With two of seven episodes under our belt we are full steam ahead in season 7. This episode was way better than last week's drab catch up. At least we didn't have to watch Sam clean chamber pots for 5 minutes. Here is the episode breakdown:
Grey Worm announces a Red Priestess is there to see her. Enter Melisandre. She speaks to Dany in High Valyrian stating that she was once a slave and that she is honored to meet the "Breaker of Chains". Dany let's her know that she is very welcome there since a Red Priestess helped bring peace to Meereen. She introduces herself and Varys quickly interjects and throws her under the bus by pointing out her affiliation with Stannis. Dany puts him in his place by saying to Melisandre "You've picked an auspicious day to arrive at Dragonstone. We've just decided to PARDON those who once served the wrong king". Varys bows. Dany states there are not many followers of the Lord of Light in Westeros. Melisandre says those that don't follow can still serve his cause. Dany wants to know what he expects of her. She begins speaking in High Valyrian again and says "The long night is coming. Only the prince that was promised can bring the dawn."
Dany repeats the last part about the prince being mentioned and Missande interrupts and informs them that their interpretation is a little off. The noun used for "prince" in this case has no gender and therefore can be translated as "prince" or "princess". Dany likes it better and asks Melisandre if she believes this prophecy pertains to herself. Melisandre answers with a chuckle and tells her that prophecies can be dangerous, but believes she does have a role to play, as well as one other person. She says the name Jon Snow and refers him to the King of the North. Tyrion's eyes light up. He repeats his name and refers to him as "Ned Stark's bastard". Dany asks Tyrion if she knows him and he tells her about traveling to The Wall with him. Varys questions Melisandre asking her why she thinks the Lord of Light singled out Jon Snow. Melisandre tells them about Jon letting the Wildlings south of The Wall, protecting them, and as King of the North, he united the Northern houses with the Wildlings to face a common enemy. Dany seems a little jealous of everyone's admiration over Jon and says "He sounds like quite a man". Melisandre advises Dany to summon Jon Snow and let him tell her the things that have happened to him. Tyrion tells Dany he trusts Jon Snow and he is a pretty good judge of Character, which finally gets a hint of a smile from Dany. Tyrion tells her more about Jon, and how he would make a great ally because he has more of a reason to hate Cersei than she does. She agrees to summon Jon, stating his Queen would like to see him, and he needs to bend the knee. Tyrion looks off in the distance and we all know what he is thinking.... "That is going to be a problem".
Next, we are at Winterfell and see that Jon was true to his word as men, women, and children alike are training at archery and working about. Jon and Sansa are reading the letter that has arrived from Dragonstone via Tyrion. Sansa questions the validity of the letter and if the author is actually Tyrion.
When she reads the last part back for him "All dwarves are bastards in their father's eyes". She asks the meaning, and he tells her that it is something Tyrion said the night they met. He asks her what she thinks and she lets him know that all though Tyrion is not like the other Lannisters, she thinks it's too big a risk. She reads more of the letter out loud, saying they need to end Cersei's tyranny. Davos calls him a charmer and shows them the part about the Dothraki hoard and three dragons, then recalls that fire kills the wights. He thinks it is too dangerous for Jon to meet with Dany, but they know they don't have enough people to fight the wights should they breach the wall. I agree with Davos.
Cersei is at work on the Iron Throne, speaking half truths to the Lords of Westeros, at the same time, trying to instill fear into them by telling them that she knows some of them are bannermen for house Tyrell, but they have turned their backs on the crown to help the Mad King's daughter. She advised that thanks to them, Daenarys has been able to form an army that is knocking on their doorstep.
She informs them of Dany's doings to the Masters, not telling them the good reason why she did it. She asks for their help to stop her. Randyll Tarly speaks candidly about Dany having three grown dragons, just like Aegon the Conqueror, and wants to know how she proposes to stop them. She looks at Qyburn, who speaks up and advised they are currently working on a solution to that very problem.
Jamie approaches Randyll and Dickon Tarly, making sure to show his arrogance by calling Dickon "Rickon" so he could make him feel not important, also making it clear he is not there to talk about the weather or to Dickon. Jamie thanks Randyll for coming before the Queen and replies that he heard what happens to people that don't come when Cersei summons. They begin to walk and make conversation about his army on the move and Jamie asks what side he will be fighting on. Also adding he is the only man that defeated Robert Baratheon on the battle field. Randyll sees through him and cuts him short, asking how he may serve?
Jamie cuts to the chase and states he wants him to be his ranking general in the wars to come, swear allegiance to Cersei, and help destroy her enemies, all of them. Randyll stops walking, faces him and asks if he is referring to house Tyrell? He can see by Jamie's face, that is exactly what he means. He says that he is a Tarly and that name means something. He throws several digs at Jamie by stating they are not oath breakers, or schemers and they don't stab people in the back or cut throats at weddings. He says he swore an oath and has known Olenna Tyrell since she was a child. Jamie counters by reminding him that he swore an oath to the crown as well. He basically gives him an ultimatum: to fight with them, or with foreign savages and eunuchs. Then he mentions the Queen will need a new Warden of the South when the war is won and he can't think of anyone better than Randyll Tarly. The scene ends here and I am not sure of this means that Lord Tarly will fight for Jamie and Cersei, or stick to his word and back house Tyrell. It will be interesting to see for sure because this will definitely put Randyll and his own son on opposite sides. Not that they weren't already, due to Randyll being an evil jackass and disowning Sam for being a sweet-natured, intelligent person.
