What Was All That Green Fire in King's Landing?

Philip Ellis
Photo credit: HBO
Photo credit: HBO

From Men's Health

Warning: The following post contains spoilers for Game of Thronesseason 8 episode 5. If you don't want to know what happens, stop reading!

• Sunday's Game of Thrones episode saw a massive fire-y battle at King's Landing.
• As Dany and Drogon sprayed fire throughout the city, fans also noticed eruptions of green fire.
• Here's why you saw green fire in King's Landing during the second-to-last Game of Thrones episode.

There was a lot to take in during this week's battle scenes in Game of Thrones. From the moment we heard the titular bells of the episode, viewers were subjected to an onslaught of dragon fire from above and sword-to-sword violence on the ground. So it's understandable that some fans were a little confused to see explosions of green flame amid all the dragon fire.

It is, of course, wildfire, Westeros' answer to chemical warfare. The last time we saw it was when Cersei used it to blow up the Sept of Baelor in an act of revenge, killing the High Sparrow and almost the entire Tyrell family. It first appeared during the season two episode "Blackwater," where it was deployed against Stannis Baratheon and his fleet.

But why did it reappear in "The Bells"? Well, conversations between Cersei and her advisor, Qyburn, have alluded to the fact that after the explosion at the Sept, there were still caches of wildfire which remained undetonated beneath the city. This led some fans to speculate that Cersei would use it to destroy King's Landing herself rather than cede it to Daenerys, a nihilistic act that would have been fairly in character. However, it looks like the wildfire in this week's episode was simply ignited by the flames raining down on the city from Drogon.

It's fitting that we should see the green fire one more time before the series comes to a close, especially in the episode where Daenerys completes her (somewhat rushed) descent into madness. Wildfire is, after all, what Dany's father Aerys intended to use to kill his own subjects during Robert's Rebellion, earning him the title "Mad King" and forcing kingsguard Jaime to stab him in the back.

There were plenty of gruesome visuals in "The Bells," but the shots of the city burning were among the most striking, with the green fire paling in comparison to dragon fire. The message is clear; no matter how dangerous Aerys and Cersei were, Daenerys is officially the most fearsome ruler Westeros has ever seen.

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