It Looks Like 'Game Of Thrones' Gave Us Some Serious Foreshadowing About How It All Ends Way Back in Season 2
If you're looking to avoid SPOILERS for the most recent episode of Game of Thrones, back away immediately.
"The Bells," the penultimate episode of the eighth and final season of HBO's critically acclaimed juggernaut, was controversial for one major reason: Daenerys Targaryen went full on Mad Queen and the citizens of King's Landing paid for it.
To be fair, we all saw it coming during last week's episode, when Daenerys's trusted friend and adviser Missandei yelled "Dracarys" mere seconds before her execution. But the carnage that unfolded just after the Lannister army already surrendered was horrific, apocalyptic and nowhere near as cathartic as anyone anticipated.
And the show gave us two big hints years ago that Daenerys would mirror her own father's legacy.
Back in Season 2, Daenerys had an unsettling vision in The House of the Undying. She saw herself in a destroyed throne room, the roof broken, the room's contents exposed to falling snow. The vision shows Daenerys walking toward the throne but turning away before she touches it.
Many interpreted the scene to foreshadow Jon Snow's claim to the throne, but now it appears that wasn't snow at all: It was ash.
Game Of Thrones - Daenerys Vision Sceneyoutu.be
As we saw in this week's episode, Dany destroyed the Red Keep. It's highly likely we'll see a similar scene in next week's episode, the final episode of the series. Despite everything, she might not sit on that throne at all.
But will she face consequences? We don't know. If there's one thing Game of Thrones has always done, it's subvert expectations.
The second major hint the series provided was a vision Bran Stark had in Season 6 foreshadowing the destruction of King's Landing.
The vision shows Drogon, Daenerys's dragon, flying over King's Landing.
The vision also draws connections between the births of Daenerys's three dragons with scenes of her father, the Mad King, yelling "Kill them all!"
Bran sees Death of the Mad King Game of Thrones 6x06 - Bran's Visionyoutu.be
Suffice it to say that all of this has been written in stone––or shall we say, fire and blood––for quite some time now, and fans are all over it.
Things next week are going to be more lit than a King's Landing barbecue.
A Hint About The Possibility Of More Dragons On 'Game Of Thrones' Has Been Staring Us In The Face All Season
*WARNING SPOILERS for Game of Thrones
Fans of Game of Thrones believe we'll see more dragons in the penultimate episode of the series.
If you don't want any SPOILERS for last week's episode, consider this your warning!
Daenerys Targaryen lost her second dragon during last week's episode.
Poor Rhaegal didn't stand a chance, shot out of the sky by several of Euron Greyjoy's scorpion bolts.
That leaves Dany with just one dragon to scorch King's Landing. But if you ask the fans, the possibility of more dragons has been staring us in the face all season.
If you've been watching Game of Thrones for a while, then you surely remember that Drogon—the last dragon standing—disappeared near the close of Season 4. Dany could not explain where he'd gone.
But he returned for a brief period early on in Season 5 before taking another sabbatical...
Game of Thrones (S05E02) - Daenerys and Drogonwww.youtube.com
...and fans believe Drogon flew off somewhere to lay some dragon eggs. The series implies that dragons can reproduce asexually.
Does this mean we're bound to see some fully grown dragons wreaking havoc during this week's episode?
I'm just waiting for Drogon's babies to show up next episode 🤞#GOT— KP 🌙 (@KP 🌙) 1557277373.0
I believe that Drogon disappeared in season four to protect his baby dragons until they were swole and next week we… https://t.co/tGWv8Qx2Kv— January Berg (@January Berg) 1557317132.0
OMG! What if - bear with me now - WHAT IF...the reason Drogon ‘disappeared’ randomly in the earlier season was bec… https://t.co/xl1Fc1rko1— Stephanie Yeboah (@Stephanie Yeboah) 1557260587.0
There are a couple of things out there that support this theory.
For one, the opening credits to this season hint at more dragons.
My theory is that there are going to be more dragons in Game Of Throne Episode 5. Drogon pissed off in season 4 and… https://t.co/YYNzTsTmPZ— Emma Swinton (@Emma Swinton) 1557265071.0
Does this hint that Drogon will have babies? https://t.co/GEpbClJI5u— 7641 (@7641) 1557273403.0
The trailer for next week's episode provides another clue.
