Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 4 Questions Answered

Warning: contains major spoilers for Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 4, “The Last of the Starks.”

This article comes from Den of Geek UK.

What does Dany whisper in Ser Jorah’s ear? 

According to this from actor Iain Glen speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the words were unscripted and therefore of Emilia Clarke’s choosing, and we’ll never know. Perhaps she just repeated lines by Bill Murray?

What’s the significance of the brooch Sansa pins on Theon? 

It’s a direwolf, the symbol of House Stark, which is Sansa’s way of telling Theon Greyjoy, the little Iron Islands boy who was brought up with Sansa and her siblings as Ned’s “ward” (read: hostage) that she saw him as a true Stark, and to thank him for helping her to escape Ramsay. It’s a moment that recalls the cloak Sansa made for Jon Snow in season 6 in the same style as one Ned used to wear, also featuring the direwolf symbol. This girl is fluent in the language of accessories.

Do they still need to burn their dead now that the Night King has been killed? 

Not for fear that they’d come back as wights. Post-battle funeral pyres are a more efficient, less labor-intensive way to dispose of your dead than burying them in the cold winter ground. As explained by this behind-the-scenes feature, the scenes of the pyres being lit were filmed with the actors protected from real flames by sheets of glass, then they were replaced by chicken-wire models wearing their costumes that were actually set on fire.

Jon’s good at speeches, isn’t he?

He is, but he’s also a bit of a thieving magpie. When he declared the Battle of Winterfell dead “the shields that guarded the realms of men,” he was quoting from the Night’s Watch oath.

What’s the history of Gendry’s new home, Storm’s End? 

On the Southeast coast of Westeros, it’s the ancestral seat of House Baratheon, former home to King Robert Baratheon and his brothers Stannis and Renly. When it was being laid siege to by the Tyrells (on behalf of Mad King Aerys), Ser Davos smuggled food–specifically onions, hence his nickname as ‘The Onion Knight’–into it to feed its people, which is why Stannis made him a Ser. We’ve never seen it on the show, but it’s supposed to be a mighty, unbreachable castle and now it’s where Gendry calls home. 

Why was Gendry’s surname Rivers? 

Bastards in the riverlands are called Rivers, in the Vale of Arryn they are called Stone, in the Stormlands they’re called Storm, in the Crownlands they are called Waters, in the Iron Islands they are called Pyke, in the Reach they’re Flowers, in the North they’re Snow, and in Dorne they are called Sand. Anyway, he’s not called that anymore; he’s a Baratheon.

Did those two chaps Tormund chinked horns with at the feast look familiar?

In all honesty, no, but congratulations to you if they did–they were played by Game of Thrones showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff while wearing massive beards. Weapons master Tommy Dunne could be seen in the episode too, operating one of the dragon-killing Scorpions on Euron’s fleet.

What does the Lord of Light want? 

Good question. He wanted the Night King dead, by the looks of it, resurrecting Ser Beric Dondarrion multiple times so that he could save Arya Stark and she could finish off old pointy head. He also wanted Jon Snow alive again, as he gave Melisandre the power to bring him back. There’s a case that the Lord of Light wants to see Jon sit on the Iron Throne, but honestly, as the god who demands human sacrifices (including little Shireen Baratheon), is he really someone we want to listen to?

Why does the Hound call Sansa “little bird”?

He always has. When Sansa was with the Lannisters in King’s Landing following her father’s execution, the Hound said she was in a cage and singing sweet songs to her captors. He later saved her from being raped during civil unrest under Joffrey’s rule, and in the Battle of Blackwater, offered to get her out of King’s Landing and take her back to Winterfell, but she refused. 

Why did it sound familiar when Arya told Gendry “that’s not me”? 

It’s the third time she’s said it, sort of. The first was to her father when she asked him about what her and Bran would be when they’re older. “You will marry a high lord and rule his castle and your sons will be knights and princes and lords,” said Ned Stark. “No, that’s not me,” Arya responds. 

