With a five-second clip of new footage to salivate over, the realm is going wild on the internet about what’s in store for Season 8 of Game of Thrones — and The Night’s Cast, the official podcast of Watchers on the Wall, isn’t one to shy away from over-analyses and speculation!
In this quick bonus episode, Samantha and Vanessa break down details of the new footage and make their best guesses as to what this scene means or doesn’t mean for the upcoming final season (and remind everyone to be nice to each other on the internet).
The Night’s Cast is available on iTunes and SoundCloud, and you can follow us on Twitter as well. Happy listening!
I cant wait for the trailer!
Sam and Vanessa, it was great hearing you two on my morning commute. Enjoyed the discussion, particularly noting who was not in the teaser footage, and your multiple takes on subtle facial expressions.
Once a real trailer hits, Oh Boy. The analysis will be intense!
Patrick Sponaugle,
If 5 seconds warrants 20 minutes of podcast, and I honestly think it did (it was a fantastic episode), I guess that means a 1min 30sec trailer will call for a 6 hour podcast extravaganza. Everyone ready? 😛
Luka Nieto,
SO READY!
SO HYPE!
I don’t think Vanessa and I would survive! 😵
Thanks Pat! 😊
Really enjoyed your podcast and I agree with your analysis and thoughts on this scene. I would also like to see Dany and Sansa work together. As you said they’ve been through so much they should be friends and allies. I could also see Sansa warning Dany about Tyrion and Cersei. She knows the Lannisters better than anyone and how treacherous they can be when they don’t get what they want.
I admit I haven’t always been a Dany fan but she’s grown on me this past season the more I’ve rewatched it. I never thought she’d go mad though like many others still think. I do think she’ll get mad though – especially after her comments on how fans will view her after this last season. I expect seeing what has been done to her ‘child’ Viserion and what the NK may do to her other 2 kids will likely bring out the ‘dragon mother’ in her. I keep remembering what Olenna said to her ‘be a dragon’. I think seeing her kids hurt again, especially if it’s Drogon, may have her finally tapping into her inner dragon and taking on the Night King in an epic battle. I also can’t help but wonder if there is something about Dany that will be revealed when that happens? In the show she’s fire proof and I wonder if there is not a reason D&D emphasized that so heavily especially when Martin said she really wasn’t and that was a one time magical event. Perhaps in the show, it needed to be emphasized to prepare us for something Dany does in the final season. Do you have any thoughts on that or am I over-thinking it?
Are you referring to the following quote from Emilia’s Vanity Fair cover story? “Clarke has already shot her character’s final on-screen moments. ‘It fucked me up,’ she says. ‘Knowing that is going to be a lasting flavor in someone’s mouth of what Daenerys is . . .’
I’m not really sure how to take this tbh. It could mean nothing more than Emilia being concerned with getting Dany’s final scenes just right since that is how she will be remembered. It’s a ton of pressure for one of the stars of the biggest show in the planet. I do think we will see more “Dracarys” Dany as she battles the White Walkers and likely Cersei too, and perhaps she will be overzealous at times, but I really don’t see her going Mad Queen. We already have one.
I don’t know if her “fireproofness” will come into play again, but maybe. I think the main point of it in the show was 1) because – in a visual medium – it makes it easier to understand her being able to walk into the pyre than to try and explain how and why it’s a magical one-time event, and 2) it gave Dany the ability to come to her own rescue in Vaes Dothrak in season 6, rather than having to be saved by a man or by Drogon showing up right in the nick of time.
Thanks Pat and Luka for the kind words! The trailer will spawn much more insightful and interesting discussion I’m sure (just hopefully not 6 hours worth 😂)!
Vanessa,
Yes that is exactly the quote I was thinking of. I know this might sound silly but I wondered if she has some secret magical ability that will come out – something that she’s not even aware of but that will be triggered when NK tries to hurt her two remaining kids. That’s what I meant about them emphasizing the fire proof bit – like maybe together with Drogon ‘she’s the flaming sword’ that can kill the Night King. I know a lot of people keep thinking the prophecy of AA means Jon will kill Dany, but I don’t think the prophecy is ‘literal’ myself. Anyway thank you for responding and I agree most definitely she won’t go mad queen, I think Cersei has a lock on that one!
Love this. You both brought out interesting points. Where is Tyrion? When you think about it, having Jorah Mormont by her side is a good idea since he is a Northener. Showing up w/a Lannister by her side, would not go well. Also, I wonder where we are going to see this scene; will it be the ending of epi 1, at the beginning? I do think this is from the first episode.
Tyrion, Arya, Bran, etc are probably off screen since they don’t want all the reunions happening at once. Jon’s reunions with Arya, Bran, Sam should be separate scenes since there is so much to unpack there and same with Tyrion/Sansa. Also noticed that Pod isn’t there with Brienne.
