6 questions fans have after watching Game of Thrones episode five

Winter is here! The eagerly-anticipated eighth season of Game of Thrones is now in full swing as the fifth episode aired yesterday, showing Cersei and Daenerys' armies coming face to face after fighting over the throne - which actually technically belongs to Jon Snow, AKA Aegon Targaryen.

It was a wholly shocking episode, with a lot of twists and turns - and a lot of fire. To help you get your head around it, here are questions from the show that viewers have after watching each episode of Game of Thrones season eight.

Questions we have about Game of Thrones: Season 8, episode 5

Episode five saw Cersei and Daenerys come to blows in a final showdown. The pair are both vying for the throne - when, really, it should be Jon Snow's bum sat on it - but when Dany and her dragon Drogon burned King's Landing's defenses to a crisp, the army made the decision to ring the bells of surrender.

Sadly, Dany didn't take any notice of them, and went full Mad Queen on King's Landing, burning innocent civilians and armies alike. Fans everywhere were left absolutely gobsmacked by the events of 'The Bells'.

Why did Daenerys Targaryen burn King's Landing after they surrendered?

Great question. Reall great question. Although the whole show has basically been gearing up to Daenerys following in the footsteps of her father, the Mad King Aerys Targaryen II, and losing her mind, it still was a huge and complete shock to fans of the show. Yes, Dany has had it in her the whole time to lose a few marbles, but she's also gone through the whole show breaking chains, freeing slaves and generally being loving towards her people.

So when the Lannisters put down their swords and rang the bells of surrender, Jon Snow and his army did what Tyrion had pleaded with them to do and stopped fighting. But there was a close-up shot of Dany in that moment shooting a furious glare at the spot where Cersei was standing, and it seemed that she snapped and decided to follow the instructions of her closest friend and most trusted advisor Missandei, who screamed 'Dracarys' at Dany in last week's episode before Cersei had The Mountain chop her head off.

Of course, that's the command used to order Drogon the dragon to rain fire. And it seems that Dany took it literally, and burned the whole city to the ground.

There were also some links back to her father when Dany was flaming the place up, as there were bursts of the green flame Wildfire, which is thought to have been planted there years ago by Aerys who wanted to burn the entire city to the ground using the stuff – the order that led Jaime Lannister to execute him all those years ago, and gain his nickname The Kingslayer.

How did Arya Stark survive?

The first thing to remember is that Arya is thought to be The Lord of Light's 'chosen one', so we're pretty certain she can survive anything at this point – and she basically did. A building fell on her, she was burnt by dragon flame and she was trampled on, yet she survived the whole episode.

OR DID SHE?

What was the white horse about at the end?

If Arya did in fact survive, the white horse could have been sent by The Lord of Light to get her out of that terrible situation. In the moment that Arya approached the horse, there was a lot of sun shining down on her from the sky, which could also be a symbol that The Lord of Light was protecting her and guiding her home.

It also strongly resembled the toy horse belonging to the young girl who she'd tried to save, but who sadly chose to stay with her mum and the pair of them got burned to ash by Daenerys and Drogon.

More realistically, it could have been the horse of Ser Harry Strickland or any of the Dothraki, who were riding white horses, but that's not as romantic is it?

HOWEVER. There's a theory doing the rounds that Arya is actually dead, having been burned to a crisp by Drogon in the last moments. This would also make sense as the moment with the horse was pretty ethereal, and in the bible story the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Death rides a pale horse. Who knows?!

Did the actor who played Sir Gregor Clegane AKA The Mountain change?

A lot of people were left wondering whether the actor playing The Mountain had changed after his helmet got knocked off in the showdown with his brother, Gregor Clegane AKA The Hound. He looked pretty different to when he was first made into a zombie by Qyburn all those seasons ago – but that's probably to be expected when he's been rotting away. Ew.

But according to IMDb, it was indeed the same man who has played the character since season 4 in 2014, Icelandic strongman Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson. Prior to season four, he was played by Conan Stevens in season one and Ian Whyte in season two.

Although he'd really died in season four after duelling Oberyn Martell (who was out for vengeance after The Mountain had killed his niece and nephew, then raped and murdered his sister), it was a bittersweet moment when The Mountain was finally finished off once and for all by none other than his brother Sandor, who'd been hell bent on getting his own back after Gregor burned him as a child. Fittingly, Sandor threw himself and his brother into the fire.

What did Lord Varys' letter say at the start?

Varys' fate was pretty much sealed in episode four when he revealed his intentions to keep Daenerys off the throne to Tyrion Lannister. At the beginning of episode five, Varys spent his final moments doing what he does best – spreading news. Known as The Spider and Master of Whispers, Varys got the word out that Jon Snow was in fact Aegon Targaryen in letters to an unknown recipient.

The only section we could see read, '…not the only Targaryen left. Rhaegar and Lyanna... their son lives still, hidden by Eddard Stark... he is the true heir to the Iron Throne...'

Although we don't know who Varys was communicating with, many are convinced that it's the new Prince of Dorne, who are traditionally aligned with the Targaryens. He could also have been communicating with the Tullys and Arryns to support Jon's claim to the throne, despite the fact that Jon himself told Varys that he didn't want it.

Varys could be seen reading a response from someone in a letter, burning it in a small box before he was taken out to face Daenerys, who ordered Drogon to burn him alive.

Is Cersei Lannister really dead?

It's seriously looking that way. After all the atrocities that she's committed over the past eight seasons, it was surprising to actually then feel a slither of sympathy for her – but we suppose that the writers were hoping to evoke those emotions in her last moments. After The Mountain refused to stay by Cersei's side and she was left to escape the crumbling Red Keep on her own.

Thankfully, her twin brother/lover/father of her unborn child Jaime Lannister made it back to her just in time – despite the best efforts of Euron Greyjoy. Despite the gross nature of their relationship, it was a slightly touching moment to see the pair reunited in their final moments… As much as it grosses us out to say that.

Some viewers were left scratching their heads over the prophecy of how Cersei would die. When the witch told her as a child of the Valonqar prophecy – that she would be killed at the hands of her younger brother. Since Jaime was born a few minutes after Cersei and Tyrion is younger than both of them, it could have been either of them.

The prophecy was, "When your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you." Technically, it was fulfilled, as Cersei was understandably crying her eyes out in her final moments. Jaime had desperately been trying to find a way out for the pair of them, but the exits were all blocked up by rubble, and the pair died in an embrace with Jaime protecting Cersei by wrapping his hands around her head.

Questions we have about Game of Thrones: Season 8, episode 4

Episode four saw the aftermath of the Battle of Winterfell, and began appropriately with a funeral, which saw us say a final goodbye to characters Theon Greyjoy, Ser Jorah Mormont, Lady Lyanna Mormont and Ser Beric Dondarrion. Annoyingly, there wasn't really very much congratulating going on towards Arya, who literally saved the entire human race when she stabbed the Night King with Dragonglass. Arya deserved better.

However, in the feast following the funeral, there was a nice moment where Sansa was reunited with The Hound, who had always looked out for her (and possibly had feelings for her?). When he reminded her that she should have left King's Landing with him to avoid all the terrible things she's been through, she remarked that without it, she'd still be a "little bird" – his nickname for her. She then revealed she'd killed Ramsey with hounds, which he enjoyed.

The episode also saw Dany strategically recognise Gendry as Robert Baratheon's legitimate son, and therefore make him a Lord. With this newfound confidence and self-acceptance, Gendry immediately went to Arya and proposed marriage to her – but she reminded him that that's not who she is, and hearts broke literally everywhere. C'mon, you didn't think they were gonna give us a happy ever after with those two?!

What was the whole Starbucks coffee cup thing about?

Oh dear, HBO. 🙈 One of the cast or crew accidentally left a Starbucks coffee cup on the set of Game of Thrones during the feast, and it was immediately spotted and pounced upon by fans of the show. Many questioned how such a high-budget show could miss such a small error, but most viewers saw the funny side.

HBO then responded to all the hype with their own hilarious tweet, which read, 'News from Winterfell. The latte that appeared in the episode was a mistake. #Daenerys had ordered an herbal tea.'

What will happen with Brienne of Tarth and Jaime Lannister?

Ahh, Brienne and Jaime. A love story so complicated that it's taken eight seasons for anything to actually happen between them. Although Brienne has harboured a crush on Jaime since she was in charge of keeping him prisoner on the command of Catelyn Stark, she softened towards him when he saved her from being raped by a gang of unsavoury men.

