Game of Thrones Review: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (Season 8 Episode 2)
On Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 2, “A Knight of the Seven KIngdoms,” it’s the calm before the storm as friends and foes take stock of their lives on the eve of the Great War.
For fans who are eager to see massive battle sequences, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” may have been a bit of a disappointment. Season 8 continues to focus on character interaction and less on blood and gore.
There’s so much going on in this episode, and things get heavy from the start as Jaime faces some of the people he’s wronged in the past. His arrival also causes additional tension between Tyrion and Dany who haven’t been on the best of terms since landing at Dragonstone.
Jaime’s a bit of a walking contradiction here. He claims to have no regrets for his actions, and given the chance, he’d do it again to protect his family. Then Jaime and Tyrion discuss how much they’ve come full circle, evolving into better men than those jerks they were just a few years ago (who really knows how many with this show’s screwed up timeline?).
The mood is understandably somber since almost everyone keeps saying they’re all going to die. We’ve got a pretty good idea who has the best chance of making it to episode 4: it’s the characters who still have a vested interest in who rules what’s left of the Seven Kingdoms once the Night King gets through with it.
Some fan theories are gratefully put to rest. Bran off-handedly reveals that he’s the Night King’s target because — as he keeps reminding us — he’s no longer Bran but the Three-Eyed Raven. The Three-Eyed Raven knows the entire history of man, so if the Night King kills him, he effectively destroys mankind. The job of turning them into walking corpses is just a formality.
The extent of Bran’s powers remain muddy. He’s all-knowing, but he can’t give anyone a heads up on how this all plays out? Bran’s best plan is to sit around and let Theon protect him. This makes me wonder if episode 3 will look like a medieval version of Home Alone.
If the Night King’s tried this before, how did anyone stop him? We know the previous Three-Eyed Raven is safely tucked away in a magic cave until Bran ruins it. But what about the Prince That Was Promised? Where’s Lightbringer and all that other nerdy book stuff?
This is obviously not going to be the living’s final stand — at least not all of the living anyway.
After years of waiting for storylines to play out, the show’s creators are moving plotlines forward at a comparatively frantic pace. Season 8 must be driving fans crazy who love to hypothesize endlessly about what’s to come. There’s no time to figure out the Five W’s regarding Jon’s real identity, and what he plans to do about it.
The most shocking moment is when Arya handily seduces Gendry. There’s been a bit of a flirtation since they’ve reunited, but who would have thought Arya would take things that far? It’s not that Arya isn’t feminine, viewers just never see her embrace any kind of traditional gender role.
Arya has only benefitted from downplaying her sexuality in an environment where females are constantly objectified and brutalized. But Arya’s masculine leanings feel very organic to her character.
It’s more enjoyable to watch Arya’s face when she sees Gendry ride into Winterfell. To jump from the first twinges of a sexual awakening right into becoming a sexual aggressor rings false. Shoving a sex scene in the midst of all the melancholia could be construed as exploitive, or at best, unnecessary.
The major takeaway from “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” is that anyone hiding down in those crypts is in big trouble. The crypts beneath Winterfell have been a constant throughout the entire series. They are featured heavily in both the season 8 trailer and in the opening credits.
Anytime a place is repeatedly called “safe,” it’s a dead (pun intended) giveaway the opposite will be true. Wouldn’t Bran see an ambush coming? It’s probably best not to pull at that thread. We’ll find out soon enough.
What did you think of this episode of Game of Thrones? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Game of Thrones airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.
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Jennifer Lind-Westbrook
Jennifer has been working as a freelance writer for six years, contributing to BuddyTV, Screen Rant, TVRage, Hidden Remote, Gossip On This, and PopMatters. She prefers binge-watching old episodes of The Office (British and American versions) to long walks on the beach. She's still holding out hope that Happy Endings will get a revival.