The second was when she ran into her direwolf Nymeria on her way back to Winterfell in season 7, and she asked her to go North with her. When Nymeria turned away and left, Arya expressed an affinity between them by understanding her wolf pal and saying, “That’s not you.”

Has Jaime slept with anybody but Cersei before? 

No, he has always been exclusively loyal in the sack to his sister, as he confirms to Catelyn Stark in the season 2 finale when he claims to have more honor in that department than Ned Stark. Not any more though!

read more: Will Jaime Kill Cersei?

When was the last time “the Imp” was with a woman? 

Possibly Shae (the woman he loved and strangled when she betrayed him. The Lannisters really aren’t tip-top people.). The last time we saw him try was in a Volantis brothel, but he wasn’t able to perform and was swiftly kidnapped by Ser Jorah afterwards. Since then, it’s been all about the politics for drinky Tyrion. 

Who is the new Prince of Dorne?

We don’t know, but we know he’s pledged his support to Dany. Dorne has always been a bit of a damp squib on this show, let’s hope the remaining episodes don’t spend too much time tying up that loose end.

read more: Ghost and Season 8 Deserve Better

What is the Hound and Arya’s unfinished business in King’s Landing? 

The Hound needs to go and fight his undead brother in the much-anticipated Cleganebowl while Arya has had Cersei Lannister on her kill-list for the longest time. That’s if Jaime doesn’t get there first…

When did Tormund and Jon first meet? 

In King Beyond the Wall Mance Rayder’s tent in season 3, when Jon is brought there as a prisoner. Tormund was among the Wildling party who climbed the Wall with Jon. 

Which castle does Tyrion promise Bronn? 

“What’s double Riverrun?” Highgarden, i.e. the former ancestral home of the wealthy, fancy Tyrell family, who are all dead thanks to Cersei Lannister and her Sept of Baelor explosion/poison.

read more: Game of Thrones Season 8 – Who Lives and Who Dies?

Who did Robert Baratheon love that didn’t love him back? 

Ned’s sister Lyanna Stark, aka Jon’s mum. She was betrothed to Robert by her family but really in love with Rhaegar Targaryen, whom she married in secret and gave a son before they both died. Robert believing that Lyanna had been kidnapped and raped by Rhaegar stoked his fire in his whole rebellion-against-the-king deal. 

How did Tyrion know about Jon’s true parentage? 

Sansa told him, literally moments after swearing to Jon that she would keep it a secret.

Why is Varys worried about Dany’s state of mind?

Because madness runs deep in Targaryen blood (thanks to all that incest) and Varys watched first-hand as Dany’s father King Aerys gained his “Mad” epithet and became a murderous tyrant who enjoyed burning his subjects to death.

read more: Game of Thrones and the Importance of Dragons in This World

How many kings has Varys served? 

All of them since King Aerys Targaryen II, the “Mad King.” That includes King Robert, then King Joffrey, then briefly King Tommen before he jumped ship over to Essos and began serving Queen Daenerys. But of course, he only truly serves the realm. 

Is Varys suggesting that he and Tyrion should have Dany killed so Jon can replace her? 

Seems to be. Treason.

When did Jaime strangle his cousin?

In season 2, after the Battle of the Whispering Wood when Jamie Lannister is being held captive by Robb Stark’s army along with his cousin Alton Lannister (a minor relation Jaime doesn’t really know), Jaime tricks Alton to come closer then kills him as a means of drawing their jailor into the cell so he could also kill him, steal the keys, and escape. See? Not a tip-top person.

What did Missandei’s last words mean?

As Nathalie Emmanuel confirmed on Twitter, “Dracarys” (the instruction Dany uses to tell her dragons to burn someone/something) was a message to Dany inciting her to kill Cersei. We unpack the thematic heft of that moment right here.

Game of Thrones season 8 continues next Sunday. Read our episode guide and complete coverage here.