The aftermath of THAT battle and the return of some old friends
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After last week’s incredible battle sequence, this week’s Game of Thrones had to shift down a gear.
And this week’s episode, while lacking in set piece action sequences, does include a few cool moments, and also the return of some old friends.
Don’t read on if you haven’t seen Season 7, Episode 5. Spoilers ahead and all that.
(Image: HBO)
So we open on the aftermath of last week’s Battle of the Loot Train (which is apparently what we’re calling it, even though that’s a lame name).
Daenerys is offering terms of surrender to the defeated Lannister army, and gives them a simple choice to join her and her massive dragon, or die. Two of those captured - the commander Randyll Tarley and his son Dickon refuse to bend the knee and Dany has them burnt by Drogon for their troubles. Pretty soon everyone else steps in line.
It’s an interesting development for Dany, and we’re finally getting to see some good character development for actress Emilia Clarke to play with. How far has Dany gone? Was this a just action - they were a defeated army and they owed her fealty - or is she starting to slip into the madness of her father, burning her enemies alive.
We also have the incredible Peter Dinklage on hand as Tyrion to show just how torn he is with this development. He is supposed to be Hand of the Queen, and you can see his fear that she is getting out of control. Indeed, later Varys tells him that he has to find a way to make her listen to reason. Everyone is a bit scared, and it adds a proper sense of unease about her character. For too long Dany has just been the heroine of the show that everyone assumes will end up in charge at the end. Now we finally have to ask if that’s a good thing or not.
We also get a look at Jaime and Bronn, who have managed to swim up-river and escape the dragon and the Dothraki. Jaime looks genuinely terrified of the dragons (as you would be). Qyburn’s giant crossbow o doom didn’t kill Drogon, and he’s aware she has two more dragons ready to unleash. It almost looks like Jaime is having doubts about whether he and Cersei will come out of this alive.
When he gets back to Kings Landing he has a sneaky meet-up with exiled brother Tyrion, where he gets told all about the Night King and the army of the dead. Whether he believes it or not, he takes the news to Cersei - who apparently already knew of the meeting. Spies everywhere, that woman.
(Image: HBO)
After suggesting that they may indeed be able to come to terms with the Dragon Queen - if only for their own evil ends - Cersei drops the bigger bombshell: apparently she’s pregnant with Jaime’s child.
Now, shocker as this may be, we all know Cersei isn’t above manipulation by any means necessary. Perhaps this is just another way to get Jaime back on side. He’d have done anything for his children, but with them all dead he was starting to question his sister’s decisions. Now with the promise of another kiddie on the way - and one that she’ll officially say is his - perhaps she’ll be able to keep him on-side. She also ends the scene with the somewhat chilling “Never betray me again”. He’s certainly going to be on a short leash from now on.
While all this is going on, Davos has also sneaked in to Kings Landing to recruit the help of Gendry - Arya’s pal last seen 34 episodes ago (we’ve been counting) rowing away from Stannis’ clutches on Dragonstone. There’s a nice reference to the fan theory that he’s been rowing all this time, but it seems that he’s now back blacksmithing. He’s also inexplicably become talented at fighting with a warhammer.
(Image: HBO)
(Image: HBO)
While it’s nice to have an old character like Gendry back again, it does seem a little forced. He immediately decides to go with Davos (and then later decides to go to fight the army of the dead) with very little apparent motivation. He’s willing to go and risk his life for… revenge over the death of a father he never knew? He’s also suddenly very attached to the idea that he’s the son of Robert Baratheon, despite having never met the guy. He says: “I’ve been getting ready, I never knew what for, but I’ve always known I’ll know it when it comes”. Frankly, this smacks of ‘we couldn’t think of a more logical way of suddenly having him be a competent and willing fighter’.