Euron Greyjoy looking up at the sky in fear while dragon screeches are heard in the background.
Game of Thrones | Season 8 Episode 5 | Preview (HBO)youtu.be
Oh, and here's that moment, just for you:
HBO
What did he see?!
What did Euron actually see? I am guessing more than 1 dragon, the Night King, the Avengers, Thanos or maybe all o… https://t.co/9yLJfTzSSn— mountain baby (@mountain baby) 1557418488.0
I have a feeling GOT episode 5 is going to feature multiple dragons. Hence this “Oh Fuck” face from Euron. I’m not… https://t.co/JNwPNtE5Dg— R¥AN (@R¥AN) 1557448634.0
Tune in Sunday and find out.
There are only two more episodes before the series ends, and anything can happen!
And when it is all over, you can get your own GoT dragon to wear on your shoulder here.
Emilia Clarke's Got Us All Weepy With Her Behind-The-Scenes Selfie With A Beloved Fallen Character
"The Long Night," the third episode of the eighth and final season of HBO's Game of Thrones, has taken social media by storm, shocking us all with some intriguing new plot developments (such as Arya Stark taking down the Night King) and some heartbreaking character deaths.
Among those we lost on Sunday night's episode: Ser Jorah Mormont, the exiled knight who pledged his loyalty to Daenerys Targaryen from the moment she became a Khaleesi, a queen of the nomadic Dothraki, in Season 1.
Fittingly, he died in her arms during the Battle of Winterfell, shortly after the Night King erupted into thousands of ice shards.
It was a sad end for one of our mainstays, and Emilia Clarke, who plays our Dany, paid tribute to her costar Iain Glen, who played Ser Jorah right to the bitter end.
These two have no doubt grown very close over the years, and Clarke shared a behind-the-scenes selfie of herself and Glen––still in his battle makeup––captioned with lyrics from Bonnie Tyler's 1988 hit "The Best."
Ser Jorah's death was one of the saddest moments from "The Long Night," bringing the story of a great knight's lifetime of service to a close.
Fans loved Clark's tribute, too.
Ser Jorah was a hero and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
You bet he was, and don't forget the moment Dany's dragon came down to grieve alongside her!
Ser Jorah was at Dany's side from the very start––of course, you've been pretty invested in their relationship!
In a cast of such great characters, he immediately stood out.
No, we're pretty sure you're crying.
IT DEFINITELY DID.
Even HBO was emotional.
In a recent interview with People, Clarke shared that she and Glen became instant friends from the moment he comforted her following a mishap during her first day on set:
"The first day on set I fell off my horse and cried. I have the most visceral memory of the first day, it is Iain Glen calming the horse, calming me, and I was like: 'That is my friend for life.'"
Glen, for his part, revealed that he tried to make a farewell speech during his last day on set but that the "words didn't come out."
He expressed his gratitude for the experience:
"I've really enjoyed the journey as a whole. I loved going on the journey with Peter Dinklage, we had great fun doing that. But Daenerys and being by her side has always been my strongest association."
We'll miss you, Ser Jorah, but we're certain you're still watching over your Khaleesi.
Elizabeth Warren Just Wrote An In-Depth Analysis Of 'Game Of Thrones'—And She's Team Daenerys All The Way
Elizabeth Warren watches Game of Thrones, a show which is probably a sweet escape for her considering what's going on in American politics right now.
Oh, and she's team Daenerys Targaryen all the way, as she outlined in a piece for New York Magazine ahead of the eighth season's second episode:
"A queen who declares that she doesn't serve the interests of the rich and powerful? A ruler who doesn't want to control the political system but to break the system as it is known? It's no wonder that the people she meets in Westeros are skeptical."
