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Greetings and glad tidings to you all and welcome back to another Game of Thrones recap of epic Unsullied proportions. Hopefully, things are going better for you than they are for Team Targ.
How the hell do you write a recap, as opposed to a novel, on that episode? Revelations, infatuations, annihilation. Shit… drop your weapons at the door and let’s give it a shot.
The Meeting of the Minds
We waste no time and get right to the situation at hand… the meeting of Jon and Dany. The waves crash as Jon and company are met by Tyrion and Missandei, along with some chummy Dothraki soldiers and a request to hand over the weapons (don’t give them fucking Longclaw, dammit. Shit.). Jon gives the “I want that back, MF” look to the man, and then we are off to the races.
Davos makes small talk with Missandei, well, because he is the freakin’ man and could still sell ice to Wildlings. He almost sells it to Dany in a few.
Then… proof of the dragons.
Mel and the Merman
Overlooking the entrance is Varys and Velvet as the Spider inquires as to why she wouldn’t want to greet the King in the North. Mel admits that they did not part on good terms and tells the Spider that she made many mistakes. And then, the curveball (or was it a slider?)… Varys tells Mel that she should not return to which she replies that she has to die in Westeros, just like him. Here is my question… was this just a jab at Varys or is there more to the story about the mystery of who (or what) the Spider really is? A man has many questions.
You Stand in the Presence of 1000 Titles
I’m not going to recap every single word of what we all watched in unison. But I will say that I am invariably content with the way this meeting was handled.
My fear was that we would be subject to an encounter that has been six seasons in the making and we would witness five minutes of it, somehow inexplicably led to believe that everyone in the room would work together in joyful adoration. That didn’t happen. Dany wanted a bent knee. Jon said, “no thank you.” And what could have been a “we gotta get this story moving” quick moment ended up encapsulating the first 20 minutes of the episode. For that, I am thankful. It deserved the time investment.
After exchanging unpleasantries, Dany issues an apology on behalf of House Targ for the past crimes her House had committed against House Stark. Jon explains that he needs her help and that he needs hers.
Dany tells what she has been through and accomplished. Davos tells what Jon has been through and accomplished. Jon states his case and as Dany tells Jon that he is in open rebellion, Varys runs in with news of the past episode’s captures and casualties.
Theon’s Rescue
A ship full of Greyjoy men rescue Theon, a scene included in the episode assumingly to show that Theon isn’t still floating while waiting to be caught in the wake of Gendry’s rowing. PTSD continues to garner no sympathy, especially during wartime.
Shame, Pt. 2
Euron arrives in KL with his “gifts” Ellaria and Tyene and presents them to Cersei (notice the Ellaria glare at the Mountain). I guess he is keeping Yara for himself? Euron then asks Jaime for advice concerning “fingers in the bum.” The dude is fuckin’ nuts.
For Some Reason, I Continue to Underestimate Cersei…
But not anymore. Especially after the strategy revealed at the end. Cersei takes Ellaria and Tyene to a cell and gives Tyene a kiss of death involving poison just like Myrcella. In epic Cersei style, she informs Ellaria that she will be forced to watch all of it. Cersei is ruthless yet justified, considering what they did to innocent Myrcella. This is one of the many ways the show has been fantastic… in making us watch the tragedies involved while justifying the means in which it is carried out.
The Sand Snake moments historically have had their issues, but this end to Tyene and presumably Ellaria was pretty damn strong and incredibly well-acted by everyone in the room.
Later, in the Land of Fortuitous Incest…
(insert your own imaginary butt-cheek picture here)
Cersei goes to make sure her ally, Jaime, remains loyal. Ozzette got to see Jaime’s butt cheeks again, and then, there was the annoying knock on the door.
Hell Yes… the Iron Bank
Finally, the Iron Bank and Tycho have come to collect on the outstanding credit card balance of the realm. Cersei gives her account regarding the current situation in the war and that Dany has actually hurt the Bank considering what she has done to the slave trade. Cersei urges Tycho to stay in KL and that the debt will be paid in full.
Grumpkins and Snarks
Jon and Tyrion discuss their respective issues and Tyrion suggests that Jon ask for something reasonable. So, he does. Tyrion approaches Dany about giving Jon access to the dragonglass, unsure about the nomenclature. She asks about the knife in the heart statement, and of course, it is dismissed.
Jon and Dany finally have a chance to meet without the Dothraki Daycare and discuss their similarities. Dany gives Jon clearance to mine the dragonglass which was a good decision… as it ends up, she’s going to need some help.
Winterfinger
Finally, we head North where Sansa is doing a damn good job of running the fort while Baelish fiendishly observes. Just as Sansa seems to be doing just fine on her own, Petyr Baelishes out the “battle in the mind” phrase once again grabbing her attention. And I repeat, the SOB isn’t dying anytime soon.
Stark Reunion Time, pt. 2!!
Finally, Bran and Sansa reunite and meet under the Weirwood. Sansa tells Bran that he is the Lord of Winterfell. But Bran informs Sansa that he can never be a Lord because he is the Three-Eyed Raven. He then recalls what happened to Sansa which was too much for her to relive.
Headline: Jorah Mormont Miraculously Healed: “The Climate Changed Me”
Ebrose gives Jorah the “once-over” and pronounces him healed from greyscale and allows him to leave. Jorah and Sam share a moment of thanks as Jorah heads for Dragonstone. Ebrose scolds Sam while giving him praise and then quickly gives him a rather large writing assignment as punishment. Better than having to write “I am Sam. Sam I am” a million times, I suppose.
Cersei Draws Second Blood
Again, I will not underestimate Cersei anymore. While Dany and company discuss the attack on Casterly Rock and Tyrion speaks to his knowledge of the sewer system, the Unsullied arrive and take the Rock as planned. What they didn’t know was that the bulk of the Lannister army weren’t even there and were busy taking care of business at the more enticing location of Highgarden, all while Euron showed up at the Rock to take out the Targaryen fleet.
Jaime makes his way upstairs for what would presumably be our final scene with the Queen of Thorns at Highgarden. While the scene would lack a painful death, the painful realization that this would be the end of Lady Olenna was a lot to digest.
There were quite a few revelations in this scene: the fact that the Unsullied would be able to hold the Rock for a bit, but would run out of food and be forced to march all the way across Westeros to get back due to the fleet being burned; the lessons Jaime learned in past failures referring to Robb Stark defeating the Lannisters at Whispering Wood; and most notably, Jaime’s realization that Olenna had been the cause of Joffrey’s demise. Granny Lemon Cakes went out, but at least she went out in style with words of wisdom about the monstrous Cersei, coupled with a departing kick in the nuts to the Lannisters. I wouldn’t have expected anything less.
Episode 703 Personal Awards
Favorite Action Sequence: The taking of Casterly Rock looked visually bad at the beginning, but better when the Unsullied stormed through the gates. But it was overshadowed by the fact that it really didn’t matter.
Favorite Quotes:
“Picked up some scars along the road.” –Jon
“This place has changed.” –Davos
“This is Jon Snow. He’s King in the North.” – Davos immediately following the 1000 titles
“I give you what no other man could give… justice.” Euron (while staring at Jaime)
“You shall have what your heart desires… when the war is won.” –Cersei to Euron 
“Does she like it gentle, or rough? A finger in the bum?” –Euron to Jaime (the burn continues)
“We invest in endeavors we deem likely to be successful.” –Tycho Nestoris
“No better place for low pursuits than beneath the ground.” –Tyrion
“And now the reins weep o’er our halls.” –Olenna
“That was my prize mistake, a failure of imagination.” -Olenna
Favorite Sequence: Too damn many to choose from. Jon and Tyrion, Dany and Jon, anytime Davos speaks, the end of the Snakes, and the Iron Bank!
The “Ow, That Shit Hurts Award” goes to: The Lannister who got the spear to the chest, and Jaime learning that the QoT took out Joffers.
Overall Thoughts: By far, my favorite episode of the season to this point although the other two were respectively very good. I was surprised to see Bran so disconnected from the emotions of the reunion. But he has seen a lot and is obviously still sorting things out considering his new responsibility. Regardless, it was weird.
Through all that has transpired, Dany is learning that obtaining the throne may be a more difficult objective than what she may have previously thought. How long until she loses faith with Tyrion and jumps on a dragon? Jorah will most certainly be a welcome sight, and it is becoming abundantly clear that she will most definitely require Jon’s help in the future.
What say you, good peeps? Voice away below.
Until next week, hang out and stay awhile. Invite an Unsullied to join us. And may there always be peace in your realm. –Oz
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**SPOILER NOTE: The Management of this fine site would like to remind you that spoilers (book or leak) are not allowed in Unsullied posts. This includes spoilers covered by code or otherwise. Personally, I appreciate feedback from Sullied and Unsullied alike, so long as they do not include any type of hinting or conversation related to the written verse. However, spoiler coded comments do tend to lead to further Sullied conversation and for that reason, we ask that you please refrain from posting any SPOILERY content whatsoever in Unsullied posts. Thank you for the coop. -Oz
Hodor!
Damn! RIP Queen of Thornes. With so much focus on Jon and Dany in the promos I already had a feeling something else might be going down. Loved the fact that she told Jaime that it was her behind Joffrey’s death. Can’t wait to see Cersei’s reaction to this and she has been wrong all this time.
At this point I am so over Cersei always winning everything, hopefully things will change soon. Please Dany, in the words of the late Lady Olenna “Be a dragon”.
I thought the meeting between Jon and Daenerys was very well done. They really took their time with this and I really appreciated that. And as suspected Jon wasn’t willing to bend the knee like that. Some great tension in this scene with neither one of them willing to nudge and both with good reason. Thanks to Tyrion they have at least reached a compromise for now.
Speaking of Tyrion, it was great to see him interacting with Jon again. The scenes between them at the start of the series are some of my favorites. They have a great chemistry together.
Good to see Sansa taking care of business in Winterfell. Though Littlefinger is still creeping around and I wonder what his plan might be. He must have something up his sleeve.
ANOTHER STARK REUNION!!!!! YESSS!!!
So happy to see Bran back in Winterfell again. This gave me the feels big time. But on the other hand I am also sad to see Bran so emotionally disconnected from everything now that he is the Three Eyed Raven. But it makes sense, because he knows everything now.
With Arya on the way we soon might have all the Starks back in Winterfell again! SQUEEE!!! The Pack back together!!! So excited for this.
Other thoughts:
Interesting to see that Jon cut Davos off right before he was about to tell that Jon was murdered and then resurrected. I’ve seen people complaining about the fact that nobody is talking about this on the show. We now have an answer why, apart from the wildlings and NW, not a lot of people know. And Jon doesn’t want anybody to know. Which makes sense, having been betrayed and killed by your own men is not something to brag about. He probably feels ashamed about it all.
Also wondering what will happen with Melisandre and the things she said to Varys.
So after three episodes the score is now:
Jon 0
Daenerys 0
Cersei 2
Jon and Dany better hurry up!
I really liked this episode and I am loving this season so far. So many great callbacks this season. It makes the story rounded and whole.
Great recap as always Oz!
It seems that majority things that this was the best episode of this season. For me season is getting better and better.
Great episode (and recap!) Loved how the Jon/Dany scene played out and as well as Olenna’s final scene. I’m interested to hear other people’s take on why Jon didn’t want people knowing he died. Part of me thinks it would make him sound crazy and lose credibility about the war with the dead. But then another part of me thinks that it would sell it even better by showing scars and proving if that’s possible then why not the rest. I also thought Sam got off pretty easy actually, I would gladly take that over scrubbing bedpans!
I get that Bran has been through some stuff but damn man, hug your sister.
And double damn – there are only TEN GOT episodes left.
“They just like severed heads, really.”
Euron, summing up the rotten people of KL in one very fine line.
Arkash,
Good one… this episode was filled with quotable dialogue!
Forgot to mention that Ozzette currently has a time gripe… the fact that Jon can make it all the way to Dragonstone, the Unsullied can go all the way to Casterly Rock, and Euron can build 1,000 ships and sail everywhere yet Cersei’s hair has barely grown.
