"Game of Thrones" just set up Sansa to eliminate Cersei

"Game of Thrones" Season 8 has just introduced a shocking plot for Daenerys – and sets up Sansa Stark to eliminate Cersei herself.

Warning: Spoilers for episode 4 coming soon.

Danerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), the future queen who lost most of her allies last week in "The Long Night", lost another, upset, when her faithful adviser Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) died.

Throughout the season, Game of Thrones has asked whether Daenerys really is the best leader possible. As the unofficial queen of the North, Sansa (Sophie Turner) is the most practical, given the pesky problems of feeding her people.

Meanwhile, during the first two episodes, Dany thought of his unique throne goal without understanding who his future subjects were and what they wanted. (His confused face when Sansa hugged Theon in "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" emphasized his lack of understanding in that sense). And when Missandei is killed this week, Dany's face means fire and blood to come.

So, while Dany is distracted by concentration (understandably!) On personal revenge, this positions Sansa as the real younger queen that Cersei (Lena Headey) should be concerned about.

Remember, in Season 5, the show had a rare flashback to a young Cersei visiting a witch in the woods. The witch announced the death of her children and also told her that she would become queen until there was another, younger and more beautiful, to reject you and take all that is dear to you.

For several seasons, Cersei thought it was Margery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer). After Margery's death in season 6, Dany was the obvious choice.

But what if it was Sansa since forever?

Now, this does not necessarily mean that Sansa will reach the iron throne (though that is true, she is the best candidate at the moment). But she is the unofficial queen in the North, which is still the wording of the witch. And there is no one better to eliminate Cersei.

During the first four seasons, Sansa had essentially the most brutal internship she ever led ("The Devil Wears Prada" has nothing to do with them). But she learned from this experience, continued her studies at Manipulation with Littlefinger (Aiden Gillen), and then obtained a PhD in Resilience after her marriage to sadist Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon).

And as this episode reminds us in her moving meeting with the dog (Rory McCann) where they discuss Ramsay, she is no stranger to the murder.

Sansa, not Dany or Margaery, is the true queen of the witch's prophecy. While Dany rains blood and blood, Sansa is the one that Cersei will not see coming – because she accidentally contributed to its realization, shaping Sansa to be so cunning. It really is oedipus rex.

Sansa does not have the fantasy magic at her disposal – no dragons or pockets of faces or resurrection powers – and as she herself once said, "I'm learning slowly, it's true . But I'm learning. Along the way, she learned to be the only one who hoped to be smarter and eliminate Cersei.

Season 8 of Game of Thrones is currently airing Sunday at 9pm. on HBO.