Category: Games

As the forces of the living spent one final night drinking, loving, and reminiscing at Winterfell in Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 2, the lovable Podrick Payne sent us out with a song. Unlike “The Bear and the Maiden Fair” or “The Rains of Castamere,” it was one that we haven’t heard before in the show. And for book readers, it came as a pretty big surprise. Here’s why it mattered.

“Jenny’s Song” isn’t one of the most important songs in Westeros (to be fair, neither is “The Bear”), but it does come with a sad story attached, not to mention some interesting context from the books.

The song concerns Jenny of Oldstones, whose story isn’t so sad in and of itself. Long before the events of the series, a Targaryen prince broke off his betrothal with a daughter of House Baratheon to marry Jenny, a common girl, instead. Jenny’s Song is just one of the songs allegedly written about her, and it’s referenced several times throughout the books, particularly in book 3, A Storm of Swords.

It’s said Jenny was friends with a woods witch–like the one Cersei visited in her Season 5 flashback–who she brought to court with her. The witch allegedly prophesied that the Prince that was Promised, a hero of legend, would be born from the line of Prince Aerys Targaryen and Princess Rhaella Targaryen, who were brother and sister. After hearing the prophecy, their father, King Jaehaerys II Targaryen, had his two children (Aerys, who would become the Mad King, and Rhaella) married to one another. From that union came the characters we know: Prince Rhaegar and his siblings Viserys and Daenerys. So the prophecy may yet be fulfilled.

Book readers learned about the song in book 3 while Arya was still hanging out with the Brotherhood Without Banners. The Brotherhood occasionally visit an unnamed woods witch known as the Ghost of High Heart, and she always requests that their minstrel, Tom of Sevenstreams, sings her Jenny’s Song in exchange for information. She weeps as she hears it, leading to speculation that the Ghost is the very same woods witch Jenny brought to court with her so many years earlier.

King Robb Stark and his mother Catelyn also discuss Jenny’s Song during an emotional scene in the same book, mere chapters before the Red Wedding takes place. As both characters hurtle unknowingly toward their violent murders, they linger at the ruins of Oldstones and discuss the nature of life and death. “There’s a song,” Robb remembers. “Jenny of Oldstones, with the flowers in her hair.” Catelyn replies, “We’re all just songs in the end. If we are lucky.”

That line can easily be read as a succinct summary of the overarching theme for the entire series, especially when you consider the books’ overall title, A Song of Ice and Fire. It’s been speculated as well that after all is said and done, Samwell Tarly will go full Bilbo, retiring at the Citadel to write his own account of the series’ events, which he’ll call A Song of Ice and Fire.

As a side not, there were some lines in this episode that seem like foreshadowing in that direction, when Sam spoke during the war council where Bran explained that the Night King wants to “erase this world.” “That’s what death is, isn’t it? Forgetting–being forgotten,” Sam said. “If we forget where we’ve been and what we’ve done, we’re not men anymore–just animals.”

In the after-episode featurette this week, Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss said they wanted to feature a new song that hadn’t been heard outside the books before. As the books have only ever revealed snatches of the lyrics, they had to make a bunch of them up. Here’s the full song, though keep in mind, these lyrics aren’t canon to the books:

High in the halls of the kings who are gone

Jenny would dance with her ghosts.

The ones she had lost and the ones she had found

And the ones who had loved her the most.

The ones who’d been gone for so very long,

She couldn’t remember their names

They spun her around on the damp cold stone

Spun away all her sorrow and pain

And she never wanted to leave

They danced through the day and into the night

Through the snow that swept through the halls

From winter to summer then winter again

‘Til the walls did crumble and fall

And she never wanted to leave.

And here’s a weird “lyric video” featuring the credits version of the song, sung by the band Florence and the Machine:

It’s notable as well that fans have speculated that Rhaegar Targaryen himself wrote Jenny’s Song, although nobody in the books seems to know for sure. Rhaegar rather famously was a skilled composer and minstrel in addition to being a formidable warrior and apparently quite a hunk. Dany even notes as much–in this very episode, and in fact, right after Pod’s rendition of Jenny’s Song ends. That may be a coincidence, but who knows? It may not be.

