanne's Silverwing, Nettles's Sheepstealer, and The Cannibal, all last seen during the Dance of the Dragons, while the Targaryens also misplaced several dragon eggs.[[/labelnote]]

* LeaveMeAlone: Although a pretty serving girl is willing to sleep with him, the Hound rudely rejects her (she ''was'' being pushy, even though he said no) and grabs the flagon of wine instead. Seeing this, Sansa makes a point of going over to speak with Sandor, pointing out that the girl could have made him happy for a little while. Sandor says there's only one thing that would make him happy, but refuses to say what it is.

** In recognition of his valour, Daenerys makes Gendry a Baratheon and Lord of Storm's End. This makes her look like a benevolent ruler with a desire for reconciliation, and ensures that a once rebel House is ruled by a man who is personally indebted to her.

* TheNeedsOfTheMany: When Tyrion brings up Varys's lack of loyalty to any of the monarchs he's served, Varys reiterates his loyalty is to the realm. He even made this clear to Dany herself. In the event the dragon queen is willing to sacrifice tens of thousands of civilians to secure her throne, then their goals no longer align. If that means throwing his lot in with Jon Snow and removing her to save them from a despot, [[IDidWhatIHadToDo so be it]].

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Jon feels he owes Arya and Sansa the truth of who he is and even though Dany tells him not to tell them, warning him Sansa will never keep this information secret, Jon really believes Sansa will keep it to herself. He gets both his sisters to swear it to secrecy but, in her next scene, Sansa spills the secret to Tyrion, who in turn spills this to Varys, which in turn teases conflicts between Jon and Dany's respective supporters while they're battling Cersei.

* NotSoDifferentRemark: When Jaime declares that Highgarden will never belong to a cutthroat like Bronn, Bronn rightfully points out that pretty much all founders of the Great Houses of Westeros were cutthroats just like he is.[[labelnote:From the books...]]House Lannister was founded by Lann the Clever, who appropriated Casterly Rock from House Casterly through unknown means. There are different accounts for how he accomplished this, including that he married into the Casterlys, who might have lacked a male heir, or he murdered his way to power; all accounts point at the fact that he tricked the Casterlys into surrendering their keep and lands through political guile, but it's never been elaborated upon.[[/labelnote]]
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Euron's portrayal in this show has swung across the pendulum, from buffoonish braggart to lethal seafaring menace. But this episode places him in the "lethal menace" category once and for all when Euron becomes one of only a handful of non-dragon-riders in history to slay a dragon. He also has the distinction of doing it without the advantage of a supernaturally enchanted weapon like the Night King.

** Bronn snuck into Winterfell with a loaded crossbow without being spotted by any guards, despite the fact he's known as one of the highest ranking generals in the Lannister army. Even better, he managed to get ''out'' without being spotted after threatening Tyrion and Jaime's lives and forcing a ransom.

** Daenerys, after learning that Gendry is Robert Baratheon's bastard (offscreen), officially declares him as Lord Gendry Baratheon of Storm's End, despite the bad blood between her and the Baratheons. She recognizes Gendry's heroics in the Long Night battle and knows that he had no part in his father's crimes against her family. It is also a fairly transparent political stunt, but it's definitely a nice thing on her part. Notably, the entire time she never once calls Gendry a bastard or acknowledges his low station.
** It's small and understated, and comes in the middle of her [[RedemptionRejection final refusal]] of Tyrion's offer to avoid bloodshed, but Cersei at least gives Missandei the chance to say a few final words rather than simply having her executed immediately to demonstrate her intransigence.

** Euron's fleet hits three shots out of three fired at Rhaegal, but somehow misses some twenty shots or so afterwards when Dany is flying ''straight towards them'' on the bigger Drogon.

** With the White Walkers gone, Tormund decides to take his people back home Beyond the Wall. Jon has him bring Ghost along so he can live out his remaining years in peace.

** The Northern/Targaryen alliance may have won the war against the dead, but in doing so have halved their armies, their combined forces now roughly even with Cersei's. Futhermore, Cersei's forces are battle-ready, while theirs are still recovering and have to make the journey south. Despite these drawbacks, Daenerys insists on pressing ahead before Cersei consolidates her position any more than she already has.

* RevengeByProxy: ImpliedTrope. It's apparent that Bronn is not only fed up with Jaime and Tyrion, but also with Cersei, which is implied to be the straw that broke the camel's back. [[WhatTheHellHero All promises from them with absolutely no backing]].

