Warning: This story contains spoilers for Season 8 of Game of Thrones.
Sunday’s episode of Game of Thrones is supposed to be a big one. Per Emilia Clarke’s recommendation, you should watch it on the “biggest TV” possible. Sunday is also Mother’s Day, which has viewers wondering: Is this the day Cersei meets her end?
The theory makes sense. For one thing, Daenerys is ready to burn sh*t down after Cersei had Missandei killed. For another, Cersei is pregnant (unless she’s lying about being pregnant, which is possible).
To end Cersei’s story on Mother’s Day would also be pretty poetic. Cersei’s entire arc has hinged upon her devotion to her children, all of whom she has since lost. It’s also worth noting that the episode in which Tywin Lannister died aired on Father’s Day 2014, so there’s technically a precedent for Lannisters kicking the bucket on the day viewers are celebrating their particular parenting roles.
If Cersei does die this episode, a lot of people think it’ll be at Jaime’s hands. Remember the “valonqar” prophecy we saw in Season 5? It implied Cersei would be killed by a younger sibling — and Jaime is famously younger than Cersei by “mere moments.” (Tyrion is also younger than Cersei, but he seems like too obvious a choice.)
Still, there’s also the possibility she’ll die in childbirth, which is another popular fan theory. This outcome would be even more appropriate for an episode airing on Mother’s Day — you know, in a deeply messed up, Game of Thrones way.
Haven’t seen Avengers: Endgame yet? Well, SPOILERS AHEAD. Don’t say you weren’t warned.
I’ll give it a minute, in case any unspoiled eyes stray down — by accident or by “accident” — a few extra lines. Anyone who’s still here and reading should know that you’re entering spoilertown… right about… now.
The big knockdown brawl in Endgame‘s final hour is notable for a number of things, not the least of which is bringing back everyone who was dusted at the end of Infinity War for a final showdown with Thanos. Mixed into the high-stakes battle are some admittedly happy reunions — including a beautiful moment between Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark and Tom Holland’s Peter Parker.
If you’re reading this, then you know how things ended for Tony after the Thanos fight was over. You also know how special his relationship with Peter was. They were mentor and mentee at heart, but with a deep personal connection.
Tony was a father figure to Peter. Losing him from the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a bummer because Downey Jr. is such a magnetic personality, and a perfect fit for his role. But losing that Peter/Tony relationship? Heartbreaking.
Now it’s even moreso thanks to this behind the scenes footage of the pair’s reunion, which Downey Jr. shared on Instagram.
What a touching moment. Watching this makes the emotion of their reunion all the more amazing, too. Can you imagine tapping into feelings powerful enough to evoke a heartfelt performance while you’re in a weird suit with green screens all around and costumed weirdos are running by?
No, you’re crying. R.I.P Movie Tony Stark. You were the MCU’s emotional bedrock for more than a decade. Here’s hoping your protégé is up to the task of filling those shoes.
TMZ obtained footage from the scene, which shows Porzingis with blood above his right eye (note: may contain language NSFW):
According to the report, Porzingis was in Liepaja and visited multiple clubs in the area for some sort of celebration. During the night, a group confronted him and were “supposedly upset with the fact that he’d switched teams down here in the States.”
Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium later reported the Mavericks are investigating the altercation, adding that the “current understanding is he was jumped at a club, assaulted and hit by objects.”
Porzingis spent his first three-and-a-half years in the NBA with the New York Knicks.ESPNreported in January he had met with Knicks personnel and “left franchise officials with the impression that he wants to be traded.”
Shortly thereafter, New YorktradedPorzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Trey Burke and Courtney Lee to the Mavericks for DeAndre Jordan, Dennis Smith Jr., Wesley Matthews and a pair of first-round picks.
Porzingis didn’t appear in a game for the Mavericks, who shut him down in order to focus on his recovery from a torn ACL.
Fujairah’s port is located 140km from the Strait of Hormuz, the focus of increasing Iran-US tensions [Hamad Mohammed/Reuters]
The United Arab Emirates said four commercial ships were subjected to “sabotage operations” after false reports circulated in Lebanese and Iranian media outlets saying there had been explosions at one of the nation’s seaports.
Emirati officials declined to elaborate on the nature of the sabotage on Sunday, or say who might have been responsible.
“Four commercial, civilian trading vessels of various nationalities this morning suffered acts of sabotage” off the UAE’s eastern coast, the foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run WAM news agency.
“Subjecting commercial vessels to sabotage operations and threatening the lives of their crew is considered a dangerous development.”
The statement said the ships were near the country’s territorial waters in the Gulf of Oman, east of the port of Fujairah.
It said it was investigating the incident “in cooperation with local and international bodies”, adding there were “no injuries or fatalities on board the vessels” and “no spillage of harmful chemicals or fuel”.
Gulf tensions
The incident comes as the United States has warned ships that “Iran or its proxies” could be targeting maritime traffic in the region, and as the US deploys an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the Gulf to counter alleged threats from Tehran.
The US navy’s Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet said it was aware of the report but referred queries to UAE authorities.
The government of Fujairah earlier in a tweet denied media reports about blasts inside the port and said the facility was operating normally.
Fujairah’s port is located about 140km from the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-third of all oil at sea is traded.
The facility handles oil for bunkering and shipping, as well as general and bulk cargo. It is seen as strategically located, serving shipping routes in the Gulf, the Indian subcontinent, and Africa.
