Game of Thrones season 8 premiere: Questions we have after “Winterfell”

When Game of Thrones’ second episode of season 8 airs, we have three things we hope to see answered, from Jon and Daenerys to Gendry and Arya.

Next Sunday, we get a solid 58 minutes of Game of Thrones content. To be fair, “Winterfell” had a lot going on in it, and it answered a few questions we had lingering from the trailers and photos.

But 54 minutes can’t cover everything. We don’t expect episode 2 to do that either, but here are a few guesses at what questions the show may answer — and ones we just want to know the answers to as soon as possible.

Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen and Kit Harington as Jon Snow – Photo: Courtesy of HBO

How much is Jon going to be able to stand up to Daenerys?

“Winterfell” sets up a very strong conflict for Jon internally. Does he go with his new flame, pun intended, Daenerys? Or does he stay true to his family? We dove into that briefly on Sunday night, but this week’s episode is probably going to be the first time we see them fight or disagree about what the defense of Winterfell might look like, especially with the Lannister army no longer coming to help them.

How much can he use his own experience actually defending places and castles from the dead to suggest things to Daenerys? Perhaps more importantly: will she be willing to listen?

Kit Harington as Jon Snow and Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen – Photo: Courtesy of HBO

Does Daenerys learn who Jon is?

Jon knows who he is now.

Right now, however, three people in total know the secret. Does Daenerys get added to that number in episode 2? Would Jon keep it quiet until after the battle of Winterfell, with division possibly already invading his relationship with Daenerys as it is?

Does he have a choice? Bran doesn’t have those same concerns, and Daenerys might think he’s the only Stark aside from Jon who has a chance of liking her. In other words, the timing might not be up to Jon.

(L to R) Joe Dempsie as Gendry and Maisie Williams as Arya Stark – Photo: Helen Sloan/HBO

Can we get more Arya and Gendry?

This writer missed these two. They’ve been through a lot since we last saw them together, but the banter stays the same, at least in dialogue. She has a weapon request for him at the end of episode 1, so hopefully she’ll be able to test out a prototype before the dead arrive. How will Gendry react to how good Arya is with a weapon?

Could we even get a sparring scene, with him using his warhammer and her using Needle, her dagger, and her other weapon?

Game of Thrones airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO. 

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