Someone help me. Yes the Tyrells lost the Tarleys. That said, their army is fresh and unscathed compared to the other armies of Westeros, save the Vale. They had the largest army too. Wasn’t it like 100K. Then deduct the Tarlrys. The Lannisters had 60K at the start of the series. They lost a ton fighting Robb. Jamie had half the army when they got smoked at Whispering Wood. Then add men lost along the way(Blackwater, Casterly Rock, etc.) How do the Lannisters just march over the Tyrells like that? Let alone a siege which favors those in the castle?
Always nice to read your recaps, Oz. Now I’m only waiting for Dee’s comment to show up…
Is anyone else wondering how Cersei has such great intel over the past two weeks? I can’t believe it’s completely Qyburn’s little birds – seems to me there is a mole in Dany’s inner circle. Am I just crazy?
Tyrion to Jon: You look better brooding than I do. LOL!
I read this site all the time but first time commenting for me…
Couple quick things, I thought it was a righteous BA episode.
Does Euron have a wooden fleet of Jetboats? He pops in KL to deliver his gift to crazy lady and then drops the hammer to get his fleet up to Casterly Rock to destroy whats left of the Greyjoy ‘fleet’?
Bran is now a three eyed emo flake. Can’t even hug your own sister and then drops some creepy comments.. C’mon man
Can Dragons smell Targaryen blood? I thought it was awesome one gave Jon a flyby….could’ve sworn it winked at him.
Did anybody else seem a bit surprised at Sam just cutting off the scales and VOILA** you are healed!
So all Dany has left is her dragons and the Dothraki (who are really chilled out now)?
Lastly, now that Jaime knows Lady O poisened Joff it’ll be interesting to see how he uses that nugget of info as Crazy Cersei tried to blame Tyrion for that.
Great episode
I’m sad that we’ll never get to see cheeseboy again…Sigh, Lady Olenna Tyrell, you were a masterclass!
Greywind,
Tarley is the Top general in the Tyrell army. If he turned then so will the majority of his banner-man leaving Highgarden vulnerable to easy take over!
They maybe lost more. There were many lords from the Reach in KL in E2.
I’m just guessing here…first, I think more Tyrell bannermen defected other than just the Tarly’s (maybe even the Sarly’s…ha ha, my user name…never mind). After all, there were a bunch of people in the throne room with the Tarly’s when Cersei was addressing them. So, a sizable chunk could have split off. Second, I’m guessing that only the Tyrell’s immediate troops were at Highgarden when the Lannisters attacked. That’d be like only the Starks being at Winterfell and none of the other Northern houses being present. Couple that with the fact the Tyrell family doesn’t excel at military endeavors whereas Jaime and Randyll are extremely experienced generals. Thus, there could still be a large about of still-loyal-to-the-Tyrell troops out there, but they’d be fragmented, scattered and likely no longer well supplied. Plus, with some other prominent Tyrell bannermen fighting for Cersei, they’d probably not stick with Dany anymore (don’t think they have fierce loyalty like the North does…sort of). Anyway, that’s my take.
Ok so the Sand Snakes are out of business. But what about the rest of Dorne? They obviously have a military that has no engaged anyone yet. Are they still on Dany’s side?
RIP Olenna. Her exit did serve to take the wind out of Jamie’s sails. How is he confident he is doing the right thing by backing Cersi after finding out Tyrion had nothing to do with the death of his son? Sure, Tyron killed Tywin but an argument could be made that Tywin contributed to his own death by the treatment of his son. Cersi being more like her dad wants power and doesn’t care how she gets it but I wonder if Jamie can stomach her methods much longer.
We have a meeting of ice and fire but they are testing each other to make sure an alliance is worth it. Dany wants her throne and Jon wants to make sue that there is someone left to sit on it. He’s no longer a man to kneel so they will have to compromise to be able to create an alliance. Jon has noticed one thing, if Dany had rode straight to Kings Landing she could have won the throne right away. The only reason that at this point she has been losing is she made tactical errors to avoid being Queen of the Ashes and that has earned some respect.
Jorah getting his cure had me thinking the Masters should bottle that stuff instead of sending Sam to detention. I wonder what’s in the rotting books, opportunity?
Bran creeping his sister out his sister out has me wondering if certain schemers should avoid getting near him.
Prediction for next week- Dany gets a win finally. She’s got to have a victory somewhere as we will be halfway through the season by next week. I’m not sure if she attacks KL now or maybe attacks Lannisters at Highgarden or what but I think she will take Olenna’s advice and be the dragon. Enough losing.
A wise man once said “The history of the world is a history of great battles compressed so much they appear to be happening in elegant rooms.”
The Wolves of Winter,
The hard part of being a dragon is not killing a lot of innocent people in the process. Dany doesn’t want to be like Cersi but Olenna was right the only way to start winning is figuring out how to be a dragon without too much collateral damage. Anyone in Cersi’s army way want to rethink their career in the military.
Yeah, I thought it was going to be a bit awkward for Davos to talk about how the men of the Watch chose Jon to be Lord Commander, and then immediately proceed to the part about where a subset of those people took turns stabbing him.
Dany has no way to get her army to Highgarden. It would be a very long march for her Dothraki and there’d be no supply line. It’d also be a long march to Casterly Rock, but I’d see her more trying that to save her Unsullied forces than trying to capture Highgarden.
I took the thing about the knife in the heart to mean that Jon already felt like they were stretching credibility with Dany… he didn’t want to also throw in there that he had also been resurrected.
That and being killed and resurrected isn’t really a believable story. Outside of what’s left of the Night’s Watch and the Brotherhood Without Banners, no one has seen or even really heard about someone being brought back from the dead. So, to start touting it could easily make him lose credibility. I think that’s the main reason more so than not wanting it to be known he was killed by his own men. There will probably be a time and place to bring it up and or show the scars as proof. But he has to gain some initial trust first before strategically using that bombshell if need be.
Tamwell Sarly,
Maybe she catches them on the road back? I’m assuming they are going to KL. Maybe she decides to finally take KL. Either way I don’t think the good guys are going to keep losing. At least I hope not.
Well, that truly was a doozy.
What an amazing episode, and this can go down in my top 10 or 12…. As of now.
Quick thoughts:
– The visuals in this episode are out of this world. I cant even begin to explain how wowed I was. I cant wait to do a rewatch.
– I absolutely adored the scenes in Dragonstone. I think they will go down as some of my favorites. The acting was superb, the dialogue was perfect. I am so happy with how it played out. Jon and Dany together (not as a couple) are amazing. And hope it stays that way. FAN SERVICE BABY lol The scenes with Tyrion and Jon were perfect. I love all the call backs to old seasons. Jon saying he isn’t a stark and a dragon flying over him… Dany talking about her hardships, you forget what she has been through to get to where she is. I honestly am so happy with these scenes. And the final scene of Jon and Daenerys…. Perfection.
– Very intrigued by Mel and Varys scene…. I am starting to like melisandre, and now she is leaving. Her evolvement and change has begun to redeem herself in my eyes. Understanding and admitting that what she did was wrong is huge… and she truly just wants to serve her lord and end the great night. I do hope we see her again, because I really thought she would see Arya again.
– Lena, Indira and Rosabel were FANTASTIC in this episode. But I have to say cutting from Jon and Dany and dragonstone scenes to KL, I was like come on move on. LOL. The scene in the dungeons though was incredible… I was feeling all these emotions… sad for Cersei, when she talked about Mycella, and sad for Tyene, who has to suffer because of her mother…. And Indira sold her horror so much I felt so bad for her…. Even though she murdered an innocent child.
– I am over Cersei and Jamie.. and all of them. Die already
– Winterfell scenes were fantastic… Sophie was outstanding in this episode…. Her comment to LF…. Her reunion with Bran. I actually cried, even though Bran has no emotions during the reunion. Sophie was so amazing…. I said this in another thread… Im so nervous now, I have come to love Sansa even more this season… she is trying desperately to restore what they had before, the Stark name, the Stark family… and it breaks my heart. I am really worried as to what is going to happen now.
– Im appalled at the comments about bran being a creep. Hes a fucking three eyed raven? Hello? The other 3ER wasnt a creep? He doesn’t show emotion but he felt sorry and sad for sansa and what she went through…. I think that, sorry, those comments I have been seeing are a little unreasonable about bran. Also, Sophie walking away emotional, she nailed it. I was crying for her. I am curious what this means for Sansa moving forward… and I absolutely have nooooooooooooooooooo idea what is going to happen this story line
– LF NEEDS TO FUCKING DIE
– The final scenes were amazing. I am happy we didn’t see the whole battles.. we have so many coming, we already had a massacre… and I love how these battles were call backs to previous seasons… the Young wolf, and the mention of him gave me feels… Olenna and Jamie’s final scene were fantastic… I am so happy she told him about joffrey, and I hate Jamie more than ever right now… and I don’t care if he dies.. and even if he realizes that Cersei is poison and decides to leave, I still don’t care if he dies… because it took him so long to do so.
– Sam is boss. He is going to find something very important in those scrolls.
You guys, can I give this episode an 11/10 ?? because im gonna
WOOOO
Could be, but my hunch is that they will no longer factor into the plot since we are nearing the end of the show. The Dornish army is in tact but they are politically leaderless and perhaps even militarily leaderless. It’s too late to introduce new major characters at this point. So, if they do still factor in, it’d probably be in the background on not on screen. That said, the Dornish do have extreme motivation to strike at the Lannisters…more so than most other houses.
Ryan,
Agreed. They already doubted the White Walker BS. They definitely weren’t going to buy the “Jon came back from the dead” fable.
Gfx,
I just think for a few reasons, Jon is not too proud of what happened, Jon doesn’t seem into magic, Jon doesn’t even know why he was brought back, Jon doesn’t like to feel special, hes very humble, Jon thinks people wont believe him
Many reasons..
Oz of Thrones,
What?
Maybe she is not trying to grow it, and she likes it short?
RIP Tycho’s beard.
Lord Parramandas,
Awww! Its here 🙂
I worry about Bran meeting Jon, if it ever happens.
“I saw aunt Lyanna giving birth to you. You killed her. She was so beautiful in that bed full of blood”.
Yes, agreed, she’ll score a victory soon. She’s going to unleash the dragons. She has to now or she won’t have any other military strength at this rate. I still don’t think she’s going after King’s Landing though and Highgarden is too far.
Dee Stark,
Hello, the happy GoT fan. I’ve been waiting for your comment and I’m pleased to see your positivity didn’t leave you. I’m sure you were waiting for this meeting for quite some time. Your head didn’t explode, right? ANy way, I agree with a lot of your points as usual (except for the ones about Jaime… I really enjoy his character). And Sansa was really shining in this episode. She’s everything else but the person described in an interview. And LF is a snake as always.
Any way, a really amazing episode and I still have trouble to find a spot for it on my ranklist. As for my own review (forum thread), it will be on soon.
I didn’t even pick up on the possible symbolism there. Yeah, that’s quite an “opportune” time for a fly by!
My comments keep disappearing… 🙁
I wouldn’t call Bran a creep but he appears to be devoided of humanity almost completely (stress in almost). He felt sorry for what happened to Sansa, surely. But the almost robotic way in which he told her what he saw and the little to no effort he made in trying to console her or at least comfort her (she was becoming very distressed, for obvious reasons) made him look like he had very little empathy left in him…
Dee Stark,
I always love reading your reactions. Wonderful antidote to the nitpickiness that sometimes dominates the comment sections.
I keep flip flopping on where I think Arya is going now (after running into Nymeria). At first I still thought she was going to Winterfell (partly because that’s what I wanted to see happen). But then I got to thinking, plot wise, what would she do in Winterfell after an emotional reunion with Sansa and a non-emotional reunion with Bran? So then I figured perhaps she is going back to King’s Landing because at least there she can try to go after Cersei. And, now, perhaps she could run into and help Theon who may show up there to attempt a Yara rescue? Maybe run into Gendry in the process (unless he’s still rowing his boat somewhere)? Then I thought, well, maybe in Winterfell she could run into the Hound as he passes through and then perhaps go after Littlefinger? But that “SOB isn’t dying anytime soon” back to KL?
I always believed positive attitude is the best approach to any TV series and Dee’s comments are a great example of that. I see no joy in finding things that I would not like… sure, there is always something but I rather speak about the things I liked.
A Dornish Tyrell,
He is the three eyed raven now, and knows everything. Why people expected anything less from him would be silly. It would be too cliché
Hodor Targaryen,
Thank you so much 🙂
The whole Olenna telling Jaime about Joffrey landed with a thud for me. For one, saw it coming a mile away, for two, Jaime never really gave a shit about Joffrey and I doubt he’s going to tell Cersei about it.