As Game of Thrones barrels toward its ultimate conclusion, it was nice to take a quick break from all the build-up and foreshadowing to enjoy a reference to the books on which the series was once based. Whatever happens in the final four episodes, we’ll always have Jenny’s Song.

Photo: HBO/Helen Sloan

In the fifth-to-last Game of Thrones episode ever, Season 8 Episode 2, the Starks and Targaryens and everyone loyal to them prepared for war. That now includes Jaime Lannister, a character who, somewhat ironically, now officially rivals Bran for most pronounced character arc. Few others have changed as much as Jaime Lannister, and this episode highlighted that at every opportunity, from his long-coming apology to Bran, to his historic knighting of Ser Brienne (how weird is that to read?).

But as satisfying as it was to watch the former Golden Lion mull around Winterfell with his tail between his legs, Season 8’s second episode was yet another filled with build-up and anticipation, the promise of something monumental waiting just over the horizon. That something is now one week away, but it’s not just the Battle of Winterfell we have to look forward to: Dany and Jon didn’t get to finish their conversation in the crypt, and that’s arguably even more important. It’s the story behind the story, and it’s always been the series’ real heart.

When you think about it, the conflict between Jon and Dany–the one caused by her increasingly alarming lust for the Iron Throne–should be easy to resolve. Where their conversation ended, I can hear what should have been the next line in my head: “But I don’t want the Iron Throne.” For Jon to respond in any other way would be untrue to his character; he’s always been reluctant to accept power, and quick to give it up once he gets it. That Jon wants the crown least despite having the best claim would probably make him a decent ruler, but the Jon we know was likely about to tell Dany she can have it before they were interrupted.

Leaving that resolution as an open question throughout the upcoming battle was a fantastic narrative choice. It will add even more tension to what will surely be a fraught episode, one in which we’re rightfully expecting many (or maybe all) of our favorite characters to die impaled on White Walker spears. But it also leaves room for something to change; Dany has been acting increasingly unhinged, lashing out at Tyrion and exhibiting an alarming unwillingness to consider any alternative to her absolute rule. More than one character has expressed concern that Dany is more like her father than her supporters would prefer to admit, and if she goes full Mad King or does something extreme in the coming battles, Jon might begin to view it as his duty to claim his birthright.

Whatever happens there, this episode provided plenty of other wish fulfillment for longtime Game of Thrones fans. Let’s start with the obvious ones: Arya actually getting together with Gendry is huge, while Jaime knighting Brienne fulfilled their relationship as well, although in a very different way. Both of these pairings are longtime fan ships, and it wasn’t long ago that it seemed unlikely either of these relationships would ever lead anywhere. It was a little bit jarring to see Arya Stark in this new light, but what better sign that we’re nearing the end of this story? And although I don’t really expect anything romantic to happen between Brienne and Jaime at this point, in retrospect this was perfect. We should have seen it coming.

There were some less obvious bangers as well, huge among them Pod’s little performance. When Pod started singing, book readers may have gasped as they recognized his opening words from a song referenced several times in the third Song of Ice and Fire book, A Storm of Swords. It’s described as a sad song, always sung softly, and Arya only catches snatches of the lyrics. It’s not necessarily important to anything, really, but it’s something those of us who read the books before the show ever premiered never thought we’d actually get to hear.

The song brings to mind all kinds of thematic context from that book, from a terribly sad old woman weeping as she recalls the days of her youth, to weighty conversations between the doomed King Robb and Catelyn Stark in the chapters leading up to the Red Wedding. Hearing Pod’s surprisingly dulcet tones (yet another of his secret talents apparently) belting out that morose tune was somehow one of the most emotional moments yet in Season 8.

This episode also revealed something of the Night King’s motivation, which has been a question since the very first scene of the show’s first episode. According to Bran, the White Walkers are heading south so the Night King can kill him. “He wants to erase this world, and I am its memory,” the weirdo formerly known as Brandon Stark claims. That still doesn’t tell us why, but it’s something.

As we head into the final battle of Winterfell, a plan has taken shape: The non-combatants will cower in the crypts (which might not be so wise if the theory about the Night King resurrecting all the corpses stored down there turns out to be right) while the army of the living holds off the dead long enough for Bran to lure the Night King to the Godswood. What happens next is anyone’s guess–although what happens after that will likely be where Game of Thrones’ real climax takes place.

