The Diggity Doc

In true Game of Thrones fashion, the first episode of season eight planted all the seeds required to blast us forward into the long night ... which may end up being shorter than the last one. Much of the GoT joy lays in how pieces of the puzzle are put together and for every joker who gets giddy at the primal aspects of GoT, there are those who enjoy the craft of building everything that goes into the primal aspects and you don't need to be any type of super duper folk to know that episode one was going to revolve around getting things in place.

Some of those pieces then fall in the 'antics' bucket. Whether foreshadowing genuine antics or perhaps laying down a few decoys, episode one featured a few different narratives of antics that will run parallel to the impending doom. Sansa's angst is the most obvious here and I'm weary that Sansa's yarn may fall in the decoy category, however it will also serve a great purpose in terms of setting other things in motion outside of the arrival of ol' chilly mate.

"She's the smartest person I've ever met"

Arya stood up for Sansa in chatting with Jon Snow, suggesting that Sansa was rather smart. Arya's endorsement of Sansa's mind was juxtaposed with Sansa destroying the one thing that Tyrion holds dearest to himself in his wits.

"I used to think you were the cleverest man alive"

Tyrion and Sansa aren't fighters, they can't dabble in magical acts and neither of them can probably cook. They have both survived to this point via their brains, playing the game and continuously learning how to wiggle through precarious situations. In episode one, prior to shit hitting the fan, we had two very different perspectives laid down on the two major characters who only have their minds to offer.

Sansa sees right through Tyrion in the first episode, which feels like it is suggesting severe Tyrion antics. Given how we left the Tyrion/Cersei situation last season, the only real avenue for Tyrion to get up to some mischief is in aligning with Cersei. Fair play, that sounds crazy and all, especially after Cersei gave Bronny the cross-bow to shoot the Lannister bros, hopefully while they are both taking respective poos. There was a clear vibe of Tyrion being up to no good though, reinforced by the two perspectives of his and Sansa's skills.

We were clearly given a message that Sansa has a lot to offer via her brain, along with a message from Sansa that Tyrion might not be as clever as he (or we all) thought. The angst between Sansa and Danerys was pointed to in the trailers/teasers prior season eight, all of which doesn't feel like it is going to amount to anything. Sansa is understandably cautious to this weirdo arriving with dragons, although the lack of warmth offered to Dany isn't any different to that offered to Tyrion and is more a case of Sansa susssing folk out.

This flows into a lovely flowing scene with Tyrion, Varys and Davos. In which Davos drops the line "if you want their loyalty, you have to earn it" and an odd pause from the little fella after Varys and Davos walk out of shot, as Tyrion ponders a possible proposed proposal. How this scene and the discussion about Jon and Dany morphs into the lovebirds chasing waterfalls, truly is a piece of beauty; I'm not dwelling on that though.

First, the line Davos says about 'earning loyalty' is partnered with Cersei's line to Euron about buying whores and earning a queen. There are interesting pieces of life advice all throughout episode one, having to earn whatever you want is a key takeaway and one to note down in your journal.

I don't want this to be all about hating on Tyrion, I'm just catching a vibe. The scene of the three old lads plotting to control Jon and Dany, how to best negotiate the political landscape of the situation is in keeping with a general vibe from all of GoT as all the powerful folk have others trying to manipulate scenarios. It feels like Tyrion is up to something and we literally have no idea as to what Varys is trying to do, other than knowing for sure that Varys is on his own mission. Davos? He's just a good-hearted onion.

As a trio, their personal objectives and antics are inter-twined, whether that results in alignment or each strictly looking out for themselves, under the illusion of alignment, I dunno - that's too complex for today. I am more confident in the basic premise of them being a trio of old lads trying to maintain control of the love birds.

And yet they have no control. Because there is a more powerful figure in Bran Stark, not just trying to control things but most likely, straight up controlling things. Bran is up to antics and it's easy to see Bran has been influencing some matters to this point, but in this episode his influence is more nuanced. Instead of telling Jon of his whanau with Sam, or by himself, Bran merely tells Sam that it is time he set that ball in motion.

Meanwhile, Bran waits to set the Jamie ball in motion. Do not even consider that Bran wants revenge with Jamie, Bran barely has a beating heart at this point, let alone the capacity of feeling any emotions. Bran couldn't give a shit and the idea of revenge directed at Jamie will come from elsewhere; Bran has something up his sleeve with Jamie.

Antics, the antics are flowing. I'm eager to eventually see how the trio of Tyrion, Varys and Davos can influence humans, with human feelings if they and other characters survive to later in the season. There could be a use for that, however Bran is dictating how things play out and there is a super vibe that Bran knows how this all ends.

