3 'Game of Thrones' burning questions after Episode 4: Why did Sansa spoil Jon's secret? Is Drogon the last dragon? Was Cersei's pregnancy prophesied?

The surviving Stark siblings discuss what's in store for their House after the Battle of Winterfell (Photo: Helen Sloan/HBO)
The surviving Stark siblings discuss what's in store for their House after the Battle of Winterfell. (Photo: Helen Sloan/HBO)

Well, that’s the last time any of the Starks share their most personal secrets with Sansa. The most consequential moment in “The Last of the Starks” — the fourth episode of Game of Thrones’s final season — didn’t involve a major death or an overdue kiss. Instead, it was the eldest Stark daughter’s seemingly snap decision to spill the tea about Jon Snow’s true parentage despite swearing to keep it in the family vault for the rest of her natural life. Her choice to let Tyrion in on the family secret has already set wheels in motion that could derail the so-called “Last Battle” to reclaim the Iron Throne from Cersei. Let’s unpack Sansa’s spoiler habits along with other burning questions from the episode.

Why did Sansa spoil Jon’s secret?

Back when she was the naive “little bird” that Sandor Clegane remembers flitting around King’s Landing, it’s easy to imagine Sansa accidentally letting major secrets slip — especially if it pleased her betrothed, Joffrey. But the passage of time and the cruelty of men has transformed her into a skilled schemer in the mold of Cersei. Jon was too wrapped up in his own drama to notice, but her vow to keep his parents’ true identities strictly confidential struck as blatantly insincere. Sure enough, she passes the intel along to Tyrion the next time she sees him, all the while knowing full well that it’s going to reach more peoples’ ears from there.

On the one hand, there’s an obvious reason for her betrayal of Jon’s trust. Sansa never had much love for Daenerys, and her affection further decreased when the would-be Queen makes it clear that she intends to rule all of the Seven Kingdoms when she re-takes the Iron Throne. “What if there’s someone else,” she pointedly tells Tyrion, hoping to have a behind-the-throne ally in making the final choice of ruler. And Tyrion kicks that secret up the chain to Varys, for whom palace intrigue is a way of life. Sure enough, the knowledge that Jon has a legitimate claim to the throne already has Varys ready to pave the way for the return of a king, rather than a queen.

At the same time, Sansa is rolling the dice on a notoriously throne-shy Jon being willing to accept the crown should it be offered to him. Not only that, but she’s also assuming he’ll let her run the North on her own terms after she’s orchestrated his beloved Aunt Dany’s downfall. It’s a risky strategy, but hey... at least Sansa has a strategy.

Why did Missandei pick “Dracarys” as her last word?

It's the end of the road for Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) on 'Game of Thrones' (Photo: HBO)
It's the end of the road for Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) on Game of Thrones. (Photo: HBO)

To the vocal displeasure of many online, Missandei’s life ended as it began: in chains. But the former slave made sure to leave this world on a defiant note. Her final word, “Dracarys” — High Valyrian for “dragonfire” — wasn’t just an instruction for her two favorite people, Daenerys and Grey Worm, to “Burn this bish,” as Nathalie Emmanuel memorably put it on Twitter. It also functioned as her declaration of independence. After all, it was Daenerys’s “Dracarys” that killed Missandei’s enslaver, Kraznys mo Nakloz, and freed the slaves of Astapor back in Season 3. Since then, she’s never had to bend the knee to any other master, and it’s no accident that she chooses to die standing.

The task of “burning this bish” will presumably fall to Drogon, the last of Daenerys’s dragon children. But is he the last dragon in the larger world? Some have noted that when Dany received the three dragon eggs that birthed Drogon and his fallen brothers, Rhaegal and Viserion, in Season 1, she was told by Illyrio Mopatis that these gifts came from the mythical Shadow Lands beyond Asshai. Where there are three eggs, it stands to reason that the could be more. Another theory suggests that Drogon — whose sex has never been confirmedcould have stashed some eggs in Valyria in Season 5 when he was spending a lot of time away from his mom’s home. If that’s the case, he’s a better secret-keeper than Sansa.

Was Cersei’s latest pregnancy prophesied?

Euron Greyjoy believe's he's the father of Cersei Lannister's baby-to-be in 'Game of Thrones' (Photo: Helen Sloan/HBO)
Euron Greyjoy believe's he's the father of Cersei Lannister's baby-to-be in Game of Thrones. (Photo: Helen Sloan/HBO)

As a child, Cersei learned that she would bear and bury three children — Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen — courtesy of witch woman Maggy the Frog’s ominous prophecy. But Maggy omitted two babies from her future history: the child she lost early on in her marriage to Robert Baratheon (who was the actual father in that case) and the child she’s carrying, or claims to be carrying, now. While there’s still some debate whether or not Cersei is actually pregnant, one thing that everyone agrees on is that Euron Greyjoy is most definitely not the father. If there is a baby, it belongs to Jaime. And, furthermore, if this child escapes the fate of its dead siblings, it deserves the status of “miracle baby.”

One other piece of Maggy’s prophecy that’s very much on fans’ minds is her prediction of Cersei’s death: “And when your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you,” Maggy croaked at the time. In High Valyrian, “valonqar” translates as “little brother,” which Cersei chose to read as a reference to Tyrion. But the more likely candidate is her younger twin brother, who just so happens to be making his way to King’s Landing and leaving a weeping Brienne in his wake. This sets up a case of dueling prophecies as Arya is also heading south believing that she’ll be the one to slay Cersei since Melisandre suggested as much during the Battle of Winterfell. So whose word do you trust the most: the frog or the priestess?

Game of Thrones airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO.

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