We Knew Nothing, Jon Snow: Episode 3 has a massive plot reveal
THE third episode of the very first season of Game Of Thrones reveals what will happen in season eight — and offers us a potential massive twist that will flip the series on its head.
THE third episode of the very first season of Game Of Thrones reveals what will happen in season eight — and offers us a potential massive twist that will flip the series on its head.
Welcome to the third edition of our series We Knew Nothing, Jon Snow, as we plunge back into every episode of Game Of Thrones to see what was hidden in the early seasons to tease us.
Episode three, “Lord Snow” has some amazing moments that hint at things to come — as well as a possible dramatic twist that could turn what we know and what we think we know about GoT on its head.
This episode is also our first look at some of the major characters in the show, such as Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish and Lord Varys.
It is fascinating to see how Varys is happy to see Ned Stark, while Littlefinger puts the chair between himself and Ned.
One of the most interesting sequences is where Cersei offers advice on ruling to Joffre. This scene sets up Cersei’s rule in season seven (and however much of season eight she survives) as well as showing what an absolute piece of filth Joffre is.
Forget alternative facts and inconvenient truths, Cersei had that stuff down years ago.
“The truth will be what you make it,’ she tells Joffre. “The world will be exactly as you want it to be.”
And when it comes to ruling: “A good king knows when to destroy his enemies ... everyone who isn’t us is an enemy”.
She also tells him that: ‘The North cannot be held by an outsider”.
It’s all good stuff and contrasted strongly with Ned giving Arya advice after Arya blows up over Sansa not standing up to Joffre.
“We must look after one another. Sansa is your sister. We can’t fight a war among ourselves.”
Given what happened in season seven with Arya and Sansa, it both foreshadows that plot line and shows that Arya was never going to murder Sansa and take her face.
But the real gem of the episode arrives with Old Nan telling Bran stories in his bed.
In the books, she goes on and on but obviously they had to strip it back for the TV series. So, theoretically, all we hear are the things the showrunners want to foreshadow for later seasons. As in, the seasons we are watching right now.
Sadly we have not seen the “spiders as big as hounds” that accompany the White Walkers but Old Nan tells us about a night that “lasted a generation” as White Walkers laid waste to cities and kingdoms.
Guess the actors had better get ready to film a lot of night scenes!
It does also show that the White Walker attack won’t be stopped at Winterfell. It’s going to go much deeper into Westeros.
But perhaps the most intriguing line is the story she told Robb Stark, which he passes on to Bran: “She told me the sky is blue because we live inside the eye of a blue-eyes giant named Macumber”.
Now, that’s not literally true. Probably.
But this legend is mentioned again by Oberyn Martell. So it is something the showrunners wanted to have floating around in our minds.
Now, while we are unlikely to see a casting note for a giant with blue eyes, it could be a direct link to the Night King.
Obviously he has blue eyes and all his resurrected minions have blue eyes. So blue eyes are vitally important. While he may not be the world, his purpose may well be to change the world. Nothing will be the same now The Wall is down. The Night King will be a giant figure in what will happen and everyone will live and die according to if his eye falls upon them.
After what happened this season, we can see he is not some mindless monster. He has a plan and a purpose. So Old Nan may be right — they are “living” in his eye. And the only way to change their world is to escape from it.
This aside, Lord Snow has some fascinating glimpses into future scenes.
We see Ser Alliser Thorne being a colossal prick and then the Night’s Watch try to kill Jon. In this episode he is saved by Tyrion but he has no such luck at the end of season five.
We also see Ned grab Littlefinger by the throat, just as Jon Snow does in season seven.
And we also see the hint that the Wildlings can join an alliance.
“The only difference between the Wildlings and us ... is that our ancestors ended up on the right side of The Wall,’ said Tyrion.
It also sets up the enduring Cersei-Jaime dynamic, when he promises to kill everyone until they are the only two people left in the world.
Interestingly, we also get a hint of how Jaime might be redeemed, when he talks to Barristan Selmy about battle.
Sadly, it also sets up Littlefinger’s betrayal and the sheer inability of Catelyn to see his treachery.
“He’s promised to help us find the truth,” she told Ned. Oh dear!
We also get to see Daenerys starting to exercise her power and sideline brother Viserys. And it also tells us that her breasts start to change when she is pregnant. Given her spot of torrid Auntcest with Jon at the end of season seven, that could be something to watch for.
It also sets up Benjen Stark’s disappearance and return to save first Bran and then Jon.
Finally, it shows Ned realising what he has created when he watches Arya pick up sword-fighting like a professional.
It has much more poignancy now you know what happens to both of them.