The Wildcard

Ah Dany, I’ve missed that impossibly arranged blonde hair and those slightly snotty looks down the nose. Ah Jonny Boy, I’ve missed that big black coat and the permanent sulk. Ah Arya, I’ve missed that sly badass nature and the tricky knife moves. Tyrion and his clever quips. Sansa and her steely poise. You get the picture. Eighteen months was a long time between drinks.

Tell you who I haven’t missed though? Bran. That sneaky little bastard. These days you can’t have a moment to yourself without turning around and, oh there’s Bran and he’s looking directly at me with his empty judgement. Your family got murdered? No time to grieve because Bran’s watching. Just rode the entire country to a join dangerous and precarious situation with no guarantee that you’ll be accepted and oh there’s Bran and he’s watching. And also he’s sitting in the wheelchair which you put him in. Even when Dany and Jon tried to get a little subtle auntie-nephew time in by the waterfall there was the implication that there was Bran, watching through the eyes of a dragon.

Which, by the way, is a little bit of a teaser there. Jon was able to ride the dragon in a way which made it look like anybody can ride a dragon if you simply hold on tight enough. Not entirely sure how he didn’t fall off during the loop-de-loops but whatever. Now that he’s had that experience, and now that horses are ruined for him forever, and now that he knows that he’s got Targaryen blood… as well as legitimate Stark blood too, his mum’s Lyanna so he’s a proper cousin of Sansa, Arya, and Bran… maybe he won’t just be able to ride a dragon but also be able to command it? Either that or Bran can warg into whichever one Dany doesn’t ride and there you go, Ned’s your uncle. Both possibilities are on the table after S08E01. Bit odd how neither of them, especially Dany, seemed to realise the significance of this act though.

But Bran sitting there watching, watching, always watching. He’s like the bad guy in a slasher movie, all that was missing was the flash of lightning behind him as whoever it was turned around. It’s not like the director couldn’t have known how they were presenting him either, this show is way too complicated for that. Which suggests that maybe they’re setting Bran up for a heel turn and there is a theory out there that Bran is going to use his greensight to go back into the past for answers and something goes wrong and it turns out that he is The Night’s King after all. I’m not sure if that’s the way I see it going but there’s a precedent with the Hodor/Hold The Door thing and we know they love a bit of foreshadowing on Thrones… the dragon riding thing for example.

The alternative, of course, is that Winterfell doesn’t have any wheelchair accessible ramps and Bran is literally stuck there in the courtyard watching people because he’s trying to get their attention about maybe helping him up the stairs a time or two.

Or… what’s if Bran is able to warg into The Night’s King? Is there even a soul in The Night’s King? What does The Night’s King really want? Is there something deeper than just pure destruction in his mind? Who was The Night’s King before he was The Night’s King? The Children of the Forest created the White Walkers to protect themselves but how did they lose control? Lots of questions and safe to say that’s the major focus of this final season. On that topic, the message that was left behind…

We’ve seen this symbol before. The White Walkers have left bodies in this shape up north (horses, in fact, the weirdos – been watching too much Godfather in their spare time). The spiral symbol, which looks sorta like a sun, is supposedly a Children of the Forest rune. It’s been witnessed in the caves of Dragonstone and when Bran used his greensight to see the birth of the first White Walker the CoF were standing in that exact shape around a weirwood tree, with the first man tied to it in the centre. So it could be a message specifically to the Children, supposing any of them are still alive. Like how the North remembers, the undead remember too.

Spiritually speaking, the spiral has often been a symbol of rebirth, unfolding consciousness, and growth/creation. But this wasn’t a typical spiral, one line folding in around itself. This is a central point with spiralled arms around it. Eight arms in the Last Hearth. Eight fiery arms. I’d assumed there’d be seven because it’s a more mystical number (the seven old gods, right?), but eight was the number of arms in the cave runes too. I’d bet that’s significant. Seven plus one?

The old gods all represent something crucial within the wider harmony of the world. The Father (justice), the Mother (mercy & fertility), the Maiden (beauty & love), the Crone (wisdom), the Warrior (strength & courage), the Smith (craftsmanship & creativity), the Stranger (death & unknown). So what then could the eighth one be? Evil and destruction? Or something, perhaps, more harmonious… sacred nature? Also, looking at the Seven-Faced-God thing… there are seven Starks at the beginning of the show. Seven plus Jon. Seven plus one.

• Ned – Father

• Catelyn – Mother

• Robb – Warrior

• Sansa – Maiden

• Arya – Stranger

• Bran – Crone

• Rickon – Smith

• Jon – The Eighth Arm

Maybe that doesn’t quite work, I dunno. The parents fit perfectly. So do Robb, Arya, and Sansa. Only thing is that if anyone was dead and unknown then it’s Rickon who literally had no purpose in this show until they decided to kill him off as a loose end. Which is the major fault in this spontaneous idea, since he has no significance in the storyline. Bran should be the Crone, even if it’s usually represented as female. But… maybe Jon is the Stranger instead? The alternative is that he’s either the unity of all seven or he’s whatever number eight is, mirroring The Night’s King on his march southwards. Argh, I’m losing my thread of sanity here. (Rickon’s still alive in the books, btw).