Back on Dragonstone, Jon has another touching moment with Dany - this time he gets to pet a dragon, and apparently it likes him. Knowing that the guy she fancies also likes her pets, Dany seems a bit smitten, and even looks a bit upset when he leaves Dragonstone to go and finally address that massive army of the dead that’s marching (really slowly) on the Wall.
Sidenote - as he leaves he tells Dany: “I wish you good fortune in the wars to come”. We’ve heard this said by three people so far - Mance (who died soon after), Arthur Dayne (who died soon after) and Benjen Stark (who was already dead, and reanimated as a good-zombie). Just saying - don’t jinx yourself Jon.
(Image: HBO)
Speaking of Jon, we learn that he might have a legitimate claim to the throne. Over at the Citadel, Sam and Gilly are back reading the books, when we find out that Rhaegar (who everyone reckons is Jon’s secret real dad) got his marriage annulled and he was “married to someone else at the same time in a secret ceremony in Dorne”. Dorne was where Eddard found his sister Lyanna dying in childbirth. If Rhaegar did marry Lyanna, and Jon is their child, then he isn’t a bastard at all and would be Jon Targaryen - legitimate heir to the Iron Throne (a better claim than his Auntie Daenerys - although she does have dragons on her side at the moment).
How far this information will spread remains to be seen, but Sam finally gives up on his life as a librarian, steals a load of secret books and leaves Old Town. Hopefully this will make his storyline going forward less tedious and dull.
Meanwhile in Winterfell, Arya is growing suspicious of her sister after walking in on the lords of the North plotting to make her the ruler instead of Jon. After a bit of a confrontation between the two, Arya starts following Littlefinger around.
Now obviously, after the last few years, Arya reckons her ninja training makes her super stealthy and talented at this spying lark. Little does she know that Baelish is leading her directly to what he wants her to find - the letter Sansa sent to Robb alllllll the way back in season one.
(Image: HBO.)
For those of you that don’t know the wording of the letter (it was up and gone pretty quick) the most important bit is:
Father has been charged with treason. He conspired with Robert’s brother Stannis against my beloved Joffrey and tried to steal his throne. The Lannisters are treating me well, and providing me with every comfort. I beg you to come to King’s Landing and swear fealty to King Joffrey and prevent any troubles between the great houses of Stark and Lannister.
Now Robb knew that his sister had been forced into writing that letter, but unfortunately him and everyone else that saw it is long dead (except maybe psychic-Bran, and he’s busy being antisocial). So all she has to go on is her increasing suspicion of her sister - troubling times ahead for House Stark, then.
It’s nice to see Littlefinger spinning himself out of trouble again. The last few weeks have had him on the back foot, and it’s good to see him back to his Moriarty-level evil genius best.
(Image: HBO)
The end of the episode sees the assembling of the greatest team up of fan-favourite characters since the first Avengers film, as Jon, the Hound, Gendry, Jorah, Thoros of Myr, Beric Dondarrion and Tormund Giantsbane all set out to go catch themselves an undead warrior from north of the Wall to take back and show everyone down south. It was lucky that the Hound, Beric and Thoros just happened to be in a cell at Eastwatch, at the same time that Tormund happened to be in charge there, and Jon just happened to be stopping by looking for help, but who am I to argue with that when there’s a great team up on the cards.
Now, pretty much every zombie movie ever made would tell you it’s stupid to bring a zombie into a population centre - especially when they don’t believe in the threat - but I guess without Twitter or YouTube it’s pretty hard to convince people in Kings Landing of the threat. And it sure makes the next episode look interesting! Bets on now who is going to die and/or get turned into a zombie. I’m tipping Thoros, Beric or Gendry. Bringing back vaguely known characters from the past never ends well for them.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “I thought you’d still be rowing” - Davos to Gendry
DEATH OF THE WEEK: It’s basically a tie, between Gendry hammer-smashing those two goldcloaks, and Drogon toasting Sam’s dad and brother. The dragon burning may just nudge it because, well, dragon.
GENDRY WATCH: No longer rowing! Only took him 34 episodes.