Dragons! We finally see a dragon rider and war.

Season 7 is not disappointing, that’s for sure. Following the events of The Queen’s Justice, we start the episode with Jaime and Bronn transporting the debt owed to the Iron Bank (their spoils of war). We’ll come back to these two at the end of the review.

Over in Winterfell, we see further pleading from Bran of how he is no longer Bran, but the Three-Eyed Raven. I really hope there is an actual payoff with this current arc. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but Bran’s transformation has been one of my favorite’s of the entire series. This whole season he’s just sort, told everyone that he’s not the same, no longer Bran, The Three-Eyed Raven, etc. We get it. Now show us some more diving into the past and speaking with young Ned!

Continuing in Winterfell,  Arya finally makes her way home, only to be halted (a minor halt) by some guards that do not recognize her. The most important detail she brings to this reunion with Sansa, is her sparring session with Brienne of Tarth. To everyone (except the viewers) shock, Arya holds her own and actually ends the spar in a draw. This demonstration definitely bring the realization to Sansa that Arya’s “list” is real and she has most likely killed them herself. It almost seemed as if Sansa thought Arya’s list to be a joke or not, but I after this scene, I think she comes to the conclusion that a lot of shit has gone down with her younger sister.

This brings a up a good question; how long has it been? Months? Years? I haven’t read through the novels yet (Half of A Game of Thrones). Yes, I know, I should read them. I will. But I feel like there has been no timeline mentioned in the series. Is it years? That makes sense, if only due to the Stark children’s clear growth spurts. It would be nice to know how long it’s actually been since season 1.

Moving on to Dragonstone. Jon shows Daenerys what he’s found in the mountains while looking for the Dragon Glass; Cave paintings by the Children of the Forest showing an alliance between them and the first men, fighting against the dead. Further pushing Jon’s point of where priorities should lie.

When leaving the cave Tyrion drops the news of their success taking Casterly Rock. Only to continue with the rest of the bad news. This was really all a set up for the fantastic end of the episode.

We see an actual battle with Dragons! Daenerys is actually riding one into battle, just like her brother had in years past. The dragon fire is brutal, burning Lannister’s alive. They really have no chance, except for Bronn, who realizes they have that huge dragon ballista. He does some actual damage, but no death blows here. Jaime decides to charge at Daenerys as she is removing the bolt from Drogon. Close but no cigar. As Jaime is about to be burned to death, Bronn jumps and pushes him into…the depths of a lake? We see Jaime sinking into what looks like a huge pit of water, after seconds before being on a shallow shore. I’m not sure how they missed this one, or if anyone else cared.

We had an almost silent credit scene. The silence usually signals the death of a major character. Given that there is music and that I believe Jaime is too important to go out like this, I don’t believe he’s dead. Only time will tell.

Fantastic Episode.

5/5

 

Image Source – HBO