![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chavalah posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
scifi_rewatchIt’s been a little while since I’ve been here! :/ But I still intend to finish recapping this season before the new one starts, even if that means posting during the wee hours! Anywho.
We’re at the midpoint, of sorts. Lots of balls up in the air. Will Cersei get her gold so she can continue to do business with the Iron Bank? Will Arya make it home? Can Jon and Dany come to some kind of understanding, despite their differences?
Overall I liked this episode, though I’ll start to quirk my eyebrow a little bit at some of the character development in Winterfell. :/ And it only gets worse from here. Alas. This one is actually pretty moving, over all. And of course, the loot train fight scene at the best was technical GoT at its best. I might nitpick the very ending a little, but I’m sure it’ll sound whiny of me. :P
Summary
King’s Landing
Just a brief layover here. Of course there’s confirmation that Highgarden’s gold is enough to repay the Lannister debt in full. So Cersei and her Iron Bank compatriot turn their eye on new ventures—perhaps something involving the Golden Company of mercenaries in Essos.
Winterfell
Littlefinger gives Bran the dagger used to kill him, and Bran rather coldly sends Meera home. Later, Arya arrives and she and Sansa have a guarded reunion; Bran hands his Valyrian dagger over to his lethal sister. And speaking of lethal, Sansa watches Arya beat Brienne in a sword duel; this is after Arya told her she has a list of people she wants to kill.
Dragonstone
Jon interrupts girl talk in order to show Daenerys hieroglyphics of Children of the Forest and Men overcoming their differences to fight the White Walkers; Dany is touched but still refuses to help until Jon bends the knee. Later, she learns of the Unsullied being stranded at Casterly Rock, and Jon joins Tyrion in advising that she not give into revenge. Missandei sings Dany’s praises about “the queen we chose,” and Theon comes back to ask for help in rescuing Yara.
Road to King’s Landing
But Dany isn’t there to receive him, because she, Drogon and the Dothraki are off to destroy the loot train (the moola makes it through to King’s Landing)! Plus turn people to ash, much to the shock and consternation of Jaime, Bronn, the Tarlys, (Tyrion watching with some Dothraki guards on a hill), and others. But the big crossbow wounds Drogon, and Jaime rides to kill Dany when she lands, only to be shoved into the Blackwater by Bronn before Drogon can burn him to a crisp.
Possible spoilers
The Golden Company is already in Westeros in the last published book, albeit in different circumstances (read: characters who don’t exist on the show.) The Children of the Forest and the First Men also made a pact, way back when to fight the Others/Walkers together. Given the importance of dragonglass (and perhaps narrative importance to the characters and the story,) it’s possible that the dagger used to try and kill Bran will make a comeback. Theon and Jon are technically in close proximity at the end of A Dance with Dragons, so maybe they’ll meet? :P Also it’s likely that Dany’s dragons will join the battle in Westeros…if she ever does leave Meereen in the books, hee.
Thoughts
There’s not really much to say about King’s Landing. The Iron Bank is soulless and Cersei reminds us how much she likes wine. :P We’re hinting at possible future developments with this Golden Company stuff, but mostly it’s the calm before the storm. Cersei’s last major victory before her first major loss.
There’s significantly more to say about Winterfell. First: Littlefinger and Bran. Speaking of future developments, obviously the dagger handoff is meant to have bigger repercussions. We wouldn’t see it so much (ultimately changing hands to Arya) otherwise. Second: Bran repeating Littlefinger’s “chaos is a ladder” line back to him? Certainly seems enough to freak the master manipulator out. And with that in mind…would Littlefinger allow himself to get that close to danger? Or is it fair to say that no one expects a young boy to be omnipotent? This is why I’m iffy about Bran (or the Three Eyed Raven, excuse me,) on the show. In the books this power is more lavish, but on the show he basically exists for the sake of plot points. This thing with Littlefinger is obviously a warning (to the audience, at least,) that Bran can know EVERYTHING about him, at least what he did outwardly.
But then there’s the Bran and Meera scene that made me positively wibbly. Because it speaks to this new distance between them, despite everything they’ve gone through together. Or maybe it’s just the emotional resonance of Meera’s “you died in that cave,” when I still feel like that’s where books Bran will live out the rest of his days. But also because on the show, it means that these great powers came at a very personal cost.
Speaking of great powers, Arya the super assassin returned to Winterfell! I’m putting an emphasis on her assassin superpowers because the showrunners wanted Sansa to get freaked out about it. So they devised this scenario which I find frankly ridiculous. Arya should not be able to beat Brienne…unless she’s a Mary Sue. *cough cough* They’re looking for an easy way for Sansa to learn that Arya is quite dangerous. I’ll leave the repercussions of all that for later episodes where the Winterfell plot really starts to get my goat.
