Game of Thrones Preview – Episode 5 – “Eastwatch”

Macall B. Polay/HBO Image via: Rollingstone.com

Game of Thrones Preview – Episode 5 – “Eastwatch”

Craig Koshkin

When I wrote this article last week, I predicted that Game of Thrones was really about to hit its stride and I have to give myself a pat on the back with that one. Now that we’ve seen the most visually stunning battle filled with dragons, Dothraki, Jaime Lannister’s possible death, and fire, lots and lots of fire. Similar to last week, there is no episode description in the DVR to go on for the preview of this week’s episode. So all we have to go with is the preview scenes that debuted at the end of “The Spoils of War.” You could also go see the leaked episode if you have absolutely no patience to wait until Sunday.  That being said, let’s look at the scenes that were previewed on Sunday:

• Daenerys addresses the conquered Lannister/Tarly troops
• Varys talks to Tyrion about reigning in their queen
• Cersei consults with Qyburn
• Drogon shrieks at Jon
• Jon advises people of Bran’s vision
• The Army of the Dead marches on Eastwatch

Looking at these raises a lot of questions about the direction this episode will take the series.

First of all, true to who she is, Daenerys clearly has no desire to kill those who are only following the orders of her enemies. In the scene that she addresses her vanquished foes, she tells them to swear allegiance to her and they will be spared. She is taking Jon Snow’s words to heart about not being like all of the other rulers in Westeros. The question remains; where is Jaime while all of this is going on? Does he get rescued? Is he amongst those being asked to drop their loyalty to Cersei? Did Bronn rescue him and sneak back to King’s Landing? Is he dead? My bet is that Jaime is not dead and he has found a way back to King’s Landing. It would just be too anticlimactic for Jaime to die like that. It will be very interesting to see if a slaughter of Lannister soldiers happens should they decline Daenerys’ kindness.

Back at Dragonstone Varys is talking to Tyrion. I assume it is about the battle and Daeny’s methods for victory. Varys clearly looks concerned and thinks Tyrion is the only one that can help to control her destructive desires. What happened to the vow Varys made just 3 episodes ago? The one where he promised to tell her his concerns should she be heading down the wrong path rather than conspire behind her back.  Is Varys worried that Daenerys is a little too much like her father, The Mad Kind? The answer to that question will go a long way to telling us whether or not Varys is the mole in Daenerys’ camp (my personal pick).

Does anyone have any clue what Cersei and Qyburn have to talk about other than the decimation of the food supplies in the battle? I think they will be discussing the effectiveness of the Scorpion anti-dragon defense system. It was able to injure Drogon but could not finish the job. Could Qyburn suggest the addition of poison to the arrows? That would surely do the job.

Back at Dragonstone it appears Daenerys and Drogon are back and Drogon doesn’t appear to be too happy to see Jon. He shrieks at Jon and Jon does not appear to be phased. Could he know something about his lineage that might make him more comfortable with dragons? According to the following scene he has gotten a message from Bran so it is possible that what we all believe to be true is about to be confirmed. Jon goes to the War Room and informs everyone that Bran has had a vision that the White Walkers are marching on the eastern most castle on the wall, Eastwatch. He is going to do all he can to get Daenerys to move her army north to fight for the future of Westeros. Will he bend the knee?

I don’t think Bran would have included such valuable information in a raven message so don’t get your hopes up that we will confirm that Jon is a Targaryen. This episode will be full of setup for the final two episodes of the season, but it should be vital information for the remainder of the series. Seeing the White Walkers approach the Wall should be exciting enough to hold you over until the first actual battle between the living and the dead. It should be a good one on Sunday but pay close attention because now more than ever, the details really matter.