This post contains spoilers. Please read at your own discretion.
After a long, long, long time, the penultimate season of Game of Thrones is finally here. I’m sure a few of my hair strands have turned white. This season brings a lot of loose ends to a definite end – at least, that’s what everyone’s hoping. With only seven episodes this season, it’s shorter than the typical 10-episode seasons in the past. Season 7 will primarily focus on the battle between the living and the dead: the Great War is here.
The King in the North is busy gathering men, women (proto feminist Jon Snow), and children to fight against the ghastly Night King. This is one of the few times where Jon Snow knows something. The tension between Jon and Sansa is very palpable, predictive of massive disagreements between the siblings. Littlefinger continues to irk Brienne. He’s like a woodpecker that will keep pecking onto Sansa’s head unless he achieves what he wants. However, Sansa, who is seen subtly admiring the Mad Queen, Cersei, has learnt her tricks from the best manipulator in Westeros. It’s the least to say that she’s no longer a 14-year-old naïve dove. Amidst this brewing tension, Tormund is occupied with attempts to land a date with Brienne of Tarth.
From across the sea, Daenerys with her enormous armada, three fire-breathing dragons, and a witty Hand, Tryion, has crossed the narrow sea. Anchored at Dragonstone, Daenerys Stomborn has finally reached home. Khaleesi is now back in the game, and hopefully she’s to stick around for more than a minute. Back in King’s Landing, Cersei resumes to necking wine at an admirable rate and military plotting. Standing in the middle of the freshly painted map of all the kingdoms, she’s shown emphasising to Jaime the allegiance of Daenerys with Tryion, her younger brother whom she despises with all her heart. This conversation obviously leaves Jaime in an awkward situation and you can already see the possibility in which he would have to make a choice between his sister and his brother. Later in the episode, Cersei shocks Jaime with a prospective allegiance with Euron Greyjoy, who proposes marriage to Cersei in exchange of his fleet. This makes Jaime uncomfortable, leading to an overall not-so-great day for Jaime, to be honest.
Arya Stark after removing Walder Frey’s name from her list poisons the remaining Freys in their own castle. There’s one thing for sure – let the host gulp his wine before you sip it. Ed Sheeran makes an unsubtle cameo and Arya shares a roasted rabbit with him, and that’s a sentence I never thought I’d say. Oh wait! There was also blackberry wine and a couple of other soldiers. The Hound finally witnesses the Lord of the Light and cracks up jokes.
At the Citadel, Sam is bored with his monotonous routine and is curious to find substantial information about the white walkers. And Little Sam has learnt to say ‘Mom’, how cute! In one of the cells is an anxious Jorah who is desperately waiting for Khaleesi. The grayscale has gotten drastically worse.
The episode, Dragonstone, isn’t a very fast-paced episode with nerve-wracking tension. It serves the purpose of sketching out what’s to come later this season. It definitely prepares the viewer to witness colossal and interesting battles. As Game of Thrones lurks closer to the end, it’s becoming more and more difficult to wait for every episode. With all the hype that has been created around this season, and a huge filming budget, the viewers are definitely expecting a fantastic two months. Pretty much all the characters are at the peak of their journey and the show is inching closer towards the climax. The lingering question of who – or, as Ser Davos said, whose skeleton – will sit on the Iron Throne is yet to be answered.
Feature Image Credits: YouTube
Rashim Bagga
[email protected]