But to be fair, I didn’t have any problem with the sisterly reunion otherwise. Yes, it was markedly less emotional than Sansa’s reunion with either of her brothers. But their relationship was also more complicated. The last time they saw each other was when they were naïve little girls, and yet those jealousies still carry over somewhat (Sansa’s position of power, Arya’s camaraderie and shared experience with Brienne.) They weren’t affectionate as children, and as young adults they struggle with how to convey their feelings for each other. It’s obvious that they find common ground in their familial legacy (and maybe even their unshared, “unpleasant” experiences these past several seasons) while standing at their father’s tomb. There was a lot going on here; I really liked it. Add onto that Brienne’s expression when she sees the three Stark children together.
The television show is more often than not an exploration of the complex realities between the Lannisters. But in this one scene, we see a connection threading between Catelyn’s ghost, Brienne’s promise, and the three surviving children. Then of course we get Littlefinger scheming from above. :/ Dun dun duuuun.
Far away from Winterfell, the King in the North interrupts gal talk (boo, Jon!) by arriving to show Daenerys hieroglyphics that boost his case. I like this scene a lot, too. I mean morally, I’m a fan of humans working together against common problems/evils, etc. I also think it works well for advancing Dany’s respect for Jon, because bringing people together for the common good is kinda the ruler she wants to be. And Jon, for his part, should see some similarities to his own rise to power after he talks with Missandei. Plus, Kit and Emilia have good chemistry. :P I know there’s still a wedge between them—namely who should rule the north—but this all feels like an organic relationship to me.
But Jon gets a reunion this episode, too! Theon is back (and nitpick time—why is he answering Davos’s questions like he knows the guy??) Jon makes it clear that the only reason he’s not killing Theon is because of what he did for Sansa—so Sansa, too, is bringing people together! ;) (Well, technically she did, concerning the Vale and the North, but let’s stay on topic here!) Theon’s desire to save his own sister is put on hold because Dany is no longer on Dragonstone…
…she’s attacking Jaime et al on the road to King’s Landing! Despite what Tyrion—and now Jon—are counseling her, she no longer wants to play the magnanimous ruler. She’s suffered too many setbacks for that. I suppose her compromise is to brutalize a bunch of soldiers in a field rather than the entire city of King’s Landing, so. :P Still, it’s horrible. This is why I like most of the battle scenes on “Game of Thrones,” beyond the wonderful cinematography and special effects. Outside of a few scenes in Essos, perhaps, it never shows war as one dimensionally good. Or maybe good at all, given that we had to watch Jaime react to his soldiers literally being turned to ash. And this is where my own complicated feelings about the dragons came into play, because damn, are they really anything other than nuclear weapons? That being said, as Drogon squealed in pain when Bronn shot the crossbow into his side, my heart aflutter. :/ He is Dany’s child! I’m just glad nuclear weapons in the real world aren’t sentient. :P
A couple of character notes: Bronn does seem to want more than Jaime is willing to give at present. Plus, Jaime keeps sending Bronn off to do menial stuff, like help the Tarlys collect grain from farmers, or (perhaps more importantly) shoot the damn dragon. But Bronn even loses his bag of gold in this expedition, which doesn’t seem accidental to let us, the audience, see.
Jaime is obviously still freaked by Olenna’s send off from last episode, but all that’s put aside when (after getting the gold safely to Cersei, the narrative tells us,) he encounters his first Dothraki and his first dragon. We can feel the overwhelming bewilderment just by looking at Nickolai’s face. Of course, at the very end, he takes his chances on killing Dany (all the while with Tyrion, watching from above, cursing his brother out as he rides towards his doom.) But Jaime—and Bronn—live to fight another day, due to the closeness of Blackwater Bay! They evade Drogon’s fire, and fall into some questionably deep water near the shore. :P This took a couple of friends out of the episode; it seemed like a cop out to them. I have plenty of other battles to tackle in later episodes, heh.
And finally, Tyrion…getting back to the complex, Lannister angst as he’s watching his countrymen being terrorized and easily outmatched by a dragon. His Dothraki handler was a real dick about it, too. (Which of course gets into how under developed the Dothraki are, because they basically fit generally into Dany’s “Alexander the Great” storyline, but sticking with Tyrion here!) Tyrion is obviously meant to be an empathetic guy who doesn’t like to see random soldiers pulverized in war. Especially since Drogon brings the element of total decimation. Just a reminder that most of the focus in these battle scenes isn’t on the badass action. It’s on the humans caught in the crossfire.
