Game of Thrones Recap: "Bastards," Team Daddy Issues, and a Royal Bun in the Oven

*spoilers ahead*

After last week’s fire-filled battle between Jaime Lannister, Daenerys, and Daenery’s dragon, I didn’t think this weekend’s episode could top it. I was wrong. While Episode 5 may not be heavy in actual combat, secrets are unraveling left and right and familiar faces return in the race for the Iron Throne. Two major players may call a wary truce in order to fight the White Walkers, the famous Bastard of the North might not be a bastard after all, and Cersei's pregnant. Here’s a recap of “Game of Thrones’” fifth episode of their penultimate season. As there’s so much happening this week, each character’s story arc is summed up one by one, rather than recounting each scene. Trust me, there’s too many threads to follow as it is.
Daenerys’ Punishment for Lannister Troops; Another House is Massacred


Daenarys takes no prisoners. After the battle between her people and the Lannister army, she asks the Dothraki to herd the survivors over to her. The Mother of Dragons gives a compassionate speech to the Westerosi men, telling them if they bend the knee to her, they may fight in her army. If they refuse, they will not be imprisoned, but killed. After a terrifying roar from Drogon, most of the men bend the knee, with the exception of Lord Tarly and his son, Dickon. Tyrion attempts to save Lord Tarly, who refuses to swear allegiance to a "foreign invader" and brushes him off. Daenerys seems to respect the move, but is still going to execute him.



The utterly foolish Dickon decides he must stick with his father, though he would also be executed. Tyrion admonishes him, telling him and Daenerys that ending a noble house is completely unnecessary (Dickon is his father's sole heir, as Samwell took the black.) Dickon still decides being executed is better than bending the knee. The two are summarily executed by dragonfire, which scares the remaining soldiers into falling in line.
Bran’s Dark Omen


Back home in Winterfell, Bran continues his personal battle against the Night King. The warg sees a vision of the White Walkers making their way en masse ever closer to Eastwatch. Above the horde of the undead, an unkindness of ravens (aka, a flock) swirl and watch them. Bran decides to attempt to band together all the living factions of Westeros against the White Walkers, and sends out messages via ravens to every king, queen, and noble house in the region. This sets out a chain of reaction amongst the recipients of the scrolls, bringing our main characters closer than ever.
Gendry Meets a Fellow Bastard
Anybody remember Gendry, Arya's blacksmith friend? Apparently, he's been hiding in King's Landing ever since we saw him, forging weapons for Cersei's army to avoid suspicion. When Ser Davos brings Tyrion to King's Landing, he seeks out the noble-born son and asks him to leave Flea Bottom and fight under...well, anyone but Cersei. Gendry immediately agrees, taking a rucksack of clothes and a great battle hammer with him; he promptly uses it to defend Tyrion as the trip leave King's Landing. When they come to Dragonstone, Gendry ignores Ser Davos' warnings to conceal his family heritage, and tells Jon Snow he's the bastard son of King Baratheon, Eddard Stark's best friend. The pair bond over their scarlet letters, and Gendry asks to fight alongside Jon. He agrees, and Gendry joins Jon's posse, aka Team Daddy Issues.
Sansa and Arya Argue Over Leadership Decisions; Arya Spies on the Scheming Littlefinger


Back in Winterfell, the Stark bannermen rally around Sansa, attempting to proclaim her their true leader. As she is the rightful Lady of Winterfell, she technically should be the Queen of the North. However, she demurs, throwing support behind Jon. Arya looks on, an unreadable expression on her face. The two talk after the meeting, where Arya suggests beheading a few bannermen to keep dissenters in line. Sansa, appalled, tells her of the tentative ruling position she and Jon has established. The bannermen need leaders, just as the Starks need supporters. Arya still wants to chop off somebody's head. Sansa is still horrified.



Later on, Arya sees Littlefinger whispering with a few outspoken bannermen and a maid. Arya follows him back to his room, where he receives a scroll and confirms it's the "only copy." Littlefinger soon leaves his rooms, and Arya picks the lock and sniffs out the message's hiding place.

The scroll is the message Cersei forced Sansa to write after King Baratheon's death, swearing allegiance to Joffrey. But her sister doesn't know she was forced to write it. Arya leaves, stunned; but in the hallway's shadows, we see Littlefinger smile as she leaves. The message was planted to cause further arguments between the sisters.
Tyrion Struggles to Make Tentative Peace Between Two Queens
The beleaguered Hand is horrified by the massacre of the Lannister army, as is Varys, who pushes Tyrion to make Daenerys see reason and prevent future bloodshed. After Bran's message arrives at Dragonstone, Jon, Daenerys and her advisors talk about its implications. It's clear that Daenerys will win the war against Cersei, but what's the point if zombies kill the living? With Tyrion's lobbying, she's ready to call a truce in order to deal with the real issue at hand. But there's still the obstacle of convincing Cersei the threat is real.



Jon proposes bringing proof to the reticent Queen by bringing a White Walker to King's Landing. Eveyone argues with Jon, because danger, but eventually agrees to the plan. Ser Jorah also volunteers to help Jon in his quest beyond the Wall, wanting to serve his queen once more. Daenerys reluctantly lets the Northerners and Jorah go.

