The Last of the Starks

"The Last of the Starks" is the fourth episode of the eighth season of Game of Thrones. It is the seventy-first episode of the series overall. It premiered on May 5, 2019. It was written by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss and directed by David Nutter.

Plot
The survivors plan their next steps; Cersei makes a power move.

Appearances

 * Main: The Last of the Starks/Appearances

Deaths

 * Rhaegal
 * Missandei

Cast
Starring
 * Peter Dinklage as Lord Tyrion Lannister
 * Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Ser Jaime Lannister
 * Lena Headey as Queen Cersei Lannister
 * Emilia Clarke as Queen Daenerys Targaryen
 * Kit Harington as Warden Jon Snow/Aegon Targaryen
 * Sophie Turner as Lady Sansa Stark
 * Maisie Williams as Arya Stark
 * Liam Cunningham as Ser Davos Seaworth
 * Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei
 * Alfie Allen as Prince Theon Greyjoy
 * Isaac Hempstead-Wright as Bran Stark
 * John Bradley as Samwell Tarly
 * Hannah Murray as Gilly
 * Gwendoline Christie as Ser Brienne of Tarth
 * Conleth Hill as Lord Varys
 * Rory McCann as Sandor Clegane
 * Jerome Flynn as Bronn
 * Joe Dempsie as Lord Gendry Baratheon
 * Kristofer Hivju as Tormund
 * Jacob Anderson as Commander Grey Worm
 * Iain Glen as Ser Jorah Mormont

Guest Starring
 * Pilou Asbæk as King Euron Greyjoy
 * Anton Lesser as Qyburn
 * Richard Dormer as Lord Beric Dondarrion
 * Ben Crompton as Lord Commander Eddison Tollett
 * Daniel Portman as Podrick Payne
 * Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as Ser Gregor Clegane
 * Bella Ramsey as Lady Lyanna Mormont
 * Rupert Vansittart as Lord Yohn Royce
 * Richard Rycroft as Maester Wolkan
 * Staz Nair as Qhono
 * Alice Nokes as Willa
 * Danielle Galligan as Sarra
 * Emer McDaid

Cast notes

 * 21 of 21 starring cast members appear in this episode.
 * This episode is the final appearance of starring cast members Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei), Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy), and Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont) due to the death of their characters.
 * Andrew Burford, Yusuf Chaudhri, Nick Chopping, Rob Hayns, Rowley Irlam, Theo Morton, Jason Oettle, Sam Stefan, Andy Wareham, and Ben Wright were stunt performers in this episode.

General

 * The fates of a few missing characters from the Battle of Ice and Fire is revealed. Ghost and Rhaegal did in fact survive though injured (Ghost bloodied and missing an ear and Rhaegal with holes in his wing). Yohn Royce also survived.
 * Dragonstone does not appear in the Title sequence despite being a major setting for the episode.
 * Cersei returns in this episode, after being absent for two episodes, as she was last seen in "Winterfell". This is the first and only time her character has been absent for two consecutive episodes.
 * All the cast members whose characters died in the preceding episode return to "play" their corpses during the funeral scene at the beginning of this episode: Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy), Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont), Bella Ramsey (Lyanna Mormont), Richard Dormer (Beric Dondarrion), and Ben Crompton (Eddison Tollett).

Callbacks

 * Jaime mentions the horrible things he has done for Cersei, including pushing a boy out of a window and crippling him for life ("Winter Is Coming") and strangling his own cousin ("A Man Without Honor").

Winterfell

 * Daenerys raises the question of the current lordship of Storm's End, an issue that has remained largely unresolved in the show until this point. In the novels, the lordship of Storm's End is a lot more clear: After Stannis seizes the castle, he leaves two hundred men to hold it under the command of Ser Gilbert Farring. After Stannis' defeat at the Battle of Blackwater, the garrison continues to hold Storm's End in Stannis' name. In the fourth novel, Storm's End is besieged by a Tyrell force led by Mace and Lord Mathis Rowan. However, Mace soon abandons the siege to return to King's Landing after the arrest of Margaery by the Faith, leaving a token force with Lord Rowan to continue the siege, but the castle continues to support Stannis's claim to the throne. In a sample chapter from the sixth novel, it is revealed that the Golden Company has taken Storm's End, and Mace Tyrell's army is currently descending on the castle from King's Landing.
 * Gilly is revealed to be pregnant with Sam's child, confirming rumors that she was pregnant after fans noted that Gilly appeared to be visibly chubbier in the season premiere compared to the previous season.
 * While planning the siege of King's Landing, the Riverlands, Reach, and the Stormlands aren't mentioned at all. It is especially strange that the Stormlands aren't mentioned, especially since Daenerys had just legitimized Gendry and restored House Baratheon.
 * Dialogue states that the Prince of Dorne has declared for Daenerys, indicating either that there are still branches of House Martell alive or that another Dornish house has taken rule of Dorne. At the same time, Daenerys' legitimization and elevation of Gendry indicates that all legitimate branches of House Baratheon are gone.
 * Following his legitimization, Gendry states that he is no longer Gendry Rivers. Technically, he was never Gendry Rivers. Bastard surnames like Rivers, Sand, and Snow are only given to bastards who are recognized by their noble parent. Robert Baratheon never acknowledged (or even knew about) Gendry, so he would not even be entitled to a bastard surname. Even if Gendry did have a bastard surname, it would have been "Waters" as that is the bastard surname given to bastards born of women from the Crownlands.
 * Jaime states that he strangled Alton Lannister to death with his own hands. This is false; he beat Alton to death, and strangled Torrhen Karstark. Neither kills were strictly speaking "with his own hands", but with his chains.

In the books
[This section will be updated with comparisons when the sixth and seventh novels are released.]

Memorable quotes
Daenerys Targaryen: "We have won the Great War. Now we will win the last war."

Daenerys: "We'll rip her out root and stem."

Missandei: "Dracarys."