‘Game of Thrones’ Season 8, Episode 2 ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Recap: Calm Before the Storm

We’re all fucked. Episode 2 of this week’s Game of Thrones fix is an outright display of a pre-panic attack. It’s slow-paced but intends to be so as our heroes face the onslaught of the White Walkers. Titled “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” tonight’s episode dives head-first to where we will find the different houses when the Wight War finally breaks through the moats and garrisons of Winterfell.

Although we don’t see the Wights in the episode, we do feel their ominous presence all throughout. But that’s not all that “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” exposed tonight. Last week’s big reveal floored Jon Snow/Aegon Targaryen (Kit Harington)—shit, what are we going to call him now?—and it was time for him to do the same to someone. Arya (Maisie Williams) finally got her weapon from Gendry (Joe Dempsie) but got to play with another “weapon” (wink wink) in the process. And of course, Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) makes himself comfortable in the North, despite initial attempts from Dany (Emilia Clarke) to strike him right where he stood.

There’s more to “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” than these things, though. Buckle up, because you’re in for a spoiler-heavy ride.

Everybody Loves Jamie!

“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” cold opens with Jamie standing before the Winterfell royalties and the Dragon Queen herself. Dany wanted to kill him so bad, but Jamie was met with support from Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) and Captain Phasm-er-Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie). Even Sansa (Sophie Turner) and Jon/Aegon banked on Brienne’s word, leaving Dany outvoted by the majority. Welp, so much for being ruthless, huh? But despite everyone’s love for the Kingslayer, it was Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) who went all thug life on Jamie after quipping, “the things we do for love.”

With Jamie seemingly comfortable enough to roam around Winterfell, he embarks on a reunion spree with Tyrion, Brienne, and even Bran himself. So let’s talk about Brienne for a second here—it’s clear that the two have repressed feelings for each other. The very act of her vouching for Jamie ought to have knocked some hint to the uninitiated. But perhaps one of the best show of subtle affection in Game of Thrones history was what Jamie did the night before the war. Nope, they did not have sex (someone did though, but we’ll get to that later). As Jamie, Tyrion, Podrick, Brienne, Ser Davos, and giant milk-loving Tormund sat around the fireplace, the Kingslayer did one of the noblest gestures that a knight could ever do. When Tormund was obviously failing at trying to flirt with Brienne, he asked about why she wasn’t a knight yet. Of course, it’s against tradition. “Well, fuck tradition,” says Tormund.

With that, Jamie stood up, commanded Brienne to kneel before him and knighted her. It’s a heartwarming scene, which was capped off by Podrick singing the prophetic “Jenny from the Block—wait, that ain’t right. It’s “Jenny of Oldstones.”

Helen Sloan/HBO

This act sure did overshadow Jamie and Bran’s awkward reunion, where the latter said sorry for pushing poor Bran out of the window. Oh well, let bygones be bygones.

Arya Plays With “New Equipment”

Arya’s flirtatious tendencies last week finally bore fruit after acquiring that super dragonglass weapon from Gendry. She went on another tirade, but this time, she finally got what she was asking for (after demonstrating how skillful of a sharpshooter she is). But that did not stop her from getting with Gendry. Seemingly in an effort to psych herself up, Arya spent the last peaceful hours reconnecting with Sandor Clegane (Rory McCann) and Beric Dondarrion (Richard Dormer) via a shared wineskin.

Then, when she was able to gather the right amount of courage from the drink, she went back to Gendry’s shop to ask if he already finished the weapon. True enough, Gendry did as Arya asked. After testing out its sharpness and length, Arya decided to test out another equipment in the form of Gendry’s dick. She played the “I don’t want to die a virgin” card well, and man she got it. It was a shock to see them do it, but I couldn’t help but think that this seals Arya’s fate—she might be dying next week, after all.