Why do I love #GameOfThrones? It’s the women (duh!). Looking forward to tonight’s episode. In the meantime, you can… https://t.co/EKJqY9PLRZ— Elizabeth Warren (@Elizabeth Warren) 1555884040.0
Warren also had a lot to say about Cersei of House Lannister, writing that the world needs "less" of people like her, a statement about power and economy:
"Unlike Dany, Cersei doesn't expect to win with the people — she expects to win in spite of them. When Cersei's brother (and lover) Jaime begs her not to wage a war — arguing that they don't have the warrior strength of the Dothraki or the allegiance of the other houses, she replies with all the confidence in the Seven Kingdoms: 'We have something better. We have the Iron Bank'."
"Rather than earn her army, Cersei's pays for it. She buys 20,000 Golden Company mercenaries — though they arrive without their legendary elephants — with funds from the Iron Bank. But Cersei has no intention of sending her private army north to help defeat the army of the dead — that's Jon and Dany's problem."
"No, Cersei's army will sit back and wait for whatever comes their way. Cersei's betting on the strength of the bank to get her through the biggest fight of her life. It never crosses the mind that the bank could fail, or betray her."
That's a loaded statement and it suits Warren perfectly.
She is running on a platform that focuses on monitoring and regulating big banks, institutions she's criticized for years. And people loved it.
Elizabeth Warren doing Game of Thrones takes is the content we both need and deserve. https://t.co/6izZ2ZLndf— Matthew Yglesias (@Matthew Yglesias) 1555885431.0
Elizabeth Warren on Game of Thrones. Suck it, Ulysses. https://t.co/dBM5sc93WK— Rebecca Traister (@Rebecca Traister) 1555884576.0
👀 Really tell us how you feel Liz. Elizabeth Warren on why she loves Game of Thrones. https://t.co/fXCNYHOx4E— Freeborn Black Woman First of Her Name 🖤 (@Freeborn Black Woman First of Her Name 🖤) 1555886609.0
Elizabeth Warren has been expounding the most sensible policy proposals so far on the campaign trail. She should be… https://t.co/MH11Uh2yfU— Tauseef Trumboo (@Tauseef Trumboo) 1555923898.0
If I could show this headline to my high school self reading the book GAME OF THRONES (and explain who Elizabeth Wa… https://t.co/M6lezNCLXP— 🦋Ellie, my neck looks like a vampire hit it 🦋 (@🦋Ellie, my neck looks like a vampire hit it 🦋) 1555909379.0
Elizabeth Warren wrote a review of #GameofThrones and honestly having them all review the various characters and ho… https://t.co/KXh0P2yQtO— Aaron Dy 👨🏻🔬 (@Aaron Dy 👨🏻🔬) 1555886489.0
And the answer to this is up in the air, but we figure she might be able to do it without an army of elephants.
i don't watch game of thrones, but from what i understand, elizabeth warren is going to get the iron throne, right?— varsha is a harm to ongoing men (@varsha is a harm to ongoing men) 1555938840.0
You can't say Warren's been inconsistent. She's making headlines today for her proposal to cancel student debt and eliminate tuition.
"This touches people's lives," Warren said in an interview with The New York Times.
"This is a chance to talk about what's broken and how we fix it. This is the American dream."
More to come as her campaign heats up.
Emilia Clarke Opens Up About The Life-Threatening Brain Aneurysms That Almost Caused Her To Leave 'Game Of Thrones'
The talented actors and actresses starring in Game Of Thrones don't have easy lives. Every season they say goodbye to more cast members, and they wonder if they're going to be the next one to leave.
But it turns out some cast members have even bigger worries.
In 2011, just before Game Of Throneshit the big time, one of its most iconic stars was almost forced to step down from her role altogether.
Now known worldwide for playing the iconic mother of dragons Daenerys Targaryen, Emilia Clarke talked to the New Yorkerabout how that almost never happened.
"It was the beginning of 2011. I had just finished filming the first season of Game of Thrones...with almost no professional experience behind me, I'd been given the role of Daenerys Targaryen," began Clarke.
"Despite all the looming excitement of a publicity campaign and the series première, I hardly felt like a conquering spirit. I was terrified. Terrified of the attention, terrified of a business I barely understood, terrified of trying to make good on the faith that the creators of 'Thrones' had put in me. I felt, in every way, exposed. In the very first episode, I appeared naked, and, from that first press junket onward, I always got the same question: some variation of 'You play such a strong woman, and yet you take off your clothes. Why?' In my head, I'd respond, 'How many men do I need to kill to prove myself?'"