Game of Thrones is ending. But there’s still plenty to talk about — and that’s what we’re going to highlight every Sunday until the final episode airs.
It’s all coming down to the wire now. With only two episodes left and all of the major players gathering in one place, what’s left to ponder. There’s going to be a big, bloody fight that someone will eventually “win,” and to that victor will go the Iron Throne.
Right?
We’ll see. Game of Thrones is known for its curveballs. And while this final season hasn’t exactly been satisfying for a lot of fans, there’s still a legacy that the show’s final chapters will presumably make an attempt to honor.
Now, let’s see where the conversation is at.
Anyone seen Arya Stark lately? Writing for Bustle, Leah Marilla Thomas unpacks the possibility that Dany could be a victim of Needle’s rage. In this abbreviated final Game of Thrones season, Thomas points out, there hasn’t been much time spent exploring motivations and plans.
We last saw Arya riding with The Hound as the two made their way toward King’s Landing. Neither of them intends to survive. For The Hound, we can probably take that to mean that the long-hoped-for Cleganebowl is finally going to happen. But what about Arya?
Image: helen sloan / hbo
The common belief is that Arya’s heading straight into a showdown with Cersei Lannister, the first name on her kill list. But, as Thomas writes, “we don’t know what in Westeros it is that Sansa and Arya have planned.” Is the younger Stark sister still following her own path or is she acting under orders? And if it’s the latter, what could those orders be?
Sansa and Dany haven’t had the best relationship, and the Targaryen queen continues to make questionable choices. Her leadership is shaky. Maybe we didn’t see Sansa and Arya’s reaction to Jon’s “I’m actually a Targaryen” bombshell because they hatched a plan then and there to keep their brother safe?
The common belief is that Arya’s heading straight into a showdown with Cersei Lannister.
More generally, lots of people seem to see a dark end ahead for Dany. PopSugar’s Karenna Meredith highlighted an April post on Reddit that uses the Mother of Dragons’ fashion choices to unravel what’s ahead for her.
That description may seem implausible on the face, but there’s a convincing argument to be made here. You should go read the whole thing, but the short version is: Dany’s attire in recent seasons has shifted more in the direction of Targaryen vibes. Her Season 8 wardrobe specifically has introduced more red.
“It’s a nod to her Targaryen heritage, but the more red we see, the more she’s inclined to embrace the fire-and-blood motto,” Reddit user kargiso wrote. “The red-on-white is especially foreboding. Notice all the Northerners wear subdued colors and grayish-brownish furs. Dany’s advisors all wear muted colors. So Dany’s white fur look is her way of announcing to those around her that she is of special status.”
What does all of this mean, though? Well, Dany is a Targaryen. The last Targaryen to sit on the Iron Throne was King Aerys, the so-called “Mad King” whose death earned Jaime Lannister his “kingslayer” title. So the harder lean toward Targaryen pride in Dany’s wardrobe could be a sign that she’s headed toward a similar end.
Finally, a few words from Mashable’s own Jess Joho on an important but largely unseen player in Season 8: Varys. The eunuch adviser to multiple Westerosi rulers has thrown in his lot with Dany, but we learned in Episode 4 that his plans may be shifting.
Image: helen sloan / hbo
As much as the show is clobbering us over the head with the possibility that a Varys betrayal is coming for Dany, there’s evidence to back it up. Specifically, an old and largely forgotten prophecy. It’s something from the books that was trimmed down and shown in altered form on the show, but Joho feels these lines spell out what’s coming between Varys and Dany:
Soon comes the pale mare, and after her the others. Kraken and dark flame, lion and griffin, the sun’s son and the mummer’s dragon. Trust none of them. Remember the Undying. Beware the perfumed seneschal.
The “seneschal” referenced in the prophecy is none other than Varys. In the books, these prophecies are delivered to Dany by a key character and many of them have turned out to be accurate.
Even if you’d rather not put stock in what the books have to say — the show has admittedly diverged from and condensed George R.R. Martin’s complex story — there’s TV evidence that Varys will act against Dany. And it’s not just from Season 8’s fourth episode.
Think back now to the second episode of Season 7. Dany questioned Varys’s loyalty, since he’d jumped from supporting the Mad King to Robert Baratheon to Viserys Targaryen before finally joining Dany’s court. She even says that Varys “conspires” to crown a new ruler when he doesn’t like the one he’s serving.
“Varys doesn’t deny it either,” Joho wrote. “But after establishing that his loyalty ultimately lies in serving the people and whichever monarch helps them most, Daenerys softens slightly. ‘Swear this to me Varys: If you ever think I’m failing the people, you won’t conspire behind my back. You’ll look me in the eye as you have done today and you’ll tell me how I’m failing them,’ she says.”
He did just that in Season 8’s fourth episode, advising against a direct attack on King’s Landing due to the potential for extreme collateral damage. Everything that happened at the end of the episode suggests that Dany is going to flat-out ignore Varys.
It may well cost him his life in the end, but there’s every reason to think Varys is ready to make a move against his queen.
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![Fujairah's port is located 140km from the Strait of Hormuz, the focus of increasing Iran-US tensions [Hamad Mohammed/Reuters]](https://i0.wp.com/www.aljazeera.com/mritems/imagecache/mbdxxlarge/mritems/Images/2019/5/12/630feedc4e9a47da801069489882f2ec_18.jpg "UAE says four ships subjected to 'sabotage' off east coast")
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