Here’s a thread to share your thoughts about last night’s episode! Here are my initial thoughts – and I know I’m leaving a ton of stuff out:
Overall, I really enjoyed the episode!
However, for such a short season, this episode wasted a lot of time. Did we really need to watch Sam clean bedpans, shelve books and serve food for that long? Did we really need to spend so much time watching the Hound bury the bodies? (Especially since his remorse was quite apparent the second he arrived at the cottage?) And couldn’t we have sped up Dany’s walk to the strategy room at Dragonstone? All these scenes seemed to go on for far too long. I would have rather used the time to develop the changing relationships between Jamie and Cersei (I’ve got good money riding on the fact that it will be Jamie who kills Cersei) as well as Jon and Sansa’s new dynamic. Or, we could have had a Stark reunion!
Okay, here are my character thoughts!
Jon and Sansa: Both are correct. Jon is 100% right that the White Walkers are the biggest threat. Sansa is 100% correct that Jon cannot ignore Cersei. Jon, the new King of the North, cannot ignore what’s happening to the south – even though the actual game for the throne becomes less important now that winter has arrived. Still, Jon would be wise to listen to Sansa and not make the same mistakes as Ned and Robb.
*And we’ll see if Jon’s decision to let House Umber and Karstark continue to keep their lands, after betraying the Starks by joining up with the Bolton’s, was wise. This is Game of Thrones, after all. Personally, I think the decision won’t matter either way, cause, ya know, white walkers.
I group these two together because they are learning to work together, but I’ll need to focus a bit more on Sansa. The reason why: Jon is focused on the white walkers (which is the most important thing!), but the game is still going on. He’s also a Targaryen, which I’ll focus more on below, because that’s a big deal. And once he learns that it’s going to get really interesting!
Sansa: Is there any other character on GoTs who’s been in such horrible situations with the worst and deadliest people and is still alive? She has survived Joffrey, Cersei, Little Finger and Ramsey Bolten. In GoTs that’s pretty amazing.
So, Sansa has survived and learned. She understands Cersei better than anyone – even Jamie, who is reluctant to shed his blinders. The question is has she learned the right lessons? That’s really the question.
Cersei and Jamie: Like I said above, I’ve got good money on Jamie revising his role as the King Queenslayer. Yes, Arya has had Cersei on her list since the beginning, but I think our little assassin will be disappointed. I think Jamie will end GoTs with the same reputation he began the series. Last night’s conversation showed Jamie pointing out the many problems with his sister’s strategy. Cersei is ignoring the reality of her situation. The Lannisters aren’t what they use to be! Cersei did buy herself some time by rejecting Euron’s marriage proposal – ’cause he would have killed her on their wedding night, or maybe she would have killed him. Either way, it would have ended badly. And please tell me that the gift Euron brings Cersei isn’t Tyrion! Basically, it looks like Jamie and Cersei’s story is about over.
Arya: Okay, the opening scene in House Frey was pretty spectacular. “Tell them the North remembers. Tell them winter came for House Frey.” I doubt anyone had a problem with Arya wiping them out. But now she’s faced with Lannister soldiers and their humanity. (WTH, with Ed Sheeran? Talk about taking an audience out of the moment!) Will she kill the soldiers? Spare them? I’m not sure, but I’m leaning towards killing them. Ayra has been quite clear on the dangers of leaving people alive who can kill you in the future*. She states this quite clearly at House Frey, saying something about their mistake in not killing all the wolves.
*Yes, she did leave the Hound alive (to die a slow death) to demonstrate that she learned his lesson about mercy. She denied him mercy. And that just might turn out out to be a fatal mistake for her.
The Hound: Sandor Clegane, the Hound, has always been one of the most complex characters on GoTs. The ultimate anti-hero. He saved Loras Tyrell from his brother, the Mountain, during a joust. He saved Sansa several times, as well as Ayra – even if his saving Arya was for mercenary reasons.
But last night his story grew. Going into the season opener I thought his story would consist of his killing his brother, the Mountain. Lord knows that was on the table since season one, and I’m still pretty sure that will happen, but now he’s seen the vision in the fire of the white walkers and their army of the dead. (They have giants, guys!) So… he’ll kill his brother and then go on to fight the white walkers?
Little Finger: I have no idea where he is heading. The only thing I know is that since day one his goal has been power and the throne. So, how does he achieve that now?
He can’t go back to Kings Landing (he burned that bridge), unless Cersei and Jamie are desperate – but that means they’re losing and Little Finger would have no incentive to then join them. Lord Baelish doesn’t align himself with weakness. He’s all about self-preservation.
He could continue to try and manipulate Sansa, but given last night’s interaction something big would have to happen for Sansa to trust him. And Sansa trusts no one. And please, for the love of god, no more kidnapping.
