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scifi_rewatchPromises are kept and courses of action altered in this episode. We see the first fruits of both Cersei and Jon’s wars! Had some nice character moments, too, particularly for Arya and Theon.
It’s a good episode that starts to bring the bits of the plot together. Perhaps it’s a first sign, to those who want a hasty pace for the plot, that this is the season for them. :P
Summary
Dragonstone
Old tempers between former enemies flair, and Daenerys stays the course of siege warfare over mass destruction, despite compelling words from Olenna. Missandei arrives, promises Daenerys that she has a role to play in the Prince Who Was Promised prophecy, but so does Jon, whom she should meet. Finally, Grey Worm and Missandei share a tender moment before the latter is shipped off to take Casterly Rock.
Winterfell
Jon receives a note from Dany via Tyrion to come to Dragonstone and bend the knee. Later, he receives Sam’s missive about the dragonglass there, so he decides to go, despite protest from his lords. He leaves the North in Sansa’s hands, and threatens Littlefinger for being skeevy towards his sister.
Road North
At first, Arya is on her way south to kill Cersei, but in an inn she runs into Hot Pie who gives her massive news: the Boltons are defeated and Jon rules Winterfell as the King in the North! At the moment of choice, she turns her horse around. Later, she sees none other than Nymeria as none other than the head of a wolf pack; she tries to entice her old friend home, but Nymeria has found a new life.
King’s Landing
Cersei summons Olenna’s bannermen to fight for her instead of their liege lord. Randyll Tarly (Sam’s dad!), feels a sense of allegiance to Olenna, but words from the Lannister twins about Dany’s ruthlessness, foreign army and the like, ultimately sway him. With him in hand, the rest of the lords should follow suit.
Oldtown
The archmaester refuses to treat Jorah, because the only case known in treating an adult patient ended horribly. Sam already wants to go through with it, and that feeling intensifies once he realizes that Jorah is the former High Commander’s son. He performs the rather painful procedure in secret.
En route back to Dorne
Yara is escorting Ellaria and the Sand Snakes home, so they can form their army to lay siege to King’s Landing, when Euron attacks! Two of the Sand Snakes are killed, and Ellaria and her daughter are captured. Euron lays the final blow by besting Yara and taunting Theon, but Theon’s PSTD comes on in strong force, and he abandons his sister.
Possible spoilers
It’s already common knowledge that dragonglass is at Dragonstone, so likely something will come of that. So too, it seems, that dragons would be useful in fighting wights. It’s also accepted that “the Prince Who Was Promised” could be female, and could ergo apply to Dany. And Arya will probably head back to Westeros, maybe north, in one form or another…namely through Nymeria. Warging and skin changing have been largely excised from the show but are a bigger deal in the books.
Thoughts
In some ways not the most moving episode, but I liked it! And in terms of emotion, particularly when it came to Jon trusting Sansa with the north and Arya deciding to return home. I’ll say again that I don’t like a lot of their plot later on, but this was good stuff. I had the feels, both now and when I first watched!
But most of this episode is dedicated to advancing the plot. How will Jon, Cersei and Dany go about finding allies? What is Dany’s first move in taking the seven kingdoms? Euron kinda makes Cersei’s move for her. :P He’s crazy, but I have a particular soft spot for family drama. Not to mention that Ellaria and the Sand Snakes are so one dimensional that it’s easy to focus on the Greyjoys. (That being said…I liked the saucy flirtation between Yara and Ellaria, yes. :P Shame it had to come to an end so fast.) But truly, and beyond the plot, the best part of that scene was the dance between Euron, Yara and Theon. Alfie nailed it again—despite being relegated to the background for most of the ep—his callback to Ramsay’s brutality as the fighting turned gruesome made a lot of sense. I’m a big proponent of not getting over trauma easily. And it’s ever more heartbreaking when he betrays Yara in the process. But on a brighter note…the Sand Snakes are finally gone! :D Hopefully the actors find projects where they can be more fully realized characters.
In the behind the scenes section, DB Weiss pats himself on the back a bit for having Dany’s new allies be women. :P Yeah, it’s cool to see some powerful women discussing strategy around a war table…though ultimately it’s Tyrion’s plan that gets favored. :P Yara and Ellaria abandon their blood lust pretty quickly, but privately Olenna makes a case for Dany’s more ruthless side. Diana Rigg knows how to bring it! I also, of course, like that Tyrion and Ellaria at least acknowledge the bad blood between them, particularly around Myrcella’s death.
I think it’s also rather telling that Olenna sticks to her guns about ruthless attack. I mean, she cedes the battle plans and goes with Tyrion’s less brutal approach, but then she talks smack about him behind his back. :P This whole thing is reminding me of where she was at the end of last season…what else does she have to live for now that her family is gone? We see that behavior mirrored in Cersei. Hopefully Dany will keep wanting to be different…she will want her reign to be about justice, not revenge.
The Missandei/Grey Worm scene was very tender, and also two of the most personal performances about fear, trust and longing. (Plus it gave us our sexual content. :P) Alas, over all their relationship feels underdeveloped, because the show doesn’t have much time for it. Elsewhere, Melissandre takes the first step in bringing our titular characters together! Plus, she’s of the belief that both Jon and Dany have major roles to play. Varys is less certain—first of all he hates magic practitioners and didn’t Mel say the same thing about Stannis? But earlier, he and Dany had words—which plants Varys as a man of the people, and ensures that Dany wants to be a just ruler. I liked it.
Sam healing Jorah’s grey scale with a magical mcguffin cure seems more than a little convenient…it’s still canon in the books that this disease in adults is fatal. It’s obvious that the showrunners want to give Jorah the chance to re-join his queen. But of course I loved the character moments between Jorah and Sam. I mean, it already makes sense for Sam to want to do something proactive for a suffering man….and that feeling only intensifies when he realizes their connection. It’s nice when the show has callbacks to old relationships. Makes everything feel more real.
We also have Jon pinning Littlefinger to a wall, which is reminiscent of Ned in season one. :P Those Stark men can’t help but feel protective/possessive of the Stark women! I suppose the argument is that Littlefinger followed Jon to the crypts to asses whether or not the man could be manipulated. Turns out it’s a no…at least from LF’s vantagepoint. But with the final scene being of Jon leaving Sansa…alone with the man, it certainly seems like LF’s schemes will continue.
I also like that Jon is facing an uphill battle when he decides to leave home. It’s not only Sansa who is against him, but pretty much all of his lords! I get it, dude—you’ve seen the White Walkers, you really know what this threat is all about. It makes sense for Sansa and the lords to see a smaller picture. They’re not fighting him out of spite, but because Targaryens of the past were dangerous, and Dany does want to be queen of the north as well, Sansa points out. Jon doesn’t chastise her for her opinions this time, huzzah, instead he gives her the keys to the kingdom! :0 And earlier he turned to her for her counsel on Tyrion’s motives. It’s true that the men have respectful memories of each other from season one. But it’s Sansa who knows them best. Despite her misgivings, her trust in Tyrion’s character also leads Jon to the pro-Dragonstone camp. I just love that we get to see Sansa play a more active role. <3
More thoughts on Arya as well…again the behind the scenes section, the showrunners talk about how Nymeria is a stand in for Arya. Arya realizes, once her wolf turns down her offer, that she did the same thing when Ned promised she’d be lady of a castle. “That’s not me.” But I still think it can be deeper than that. Is it possible that Nymeria rejecting Winterfell and family means that Arya is ultimately destined to do the same? Maybe neither girl is meant to be domestic. Nymeria will continue to lead her pack of wolves, and Arya will turn away from home and go back to her list, to revenge. Then again, maybe Arya herself will “lead a pack of wolves,” aka the Starks. But I can’t shake the feeling that, much like Theon, she can’t go home again. :/ Her story arc on this show defines her too much. Then again…both Theon and Arya aren’t at the end of the road yet!
Finally, on the least character driven and most plotty part of the episode, we arrive in King’s Landing. :P I mean, I like the propaganda that the Lannister twins spin against Dany. Certainly makes a lot of sense to point out her ruthlessness in Essos, and to play on the fears of foreign armies taking your land and people. And I like that Randyll Tarly at least shows some loyalty to Olenna before he is swayed. But the most personal part of the entire scene was when Jaime called Sam’s brother “Rickon” instead of “Dickon.” :P Yup, sometimes you just need to advance the plot.
