The fifth episode of the final season of Game of Thrones aired last night, and it left much of the fanbase divided. Many were stunned by the filmmaking and glad to see Daenerys finally take on Cersei in the battle for King's Landing. On the other hand, there were a lot who were conflicted over where the story went, while others claim that the entire show has been ruined.
Regardless of your opinion, there's still a lot to unpack from the episode, including plenty of parallels with earlier episodes and small details that passed most of us by on first viewing.
This is the spine-tingling trailer for the final ever episode of Game of Thrones: The opening credits changedEach episode of this season has made slight alterations to the opening credits, which you can read about in detail here. This time around, the gates of King's Landing were upgraded to add two scorpions (the crossbows that can snipe a dragon from miles away) on either side.
Credit: 1826 Varys' 'little bird' was in a previous episode...The little girl who he spoke to at the beginning of the episode, Martha, was previously seen hiding with him in Winterfell's crypt.
Credit: 2299 And his execution was similar to another death sceneHe was killed in the same place where Melisandre and Stannis burned people alive for not believing in the Lord of Light.
Credit: 2730 Bran's vision came to lifeAll the way back in season four, Bran saw a vision of a dragon's shadow passing over King's Landing - which came to pass this episode.
Credit: 3191 He also saw a vision of the Iron Throne covered in snowSome fans are suggesting that this wasn't snow, but the ash we later see falling as the capital burned.
Credit: 3636 After Daenerys ignored the bells to attack, we never saw her againAfter she chose to keep burning the city after the people surrendered, we only saw Drogon, with no shots of her during the attack.
Credit: 4155 The Mountain's death mirrors a threat Arya made Check out the moment Sandor and Gregor met in Game of Thrones episode five:Before he tackled his brother off the castle into the flames of the ransacked city, The Hound stabbed his zombified sibling through the eye with a dagger. This is just how Arya once threatened to kill Sandor himself, back in season three. "Someday, I'm gonna put a sword through your eye, and out the back of your skull," she said.
Credit: 5267 Cersei and Jaime reunited in the same spot they last saw each otherLast season we saw Jaime abandon Cersei in the Red Keep, and found her as the city burned in the same spot, where they embraced.
Credit: 5759 Jaime's death wish was fulfilledIn the fifth season of the show, Jaime old Bronn that when he died he wanted it to be "in the arms of the woman I love," and that's just how he ended up.
Credit: 6224 Arya's white horse may have a hidden meaningAfter she miraculously survives the assault on King's Landing, Arya encounters a white horse which she rides to freedom. In the New Testament, the apocalypse is said to be heralded by a "pale horse, whose rider is Death". In addition to this, the young girl she tries (and ultimately fails) to save is seen carrying a white horse toy before she's killed.
Credit: 6914While it seems most of us aren't agreed on whether this was a good episode or not, there's definitely some interesting parallels being drawn from across the show (intentional or not). If you just can't wait for next week, check out the teaser trailer for the final episode of the show.