‘Game of Thrones’ Season 8: The Ultimate Guide (Published 2019) (2024)

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Episode 6, Series Finale: ‘The Iron Throne’

➵ Full Recap: All Hail King Who?
➵ The Iron Throne’s History, and Its Final Judgment
➵ Finale Reactions: Dazed Fans Wander Into a Post-Series Wilderness
➵ Finale: 9 Things We Still Want to Know
➵ 8 Questions the Series Finale Must Answer

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Episode 5, ‘The Bells’

➵ Full Recap: The Bells Toll for Daenerys
➵ Is Daenerys Just Upset or Are the Targaryens Really That Crazy?
➵ What to Read About Daenerys’s Dark Turn
➵ At the Red Keep, History Repeats Itself
➵ The Throne Theories Ranked: Which Are Still in Play?

Courtesy of HBO

Episode 4, ‘The Last of the Starks’

➵ Full Recap: Daenerys on the Brink
➵ Even Dragons Have Their Limits
➵ A Starbucks in Winterfell? Coffee Cup Blunder Spreads Like Wildfire
➵ Daenerys vs. Cersei. Who Has the Edge in the Final War?

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Episode 3, ‘The Long Night’

➵ Full Recap: The Battle of Winterfell Exceeded Expectations
➵ The Complex History of Arya’s Dagger
➵ Shots in the Dark: What Worked, and Didn’t
➵ Fans Are Setting the Internet on Fire
➵ Melisandre Saw It All Coming. How?
➵ Where Did Bran Go During the Battle of Winterfell?

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Episode 2, ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’

➵ Full Recap: The Things We Do for Love
➵ Florence and the Machine’s Frontwoman on That Haunting Closing Song
➵ Who Is the Mad King, and Why Did Jaime Kill Him?
➵ On YouTube, Superfans Prepare for the End

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Episode 1, ‘Winterfell’

➵ Full Recap: Dragon Rides and Awkward Reunions
➵ So Who’s Able to Ride a Dragon?
➵ What Is the Golden Company? And Where Are Those Elephants?

‘Game of Thrones’ Comes in for a Crash Landing

By James Poniewozik May 21, 2019

Opinion | How ‘Game of Thrones’ Failed Fantasy

By Ross Douthat May 21, 2019

Ranking the Deaths in the Final ‘Game of Thrones’ Season

By Jennifer Vineyard May 20, 2019

I Ignored ‘Game of Thrones’ for 8 Years. Then Inhaled It in 5 Weeks

By Wesley Morris May 16, 2019

Meet the Woman Who Was ‘the Greatest Thing to Ever Happen to the Show’

By Jeremy Egner April 14, 2019

‘Game of Thrones’ Is Ending. But You Can Still Visit Westeros.

By Jeremy Egner April 5, 2019

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Episode 3, ‘The Queen’s Justice’

Jon and Dany finally meet, sparking a battle of royal titles. And it’s payback time for the murders of Joffrey and Myrcella. Bonus: Bran shows us how creepy he can be. (Is he watching all of the show’s sex scenes?) Read our recap ➵

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Episode 4, ‘The Spoils of War’

For spectacular action scenes both large (Dany, Drogon and the Dothraki taking on the Lannister loot train) and small (Arya sparring with Brienne). Also, what is wrong with Bran?! Poor Meera. Read our recap ➵

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Episode 6, ‘Beyond the Wall’

Remember how thrilling it seemed the first time our magnificent-seven raiding party risked everything to bring back proof of the wights for Cersei? Good times. Now revisit the despair of learning that their losses were for naught. Cry for Thoros. Cry for Viserion. Cry, cry. Read our recap ➵

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Episode 7, ‘The Dragon and the Wolf’

Try to stir up some hope for the dragon-pit summit – a chance for the best people of Westeros to come together for the sake of humanity’s survival, even if the effort might be doomed and Viserion can still make short work of the Wall. Plus: Stark powers activate! Goodbye, Littlefinger. Read our recap ➵

Courtesy of HBO

Episode 2, ‘Home’