Since then, there's been a lot of will-they-won't-they, especially considering that Jaime has been pretty loved-up with his twin sister Cersei (yuck) up until the last couple of seasons. So in episode four when the subject of sex came up between the pair of them, the sexual tension got too much and they finally got it on!

Unfortunately, Jaime had barely got his pants back on before he was taking off on his horse back to King's Landing to confront his sister/lover. Brienne caught him before he went, heartbreakingly begging him to stay with her at Winterfell, but Jaime revealed what he really thought of himself.

"You think I'm a good man. I pushed a boy out a window and crippled him for life, for Cersei. I strangled my cousin with my own hands just to get back to Cersei. I would have murdered every man woman and child in Riverrun for Cersei. She's hateful and so am I."

JAIME YOU FOOL.

Is Lord Varys going to plot against Queen Daenerys Targaryen?

It's looking rather likely, isn't it? After Jon (some would say foolishly) told his sisters/cousins Arya and Sansa his true identity, Sansa waited all of about six minutes before telling her former husband Tyrion the goss. He then immediately went to Varys, who raised his non-existent eyebrows and uttered the hilarious line, "It's not a secret anymore. It's information."

Although Tyrion appeared to stay staunchly loyal to Dany (although, let's face it, he's still a Lannister), Varys seemed to make his intentions pretty clear – that he'd now be trying to encourage Jon to take the throne. Whilst Tyrion's lovely thought that the pair could marry and rule together, they came to the inevitable conclusion that it would never work as Dany would never let that happen.

After reminding Tyrion of how important it is to be a man in the world, you could see the cogs turning as he decided to back a horse other than Daenerys, also citing the fact that her behaviour has become more and more concerning with more than a few reminders of her father, the Mad King Aerys. And following the tragic death of Missandei (RIP), it won't be too surprising if that's the catalyst that turns Dany more towards the dark side.

Why did Missandei say 'Dracarys' before she was killed?

Missandei's death has affected pretty much every viewer of the show. It was SO UNFAIR. Don't give us a shot of her and Grey Worm holding hands and smiling and then rip her head from her body... 😭

Tyrion seemed to forget that appealing to his sister's kinder nature literally never works, and tried it again – with Cersei proving her heartlessness once again by ordering The Mountain to execute her. But just before he did, Cersei held Missandei's arm and said, "If you have any last words, now's the time." Missandei then looked straight ahead and yelled "Dracarys!" before she met her end.

As GOT fans are well aware, "Dracarys" is the word Dany uses to instruct her dragons to blast fire, which apparently translates from High Valerian to "make dragon go now". Whilst it's unclear whether she was trying to save herself by instructing Dany's last remaining dragon Drogon to save her, it seems more likely that she was actually instructing Dany to ignore what her counsellors have been advising – to play nice – and burn them all to hell. The last shot of the show was Daenerys looking pretty darn livid.

How many dragons does Daenerys have left?

After Viserion was made into a white walker dragon and thus killed by Arya The Hero in episode three, Dany was left with two dragons – which is still quite a lot to contend with. But in episode four, she lost another of her children when Rhaegal was shot out of the sky by the abominable Euron Greyjoy in a pretty shock move. That leaves Drogon – Dany's favourite and the one named after her former husband, Khal Drogo.

Will we see Tormund Giantsbane again?

Tormund and Jon's bromance has been one of the loveliest things about the latter seasons of the show, so to see them part ways – possibly forever – was too emotional for some. Although Jon offered Winterfell as a home for the Wildlings, Tormund admitted they needed to get back to who they really are, and told Jon they would be heading back to the "real North".

In the same scene, Jon also said goodbye to his other best pal, Samwell Tarly, and his partner Gilly – who was pregnant! – and Ghost, his loyal Direwolf, who he gave to Tormund to live in the North as he thought Ghost would prefer it there.

As Jon then departed Winterfell to head for King's Landing, there was a shot of all four characters staring at him as he went in what felt like a very poignant moment. Could this mean we won't see those four again? Or that Jon won't see them again? Anything could happen at this point, tbh.

Questions we have about Game of Thrones: Season 8, episode 3

Is the Night King really dead?