But before they go, Cersei has to be presented with the armistice, which means a secret trip to King's Landing. Ser Davos and Tyrion make the journey over, with Tyrion meeting Jaime and Ser Davos seeking out an old friend (Gendry). The group returns to Dragonstone, and they promptly sail for the Wall.
Jaime Ain’t Dead Y’all; Cersei and Jaime, Sitting in a Tree…
Jaime lived through his charge at Daenerys and Drogon due to a massive save by Bronn. As usual, Jaime does not appreciate a) his own mortality, b) use common sense, and c) Bronn cannot believe his golden ticket to nobility is this stupid. Bronn drags him safely back to King's Landing, where Cersei waits to hear about what happened with Daenerys and at the Battle of Highgarden. She's disappointed by news of their obvious loss, which seems to have shaken Jaime to his core; the news that Olenna Tyrell, not her brother Tyrion, killed her son leaves her furious. Cersei is reluctant to give up the Iron Throne, but with Daenery's army and dragons at her back, Cersei knows she's fighting a losing battle.

After Jaime meets with Tyrion, he brings the armistice offer to Cersei, who agrees to a possible truce. Cersei clearly isn't pleased by the news of her brothers' meeting, but apparently knew of it beforehand, to Jaime's surprise. She intimates that they must "fight like Father" in order to keep the Iron Throne, which sounds both ominous and suspicious. But the Queen drops an even bigger bombshell than news of a truce, revealing she's pregnant with Jaime's child. She tells her brother turned lover she will formally declare that Jaime is the father, which seems to delight and terrify Jaime in equal measure. The two embrace while Cersei whispers to Jaime to never betray her again. As always, Cersei stays Cersei: she's just got an extra bun in the oven.
Battle of the Suitors: Jon Pets Drogon and Ser Jorah Returns
Who will win Daenery's heart? An impending romance seems to be heading the queen's way, but it's unclear who will win her heart. The queen makes her triumphant return to Dragonstone, where Drogon lands directly in front of a surprised Jon Snow. When Drogon stares at the King in the North, baring his teeth, Jon looks him straight in the eye. Taking off one glove, Jon tentatively touches Drogon's snout, then pets him, to the shock of Drogon's mother. No one but Daenerys has been deemed worthy by her scaly kids, much less consented to pets. (Perhaps the dragon senses Jon is also a Targaryen?) The queen seems to be drawn even close to the fellow royal, but they're interrupted by Ser Jorah's return. Daenerys gives him a hug as Jon stares at his late boss's son.

But romance continues to evade Daenerys, as Ser Jorah volunteers to come with Jon in search of a White Walker specimen. As the Northerners prepare to leave, Daenerys clasps hands with the knight, who kisses them before leaving. At this point, my money's on Ser Jorah ending up with Daenerys if Jon discovers his heritage soon. If not, perhaps the two royals will have a political marriage, with Jorah as the Queen's lover on the side.
Jon Snow and Team Daddy Issues Set Out to Capture a White Walker


Jon Snow returns to the Wall with Gendry, Ser Davos, and Ser Jorah. He meets with wildling leader Tormund, who tells him how idiotic capturing a White Walker is before agreeing to join the posse. But it turns out they aren't the only one who got the White Walker memo. The Hound and his acquaintances, the rogue immortal fire worshipper and his priest, are in the Wall's cells, waiting to meet Jon.



The group meets and trades insults for a while before Jon breaks it up. Coincidentally, the group is a who's who of Westerosi daddy issues, with Jon and Gendry being branded the bastards of their fathers, Ser Davos' dead son, Ser Jorah's estrangement from his dad, and a host of other issues between Gendry and the fire worshippers. (The Hound's got issues from his brother shoving him in a fire, but it's close enough to daddy issues to join the club.) But fear of impending doom manages to quell the arguments, and the group sets off into the north beyond the Wall, in search of a White Walker.
Samwell Tarly Rebels; Gilly Uncovers a Monumental Secret
The maesters at the Citadel were one of the Bran's message recipients, but don't take the threat of the White Walkers seriously. Samwell, who overhears the maesters poking fun at Bran, tries to set them straight. But no matter what he says, the maesters don't believe him. After Samwell leaves the home, his maester reveals they've received news of the Tarly executions, but he hasn't had the heart to tell him. Samwell returns home to Gilly, frustrated.



Gilly's spends her days reading everything in sight; between inane facts she gleans from her books, she asks what an annulment is. Gilly goes on to reveal that the High Sept of Baelor had annulled Prince Rhaegar Targaryen's marriage to his first wife and married him to "someone else" in a secret ceremony. This harkens back to Jon's birth to Lyanna Stark last season, where the audience was led to assume that Jon was born from rape. But the revelation that Rhaegar divorced his legal wife all but confirms he married Lyanna before Jon's birth, making Jon a legitimate prince of two great houses. The most famous bastard in Westeros is actually royalty, a nephew to Daenarys and a rightful heir to the Iron Throne. (Please excuse me while I run up and down the block, screaming.)

Samwell, who doesn't know Jon's family history, doesn't connect the dots. Instead, Samwell rants to Gilly about the slow-moving maesters and his growing frustrations about the Citadel. His time as a fighter galvanizes the last surviving Tarly son to do more than record history. Samwell breaks into the library, taking any books that might hold more information about the White Walkers, and skips town with Gilly and her son.

 

"Game of Thrones" airs Sundays at 9 pm on HBO. Watch a preview for next week's episode below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Stw6INIS570

Any pet theories confirmed or laid to rest this week? Let us know in the comments below!
 

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