[Review] Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 2 - A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

In my opinion, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" is the best Game of Thrones episode in recent memory, though I believe it will soon be surpassed by the next one.

As I mentioned in my review of "Winterfell," one of the show's greatest strengths lies in its ability to balance numerous character storylines. Like "Winterfell," "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" also largely served to set up the impending battle between the living and the dead in the next episode, putting all the characters in position. However, compared to the previous episode, characters underwent much greater, and arguably the most significant, development they've seen in seasons. This episode was truly the "calm before the storm," yet its overall pacing was noticeably improved from the previous one. "Death" was a major theme of this episode; although, unusually, no characters died, we know that after this episode, the show's landscape will be vastly different, with perhaps only half or fewer of the surviving main characters remaining. The series spent seven seasons bringing together members of the Targaryen, Stark, and Lannister families to jointly fight the army of the dead. Even as these houses set aside their feuds, expressing a need to utilize all available hands for the greater good, they felt they had little chance of victory, with everyone preparing for death in battle.

Watching Arya (Maisie Williams) and Gendry's (Joe Dempsie) intimate scene, the deepening relationship between Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) and Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), Brienne finally being knighted, and the brief gathering of several unlikely characters, audiences might finally have seen their long-awaited moments. However, in Game of Thrones, this is not a good omen, as these feel like the characters' last shining moments before their likely demise. Podrick's (Daniel Portman) rendition of "Jenny of Oldstones" felt like a perfect elegy, perfectly complementing the melancholic mood of impending death and farewell that permeated the episode. Indeed, this episode is very likely the last time we'll see these characters peacefully. Besides characters bidding farewell to each other, it's also a moment for the audience to bid farewell to their beloved characters. While we may never fully accept the departure of these characters, we should be glad that this episode at least provided them with luminous final moments. If Arya and Brienne die in the next episode, we will still remember their empowering scenes in this one. Even if Tormund (Kristofer Hivaju) dies in the next episode, we will remember the look in his eyes when he gazed at Brienne, and his hilarious growth story this season.

Even though this episode primarily served to set up the next battle and the departure of characters, it also laid groundwork for future plot developments, as the show certainly won't end immediately after the next battle. Following the events of the premiere, the relationship between Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) and the Northerners became increasingly tense. Her scenes with Sansa (Sophie Turner) and Jon Snow (Kit Harington) were also filled with tension, marking a significant improvement for this episode compared to the premiere. Given the current situation, after the upcoming battle, Jon Snow, Sansa, and others may have to re-evaluate their relationship with Daenerys. The series has consistently portrayed Cersei (Lena Headey) and the Night King as the ultimate enemies, but could this merely be misdirection by the writers? Could the true enemy actually be Daenerys?

This episode concluded with the arrival of the White Walkers, foreshadowing the "Endgame" of the next episode. The epic battle that this season spent its first two episodes building up is finally set to occur in the next installment. Regardless of the outcome, the show will be fundamentally changed. Game of Thrones has always delivered plenty of surprises and shown no mercy in killing off characters, so virtually no character is safe. One-third of this season has aired, yet the Night King has still not made a full appearance. His grand entrance in the next episode is sure to bring the season to a climax, along with endless dread and darkness. Or, as some netizens speculate, perhaps he won't even appear in Winterfell next episode, riding his ice dragon straight to King's Landing instead. If that's the case, the writers will truly have delivered another shocking surprise.