Speaking of Sam, he is in what appears to be a medieval version of a hospital room with his Archmaester and Jorah Mormont. The greyscale on Jorah looks pretty severe and the Archmaester tells him he should have cut his arm off as soon as he was infected. He advises he has years to live but his mind will go in six months or fewer.
There is nothing they can do, it is too far gone. Sam doesn't look convinced and speaks up about Shereen Baratheon, whom he had met at Castle Black. He goes on to say she had been cured as a baby and the Archmaester tells him there is no comparison on these two cases because Jorah is not a baby, and that Shereen's greyscale was treated immediately. He advises this is beyond their skills. He says he would ship him to Old Valyria if he had not been a Knight, but he can only stay at the Citadel for one more evening and then he must go. Sam obviously feels bad, asks if he can send word to his family, and waits for his name so he can do so. Jorah replies "Jorah, Jorah Mormont". Sam looks at him and instantly knows who he is, making his situation even more precarious. I love Sam. I hope him and Jorah end up fleeing the Citadel and go on a little journey together to find Jon and Dany.
Cersei and Qyburn are down in the cellars of the Red Keep looking at the very large dragon skulls, commenting that Robert loved them like trophies, and enjoyed to come down and look at them, sometimes bringing his whores with him. He shows her Aegon's dragon and told the story about him.
He then lets her know that one of Daenaerys's dragons was injured in the fighting pits of Meereen, and therefore, it can be killed. Then he unveils a huge crossbow, pointed right at the huge dragon skull tells her the blacksmith and laborers have been working on it day and night, and asks her to pull the lever.
She does. It goes to right through the dragon skull with a vengeance. I really hope this does not mean that we are going to lose one of the dragons, but I am thinking that it is most likely the case. Let's face it. They would not waste this much screen time to show a weapon that will not be important later.
Yara is telling Dany she thinks they should strike while the Iron Born is hot, pardon the pun. Tyrion reminds them that unleashing the dragons on the people would cost thousands of lives. Ellaria speaks up and says that it is war and if he is scared, then he needs to go back into hiding.
He says he won't wage war like her by poisoning little girls. Ellaria spats out insults about his family and Dany stops her and tells her to show Tyrion some respect. She states she doesn't want to be "Queen of the Ashes". She makes it clear they will not attack Kings Landing. Lady Olenna asks how she plans to take it then? The plan is revealed that she is going to surround Kings Landing and starve them out. They will surround the city with the Iron Fleet, Dorne and Tyrell armies so as not to use foreign ones, namely the Dothraki and Unsullied. Olenna wants to know why they bothered to bring their own army if they are only using Westerosi? Tyrion informs them that their army is reserved to take Casterly Rock, the true seat of power in Westeros.
Dany asks if she has all of their support and they each say yes. I like this plan and can't wait to see the battle at Casterly Rock. It's so nice to see a battle table with four powerful women at the helm also!! Go girl power!
Olenna and Daenerys are speaking alone. Dany promises justice for her losses when she takes the throne. She promises peace and Olenna gives her words of advice since she has outlived every man in her life. She says it is because she did not listen to them. She tells Dany to be a dragon and not a sheep. I like Lady Olenna, she is always a straight shooter.
Missande shows up to Grey Worm's room to see him getting ready to go off to war. She is saddened that he has not said goodbye yet and asks him if he was going to. He tells her he will see her when he returns. She is obviously not happy about his response and wishes him good luck. She turns to leave and he calls to her and explains she is his weakness and he is ashamed of this as an Unsullied. Then he rushes toward her, and kisses her. She disrobes and reaches for his pants, he stops her but she insists that she needs to see him. He allows it and she takes his pants to the floor.
She gives a very slight hint of a grin and he looks at her like he is either embarrassed or waiting for her response. then she leads him to the bed. He does not make love to her, but he does things in an oral nature, if you understand my meaning. Now, what I think a lot of people are wondering is, as Dany mentioned before, did they take the pillar and the stones? They did not make whoopie, but I took it as Missande was not disappointed by what she saw, and maybe Grey Worm was embarrassed that he does have his parts as an Unsullied? I'm not sure, but I am hopeful that I am right. The few people I have discussed the episode with seem to think he does not have the pillar or the stones. Anyhow, it is good to see them together, regardless of his reproductive situation.
Sam is following Archmaester around the citadel library while he stacks books in Sam's arms. He is talking to Sam about how to get people to read his writings and Sam keeps trying to ask him a question as the Archmaester goes about talking, and stacking books in his arms all the while.
Then finally, Sam gets his moment and tells him he may have found a way to cure Sir Jorah's greyscale. The Archmaester tells him he is familiar with the book of rare diseases and that the author who wrote it died from greyscale, and that the procedure is far too dangerous. I will say it again. I hope that Jorah and Sam leave the citadel together to meet up with Jon and Daenerys.
Pan to Jorah writing a letter to Dany. We hear a cart rolling in the distance, but getting closer, louder. Sam comes into his room with the cart and Jorah asks him what he is doing.
Sam, explains who is he and that he was with Sir Jorah's father when he died. He tells him he is not going to die tonight. He gives Jorah some rum and advises him this is going to hurt. He gives him a leather strap to bite down on and tells him no one knows he is there and if they hear him screaming they will both be finished. Jorah asks if Sam has ever done this before and Sam tells him no but he is the the best chance he's got. Sam takes a metal scalpel and begins peeling Jorah's scaled skin off, which by the way, is oozing with puss.