Visit Winterfell in happier days, when Hodor could speak. Take a deep breath and exhale with Jon when he comes back (as he always does). Plus: It’s kin-slaying time in Winterfell and the Iron Islands. Read our recap ➵

Courtesy of HBO

Episode 5, ‘The Door’

Because Bran’s vision quests into the past take their toll and Hodor pays the price. (Or did he pay it long ago? Time travel is so confusing!) Bonus: Welcome a new villain, Euron Greyjoy, who promises to be more fun than Ramsay. Read our recap ➵

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Episode 9, ‘Battle of the Bastards’

It’s time to take back Winterfell (and yell at Rickon to zig-zag). Smile along with Sansa when Ramsay provides one last meal for his beloved dogs. Read our recap ➵

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Episode 10, ‘The Winds of Winter’

Cersei has a blast wiping out her enemies and claiming the throne in a sequence with unforgettable sounds and visions. Also, R+L=J confirmed. Have a little Frey pie? Read our recap ➵

‘A Bonding Thing’

My son Ben, then 16, wanted me to watch “Game of Thrones” with him when it first started. I thought it was about a video game. We had watched “The Tudors” together, with me covering his eyes for the naked parts. I made a plot diagram of the first book, which my son thought was quaint. “You know, Mom, they have those on the internet.” He’s 23 now. It’s been a bonding thing for us.

—Miriam Louise Fisher, Fulton, Md.

Sick Day

I watched all of Season 1 with my wife in one day … the day after Super Bowl 46. I’m a Ravens fan, and the Ravens had just lost the AFC Championship in brutal fashion, and in order to get myself through the big game, I drank myself stupid with a friend. Needless to say, my wife and I called out sick on Monday and said, “Let’s try this ‘Game of Thrones’ show.” Ten hours and two food deliveries later, we were done with Season 1.

—Ben Livingston, Columbia, Md.

A Presidential Pardon

I kept seeing references to “Game of Thrones” and whether Jon Snow was alive or dead. Then, I read that Barack Obama had approached somebody affiliated with the show at a Hollywood fundraiser and asked them about Snow. So, that did it. I decided to find out what the fuss was about. I ordered the Season 1 DVDs from Netflix, and soon my husband and I were binge watching. I finally gave in and subscribed to HBO for Season 7, something I had avoided for years and years. Sigh. Now, I’ve read all the books and own a large book of maps of Westeros.

—Katherine Benson, Rome, Ga.

Shame of ‘Thrones’

I started watching it during Season 4 because my friends were raving about the gorgeous scenery from Iceland and Croatia. We are in our late 50s, long past our days of unicorns and princesses. Reluctantly, I started watching. Overall, I was terribly alarmed by the universe of moral ambivalence. It seemed like such a vivid parallel for today’s world. Now the show has become a ridiculous addiction that I dare not admit to my family or friends, but it is so fascinating and chilling that I can’t help myself.

—Livia Hart, Denver

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Episode 1, ‘The Wars to Come’

To savor the show’s first flashback, revealing that there was a time when Cersei actually had friends! To untangle the clues regarding King Robert’s death. To cuddle with the Unsullied. To unpack Tyrion’s crate and Varys’s plan, and to drink to the future of Westeros. Read our recap ➵

Helen Sloan/HBO

Episode 4, ‘Sons of the Harpy’

Delve into the rise of radical movements in both King’s Landing and Meereen, provoked in both places by the actions (or inactions) of their respective queens. Bonus: Lots of Rhaegar and Lyanna tidbits. Read our recap ➵

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Episode 9, ‘The Dance of Dragons’

An episode thick with emotion, from the intimations of doom surrounding Shireen’s BBQ to the sheer exhilaration of Dany’s takeoff from the fighting pit. Read our recap ➵

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Episode 10, ‘Mother’s Mercy’

This one is jam-packed. Sansa escapes. Arya overkills. Cersei walks. And – oh no! – Jon dies. (For now.) Read our recap ➵

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Episode 2, ‘The Lion and the Rose’

For a front-row seat at the most exclusive ticket in town, the Purple Wedding. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll eat some pie. Plus, all the banter between the wedding guests is good fun. Another plus: Melisandre practices burning Stannis’s family members alive. It’s okay to start crying for Shireen now. Read our recap ➵