Come on, do you really expect anyone to know that before the end of the series? It seriously looked as though Arya 'THE BOSS' Stark finished him off with the Catspaw dagger conveniently given to her by her brother Bran – who was almost killed with it back in season one, let's not forget – especially after he shattered into a thousand pieces along with his other White Walkers and the dragon he turned zombie.

All the wights fell too and the remaining characters looked to all be saved – for the moment, at least. However, this is Game of Thrones after all, so is that really the end of him?

Who actually died in the Battle of Winterfell?

Ahh, we were never going to get to the end of GOT without a few tragic deaths, were we? And there are probably more still to come, let's face it. However, the characters confirmed to have died in episode three are as follows.

The Night King (we think). He was stabbed in the heart, just as Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane taught her, with Catspaw – the dagger made of Valyrian steel previously owned by Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish.

Theon Greyjoy. Theon died protecting Bran Stark AKA the Three-Eyed Raven whilst he warging somewhere currently unknown. As the Night King approached, Bran returned to his body and Theon was the last remaining soldier there to protect Bran. His redemption arc has been incredible, and fans were incredibly sad to see him get slaughtered by the Night King.

Ser Jorah Mormont. He died doing what he always promised to do – protect Daenerys. Although some viewers were hoping for a romantic storyline for the pair of them, it was not to be, and he died in Daenerys' arms after protecting her from wights.

Eddison Tollett/Dolorous Edd. Jon and Sam's pal from their Castle Black days fought bravely, but after saving Sam from some creatures, he was killed himself.

Lady Lyanna Mormont. One of the most heartbreaking deaths, the fierce little girl was squished by a wight troll – but not before she stuck some dragonglass in his eye and finished him off.

Lord Beric Dondarrion. He was brought back from the dead six times by the Lord of Light for some previously unknown purpose – and now we know it was to protect Arya Stark so that she could finish off the Night King.

Melisandre. The Red Woman was so loyal to the Lord of Light, and although she may have done some pretty horrific things throughout her journey (RIP Shireen Baratheon), she was a vital part of the episode in many small ways. At the end, she took her magic necklace off and walked into the snow to die.

Why did Melisandre the Red Woman die at the end of the episode?

The witch Melisandre was actually an incredibly important part of the Battle of Winterfell, as it was she who helped Arya to realise that she could kill the Night King. Way back when Arya and Melisandre first met, the witch prophesised that Arya would kill many people – including those with blue eyes.

During the episode, she reminded Arya of that, inspiring her to go after the Night King. She also told Ser Davos that there was no need to kill her, since she'd be dead before the morning. As a loyal servant of the Lord of Light, Melisandre knew her destiny was to find the Prince/Princess That Was Promised (who would kill the Night King), and with her destiny fulfilled, she returned to her real self of a very old woman, and died.

What was Bran doing? Why was he warging for so long?

This was a seemingly small part of the episode, but we have a feeling it will become a very important part of the storyline later down the line. Did Bran go back in time and speak to the Night King, as so many theories have claimed? It was odd that we saw Bran warg into the birds and then nothing else, what WAS he doing? Of course, we'll have to wait to find out!

Questions we have about Game of Thrones: Season 8, episode 1

All Game of Thrones fans will agree the two-year wait did not disappoint as ‘Winterfell’ premiered in the UK on Monday 15th April. In a nutshell, the season opened with Daenerys riding into Winterfell with Jon Snow and her army (as though she owns the place), followed by a number of character reunions we were desperately hoping to see.

The Stark kids finally got back together again (awwwwww!), Jon Snow was reunited with Arya, Sansa met ex-husband Tyrion, Arya bumped into the Hound and the episode ended on a cliffhanger when Jaime Lannister's face filled with horror as he encountered Bran Stark for the first time since pushing him out of Winterfell’s tower window alllll the way back in season one.

The North are also dealing with the fact that ‘King Jon Snow’ bent the knee. In an epic scene, Jon Snow learned to ride one of Daenerys' dragons and eventually, thanks to Samwell Tarly, discovered his true parentage. Oh... and Samwell Tarly learns that Daenerys killed his father and brother in season seven. Cersei was delighted to find that the undead have breached the wall and are marching south.