Jon was sailing with Dany and company back to Winterfell and it seems he arrives first/alone because in the very first Season 8 footage back in August, him and Sansa hug and in this new clip he’s with Sansa when Dany/Jorah enter WF. Maybe some time passes in between these two scenes?
Jack Bauer 24,
In the clip that was released the other day, you can see that Jon and Sansa are already next to each other, and then afterwards Dany and Jorah approach. It’s reasonable to assume it’s the same scene. Jon and Sansa hugged, then Dany and Jorah approach.
We can’t see anything other than a few people due to the camera angle. Bran., Arya, Sam, etc… could all be out there already. We just can’t tell because of the extremely limited camera angles in the brief clip. If this scene is supposed to mirror Robert Baratheon’s arrival at Winterfell in season 1, I would expect all of the main characters to be out there to receive Jon/Dany’s crew.
Enjoyed the podcast ladies as always but some constructive feedback your bias for Dany and Sansa shines through:) By that I am not hating on either but feel bad feeling/mistrust between the two is no bad thing irrespective of their journeys to “strong women” and that it’s organic to the story. Of course a shame that some in the fandom cannot hold a different opinion and result in flaming others (thankfully I’ve not seen too much of this).
kathy,
Perhaps you’re right about some other hidden magical ability, although I’m not sure the show will go there and will probably have a much more straightforward end in store. And I definitely agree the prophecy isn’t literal, since none of the others in the books have been.
Jon Snowed,
You’re lucky to have avoided most of the hate fest! We do both love Sansa and Daenerys, but we love lots of other characters too. I understand there will be uneasiness and conflict, and that’s to be expected. I think Sam and I get especially defensive about both characters though, due to their treatment in the fandom and the way fans on each side attack the other.
Thank you for this conversation, Ladies, that was really interesting, enjoyed listening to it.
If Sansa was happy to give up Winterfell I’d be more concerned. I do however strongly believe that Daenerys will be the final fight for the Starks… but perhaps that’s just me. I feel like a 7 season build up to Jons parentage would be a bit wasted if Daenerys just shrugged off the competition.
But that’s me being hopeful for more drama.
Thank you Vanessa and Samantha for this episode! I was wondering if anyone else noticed the military encampment as the footage transitioned from Drogon (which I also think is from Spoilers of War) to the arial shot of Winterfell? I’m assuming that’s where the Dothraki and Unsullied are. I also agree with the possibility that Tyrion could have gone back to meet Jaime somewhere with perhaps Greyworm and Missandei and escort him to Winterfell. Or he could also be catching up with Bran.
As for Arya being there, I am hoping she and Jon have a more intimate reunion with just the Stark siblings but perhaps that is her behind Sansa and Jon will see her for the first time in years at the Winterfell courtyard much like he saw Sansa at the Castle Black courtyard. I also think Brienne does not look any more concerned than usual. She actually keeps her eyes on Sansa throughout the clip so I assume she is just anticipating Sansa’s reaction.
Ultimately, I think this was the safest clip to show since recent interviews have already mentioned this first meeting.
Jon Snowed,
Everybody perceives the same event differently. And it’s difficult to glean what’s going on in the mind of Miss Inscrutable. However, I thought I detected more than a little bit of antipathy in the way Sansa told Dany “Winterfell is yours, your Grace.”
Maybe she’s got a little lingering Littlefingerhood in her, and part of her is thinking: “I’m the one who should be called ‘Your Grace’. But nooooo. Dumb Jon lets his Johnson make his political decisions and now I’ve got to kowtow to this silver haired ding dong.”
PS Memo to Sansa: Do yourself a favor. Look right behind you. That guy with the mellifluous voice and blue eyes? He’s single. He’s loyal. He’s an anointed knight. He’s suffered in the friend zone for seven seasons. He’s had to swallow his pride while Dany boinks one pretty boy after another. He’s a hot commodity, and he’s yours for the taking. (And once you do, Khaleesi will be just a tad jealous.)
I can understand Sansa being skeptical and suspicious of Daenerys at first, just because she doesn’t know or trust her (and their families have an unpleasant history), but it seems to me that Sansa actually stands to gain from the situation. If Daenerys takes the Iron Throne, and Jon marries her, it would make sense for Jon to head south to King’s Landing with her, in which case Sansa would be the most likely candidate for Lady of Winterfell and Wardeness of the North.
I think Sansa is smart enough to recognize the advantage of this particular alliance (both for herself and for the North), even if it might hurt her pride a bit to see Jon surrender the North’s independence so soon after winning it.
