Game of Thrones, Season 8 (spoilers allowed)

They may have saved money on CGI by not having Jon pet Ghost before sending him away, but my god, the howls of "Pet that good boy!" that resulted were deafening.

 

As a non-book reader, the direwolves mean almost nothing to me and I really don't think that's going to change. When you listen to Binge Mode, Mallory Rubin seems borderline obsessed with Ghost and the others but they really have not been these magical characters in the show.

 

The direwolves are symbols of the kids’ “starkness.”

Sansa lost hers because she wanted to be a queen. It goes hand in hand with her from being the “little bird” to a player in the game.

Arya losing hers symbolizes her leaving on the path to be a killer/survivor just like her dire wolf becomes.

Robb and Rickon’s direwolves die shortly before their masters do. Robb’s direwolf knows something is up and is put in a cage, which reflect on Robb being stuck in Frey hall.

Bran loses his when he no longer is bran, but the three-eyed raven.

Jon getting rid of ghost is symbolic of him turning his back on the north/stark heritage.

 

I liked this one. Gendry is a good man and the only known eldest survivor of the Baratheon line. He's more blood than Joff & the Deadlings. Robert was a known philanderer and keeping a house legitimate (and loyal!!!) in the wake of losses of at least half a dozen major houses and a dozen minor ones.

 

Also, Gendry is a potential rival for the Iron Throne, which is less likely to be an issue if she can win him over to her side.

 

Gendry has the most claim to the throne as anyone. He is the son of Robert Baratheon. The Targaryens have no claim. Robert won his war and served as king for more than a decade. It's not like Robert killed the Targaryen king, and all this is taking place two weeks later.

 

He also has zero army and the least support. His most likely path to the throne would be as the tool of a would be power behind the throne.

 

I'm pretty firmly in the "Jaime is going to kill Cersei" camp, given that he's likely to arrive while she is in full "I don't care how many get killed, fight to the last man and screw the commoners" mode. If you add in that he left Winterfell right after Bronn showed up and told Jaime and Tyrion that Cersei paid him to kill them both, it seems very likely.

 

Someone has a great tweet that Steph Curry showed her how to finish a series correctly.

 

It’s not. My prediction all week has been that Missandei’s death is what drives Dany to madness.

 

Yep. I watch on the HBO Now streaming app over my Roku, and I have the WiFi Direct-enabled Roku remote with a headphone jack. It’s awesome in terms of appreciating the sound design.