Yara Greyjoy is still alive, brother Theon comes to rescue her and later goes to fight with the Starks. There also wasn't a great deal of action in the first episode - there were no epic battles or killing off of main characters, but fans of the series have been told to expect an explosive final five episodes to come. Here are seven questions fans had after watching episode one.

How exactly is Jon Snow related to Daenerys Targaryen?

Season seven revealed that ‘King of the North’ Jon Snow is the real son of Rhaegar Targaryen (the son of the Mad King Aerys and Daenerys' older brother) and Lyanna Stark - Ned's sister. That makes Jon Snow’s new love Daenerys Targaryen his aunt and confirms that he is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. Sansa, Arya, and Bran are actually Jon Snow’s cousins (not half-siblings as we were led to believe).

Why did Winterfell look different?

The Winterfell set recently went through an impressive £1.5m makeover between seasons. Previous episodes had been filmed the National Trust’s site Castleward in Northern Ireland, but for the final season HBO decided to build a brand new bespoke set next to the series’ studios in Titanic Quarter Belfast.

What does that White Walker spiral mean?

Towards the end of the first episode we see the most haunting swirl yet: a collection of limbs and poor little Lord Ned Umber at the center. This is perhaps a message from the Night King. Although we still don't know what it actually means, there are theories that he's actually somehow Rhaegar Targaryen and that the swirl is actually the Targaryen arms. However, other theories claim that it's simply the swirl used by the Children of the Forest when they created the Night King all those years ago.

Hang on, where did Jon Snow all of a sudden learn to ride a dragon?

Good point. Jon has had two years to practise. After all, he is really a Targaryen, so maybe it comes naturally to him.

Was there an Ed Sheeran reference, is Ed ok?

Fans noticed a very subtle reference to Ed in the first episode during a conversation between three women who had been called upon by Bronn for some... er, romance.

“That boy Eddie.”

“The ginger?”

"That’s him. Came back with his face burned right off. He’s got no eyelids now.”

“How do you sleep with no eyelids?”

Sadly, it looks as though Ed Sheeran who played Eddie - a Lannister soldier - died during season seven’s fiery battle between Daenerys and Jaime’s men.

What’s going on with Cersei’s pregnancy? Is Cersei really pregnant?

Good question. The season eight premiere sends some mixed messages. After Euron Greyjoy promised he’d "put a prince" in Cersei, she looked deep in thought and teary-eyed before taking a swig of wine. Was Cersei lying to Jaime and Tyrion about the baby just to get the Stark army on her side? Has she actually suffered a miscarriage, since the witch way back in her childhood predicted she would only have three children - all of whom would die?

Will Jon and Daenerys ACTUALLY fight over the Iron throne?

There was a lot for poor Jon to take in after learning that his new love is in fact his aunt and he is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. Although they were able to put their issues aside for the Battle of Winterfell in episode three, they still have that awkward truth to face.

How many episodes are in season eight?

With just six episodes in season eight, fans can expect a lot of action jam-packed into each thrilling instalment from our favourite remaining characters (RIP to everyone who we’ve lost). However, they're not all roughly an hour like they were before - some of them are feature-length!

Episode one: 54 minutes

Episode two: 58 minutes

Episode three: 82 minutes

Episode four: 78 minutes

Episode five: 80 minutes

Episode six: 80 minutes

After the final season, Game of Thrones will have a whopping 73 episodes for us all to binge over and over again.

How can you watch Game of Thrones in the UK?

You'll be able to watch Game of Thrones on Sky Atlantic, and it is also available on NOW TV.

When does Game of Thrones season 8 air?

The final series airs on Sky Atlantic at 2am on Monday mornings (the same time as it airs in the States) and again at 9pm.

What will we do when Game of Thrones ends?

Although fans around the world will be sad that Game of Thrones is coming to an end, it has now been revealed that there will be a two-hour documentary about the series. Due to air just a week after the final episode of the epic TV series, Game of Thrones: The Last Watch, will give fans amazing behind-the-scenes views of the fantastic series.

British filmmaker Jeanie Finlay spent a year on the Game of Thrones set, and will show how the most ambitious season was created. According to HBO, viewers will get to see the cast and crew battling with, 'extreme weather, punishing deadlines and an ever-excited fandom hungry for spoilers.

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