Where is Ghost?
White Walkers must be at the Wall by now (so much Fast-Traveling!)
Arya and Bran will definitely have a good time when she gets to WF.
Dragons over Westeros!
Also, I would’ve thought Tyene would’ve put up more of a fight. I mean Cersei was so close to her, she could’ve inflicted some damage being a Sand Snake and all.
Dee Stark,
Awesome thoughts.
I like to joke about Bran’s comment, but I think he was trying to be sweet to his sister… he was showing her his powers while still trying to confort her over what happened. Unfortunately, it came off as slighty creepy.
One positive thing I noticed about this season is that it acknowledged both Theon and Sansa’s PTDS. The show unfortunately can’t devote a huge amount of time to this kind of stuff, but it hasn’t brushed off their experiences with Ramsay.
I don’t think Cersei will give 2 fucks, its in the past and they are all dead. She has bigger goals.
As for the reunion of Bran and Sansa, well, at least Sansa was emotional, Bran is like a brain dead corpse… Like crack a smile or shed a tear dude…
I don’t get Jon, I mean the show goes back and forth on him, he’s made it pretty clear he doesn’t enjoy what he’s doing and doesn’t want to lead. Then why not bend the knee, its not like Jon gives a fuck about the Throne… Its kinda getting silly.
Other than that, the Dragons rock and hopefully we see tons of burnt Lannisters soon. Dany is gonna have enough of this. I just hope that spear machine doesn’t take out Drogon…
Billy Bob Stargaryen,
Hi Billy Bob, welcome to the Wall! 😀
I think when Tyrion was taking about Euron’s fleet he said they (Team Targ) didn’t know where it was and the ships might not all be in the same place. If Euron has loads of boats he could easily split them up into smaller groups, so they could be traveling to different places at the same time? That’s just a guess btw, I dunno the answer 🤔
Dee Stark,
Exactly! That’s the price he has to pay for his gift/burden.
I imagine that the reunion with Arya is going to be similar: she is going to be almost detached from her siblings (except maybe from Jon).
Our Starks have suffered a lot and they have changed accordingly: there is no way they could be a “normal” family again…
Someone help me out here – I probably shouldn’t even be bringing this up since it has nothing to do with this episode or even season. But, it’s been bugging me for a while so I wanted to ask. Back in season 1, Benjen took off on a ranging mission with 2 other rangers. Not long after Benjen’s horse returns alone. So, the Night’s watch goes out on a brief search and finds the bodies of the 2 other rangers, but no sign of Benjen. Then, later that night, because they didn’t burn the bodies the 2 dead rangers reanimate as wights (I believe this was our first introduction to wights). Jon and Ghost save Lord Commander Mormont. Fast forward to season 6, Benjen “Coldhands” saves Bran and Meera. He explains that his ranger group went on a deep mission far out where he encountered the walkers, was killed, and left to reanimate. However, the children of the forest found him and “saved” him with some magic (even though he’s still dead) before he became a full wight. Here’s what I don’t get. If Benjen went that far out then there’s no way his horse would’ve returned by itself and they also wouldn’t have found the bodies of the 2 other rangers. However, if the attack had happened much closer to the wall then the Children wouldn’t have found Benjen because they wouldn’t have ventured that far way from the protection of their tree. So which is it? Am I missing something or is this just a plot hole I should conveniently ignore?
Dee Stark,
I said Bran was creeping his sister out. He’s hitting the replay on the worst parts of his sisters life, which is creepy. His talking about memories he shouldn’t know that proves he is the 3 eyed raven and can see everything and no one is a secret to him.
Tamwell Sarly,
The rangers died … Benjen and his horse pushed on. Later, the horse fled … Benjen pushed on by foot.
I’m not hating on Bran please understand, but his comments to Sansa about how nice the weather was the night she was raped WAS freaky. There is just no way around it. Apparently one of the side effects of being the Three Eyed Raven is that you lose your social intelligence, at least initially, here’s hoping his new found catatonia is not permanent. And let’s give Meera a hand, what a thankless mission she fulfilled, give that girl a vacation people.
Hey Oz – As always, great recap.
Any idea what the deal with the Dornish army is now? Are they still loyal to Dany?
Do they want revenge for the torture of their ruler? Were they even loyal to Ellaria?
I mentioned it after the premiere and it’s continued through three episodes… Sophie is doing her best work this season imo. As someone that has criticized her in the past for a lack of (believable) emotional range and a lot of odd or wooden dialogue delivery that’s sounded like simply reciting lines, I feel I have to comment more than once when I think she’s doing well. In my remarks after the premiere I mentioned that I hope she keeps it up. So far she has.
LatrineDiggerBrian,
that’s your problem
it wasn’t more about caring for joffrey, its about knowing tyrion didn’t do it.
Dany would believe the story of Jon’s resurrection, if it was told by one of her own advisors, who happened to be the person who actually performed the resurrection. It’s not like it’s crazy-talk; she wanted the witch to do the same thing to Drogo, and it sort of worked. She might be mad about it being completely successful with Jon, and not her, but there wouldn’t be any disbelief.
Dee Stark,
Good point!
Vincent Stark,
I fully agree with you 🙂
A Dornish Tyrell,
Yup one hundred percent
I do wonder if Arya is going to make it to Winterfell…. I do wonder if Jon will make it back to Winterfell and Bran is still there. I don’t know any more
#NOSPOILERSNOPROMOS!!!!!!!!!
Maybe, but Jon doesn’t know that. And, although it would be hypocritical of Dany to have experienced supernatural events (birthing of her extinct dragons and surviving multiple raging infernos) and yet not believe Jon’s story, I think that’s still the likely outcome. Coming back from the dead requires a lot more belief…pretty much have to see it to believe it.
He can’t bend the knee because then he’d betray the trust northern lords put in him. They didn’t name him King in the North to go and conscript the North in some southern wars.
I think this will actually be a very important point in why Daenerys likes Jon Snow. He didn’t invade, usurp the title. He was basically voted to lead. She often considers herself same in that respect. She wants to help the people she leads.