Jorah is in massive pain and is trying his hardest not to scream. I must say, this was the most painful and disgusting thing I have seen in a very, very, very long time. I put this up there with the scene from the movie "The Fly" where Geena Davis gives birth to a giant maggot.
The camera still seems to be on Jorah's greyscale being punctured and pulled out, but it zooms out and you see what you are actually looking at is a hot pie that one of the Lords of Westeros is eating. This literally made me gag like Sam was last week, cleaning out those chamber pots.
Hot Pie is there and is excited to see his old friend, Arya, sitting at a table. He makes conversation with her as she is eating a pie of her own that he made. He tells her what it is that makes it so good and she chuckles and says that she did not do that. He is surprised and asks "You've been making pies?" Her reply, "One or two." This was pretty funny, I must admit. He asks her if Brienne found her since she was asking about Sansa and he told her Arya is still alive. Arya won't make eye contact with Hot Pie and is very stand offish to him. He notices and asks what has happened to her. She deflects the question by asking him if he has any ale.
He asks her where she is headed and she is still headed toward Kings Landing. He says he is surprised she isn't heading to Winterfell and she is curious why since the Bolton's have it. He is shocked she doesn't know that her brother defeated Ramsey at the Battle of the Bastards and he is King of the North now. Arya's demeanor completely changes and she says she has to go.
He tells her she is pretty as a girl and she tells him to try to stay alive. She gets on her horse and rides off, now headed North. I cannot wait till she gets home and sees Sansa.
A Raven comes from the citadel to Winterfell and Jon starts to read it. Jon is speaking in front of his men and women and tells them of the letter from Sam, and then tells them about the message from Tyrion he received a few days previous.
He informs them of the dragons, and that he is going to accept her summons. Everyone in the room is grumbling in protest and he tells them they not only need the dragon glass at Dragonstone but they need allies and could use dragon fire. Sansa speaks out in protest about Dany's father roasting their grandfather and uncle alive after being summoned. A few others speak up and even my girl, Lady Mormont, spoke up against it, but Jon stands firm in his decision. He leaves the North in Sansa's hands and this shuts her up. Littlefinger is looking on with a smirk on his face. I think Jon is making the best decision here and I am excited to see the meeting between the two very soon.
Jon is in the crypt of Winterfell, most likely because he is saying goodbye to his father before he leaves for Dragonstone. The statue of Ned is great to see here, and I am glad they showed it, instead of him standing next to Lyanna's tomb. Littlefinger approaches, speaking to Jon in his slithery tone.
He tells him that he hand delivered Ned's bones to Catelyn and that it was a gesture of good will from Tyrion Lannister. He asked him to give Tyrion his best when he sees him and goes on to mention that he is sorry his father died because they both loved Catelyn, despite their differences. Then he tries to talk Jon up by saying that Cat did not like Jon very much but she seriously underestimated him. He called him the last best hope against the coming storm. Jon finally speaks and simply says "You don't belong down here." Littlefinger asks forgiveness but he was hoping to speak to him properly and Jon dismisses his manipulation and begins to walk away. Littlefinger uses his trump card and tells him he wouldn't have won the battle without his help and the Knights of the Vale coming in to the battle. He states he is not an enemy and that he loves Sansa as he loved her mother. Jon finally does what we have all been waiting for and choke slams Littlefinger against the wall.
I am so glad this wasn't a Lyanna/Rhaegar conversation that sparked this. Jon warns Littlefinger not to touch his sister and he storms off angrily. Jon then hops on his horse and rides off with Davos and crew who were waiting, after waving to an onlooking Sansa. Littlefinger watches this exchange in the distance.
Arya is crouched around a fire in a wooded area and her horse is tied up, but stirring skittishly. Here comes a wolf pack, surrounding her. Then we see her, coming up slowly behind Arya.
Arya slowly turns around and faces her. Nymeria! She is not the friendly Nymeria that Arya knew as a little girl, but a grown direwolf that leads her own pack now. Arya's face changes from fear to a look of finding herself within seconds. This was such a touching moment! Nymeria looks at her and knows who she is and listens to Arya as she tells her she is headed home to Winterfell.
She asks her to come with her. Nymeria looks sad and turns and walks away, her pack following suit. This was very heartbreaking to watch but Arya understood it as she realized that Nymeria is much like herself and that type of life is not for her. This is a reference back to season 1 when she tells Ned that she doesn't want to be a Lady of a house because that "isn't her".
I think we will see more of Nymeria before it is all said and done. Her and Arya are connected. She is bound to come in and save the day as Sumner often did and Ghost does as well. I think even Robb's wolf did this once.
Yara, Ellaria, and Theon are below deck and the ladies are talking. Yara corrects Ellaria and tells her not to order Theon around when she tells him to refill her wine. She tells Ellaria he will be her protector and adviser when she is Queen of the Iron Islands. Ellaria and Yara continue to flirt back and forth and then end up in a lip lock. Then BOOM. All hell breaks loose. Yara rushes above deck to see her crew and Sand Snakes fighting Euron's men. She grabs onto one of the Sand Snakes and tells her to go protect Ellaria. Euron's Ship, the Silence, comes into view and impales Yara's ship's side, then lowers it's gargantuan plank onto her ship with him on it.
She fights off some of Euron's still oncoming men and stops to take it all in for a moment, her entire fleet up in flames, including her own ship. She fights some more, then sees Euron. She jumps down to fight him but he gets the best of her, and has her captured with his weapon to her neck.
Theon comes to the scene after fighting off many attackers, and sees Euron has his sister. After Euron taunts him, he immediately reverts back to Reek. Yara looks on with desperation and tears in her eyes, realizing Theon is not going to come through for her. Theon then jumps overboard as Euron lets out an evil, sinister laugh with a very crazy look in his eye, might I add.