Look, Sansa. You’re the only person smart enough to see through Cersei’s lies. You and Euron, to be fair, who is the most arrogant man alive and who I actually kinda liked this episode. He’ll talk shit to Cersei and I appreciate that. Unfortunately for him that arrogance is going to be his downfall eventually because old mate got played like a Gameboy colour in this one, thinking he’d seduced the queen when all he’d done was give her a feasible baby daddy for the bun in the oven that isn’t Jaime. Who she ordered Bronn to kill, along with Tyrion, using the crossbow that Tyrion whacked Tywin on the john with. Yeah, I dunno. They’re just keeping that one burning, I think. Nothing that happens in King’s Landing will be of much relevance until after The Battle of Winterfell in episode three.

But Sansa, seriously, just be careful with Dany because she has dragons and she’s a little more unhinged than she lets on. Not sure she’ll cope too well when the truth about her relationship to Jon comes out… not just the literal relation-ship but more specifically how it means he’s got a stronger claim to the throne she’s been promised since day one. Sansa’s great genius is in how she stands back a little. She won’t fall for the tricks and promises. Doesn’t show her hand either. In a world where everything changes so quickly, it pays to be careful.

Also it makes perfect sense that the North would be distrustful of Daenerys. For many, many reasons. Let’s be honest, they were probably a little racist when they saw Grey Worm and Missandei ride into town too (gonna take my horse to the old town road…). These Northerners are stubborn and old fashioned, as well as pretty isolated. They all voted for Brexit. Thrones gets a lot of credit for its emotional realism but a truly realistic scenario would have Westeros’ fake news department spreading lies and deceit about Dany, probably Jon too, causing an even split down the middle of the population where instead of actually doing something about the impending environmental catastrophe heading their way, embodied by ice zombies, they just spend all their time bickering amongst themselves instead. That’s what happens when people limit complicated politics into two simplistic sides of an argument. Yes or no, for or against. Subtlety and nuance? Truth and honesty? No thank you, those things don’t sell. Much better to over-simplify it all so people become stupider and stupider and actually begin to fall for these lies.

So shout out to Sansa for being the cleverest person on the show, which is an idea that Arya spoke into existence. A bit of sneaky characterisation there. But all this scepticism about Dany, as consistent as it may be up north with those jokers, is really hard to dwell on when we know it’ll be all hands on deck regardless as soon as Tormund and Beric arrive with news of what’s marching their way.  

Plenty of reunions in this episode. Arya and Jon. Arya and Gendry. Bran and Jaime. Yara and Theon. Sansa and Tyrion. Jon and Sam. Arya and The Hound. Me and Game of Thrones. Also if you watch it all back, take note of all the similarities between Dany and Jon riding into Winterfell and Robert Bartheon riding into Winterfell way back in season one. I believe they even used the same music, not to mention that narrative device of the little boy climbing the tree same as Arya did back then.

Hey, what does this look like to you? A spear? Gotta be a spear, right? Callback to her days fighting the waif with a stick over the seas.

S08E01 Power Rankings

1. The Night’s King – He wasn’t even in this episode but let’s be honest here.

2. Sansa Stark – Many people have underestimated her. Not me.

3. Euron Greyjoy – Dude made some plays here. Suddenly he’s relevant again.

4. Jon Snow – My boy rode a dragon without even realising how rare that is. Or the implication about his Targaryen blood. Lad needs to read more books.

5. Gendry – He’s getting better at this thing. Also, we’re probably just at the stage now where Arya + Gendry isn’t creepy or weird anymore. Good for him.

6. Cersei Lannister – One strange thing here, is that she was drinking wine after she did the deed with Euron. But last season she tipped her pregnancy by specifically not drinking wine in front of Jaime. Is that a hint? Or was she just really thirsty?

7. Daenerys Targaryen – Plus points for the line about a thousand years and the other line about dragons eating whatever they want. Minus points for being the Mother of Dragons and not even acknowledging that Jon was able to ride one so easy.

8. Yara Greyjoy – Now here’s a chick with the right idea. Get the hell across to the Iron Islands where the dead can’t march. Although they do have a dragon now so there could be a rather significant hole in the plan there.

9. Big Dick Bronn – Mate, chill out will ya?

10. Beric Dondarrion – Lucky for that flaming sword, aye? Be pretty buggered without it at this point.

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