The Spoils of War
Everything in Winterfell was so good, but that was just the beginning! We soon go over to Dragonstone. Davos and Jon have a great conversation with Missandei about Dany being their chosen Queen, not because of some birthright, but because they believe in her. I think this was a great parallel to Jon himself, who was also chosen King of the North by his people despite him being a bastard. Then Jon discovers all the dragonglass in the cave, but that's not all! He also found symbols and drawings that the children of the forest made inside the cave, telling of how they worked together to defeat a common enemy. He shows these to Dany and Dany tells Jon that she will work with him to save his people ...if he will bend the knee. Arrrrghhhhhhhhhhgh! Stop being bloody difficult Dany! However, their conversation about his pride and refusing to bend was very reminiscent of Jon's conversation with Mance Rayder. It was a really good scene but the symbols felt a little bizarre and little convenient. It didn't hurt the episode any though and the next scenes saved any issues I had with that particular plot point when Dany learns that their plan to take Casterly Rock had a draw back when the majority of the Lannister army took High Garden. Dany is ready to bring Fire and Blood down on Cersei and Kings Landing even though Tyrion is telling her not to. She asks Jon for advice and he tells her that if she does that she won't be bringing any changes to Westeros, only more of the same. I loved the moment. I love seeing Fire and Ice together!
Holy smokes! What an episode! Trying to avoid all the spoilers after the HBO hack has been difficult and thankfully the only part that was ruined for me was the Arya reunion, but that had been semi confirmed, so not that major of a deal. I'm so thankful that I didn't read anything else, because seeing it all play out tonight was one of most thrilling and exciting Game of Thrones experiences I've ever had. I was such a whirlwind of emotions, starting with Arya over looking Winterfell. Just seeing her sitting on her horse and looking at her home and hearing the beautiful Stark theme music hit me in the feels. All the last true born Starks are finally back in Winterfell. We haven't seen this since the first couple of episodes of season one and it's been a long journey for them all.
Stark reunions wasn't the only thing going on in Winterfell. Littlefinger is giving the Catspaw's dagger to Bran and telling him how much he regrets not being able to save Catelyn, but now wants to protect her children. I was disgusted by Littlefinger. He's the reason Ned got killed and when Bran told him that chaos is a ladder, the look on Littlefinger's face was priceless. It was a subtle, but Bran unnerved him. We rarely see Littlefinger lose his composure, but he's slowly coming undone. The other thing about this scene is that Bran asked Littlefinger does he know who the blade originally belonged to ..Litttlefinger said he didn't, Bran must know, yet he never revealed. I do wonder if there's going to be something else special about the dagger now or if we will ever get a definitive answer on who hired the assassin. The book reveals the assassin, but it could play out differently in the show.
Meera is leaving to return home to her family and we get more insight into Bran as the Three Eyed Raven. He reveals to Meera that even though he remembers everything as Bran, he remembers so much more now. I guess that makes everything that's happened to him small in comparison, but I can't blame Meera for feeling upset by his lack of emotions.
Arya and Sansa's reunion in the Crypts was beautiful and realistic. They've both been through hell and back. They were never close as siblings, so I'm glad it wasn't over played too much and I was happy that Sansa acknowledged Arya and Jon's close relationship...which is the one that fans want to see the most. It almost makes me worry that we won't get it. This show makes me scared to get too hopeful! Arya asked Sansa did she really kill Joffrey and reveals to Sansa that she has a kill list and Joffrey was the first name on her list. Sansa didn't take her too serious....but told her Bran was also home.
When Bran and Arya finally reunite, he gives her the Valyrian dagger. He also tells her that he can see everything. I don't think Sansa and Arya really understand until Bran mentions Cersei being on Arya's kill list. I think Sansa finally realizes that Arya was dead serious and this is further shown when Arya meets up with Brienne, which was also a great moment in the episode. Seeing Arya and Brienne spar was exciting! All Arya's lessons with Syrio and Jaqen have paid off! The only thing that left me uneasy about the scene was the look on Sansa's face as she was watching Brienne and Arya. I'm not sure if she was just shocked, but to me it seemed like she was reverting back to season one Sansa. She always looked down on Arya's training, but now it seems like she's jealous that Arya is a strong warrior like Brienne and Sansa herself relies on Brienne for protection ...maybe I'm reading too much into her facial expressions.