Except Drogo wasn’t dead, he was dying sure, they were trying to heal his wounds. Jon died, like, dead, dead, not breathing anymore.
But bending the knee has no effect on the southern wars, Jon can still go and fight his war in the North, he just needs the Dragon Glass. Also the northern Kingdoms all served House Targaryen before in prosperity and peace. Jon also just scolded them all on not to lay blame on sons and daughters of mad parents, they would understand, also having 3 Dragons would surely help melt those frozen undead :P.
Its just silly writing at this point. It wouldn’t change anything to have Jon kneel, since he doesn’t want the Throne anyways and doesn’t care for the War with Cersei…yet.
Yeah, lots of bs sent Bran’s way. It’s sad. Bran said something about everything being in fragments. Imagine what he’s seeing, most of those fragments contain horrible visions. We are shocked, appalled when we see one horrible thing. With Bran, it is as if he is right there, viewing the horror as it happens; the events are myriad in number. He has had no knowledgeable adult there to help him sort things out, just one very loyal, very tired girl, with little worldly experience of her own. He can’t connect one horror to another yet, it is all the nastiness of the world heaped on an innocent, injured boy. If we can believe PTSD in Theon, we’d better be able to believe it in Bran. Poor kid is a mess, way beyond any relief a hug may bring.
Thronetender,
oh my God so well said. That is what I have been trying to say.
Clob,
Coming from you that’s huge 🙂 yayyyy
T Rufus Martin,
I understand. They will have to draw out the Lannister army out of KL and on to the field and then burn them.
Bending the knee means that Dany could order him to go south with the entire army and fight Cersei. I don’t know that she would, but she could.
Tamwell Sarly,
I also think it will be brought up again at some point. Especially since Dany and Tyrion were talking about and didn’t know what Davos meant with a knife in the heart.
Hmm.. does “the three of them encounter wildlings, 2 of the rangers were killed, Benjen’s horse ran off, Benjen survives and takes one of the other horses and continues the mission alone” work?
Fair, I don’t think she would tho, she kinda believes Jon and his fight since she allowed him to mine the glass. She has more than enough to attack Cersei with, yes she just lost her Tyrell allies, but they were more lovers than fighters 😛
The Unsullied are trapped at Casterly Rock but Dany will hit those ships hard with her Dragons, which I think we see in the preview for next week! She’s going riding!
Drogon’s Flame,
The thing is, if Jon bends the knee, Daenerys asks his men to fight Cersei and then he has to comply. He obviously doesn’t want to get in that situation.
It’s not at all about Jon and any titles. He simply doesn’t want to hand over the North, because that would mean nobody fights the White Walkers at all. At least nobody fights them till it’s too late.
I don’t think Bran is disconnected fro his emotions. He is trying to give nothing away because he is still learning to differentiate the past from the present. If he says or does the wrong thing we get new Hodors. He has to compartmentalize the guilt of what he did to Hodor, and also compartmentalize the grief from the brutal loss of Hodor.
I got the sense he was having visions the whole time Meera was dragging him south.
Just some silly stuff is all, how did they not recon the Rock before attacking, I mean you have 3 aerial threats. Dany could easily fly by and scope it out.
Tyrion got played thinking the Rock was still the seat of Power… Daddy is gone, Rock is useless now.
TOIVA,
I fully agree with you. The northern lords choose him to be their king and with that also to not be a part of the Seven Kingdoms. Jon cannot simply ignore that, nor will he.
Also thought that the scene between Daenerys and Jon and him not wanting to bend the knee kind of echos the scene between Jon and Mance in season 5.
Drogon’s Flame,
You use the word “silly” a lot, but your posts seem to fit that description more than anyone else’s.
Swearing fealty and/or bending the knee is practically a sacred act. It means your word is your bond and you’re a man of honor who would never go back on your word. “Honor” is the lifeblood of the Starks. Jon wants to live up to the standard of honor that Ned, the man he believes is his father, set. To not honor his word, is to throw away the Stark legacy, which he’s lived his life to try to be a part of. If you don’t understand this, you haven’t been paying the slightest bit of attention.
The Wolves of Winter,
Another suggestion is get away from the sea so Euron (if he is near) has to leave his ships to get into the battle.
Umm the Starks swore fealty to the Targs long ago. So what your saying is he should honor that oath, if he is so honorable?
Jon doesn’t care about the political shit, I think he’s made that very well known. He doesn’t even want to lead.
Also if you say he is honorable then kneeling wouldn’t be that hard for him since he clearly sees Dany as not her father but also a good person with just a different agenda.
I’ll yet have to rewatch the episode, but I gotta say I really loved the Dragonstone scenes. I liked how Sansa talked sense at Winterfell and I agree with many that Indira Varma and Rosabell Laurenti-Sellers played well in the crypt (I’m kinda sad that was probably the last of them we’ve seen in GoT – was hoping for some Bronn interaction). On that note, Cersei manages to be more cruel than I imagined, she doesn’t even let Tyene or Ellaria say any last words to each other…
The rest, well, the battles did feel rushed. Probably because they were rushed. That said, I understand there’s probably no other way around it.
What I was most saddened by was however Jaime. At the beginning of the season, he was (rightfully) cautious or even afraid or disgusted by his sister. Now, for some reason, he’s back in her throes. Was that one night so good?
I suppose it’s better than nothing. But for the rangers to be reanimated as wights, there would have had to be a walker (or the Night King – not sure if he’s the only one with the power to re-animate) near the area of the original attack. Anyway, not that big of a deal I guess…I’ll accept your proposed theory because doesn’t seem like there’s any other possibility.
A thousand titles and one.
Because it’d take the dragons a while to fly that far and back to Dragonstone, but, more importantly, it’d be a dead giveaway that Casterly Rock was where the attack was headed. I guess that’s a moot point because the Lannisters somehow knew anyway, but Tyrion and Dany didn’t know that. So, they wouldn’t want to give away their plan by circling dragons over the Rock like that.
Oh, Jaime is still quite conflicted. He’s fallen back into his old habits, the old routine, for sure. But you can tell there are thoughts and doubts dancing around in the back of his mind just by some of the looks he’s given Cersei this season. He even initially tried to rebuff Cersei’s advances in this episode. He’s definitely torn and while he may be going through the motions as if he was still 100% in Cersei’s corner, mentally and emotionally he’s not.
