First things first — everyone who watched the leaked version of Game of Thrones season 7 episode 4, fie for shame (accompanied by many disapproving looks, much head-nodding, and some Septa Unella-style bell-ringing).
Now that we have that out of our way, let's get on with the real business of the day: which is discussing the very, very exciting happenings of The Spoils of War!
Game of Thrones
season 7 episode 3 gave fans what they'd been waiting for — a Jon-Dany
meeting. Apart from that significant development though, it was bad news
all around for the Mother of Dragons. Her conquest of Casterly Rock
turned out to be an empty triumph, the Unsullied were stranded there
with some more of Dany's ships burnt, she'd lost yet another ally
(Olenna Tyrell), and Cersei was having an all-around good time, thanks
to having annexed Highgarden and taken over all its gold and (very
nearly) the grain.
(Spoilers ahead.)
Well,
episode 4 changed the stakes. Dany, suitably angry, is now on the
warpath. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Here's a quick review of
every major happening on The Spoils of War:
Dany with her band of merry men (and women). Still from Game
of Thrones season 7 episode 4, 'The Spoils of War'. Image via HBO
of Thrones season 7 episode 4, 'The Spoils of War'. Image via HBO
1. Reunions.
a.
Arya (finally) reached Winterfell, which meant a sweet moment with
Sansa was in store. Having given the Winterfell guards the slip, Arya
heads down to the crypt to stand before the tomb of her father, which is
where Sansa finds her. Arya voices what we've all been thinking — that
statue of Ned Stark looks nothing like him! (anybody else here
thinks it looks rather like Theon?) — and the sisters hug. Sansa fills
her in, and finally takes her to meet Bran. Arya, like Sansa, begins to
get a sense of Bran's powers.
b. Arya also meets Brienne, and the
two have a fun practice session that lets Maisie Williams show off her
moves (and bring in a reference to Brienne's duel with the Hound). Sansa
looks on (disapprovingly?) while Littlefinger wonders what to make of
this development.
c. Bran and the Valyrian steel dagger that
nearly killed him: Not quite the reunion everyone was waiting for with
bated breath, but one plot point was neatly sewed away when Littlefinger
presented Bran with the Valyrian dagger which was used in the attempt
on his life. (Rewind: Bran is lying in bed after having been thrown off
the Winterfell tower by Jaime. An assassin is sent to finish the job,
but is stopped by Catelyn Stark — who is keeping vigil next to her son
— and Summer.) Bran quips the 'chaos is a ladder' line to Littlefinger,
throwing him off course. Bran also, later, hands the dagger over to
Arya, pointing out she may have more use for it than him.
d.
Theon, back at Dragonstone with the Ironborn who pulled him out of the
water, comes face to face with Jon. It's a charged moment, where Jon
tells him that if it weren't for what Theon did for Sansa, he'd kill
him. The brickbats just keep coming for our man Theon.
e. The
Northerners aren't the only ones having their moment in the sun. The two
Lannister men (or one Targaryen, one Lannister depending on whether or
not A+J=T turns out to be true) nearly meet on the battlefield.
Tyrion — watching over Dany's campaign against the
returning-from-Highgarden Lannister army — sees Jaime in the distance.
And when Jaime, in a reckless act, nearly meets his end, Tyrion is
aghast, hoping against hope that his older brother will make it through.
And Jaime does — living to fight another day.
f. The Iron Bank
and the gold they're owed: Before the Lannister and Tarly armies are
decimated on the battlefield, they do manage to get the gold looted from
Highgarden safely into King's Landing. Which means Cersei gets to
square off her debts to the Iron Bank (or at least hand it over to Tycho
Nestoris) and get more funding for her campaign to secure the Iron
Throne.
Stills from Game of Thrones season 7 episode 4, 'The Spoils of War'. Images via HBO
2. Partings.
a.
Meera Reed, after ferrying Bran through mortal peril, is on her way
home. She says goodbye to Bran, hoping that he'll have some words of
comfort to offer. He doesn't, and Meera realises that Brandon Stark
never left the cave — he died in there as well, with Summer and Hodor,
to emerge as the Three-Eyed Raven.
b. Not quite a parting, but
it's nearly here, just like winter. With this fourth episode done, there
are only three more to go for Game of Thrones season 7 to come
to an end. And we're already feeling the withdrawal pangs. Will we ever
wake up on Monday mornings with the same sense of anticipation?
Unlikely. Until 2019, that is.
3. Losses.
a. The Lannister army has lost pretty much all
of the grain they commandeered from the Reach. Which is going to leave
the King's Landing folks very, very hungry come the Long Night. The army
has also lost a whole lot of its soldiers, to the combined decimating
power of Dothraki+dragon.
b. Bron complains to Jaime at just the start of The Spoils of War
that he still hasn't been given the castle he was promised. By the end
of episode 4, he loses even the gold he was given for the successful
conquest of Highgarden and his continuing services to The Cause of
Cersei.
c. Jaime, Jaime — this is the Lannister brothers' time to
shine, clearly. While Tyrion got back his wit in episode 3, Jaime got
back his glory in episode 4. On the battlefield, with Dany having laid
waste to nearly all of his army, Jaime refuses to heed Bron and run to
King's Landing. He stays on to fight with his men, making a mad dash at
Dany (who's descended onto the battlefield with Drogon) and is very
nearly killed — until Bron saves him in the nick of time.
d. Poor Drogon, who is laid low by a spear/arrow from Maester Qyburn's
dragon-killing contraption. One moment, he's flying gloriously high in the air, dracarys-ing
everything in his path, and the next, he's brought down by a painful
shot to the breast — all thanks to Bron. On the plus side, he's still
standing and at least Dany now knows of the weapon's existence.
Stills from Game of Thrones season 7 episode 4, 'The Spoils of War'. Images via HBO
4. Pairings (not the wine and cheese kind).
a.
Bron and Jaime, for giving us bromance goals: There once was a time
when Bron and Tyrion were inseparable. Since he's switched his loyalties
to the other Lannister brother, Bron has shown himself to be the
perfect sidekick. He accompanied Jaime on that ill-fated Dorne trip, and
has followed him into battle at Highgarden. No matter how much he may
grumble at Jaime about his castle-less state, he still risks his own
neck to get to the Qyburn Crossbow (we need to call it something) and gets in several good shots at Drogon. He then saves Jaime's life as well. All in a day's work, for Ser Bron of Blackwater.
b.
Dany and Jon! Scorching looks were exchanged. And we hung on to each
one of them. Anyone who thought there was a lack of chemistry between
Dany and
c. Dothraki and killing: The sound of thundering hooves and war whoops. The Lannister and Tarly soldiers' looks of disbelief. The graceful way in which they wield their scythes. The even more graceful way in which they shoot from their horses. The Dothraki finally got to let loose on the battlefield, and they killed it! Staying cooped up on ships and rocky islands are clearly not their thing; warfare is, and they make good use of the opportunity. Give us more!
d. Ser Davos and dry wit: We knew Tyrion had a glib tongue on him, but Ser Davos got the cutest line in The Spoils of War. "What do you think of her?" he asks Jon about Dany, on one of their jaunts through Dragonstone. "She has a good heart," Jon replies, to which Ser Davos says, "Oh yes, I saw you staring at her good heart." Mic drop.
On that note, we bid adieu. There's some rewatching we've got to do. And staring at good hearts may or may not be involved.
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