The latest episode of Game of Thrones Season 8 is finally here and once again, there is no shortage of deaths. Although some were well-deserved, others were somehow surprising and just downright disappointing.
WARNING: Major Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 5 spoilers ahead. If you haven't seen The Bells, now is the best time to turn back!
The fifth episode of the final season somehow served as the show's traditional Episode 9 where huge battles take place or major story arcs are dealt with. King's Landing certainly delivered as the war turned into a massacre and lead characters were killed off.
The episode opens with Varys wasting no time trying to convince Jon Snow that he should rule Westeros instead of Daenerys Targaryen. Jon promptly declines and Daenerys immediately has Varys "dracarys-ed" out of the way for treason. Looks like Melisandre was right, she and the Spider were always meant to die in this strange land.
People have undoubtedly been looking forward to seeing the Golden Company in action. After all, Cersei Lannister spent all that gold just to get these sellswords and although there's weren't any elephants, they had to be worth something, right? Unfortunately, all that gold wasn't fire-proof and the Golden Company was burned down by Drogon after he toasted the Iron Fleet. The army's leader Harry Strickland even showed some cowardly ways as he tried to run away from the Dothraki, only to be speared to death by Grey Worm.
Although the Iron Fleet was burned down, Euron Greyjoy managed to escape by jumping into the water. He ends up on the same shore as Jaime Lannister, who is on his way to save his sister. Euron tries to kill Jaime, stabbing him in the sides but the Kingslayer gets the better of him. As Euron lay dying, he proudly announces, "I'm the man who killed Jaime Lannister." Sure, he helped, but that honor sort of belongs to someone else.
The most anticipated part of the episode was undoubtedly Cleganebowl as the brothers Clegane faced each other. With that in mind, the epic fight needed to prove just how serious the Mountain is about trying to kill the Hound. When Qyburn tries to get Gregor Clegane to stay with his queen, he is promptly pushed aside and falls on some rocks. It's a weird way to die, but Qyburn had to go some time.
Cleganebowl time! It's immediately clear that the Mountain has an advantage because being stabbed doesn't really bother him (Qyburn really did a great zombie job on this guy). We're also in for a treat as Sandor Clegane manages to get that helmet off his brother and we finally get a better look at Zombie Mountain. Unfortunately, it's still no use since Gregor is hellbent on killing his brother, at one point, even trying the same move he used on Oberyn Martell. Since there's no other way, the Hound decides to throw both of them off the crumbling tower and into the fire. It's a sadly fitting death for a man who feared the flames his entire life.
Cersei was clearly expecting to win because she didn't have an escape plan in case the Mother of Dragons decides to burn the entire city down. Luckily for her, her brothers have tried to work on that for her. It was truly touching to see Cersei reunited with Jaime in the end and begging for the life of their unborn child. However, as Jaime puts it, "nothing else matters" at that point. With their escape tunnel gone and the Red Keep crumbling above them, the twins embrace and accept their death. So it looks like the Red Keep got to kill both Cersei and Jaime. Sorry, Euron.
There is only one episode left in the final season so there is little doubt that there will be more deaths in the future. The question is, who will end up on the Iron Throne if there is still one at the end of the series? We'll find out next week.
Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 6 airs on HBO on May 19.
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