The Bran Bait

Surprisingly, Bran wasn’t as creepy as he was in the past episodes. Maybe this is him embracing peak Three-Eyed raven status and finally letting go of his cryptic one-liners. But as the threat of the White Walkers looms closer by the hour, Jon/Aegon and Dany had all the top dogs of Winterfell and its allies huddle to formulate a plan. That’s when Bran tells them that the Night King is coming after him to erase all memory of human existence and bring about a never-ending night.

Helen Sloan/HBO

The plan goes like this: the surrounding forces will defend Winterfell to their last breath, but the main concentration is at the Weirdwood tree. Bran will have to lure the Night King, trapping him inside so Jon, the two dragons, and the others can smite the hell out of him. Their best offense is to take out the Night King, therefore rendering all the Wights incapacitated. This is the first time we’re hearing Bran talk sensibly, and it’s something that could also leave him as a candidate of the dead. But then again, he’s the Three-Eyed Raven, and he might just be the last chance that humanity has against the Night King.

Jon Hits Back at Daenerys

After Jon’s shocking epiphany last week, the effects of him knowing about his true parentage took a toll on him tonight. After it was decided by the council that Jamie can stay and fight with them, he gave Dany the cold shoulder. And it was obvious throughout that he was avoiding Dany. But when Dany finally had him to herself at the crypts, Jon finally tells Dany about Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen. At his revelation of his actual name, Dany freaks out—but not because of the shock of finding out about it.

Helen Sloan/HBO

Now, I would’ve understood if she was surprised and felt bad because she technically had sex with her nephew, but no, she was worried that the Iron Throne might not be for her after all. “If it were true, it would make you the last male heir of House Targaryen,” Dany says. “You’d have a claim to the Iron Throne.”

But all her would-be aggression against Jon/Aegon was cut off when the signal blew—the White Walkers are coming.

Honorable Mentions

• Tonight featured more reunions. One was between Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) and Sansa Stark, with the latter pledging his allegiance to House Stark. Theon also wanted to make up for stealing the castle from Bran by offering to protect him while he waits for the Night King at the Weirwood Tree. Another was between Jon, Beric Dondarrion, Tormund (Kristofer Hivju), and Eddison Tollett (Ben Crompton). But along this happy reunion came the bad news that anyone who wasn’t in Winterfell at that time is already a fighter for the dead.
• Ghost, Jon’s direwolf, magically and covertly made his return as Eddison and Jon evaluated the incoming threat.
• Sansa made it clear to Dany’s face that she doesn’t like her. Dany attempted to build a bridge between them, but when Dany thought it was all good, Sansa demanded an answer to the question, “what happens when we win and you take the Iron Throne? Because the North’s definitely not going to bow to anyone after the war.”
• Samwell Tarly (John Bradley), gave his family’s sword to Ser Jorah (Iain Glen) for him to use against the Wights. It was a noble and symbolic exchange, if you ask me, especially after it followed the scene where Brienne was knighted.
• Jorah having Tyrion’s back was awesome. Dany was furious at Tyrion upon finding out that the Lannister “army” only consisted of Jaime and that Cersei teamed up with Euron Greyjoy and the Golden Company to strike whenever they wanted to. Tyrion knew that he was done for as Hand of the Queen, but Jorah had a talk with Dany to let Tyrion’s fault go. Jorah was supposed to be Dany’s Hand, but after suffering from the greyscale, Dany thought she’d never see him again, that’s why she made Tyrion her Hand. Jorah affirmed Tyrion as an asset, leading Dany to ultimately let her anger pass.

‘Game of Thrones: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Overall Verdict

There were no deaths and still no action on tonight’s Game of Thrones episode, but boy did it give us goosebumps and a few off-hand tears! The dialogue and writing for “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” are worth noting, having effectively established conflict and future narrative bumps along the way. It’s also full of emotion, almost acting as if it’s a send-off to the characters involved. Again, the episode is slow, but not as dragging as one could think. There’s so much at stake here and so many deaths that could foreshadow a massive character cleanup after next week’s Battle of Winterfell.

And now, the war begins.

Game of Thrones continues next Sunday, April 28th at 9/8c on HBO. Watch the preview below: