Game Of Thrones Episode 4 – Many, Many Thoughts

Published May 7, 2019 · Updated July 6, 2022

Hi Shat Hosts,

Below are some of my thoughts on this episode. And this email has – I’m not kidding – a table of contents so you can jump to the sections you care about. The obsession is real, my dudes. Hopefully one or more of these threads is worthy of the attention of the Small Council.

On another note, your rendition of Listwak & Listwak: Fantasy Lawyers was tremendous. I sent this around to friends and they were in stitches. The Law & Order theme was a prefect touch. Big D, rest assured, I am not a criminal defense attorney. Thanks so much for putting on a tremendous show and for taking the time to show appreciation for your fans.

Cheers,

Ken L

TABLE OF CONTENTS

* The Episode Title is about Sansa – a discussion of Sansa’s status as the last true Stark

* An Interesting Perspective on Jon’s Loyalties and Identity – an adopted kid’s take on how Jon might be feeling about his new last name

* Jon Snow is Not an Idiot – Dany, Sansa, Tyrion, and Varys Need to Read More History – why Jon’s ideas about openly being Targaryen aren’t stupid

* Cersei Lannister is Basically a Bond Villain – a takedown of the writers’ mishandeling of the final scene of the episode and why it makes Cersei look stupid

* Sansa Stark and the Littlefinger School of Treachery – a theory that Sansa may have betrayed Dany to Cersei, why it’s possible, and how it could help Sansa achieve her goals

* In Defense of the Scorpions – why people should stop bitching about Qyburn’s new weapons

* Dany isn’t Mad, She’s Human – a defense of Dany’s reactions this season and why, even if she isn’t a deserving queen, she isn’t insane.

The Episode Title is about Sansa

This episode is called The Last of the Starks and when you look at how plot is treating each of the Stark children, it becomes clear that the Last of the Starks is Sansa. Bran has said many times over that he’s not really Brandon Stark anymore and by no means is he Lord of Winterfell-he’s the Three Eyed Raven. Arya, though still loyal to her family, was never going to stick around and live out her days as a Stark of Winterfell; she made that clear this episode. She’s never coming home again. Then there’s Jon. He learns of his Targaryen heritage and this episode we see him cast of almost everything that makes him a Northerner. He says goodbye to Tormund and his Nights’ Watch friend Sam. He says goodbye to his family and reveals his identity to them. He parts ways with Ghost – which is especially meaningful because the direwolves are meant to represent the Stark children’s connection with their family and with the North. As Jon leaves Winterfell we get a shot of each of these aspects of Jon’s Northern identity watch longingly after him. Jon’s not a Stark anymore.

Sansa, however, remains the Stark in Winterfell. She is, truly, the last of the Starks. She’s the character still fighting for Northern independence. She’s the one showing the most concern for the wellbeing of the Northern armies. She remains stoically unimpressed with the Dragon Queen and champions the Stark pack mentality that Ned taught his children. She stays at Winterfell happily as everyone else marches South. This is quite the reversal from Season 1, where Sansa was shown to be the least Northern Stark, longing after the easy life of Southern ladies and pining after Joffrey. Now, even more than Jon, Sansa is the epitome of the North.

An Interesting Perspective on Jon’s Loyalties and Identity

So, fun fact, I’m adopted at birth. I never met my biological parents. I had a wonderful childhood and remain very close with my adoptive parents who raised me. My last name is their last name. I have never been treated as anything but part of the family by anyone. Likewise, I have no misgivings about who my family is – it’s the wonderful people who raised me, blood ties notwithstanding. I understand that this isn’t how all adopted children feel, but that has always been my perspective.

However, one aspect of my family that I never quite accepted was their heritage. My last name is Ukrainian. My family – especially my extended family – all very obviously identify with their Eastern European heritage. Holidays are filled to the brim with pierogies, my aunts make Paska bread for Easter, you get the picture. I’ve never felt drawn to this, despite good faith efforts to connect. I don’t like Eastern European food at all – everyone tells me I’m crazy, but I just don’t. The traditions all just fall flat on me. Years ago, I did a little digging prior to the advent of 23andMe and through some paperwork, was able to determine that I am vaguely some proportion of British and Scottish based on last names. I immediately wanted to learn more about those cultures. It informed my decision to study abroad in England and spend time in Scotland. It felt more like a part of me than Ukrainian and Polish traditions. Last year my soon-to-be in-laws got me a 23andMe kit for Christmas. I was super excited to learn the results. Turns out, I’m roughly 60% British (they can’t distill down to Scotland v. Ireland v. England) and I was shocked to learn that I’m 25% Ashkenazi Jewish. Yet this all felt right – I’m not planning on converting to Judaism, but I spent a lot of time speaking with my Jewish friends about their traditions and culture, I’ve attended some holiday celebrations with their families, and I feel like I discovered a lost part of myself. Super cool. Meanwhile, the results further reinforced my love of all things Celtic and British.