No way Tyrion or Varys lets him near Daenerys.
So what’s his plan? We know he has one. Dorne? Heh, that could be part of Cersei’s plan, as well!
Daenerys: True confession. I think she’s a bad ruler, and the evidence bears me out. She sees the world in terms of good and evil, and it’s gotten her into plenty of trouble. Truth – if she ever left the desert before now she would have been dead long ago. Another confession. Her story is boring, which is amazing since she is the only throne possibility with magical powers and flippin’ dragons. For six seasons she has wondered in the desert with everyone of interest coming to her. Now she’s at Dragonstone, and, yet again, everyone is coming to her. Come on, we know everyone is heading to Dragonstone. Sam will be sending Jon there for dragon glass. Euron is probably heading there for his prize for Cersei. (Tyrion?)
As of now, Dany should be able to waltz into Kings Landing and sit on the throne, so what could possibly make her story interesting…
Bran Stark: Bran has finally made it back to The Wall and is now the Three-eyed Raven. And, boy, does he have information. Jon Snow is a Targaryen. Which changes a lot. Can Jon control dragons? It would seem so. And if this is true, then Dany’s position becomes tenuous, but at least she’d have an interesting story line. Dragons matter in GoTs. By Dany being the only Targaryen, her survival was guaranteed. What happens when there are two Targaryens? See? That’s interesting.
Who ends up on the Throne in the last episode? Right now, my money is on the White Walkers.
Really, nothing about Lyanna Mormount, who once again demonstrated that young, small, and female is no impediment to leadership?
I do agree with Tarley’s bed pans and Daenary’s long walk. I suppose this was supposed to be an eventful, at long last she arrives in Westeros. But it didn’t really work for me.
Jon and Daenerys need to hook up soon, because Jon needs Dragonglass, all of which is on Dragonstone.
More important though is how the world turns, we start with a patriarchal society and now, the focus is on very strong women. Of course as we are finding out, women also have a great capacity for cruelty and violence.
Lyanna Mormount won’t end up on the throne. I only focused on major players. I do love her, tho!
By “hook-up” do you mean meet up? Because… Isn’t Dany Jon’s aunt?
Jon and Dany are both Targaryens (the last 2…. unless you count the book cannon and all the secret-targ theories … i do). It is a family well versed in … keeping it in the Family.
Dany’s mother, Rhaella, was the sister of the Mad King, and aunt/nephew is pretty distant for GoT family math. Aegon the Conqueror married both of his sisters at once. (not condoning this, just showing precedent.)
In any case, I dont see them ending up together. To honest, I dont see both of them surviving the story.
And once Jon’s parentage comes out Daenerys becomes superfluous. Which means the unthinkable may happen – she might die. In fact, her death would only strengthen Jon’s story. Interesting, no?
“Lyanna Mormount won’t end up on the throne.”
Although I think you may be right….I’m not sure that any of the major Players end up on the throne.
1) Jon Snow doesn’t want it….
2) Daenery has the capacity to be the “Mad Queen” (And I think that either Jon or Daenery will die)
3) Cersei…DEAD (I’m hoping via Arya disguised as Jaime)
4) Sansa….Maybe….But in a slightly different way
5) Bran….Probably not
I give you Tyrion/Sansa (they were married at one time) AND/OR Gendry/Arya
In both cases……Lyanna ends up Warden of the North….
Or Even a better idea…No one king/queen for all 7 kingdoms…..7 different rulers
Did Gendry ever get off that boat? 😉
Nope, although the actor was at the Season 7 Hollywood premier, which of course leads to speculation that he’s in Season 7.
Loved the episode. I thought the bedpan scene was a bit long.. and pretty hard to watch.. but I think it may have demonstrated an extended passage of time. When we saw Gilly and Little Sam, he wasnt a baby any more. It was kind of like a “yada yada yada” to account for all the moving parts elsewhere to fall in to place…. also, did the arm that came out of the cell actually touch Sam? MAJOR book theory of a greyscale epidemic hitting Westeros right when the WW invade… that interaction seemed to lend some weight to it. To me anyway.
I dont think Sandor kills Arya. I think the Hound is dead. Sandor is a different person.
She might be the only living person he respects. That said, I dont think Arya makes it to the credits of the last episode of the series. She has been running from the god of death for years now, adding more and more names to her list. I was super excited to see what appears to be a Nymeria reunion. NOw she will just ride a Dire Wolf around the Riverlands killing everyone in her path….(she better burn those bodies or else she is just bolstering the numbers of the REAL enemy.
All the people I was watching the show with agreed that Euron looked like a person currently living in Brooklyn. His costume was hipster to the extreme and i want it.
I dont know what an Ed Sheeran is. I thought it was Ron from Harry Potter honestly.