Theon is floating in the water, holding on to a wood plank, looking on as the Silence sails off with what we hope is his sister and definitely Ellaria Sand.
The episode ends. I hate that Theon let down Yara, but he is a damaged soul. I'm not sure that Theon would have been able to do much to help her even if he hadn't reverted back to Reek. The fact that he jumped overboard and abandoned the entire scene was pretty terrible though. I still feel bad for the guy, I don't know why.
This episode was far better than last week's in my opinion. We still got to see all of our favorites, minus Bran, plus a pretty good action sequence. We got to see what Nymeria has been up to and even saw that Hot Pie is still making hot pies. Arya is headed to Winterfell finally after all these years and we finally get confirmation of an upcoming Jon/Dany meeting. Don't forget, we also got a little feel good moment when Jon choke slammed Littlefinger. This episode, all in all was pretty darn good if you ask me. I wonder what other Thrones fans think? If you loved or hated the episode, tell me why in the comments. Thanks for stopping by and check back in the next few days for more Game of Thrones discussion!
Gina Murrell
Mother of Reviews, Breaker of Breakdowns- It is known
*All photos courtesy of: HBO
The second episode of Game of Thrones Season 7, titled "Stormborn", starts out with just that. A huge storm at Dragonstone with Daenerys looking out from the Chamber of the Painted Table(the big map room).
Tyrion starts off by reminding her that she was born during a storm just like this, which we all know due to her title of Daenerys Stormborn. Varys chimes in and recalls his memory of the evening with dogs howling through the night. She doesn't seem very amused and tells them that she wishes she could remember it, and that it does not feel like a homecoming. Tyrion reassures her by advising they wouldn't stay at Dragonstone for very long and she is pleased by this info. I was disappointed to see she was disappointed. She knows better than to expect people to roll out the red carpet for her return to Westeros, otherwise she would not need an army, ships, and three dragons. Segue to Dany pointing out there aren't so many lions on the big map of Westeros, and the shot only shows us three. Varys tells her that Cersei controls less than half of the 7 kingdoms and that the Lords despise her. He advised her of a plot the Lords had against Cersei. Then she interrupts him by sarcastically asking him if they are now out toasting to their true Queen. She quickly points out that her brother, Viserys, was told these very things and was stupid enough to believe them. She said he would have also attacked Kings Landing already if he had an army and three dragons. Tyrion tells her that if she does that, she would be Queen of the ashes and she doesn't want that. She agrees. He advises she can take the 7 kingdoms without it being an outright slaughter. He tells her that all she needs is the support of the great houses and she will win the game, and that she already has the Tyrell and Dornish armies and that is a big help. She quickly turns the conversation onto Varys again, thanking him for acquiring her these allies, although her tone says otherwise. She really seems like a spoiled brat in this part of the episode. Spoiler alert: It continues. He tells her that they believe in her and that is why they are behind her. She asks him about serving her father and then Robert, after he took the throne. He answered with the common sense response saying he had a choice, that or death. She pointed out that he didn't serve Robert long because he turned against him. He replies by telling her that Robert was an improvement on the Mad King, but Robert also wasn't interested in being a king. She continues with her passive aggressive behavior by saying he didn't like that king, so he took it upon himself to find a better one. Tyrion finally cuts the tension by speaking up for Varys, and let her know that he found out about her due to him. She rebuts with pointing out he believed in her brother before her, and that he was stupid, cruel, and weak, and was curious to know if Varys's little birds had mentioned this to him and if these attributes would qualify as a "good king". He tells her that he really knew little of her until she married Khal Drogo, other than the fact that she was beautiful and that she did exist. She interrupts and accuses him and his friends of trading her off as if she were a horse and Varys responds quickly with telling her to look at how well she turned the tables for herself. She wants to know who gave the order to kill her and he tells her King Robert did. She wants to know who sent word to Essos, and who hired the assassins for her death. Varys states he did what he had to do... and she finshes his sentence for him by saying "to keep yourself alive". Tyrion interrupts again by saying that Varys has been a loyal servant. She has none of it and points out he will conspire against one monarch to crown another.
She wants to know what kind of loyal servant does that? He says "It is the type of servant the monarch needs, incompetence should not be rewarded with blind loyalty. As long as I have my eyes, I'll use them." He continues by telling her about where he came from which was nothing, and how he was sold as a slave and carved, slept in alleys and abandoned buildings, etc. He boldly answers her previous question by stating he serves the people, the "suffering people under despots, and those who prosper under just rule". He says he serves the very people who's hearts she wants to win. He calls her bluff and says if she is demanding blind loyalty, then have Grey Worm kill him now or have her dragons devour him. If she let's him live, he will serve her well and dedicate himself to her winning the Iron Throne because he chooses her and no one has a better chance than her. She makes him swear to her that if he thinks she is failing the people in any way that he will look her in the eyes and tell her just as he did here today. He swears to her and calls her his Queen. She makes a threat and tells him she will burn him alive if he betrays her and he says he wouldn't expect anything less. This exchange between them was very hard for me to watch because I really like Varys. I understand why Dany is leery of him, but come on! He has done way more good for her than bad, like you know... save her life on more than one occasion, keep tabs on her to make sure she was alive and well, acquire the backing of the Tyrell and Dorne armies, and I am sure there are others. He would have been no use to her dead, had he not served Robert after the Mad King. He believed in Viserys; stupid, cruel and weak aside, only because he was the rightful heir to the throne. At least she did forgive the situation in the end. But really, I was turned off by Dany's attitude. I am usually all about Team Daenerys, but not on this episode.
