Reunion Context, World Wars, And Sorrow

Published April 24, 2019 · Updated July 6, 2022

Lords and Ladies of Shat,

I hope this email is finding you well. I think there have been some context mis-cues in the first two episodes and I’ll get right to it:

Arya and Jon’s reunion from S8E1. When they part ways, they hug and Jon says “I’m Sansa’s family too” to which Arya responds “Don’t forget that.” So far this has been taken, as far as I can tell, as a touching reunion but I didn’t see it that way. It was a touching reunion from Jon’s perspective. However, I think that Arya has become so hyper-aware that she literally trusts no one; except maybe Sansa who she has historically been at odds with. She is feeling Jon out as much as she is reuniting with him. You can see that he still sees her and Sansa as his goofy little sisters and not a nameless assassin and a stone cold governess. When Arya says “Don’t forget that” I think she is threatening or warning him. Arya is telling him that if he screws with Sansa, she’ll be waiting. And, by the look on his face, he only partially got the message; probably b/c he doesn’t yet understand what Arya has become. This dynamic makes sense when you take into consideration the politics between Jon, Sansa, and Daenarys. Whether it amounts to anything or not is beside the point; we’re being shown how far she’ll go to protect Sansa.

Bran and Jaime in the Godswood. I, like you guys, thought that Bran’s line “Maybe there is no after” was telling. However, I read a lot into it. We know the biggest war in GOT’s living memory is about to take place…a “World War.” And just like in our most recent WW, it will dynamically change everything. After WWII the British Empire crumbled; the war saw the first atomic bombs dropped on our fellow man giving way to the nuclear age; the US became the undisputed world superpower…the world was not the same world. I think this, along with the other connotations, is what Bran might be alluding to. Of course he means that everyone might die but the deeper meaning is that the world that will exist after this war will not be the same world…the same after. Jaime is worried about what will happen to him in the world that HE knows after the war…that world of the Iron Throne with lords and ladies (British Empire) won’t exist anymore; the world of King’s Landing (Nagasaki/Hiroshima) won’t exist anymore.

Cercei, Jaime, and her baby. One of your emailers helped me along to this minor theory. I agree with that emailer that Cercei was pregnant and is not anymore. I think the wine theory is valid but I think there is more. What happened in between Tyrion parlaying with Cercei and now?…Jaime left. The stress of him abandoning her could have lead to a miscarriage. This would do two things: it would explain why she all of sudden is willing to have Jaime murdered and it fulfills the prophesy that her brother would cause the death of her child. The show goes out of the way to show us the conversation between Tyrion and Jaime where Tyrion asked him to confirm if she is pregnant…that’s a tell I think. If the show wanted to verify she was pregnant all they would need to do was have Lena Headey where a pregnant suit and be done with it. To me, it looks like a setup for the revelation to Jaime that she lost the baby b/c of him.

Yeah, and I don’t think Bron is going to assassinate a Lanister. Remember way back in S1 or S2 I think when Tyrion says to Bron “When someone asks you to murder me, come to me and I’ll pay you double.” That little quip never really fleshed out. And it was brought back up a few times. I think Bron will show up and tell him he’s been sent to kill them and cheekily ask for due. It would tie their relationship arc up nicely and it serves as a great way to get Bron to the North to join everybody without being obvious.

We now know why Tormund Giantsbane is so named. So if you guys were in the world of GOT, what would your monikers be?

I’ve been listening to your pods for a while now but recently they have served as something more than entertainment. Recently, I’ve had to endure the loss of my 11 mo old son, Jack. I have not been coping well. I don’t know how to deal with this “after” world without him and while I think I’m functioning pretty well, every moment is filled with a grief I can’t put into words. Your pods have now turned into a therapeutic distraction. For just a little while I can pause the sorrow and enjoy something which I have found almost impossible. So thank you for what you guys do. The familiarity yet distance I share with you has helped and I am grateful. Keep it up.

Matthew from Bama

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