* RulingCouple: Tyrion suggests resolving the Targaryen succession conflict by marrying Jon/Aegon and Daenerys to each other to have them rule jointly, since such an idea was never a barrier to the Targaryens before, but Varys objects that A) Jon is very unlikely to be fine with marrying his aunt, and B) Daenerys will never accept anything other than sole rulership.[[note]]Historically, even when royal Targaryen siblings married, the king would be the ruler while his sister-queen would basically be his consort rather than a co-ruler in her own right. There are instances of very influential Targaryen queens but they were few and far between. There has been one instance of a female Targaryen head of state in Rhaenyra Targaryen, who was like Cersei with dragons. She was so unpopular that there were multiple instances where subsequent female successors to the throne were categorically denied their claim.[[/note]]

* ShipTease: Downplayed; despite being seated at the High Table, Sansa makes a point of sitting down opposite the Hound and exchanging a few kind words with him, even [[HoldingHands holding his hand]] (and looking directly at his face, [[CharacterDevelopment as he notes]]). However as she's a ProperLady she doesn't drag him into a room for GladToBeAliveSex like everyone else. She is also the only person [[HatesBeingTouched Sandor doesn't snap at when she touches him]] - in fact he looks pleasantly surprised.

* SmugSnake: Qyburn very much comes across as one during his parley with Tyrion, snidely pointing out that Drogon is vulnerable, while Daenerys's army is too badly outnumbered and ravaged by its battle with the undead to have any chance at taking King's Landing.
* SoHappyTogether: Grey Worm and Missandei have a moment together while on a ship where they hold hands and smile warmly to each other, and this right after surviving a near-apocalyptic battle. This is a red flag for inevitable bad times...

** Dany begs Jon to simply not divulge his secret to anyone else, as Sam and Bran are loyal to Jon and will keep his secret if he asks. Unfortunately Jon feels honor bound to tell his sisters.

* SuddenlySuitableSuitor: Subverted. Gendry is over the moon when Dany legitimizes him, because it means he and Arya have equal status and he can legitimately marry her. Arya, though she loves him, turns him down by invoking a SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: if he is a lord, he needs to marry a lady, and she can't be one for him. Also, unknown to him, she's going to King's Landing on a SuicideMission.
* SunkCostFallacy: Tyrion's shaky allegiance to Daenerys gets called out by both Sansa and Varys. Sansa accuses Tyrion of being more afraid of her than actually loyal, and when Varys starts listing the number of preferable traits Jon has to Dany now that he has a stronger claim to the throne, Tyrion can't offer a real counterargument other than that he had already pledged his loyalty to Daenerys, and at some point you have to stick with someone.

* SurprisinglySuddenDeath: Rhaegal is struck from an off-screen Greyjoy ballista and falls dead in the ocean moments later after being hit with additional strikes.

* ThinkNothingOfIt: Arya is the hero of the hour for killing the Night King, but would rather practise her archery than join in the celebrations.

* TraumaCongaLine: Daenerys loses Jorah, Rhaegal and Missandei in swift succession.

** After rejecting SexForSolace the Hound says there's only one thing that will make him happy, but refuses to say what it is. However we see him heading for King's Landing, so finally getting revenge on his brother is likely the reason. He gets joined by Arya Stark also on an unknown mission to King's Landing, quite likely to kill Cersei who just happens to be guarded by an undead Mountain.

* VillainHasAPoint: Bronn is a cutthroat sellsword in the payroll of a despotic queen, but he makes a valid point about the nobility of Westeros in general: pretty much all of them rose to power by the sword or deception, especially the Lannisters' own ancestor Lann the Clever. Even afterwards, they continue to being more violent and destructive than he is; the only real difference why he is looked down on is because of his low birth. Furthermore, the Lannister family has been teasing him with a reward for ''[[DudeWheresMyReward years]]'' at this point without making good, in fact ''[[YankTheDogsChain reneging]]'' on it at one point to push him into the Dorne mission. He has more than enough justification to be a little fed up at this point.

* VoodooShark: The infamous "Dany kind of forgot about the Iron Fleet" explanation, which manages to make the main characters look like idiots without actually answering any of the objections viewers had to Iron Fleet ambush. It ''might'' have worked at the start of the season, when the last time Dany had seen Euron was him apparently pulling a ScrewThisImOuttaHere and ending his alliance with Cersei after finding out about the White Walkers, but by this point she should really have known via Jaime that Euron had been faking it.
* WalkInChimeIn: Bronn interrupts Jaime and Tyrion bonding over Jaime's new relationship with Brienne.

* WeAreStrugglingTogether: There was already tension beforehand, but after the Great War is finished, the Targaryen-Stark camp immediately becomes fraught with infighting, stoked by Sansa and Arya's distrust of outsiders and Jon's rival claim to the Iron Throne that trumps Daenerys', despite his repeated assurances that he's not interested in challenging hers. This is a massive handicap in their continuing fight against Cersei.
* WhamEpisode: Rhaegal and Missandei are killed by Euron and Cersei. Sansa, Arya, Tyrion and Varys learn Jon's true heritage.

