Meanwhile, In Westeros … Deadly Threats Still Loom Large on ‘Game of Thrones’ [RECAP]

Oh, did you think last week’s Battle of Winterfell was going to be the end of heartbreak and tragedy on Game of Thrones? While some fans bemoaned the lack of marquee names that got the axe, after two huge deaths in last night’s episode, no one could be blamed for wanting to return to a simpler, less deadlier time.

Yes, Game of Thrones dispatched two big characters last night in bloody, dramatic fashion, but that wasn’t the only source of heartache.

Let’s review how the winners of the war with the Night King (briefly) celebrated their victory before agonizing in defeats.

Meanwhile, at Winterfell …

Time for one last goodbye to the fallen from last week’s great Battle of Winterfell. Daenerys weeps over Jorah’s body, Jon looks over little Lyanna Mormont and even Sansa slips a Stark pin onto Theon’s corpse before the many, many, many funeral pyres are set ablaze.

The mood shifts from solemn to celebratory inside as everyone lets loose with food and drink. Gendry is on the lookout for his Night Kingslaying crush, but before he can find her, Daenerys calls him out in front of everyone.

“Hey! Aren’t you one of those Baratheons that systematically hunted down my whole family?” Dany questions, menacingly.

Gendry explains that he’s a bastard who barely even knew his father. Instead of having the hunky blacksmith Dracarys’d into a sexy BBQ skewer, she instead legitimizes him as a Baratheon and names him Lord of the Stormlands. Neat!

He’s so excited he runs to Arya and proposes on the spot. She can be the Lady of the Stormlands! Wouldn’t that be neat?!

Oh, you sweet summer child. Of course Arya doesn’t want to be a Lady. That’s not who she is, and it never will be.

Back inside the hall, the party is getting lit. It’s basically one, big medieval fantasy “Turn Down For What.” Tormund proceeds to boot and rally like he’s a cast member on Vanderpump Rules, and he sings the praises of Jon Snow so loudly, it makes Dany’s head split. Seeing how the Northerners revere her lover-nephew (yikes), makes her wary.

She finds him privately and wonders on a scale of one to make out with your aunt, exactly how drunk is he? They kiss (mercifully) briefly, before Dany tries to convince Jon to keep the whole thing about them being related just between them (and Sam and Bran). Jon tries to assure her he has no intention of challenging her claim to the throne, but she’s seen the way the people look up to him. Jon, of course, is virtuous to a fault (it’s what got him stabbed to the death in the first place), so he asks to at least share the secret with Sansa and Arya. With Sansa already breathing down her neck, Dany’s not on board with arming her with information that could be used to undermine her claim to the throne. If he just keeps this secret, they can be together like before.

Not everyone is so unlucky in love on this night. Brienne, Pod, Tyrion and Jaime find themselves playing something of a Westerosi version of “Never Have I Ever,” but when the talk turns to Brienne’s virginity, the newly knighted Ser Tarth abruptly excuses herself from the table. Jaime follows, leaving a poor, dejected Tormund looking on.

(He’s not down for long, since a friendlier female hits on him soon after. Another woman picks up Podrick, but a third strikes out with the Hound. Don’t worry about him, he has a great little chat with Sansa where she tells him if it weren’t for the horrors she suffered at the hands of Littlefinger and Ramsay, she would’ve been a Little Bird forever.)

A drunken Jaime follows Brienne to her room, and it’s not long before they’re stripping down by the fire. “I’ve never slept with a knight before,” he says dryly. “I’ve never slept with anyone before,” she replies. Get it, gurl!

Sansa and Dany clash over strategy, as the former advocates for giving the troops some rest before engaging Cersei. Daenerys, frankly, ain’t got time for that, and they both look to Jon for backing. True to his word (like always), Jon supports his queen, running afoul of his sisters.

The Stark siblings ask him for a word by the Weirwood tree, and it takes all of moments before Jon spills the beans. Well, actually, he has Bran do the honors (and worse yet, we don’t even get to see it happen, so who knows their immediate reactions).

Just as quickly as Jon blabbed to Sansa, she turns around and tells Tyrion. Is this Game of Thrones or Mean Girls? Can anyone keep a secret? Who has eyes on Varys’ Burn Book?