Sitting here now, I can imagine how Jon Snow might be feeling. Granted, his life and mine are not perfect comparisons because Jon was never fully accepted as a Stark, but still. I can imagine him having this nagging feeling that something else was going on in the background. I always did, even with the full love and acceptance of my family. This episode, we see Jon cast off all things Northern. He leaves behind Tormund, his last Nights’ Watch friend, and his direwolf. That last one is most important – in the books especially, the direwolves represent a Stark’s connection to family. I didn’t love how Jon said goodbye to Ghost (like…not even a few pets…?) but I understand why. This isn’t about Jon casting off loyalty to the Starks or his siblings – just like my desire to learn more about Jewish, Celtic, and English cultures aren’t a rejection of my Eastern European family. This is about Jon recognizing that this feeling that he belongs elsewhere, the unnamed and unknown nagging within him, is finally relieved – he knows more about who he is and how his identity fits into his world. Now that the great war is over, he has time to process the news Sam dropped on him. Like me when I learned about my heritage, Jon’s perspective is changing-not just about Dany, but about the Dragons, and maybe about his claim to the Throne. Jon’s history is steeped in fire, blood, and prophesy. His is the blood of old Valyria…and I think we’re going to see Jon take on that identity as our story comes to a close. It was tragic to see Jon throw off his Northern trappings, but I think somewhere down the line there will be a really beautiful moment for him to finally connect with his Targaryen heritage.

Jon Snow is Not an Idiot – Dany, Sansa, Tyrion, and Varys Need to Read More History

Everyone is piling on Jon for being so naïve for thinking he could publicly reveal his identity but not be forced into taking the Iron Throne. Dany thinks he’s being dense. Sansa believes putting that information out there will lead to fracture in Dany’s ranks. Tyrion is afraid of the information spreading to Dany’s detriment. Varys, like Dany, is convinced that if becomes known, Jon’s thoughts on being king become irrelevant. Putting aside the common sense truth that you can’t crown an unwilling king and no good rebellions are built on usurpers who refuse to usurp, the history of Westeros shows these political savants are dead wrong.

Everyone remember Maester Aemon of the Night’s’ Watch? Well, at one point in the history of Westeros, the Targaryen king at the time (Maekar I) died and caused some major succession issues. His two eldest sons died before him, one of whom had no children and the other left behind only a mentally disabled daughter, and his eldest daughter had only an infant son. A Great Counsel was called to pick a king since these options were less than ideal. The Counsel ultimately asked Maester Aemon if he would be king, but he refused, instead insisting that his younger brother Aegon should be king. Aegon V – called Aegon the Unlikely because there were many, many people ahead of him for the Throne – was crowned and that was that. There were challenges to Aegon’s throne, but none were premised on Aemon’s abdication or this idea that Aemon should have been king.

In Episode 2, as you guys discussed, Jenny’s Song made an appearance. Closely tied to Jenny’s song was Prince Duncan Targaryen who abdicated his throne for love. His father tried to undo his marriage. People were not pleased. Duncan just flatly refused to be King. That was that. Aerys II Targaryen was then crowned – this was the Mad King, who was overthrown, but NOT because people were upset that Duncan abdicated or because they felt someone else had a better claim.

Abdication happens in Westerosi history, largely without incident. Jon is in the right here.

Cersei Lannister is Basically a Bond Villain

Cersei’s conduct this episode was distractingly stupid – and if I’m being honest, this is more a shot at the writers than at Cersei.

Cersei Lannister has (1) Dany Targaryen, (2) the last living dragon, and (3) Tyrion Lannister right outside her gates. She also has a wall of scorpions, which have been proven to adeptly take out a dragon, and a whole squad of archers at the ready. Presumably, she has her entire Lannister fighting force and the Golden Company somewhere nearby as well. Nonetheless, she never realizes it might be a great idea to shoot a few bolts at Drogon, have her archers unload on Tyrion, and fire another bolt right a Dany. Nope. Never crosses her mind I guess. She’ll hire Bronn – an untrustworthy cutthroat who is drinking buddies with Tyrion and sparring buddies with Jaime – to kill Tyrion and Jaime in exchange for a major land holding, but I guess having archers shoot Tyrion at point blank range is too easy. And just to be crystal clear: Cersei was not interested in peace because she lops off Missandi’s head and Cersei is not concerned with the ethical issues of attacking during parlay because, small detail, she tends to do things like blow up Septs with wildfire and murder her husband. There is no justification for Cersei’s behavior here whatsoever. This show is wonderful in many ways, but the writing team is dropping the ball big time these days.