Everything in Winterfell was so good, but that was just the beginning! We soon go over to Dragonstone. Davos and Jon have a great conversation with Missandei about Dany being their chosen Queen, not because of some birthright, but because they believe in her. I think this was a great parallel to Jon himself, who was also chosen King of the North by his people despite him being a bastard. Then Jon discovers all the dragonglass in the cave, but that's not all! He also found symbols and drawings that the children of the forest made inside the cave, telling of how they worked together to defeat a common enemy. He shows these to Dany and Dany tells Jon that she will work with him to save his people ...if he will bend the knee. Arrrrghhhhhhhhhhgh! Stop being bloody difficult Dany! However, their conversation about his pride and refusing to bend was very reminiscent of Jon's conversation with Mance Rayder. It was a really good scene but the symbols felt a little bizarre and little convenient. It didn't hurt the episode any though and the next scenes saved any issues I had with that particular plot point when Dany learns that their plan to take Casterly Rock had a draw back when the majority of the Lannister army took High Garden. Dany is ready to bring Fire and Blood down on Cersei and Kings Landing even though Tyrion is telling her not to. She asks Jon for advice and he tells her that if she does that she won't be bringing any changes to Westeros, only more of the same. I loved the moment. I love seeing Fire and Ice together!
Dragonstone also gave us another reunion ...this time of a different sort. Jon sees Theon for the first time since betraying Rob and burning Winterfell. I think the scene played out perfectly. Jon has every right to hate him and want to kill him for everything he has done to his family, but Theon did help save Sansa and for that he spares his life. Theon tells them that Euron has taken Yara hostage and wants Dany's help to get her back ...but Dany isn't there. ..
Jaime, Bronn and the Lannister army are still in High Garden packing up their "spoils of war" to take back to Kings Landing so they can pay off their debt to the Iron Bank. Which was Cersei's plan all along. Earlier we got a scene between Cersei and the Iron Bank guy, but it was the least interesting part of the episode to me so eh..back to High Garde.. As they're having a conversation Bronn hears riders in the distance and they soon realize a Dothraki army is descending upon them and holy shit here comes a dragon ...and this is when shit gets crazy!
There's been a lot of epic battles in Game of Thrones, but this is the first time that I felt high stacks on BOTH sides. I love Jaime, I love Bronn....I love Dany and I love Drogon. As much as I loved seeing the rest of the Lannister army roasted, I had high anxiety that one of my favorite characters wasn't going to make it out alive! I literally started screaming as I was watching, grabbing my head and just repeating "oh my god oh my god oh my god"...all I could think was please don't kill Bronn! And then Bronn makes his way to the scorpion and started shooting arrows at Drogon and I totally lost my shit and started screaming and making inhuman noise because I was terrified for Drogon and terrified for Bronn! When Bronn injures Drogon and he lands down on the ground my heart was pounding and I started shaking!First time Ive ever had that happen watching television! Then it cuts to Jaime coming towards Dany and Drogon! Drogon looks at Jaime and holy shittttttt what is happening OH MY GOD...Jaime is saved from being burned alive and it fades to black as Jaime is drowning in the water ... I'm still losing my shit ...it was the one of the most thrilling moments of Game of Thrones EVER!!! The entire battle was freaking amazing and now Dany has finally got a win over Cersei! Jaime and Bronn's fates are uncertain but Tyrion is there watching it all unfold and I don't think he will allow Dany to kill his bother or Bronn!
I have to say as awesome as the action was, the acting was also incredible. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime) and Jerome Flynn (Bronn) were giving incredible performances with their facial expressions at seeing the dragon burn their armies alive. Even Peter Dinklage as Tyrion was looking at Dany's destruction with new eyes. These aren't some people in Mereen he barely knows getting roasted, they are people sworn to protect his family and his brother was down there. Tyrion was experiencing a lot of mixed feelings as he watched ...I think Tyrion was in the same position as the viewers as the destruction unfolded. That being said, Daenerys never fails to send chills down my spine every single time she delivers a "Dracarys" and as conflicted as I was watching the battle, Drogon roasting the Lannister army had fucking amazing visuals and it was just awesome!
10/10
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