Meanwhile, en route to Dragonstone …

On ships en route to Dragonstone, Tyrion and Varys discuss how they deal with the news of Jon Snows true lineage. (Oh, also, Varys know now, too.) Missandei and Grey Worm are being cute up on the deck, and Dany is flying Drogon beside an injured (but still alive!) Rhaegal.

Oops, spoke too soon! Rhaegal is blasted out of the sky by one of Qyburn’s giant crossbow bolts courtesy a sneak attack from Euron’s ships. They’ve all been outfitted with Qyburn’s devices, which, turns out, can destroy ships just as well as they decimate dragons.

Most of our crew washes up ashore, but no sign of Missandei.

Meanwhile, at King’s Landing …

Cersei is quite pleased with Euron’s work sinking Dany’s ships, so she rewards him with some good news! She’s pregnant! And it’s his!

(No, it’s not.)

At Tyrion’s behest, Daenerys shows up at King’s Landing with Grey Worm, Drogon, Tyrion and a smattering of Unsullied to give Cers an official shot at surrender. We all know she’s not gonna go for it, but if they put the onus on her, it’s her fault if thousands get flambéed by Drogon in the process.

Cersei awaits them on a high wall with the Mountain, Euron, a bunch more of Qyburn’s dragon-busting scorpions and a captive Missandei. Tyrion appeals to her love of her unborn child, but Cersei is unmoved. Instead, she has the Mountain behead Missandei and shove her off the wall.

At least she had the courtesy to give her the opportunity to say some last words, which Missandei uses to defiantly shout “DRACARYS!”

Meanwhile, back at Dragonstone …

Varys and Tyrion begin to confront the reality that they may have bet on the wrong horse here. Not necessarily in the Dany/Cers clash, but banking on Dany over Jon Sno-, I’m sorry, Aegon Targaryen. His Stark and Targaryen heritage is an impressive pedigree, plus he’s got the temperament that Dany seems to struggle to maintain. Now that she’s lost another dragon and one of her most beloved advisors, who knows how long before we’ve got TWO Mad Queens on our hands … and have you seen two mad queens fight before? Gurl, it’ll be a bloodbath.

Meanwhile, back in Winterfell …

Tormund and the Wildlings are going back to Castle Black, and Jon is sending his direwolf, Ghost, with them. Sam and Gilly are peacing out too, and, by the way, Gilly is pregs with Sam’s baby, which they will name Jon if it’s a boy. (I think Aegon Tarley has a better ring to it, personally.) Arya and the Hound took off riding to King’s Landing on horseback together, but not like “together” together, you know?

It looks like Jaime and Brienne won’t be traveling any which way together. Word of recent developments motivates Jaime to head back. Brienne begs him to stay with her. She tries to convince him he’s not the man Cersei thinks he is. But, it’s too late. He rides off and leaves her heartbroken.

What did you think of the episode? Who will get to kill Cersei? Will Daenerys go beserk? Has anyone checked in with the Knights of the Vale? Sound off in the comments!

The post Meanwhile, In Westeros … Deadly Threats Still Loom Large on ‘Game of Thrones’ [RECAP] appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Meanwhile, In Westeros … Deadly Threats Still Loom Large on ‘Game of Thrones’ [RECAP]

Iowa OK’s Denial of Public Funds for Gender-Affirmation Surgeries

It’s not an outright ban on the funding, but a new law says the state and its municipalities can opt out of payment.

www.advocate.com/transgender/2019/5/06/iowa-oks-denial-public-funds-gender-affirmation-surgeries

Mass Extinction, Spider-Man, Ian Roberts, Morrissey, Diana Ross, Antoni Porowski, Robert Mueller, Diana Ross: HOT LINKS

CRISIS. Terrifying new study details how humans are driving one million species to extinction: “We have never had a single unified statement from the world’s governments that unambiguously makes clear the crisis we are facing for life on Earth,” says Thomas Brooks, chief scientist at the International Union for Conservation of Nature in Gland, Switzerland, who helped to edit the biodiversity analysis. “That is really the absolutely key novelty that we see here.”

DIANA ROSS. I was “violated” by TSA workers.

ALEK TREBEK. Jeopardy! host wins Emmy Award amid cancer battle, gets standing ovation.

CONTEMPT. House Democrats to hold contempt vote on William Barr: “Although the Committee has attempted to engage in accommodations with Attorney General Barr for several months, it can no longer afford to delay, and must resort to contempt proceedings.”

