Game Of Thrones Episode 5 Photos Show War Coming To King's Landing (Season 8)

The end of Game of Thrones is just over the horizon, with two episodes remaining to wrap up the eight-season story of Westeros and the battle for the Iron Throne. Episode 4 saw fractures developing among the allies of Daenerys, while Cersei Lannister continued to consolidate her power in King's Landing to stand against the Dragon Quen. In the final two episodes, though, it looks like the war for the Iron Throne is really coming to King's Landing in a big way--but this is Game of Thrones, and backstabbing, machinations, and untimely deaths are part of the experience.

The photos below provide a few new details about what to expect in Episode 5, but as usual, it's all pretty thin. You can also check out HBO's teaser trailer for the episode, which gives a few more clues. The big question after Episode 4, "The Last of the Starks," is how Daenerys is going to deal with Cersei's major advantage: her scorpions, those big anti-air crossbows that are powerful enough to sink ships and accurate enough to hit dragons. King's Landing is covered in them, as is the Iron Fleet, which means Daenerys's dragon trump card is all but unplayable.

Daenerys isn't one to give up, though, and Missandei's message to her at the end of Episode 4 is an indication of where things are probably headed. We've also got a mess of theories as to where things are headed after Episode 4 that you might want to check out, and you'll definitely want to watch GameSpot of Thrones's video rundown of Episode 4.

When last we saw Jon, he was marching south on the King's Road from Winterfell with the bulk of Dany's forces. Here we see him after landing from a ship with Varys, with the coloring suggesting the location is Dragonstone (since King's Landing looks a bit brighter, usually). We know Varys knows Jon's true identity as a Targaryen, so meeting him on the beach could have something to do with that continuing plot thread.

Daenerys lost a lot in the last two episodes, and she doesn't seem to be taking it well. It looks like Tyrion is counseling her at Dragonstone here, but we all know Tyrion is not great at checking Dany's worst impulses about burning down cities with the people who oppose her inside.

Pirate king Euron Greyjoy is still out on the prowl on his ships, it seems, although the trailer suggested that Daenerys and Drogon are about to get some payback on the Iron Fleet. This shot looks like an earlier moment from the scene in the trailer.

Cersei's agreement with the Iron Bank allowed her to hire the huge Golden Company, a big band of mercenaries whose claim to fame is that they never break a contract (and led here by Ser Harry Strickland). Jorah Mormont used to be a member of the Golden Company--and fun fact, they were originally founded by a group of Targaryen bastards that took the name Blackfyre, which feels like something that could matter. In Episode 4, we heard that Cersei and Daenerys have roughly equal armies at this point, so we might be about to see another major, costly battle.

Jon Snow's original idea for dealing with King's Landing without killing everyone inside was to blockade it. That plan might be out the window after Episode 4, and here we see Davos, Jon, and Tyrion arrayed outside the capitol with Daenerys's Unsullied.

Meanwhile, a shot of Cersei peering out the window of the Red Keep with that look on her face is always bad. Last time we saw something like this, the Sept of Baelor was leveled by wildfire, and as the trailer shows, here she's looking out over the place where the Sept once stood. Who knows what she's planning in Episode 5.

Tough to say what's going on here, but it looks like Jon hanging out with Davos and the Northmen he brought to King's Landing to help Daenerys win the Iron Throne, perhaps marching to join the Unsullied.

Given Grey Worm's reactions to Episode 4, it's a fair bet he's back at Dragonstone asking for Daenerys's leave to kill some Lannisters.

Meanwhile, what's Tyrion is telling Daenerys at Dragonstone? Oh right, it's definitely, "Please reconsider murdering everyone in King's Landing," as usual.