Photo: Helen Sloan/HBO

We’ve seen a lot characters reunited in Season 8 of Game of Thrones, but there was one you might have missed in the season’s second episode. It briefly saw the return of Ghost, Jon Snow’s direwolf–but nobody made a big deal of it, and you might have missed it if you blinked at the wrong moment.

Ghost pops up briefly in the episode as Jon and the rest of the fighters at Winterfell are preparing for the attack of the army of the dead. You can spot him in the background while Jon, Samwell, and Dolorous Edd are discussing the coming White Walker invasion, and what Sam is going to do during the battle. Unlike major reunions between characters like Arya and Gendry, Sansa and Theon, or Jon and Bran, Ghost returned to the show with very little fanfare, especially for someone who’s been gone for a long, long time.

In fact, it’s been more than a season since Ghost was on the show. Last we saw him was at Castle Black in Season 6. Ghost helped guard Jon’s body after he was murdered by his Night’s Watch brothers in the Season 5 finale, but we haven’t seen much of him since then. The assumption was that he was hanging around Winterfell, since that’s where Jon headed after Melisandre resurrected him, but Ghost didn’t take part in the Battle of the Bastards.

The absence of the direwolves from the show is less a story consideration and more a practical one. The creators of Game of Thrones have discussed the fact that the direwolves are a very expensive addition to the show, in terms of special effects budget and work. The show usually has to choose between dragons or other special effects and the direwolves, and the wolves tend to get the axe, story-wise.

Ghost is not the only direwolf still in circulation, either: in Season 7, Arya Stark’s former direwolf, Nymeria, found Arya in the woods as she was traveling to Winterfell. It was a very brief meeting between the former companions, and Nymeria headed back into the woods with her pack of wolves soon afterward. It may well be that we’ve seen the last of her, and Nymeria will get to live out her days being the North’s queen of wolves.

But Ghost’s return probably hints that we’ll be seeing more of him, at least in the third episode of the season, which promises to include the huge and involved Battle of Winterfell. And it really wouldn’t be that surprising to see Nymeria show up again, as well, since we know the Starks and their direwolves have an intimate, occasionally magical connection. Hopefully the next time we see Ghost, he has a more important role in the scene than just filling in the background.

We’ve got plenty more Game of Thrones coverage this and every week. Check out our review of Episode 2 (and one of the premiere episode), and get a look at how the show just fulfilled two major fan character ships. Here’s a quick rundown of what Arya might have asked Gendry to make, the meaning behind the crossbow Qyburn gave to Bronn in Episode 1, and a theory about Cersei’s pregnancy. We’ve also got plenty of speculation and theories and a look at all the Easter eggs in the premiere episode and all its parallels to Season 1.

One of the more serious reunions of Game of Thrones Season 8 has been the one between Arya and Gendry. When they met up again at Winterfell in the premiere episode of the season, they hadn’t seen each other in years. Not only was it nice for the two friends to find each other again, but it helped rekindle an item that has long been on fans’ wishlists: a romantic relationship between Arya and Gendry.

Arya hasn’t made a lot of friends over the years. Most of her relationships have been of the revenge-fueled kind, as she’s hunted down the various people who have wronged her and the Stark family. Occasionally, though, Arya makes friends, like she did with Hot Pie and Gendry, two of the kids she fled King’s Landing with way back in Season 2. Gendry, in particular, was really important to Arya–and losing him in Season 3 was part of what drove her to become the super-assassin we see in the show in Season 8.

Gendry and Arya got very close during their time on the run together. When Gendry decided to join the Brotherhood Without Banners in Season 3, they had an especially emotional moment, with Arya begging him to come with her back to Winterfell. Gendry told Arya he had no family left, to which Arya replied, “I could be your family.” Though it wasn’t meant to be at the time, it was clear the two youngsters felt a lot for each other. And there was that moment when Arya caught Gendry with his shirt off and definitely felt some serious … effects.