JIMMY CARTER. Pete and Chasten Buttigieg attend former president’s Sunday school class. “At Carter’s invitation Buttigieg stood and read from the Bible as part of the lesson at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains.”

LEANING INTO IT. Adele turns 31 and jokes about her next album.

ARCTIC. Trump administration says U.S. to increase military presence in the arctic: “Under President Trump, we are fortifying America’s security and diplomatic presence” in the Arctic, Pompeo will declare. “On the security side, partly in response to Russia’s destabilizing activities, we are hosting military exercises, strengthening our force presence, rebuilding our icebreaker fleet, expanding Coast Guard funding, and creating a new senior military post for Arctic Affairs.”

CAULIPOWER. Queer Eye‘s Antoni has temporarily turned his back on avocados.

IRAN. U.S. deploys USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to Middle East in direct signal to Iran.

MAY 15. Will Mueller testify? ‘Cicilline, during an appearance on “FOX News Sunday,” said representatives for Mueller had agreed to the committee’s proposed date, but warned there’s no “absolute guarantee” that the former FBI chief would show up to testify.’

Just to clarify: we are aiming to bring Mueller in on the 15th, but nothing has been agreed to yet. That’s the date the Committee has proposed, and we hope the Special Counsel will agree to it. Sorry for the confusion. t.co/FfR8ReLmkp

— David Cicilline (@davidcicilline) May 5, 2019

TRUMP. Mueller shouldn’t testify. “After spending more than $35,000,000 over a two year period, interviewing 500 people, using 18 Trump Hating Angry Democrats & 49 FBI Agents – all culminating in a more than 400 page Report showing NO COLLUSION – why would the Democrats in Congress now need Robert Mueller………..to testify. Are they looking for a redo because they hated seeing the strong NO COLLUSION conclusion? There was no crime, except on the other side (incredibly not covered in the Report), and NO OBSTRUCTION. Bob Mueller should not testify. No redos for the Dems!”

….to testify. Are they looking for a redo because they hated seeing the strong NO COLLUSION conclusion? There was no crime, except on the other side (incredibly not covered in the Report), and NO OBSTRUCTION. Bob Mueller should not testify. No redos for the Dems!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2019

PLAYING ROUGH. Bernie Sanders’ new strategy? “[T]he senator learned… many lessons from 2016,” Nina Turner, a national co-chair of Sanders’ 2020 campaign told The Daily Beast, “and one of those lessons is to show what separates you very clearly from the rest of the people running.”

BROADWAY. Morrissey is brightening it: ‘He shook hands with the front row, accepted a couple gifts from fans, cracked a joke or two and even started the show with a quickly abandoned “they say the neon lights are bright” snippet from “On Broadway.”

MADONNA. On aging: “People have always been trying to silence me for one reason or another, whether it’s that I’m not pretty enough, I don’t sing well enough, I’m not talented enough, I’m not married enough, and now it’s that I’m not young enough. So they just keep trying to find a hook to hang their beef about me being alive on. Now I’m fighting ageism, now I’m being punished for turning 60.”

IAN ROBERTS. Australian gay former rugby star on Israel Folau: “I kind of … I do feel sorry for Israel [Folau]. But there are consequences to your actions, and reactions. I don’t say this lightly what I’m about to say — the language I use is hard and it’s for a point, it’s to get that message across. I say that with the greatest sense of respect, and I’m not implying that Israel’s responsible solely for that, please don’t take it that way. But it’s these types of comments and these off-the-cuff remarks, when you have young people and vulnerable people, kids in the suburbs, who are dealing with their sexuality.”

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE DAY. P!nk “Walk Me Home”.

TRAILER OF THE DAY. Rim of the World. “Four misfit campers must band together and conquer their fears in order to save the world during an alien invasion.”

TRAILER 2 OF THE DAY. Spider-Man: Far From Home

MONDAY MUSCLE. Jefferson Ferreira.

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A post shared by Jefferson Ferreira (@jeffferreira22) on May 4, 2019 at 7:14pm PDT

The post Mass Extinction, Spider-Man, Ian Roberts, Morrissey, Diana Ross, Antoni Porowski, Robert Mueller, Diana Ross: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Mass Extinction, Spider-Man, Ian Roberts, Morrissey, Diana Ross, Antoni Porowski, Robert Mueller, Diana Ross: HOT LINKS