Based on her own experience, Daenerys might’ve believed Jon Snow if he told her about his resurrection. However, Jon has no idea that Daenerys has any experience with this, so he has no reason to think that Daenerys would believe him.
Perhaps once Dany and Jon get a chance to talk in private she’ll tell him how she gave birth to her dragons and that will make Jon feel comfortable enough to discuss his resurrection.
Dee Stark,
No, it was portrayed as her rubbing his nose in it and him being upset. Why would the news that Tyrion didn’t do it impact Jaime? He never suspected he did it all along, hence why he tried helping him while he was awaiting trial and ultimately ended up freeing him. So no, don’t agree with that at all — makes no sense.
Random thoughts:
-Girl power failing so far.Be a dragon, damnit!
-Love Cersei’s maids outfit. The Cerseiettes.
-Loved how Olenna got to get the last word.
-When will Jaime get disgusted with his evil queen of a sister?
-Tyrion sucks strategically, I guess.
-Hey Jon Snow, aren’t you a bit overdressed compared to the others?
-RIP yellow shirt. We will miss you.
-Snow does not want people to know about the resurrection. Maybe he’s afraid that that would very much pinpoint him as an Azor Ahai kind of guy and he fears the mad king’s daughter might take it badly.
-Mel takes off to Volantis,home of the best maternity hospitals.
-Bran came back from Thibet.He needs to talk to Jon. Needs to practice his empathy too.
-Sam will accidentally discover how to forge valyrian steel while fulfilling his writing penalty. Just as he came across the cure for greyscale and the dragonglass mine.
-LF has become absolutely irrelevant. Please kill him off.
-Who will rule Dorne now? Actually, I don’t care.
-So weird to see Billy Bones in his shiny armour.
Sothoryos,
How? Her hands were chained (think her feet were too) and her mouth was gagged so she couldn’t bite.
I think that Bran’s behavior could be compared to Depersonalization-derealization disorder described at
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dissociative-disorders/symptoms-causes/dxc-20269565
Bran’s condition comes from being the 3eyed raven but how he is acting is similar to the disorder. He is experiencing life outside of himself and it makes interacting with people in real time feel odd. He is adapting to being out of time, watching the past and future as an observer, then having to deal with people he can interact with in real time. He’s new at this and never finished his training with the former 3eyed raven. I quess he’s learning on the job,
Thanks, even though it’s obvious, it didn’t totally compute what bending the knee would entail. Of course, she would make him go, to test his loyalty. It would mean putting all his most important matters secondary to her needs or be branded a traitor, which in this case would mean that the WW would be at the shores of Dragonstone before she woke up to the real danger. People who say why does he just do it haven’t thought it through. He has suffered for being a “traitor” before, we don’t need to see it happen again.
Jon was right when he said that Danny’s only claim to the throne was “my crazy daddy had it”, while he had no birth right and earned it. She was so stiff and entitled, as usual. Hope she dies already.
ash,
Cersei removed her gag to kiss her. That’s when she said “Mama”
Oh, how dumb am I!? People have probably mentioned it and I missed that too. I’m on my fifth watch and I didn’t realize until now that the ship Varys sees at the end of his conversation with Mel is not Jon’s anchored in the bay. He even has a reaction and takes a step back. I’ve been so focused on the J & D meeting that I didn’t bother to notice that Varys got the news of the Greyjoy defeat from that returning ship. It’s right there in plain sight… and maybe nobody commented on it at all because it is.
I guess it pays to watch every episode many times for more than just enjoyment. 😛
And me watching Game of Thrones, if I’m being honest.
I stand with you on the Jamie character. He may be a twin who is sleeping with his twin, protecting his twin, he isn’t the same person as Cersi. He has shown he has limits. He doesn’t want the iron throne. He has seen what that throne has done to people. What complicates his life is he loves Cersi and she wants the damn thing so he’s compelled to help her get it. What we do for love.
Hello,
I have been reading along for a few years now (love the website!) and am a huge fan of the show and the books. I also enjoyed the last episode. I like how the characters developed and learned from their adventures and wars. Everything sort of “condensed” to a couple of important characters now. However, with every new house that joined the GRRM universe in the past seasons, I was always wondering how important it really is. I was really hoping that some characters remain important to the overall story and the “endgame” But with the Boltons, the Tyrells and Dorne disappearing, I can’t shake the feeling that -while I liked watching them- they were mostly used as a distraction and we are now back in season 1 and 2 with the Starks, the Lannisters and the Targaryens. With some characters (Boltons) I thought “good riddance”, with others I was very sad to see the go. For example I had high hopes for Mance Rayder back then… sad to see the character and all he built die and I was also hoping that Oleanna stays on for a bit longer.. Oh well… Now I can’t wait for the next episode and hope that we get more flashbacks from Bran (who was a bit off in the last episode, I thought..). Cheers from Germany!
First of all, I apologize to Jaime’s fans. But to me, he’ll never be redeemed until he dedicates his life to Bran’s cause. Yup, “the things we do for love”, my *ss. Hated him so much when he pushed that boy out of the window.
Kattarine,
Hi! That’s a good observation. Certainly, the story from season 1 has diverged onto different paths as the seasons went along and now everything’s converging again. It started in the north/WF. I wonder if the very last scene in the finale will be there as well.
LatrineDiggerBrian,
no no
makes a lot of sense
He sees just how crazy cersei is
The original Stargaryen,
she wont die anytime soon, 😉
Clob,
duhhhhhh
hahahah!
Sam,
Meh im over Jamie, even if he abandons Cersei, I don’t care if he dies. It took him so long to do so.
Dee Stark,
I wonder if that is how many of us will feel about the last season of the show. If they do wait a year and a half to release it we will watch, but perhaps we won’t really care. I think it’s a mistake, these longer off seasons of TV shows.
Sorry to be such a pessimist lol.
ygritte,
hahahah
maybe for the casual viewers.
I agree I don’t think its a good idea.. people will watch the last season, but maybe not LIVE…
and seeing as it would be the last, I don’t think the producers care..
ygritte,
Really? I know for myself that I’m too much of a GoT fan for my feelings to just fade away. Especially considering I rewatch the show every year.
