Game Of Thrones Season 8 Breakdown: What 'The Last Of The Starks' REALLY Means

After the dust and snow settled on the Battle Of Winterfell, the business of the Last War was never going to wait too long. And for all the suggestions that episode four of the final season - retrospectively named The Last Of The Starks - was going to be a cooler episode to cleanse the palate after the heart-bursting action of The Last Night, this episode felt like an escalation.

Focusing more on Dany's mental state and buoyed by Emilia Clarke's best work as the Breaker of Chains, it was one of the finest non-battle episodes of all and definitely one of the best post-books episodes. There were shocks, emotional gut punches and great character work, and as ever, a lot to unpick in the aftermath.

So what did we learn?

13. Lord Gendry (Gets Rejected)

Not everyone in Game Of Thrones can get a happy ending and if you want a reminder that any time something good happens it comes with a caveat or a massive cost, look no further than what happened with Gendry this episode.

On the one hand, Dany proclaimed him a true Lord and giving him Storm's End (as well as his real surname), which is a smart move for her, given that it means she has a strong ally in place immediately. But then almost immediately, we see the cost as he proposes to Arya and she turns him down.

The idea of her sitting on his flank as his Lady never made sense, even before Arya was a killing machine, so it was inevitable, but that doesn't make it any less painful for fans of their relationship. It probably also marks the end of Gendry's part in this story too, even with some theories that he was going to play a significant part in the endgame.