It’s a good episode that starts to bring the bits of the plot together. Perhaps it’s a first sign, to those who want a hasty pace for the plot, that this is the season for them. :P
Summary
Dragonstone
Old tempers between former enemies flair, and Daenerys stays the course of siege warfare over mass destruction, despite compelling words from Olenna. Missandei arrives, promises Daenerys that she has a role to play in the Prince Who Was Promised prophecy, but so does Jon, whom she should meet. Finally, Grey Worm and Missandei share a tender moment before the latter is shipped off to take Casterly Rock.
Winterfell
Jon receives a note from Dany via Tyrion to come to Dragonstone and bend the knee. Later, he receives Sam’s missive about the dragonglass there, so he decides to go, despite protest from his lords. He leaves the North in Sansa’s hands, and threatens Littlefinger for being skeevy towards his sister.
Road North
At first, Arya is on her way south to kill Cersei, but in an inn she runs into Hot Pie who gives her massive news: the Boltons are defeated and Jon rules Winterfell as the King in the North! At the moment of choice, she turns her horse around. Later, she sees none other than Nymeria as none other than the head of a wolf pack; she tries to entice her old friend home, but Nymeria has found a new life.
King’s Landing
Cersei summons Olenna’s bannermen to fight for her instead of their liege lord. Randyll Tarly (Sam’s dad!), feels a sense of allegiance to Olenna, but words from the Lannister twins about Dany’s ruthlessness, foreign army and the like, ultimately sway him. With him in hand, the rest of the lords should follow suit.
Oldtown
The archmaester refuses to treat Jorah, because the only case known in treating an adult patient ended horribly. Sam already wants to go through with it, and that feeling intensifies once he realizes that Jorah is the former High Commander’s son. He performs the rather painful procedure in secret.
En route back to Dorne
Yara is escorting Ellaria and the Sand Snakes home, so they can form their army to lay siege to King’s Landing, when Euron attacks! Two of the Sand Snakes are killed, and Ellaria and her daughter are captured. Euron lays the final blow by besting Yara and taunting Theon, but Theon’s PSTD comes on in strong force, and he abandons his sister.
Possible spoilers
It’s already common knowledge that dragonglass is at Dragonstone, so likely something will come of that. So too, it seems, that dragons would be useful in fighting wights. It’s also accepted that “the Prince Who Was Promised” could be female, and could ergo apply to Dany. And Arya will probably head back to Westeros, maybe north, in one form or another…namely through Nymeria. Warging and skin changing have been largely excised from the show but are a bigger deal in the books.
Thoughts
In some ways not the most moving episode, but I liked it! And in terms of emotion, particularly when it came to Jon trusting Sansa with the north and Arya deciding to return home. I’ll say again that I don’t like a lot of their plot later on, but this was good stuff. I had the feels, both now and when I first watched!
But most of this episode is dedicated to advancing the plot. How will Jon, Cersei and Dany go about finding allies? What is Dany’s first move in taking the seven kingdoms? Euron kinda makes Cersei’s move for her. :P He’s crazy, but I have a particular soft spot for family drama. Not to mention that Ellaria and the Sand Snakes are so one dimensional that it’s easy to focus on the Greyjoys. (That being said…I liked the saucy flirtation between Yara and Ellaria, yes. :P Shame it had to come to an end so fast.) But truly, and beyond the plot, the best part of that scene was the dance between Euron, Yara and Theon. Alfie nailed it again—despite being relegated to the background for most of the ep—his callback to Ramsay’s brutality as the fighting turned gruesome made a lot of sense. I’m a big proponent of not getting over trauma easily. And it’s ever more heartbreaking when he betrays Yara in the process. But on a brighter note…the Sand Snakes are finally gone! :D Hopefully the actors find projects where they can be more fully realized characters.
In the behind the scenes section, DB Weiss pats himself on the back a bit for having Dany’s new allies be women. :P Yeah, it’s cool to see some powerful women discussing strategy around a war table…though ultimately it’s Tyrion’s plan that gets favored. :P Yara and Ellaria abandon their blood lust pretty quickly, but privately Olenna makes a case for Dany’s more ruthless side. Diana Rigg knows how to bring it! I also, of course, like that Tyrion and Ellaria at least acknowledge the bad blood between them, particularly around Myrcella’s death.