Tyrion starts off by reminding her that she was born during a storm just like this, which we all know due to her title of Daenerys Stormborn. Varys chimes in and recalls his memory of the evening with dogs howling through the night. She doesn't seem very amused and tells them that she wishes she could remember it, and that it does not feel like a homecoming. Tyrion reassures her by advising they wouldn't stay at Dragonstone for very long and she is pleased by this info. I was disappointed to see she was disappointed. She knows better than to expect people to roll out the red carpet for her return to Westeros, otherwise she would not need an army, ships, and three dragons. Segue to Dany pointing out there aren't so many lions on the big map of Westeros, and the shot only shows us three. Varys tells her that Cersei controls less than half of the 7 kingdoms and that the Lords despise her. He advised her of a plot the Lords had against Cersei. Then she interrupts him by sarcastically asking him if they are now out toasting to their true Queen. She quickly points out that her brother, Viserys, was told these very things and was stupid enough to believe them. She said he would have also attacked Kings Landing already if he had an army and three dragons. Tyrion tells her that if she does that, she would be Queen of the ashes and she doesn't want that. She agrees. He advises she can take the 7 kingdoms without it being an outright slaughter. He tells her that all she needs is the support of the great houses and she will win the game, and that she already has the Tyrell and Dornish armies and that is a big help. She quickly turns the conversation onto Varys again, thanking him for acquiring her these allies, although her tone says otherwise. She really seems like a spoiled brat in this part of the episode. Spoiler alert: It continues. He tells her that they believe in her and that is why they are behind her. She asks him about serving her father and then Robert, after he took the throne. He answered with the common sense response saying he had a choice, that or death. She pointed out that he didn't serve Robert long because he turned against him. He replies by telling her that Robert was an improvement on the Mad King, but Robert also wasn't interested in being a king. She continues with her passive aggressive behavior by saying he didn't like that king, so he took it upon himself to find a better one. Tyrion finally cuts the tension by speaking up for Varys, and let her know that he found out about her due to him. She rebuts with pointing out he believed in her brother before her, and that he was stupid, cruel, and weak, and was curious to know if Varys's little birds had mentioned this to him and if these attributes would qualify as a "good king". He tells her that he really knew little of her until she married Khal Drogo, other than the fact that she was beautiful and that she did exist. She interrupts and accuses him and his friends of trading her off as if she were a horse and Varys responds quickly with telling her to look at how well she turned the tables for herself. She wants to know who gave the order to kill her and he tells her King Robert did. She wants to know who sent word to Essos, and who hired the assassins for her death. Varys states he did what he had to do... and she finshes his sentence for him by saying "to keep yourself alive". Tyrion interrupts again by saying that Varys has been a loyal servant. She has none of it and points out he will conspire against one monarch to crown another.
She wants to know what kind of loyal servant does that? He says "It is the type of servant the monarch needs, incompetence should not be rewarded with blind loyalty. As long as I have my eyes, I'll use them." He continues by telling her about where he came from which was nothing, and how he was sold as a slave and carved, slept in alleys and abandoned buildings, etc. He boldly answers her previous question by stating he serves the people, the "suffering people under despots, and those who prosper under just rule". He says he serves the very people who's hearts she wants to win. He calls her bluff and says if she is demanding blind loyalty, then have Grey Worm kill him now or have her dragons devour him. If she let's him live, he will serve her well and dedicate himself to her winning the Iron Throne because he chooses her and no one has a better chance than her. She makes him swear to her that if he thinks she is failing the people in any way that he will look her in the eyes and tell her just as he did here today. He swears to her and calls her his Queen. She makes a threat and tells him she will burn him alive if he betrays her and he says he wouldn't expect anything less. This exchange between them was very hard for me to watch because I really like Varys. I understand why Dany is leery of him, but come on! He has done way more good for her than bad, like you know... save her life on more than one occasion, keep tabs on her to make sure she was alive and well, acquire the backing of the Tyrell and Dorne armies, and I am sure there are others. He would have been no use to her dead, had he not served Robert after the Mad King. He believed in Viserys; stupid, cruel and weak aside, only because he was the rightful heir to the throne. At least she did forgive the situation in the end. But really, I was turned off by Dany's attitude. I am usually all about Team Daenerys, but not on this episode.
Grey Worm announces a Red Priestess is there to see her. Enter Melisandre. She speaks to Dany in High Valyrian stating that she was once a slave and that she is honored to meet the "Breaker of Chains". Dany let's her know that she is very welcome there since a Red Priestess helped bring peace to Meereen. She introduces herself and Varys quickly interjects and throws her under the bus by pointing out her affiliation with Stannis. Dany puts him in his place by saying to Melisandre "You've picked an auspicious day to arrive at Dragonstone. We've just decided to PARDON those who once served the wrong king". Varys bows. Dany states there are not many followers of the Lord of Light in Westeros. Melisandre says those that don't follow can still serve his cause. Dany wants to know what he expects of her. She begins speaking in High Valyrian again and says "The long night is coming. Only the prince that was promised can bring the dawn."
