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Melisandre magically lights the arakhs of the Dothraki.
The noise of the wind picks up, hushing the distant sounds of screams and chomping.
Valar morghulis, Melisandre says to Grey Worm, just before the Dothraki march off.
All men must die.
So why did this massive sacrifice of human life barely register emotionally?
The Dothraki are a people whose culture we spent seasons immersed in, alongside Daenerys.
But Dany spent years growing up with them.
Sheunderwent their rituals; she accepted their blood riders as her own.
And in Sundays episode, there wasnt a single Dothraki we recognized.
Or theytakeresources, as Sansa very practically noted inthe season-eight premiere.
The people were a sneering backdrop of religious and resentful frenzy duringCerseis season-five walk of shame.
Are either of those cynical philosophies correct?
They dont care what games the high lords play.
Now with the Freys, raiders come plundering, steal our food, steal our silver.
Three seasons later, the Hound will find their corpses, apparent victims of starvation and suicide.
(Does anyone rememberDavoss beloved wife Marya?
Does Davos remember Davoss beloved wife Marya?)
George R. R. Martin once spoke toRolling Stoneabout his desire to answer J.R.R.
Im interested in the stories, he said.
(Namely: Get vengeful.)
Before, the show trusted us with multiple plotlines and what seemed like a thousand players.
Now it has tightened its focus on a core group of mostly royal characters roaming two castles.
The show has always kept the highborn at the center of its story.
Which brings us back to the Dothraki.
The core of it is the people you care about, he says.
We know Jon, we know Dany, we know Jaime, we know Sansa and Arya.
But we do not know the Dothraki not really, not anymore.
The Dothraki taught their khaleesi how to be fierce, how to be loyal, how to lead.
They brought her across the Narrow Sea to reclaim her familys lost throne.
Now that theyve served their purpose in her story, theyre riding off into that dark, long night.
In this story, our watching of the Dothraki has ended.