** Tyrion gives Sansa a gentle rebuke over her ongoing spat with Daenerys; he agrees [[TeethClenchedTeamwork the two women don't have to like each other personally]], but asserts that [[DoNotTauntCthulhu deliberately pissing off the woman about to become Queen]] won't do House Stark or the North any favours in the future.
** Jon calls out Sansa for being ungrateful towards Daenerys, saying, "You understand we'd all be dead if not for her. We'd be corpses marching down to King's Landing." When Sansa responds that Arya is the one who killed the Night King, Jon points out Daenerys sacrificed her armies to defend Winterfell and Jon swore the North to her. Sansa acknowledges the deaths, but ignores Daenerys's contribution because she does not want Daenerys to be her queen.

* XanatosGambit: Cersei is positioning herself to either claim victory or poison Dany's win by using the people of King's Landing as a human shield. If Dany holds back, it will cost her troops and perhaps the war, the obvious ideal outcome for Cersei. But if Dany doesn't hold back and takes the Red Keep by force, thousands of civilians will die. In this event, Cersei will almost certainly be killed, but it will taint Queen Daenerys' reign forever. Dany will be seen as just another Targaryen despot and not ''The Breaker of Chains''. The thought of this makes Cersei almost giddy.

* TheyDo: Brienne and Jaime finally act on their UnresolvedSexualTension. Unfortunately for Brienne, Jaime still returns to Cersei, for reasons yet to be revealed.

* BabiesEverAfter: Sam and Gilly didn't really have much to do during their nights in Oldtown, and now she's expecting his child.

** Tormund is reduced to sobbing when Brienne chooses Jaime over him. Luckily, a servant girl with the hots for Wildlings is willing to cheer him up.

** Lampshaded by Tormund to Sandor after seeing Brienne walk away with Jaime. However a serving girl [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys with a thing for Wildlings]] is entirely willing to offer Tormund SexForSolace as well. Sandor [[LeaveMeAlone rudely rejects another girls' offer]] and continues to drink.

** Tormund heads North of the Wall again saying that the Wildlings belong there, and Jon and Ghost belong there too.

* IdiotBall: Daenerys and all of her counselors and allies forget about Euron and the Iron Fleet altogether, even after Jaime told everyone in Winterfell about how Cersei and Euron plotted to betray them. Euron has done enough damage to Daenerys's fleet and made enough of a fool of himself at the Dragonpit that ''nobody'' should be able to forget him, let alone Daenerys. Made even worse by the fact that Tyrion ''explicitly'' mentions Euron's Iron Fleet right in front of Daenerys when talking about the makeup of Cersei's forces.

* ProperlyParanoid: Daenerys is becoming more and more mistrustful of those within her inner circle, fearing that they will begin to turn against her should they learn the truth of Jon's lineage. Oh wait, Varys are planning ''exactly'' that, even if Jon isn't, and Tyrion's loyalty by the end of the episode is thrown into question.

** While Sansa is completely right that their wounded and exhausted armies need time to recover, Dany is not wrong in wanting to move against Cersei as soon as possible, as every delay allows her to increase her defenses and thus make any assault on King's Landing more difficult. In the time it's taken her to aid the North, Euron's fleet and King's Landing have been outfitted with anti-dragon ballistae, not to mention the arrival of the Golden Company.
** Dany doesn't want Jon to tell his sisters about his claim because she is worried Sansa will undermine her. Jon in turn points out that they're family, and he can't hide a secret from two people who he's sworn to protect. Dany's fears turn out to be justified, as Sansa breaks her oath to Jon and shares the secret with Tyrion. Arya keeps her word, if only because she doesn't particularly care who's on the throne as long as she gets her revenge on Cersei.

** The newly entitled Lord Gendry Baratheon gets his heart broken by a Stark girl, much like Robert. It turned out better than last time, though. Gendry took the rejection much, ''much'' better than his father did. For her part, Arya seems to genuinely love Gendry even if she doesn't want to live a lady's life, unlike Lyanna, who, regardless of what feelings she had for Robert (discussed [[labelnote:in book]]There's a FlashBack of Ned pointing out to her that Robert is unlikely to stay loyal, and Lyanna just telling him straight-out that she's accepted that fact as part of her impending marriage[[/labelnote]], glossed over in show), ran away with Rhaegar.
** Once again Cersei deceives another man into thinking that he is the father of her child. One wonders if Euron took notice of Tyrion mentioning her baby, even though Tyrion shouldn't know about it yet if it had been conceived when Euron and Cersei slept together.
** Varys is once again counselling restraint to a Targaryen monarch in the interests of protecting the people of King's Landing. He had formerly counselled Aerys II to reject Tywin's offer of peace, seeing it as a FalseFlagOperation which would lead to a violent sack of the city and a massacre of the ruling family. (As it happens, Varys was right.) The difference is there Aerys II was petitioned[=/=]besieged by the Lannisters, while now it's the Targaryens doing the besieging.