Dany repeats the last part about the prince being mentioned and Missande interrupts and informs them that their interpretation is a little off. The noun used for "prince" in this case has no gender and therefore can be translated as "prince" or "princess". Dany likes it better and asks Melisandre if she believes this prophecy pertains to herself. Melisandre answers with a chuckle and tells her that prophecies can be dangerous, but believes she does have a role to play, as well as one other person. She says the name Jon Snow and refers him to the King of the North. Tyrion's eyes light up. He repeats his name and refers to him as "Ned Stark's bastard". Dany asks Tyrion if she knows him and he tells her about traveling to The Wall with him. Varys questions Melisandre asking her why she thinks the Lord of Light singled out Jon Snow. Melisandre tells them about Jon letting the Wildlings south of The Wall, protecting them, and as King of the North, he united the Northern houses with the Wildlings to face a common enemy. Dany seems a little jealous of everyone's admiration over Jon and says "He sounds like quite a man". Melisandre advises Dany to summon Jon Snow and let him tell her the things that have happened to him. Tyrion tells Dany he trusts Jon Snow and he is a pretty good judge of Character, which finally gets a hint of a smile from Dany. Tyrion tells her more about Jon, and how he would make a great ally because he has more of a reason to hate Cersei than she does. She agrees to summon Jon, stating his Queen would like to see him, and he needs to bend the knee. Tyrion looks off in the distance and we all know what he is thinking.... "That is going to be a problem".
Next, we are at Winterfell and see that Jon was true to his word as men, women, and children alike are training at archery and working about. Jon and Sansa are reading the letter that has arrived from Dragonstone via Tyrion. Sansa questions the validity of the letter and if the author is actually Tyrion.
When she reads the last part back for him "All dwarves are bastards in their father's eyes". She asks the meaning, and he tells her that it is something Tyrion said the night they met. He asks her what she thinks and she lets him know that all though Tyrion is not like the other Lannisters, she thinks it's too big a risk. She reads more of the letter out loud, saying they need to end Cersei's tyranny. Davos calls him a charmer and shows them the part about the Dothraki hoard and three dragons, then recalls that fire kills the wights. He thinks it is too dangerous for Jon to meet with Dany, but they know they don't have enough people to fight the wights should they breach the wall. I agree with Davos.
Cersei is at work on the Iron Throne, speaking half truths to the Lords of Westeros, at the same time, trying to instill fear into them by telling them that she knows some of them are bannermen for house Tyrell, but they have turned their backs on the crown to help the Mad King's daughter. She advised that thanks to them, Daenarys has been able to form an army that is knocking on their doorstep.
She informs them of Dany's doings to the Masters, not telling them the good reason why she did it. She asks for their help to stop her. Randyll Tarly speaks candidly about Dany having three grown dragons, just like Aegon the Conqueror, and wants to know how she proposes to stop them. She looks at Qyburn, who speaks up and advised they are currently working on a solution to that very problem.
Jamie approaches Randyll and Dickon Tarly, making sure to show his arrogance by calling Dickon "Rickon" so he could make him feel not important, also making it clear he is not there to talk about the weather or to Dickon. Jamie thanks Randyll for coming before the Queen and replies that he heard what happens to people that don't come when Cersei summons. They begin to walk and make conversation about his army on the move and Jamie asks what side he will be fighting on. Also adding he is the only man that defeated Robert Baratheon on the battle field. Randyll sees through him and cuts him short, asking how he may serve?
Jamie cuts to the chase and states he wants him to be his ranking general in the wars to come, swear allegiance to Cersei, and help destroy her enemies, all of them. Randyll stops walking, faces him and asks if he is referring to house Tyrell? He can see by Jamie's face, that is exactly what he means. He says that he is a Tarly and that name means something. He throws several digs at Jamie by stating they are not oath breakers, or schemers and they don't stab people in the back or cut throats at weddings. He says he swore an oath and has known Olenna Tyrell since she was a child. Jamie counters by reminding him that he swore an oath to the crown as well. He basically gives him an ultimatum: to fight with them, or with foreign savages and eunuchs. Then he mentions the Queen will need a new Warden of the South when the war is won and he can't think of anyone better than Randyll Tarly. The scene ends here and I am not sure of this means that Lord Tarly will fight for Jamie and Cersei, or stick to his word and back house Tyrell. It will be interesting to see for sure because this will definitely put Randyll and his own son on opposite sides. Not that they weren't already, due to Randyll being an evil jackass and disowning Sam for being a sweet-natured, intelligent person.
Speaking of Sam, he is in what appears to be a medieval version of a hospital room with his Archmaester and Jorah Mormont. The greyscale on Jorah looks pretty severe and the Archmaester tells him he should have cut his arm off as soon as he was infected. He advises he has years to live but his mind will go in six months or fewer.
There is nothing they can do, it is too far gone. Sam doesn't look convinced and speaks up about Shereen Baratheon, whom he had met at Castle Black. He goes on to say she had been cured as a baby and the Archmaester tells him there is no comparison on these two cases because Jorah is not a baby, and that Shereen's greyscale was treated immediately. He advises this is beyond their skills. He says he would ship him to Old Valyria if he had not been a Knight, but he can only stay at the Citadel for one more evening and then he must go. Sam obviously feels bad, asks if he can send word to his family, and waits for his name so he can do so. Jorah replies "Jorah, Jorah Mormont". Sam looks at him and instantly knows who he is, making his situation even more precarious. I love Sam. I hope him and Jorah end up fleeing the Citadel and go on a little journey together to find Jon and Dany.
Cersei and Qyburn are down in the cellars of the Red Keep looking at the very large dragon skulls, commenting that Robert loved them like trophies, and enjoyed to come down and look at them, sometimes bringing his whores with him. He shows her Aegon's dragon and told the story about him.
