The White Walker Summit in King's Landing Begins

The finale kicks off with nearly every major character gathering in King's Landing's dragon pit for a state of the union address about the Night King's army. There are lots of delicious character moments before things get underway, including The Hound and Brienne bonding over Arya being alive, Podrick and Bronn exiting stage right to get a drink while the various leaders chat, and Cersei snarking about Daenerys being late for the meeting.

It's a terrific way to bring all of the characters together and examine the various bonds that exist among them, for better or worse. From Euron taunting Theon about holding Yara captive to Jaime doing his best not to meet Brienne's gaze, the tension is palpable while everyone waits for the Mother of Dragons to arrive.

The Hound Makes The Mountain a Promise

Perhaps the most significant reunion that occurs at the parlay is the one between The Hound and The Mountain. When he sees his zombie brother enter the pit, The Hound walks straight up to him and reminds him that they still have a score to settle. It's hard to know exactly how much The Mountain understands in his current state, but it's clear the show is setting up a showdown between the brothers thanks to The Hound's words.

He tells his big brother, "You're even uglier than I am now. What did they do to you? Doesn't matter, it's not how it ends for you, brother. You know who's coming for you. You've always known." Cleganebowl 2019? [4] We can only hope.

Daenerys Makes a Grand Entrance

Daenerys shows off her might by arriving on Drogon's back. This marks the first time Cersei sees a dragon, and you can basically see the gears working in her head as she thinks up a plan on how to take down the magnificent creatures — or maybe get one for herself. With the Khaleesi finally there, the parlay gets underway properly.

Cersei is quick to tell Daenerys how long they've all been waiting, and the Mother of Dragons apologises before moving on to the reason her allies are there: to broker a truce with the Lannister queen. The way Daenerys sees it, the only chance they have of surviving the army of the dead is if they focus on the North without having to worry about Cersei attacking them as well. Jon backs his queen up, but Cersei is understandably sceptical. Having never seen a White Walker for herself, she's certain this is a tactical move that will allow Daenerys to grow her army even more while Cersei pulls her men back.

Tyrion knows the only way to convince Cersei that the danger is real is to show her.

Jon Snow's White Walker Demonstration

The Hound brings the box containing the White Walker that he and the rest of Jon's band of soldiers captured in the previous episode into the pit. At first, it seems like the ice zombie has performance anxiety, but after The Hound kicks the box over, Cersei and Jaime get to see a White Walker in the decaying flesh — and it seems none too happy about its travel accommodations. Everyone on Team Cersei is appropriately freaked out, with Jaime asking how many of the creatures are out there (Jon estimates 10,000, at least) and Euron inquiring about their swimming abilities before declaring he's taking his Iron Fleet and heading back to the Iron Islands to let everyone else fight this battle. Meanwhile, Jon demonstrates how to kill a White Walker with fire and dragonglass.

Now that she's seen the threat with her own eyes, Cersei agrees to Daenerys's request for a truce — on one condition. She wants Jon's word that he will he stay in the North and not involve himself in the battle between the queens. However, Jon's honour gets the better of him, and he tells Cersei he cannot serve two queens. Without his word, Cersei takes back her offer and leaves the pit with her allies in tow.

Brienne Reasons With Jaime

Before he can exit with an angry Cersei, Brienne pulls Jaime aside and tries to reason with him. He seems resigned to the fact that his queen's not going to play nice with Daenerys and the Starks, but then Brienne shocks him. She's in agreement with Jon that the only thing that matters is the Great War between the living and the dead, and she's willing to bend her principles if it means defending the realm. When Jaime tells her that standing by Cersei is a matter of honour for him, Brienne says, "F*ck honour." Jaime is astonished, but her plea for him to talk to his sister appears to sink in.

Cersei and Tyrion's Talk

Meanwhile, Tyrion takes one for the team and enters the lion's den to attempt to reason with his sister. The two siblings long-simmering resentment overflows as Cersei accuses Tyrion of wanting to destroy the Lannisters. He tests his luck by threatening Cersei to have The Mountain kill him on the spot and end their feud for good. She looks tempted, but instead she decides to hear Tyrion out as he tries to convince her that things are dire for the realm. Of course, Cersei doesn't care about the realm, she only cares about her family. It's at this point that Tyrion realises his sister is pregnant.

The scene ends abruptly and cuts to Tyrion revealing to Daenerys and the others that he struck a deal with his sister. She supposedly even vowed to send part of her army North. However, the terms of their deal aren't revealed to the viewers, leaving what exactly Tyrion may have promised his sister a mystery [5] to be solved in season eight.