I think it’s also rather telling that Olenna sticks to her guns about ruthless attack. I mean, she cedes the battle plans and goes with Tyrion’s less brutal approach, but then she talks smack about him behind his back. :P This whole thing is reminding me of where she was at the end of last season…what else does she have to live for now that her family is gone? We see that behavior mirrored in Cersei. Hopefully Dany will keep wanting to be different…she will want her reign to be about justice, not revenge.
The Missandei/Grey Worm scene was very tender, and also two of the most personal performances about fear, trust and longing. (Plus it gave us our sexual content. :P) Alas, over all their relationship feels underdeveloped, because the show doesn’t have much time for it. Elsewhere, Melissandre takes the first step in bringing our titular characters together! Plus, she’s of the belief that both Jon and Dany have major roles to play. Varys is less certain—first of all he hates magic practitioners and didn’t Mel say the same thing about Stannis? But earlier, he and Dany had words—which plants Varys as a man of the people, and ensures that Dany wants to be a just ruler. I liked it.
Sam healing Jorah’s grey scale with a magical mcguffin cure seems more than a little convenient…it’s still canon in the books that this disease in adults is fatal. It’s obvious that the showrunners want to give Jorah the chance to re-join his queen. But of course I loved the character moments between Jorah and Sam. I mean, it already makes sense for Sam to want to do something proactive for a suffering man….and that feeling only intensifies when he realizes their connection. It’s nice when the show has callbacks to old relationships. Makes everything feel more real.
We also have Jon pinning Littlefinger to a wall, which is reminiscent of Ned in season one. :P Those Stark men can’t help but feel protective/possessive of the Stark women! I suppose the argument is that Littlefinger followed Jon to the crypts to asses whether or not the man could be manipulated. Turns out it’s a no…at least from LF’s vantagepoint. But with the final scene being of Jon leaving Sansa…alone with the man, it certainly seems like LF’s schemes will continue.
I also like that Jon is facing an uphill battle when he decides to leave home. It’s not only Sansa who is against him, but pretty much all of his lords! I get it, dude—you’ve seen the White Walkers, you really know what this threat is all about. It makes sense for Sansa and the lords to see a smaller picture. They’re not fighting him out of spite, but because Targaryens of the past were dangerous, and Dany does want to be queen of the north as well, Sansa points out. Jon doesn’t chastise her for her opinions this time, huzzah, instead he gives her the keys to the kingdom! :0 And earlier he turned to her for her counsel on Tyrion’s motives. It’s true that the men have respectful memories of each other from season one. But it’s Sansa who knows them best. Despite her misgivings, her trust in Tyrion’s character also leads Jon to the pro-Dragonstone camp. I just love that we get to see Sansa play a more active role. <3
More thoughts on Arya as well…again the behind the scenes section, the showrunners talk about how Nymeria is a stand in for Arya. Arya realizes, once her wolf turns down her offer, that she did the same thing when Ned promised she’d be lady of a castle. “That’s not me.” But I still think it can be deeper than that. Is it possible that Nymeria rejecting Winterfell and family means that Arya is ultimately destined to do the same? Maybe neither girl is meant to be domestic. Nymeria will continue to lead her pack of wolves, and Arya will turn away from home and go back to her list, to revenge. Then again, maybe Arya herself will “lead a pack of wolves,” aka the Starks. But I can’t shake the feeling that, much like Theon, she can’t go home again. :/ Her story arc on this show defines her too much. Then again…both Theon and Arya aren’t at the end of the road yet!
Finally, on the least character driven and most plotty part of the episode, we arrive in King’s Landing. :P I mean, I like the propaganda that the Lannister twins spin against Dany. Certainly makes a lot of sense to point out her ruthlessness in Essos, and to play on the fears of foreign armies taking your land and people. And I like that Randyll Tarly at least shows some loyalty to Olenna before he is swayed. But the most personal part of the entire scene was when Jaime called Sam’s brother “Rickon” instead of “Dickon.” :P Yup, sometimes you just need to advance the plot.
