Lessons from Astrophysical Models of Sgr A* and the Event Horizon Telescope

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration has recently published the first image of the near-horizon region around the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, Sgr A*. In addition to providing new constraints on general relativity, the data were used to improve our understanding of the accretion system astrophysics close to the hole. In this talk, I will review these latter, astrophysical considerations. I will begin by describing the theory, assumptions, and observational constraints that were used by the EHT to model the source, and then I will review the findings, paying particular attention to the questions raised by the result. I will conclude by briefly discussing my view of the future of both theory and observation in the context of near-horizon supermassive black hole science.