Game of Thrones season 8 episode 4: What does Dracarys mean? Missandei's last words, explained

The phrase was used in one of the latest episode's most devastating moments

The fourth episode of Game of Thrones‘s eighth and final season ended in devastating fashion.

*Spoilers below – you have been warned*

With just two episodes to go before the HBO series comes to an end, showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss are continuing to cull the cast.

This week’s unlucky character was Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel). She was first introduced in season three as a slave who was later freed by the dragon queen.

Since then, she’s been one of her most loyal servers – something that led to her murder in episode four.

After Missandei is kidnapped by The Golden Company, Tyrion comes face to face with his sister Cersei. He pleads for her to return Missandei, but Cersei refuses. Instead, she tells Missandei to utter her last words before The Mountain mercilessly chops her head off – but not before Daenery’s council aide shouts the word: “Dracarys.”

What does it mean? Dracarys is the high Valyrian word for Dragonfire. It’s usually used by Daenerys as an instruction for Drogon to wreak havoc on their enemies.

Missandei wasn’t the only one Daenerys lost this week. Fresh from the death of Ser Jorah Mormont during the Battle of Winterfell, she also suffered the loss of one of her two surviving dragons.

The final season of Game of Thrones continues every Sunday. Our extensive ranking of every episode in the series – from worst to best – is below.

The show will be available on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK.