YMMV / Game of Thrones S8E2: "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms"

• Alternate Character Interpretation:
  • Why did Jon give Dany the Internal Reveal about his parentage? Is it because, as episode writer Bryan Cogman explains, he's "a fundamentally honest person and he loves her, so there’s no other choice" but to tell her the truth because he needed to explain why he's been avoiding her all episode upon learning about their Surprise Incest and because she thought her brother Rhaegar — whom people told her was an honorable, decent man — raped Lyanna, prompting Jon to spill the truth so she wouldn't think badly of Rhaegar? Did he feel Dany should know about their Surprise Incest too? Was it some kind of Secret Test of Character to see her reaction? Jon has stated he doesn't want the crown, but has he been convinced otherwise and thus decided to assert his birthright over hers? Did he value honesty here, wanting to avoid worsening the situation in case Daenerys found out from somebody else later, in worse circumstances, and realised he'd been sitting on such an important secret? He'd already learned just how keeping secrets destroyed his mother and biological father.
  • When Sansa broaches Northern independence with Daenerys, who does she intend would be in charge of an independent North? Herself or Jon, even though he's already pledged to Daenerys and Sansa would be reinstating him behind his own back? Likewise, given the threat of the White Walkers, bringing up Northern independence may not be the most important thing to focus on when a Zombie Apocalypse is on its way and they need Daenerys's help if there is going to be a North at all in the future. Privately and publicly alienating their major ally by treating her and her forces with hostility when they are their last best chance at survival and Daenerys is dropping everything to come to their aid may not be the wisest course of action. The North did suffer heavy losses because of southern wars, and while wanting independence and autonomy from the Iron Throne is understandable, the North has been internally fickle and mercurial with little sense of national unity and cohesion in recent times and they've needed the South's help against various threats while traditional houses like Umber, Karstark, Manderly, Glover either sat on fences, betrayed the Starks, or likewise plotted a coup against Jon.
  • During the previous episode, Sansa asked Jon if he had bent the knee for the North or because he loved Daenerys and the audience never sees his answer. Is her interrogation about Daenerys manipulating Jon a result of his answer or he never actually answered and she's just speculating out of projection of her own situation with Joffrey into Jon and Daenerys?
• Awesome Music: Florence + the Machine's cover of "Jenny of Oldstones" for the end credits.
• Best Known for the Fanservice: The episode includes quite a few major plot developments, but it almost instantly became known as "The one where Arya has her first sex scene."
• Catharsis Factor: After everything Brienne's gone through in her past and in the series itself, she gets to reap what her honor, bravery and faith had sown; Sansa trusts her completely, Jaime has rewarded her belief in him by coming North to help fight, and on the eve of the battle for humanity's future, she gets her dearest wish and is officially made a knight by Jaime.
• Fetish Retardant: Arya and Gendry's sex scene. Story-wise, it's a perfectly sweet and intimate moment between two consenting adults—but one of those consenting adults is played by an actress who was just a teenager when the show began, and her character was just 11 years old in the first episode. When you've watched a girl gradually grow into a woman over the course of 8 years, it can be a bit uncomfortable to suddenly watch her disrobe. Maisie Williams didn't make things much better when she reminded all the complaining fans that she was watching it with her whole family.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • The lingering shot of Gendry sleeping next to Arya, with Arya awake and appearing very pensive has led to joking that Gendry pleased women like his father did (read, that he didn't). Some even captioned it with "A girl is not impressed" or/and joked that Arya should have layed with Memetic Sex God Podrick instead.
  • Some have joked that Podrick is not as much of a Sex God as he was played up to be, instead joking about how he didn't actually sleep with the whores, he just sang for them.
  • The gathering of a disparate group of people from different stories and backgrounds — Jaime, Tyrion, Podrick, Brienne, Tormund, and Davos — which has drawn comparison to The Breakfast Club.
  • Tormund's giant story has led to a huge amount of "Got Giant's Milk?" jokes.
• Most Wonderful Sound: Podrick’s singing voice is just so beautiful to hear. Try not to be entranced as you listen to it.
• Older Than They Think:
  • While many were shocked at Arya's first sex scene, that actually wasn't Maisie Williams' first; her first on-screen sex scene was in the film called The Falling, ironically enough with her on-screen brother.
  • Even though it results in one of the most touching scenes in the series, the idea that any knight (instead of a king or a lord) can make someone else a knight seemingly goes against the previously established ideas of authority and power in Westeros. In the books, however, this is a major recurring theme, and as a result they have hedge-knights and self-proclaimed knights coming out of the woodwork. This is how the Brotherhood Without Banners have all been knighted. What's more, it's based on the real-life chivalric tradition from the time that knights were at their most prominent in Europe.
• One-Scene Wonder: Ghost returns! With no fanfare, to stand behind Jon, doing nothing. It is still a favored moment after his long and unexplained absence.
• Sacred Cow: For many fans, this is the best episode of the final season due to its emphasis on character development and the atmosphere, while the rest of the season is criticized for its rushed pace. For other fans, this is the only good episode of the final season. And for yet other fans, this is the last episode of the final season.
• Signature Scene: Jaime making Brienne a knight is the most memorable moment of the episode and perhaps one of the few moments of the final season praised unanimously by fans.

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