‘Game of Thrones’ Season 8: Episode 5
As one Mad Queen let out her last breathe in the arms of her love, another rose from the ashes to burn down the kingdom she’s come to conquer.
After all the needless criticism of Episode 4, Season 8 of ‘Game of Thrones’ stepped on to its penultimate episode with wrath, carnage, annihilation, and a cathartic execution of all those who stood in the way of the Dragon Queen. Episode 5 finally took us to the battlefield of King’s Landing, a much awaited war sequence that was looming large upon the series ever since Ned Stark’s head was chopped off in Season 1. However, with the table already turning in Episode 4, Episode 5 was an hour-long tale rounding back of the clock as we watched King’s Landing once again forming the epicentre of the scrimmage between the Lannisters, and one lone Targaryen.
The episode began with Daenerys burning down Lord Varys, her last advisor, and perhaps the only character who truly cared for the realm. As much as the scene established her descend upon madness with a dark night, and a dragon’s emerging face at the onset of her verdict, it also gave us a quick look into Daenerys’ methodic meshugas. After doing away with the supposed betrayer in her troop (strangely, she says nothing to Jon Snow), the Dragon Queen does not wait for the first rays of light before she hurls down upon the Iron Fleet. It takes barely a few minutes for her to burn down the entire fleet, and for about the next 45 minutes King’s landing turns into a three-ringed circus. As the Dragon Queen soar through the sky, the ground beneath her burned, recalling what Daenerys would always tell her men, “When my dragons are grown, we will take back what was stolen from me and destroy those who wronged me! We will lay waste to armies and burn cities to the ground!" This is something which has echoed across the seasons, and it is also something that we as fans were always too blind to notice.
Daenerys was always prepared to burn down cities when her dragons grew up. (IMDb)
The dance of madness that enveloped King’s landing was the result of the many deaths that Daenerys encountered over the last few episodes of Season 8. With the accumulated deaths of Ser Jorah, Missandei, and Rhagael, it was no surprise that she would recount those very acts of her ancestors which she had set out to despise. This is exactly where ‘Game of Thrones’ once again proved its validity, that the show is nothing what we expect out of it but it is a wide canvas representing us and our many frailties. Daenerys had two people beside her who loved her unconditionally, and they were the only ones who were able to help her keep her calm. The moment that external factor is pulled out of her, she turns into the exact same person that she had refused to be, and that is perhaps the most ordinary crime a human being can commit. Think of a Brutus who murders Caesar in an attempt to end tyranny, but by murdering his best friend- someone who had laid his faith on him- Brutus is no less of a tyrant. Similarly, Daenerys had set out to break chains, free slaves, and establish a world without a tyrant but in order to do so; she ultimately became the tyrant she despised the most.
It was almost bathetic to watch her attack the city even after the bells toll. As the dance of the dragon began, a city which has been considered to be the most powerful center in the entire realm crumbled to pieces, much like Troy at the onset of the Greek invasion. What reason did the Greeks have to attack Troy but the jealous wrath of a king whose queen chose to leave him? Similarly, what reason did Daenerys have but the pitiful sorrow of a girl who has lost all those who loved her unconditionally? However, there is always a consequence to any wrath, and ‘Game of Thrones’ subtly marked out those consequences through three characters - Arya Stark, Sandor Clegane, and the little daughter of a woman named Nora. Arya and Sandor walked in to King’s Landing with hopes of killing Cersei but in the end both of them ended where they have always belonged. Sandor in spite of his undying fear for fire, leapt into it with his brother, and died a heroic death. As for Arya, she was once again the lone survivor rising from the ashes and riding away from all the destruction on a horse. The horse itself stood as a symbol of the courage that Nora and her little girl showcased while trying to save Arya. Right when she was almost trampled by the stampede Nora and her daughter appeared to help her escape. In the end once again, when Arya watched the dead bodies of a mother and daughter lying (perhaps Nora and her child) she met the horse which again helped her escape from the spoils of war. This particular scene can also be treated like a curtain call to Arya’s journey of becoming the Azor Ahai because, on a closer look, like the Azor Ahai Arya came out of the ashes to meet the living who remained after all were dead.
The two Cleganes returned together to what had set them apart, fire. (IMDb)
However, what was most bathetic yet extremely satisfying about Episode 5 of Season 8 was Cersei’s reunion with Jaime, the two twigs of a massive tree who fall together on the ground. After years of redemption, it was expected that Jaime Lannister would finally end Cersei’s mad rule by being the Valonqar and strangling her to death. However, we do forget that they were after all born together, lived together, loved together, had children together, and in an otherwise loveless world, they died together. For these two Lannister twins they were the only ones who mattered, and when the walls crumbled and fell, Jaime assured Cersei that for them they are the only ones who truly matter- the world does not matter. Thus, Jaime did end Cersei’s rule but only in the way that suits him the best- as her lover. With only one episode remaining, a decade long journey is coming to an end. And what lies ahead? A Mad Queen’s reign or will the real heir step up?
