[This story contains full spoilers through seven seasons of HBO’s Game of Thrones.]
For years, Game of Thrones fans waited impatiently for the Westeros arrival of Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons. (Apologies for the word soup, but season three’s seventh episode, “The Bear and the Maiden Fair,” marks the first time Missandei announces her best friend and queen in such spectacular fashion.) It would take six full seasons before Dany finally landed on the shores of Dragonstone, ready for her conquest — but had she made a different choice in season three, everything could have changed.
During her scene in “Bear and the Maiden Fair,” Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) entertains an envoy from Yunkai, who implores her to abandon her developing conquest of Slaver’s Bay and turn her attention across the water to the Seven Kingdoms. The Yunkish master Razal mo Eraz makes a compelling offer: a ship literally filled with gold, as well as the promise of as many ships as she requires to make her trip across the Narrow Sea. All of these assets and more were on offer to Daenerys, if only she stopped her Essos conquest at Astapor.
Of course, we know things went very differently for the future Meereen queen. And while it would have been enormously satisfying for Dany to arrive in Westeros in the immediate aftermath of what would become the Red Wedding, would it have been the better move for the dragon mum?
That’s one of the topics in debate this week on “Winter Was Here,” the Game of Thrones rewatch podcast collaboration between The Hollywood Reporter and Post Show Recaps. Topics in our latest episode of the show include:
• Whether or not Dany should have accepted Yunkai’s peace offering.
• How Jon Snow (Kit Harington) calls his shot regarding the fate awaiting Ygritte (Rose Leslie).
• The legend of Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen), such as it is.
• A continued eye on season three’s increasingly brutal Red Wedding preparations.
• Everything wrong with the Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) storyline, summed up in one word: “Bruni.”
• And more!
Listen to the podcast in the player below.
Make sure you don’t miss an episode of “Winter Was Here” by subscribing to the show on iTunes or your podcast catcher of choice. Send in your comments and questions using the podcast’s email address got@postshowrecaps.com or our feedback form. Keep checking THR.com/GameofThrones for news, interviews, theories and more. “Winter Was Here,” and so is this handy guide collecting every episode of the podcast: • Season 1, Episode 1: “Winter Is Coming”
• Season 1, Episode 2: “The Kingsroad“
• Season 1, Episode 3: “Lord Snow”
• Season 1, Episode 4: “Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things”
• Season 1, Episode 5: “The Wolf and the Lion”
• Season 1, Episode 6: “A Golden Crown”
• Season 1, Episode 7: “You Win or You Die”
• Season 1, Episode 8: “The Pointy End”
• Season 1, Episode 9: “Baelor“
• Season 1, Episode 10: “Fire and Blood”
• Season 1 in Review: Feedback and Theories
• Season 2, Episode 1: “The North Remembers”
• Season 2, Episode 2: “The Night Lands”
• Season 2, Episode 3: “What Is Dead May Never Die”
• Season 2, Episode 4: “Garden of Bones”
• Season 2, Episode 5: “The Ghost of Harrenhal“
• Season 2, Episode 6: “The Old Gods and the New”
• Season 2, Episode 7: “A Man Without Honor”
• Season 2, Episode 8: “The Prince of Winterfell“
• Season 2, Episode 9: “Blackwater“
• Season 2, Episode 10: “Valar Morghulis“
• Season 3, Episode 1: “Valar Dohaeris“
• Season 3, Episode 2: “Dark Wings, Dark Words”
• Season 3, Episode 3: “Walk of Punishment”
• Season 3, Episode 4: “And Now His Watch Is Ended”
• Season 3, Episode 5: “Kissed by Fire”
• Season 3, Episode 6: “The Climb”
• Season 3, Episode 7: “The Bear and the Maiden Fair”