Game Of Thrones - Daenerys Targaryen Best Momentswww.youtube.com
"To relieve the stress, I worked out with a trainer. I was a television actor now, after all, and that is what television actors do. We work out," she continued.
But then, something started to feel wrong.
"On the morning of February 11, 2011, I was getting dressed in the locker room of a gym in Crouch End, North London, when I started to feel a bad headache coming on. I was so fatigued that I could barely put on my sneakers. When I started my workout, I had to force myself through the first few exercises."
"Then my trainer had me get into the plank position, and I immediately felt as though an elastic band were squeezing my brain. I tried to ignore the pain and push through it, but I just couldn't. I told my trainer I had to take a break. Somehow, almost crawling, I made it to the locker room. I reached the toilet, sank to my knees, and proceeded to be violently, voluminously ill. Meanwhile, the pain—shooting, stabbing, constricting pain—was getting worse. At some level, I knew what was happening: my brain was damaged."
Clarke was suffering symptoms from a bulging or ruptured blood vessel in the brain, called an aneurysm. The symptoms she describes here are textbook indicators.
She went on:
"I heard a woman's voice coming from the next stall, asking me if I was O.K. No, I wasn't. She came to help me and maneuvered me onto my side, in the recovery position. Then everything became, at once, noisy and blurry. I remember the sound of a siren, an ambulance; I heard new voices, someone saying that my pulse was weak. I was throwing up bile. Someone found my phone and called my parents, who live in Oxfordshire, and they were told to meet me at the emergency room of Whittington Hospital."
Clarke said she was sure it was the end.
"When I woke [from brain surgery following the aneurysm], the pain was unbearable. I had no idea where I was. My field of vision was constricted. There was a tube down my throat and I was parched and nauseated. They moved me out of the I.C.U. after four days and told me that the great hurdle was to make it to the two-week mark. If I made it that long with minimal complications, my chances of a good recovery were high."
And make it she did, but the hurtles weren't over.
"I was told that I had a smaller aneurysm on the other side of my brain, and it could 'pop' at any time."
"Even before we began filming Season 2, I was deeply unsure of myself. I was often so woozy, so weak, that I thought I was going to die.
"Staying at a hotel in London during a publicity tour, I vividly remember thinking, I can't keep up or think or breathe, much less try to be charming. I sipped on morphine in between interviews. The pain was there, and the fatigue was like the worst exhaustion I'd ever experienced, multiplied by a million. And, let's face it, I'm an actor. Vanity comes with the job. I spent way too much time thinking about how I looked. If all this weren't enough, I seemed to whack my head every time I tried to get in a taxi."
"If I am truly being honest, every minute of every day I thought I was going to die."
The second time she went in for a scan, the second aneurysm had doubled in size.
She recounted:
"When they woke me, I was screaming in pain. The procedure had failed. I had a massive bleed and the doctors made it plain that my chances of surviving were precarious if they didn't operate again. This time they needed to access my brain in the old-fashioned way—through my skull. And the operation had to happen immediately."
"I spent a month in the hospital again and, at certain points, I lost all hope. I couldn't look anyone in the eye. There was terrible anxiety, panic attacks. I was raised never to say, "It's not fair"; I was taught to remember that there is always someone who is worse off than you. But, going through this experience for the second time, all hope receded. I felt like a shell of myself. So much so that I now have a hard time remembering those dark days in much detail. My mind has blocked them out. But I do remember being convinced that I wasn't going to live."
But Clarke tells this story with home.
"...I survived. I survived MTV and so much more. In the years since my second surgery I have healed beyond my most unreasonable hopes. I am now at a hundred per cent."
She is also looking to help beyond her personal sphere.
"Beyond my work as an actor, I've decided to throw myself into a charity I've helped develop in conjunction with partners in the U.K. and the U.S. It is called SameYou, and it aims to provide treatment for people recovering from brain injuries and stroke."
When you're a Khaleesi both on-screen and off, even your most laborious experiences become ways to help others.
Thank you, Emilia Clarke, for sharing your story.