Perhaps that’s why Sansa is more than a little skeptical of his endorsement for Daenerys Targaryen as queen. "Did you bend the knee to save the north or because you love her?" she asks. She's already seen her father and her brother invite political catastrophe and death by listening to their hearts rather than their common sense, and she'd rather not retread that particular narrative just because Jon is getting laid for the second time in his life and dragons are the world's coolest roller coaster. Arya, too, reminds Jon to remember who his family really is, advice delivered with just enough ice to carry a hint of threat, assuming Jon were perceptive enough to notice, which he is not.

Sansa's already seen her father and her brother invite political catastrophe and death by listening to their hearts rather than their common sense, and she'd rather not retread that particular narrative just because Jon is getting laid for the second time in his life and dragons are the world's coolest roller coaster.

Her warning takes on new relevance toward the end of the episode, when Sam Tarly finally tells Jon the truth about his parentage, something Bran Stark refuses to do personally because … they're cousins instead of brothers? I have no idea what that's supposed to mean, but Bran's been kind of a dick ever since he came back from his freshman year abroad in the past and/or future, so I'm not particularly invested in analyzing his inscrutable moods.

And so Jon learns that he is actually Aegon Targayren, the true born son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targayren, and thus heir to the Iron Throne. This is information that might have been useful to know before he slept with his aunt, but since that ship has already literally and metaphorically sailed, it's better late than never. The revelation shakes Jon to his core, although his initial horror seems like it has more to do with not wanting to break his vow to Daenerys than disgust at their extremely close blood relationship. It says a lot about Westeros in general, and Jon in particular, that his first reaction is "but muh honor" and not "oh damn, I committed incest," but I suppose everyone has their own order of operations.

Back in King's Landing, Cersei Lannister is—as usual—embroiled in her own drama, which today involves having sex with Euron and getting really annoyed that she can't Amazon Prime herself elephants. Oh, and putting out a hit on both her brothers. Her wanting to see Tyrion dead is no surprise, but I find it a little difficult to believe that she'd be willing to assassinate Jamie—her twin brother, who also happens to be the father of her unborn child—just because he went off on some semi-suicidal quest she didn't agree with. Not because it's heartless but because it's weird and unearned and doesn't make sense.

Even more baffling is Tyrion's willingness to believe that Cersei is actually sending an army North to help him rather than a crossbow bolt to penetrate his skull, since his cynicism and distrust of his family, and Cersei in particular, has been a defining character trait of his since Day One and only reinforced at every turn. Naturally, it falls to Sansa to ask why he is behaving completely out of character, and he has no good answer because the real answer is "the script." "I used to think you were the cleverest man alive," Sansa sighs, turning away from her (former?) husband. I miss the early seasons too, girl.

To its credit, the show does capitalize on the consolidation of major characters by giving us some long-anticipated reunions—and equally uncomfortable reckonings. Sure, we all wanted to see Arya leap into Jon's arms and talk shop about swords, but there's also the discomfort of Arya facing the Hound for the first time since she left him for dead, or Daenerys stopping by to thank Sam for helping Jorah only to accidentally reveal that she burned his father and brother to death. Whoops!

And then there's Jaime Lannister, who infamously closed out the series premiere by pushing a little boy out a window and paralyzing him for life. Jaime, too, has finally arrived back to where he began to find himself changed—once golden and arrogant, now graying, humbled, disfigured, both more and less than he once was. The episode closes the circle by bringing Jaime face-to-face with Bran, who sits in his wheelchair in the courtyard, now a man, or something more, or something less. They lock eyes, see each other for the first time, and say nothing about what they have lost, or how far they have come.

More Great WIRED Stories