We’re at the midpoint, of sorts. Lots of balls up in the air. Will Cersei get her gold so she can continue to do business with the Iron Bank? Will Arya make it home? Can Jon and Dany come to some kind of understanding, despite their differences?
Overall I liked this episode, though I’ll start to quirk my eyebrow a little bit at some of the character development in Winterfell. :/ And it only gets worse from here. Alas. This one is actually pretty moving, over all. And of course, the loot train fight scene at the best was technical GoT at its best. I might nitpick the very ending a little, but I’m sure it’ll sound whiny of me. :P
Summary
King’s Landing
Just a brief layover here. Of course there’s confirmation that Highgarden’s gold is enough to repay the Lannister debt in full. So Cersei and her Iron Bank compatriot turn their eye on new ventures—perhaps something involving the Golden Company of mercenaries in Essos.
Winterfell
Littlefinger gives Bran the dagger used to kill him, and Bran rather coldly sends Meera home. Later, Arya arrives and she and Sansa have a guarded reunion; Bran hands his Valyrian dagger over to his lethal sister. And speaking of lethal, Sansa watches Arya beat Brienne in a sword duel; this is after Arya told her she has a list of people she wants to kill.
Dragonstone
Jon interrupts girl talk in order to show Daenerys hieroglyphics of Children of the Forest and Men overcoming their differences to fight the White Walkers; Dany is touched but still refuses to help until Jon bends the knee. Later, she learns of the Unsullied being stranded at Casterly Rock, and Jon joins Tyrion in advising that she not give into revenge. Missandei sings Dany’s praises about “the queen we chose,” and Theon comes back to ask for help in rescuing Yara.
Road to King’s Landing
But Dany isn’t there to receive him, because she, Drogon and the Dothraki are off to destroy the loot train (the moola makes it through to King’s Landing)! Plus turn people to ash, much to the shock and consternation of Jaime, Bronn, the Tarlys, (Tyrion watching with some Dothraki guards on a hill), and others. But the big crossbow wounds Drogon, and Jaime rides to kill Dany when she lands, only to be shoved into the Blackwater by Bronn before Drogon can burn him to a crisp.
Possible spoilers
The Golden Company is already in Westeros in the last published book, albeit in different circumstances (read: characters who don’t exist on the show.) The Children of the Forest and the First Men also made a pact, way back when to fight the Others/Walkers together. Given the importance of dragonglass (and perhaps narrative importance to the characters and the story,) it’s possible that the dagger used to try and kill Bran will make a comeback. Theon and Jon are technically in close proximity at the end of A Dance with Dragons, so maybe they’ll meet? :P Also it’s likely that Dany’s dragons will join the battle in Westeros…if she ever does leave Meereen in the books, hee.
Thoughts
There’s not really much to say about King’s Landing. The Iron Bank is soulless and Cersei reminds us how much she likes wine. :P We’re hinting at possible future developments with this Golden Company stuff, but mostly it’s the calm before the storm. Cersei’s last major victory before her first major loss.
There’s significantly more to say about Winterfell. First: Littlefinger and Bran. Speaking of future developments, obviously the dagger handoff is meant to have bigger repercussions. We wouldn’t see it so much (ultimately changing hands to Arya) otherwise. Second: Bran repeating Littlefinger’s “chaos is a ladder” line back to him? Certainly seems enough to freak the master manipulator out. And with that in mind…would Littlefinger allow himself to get that close to danger? Or is it fair to say that no one expects a young boy to be omnipotent? This is why I’m iffy about Bran (or the Three Eyed Raven, excuse me,) on the show. In the books this power is more lavish, but on the show he basically exists for the sake of plot points. This thing with Littlefinger is obviously a warning (to the audience, at least,) that Bran can know EVERYTHING about him, at least what he did outwardly.
But then there’s the Bran and Meera scene that made me positively wibbly. Because it speaks to this new distance between them, despite everything they’ve gone through together. Or maybe it’s just the emotional resonance of Meera’s “you died in that cave,” when I still feel like that’s where books Bran will live out the rest of his days. But also because on the show, it means that these great powers came at a very personal cost.
Speaking of great powers, Arya the super assassin returned to Winterfell! I’m putting an emphasis on her assassin superpowers because the showrunners wanted Sansa to get freaked out about it. So they devised this scenario which I find frankly ridiculous. Arya should not be able to beat Brienne…unless she’s a Mary Sue. *cough cough* They’re looking for an easy way for Sansa to learn that Arya is quite dangerous. I’ll leave the repercussions of all that for later episodes where the Winterfell plot really starts to get my goat.