He then lets her know that one of Daenaerys's dragons was injured in the fighting pits of Meereen, and therefore, it can be killed. Then he unveils a huge crossbow, pointed right at the huge dragon skull tells her the blacksmith and laborers have been working on it day and night, and asks her to pull the lever.
She does. It goes to right through the dragon skull with a vengeance. I really hope this does not mean that we are going to lose one of the dragons, but I am thinking that it is most likely the case. Let's face it. They would not waste this much screen time to show a weapon that will not be important later.
Yara is telling Dany she thinks they should strike while the Iron Born is hot, pardon the pun. Tyrion reminds them that unleashing the dragons on the people would cost thousands of lives. Ellaria speaks up and says that it is war and if he is scared, then he needs to go back into hiding.
He says he won't wage war like her by poisoning little girls. Ellaria spats out insults about his family and Dany stops her and tells her to show Tyrion some respect. She states she doesn't want to be "Queen of the Ashes". She makes it clear they will not attack Kings Landing. Lady Olenna asks how she plans to take it then? The plan is revealed that she is going to surround Kings Landing and starve them out. They will surround the city with the Iron Fleet, Dorne and Tyrell armies so as not to use foreign ones, namely the Dothraki and Unsullied. Olenna wants to know why they bothered to bring their own army if they are only using Westerosi? Tyrion informs them that their army is reserved to take Casterly Rock, the true seat of power in Westeros.
Dany asks if she has all of their support and they each say yes. I like this plan and can't wait to see the battle at Casterly Rock. It's so nice to see a battle table with four powerful women at the helm also!! Go girl power!
Olenna and Daenerys are speaking alone. Dany promises justice for her losses when she takes the throne. She promises peace and Olenna gives her words of advice since she has outlived every man in her life. She says it is because she did not listen to them. She tells Dany to be a dragon and not a sheep. I like Lady Olenna, she is always a straight shooter.
Missande shows up to Grey Worm's room to see him getting ready to go off to war. She is saddened that he has not said goodbye yet and asks him if he was going to. He tells her he will see her when he returns. She is obviously not happy about his response and wishes him good luck. She turns to leave and he calls to her and explains she is his weakness and he is ashamed of this as an Unsullied. Then he rushes toward her, and kisses her. She disrobes and reaches for his pants, he stops her but she insists that she needs to see him. He allows it and she takes his pants to the floor.
She gives a very slight hint of a grin and he looks at her like he is either embarrassed or waiting for her response. then she leads him to the bed. He does not make love to her, but he does things in an oral nature, if you understand my meaning. Now, what I think a lot of people are wondering is, as Dany mentioned before, did they take the pillar and the stones? They did not make whoopie, but I took it as Missande was not disappointed by what she saw, and maybe Grey Worm was embarrassed that he does have his parts as an Unsullied? I'm not sure, but I am hopeful that I am right. The few people I have discussed the episode with seem to think he does not have the pillar or the stones. Anyhow, it is good to see them together, regardless of his reproductive situation.
Sam is following Archmaester around the citadel library while he stacks books in Sam's arms. He is talking to Sam about how to get people to read his writings and Sam keeps trying to ask him a question as the Archmaester goes about talking, and stacking books in his arms all the while.
Then finally, Sam gets his moment and tells him he may have found a way to cure Sir Jorah's greyscale. The Archmaester tells him he is familiar with the book of rare diseases and that the author who wrote it died from greyscale, and that the procedure is far too dangerous. I will say it again. I hope that Jorah and Sam leave the citadel together to meet up with Jon and Daenerys.
Pan to Jorah writing a letter to Dany. We hear a cart rolling in the distance, but getting closer, louder. Sam comes into his room with the cart and Jorah asks him what he is doing.
Sam, explains who is he and that he was with Sir Jorah's father when he died. He tells him he is not going to die tonight. He gives Jorah some rum and advises him this is going to hurt. He gives him a leather strap to bite down on and tells him no one knows he is there and if they hear him screaming they will both be finished. Jorah asks if Sam has ever done this before and Sam tells him no but he is the the best chance he's got. Sam takes a metal scalpel and begins peeling Jorah's scaled skin off, which by the way, is oozing with puss.
Jorah is in massive pain and is trying his hardest not to scream. I must say, this was the most painful and disgusting thing I have seen in a very, very, very long time. I put this up there with the scene from the movie "The Fly" where Geena Davis gives birth to a giant maggot.
The camera still seems to be on Jorah's greyscale being punctured and pulled out, but it zooms out and you see what you are actually looking at is a hot pie that one of the Lords of Westeros is eating. This literally made me gag like Sam was last week, cleaning out those chamber pots.
Hot Pie is there and is excited to see his old friend, Arya, sitting at a table. He makes conversation with her as she is eating a pie of her own that he made. He tells her what it is that makes it so good and she chuckles and says that she did not do that. He is surprised and asks "You've been making pies?" Her reply, "One or two." This was pretty funny, I must admit. He asks her if Brienne found her since she was asking about Sansa and he told her Arya is still alive. Arya won't make eye contact with Hot Pie and is very stand offish to him. He notices and asks what has happened to her. She deflects the question by asking him if he has any ale.
He asks her where she is headed and she is still headed toward Kings Landing. He says he is surprised she isn't heading to Winterfell and she is curious why since the Bolton's have it. He is shocked she doesn't know that her brother defeated Ramsey at the Battle of the Bastards and he is King of the North now. Arya's demeanor completely changes and she says she has to go.
He tells her she is pretty as a girl and she tells him to try to stay alive. She gets on her horse and rides off, now headed North. I cannot wait till she gets home and sees Sansa.