“Wardeness of the North” may not have quite the prestige of “Queen in the North”, but if Daenerys helps them defeat the army of the dead and Cersei, and leaves Sansa in charge of the North, it’s really a pretty great deal, particularly compared to the likely outcomes of stubbornly trying to maintain independence rather than seeking allies (wightified by the Night King, beheaded/poisoned/whatever by Cersei, or roasted by Drogon).
It would be different if Daenerys had refused to help fight the Night King, and instead commanded Jon to send his entire army south to help her take King’s Landing, but as it is, it seems like the North is actually getting a pretty good deal here in exchange for bending the knee.
Yeah, Dany flew to Jon’s aid the very second she received word that he was in trouble. That reminds me again that Tyrion advised her NOT to go to Jon’s aid. Oh yeah, and Tyrion is the one who proposed the wight hunt in the first place. He is the one who said that Cersei could be persuaded with evidence. While Tyrion didn’t suggest that Jon himself should go beyond the wall, he’s smart enough to have calculated that Jon would volunteer.
So Tyrion proposes the dangerous mission for spurious reasons, then he tells Dany not to save Jon et al when they run into trouble. I wonder how Tyrion really felt about knocking the KITN off the game board?
I wonder how Dany is feeling about Tyrions failed strategy, then his terrible advice to capture a wight, then his advice for her to do nothing and to let the wight hunters die! Not only would Tyrion have knocked the KITN off the board, but Jorah and the others too. I know she’s not feeling too good about Tyrion because she kept it from him that Jon bent the knee.
Tyrion seems to be isolating Dany from all her allies.
Oh man. xD I love Jorah too much to ship him with her, but at least…he wouldn’t be alone…;;
Totally agree w/ Casso!
These Tyrion conspiracy theories have become hilariously far-fetched.
Here’s the deal. Tyrion TWICE counselled Dany against risking her life to fight her enemies. First in the war room at Dragonstone:
Tyrion: “Would you have to go yourself? Euron’s ships could be anywhere or in more than one place. You’d be flying around the open seas alone, for who knows how long”
Daenerys: “I wouldn’t be alone. I would have Drogon, Viserion and Rhaegal. What can anyone do to them?”
Missandei: “They can still do something to you. It only takes one arrow.”
Tyrion: “It’s too great a risk. You’re too important”
And then at the beach at Dragonstone:
Daenerys: “My enemies are in the Red Keep. What kind of a queen am I if I’m not willing to risk my life to fight them?”
Tyrion: “A smart one”
Offering the same advice a third time is entirely in line with previous behaviour and provides no indication of ulterior motives. And this time she ignored his counsel and she flew off north of The Wall and the result was that…
ONE OF HER DRAGONS WAS KILLED AND ADDED TO THE ARMY OF THE DEAD.
In other words, Tyrion was right.
And the sacrifice of her dragon didn’t even achieve anything to their benefit, since Cersei double-crossed them anyway.
This is the point where people say, “but Tyrion came up with the wight hunt in the first place”. Yes, but he certainly didn’t expect Dany to go on it. And he was trying to find a solution to the impasse between Jon and Dany. He was simply doing his job. The notion that he cooked it up in the hope that Jon would volunteer and get killed is simply nonsensical.
I know it’s hard for some people to accept, but these events might not be pointing towards some grand convoluted conspiracy by Tyrion and may instead be meant to reflect poorly on or foreshadow something about your favourite, Daenerys.
Casso,
While I think Sansa may come to accept the alliance between the North and Daenerys, I find it hard to believe that she would approve of Jon marrying Dany and moving down south, just so she could be elevated to Wardeness.
First of all, I don’t think it’s as politically advantageous to Sansa and House Stark as it appears at face value. Even if Jon stayed true to his Stark roots, a marriage between a Targaryen queen and the (secret Targaryen) King/Warden of the North would lend the southern crown / Targaryens more legitimate dominion over The North than ever before and potentially place descendants of House Stark in conflict with descendants of Jon and Dany’s union.
Secondly, from a personal point of view I don’t think Sansa would want Jon going anywhere based on her behaviour in Season 7. She begged him not to go south. More than once she mentioned how she wished / hoped he would come home. And she appeared taken aback by Littlefinger’s suggestion that Jon and Dany could marry.
I think it’d seem rather odd at this point for her to approve of her family being dismantled and going their separate ways again.
Anon,
Hey, that’s a really astute observation you made about Tyrion isolating Dany from her allies/supporters. And now that you mentioned it, it’s sort of the same grievance that Daario had about Dany dumping him and leaving him behind in Harpyville.
Here’s the thing many forget…
Dany’s reaction shot could be to a different part of the initial conversation (not a direct response to Sansa’s “Winterfell is yours” comment)
The teaser could have been purposefully edited to make 2 things that are not actually sequential APPEAR to be directly sequential…. IJS
Thank you, for another well-thought-out and entertaining episode.
Keep doing what you’re doing.