Entertainment

'Game of Thrones' Season 8 Episode 1 May Pit Dany Against the Stark Sisters

It’s the worst, best, and only romantic comedy you’ll ever see set in Westeros. In Game of Thrones Season 8, series star Emilia Clarke likens Daenerys Targaryen’s final arc to a rom-com, specifically mentioning Meet the Parents because she will try to win over Jon Snow’s siblings — even though we all know it’s a bad idea for those two to keep boinking.

On Monday, Clarke spoke to Entertainment Weekly about Dany (First of Her Name, etc. etc.) in the final season of HBO’s epic fantasy series. Season 8, premiering April 14 on HBO, will see Dany arrive in Winterfell with Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) only to receive the cold shoulder from Jon Snow’s eldest sister, Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) — at least according to one already revealed scene.

Maisie William’s Arya, meanwhile, has yet to meet Dany, but based on how she reacts to Dany’s dragons, she might like the Breaker of Chains just fine.

“I like to think that it’s like Meet the Parents,” Clarke told Entertainment Weekly, referencing the 2000 comedy in which Ben Stiller stars as a clumsy boyfriend who meets his girlfriend’s parents, played by Robert De Niro and Teri Polo.

Says Clarke, “It’s like: ‘I hope they like me. This dude’s wicked. It’s a real good thing we got going on. He’s the final piece. We’re destined for greatness and world domination is a breath away.’ And so I need to be like: ‘Can I braid your hair, Sansa? Little Arya, come over here, let’s play some cricket.’”

(Didn’t know they had cricket in Westeros.)

Clarke then added: “And then, very, very quickly, it’s like: ‘Wait, is it just me, or do they hate me?’”

Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen in 'Game of Thrones' Season 8.

Helen Sloane/HBO

While the Stark sisters probably definitely hate Dany, she isn’t the same person fans met eight years ago. As Clarke told EW, “The thing I now realize is she’s not a scared little girl anymore,” she said, adding that there’s “less room for vulnerability or sentimentality or soft edges.”

This may mean that while Dany will seek the affection of the Starks, it’s not because she wants to be liked. It’s because, as Jon has warned a thousand times, winter is here. And if they all want to survive to see the next winter, they better well get along with Dany. Or else.

If only Dany and Jon didn’t have the hots for each other. Despite their alliance being pretty aligned, politically speaking, the fact that they’re (unknowingly) cousins means everything’s just going to be awkward in the face of annihilation.

Game of Thrones Season 8 premieres April 14 on HBO.

Related Tags