Fans have been “shipping” Arya and Gendry ever since. That’s the internet term for when a fandom imagines and talks about a romantic relationship between favorite characters. Arya and Gendry haven’t seen each other since Season 3, though. When they were separated, back when they were with the Brotherhood Without Banners, Gendry got sold to the Red Witch Melisandre and carried off to Dragonstone, and Arya was spirited off by the Hound before making her way across the Narrow Sea to Braavos. Gendry escaped Dragonstone to avoid being made a sacrifice for his Baratheon blood, but the two have been apart literally for years.

That long separation hasn’t done much to reduce how much fans hope to see them together, with plenty of fanfiction written that brings the two characters together. They even have their own hashtag: #Gendrya, one which got a jumpstart in the Season 8 premiere.

It’s worth noting, however, that this isn’t really a thing in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books on which Game of Thrones is based. Arya and Gendry were younger when last they saw each other–around 9 and 14, respectively. They were separated when Gendry joined the Brotherhood Without Banners, and Beric Dondarrion made Gendry a knight. He was last seen in the fourth book, A Feast for Crows, at the Inn at the Crossroads, where he saved Brienne of Tarth’s life.

And for fans who haven’t been thinking about #Gendrya for several seasons, the hookup in this episode might have felt a touch weird. That’s because Arya is the youngest living Stark, and viewers pretty much watched her grow up on the show–so a sex scene might be a bit jarring. Arya is 18 at this point in the show, though, and while we don’t know Gendry’s exact age, the books put him at five years older than she is, so 23. In real life, Arya actress Maisie Williams is 22, while Gendry actor Joe Dempsey is 31.

It’s been almost seven years since fans started dreaming of the angriest Stark finding some happiness in a relationship with the bastard blacksmith who just wants a family, and now it’s finally happened. If they stick it out, their relationship fulfills an ambition that dates back all the way to Season 1 and Ned Stark talking with his pal King Robert Baratheon: the linking of the Stark and Baratheon houses.

The second episode of Season 8 also paid off another major fan ship, but maybe not quite in the way fans hoped. That’s the longstanding relationship between Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth, both of whom have influenced each other for the better during their long, fraught, and originally antagonistic relationship.

Brienne first met Jaime back in Season 3, when Catelyn Stark charged her with returning him to King’s Landing in return for the release of her daughters, Sansa and Arya Stark (she didn’t know Arya had already escaped King’s Landing and was on various adventures elsewhere). Though Jaime was relentlessly insulting, his time with Brienne and her intense sense of honor had a serious effect on him–especially after she saved his life on more than one occasion.

Jaime turned Brienne from hating him when they shared an intimate moment in a bathtub and he explained how he got his Kingslayer nickname: he stabbed the Mad King Aerys Targaryen in the back because the king was planning to blow up King’s Landing using wildfire, killing everyone, loyalist and rebel alike. Brienne came to understand Jaime, while Jaime found the better part of himself because of Brienne’s example and her dedication to her cause.

Both have warm feelings for each other, but unfortunately, Jaime is forever dedicated to Cersei no matter what happens–a fact he has lamented being unable to change about himself. But back in King’s Landing in Season 4, Cersei called out Brienne for being in love with Jaime, and many fans have definitely been hoping something more might come of the pair’s feelings.

Episode 2 doesn’t have a hookup between Brienne and Jaime, like Arya and Gendry get, but it does have what feels like the culmination of the arc of their relationship: an abiding mutual respect. That comes when Jaime uses his status as an anointed knight to give Brienne a knighthood. It’s a huge deal–Brienne is getting everything she ever wanted in that scene, and the fact that Jaime is the one who takes it upon himself to finally give her what she’s earned shows how much they mean to each other.

Too bad all these intense moments of love and friendship are coming under not-great circumstances, though–Arya and Gendry might have finally elevated their relationship and Jaime and Brienne might have a complete kinship, only just in time for any or all of them to get murdered by invading White Walkers.

We’ve got plenty more Game of Thrones coverage this week, and every week. Check out our review of Episode 2 (and one of the premiere episode). Here’s a quick rundown of what Arya might have asked Gendry to make, the meaning behind the crossbow Qyburn gave to Bronn in Episode 1, and a theory about Cersei’s pregnancy. We’ve also got plenty of speculation and theories and a look at all the Easter eggs in the premiere episode and all its parallels to Season 1.

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