But to be fair, I didn’t have any problem with the sisterly reunion otherwise. Yes, it was markedly less emotional than Sansa’s reunion with either of her brothers. But their relationship was also more complicated. The last time they saw each other was when they were naïve little girls, and yet those jealousies still carry over somewhat (Sansa’s position of power, Arya’s camaraderie and shared experience with Brienne.) They weren’t affectionate as children, and as young adults they struggle with how to convey their feelings for each other. It’s obvious that they find common ground in their familial legacy (and maybe even their unshared, “unpleasant” experiences these past several seasons) while standing at their father’s tomb. There was a lot going on here; I really liked it. Add onto that Brienne’s expression when she sees the three Stark children together.
The television show is more often than not an exploration of the complex realities between the Lannisters. But in this one scene, we see a connection threading between Catelyn’s ghost, Brienne’s promise, and the three surviving children. Then of course we get Littlefinger scheming from above. :/ Dun dun duuuun.
Far away from Winterfell, the King in the North interrupts gal talk (boo, Jon!) by arriving to show Daenerys hieroglyphics that boost his case. I like this scene a lot, too. I mean morally, I’m a fan of humans working together against common problems/evils, etc. I also think it works well for advancing Dany’s respect for Jon, because bringing people together for the common good is kinda the ruler she wants to be. And Jon, for his part, should see some similarities to his own rise to power after he talks with Missandei. Plus, Kit and Emilia have good chemistry. :P I know there’s still a wedge between them—namely who should rule the north—but this all feels like an organic relationship to me.
But Jon gets a reunion this episode, too! Theon is back (and nitpick time—why is he answering Davos’s questions like he knows the guy??) Jon makes it clear that the only reason he’s not killing Theon is because of what he did for Sansa—so Sansa, too, is bringing people together! ;) (Well, technically she did, concerning the Vale and the North, but let’s stay on topic here!) Theon’s desire to save his own sister is put on hold because Dany is no longer on Dragonstone…
…she’s attacking Jaime et al on the road to King’s Landing! Despite what Tyrion—and now Jon—are counseling her, she no longer wants to play the magnanimous ruler. She’s suffered too many setbacks for that. I suppose her compromise is to brutalize a bunch of soldiers in a field rather than the entire city of King’s Landing, so. :P Still, it’s horrible. This is why I like most of the battle scenes on “Game of Thrones,” beyond the wonderful cinematography and special effects. Outside of a few scenes in Essos, perhaps, it never shows war as one dimensionally good. Or maybe good at all, given that we had to watch Jaime react to his soldiers literally being turned to ash. And this is where my own complicated feelings about the dragons came into play, because damn, are they really anything other than nuclear weapons? That being said, as Drogon squealed in pain when Bronn shot the crossbow into his side, my heart aflutter. :/ He is Dany’s child! I’m just glad nuclear weapons in the real world aren’t sentient. :P
A couple of character notes: Bronn does seem to want more than Jaime is willing to give at present. Plus, Jaime keeps sending Bronn off to do menial stuff, like help the Tarlys collect grain from farmers, or (perhaps more importantly) shoot the damn dragon. But Bronn even loses his bag of gold in this expedition, which doesn’t seem accidental to let us, the audience, see.
Jaime is obviously still freaked by Olenna’s send off from last episode, but all that’s put aside when (after getting the gold safely to Cersei, the narrative tells us,) he encounters his first Dothraki and his first dragon. We can feel the overwhelming bewilderment just by looking at Nickolai’s face. Of course, at the very end, he takes his chances on killing Dany (all the while with Tyrion, watching from above, cursing his brother out as he rides towards his doom.) But Jaime—and Bronn—live to fight another day, due to the closeness of Blackwater Bay! They evade Drogon’s fire, and fall into some questionably deep water near the shore. :P This took a couple of friends out of the episode; it seemed like a cop out to them. I have plenty of other battles to tackle in later episodes, heh.
And finally, Tyrion…getting back to the complex, Lannister angst as he’s watching his countrymen being terrorized and easily outmatched by a dragon. His Dothraki handler was a real dick about it, too. (Which of course gets into how under developed the Dothraki are, because they basically fit generally into Dany’s “Alexander the Great” storyline, but sticking with Tyrion here!) Tyrion is obviously meant to be an empathetic guy who doesn’t like to see random soldiers pulverized in war. Especially since Drogon brings the element of total decimation. Just a reminder that most of the focus in these battle scenes isn’t on the badass action. It’s on the humans caught in the crossfire.