A Raven comes from the citadel to Winterfell and Jon starts to read it. Jon is speaking in front of his men and women and tells them of the letter from Sam, and then tells them about the message from Tyrion he received a few days previous.
He informs them of the dragons, and that he is going to accept her summons. Everyone in the room is grumbling in protest and he tells them they not only need the dragon glass at Dragonstone but they need allies and could use dragon fire. Sansa speaks out in protest about Dany's father roasting their grandfather and uncle alive after being summoned. A few others speak up and even my girl, Lady Mormont, spoke up against it, but Jon stands firm in his decision. He leaves the North in Sansa's hands and this shuts her up. Littlefinger is looking on with a smirk on his face. I think Jon is making the best decision here and I am excited to see the meeting between the two very soon.
Jon is in the crypt of Winterfell, most likely because he is saying goodbye to his father before he leaves for Dragonstone. The statue of Ned is great to see here, and I am glad they showed it, instead of him standing next to Lyanna's tomb. Littlefinger approaches, speaking to Jon in his slithery tone.
He tells him that he hand delivered Ned's bones to Catelyn and that it was a gesture of good will from Tyrion Lannister. He asked him to give Tyrion his best when he sees him and goes on to mention that he is sorry his father died because they both loved Catelyn, despite their differences. Then he tries to talk Jon up by saying that Cat did not like Jon very much but she seriously underestimated him. He called him the last best hope against the coming storm. Jon finally speaks and simply says "You don't belong down here." Littlefinger asks forgiveness but he was hoping to speak to him properly and Jon dismisses his manipulation and begins to walk away. Littlefinger uses his trump card and tells him he wouldn't have won the battle without his help and the Knights of the Vale coming in to the battle. He states he is not an enemy and that he loves Sansa as he loved her mother. Jon finally does what we have all been waiting for and choke slams Littlefinger against the wall.
I am so glad this wasn't a Lyanna/Rhaegar conversation that sparked this. Jon warns Littlefinger not to touch his sister and he storms off angrily. Jon then hops on his horse and rides off with Davos and crew who were waiting, after waving to an onlooking Sansa. Littlefinger watches this exchange in the distance.
Arya is crouched around a fire in a wooded area and her horse is tied up, but stirring skittishly. Here comes a wolf pack, surrounding her. Then we see her, coming up slowly behind Arya.
Arya slowly turns around and faces her. Nymeria! She is not the friendly Nymeria that Arya knew as a little girl, but a grown direwolf that leads her own pack now. Arya's face changes from fear to a look of finding herself within seconds. This was such a touching moment! Nymeria looks at her and knows who she is and listens to Arya as she tells her she is headed home to Winterfell.
She asks her to come with her. Nymeria looks sad and turns and walks away, her pack following suit. This was very heartbreaking to watch but Arya understood it as she realized that Nymeria is much like herself and that type of life is not for her. This is a reference back to season 1 when she tells Ned that she doesn't want to be a Lady of a house because that "isn't her".
I think we will see more of Nymeria before it is all said and done. Her and Arya are connected. She is bound to come in and save the day as Sumner often did and Ghost does as well. I think even Robb's wolf did this once.
Yara, Ellaria, and Theon are below deck and the ladies are talking. Yara corrects Ellaria and tells her not to order Theon around when she tells him to refill her wine. She tells Ellaria he will be her protector and adviser when she is Queen of the Iron Islands. Ellaria and Yara continue to flirt back and forth and then end up in a lip lock. Then BOOM. All hell breaks loose. Yara rushes above deck to see her crew and Sand Snakes fighting Euron's men. She grabs onto one of the Sand Snakes and tells her to go protect Ellaria. Euron's Ship, the Silence, comes into view and impales Yara's ship's side, then lowers it's gargantuan plank onto her ship with him on it.
She fights off some of Euron's still oncoming men and stops to take it all in for a moment, her entire fleet up in flames, including her own ship. She fights some more, then sees Euron. She jumps down to fight him but he gets the best of her, and has her captured with his weapon to her neck.
Theon comes to the scene after fighting off many attackers, and sees Euron has his sister. After Euron taunts him, he immediately reverts back to Reek. Yara looks on with desperation and tears in her eyes, realizing Theon is not going to come through for her. Theon then jumps overboard as Euron lets out an evil, sinister laugh with a very crazy look in his eye, might I add.
Theon is floating in the water, holding on to a wood plank, looking on as the Silence sails off with what we hope is his sister and definitely Ellaria Sand.
The episode ends. I hate that Theon let down Yara, but he is a damaged soul. I'm not sure that Theon would have been able to do much to help her even if he hadn't reverted back to Reek. The fact that he jumped overboard and abandoned the entire scene was pretty terrible though. I still feel bad for the guy, I don't know why.
This episode was far better than last week's in my opinion. We still got to see all of our favorites, minus Bran, plus a pretty good action sequence. We got to see what Nymeria has been up to and even saw that Hot Pie is still making hot pies. Arya is headed to Winterfell finally after all these years and we finally get confirmation of an upcoming Jon/Dany meeting. Don't forget, we also got a little feel good moment when Jon choke slammed Littlefinger. This episode, all in all was pretty darn good if you ask me. I wonder what other Thrones fans think? If you loved or hated the episode, tell me why in the comments. Thanks for stopping by and check back in the next few days for more Game of Thrones discussion!
Gina Murrell
Mother of Reviews, Breaker of Breakdowns- It is known
*All photos courtesy of: HBO
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