If you would like to read my review of the last week’s episode, click here.
Synopsis: Daenerys holds court. Cersei returns a gift. Jaime learns from his mistakes. (IMDB)
Writers: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss
Director: Mark Mylod
Rating: TV-MA
Running Time: 63mins
When you thought things were going in a certain direction, the show still manages to surprise you. But first, the previews hinted at the historic meeting of Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen and it definitely did not disappoint or look to end anytime soon. Once Jon and Ser Davos arrived on Dragonstone, he was greeted by Tyrion and Missandei. Things were tense until Jon and Tyrion had a cool moment while reminiscing about their last meeting many seasons ago. This was followed by a very unsurprising reaction to seeing the dragons for the first time.
Melisandre was still there but she didn’t want to go near Jon because of their past. In the throne room, the exchange of titles with Daenerys having many as we all know and Jon Snow being Jon Snow was kind of funny. Of course Daenerys wanted Jon to bend the knee, however, he was unwilling due to history with his family and hers. He believed that they needed each other’s help but she didn’t believe that. Neither she, nor Tyrion, believed when he warned them that their more dire threat was the White Walkers. Daenerys had been through alot and so has Jon. He did not want to pledge fealty to someone he didn’t know and she saw his claim as the King of the North, a show of rebellion to her rule.
Daenerys learned about what happened to the ships at the end of the previous episode. Theon lied about what happened when he was rescued. Euron paraded Ellaria Sand, her daughter Tyene (I had to look it up), and Yara through King’s Landing before he brought before handing the Sands away to a pleased Cersei. His reward was anything he wanted, which was her so she promised to oblige once the war was over. For her revenge, Cersei poisoned Tyene the way that Ellaria poisoned Myrcella and then chaining each of them thus forcing Ellaria to watch her daughter die and wither away. She concluded by hoping into Jaime’s bed and then convincing the Iron Bank of Bravos that her debts would be paid in full.
Tyrion had another talk with Jon to try and bridge the gap between the two. Tyrion believed him. Jon didn’t know how to convince people of the White Walker threat and Tyrion wasn’t sure either. Tyrion tried to convince him that Daenerys wasn’t so bad because of all the good things she’s done. He told her that she should let him mine the dragonglass as a show of good faith. They had just lost an ally so she needed him. She and Jon had another talk. He did not relent but she decided to let him mine the dragonglass, however, this did not mean that she believed him.
In Winterfell, they needed to prepare what is about to come. They were worried about the White Walkers but Sansa did not forget about Cersei either. All of that kind of took a backseat once she was reunited with Bran. They shared what was going on with each other, including how he was now the Three-Eyed Raven. She did not understand what that meant and it was difficult to explain. He reminded her of the past which was too much for her.
Sam cured Sir Jorah of his grayscale, much to the surprise of Archmaester Ebrose. Jorah was free to go so he wanted to go back to Daenerys. Ebrose wondered how Sam did it which was to do what Ebrose forbade him to do. Since he was successful, he was not expelled but that didn’t mean he was done with menial work.
Daenerys wanted to take her dragons and attack Euron’s fleet but her advisors warned her against it. Meanwhile, the Unsullied attempted to overtake Casterly Rock. The battle was bloody, however, Grey Worm and a few other Unsullied used the tunnel that Tyrion designed to reach the inside, allowing the rest of them to enter and to overtake Casterly Rock. It looked too easy because that was all by design. The bulk of the Lannister army was busy overtaking Highgarden from the Tyrells.
The episode ended with a great scene between Jaime and Lady Olenna where he gave her the respect she deserved and they had a conversation where he informed her that it was over. She believed that they would be guarding Casterly Rock but in doing this, Jaime was learning from his mistakes and now Lady Olenna would have to do the same. She tried to implant a few seeds of doubt in him about Cersei and took a few parting shots at him while they discussed how she was about to die. A few sinister ideas were discussed although ultimately, he poisoned her in the same way that she poisoned Joffrey.
Overall, this was another great episode, starting off with the meeting of Jon and Daenerys and ending with the final scene between Jaime and Lady Olenna. Along the way, it also featured some great scenes with Jon, Daenerys , Tyrion, Sansa, Bran, Cersei, Jaime, and Lady Olenna, elevated by the great performances all around. The battle at Casterly Rock was a little too short and ended far too quickly but with Euron’s fleet approaching, it doesn’t look to be over just yet. The season has had plenty of satisfying moments so far and I can’t wait to see what is to come.
Score: 9.5/10
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If you’re into previews, here’s a preview of next week’s episode entitled “The Spoils of War”.
The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.