Jon and Daenerys Have a Heart to Heart

Back in the dragon pit, everyone chastises Jon for his inability to lie, including his queen. But the King in the North makes a good argument for why it's time for people to start telling the truth. The Night King is a threat that requires strong alliances that aren't built on lies. Also, he simply can't pledge himself to anyone other than Daenerys. She's still a bit miffed, because as she reminds Jon, she lost one of her dragons in order to secure a truce with Cersei, and her dragons are the only children she'll ever have.

Interestingly, Jon isn't convinced the witch that told Daenerys she'd never have children is right. His comments seem to suggest that season eight could bring see the Mother of Dragons with a baby on the way. At the very least, his words appear to make Daenerys think about how quickly she accepted the prophecy as truth.

Theon Rallies the Greyjoy Men

After returning to Dragonstone to plot their return North, Theon and Jon have a long overdue conversation. Theon apologises to his surrogate brother for all the damage he did to the Stark family, and shares that he wants to be more like Jon. Jon can't forgive Theon for everything that he did, but he does tell Theon the one thing he's needed to hear since season one: he doesn't have to choose between being a Greyjoy and a Stark, because he'll always be both. This spurs Theon to admit that he needs to find Yara since she's the only one that came for him when he was being held by Ramsay Bolton.

With Jon's encouragement, he goes to rally the remaining Greyjoy men to sail with him in hopes of saving Yara from Euron. They're reluctant to follow Theon, and a fight ensues. It looks like Theon's going to lose until one of the men tries to knee him in the groin. Due to his status as a eunuch, he doesn't feel a thing, and his refusal to give up sways the Iron Islanders to join his cause.

Arya and Sansa Double Cross Littlefinger

The Stark sisters are back at Winterfell seemingly still contemplating killing each other. At least that's what Littlefinger is betting on when Sansa calls Arya into the Great Hall and appears to be poised to sentence her to death. Then. the sisters show their hand when Sansa tells Littlefinger he's the one who stands accused of betraying their father, attempting to murder their brother, and bringing all manner of destruction down on House Stark. A shocked Littlefinger pleads for his life, but Sansa sentences him to death, and Arya carries out the execution by slicing his throat.

Later, Arya and Sansa bond over their teamwork as they await Jon's return to Winterfell with the Dragon Queen.

Bran Discovers the Truth About Jon's Parents

Bran's still in full Three-Eyed Raven mode when Samwell Tarly pays him a visit in his room at Winterfell. Despite his all-knowing state, the Stark boy seems pleased to be reunited with Sam. He quickly shares the news that he's seen that Jon is actually the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen and was born in Dorne. He marvels that means his brother is a Sand not a Snow. But Bran's missing a piece of the puzzle that Sam holds.

At long last, Sam realises the significance of the passage Gilly read to him earlier in the season about a marriage between Lyanna and Rhaegar. Bran wargs back in time to confirm that the star-crossed lovers truly were married, making Jon the legitimate heir to the Iron Throne. That's not all, though. Bran also returns to the moment of Jon's birth and learns that his brother's given name is Aegon Targaryen.

Now, Bran and Sam just have to figure out how to tell Jon about his true parentage, and the fact that he, not Daenerys, is supposed to sit on the Iron Throne.

Daenerys and Jon Get Intimate

Just as Bran and Sam figure out that Jon's a Targaryen, Jon and Daenerys are getting cosy on the ship sailing them toward Winterfell. Tyrion observes Jon entering their queen's room with a worried look on his face. And behind closed doors, Jon and Daenerys make love, completely oblivious to the fact that they're aunt and nephew.

Jaime Leaves Cersei

Back in King's Landing, Jaime learns that his sister's change of heart was too good to be true. She has no intentions of sending any of her men North or upholding a truce. Oh, and Euron's song and dance about returning to the Iron Islands was all a lie, too. He's actually off fetching the Golden Company in order to expand Cersei's army. Jaime is suitably appalled. He made a vow to fight for the living, and he believes the only way to truly protect his family is to go North and stay true to his word.

When faced with the possibility of Jaime walking away from her, Cersei threatens to kill him. But Jaime calls her bluff and walks out. He's last seen presumably heading North as a snowflake lands on his gloved hand.

The Wall Comes Down

Finally, the finale heads to the Wall where Tormund and Beric Dondarrion stand atop the iconic structure as the White Walkers approach. Soon they see the Night King riding an undead Viserion, who proceeds to torch the Wall, causing it to crack and crumble. The two men run for their lives, as whatever magic that kept the Night King and his army from crossing into the Seven Kingdoms is shattered.

The season ends with the Night King, his dragon, and the army of the dead marching on Westeros.