Game of Thrones: What Happened in Episode 5 of Season 8

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

No one will hide from the fire. Caution: Spoilers!

Game of Thrones is rapidly coming to an end. The last two episodes summarize an entire era with epic, terrifying, and surprising plot twists. Viewers' expectations from the penultimate episode, analysis of the series and predictions for the final - in the review by Lifehacker.

Caution: This article contains spoilers! If you haven't watched Episode 5 of Season 8 yet, take our Game of Thrones quiz or not? Identify by frame!"

What the audience was waiting for

Returns to intrigue and politics

The King of the Night was killed by a single blow from Arya Stark, and with him the entire army of the Wights suddenly perished. The dragon Rhaegal folded its wings from a ballista shot by Euron Greyjoy. Thus, there are practically no “fantastic creatures” in the world of “Game of Thrones”.

However, thanks to the fact that everything magical has gone from history, the series has a chance to return to its origins. That is, the saga ceases to be an example of high fantasy with dragons and the walking dead and again becomes a story about how people create big politics, making sacrifices for power and love. And at the same time, sometimes it turns out to be more terrible than fantasy monsters.

Great final battle

The third and fourth series received a lot of criticism due to the dubious military strategy and tactics of the heroes. Why were the Dothraki sent to certain death and why did the fire-breathing artillery not support the cavalry from the air? How did Daenerys flying on the dragon miss Euron Greyjoy's fleet? Why didn't Cersei just give the order to shoot Daenerys and Tyrion during the negotiations? There are many other awkward questions. But with inconsistencies, it seems, you have to come to terms. The authors of the series are increasingly abandoning logic in favor of entertainment, and there is almost no time left to complete all the plot arcs.

The main battle for the Iron Throne lies ahead. Cersei decided to hide behind the civilian population. However, despite all the shortcomings of the current queen, Daenerys behaves no better: the heroine is afraid to give the throne even to her beloved John and is now not much inferior to the Lannister sister. Will the Shackle Breaker dare to set fire to the castle along with all the people inside, thus fulfilling the last will of Missandei?

Missandei’s last words basically told Dany to BURN CERSEI AND KING’S LANDING DOWN.

Some vengeful viewers still cannot forgive the people of King's Landing for how they welcomed Ned Stark's execution.

In any case, the battle will be fierce and will take many lives. Perhaps the scriptwriters will put the final point in the fifth episode, and the sixth will bring the storylines within the winners' camp.

Madness Daenerys

The dragon queen is getting more and more nervous. In the finale of the fourth episode, the camera fixes attention several times on her face twisted with anger and despair. Perhaps this is a logical development of the plot: after all, John stunned Danny with the news of his origin, and the loss of another dragon and his beloved confidante Missandei finally finished off the heroine.

However, there is another version - the approaching madness. One of George Martin's books says: “Madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin. Every time a new Targaryen is born, the gods flip a coin. This means that Daenerys has a chance to follow in the footsteps of his father, Mad King Aerys, who burned people right and left. That is, to arrange a complete drakaris.

She lost Jorah.

She lost the Dothraki.

She lost Rhaegal.

She lost her claim to the throne.

She's losing Jon.

And now she lost Missandei.

Throughout the series, we've seen Daenerys become more and more violent. In the first seasons, she prevented the Dothraki from committing violence against prisoners. However, after the execution of Sam Tarly's brother and father, the words that Danny intends to end tyranny at any cost sound like a dark joke.

If the Mother of Dragons really embarked on the path of authoritarian tyranny, it should be expected that she will deal with the disaffected in her camp. Even with your own advisors. The fate of Varys and Tyrion, who criticize her actions, hang in the balance.

"Cleganbowl" - battles of the Cleganes

The long-awaited duel between the Mountain and the Dog on the Internet was called the Cleganbowl - by analogy with the Super Bowl, the final game of the American football championship. In Episode 4, the Hound went south to face off in battle with his brother, who once rewarded him with burns and a phobia of fire.

True, resurrected by Qyburn's dark maister art, Grigor Clegane became even more dangerous than he was during his lifetime. A living dead man clad in armor is practically invulnerable, and even such a good swordsman like the Dog is unlikely to be able to do something with him. Elder Clegane in his current state can only be defeated by fire. In this case, the Dog will need to go against his main fear, and the victory over the zombie Mountain may cost him his life.

Rory McCann before S8 started - 'There will be a chance of squaring up to his brother and facing those demons' #CleganeBowl #GetHYPE

What Happened in Episode 5 of Season 8

Varis was executed

Melisandre's prediction, which assumed that both she and Varys would die in Westeros, came true. Also, the assumptions that Daenerys would turn his anger on internal enemies, without sparing even his own bird lord, also came true. Tyrion tells the Mother of Dragons that Varys doubts her power, and she gives the order to execute the eunuch for betrayal.