** Once again Cersei deceives another man into thinking that he is the father of her child. One wonders if Euron took notice of Tyrion mentioning her baby, even though Tyrion shouldn't know about it yet.

** In "[[Recap/GameOfThronesS1E4CripplesBastardsAndBrokenThings Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things]]", Ned Stark told his daughter Arya that she would marry a high lord and rule his castle, only for Arya to reply, "That's not me", and return to her water dancing exercises. Here Arya rejects marrying Lord Gendry and becoming the Lady of Storms End with the same words, returning to her archery practise.

** Keeping his {{Jerkass}} facade, the Hound makes a point of bringing up Sansa being [[MaritalRapeLicense "broken in rough"]]. Unflinching, Sansa replies that [[Recap/GameOfThronesS6E9BattleOfTheBastards Ramsey got what he deserved]]. They also discuss how the Hound [[Recap/GameOfThronesS2E9Blackwater asked her to escape Kings Landing with him]].

* HonestAdvisor: Varys stresses his promise to Daenerys that he would always speak the honest truth to her before pointing out that her plan to attack Kings Landing will result in so many casualties that all her prospective subjects will already despise her before she ever sits on the Iron Throne.

** Gendry is legitimized by royal decree and made Lord of Storms End (and by default lord of all the Storm Lands) the first thing he does is propose to Arya because now he is of a high enough social rank to be considered a fitting match for a Lady of House Stark. While Arya does care for Gendry she refuses precisely because he is now a lord and she has rejected the life of being a proper lady; if Gendry had remained a bastard blacksmith in Winterfell he actually stood a better chance of her agreeing.

** In recognition of his valour, Daenerys makes Gendry a Baratheon and Lord of Storms End. This makes her look like a benevolent ruler with a desire for reconciliation, and ensures that a once rebel House is ruled by a man who is personally indebted to her.

** After rejecting SexForSolace the Hound says there's only one thing that will make him happy, but refuses to say what it is. However we see him heading for Kings Landing, so finally getting revenge on his brother is likely the reason. He gets joined by Arya Stark also on an unknown mission to Kings Landing, quite likely to kill Cersei who just happens to be guarded by an undead Mountain.

* WeAreNotGoingThroughThatAgain: When Bronn shows himself open to negotiation, Tyrion starts to talk about how useful a man who knows the current state of defenses of Kings Landing would be. Bronn cuts him off, having no intention of being a Lannister lackey in yet another war. He makes it clear the Lannister brothers are negotiating for their lives and nothing else.

* UngratefulBastard:
** Bronn calls out the Lannisters as this, going berserk at Jaime calling him a cutthroat. Considering that Bronn saved Jaime's life multiple times, it definitely is justified on his part.

** Gendry is legitimized by royal decree and made Lord of Storms End (and by default lord of all the Storm Lands) the first thing he does is propose to Arya because now he is of a high enough social rank to be considered a fitting match for a Lady of House Stark. While Arya does care for Gendry she refuses precisely because he is now a lord and she has rejected the life of being a proper lady, if Gendry had remained a bastard blacksmith in Winterfell he actually stood a better chance of her agreeing.

* ILied: Jon made Sansa and Arya swear not to tell his secret lineage to anyone. Sansa does this exactly to Tyrion the minute Jon leaves Winterfell.

* IdiotBall:
** Another instance is Daenerys forgetting about Euron and the Iron Fleet altogether, even after Jaime told everyone in Winterfell about how Cersei and Euron plotted to betray them. Euron has done enough damage to Daenerys's fleet and made enough of a fool of himself at the dragon pit that ''nobody'' should be able to forget him, let alone Daenerys. Made even worse by the fact that Tyrion ''explicitly'' mentions Euron's Iron Fleet right in front of Daenerys when talking about the makeup of Cersei's forces.

* AdultFear: Sansa admits to Tyrion that she's afraid for Jon's safety if he leaves Winterfell to go south with Daenerys. Considering her father, older brother, uncle and grandfather all died horrific deaths when they ventured south, it's hard to fault her.

* StuffedIntoTheFridge: Missandei is publicly beheaded by the Mountain, an act which fills Daenerys with rage and wanting to enact revenge upon Cersei at all costs, leading her to suggest a head-on assault on King's Landing even in spite of a potentially large number of civilian casualties.