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Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister and Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark in "Game of Thrones"
Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister and Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark in "Game of Thrones"HBO
Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen.
Emilia Clarke as Daenerys TargaryenHBO
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Pilou Asbaek as Euron Greyjoy and Lena Headey as Cersei Lanniste.
Pilou Asbaek as Euron Greyjoy and Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister.HBO/Helen Sloan
Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei, Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen, and Conleth Hill as Varys.
Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei, Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen and Conleth Hill as VarysHBO/Helen Sloan
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Kristofer Hivju as Tormund, Kit Harington as Jon Snow, Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark, Maisie Williams as Arya Stark, Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm, Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister, Daniel Portman as Podrick Payne, Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen, Isaac Hempstead Wright as Bran Stark, John Bradley as Samwell Tarly, Conleth Hill as Varys, Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei, and Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lanniste.
Kristofer Hivju as Tormund, Kit Harington as Jon Snow, Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark, Maisie Williams as Arya Stark, Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm, Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister, Daniel Portman as Podrick Payne, Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen, Isaac Hempstead Wright as Bran Stark, John Bradley as Samwell Tarly, Conleth Hill as Varys, Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei and Peter Dinklage as Tyrion LannisteHBO
Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm, Conleth Hill as Varys, Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei, Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen, and Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister.
Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm, Conleth Hill as Varys, Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei, Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen and Peter Dinklage as Tyrion LannisterHBO/Helen Sloan
Kit Harington as Jon Snow.
Kit Harington as Jon SnowHBO/Helen Sloan
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Rory McCann as Sandor “The Hound” Clegane, Liam Cunningham as Davos Seaworth, Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark, Maisie Williams as Arya Stark, and Isaac Hempstead Wright as Bran Stark.
Rory McCann as Sandor "The Hound" Clegane, Liam Cunningham as Davos Seaworth, Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark, Maisie Williams as Arya Stark and Isaac Hempstead Wright as Bran StarkHBO/Helen Sloan
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“Game of Thrones” Season 8 just introduced a shocking plot twist for Daenerys — and set up Sansa Stark to take out Cersei herself.

Warning: Spoilers for Episode 4 ahead.

In Sunday’s installment, Danerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), the would-be Queen who lost most of her allies in last week’s “The Long Night,” loses another in a shocking upset, when her loyal adviser Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) is beheaded.

All season long, “Game of Thrones” has been raising questions about whether Daenerys truly is the best possible ruler. As the unofficial Queen in the North, Sansa (Sophie Turner) is the most practical, considering pesky issues like enough food for her people.

Meanwhile, for the first two episodes, Dany was thinking about her single-minded goal — the Throne — without understanding who her future subjects are and what they want. (Her confused face when Sansa hugged Theon in “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” emphasized her lack of comprehension along these lines.) And when Missandei is killed this week, Dany’s face signifies fire and blood to come.

So, while Dany is distracted with her (understandable!) focus on personal revenge, this positions Sansa to be the true younger Queen whom Cersei (Lena Headey) should be worried about.

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Nikolaj Coster - Waldau as Jaime Lannister and Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tart
Scenes from Episode 4 of "Game of Thrones" Season 8: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister and Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of TartHBO/Helen Sloan
Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth, Daniel Portman as Podrick Payne , Pet er Dinklage as Tyrion Lanniste r , and Nikolaj Coster - Waldau as Jaime Lannister
Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth, Daniel Portman as Podrick Payne, Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime LannisterHBO/Helen Sloan
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HBO/Helen Sloan
Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen
Emilia Clarke as Daenerys TargaryenHBo
Rory McCann as Sandor “The Hound” Clegane and Maisie Williams as Arya Stark
Rory McCann as Sandor "The Hound" Clegane and Maisie Williams as Arya StarkHBO/Helen Sloan
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Iain Glen as Jorah Mormont and Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen
Iain Glen as Jorah Mormont and Emilia Clarke as Daenerys TargaryenHBO
Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy
Alfie Allen as Theon GreyjoyHBO/Helen Sloan
Kristofer Hivju as Tormund, Kit Harington as Jon Snow, and Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen
Kristofer Hivju as Tormund, Kit Harington as Jon Snow, and Emilia Clarke as Daenerys TargaryenHBO/Helen Sloan
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Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen
Emilia Clarke as Daenerys TargaryenHBO/Helen Sloan
Rory McCann as Sandor “The Hound” Clegane and Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark
Rory McCann as Sandor "The Hound" Clegane and Sophie Turner as Sansa StarkHBO/Helen Sloan
Maisie Williams as Arya Stark and Joe Dempsie as Gendry
Maisie Williams as Arya Stark and Joe Dempsie as GendryHBO/Helen Sloan
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Kit Harington as Jon Snow and Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen
Kit Harington as Jon Snow and Emilia Clarke as Daenerys TargaryenHBO/Helen Sloan
Kit Harington as Jon Snow, Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark, Maisie Williams as Arya Stark, and Isaac Hempstead Wright as Bran Stark
Kit Harington as Jon Snow, Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark, Maisie Williams as Arya Stark, and Isaac Hempstead Wright as Bran Stark.HBO/Helen Sloan
Kristofer Hivju as Tormund, John Bradley as Samwell Tarly, and Hannah Murray as Gill
Kristofer Hivju as Tormund, John Bradley as Samwell Tarly, and Hannah Murray as GillyHBO/Helen Sloan
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Kristofer Hivju as Torm u nd, John Bradley as Samwell T arly, and Hannah Murray as Gilly
Kristofer Hivju as Tormund, John Bradley as Samwell Tarly, and Hannah Murray as GillyHBO/Helen Sloan
HBO/Helen Sloan
ilou Asbæk as Euron Greyjo y , Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister , and Anton Lesser as Qyburn
Pilou Asbæk as Euron Greyjoy, Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister, and Anton Lesser as QyburnHBO/Helen Sloan
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Nathalie Emmanuel as Missande
Nathalie Emmanuel as MissandeHBO/Helen Sloan
acob Anderson as Grey Worm, Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen, and Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lanniste
Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm, Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen, and Peter Dinklage as Tyrion LannisterHBO/Helen Sloan
Nathalie Emman uel as Missandei, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as The Mountain, and Lena Headey as Cersei Lanniste
Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as The Mountain, and Lena Headey as Cersei LannisterHBO/Helen Sloan
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) Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as The Mountain and Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as The Mountain and Nathalie Emmanuel as MissandeiHBO/Helen Sloan
Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm
Jacob Anderson as Grey WormHBO/Helen Sloan
Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm and Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen
Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm and Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen
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Remember, back in Season 5, the show had a rare flashback to a young Cersei visiting a witch in the woods. The witch foretold her children’s deaths and also told her that she’d become a queen until there was “another, younger and more beautiful, to cast you down and take all that you hold dear.”

For many seasons, Cersei thought this was Margery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer). After Margery’s death in Season 6, Dany was the obvious choice.

But what if it was Sansa all along?

Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean Sansa will rise to the Iron Throne (although let’s be real, she’s the best contender at the moment). But she’s the unofficial Queen in the North, which still fits the witch’s wording. And there’s nobody better to take out Cersei.

For the first four seasons, Sansa essentially had the most brutal internship under her (“The Devil Wears Prada” has nothing on them). But she learned from that experience, went on to manipulation grad school with Littlefinger (Aiden Gillen), then got a PhD in resilience from her marriage to the sadist Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon).

And as this episode reminds us — in her touching reunion with the Hound (Rory McCann), when they discuss Ramsay — she’s no stranger to murder.

Sansa, not Dany or Margaery, is the true Queen from the witch’s prophecy. While Dany rains fire and blood, Sansa is the one Cersei won’t see coming — because she accidentally helped bring it about, in shaping Sansa to be this cunning. It’s all very Oedipus Rex.

Sansa doesn’t have fancy magic at her disposal — no dragons or bags of faces or resurrection powers — and as she herself once said, “I’m a slow learner, it’s true. But I learn.” Along the way, she’s learned how to be the only one with a hope of outsmarting and eliminating Cersei.

“Game of Thrones” Season 8 airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO.

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