So, in dragon flame, the story of one of the most mysterious characters in the saga ends. And it seems that the slippery Varys was the only one who was not guided by personal ambitions, but really thought about the interests of the state and the people.

Tyrion gave a debt to his brother

Jaime's attempt to go to Cersei failed, and he was captured by Daenerys. In the same way that Jaime came to the aid of Tyrion while he was in the dungeon of King's Landing, the dwarf now rescues his brother. It's not just related feelings - Tyrion hoped that Jaime could convince Cersei not to fight in order to save the lives of a million people. Both Jaime and Cersei are not particularly worried about the fate of the civilian population, so Tyrion invites them to flee to Pentos to start a new life with a child there. In the scene of the brothers' farewell, you can see how close and attached they are to each other. Jaime and Tyrion will not see each other again.

Daenerys burned the city

The iron fleet was ablaze, the Dothraki entered the city through the dragon's hole in the wall, and the golden cloaks were swept away. At the sight of the dragon and the combined forces from Winterfell, Cersei's men laid down their arms and the city announced its surrender with the ringing of bells.

It would seem that one could stop at this. However, Daenerys could not cope with her rage and rushed over the city, pouring fire on everything in the best traditions of the Mad King. An uncontrolled carnage began in the streets, and almost everyone who sought protection in the Red Castle died.

Jaime killed Euron Greyjoy

Euron managed to get out of the sea after the Iron Fleet was burned by dragon fire, but Jaime was caught by him under the castle walls. During the fight, he managed to inflict several wounds on Jaime, but he still pierced Greyjoy with his sword.

Cleganbowl took place

Amid the destruction and general panic, the Dog reached the zombie Mountain. Seeing the old enemy, he first got out of the control of the queen. After killing Maester Qyburn, who was trying to stop him, Horus clashed with the Dog. "Mount Frankenstein" was practically invulnerable, and the Dog managed to destroy it only at the cost of his own life. But the main desire of the Dog came true - he managed to take revenge.

Jaime and Cersei died together

Trying to find refuge in the basements of the Red Castle, Jaime and Cersei found themselves among the rubble. Despite the fact that everything was falling apart, Jaime asked Cersei to calm down and look only at him. So they were finally left alone for the last time, and Jaime's dream of dying in the arms of his beloved woman came true.

What happens in the final episode

It will be revealed who will take the Iron Throne

Who will sit on the Iron Throne as a result? After the death of Cersei, the main conflict is related to who the inhabitants of Westeros want to see as ruler - Daenerys or John. Due to Danny's brutality, Mother of Dragons stock began to plummet.

Daenerys' transformation of character reflects one of the main ideas of "Game of Thrones": power changes a person. Becoming a ruler, everyone is forced to sacrifice other social roles, sacrificing love, friendship and personal ideas of decency. This is well understood by John, who is struggling to dodge the Iron Throne.

Despite knowing his origins, John continues to wear clothes bearing the Stark crest. This underscores that he still shares the idea that nothing good happens to the Stark men if they go South. Simply put, John doesn't want to be king.

There will be a rift in Daenerys' camp

Until now, only the Gray Worm is selflessly devoted to the Mother of Dragons. Tyrion, who had begged Daenerys not to carnage, now appears to be disenchanted with the queen. The same can be said for John. In the Battle of the Bastards, and even more so in the confrontation with the dead, he perfectly understood what he was fighting for. However, the events at the Red Castle made him sympathize with his opponents. There is a possibility that in the next episode we will have an epic duel between the Gray Worm and John.

Tyrion will answer for the betrayal

Tyrion betrayed Daenerys, freeing Jaime and preparing their escape with Cersei. So it is likely that the queen will want to punish him, as happened with Varys. In the fifth episode, she very sternly hinted that Tyrion no longer has the right to make a mistake. Viewers least of all believe in the death of a wise and witty dwarf, but perhaps the creators of the series will play on this.

On the other hand, Daenerys's desire to arrange drakaris on his right hand may be the last straw for John - if he has not yet lost all loyalty in the Red Castle. Maybe after this, Snow will decide to become king.

Arya will change her mind

Throughout history, Arya Stark has been a lone assassin and dreamed of avenging her family. Even learning from the Faceless, who demanded to give up her name, did not make her forget her family and leave the Needle - the sword donated by John. However, in the fifth episode, the Dog convinces the girl to give up violence: his life was saturated with revenge and did not lead to anything good, and he does not want the same fate for young Lady Stark. For the first time, Arya is distracted from personal interests and is imbued with the suffering of strangers.

At the end of the episode, a white horse appears in front of the girl, which carries her away from the destroyed city. This scene hints at a certain spiritual rebirth of the heroine and a new goal that confronts Arya. Perhaps now her mission is to kill the mad queen Daenerys and thus do what the Mother of Dragons failed to do - “break the wheel” by stopping the violence.

Where the plot is heading, we will find out from the next episode, which will be released in a week - May 20.