Helen Sloan/HBO

Episode 7, ‘Mockingbird’

Because you cannot give up on the gravy! Nor should you give up on Tyrion, not when Oberyn’s around. Bonus: Littlefinger and Lysa finally break up. Read our recap ➵

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Episode 8, ‘The Mountain and the Viper’

To dissect several crucial decisions made regarding Lysa’s murder, Jorah’s spy games and Tyrion’s trial by combat (notice Oberyn’s assistant slicking his spear with poison). Enjoy Oberyn going full Inigo Montoya on the Mountain, and try not to scream when the squashing starts. Read our recap ➵

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Episode 10, ‘The Children’

To watch Tywin’s beloved Lannister legacy go down the toilet. To cheer on the knock-down, drag-out, ear-biting battle between Brienne and the Hound, both trying to protect a dead-eyed girl who doesn’t need that kind of protection. To agonize over the human cost of getting Team Bran to the Three-Eyed Raven’s cave. And to soar along with the Stark children’s hopes for their new career paths. (Assassin school/tree wizard school, here we come!) Read our recap ➵

Keith Bernstein/HBO

Episode 1, ‘Valar Dohaeris’

For the reset of where most of the characters are on the map and a demonstration of some new, necessary relationships (Tywin and his pen pals, Margaery and the people). Plus: our first giant. Don’t stare too long; they’re shy.

Courtesy of HBO

Episode 5, ‘Kissed by Fire’

A rather warm entry with heartwarming moments (Shireen) and romance (Jon and Ygritte), as several folks discover bath time and take the plunge. Also: smirk along with (or at?) Cersei as we sort through the tangled web of Lannister/Tyrell/Stark marriage-alliance plots.

Courtesy of HBO

Episode 8, ‘Second Sons’

To attend a royal wedding where no one dies, although Cersei does drop a death threat on a Tyrell in the Sept of Baelor. Foreshadowing! Bonus: Sam Tarly becomes Sam the Slayer.

Courtesy of HBO

Episode 9, ‘The Rains of Castamere’

Because it’s a nice day for a Red Wedding. Scream, cry and say goodbye to some sadly unsuspecting Starks. Also try not to choke up when Bran wargs Hodor for the first time, or Rickon and Osha leave. The heartbreak!

Paul Schiraldi

Episode 1, ‘The North Remembers’

For a crash course on all the different factions, a whistled “Rains of Castamere,” the Citadel’s weather report, a beach BBQ and Stannis putting the Lannister twincest on blast.

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Episode 4, ‘Garden of Bones’

For an examination of codes of conduct in times of war (compare attitudes held by Stannis, Roose, Robb, Tyrion and Tywin). Extra fun: Shadow baby!

Courtesy of HBO

Episode 9, ‘Blackwater’

In which we get the first major onscreen battle of the series, a song from Bronn, a rousing speech from Tyrion and some major snottiness from Joffrey. Bonus: Cersei tries to get Sansa drunk.

Paul Schiraldi

Episode 10, ‘Valar Morghulis’

Because it’s chock-full of magic tricks. Visions and dragon fire in the House of the Undying, visions in Melisandre’s flames, a Faceless Men face-lift and the army of the dead. Three blasts!

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Episode 1, ‘Winter Is Coming’

Because it’s the last time you’ll see all the Starks as one big (mostly) happy family. Try not to choke up when you spot Hodor, or when Rickon runs up to Jon to hand him arrows. Also: baby direwolves.

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Episode 3, ‘Lord Snow’

For a reminder of how Jaime Lannister has been trying to tell everyone about that business with the Mad King ALL ALONG. Extra fun: Tyrion goes to the top of the Wall and crosses something off his bucket list.

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Episode 7, ‘You Win or You Die’

Delves into the touchy question of succession and sets into play the War of the Five Kings. Also: Dany goes wine tasting.

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Episode 9, ‘Baelor’

For the excellent opportunity it offers to scream at the screen. Bonus: Tyrion bonds with Bronn and Shae during a drinking game.