By Zane Bixby
Overall
Grade: A
As we
reach the midpoint of this season, and the ever-looming end of the series as a
whole, anytime something big happens it’s hard to look at it as “just advancing
the plot” any longer. In season 1, when Ned was executed, it was hard to see
that as anything other than the plot getting pushed along and providing reason
for the story to become ever more complex. But with the show coming to an end,
any time a character dies it’s hard to see it as the plot being moved forward
instead of the character’s long arc finally coming to an end. That much was
clear last week when Olenna Tyrell died and closed the book on her
contributions to the show, well, minus the announcement to Cersei that it was
her who killed Joffrey. In that regard, watching this episode left me unsettled
on if this was the end of several character’s stories, and stories are really
the message of this episode. I can’t really say I found any of the scenes this
week to be bad, so instead I’m going to split this into three sections and talk
about it that way.
Dragonstone
With as
short as this episode was (probably the shortest of the series in actuality)
it’s hard to believe how much information they managed to cram into this
episode. It started off incredibly strong, with Jon showcasing the Dragonglass
hidden beneath Dragonstone. But that wasn’t the only thing hidden away down
there, as Jon shows off the etchings from the Children of the Forest. Last week
I mentioned how little chemistry Clarke and Harrington had, and that seems to
have pulled a complete change of pace this week with the two actors seeming to
work really well off of each other. It really does seem like Jon is going to
have her convinced, until Dany once again demands he bends the knee.
All of
this seems so miniscule though in light of what is waiting for them as they
exit the Dragonglass Cavern. With the announcement that the Reach has been
taken, it actually does make sense for Dany to question Tyrion’s loyalties.
After all, all the attacks so far have been his plans, and so far, they have
all costed them terribly. So, when she turns to Jon, asking for his advice, I
wonder just how much of his advice she will actually take. He does give a good
speech about the Kings who have come before them and how she should want to be
seen, but with Dany’s track record of listening to people’s advice I think no
one actually anticipated her sitting around and doing nothing.
When we
do get back to Dragonstone it’s for a reunion that I hadn’t actively considered
seeing, Jon and Theon. Let’s face it, Jon has every reason imaginable to want
to kill Theon, and I was at least half expecting a good punch to the face. But
Jon, in his ever honorable attitude, tells him that the only reason he has left
him alive is for what he did to help Sansa. It’s a strained relationship that
will likely never get fixed, but I think this is the route that Theon’s redemption
arc is taking him. He betrayed the Starks, leading to so many bad things
happening to him and them, and there is still a war to come. Though he has
proven a coward so far this season, saving Jon’s life in the midst of a battle
by sacrificing himself seems like an obvious redemption move the story can
take.
This
all of course gets put on the backburner as it’s revealed that, surprise
surprise, Dany didn’t listen to anyone’s advice and took off for the mainland.
Winterfell
While
this wasn’t the reunion I was waiting for, it was a damn satisfying one. As we
see Arya looking out at Winterfell, the only thing that passed through my mind
was, “she’s home.” We do get just a bit of humor from this set of scenes, the
first being the guards preventing Arya from entering the castle. I see this as
a bit of a call back to season one, with Arya stuck outside King’s Landing and
the guards at the gate preventing her from getting into the city. The way she
handles the situations are vastly different and shows just how much growth her
character has had over the last 6 seasons. Of course, she eventually gets into
the castle and while the guards are continuing their bumbling routine, she
slips off.
Once
Sansa hears about her, she of course knows immediately where to find her
sister. Unlike with Sansa’s previous reunions of Jon and Bran, this one
actually holds an odd sense of weight. It’s probably due to the fact that
unlike the previous two, Sansa and Arya actually had a good number of scenes
and history together in the early season. Their journeys dragged them apart and
sent them on wildly different paths that brought them right back together. We
see another instance of someone not taking Arya and her threats of death
seriously, something I’m sure will be a reoccurring scene as she tries to
finish her list.
Then
you have Bran. He has a bit of a farewell with Meera this week and proves a
point I was constantly trying to make to people last week, he’s not really Bran
any more. This is something Meera basically rubs the viewer’s faces in with the
phrase “Bran Stark died in that cave.” It’s the truth though, when the
Three-Eyed Raven died, Bran died with him and became the new Raven. This gave
him access to so many different memories and visions that have just obscured
who he is as a person himself. It’s these same memories and visions that
directs his short conversation with Little Finger. I can’t really say why
Little Finger gave him the Valyrian Steel Dagger, his motives never being the
easiest to piece together ahead of time. But it seems like just a bit of
convenience to eventually get that dagger into Arya’s hands.
The
reunion between Arya and Bran is interesting, albeit a bit less emotional than
her reunion with the castle and Sansa. The main point that comes from that is
Sansa discovering that Arya’s list is very much real. This in turn creates a
sort of self-realization for Sansa as she sees the journeys her younger
siblings have been on and just how much it has changed them as people. While
some might see her watching Arya training with Brienne (an amazing little scene
with its own bit of humor involved) and assume she is feeling jealous of her
sister, I saw it more as her seeing the growth that her sister has been through
and the fact that she wondered if she has also changed on this long journey
they have been on. But even if she hasn’t changed just yet, Arya made the point
the best. They were still alive, so their stories are still being told.
Jaime and Dany’s
attack on the Lannister Forces
Before
we get into that amazing end scene, which we will get too, I think it’s prudent
to at least talk about Jaime’s departure from Highgarden. His interactions with
Bronn are an interesting set up for the end scene of the episode. Bronn once
again affirmed that he was in fact a sell-sword, and his price still needed to
be paid. I feel like this scene was included solely to bring that fact back
into play and to leave us wondering for the scene that would be coming.
That
scene of course, is the attack on his forces. As the Dothraki screamers can be
heard coming over the hills and Jaime begins to martial his forces, Bronn tries
to get Jaime to flee to King’s Landing, to safety. Of course, for all the Jaime
is and isn’t, he definitely isn’t a coward who deserts his troops. But as this
giant battle plays out, with an absolutely amazing scene from Drogon coming in
to burn a path through their shield wall, I began wondering if the price Bronn
was being paid was going to be enough to keep him from fleeing. After all, it
seemed like such a trivial thing to include if we weren’t supposed to be left
to wonder if Bronn was going to make a run for it. But surprisingly he doesn’t.
I loved
everything about this scene, from some of the early shots of the Dothraki
streaming over the hill, to Drogon’s fiery destruction of the caravan (holding
the grains King’s Landing might need to survive the Winter or perhaps a long
siege.) It also led to a scene that had me at the edge of my seat in
anticipation and wonder. Was Bronn about to get the title “Dragon-Slayer”? Of
course, this didn’t happen and instead led to him getting a shot on Drogon
without actually killing any of the characters that still had stories to tell.
Even with Jaime making a foolhardy charge at Drogon, I never thought that would
be how his character would die. There’s still a few theories I have for the end
of the series that need him to survive in order for them to come to fruition,
but with the cliffhanger we got, where Jaime is plunging into an oddly deep
lake that happened to be right next to them, only time will tell where his
story goes.
Side-Notes
-The Iron Bank really does love their money, so much that
I’m wondering just how much they actually support Cersei. Sure, they seem to be
supporting her and their small scene together was interesting enough, but I am
left to assume that after they get their gold (which did make it into the city
in case you missed that little tidbit) they might just bail on them since a huge
portion of the Lannister forces were just…. Well…. Melted.
-I can’t tell if Davos is sort of in love with Missandei or
just likes when people other than him give big speeches about why they support
the people they support.
-Also on the note of Davos, is he trying to be a wingman for
Jon? That was sort of an out of place line, but if they are trying to set us up
for an eventual Jon/Dany marriage (something I thought they were trying to
avoid last week) then it at least seems to provide a bit of foreshadowing.
-Bronn laughing at Dickon’s name was classic Bronn and I
refuse to believe that there is anyone out there who doesn’t like him.
-A buddy of mine noted how amazing Jaime’s golden hand looks
week after week and I’m inclined to believe him. It leaves you to wonder just
what kind of effects they use to get it like that? I doubt it’s just makeup
because that would require him to keep his hand constantly steady for shots.
-Knowing that the Army of the Dead is coming south, I really
really hope we get to see Arya travel North with Brienne now that they are both
armed with Valyrian Steel. Their practice bout was immensely satisfying to
watch and Arya’s quip that “no one” trained her was damn funny.
Feel free to follow me
on Twitter @ZaneBixby where I tweet inane things about comics and
other nerdy stuff about my current writing projects.