Sansa Stark and the Littlefinger School of Treachery

I know Gene isn’t a big fan of what-if theories, but this one seems plausible. Consider: what if Sansa Stark sold out Dany to Cersei by informing Cersei of Dany’s movements? Sounds ridiculous at first, right? But take a minute to think-what does Sansa want? She wants Northern independence. She wants her family to be safe. I think it’s fair that she wants some power- she’s earned it, frankly. She will get none of those things with Dany on the Throne. Jon bent the knee to Dany – so long as he’s Warden, he’ll keep that oath and the North will not be free. Jon will likely spend his time in the capital to be with Dany, but he won’t be safe. Jon will be like Ned – out of his league as the Game of Thrones picks up where it left off – and beyond that, Dany will always have one eye on him as a possible threat. Finally, while Tyrion is right that Sansa will be the real power in the North, at the end of the day, Jon won’t listen to her with Dany in his ear. Dany won’t listen to her because she hates her guts. Sansa gets sidelined if Dany is Queen. So we have motive.

So why tip off Cersei? Dany’s forces are going to make it to Dragonstone by boat (which is close to King’s Landing) far faster than Jon’s forces will by horseback. Three things, realistically, happen once Cersei gets this info: (1) Cersei acts on it and manages to destroy Dany; (2) Cersei does not act on Sansa’s intel; (3) Cersei acts the intel and fails to destroy Dany, but does succeed in provoking her. Situation 1 – Cersei destroying Dany, aptly removes Dany from the equation. It makes the fight for King’s Landing a good deal harder, but the vast bulk of the ground forces are with Jon and the Northern Army. Plus, Cersei would have lost something in the fight against Dany. Situation 2 – Cersei does nothing – is basically nothing lost, nothing gained. Sansa still put that earworm out there that Jon is the real king, so maybe that will help. Situation 3 – Cersei only provokes Dany – is exactly what happens and, if you’re a betting man, the most likely situation of the three I’d think. Here, Sansa gets exactly what she wants because if Dany is starting her attack early, against the plan, it follows that she’s acting impulsively. And if Dany is acting impulsively, if follows that she’s almost certainly acting with brutality. So by the time Jon arrives, the two armies are likely still fighting, but Dany’s shown her true colors. Jon becomes disillusioned and considers his duty to be king. Tyrion and whomever else learns about Jon’s claim becomes a bit more interested in a level-headed king than a Fire and Blood queen. Meanwhile, because Dany sent her forces in at half-strength without Jon’s forces, she’s likely not in a position to win without Jon’s help. Cersei, of course, isn’t doing great because she’s been defending a city laden with Wildfire against a dragon and a seasoned and still significant fighting force. This affords Jon the opportunity to come in, decisively end the battle (another hero moment for Jon!) and with that momentum, take the throne because he cannot tolerate Dany’s brutality. It’s a masterstroke. It also comes at almost no cost to Sansa. If Cersei tries to throw her under the bus, who really would believe Cersei? No one. Speaking of no one I’m also half-convinced that Arya could be in on it too – under Sansa’s instruction, during the battle, she’s specifically going after Cersei to strike at the right moment and to silence her.

It’s a wild theory, but I don’t think it jumps the shark…

In Defense of the Scorpions

One of the major criticisms that I’ve seen making the rounds is people’s dissatisfaction with how powerful Qyburn’s scorpions are. They whinge about how it’s unrealistic and effectively neutralizes the Dany’s dragons…er…dragon (RIP Rhaegal). People who, like me, think the History of Westeros should tie into our current-day plot correctly argue that if these scorpions were around when Aegon was trying to conquer the Seven Kingdoms, he’d have lost.

I think this criticism misses a major point. Qyburn – a man smart enough to achieve necromancy without magic and take over Varys spy network seamlessly – invented these weapons with the specific purpose of killing dragons, so of course the kill the bloody dragons! The argument against the power of these weapons is, at its core, they’re unrealistic because they do exactly what they were invented to do. Qyburn spent loads of time testing out the weapons on the dragon bones in the Red Keep. In addition to improving basic scorpion design to add additional arms (which add additional tension, thus, force on impact) he likely changed the design of the bolt itself to puncture properly.

What’s more, the scorpions we see in this episode are the final product – dialogue in the Battle of the Loot Train, where we see the scorpion for the first time, makes clear that they were using an early version – a beta version, if you will. It’s obvious that Qyburn updated the design for mounting on ships and continued to tinker to improve reload speed and rotational abilities – hell, he added the nice touch of adding tentacle and crow’s eye ornamentation onto Euron’s scorpion.

If you watch the behind the scenes feature

Subscribe Now