When it comes to my favorite TV series overall, I only rewatch it every three years and my feelings get even stronger on every rewatch. I rather not describe my reaction when I watched the finale (for the third time) back in June… I surprised myself with my reaction. And I don’t see why GoT would be any different in my case, considering that I become more and more invested into characters every year.
It’s not totally useless. Now that it has run out of gold, the only real resources the Westerlands have in abundance are weapons and lots of potential conscripts. If those potential conscripts (fishermen and farmers) can somehow be prevented from joining the Lannister forces, (say by 40,000 mounted Dothraki screamers patrolling from the Rock all the way to the Golden Tooth) that seemingly bottomless well of Lannister reinforcements dries up.
The Last Remaining ships Daeny has are those that carried the Dothraki from the Bay of Dragons to Dragonstone. And given how well Euron has done in surface combat, the only thing protecting those remaining ships are Daeny’s children.
My most bothersome logistical question is how on the relatively small island, Daeny is feeding and housing all those sailors, the Dothraki, and the Dothraki horses now that the Great Grass Sea is a Narrow Sea away?
One might surmise that only the warriors came (at least those not needed to protect their own families back in the GGS) in order to make best use of scarce shipping assets. But still that’s one hell of a lot of fodder and foodstuffs. If shipped from somewhere else are those ships not vulnerable to Euron who is using King’s Landing as his supply base?
Based on Daney’s statements to Jon, there are also armorers or at least skilled artisans and smiths. From the panoramic views I would have expected to see a large tent city instead of all the empty spaces. Perhaps the keep has vast underground galleries we have not seen?
Also where are the ships that carried the Dothraki anchored and how well is that anchorage defended?
The original Stargaryen,
Oh, right – mmm.
Shock Me,
Ive wondered that too, unless a few of those ships carried enough provisions for several months. Still – there is nothing on the island except for dragonglass…..mmm, maybe jon snow can deliver food in trade for mining that one resource?
ugashep,
Maybe it’s Bran’s way of reminding Sansa how dangerous Littlefinger is and that she should never ever let her guard down with him?
On the subject of no apparent inhabited land on Dragonstone (apart from the fortress itself), I’ve often wondered about where people live pretty much all over Westeros.
If you think about it, the only cities we’ve seen are King’s Landing and Oldtown. I suppose there must at least be villages somewhere, but I don’t think we’ve ever seen any. And supposedly there would be some even on Dragonstone, it’s not that small. And people gotta be coming from somewhere if only to fill the armies we’ve seen crushed.
EDIT: Oh wait a second, there were those few houses that the Thenns attacked with Tormund. Also: Mole’s Town. If anything like that can sustain itself so far north, there gotta be plenty settlements south.
TOIVA,
Yes, there are villages and towns all over Westeros. And almost every major castle has a town or a city next to it. Winter town close to Winterfell, Lannisport next to Casterly Rock… and Sunspear next to Water Gardens.
Well hey, on a rewatch the episode is so much better! On my first view, I must have been too annoyed and taken aback by the Tyrrel demise that it clouded it all. (I’m still kinda pissed how easy it looked to storm a castle that should have been rather well defended, regardless of the relative strenght Jaime brought.)
Daenerys and Jon: It’s wonderful not only how each stands their ground, but how Daenerys tries her best to intimidate/convince Jon. She attemps probably all anybody could think of: She plays a regal dignified ruler, tries to rely on old oaths and once working systems (doesn’t work). Most uncharacteristically (so far in her development), she tries a gentle way by showing some humility and apologising for the suffering of Starks by her father’s hand (still doesn’t move Jon). So Daenerys turns to what’s worked best in the past, pretty much threatening Jon with her Dragons, Dothraki etc. And when that still isn’t enough to intimidate our intrepid northerner, she brings out the big speech about how she’s the Chosen one. But still the pesky short emo-kid doesn’t tremble in her might, doesn’t bow down… Daenerys has never come across anybody like that before (well, Varys was close, but still very slippery in his behaviour, like he does best). It’s because Jon has seen a lot of incredible things and, like Daenerys, truly believes in what has to be done.
I’m proud of how far Daenerys has come. In the seasons past, she would probably torch Jon Snow along with his ship and set her Dragons roaming and roasting at will. (I hope latest losses won’t lead to that yet.)
The Citadel: A lot has been written about Davos the comedian after his introduction of Jon: “Err, right… Let me introduce… This is Jon.” but Jim Broadbent absolutely kills it when he repeats after Jorah: “The climate?!” The look on his face is priceless. It also looks almost like a given that Sam is meant to find something important in the decomposing scrolls. Even like Archmaester Ebrose expects Sam to find something there. Speaking of scrolls…
Winterfell: Was it just me or did Littlefinger look stunned and uneasy when Maester Wolkan mentioned late Maester Luwin kept copies of all messages? Something about the letter Lysa sent Catelyn about the death of Jon Arryn perhaps? Maybe something incriminating could be found.
Other than that, I must disagree with Bran being creepy (relatively speaking). For one, he actually does smile a little when first seeing Sansa. And two, he never gets close to mentioning Ramsay. All he describes is the beauty there was right there (where they were sitting) in front of the old tree: His sister and the eerie weather. He was really trying to be nice mentioning what might have been the most beautiful thing he’s seen in his visions so far. Obviously he’s having a lot of trouble putting those snippets in larger context, I think that’s where his inexperience being Three Eyed Raven shows most.
And last, Tyrion’s voiceover during the taking of Casterly Rock. Other than the fact Daenerys still doesn’t turn mad (like she used to when things didn’t work using the sensible advice by either Jorah or Barristan – now she’s instead rather agonising over the prospect of not being able to help her allies and armies with dragons), it’s very rewarding to watch both Varys and Missandei in the scene. Particularly Missandei’s twitching and squirming as Tyrion explains all about his “low pursuits” with women not welcome in the castle.
So in the end, very good episode indeed. (And wow, probably my longest post yet.)
RT,
My thoughts exactly!
Every time I see Cersi and Jamie together I find myself humming ‘You give Love a Bad Name’.
Every time Jamie does her bidding I wonder what it will take for him to leave her. I think Olenna’s last bit of information will mean more to Jamie than it will to Cersi.