# Game of Thrones 8.02 "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" 4/21/19 \[SHOW ONLY\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 21, 2019, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-02-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-4-21-19-show-only/832867 "2019-04-21T23:14:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 23
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-02-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-4-21-19-show-only/832867/441 "2019-04-25T21:30:46Z")
My daughter: “I was thinking if bran can be found by the handprint on his arm than why don’t they amputate it and set it on fire?” I just laughed. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-02-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-4-21-19-show-only/832867/442 "2019-04-25T21:36:58Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > The wight that Jon and guys captured and took south was strong and quick, but was cut in half by the Hound with one swing of a sword > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VetyHT-rZx0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VetyHT-rZx0) There’s a difference between being a rage zombie and being an actual fighter. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-02-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-4-21-19-show-only/832867/443 "2019-04-25T21:43:33Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > (Is the dragon a wight-dragon or a white-walker-dragon? I think it’s the latter, because he has blue eyes) Both White Walkers and [wights](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/gameofthrones/images/e/ec/Wight.png/revision/latest?cb=20160720034501) have blue eyes. Both the Night King and Craster’s Last Son were alive when they were made into White Walkers. All wights we have seen were already dead before they were resurrected. So I would say it’s a wight-dragon since it was killed. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-02-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-4-21-19-show-only/832867/444 "2019-04-25T21:47:47Z")
I agree. If they’re being consistent, the dragon is a wight. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-02-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-4-21-19-show-only/832867/445 "2019-04-25T22:06:55Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I agree. If they’re being consistent, the dragon is a wight. A dwight. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-02-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-4-21-19-show-only/832867/446 "2019-04-25T22:12:24Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > . . . > My guess is that Jamie and Brienne will go down fighting together, and if there’s a ‘shocker’ it will be that a dying Brienne asks him to behead her or something so she can’t come back from the dead. Or maybe Brienne does that for Jamie. > > But I do think we will see some of our characters wind up coming back as part of the army of the dead. The obvious one to me is Tormund, if it happens at all. And maybe Podrick. > > Here’s an interesting idea - Bronn shows up, not planning to kill Jamie or Tyrion at all but to join them, but he runs into zombie Jamie and winds up killing him with the crossbow - thereby doing what Cersei wanted, but for totally different reasons. We’ve been reminded of how Tyrion wishes to die. But we’ve also heard how Jaime wants to die - “In the arms of the woman I love.” And who did he walk away to stare at while Tyrion was reminding us? I think Jaime gets his chance to do something brave on the battlefield, and then he gets his wish. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Children. What’re ya gonna do! ![](https://media1.tenor.com/images/6535bd0a9927c58635341608b035fb4e/tenor.gif?itemid=5595448) I think the point :snerk: of Arya’s weapon is that the blade comes off if it is buried deep inside something, like a wight dragon for instance. Remember they were able to save Drogon because they could pull the spear out of his shoulder. Arya’s about to do something a lot of people won’t like, possibly including Gendry. And she’s being quiet about it. She’s in full faceless mode at the moment. So how could she help give them the lead in this battle, but also put her family on the throne? By taking out two dragons, the wight dragon, and Drogon. Dragons never bond with more than one rider at a time. Rhaegal belongs to Jon now. I predict that at the end of this battle, the only dragon in the World belongs to Jon Snow, 'cause little sister don’t miss when she aims her [pike]. I also think we are going to see wight Danaerys. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-02-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-4-21-19-show-only/832867/447 "2019-04-25T22:39:55Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > I dont really think my The NK and his army are elsewhere theory will hold-up…after all it will be a teeny letdown for the audience…BUT it makes perfect tactical sense. Why should the NK risk himself and get his main army shredded by some 75% when his lieutenants can just raise a new army and attack WF with that. I think this speculation has merit, if we believe the Night King is thinking strategically. Supposedly, he has 100,000 wights. He could leave 50,000 at Winterfell and take the rest to Kings Landing, amassing new recruits along the way. He could get the million people of Kings Landing and head back north, trapping the survivors of Winterfell in the middle. If he does this, though, I don’t think it will work because Cersei will burn the place to the ground. She knows there are the caches of wildfire under the entire city. Actually, Qyburn could be the one to do it and let her escape first so she meets her end a bit more poetically. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-02-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-4-21-19-show-only/832867/448 "2019-04-25T22:43:06Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > I dont really think my The NK and his army are elsewhere theory will hold-up…after all it will be a teeny letdown for the audience…BUT it makes perfect tactical sense. Why should the NK risk himself and get his main army shredded by some 75% when his lieutenants can just raise a new army and attack WF with that. In addition to tactical sense, it makes television sense, given there are multiple episodes left. It’s like when a crime drama identifies the murderer fifteen minutes into an hour-long episode, you immediately know there’s something else going on, like misidentification. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-02-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-4-21-19-show-only/832867/449 "2019-04-25T23:05:37Z")
Leaving an intact powerful force at your back is a horrible tactical decision. It’s literally the worst possible thing he could do. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-02-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-4-21-19-show-only/832867/450 "2019-04-25T23:45:35Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Leaving an intact powerful force at your back is a horrible tactical decision. It’s literally the worst possible thing he could do. Yeah their supply lines would be in danger! Oh wait… ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-02-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-4-21-19-show-only/832867/451 "2019-04-25T23:55:30Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Leaving an intact powerful force at your back is a horrible tactical decision. It’s literally the worst possible thing he could do. No, you have it backwards. The worst thing to do would be a frontal assault against a huge force, when you can stall them with a feint and then going about killiing/raising thousands of soldiers _behind_ Winterfell, encircling them. The Night’s King is overpowered in a major way - the ability to raise the dead and have them immediately fight for you is an almost unsurmountable power. Let’s say two armies are equal, at 50,000 each. They fight to a standstill, and each lose half. Except they don’t, because now the Night’s King has all your dead, so even though the battle was even it’s now 75,000 against 25,000. And now everyone dies. Imagine if the Night King, Viserion, and a few thousand dead go past Winterfell and start attacking and killing the unprotected civilians throughout Westeros. Every time they kill someone they increase their numbers. There’s no reason to attack Winterfell at all - they can just turn everyone else, then come back to Winterfell with an army of millions. That’s why they need the equivalent of the Death Star’s ventilation shaft - an end-run around the unstoppable power by killing the Night’s King. And therefore the dumbest possible thing he could do is expose himself to risk until the last minute. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-02-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-4-21-19-show-only/832867/452 "2019-04-25T23:55:49Z")
Or they’d get sandwiched between two strong forces. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-02-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-4-21-19-show-only/832867/453 "2019-04-26T00:11:26Z")
The Golden Army is not a strong force against the Night King’s army. They don’t have dragonglass or valyrian steel weapons. Those weapons are the only reason Jon’s army has _any_ chance. Well, that and dragons. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-02-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-4-21-19-show-only/832867/454 "2019-04-26T00:14:17Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > No, you have it backwards. The worst thing to do would be a frontal assault against a huge force, when you can stall them with a feint and then going about killiing/raising thousands of soldiers _behind_ Winterfell, encircling them. … But the forces being stalled with a feint, in this scenario, include two dragons. The Night King is vulnerable to an air attack by someone wielding a net. We don’t know if the Night King can be killed by arrows tipped with dragonglass or Valyrian steel, but those around him can. Two dragons, one with rider shooting magic arrows, and the other with a net. Come in from opposite directions. Grab NK, fly him to the nearest large body of water, and drop him in. …so, yes, NK can throw a spear a huge distance and hit a dragon. That’s a problem. But he can’t face all directions at once. The plan might not work----but it does point to a vulnerability the NK faces if he goes around Winterfell leaving the dragons alive. That said: sure, part of the NK’s forces will bypass Winterfell. There are too many episodes left to have the NK threat dealt with in episode 3, leaving only human characters sniping at each other and having fallings-out. There has to be more supernatural content, with 'only a sacrifice of \_\_\_\_\_‘s life can save humanity’ developments, for maximum emotional heft. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-02-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-4-21-19-show-only/832867/455 "2019-04-26T00:36:45Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > That said: sure, part of the NK’s forces will bypass Winterfell. There are too many episodes left to have the NK threat dealt with in episode 3, leaving only human characters sniping at each other and having fallings-out. There has to be more supernatural content, with 'only a sacrifice of \_\_\_\_\_‘s life can save humanity’ developments, for maximum emotional heft. I just assumed the good guys would lose. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-02-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-4-21-19-show-only/832867/456 "2019-04-26T00:45:44Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Or they’d get sandwiched between two strong forces. Westeros is a lot bigger than we appreciate. The show rarely gets in to distances and people just tend to be where they need to be. Winterfell to King’s Landing is speculated to be about 1,500 miles. That is roughly the distance from New York to Dallas and most people in Westeros walk or at best ride a horse (ok, best is a dragon but not a lot of them around). And remember the army of the dead can march 24/7 without need for rest. So unless the northerners were hot on the heels of a force sent south from the get-go they’d have a hard time catching up with a force sent south to sandwich them between two armies. Remember Daenerys had a vision in the Tower of the Undying where she saw King’s Landing wrecked and under a layer of snow. King’s Landing is not a snowly climate. So if her vision is true then the Night King almost certainly makes it to King’s Landing. Presumably he is the one who wrecked it too. In season 7 we are told King’s Landing has one million people in it. I think that is ridiculously big for what we see but that is what they tell us. Whatever the case that is a LOT of potential wights in the Night King’s army. The showrunners probably dropped that tidbit of info on purpose so we know how bad it will be if NK gets there. So, leave a harassing force to keep the army in Winterfell bottled-up and go for King’s Landing. IIRC they said the Night King had 100,000 in his army so he can afford to split off some to do this. That is waaay more than they have at Winterfell. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-02-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-4-21-19-show-only/832867/457 "2019-04-26T00:46:16Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > I just assumed the good guys would lose. Another reasonable possibility. Though some of them have to survive, to interact with Cersei. The wouldn’t end the show with the Night King making Cersei his unholy bride and everyone else dead; it wouldn’t be emotionally satisfying, though people would like the unholy bride part. Well, it worked for Tim Burton in his take on _The Legend of Sleepy Hollow_, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-02-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-4-21-19-show-only/832867/458 "2019-04-26T03:00:10Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > In season 7 we are told King’s Landing has one million people in it. I think that is ridiculously big for what we see but that is what they tell us. We can be pretty sure that’s bullshit, put out by people who have never examined exactly how those people are to be fed and housed on a day to day basis, or where their garbage and shit goes every day. I have seen no sign of farms or herds of cattle around King’s Landing. Have you? ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-02-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-4-21-19-show-only/832867/459 "2019-04-26T04:17:17Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > In season 7 we are told King’s Landing has one million people in it. I think that is ridiculously big for what we see but that is what they tell us. > [@silenus](#): > > We can be pretty sure that’s bullshit, put out by people who have never examined exactly how those people are to be fed and housed on a day to day basis, or where their garbage and shit goes every day. I have seen no sign of farms or herds of cattle around King’s Landing. Have you? Agreed. A real-life analogue to King’s Landing might be London, England. Looking at population statistics [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_London#Population), the population of London in the [Late Middle Ages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Middle_Ages) (i.e. from 1250 to 1500 CE) ranged from about 25,000 to 100,000. The latter figure seems like a more reasonable upper bound that the technology of the Middle Ages could support for an urban area. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-02-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-4-21-19-show-only/832867/460 "2019-04-26T04:52:03Z")
> [@Telperion](#): > > A dwight. I sure hope they can beet him. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-02-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-4-21-19-show-only/832867.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-8-02-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-4-21-19-show-only/832867.md?page=24)