Game of Throneswasted no time following the Battle of Winterfell.
The 80-minute episode was a medieval fantasy tragedy.
As Tyrion neatly put it: “We may have defeated them but we still haveusto contend with.”
Daenerys was far too eager to push her forces into battle.
Jon wasI would arguefar too honest and too soon with his family about his parentage.
Jaime fell into bed with Brienne, then couldn’t resist returning to his sister.
First, there was a beautifully shot funeral sequence.
Sansa weeping as she pinned the Stark pin on Theon got me.
Daenerys leans down and whispers something to Ser Jorah.
We don’t hear what she says (but have aninterview with actor Iain Glenabout this very moment).
Even poor Ghost looks sad.
Do you think anybody argued over who got to burn which body?
Afterward, there is a feast with a dangerous-looking number of candles.
The director of this episode is David Nutter of The Red Wedding fame.
There are some cheers and shared smiles, but they don’t last long.
Daenerys elevates Gendry to lord of Storm’s End but does so with the most terrifying-sounding speech possible.
While Jon Snow gets heavy praise from Tormund that Daenerys, naturally, notices.
There’s also a lot of drunken carousing and flirting and grabbing and accusing people of being virgins.
I suspect Winterfell doesn’t have an HR department.
Love teary-eyed Tormund Giantsbane, though.
The Wildling can’t believe Brienne left the party with Jaime Lannister.She picked that scrawny one-handed dude over me?
Bro, do you even lift?
Jon and Dany: The lovers attempt to make out and it’s rather awkward.
Dany wantsonething of Jon: To keep his beautiful damn mouth shut.
Just don’t tell anybody he’s the Iron Throne heir.
Why would he have to?
She reasons that the only way it’s going to work is if they never tell anybody else.
It’s a logical request.
Except …except… thereisa reason.
Because going around pretending to be Jon Snow when you’re actually Aegon Targaryen is living a lie.
A lie to the Northerners who follow him and a lie, most of all, to his family.
Jon would feel like he’s impersonating their brother.
Jon is fully capable of making sacrifices.
He’s all about service and sacrificing himself for the bigger good.
Keeping this secret is just another kind of sacrifice, yes?
But it’s also precisely the kind of sacrifice Jon can’t make.
Jon Snow has a dishonesty allergy.
The man is lie-intolerant.
So was Ned Stark.
Usually, a fictional character’s tragic flaw is a negative quality.
Storytelling-wise, this episode is a perfect dilemma for the character.
“I’ve never begged for anything.
But I’m begging you.
Don’t do this, c’mon.”
What show do you think you’re on?
Arya and Gendry: Gendry professes his love for Arya and even proposes in a very touching way.
His feelings make sense.
Plus she can magically change her appearance so that would definitely keep things lively in a relationship.
She lets him down as sweetly as she can.
“I’m not a lady, I never have been, that’s not me.”
Daenerys isn’t hearing it.
Except, Cersei already has her army.
There’s no evidence waiting will help her.
Dany and Sansa’s forces are certainly exhausted.
Jon, trying to throw his girlfriend a win, sides with her.
I dislike this decision from Jon.
Because going into war before your armies have rested will probably cost lives.
Then again, everybody just went through hell.
Jaime and Brienne: Speaking of post-battle decision-making, let’s check in on Jaime and Brienne.
The duo are on a post-battle and post-feast high.
They’re like two coworkers at a business conference.
Yes, this is actually happening.
His old loyalties resurface.
I hate that Jaime leaves Brienne for Cersei, yet also get it.
The man has always been frustratingly obsessed with his sister.
And who hasn’t been in a toxic relationship they couldn’t break free from?
The core to Jaime’s character:The things … we do … for love.
Jaime also makes an argument that he’s not actually a good man.
“She’s hateful and so am I.”
Jaime’s strongest point is the one about Riverrun when he reclaimed the castle in season 6.
He made a threat to Edmure Tully about killing his newborn son.
Jaime says he would have killed everybody in the castle to get back to Cersei.
It’s quite sad.
Because we’ve witnessed so much character growth, or so we thought.
Have most of Jaime’s changes been largely superficial?
Has Jaime’s core been the same all these years?
But the most obvious way to hurt her is to stay right where he is.
Brienne’s tears are heartbreaking.
Tormund would beat Jaime so hard if he saw this go down.
It’s one of my favorite final season interviews and I hope you’ll read it.
Sansa and The Hound: Speaking of The Hound, the Good Clegane had chat with Sansa too.
Sansa says that Ramsay got what he deserved.
We get the sense that he’s perhaps a bit infatuated with Sansa?
“Without Littlefinger, Ramsay and the rest I would have stayed a Little Bird,” she says.
This exchange is definitely going to inspire some debate.
The Hound leaves Winterfell with Arya to head south on “unfinished business.”
Jon sticks up for Dany, pointing out that she came here to save everybody.
Bran looks at Jon and says, “This is your choice.”
But Jon tells his secret.
Of course, he tells them.
If they didn’t like Dany before, they’ll like her even less now.
Later, Sansa chats with Tyrion and makes another anti-Dany comment.
Tyrion says, “You’re determined to not like her,” which is true enough.
But now Sansa has ammo to fire back.
She manages to keep Jon’s massive secret for a least 15 minutes.
Then Tyrion talks to Varys, and he can’t resist telling him too.
It feels like we’re watching an episode ofWinterfell High.
Varys does the gossip math (and they tell two friends, and they tell two friends…).
This isn’t a secret, he points out, this is information.
And when news gets out the entire North will insist on Jon being king.
Also, I now want to see HBO’sWinterfell Highspinoff.
Winterfell Goodbyes: Jon says goodbye to Tormund, and Sam and Gilly, and even his direwolf Ghost.
You get this funny feeling, in this scene … that Jon might never see Winterfell again.
Dragonstone Bay: Daenerys is escorting her ships.
Dany flies on Drogon.
Suddenly Rhaegal is pierced by a spear.
It’s an ambush and it’s so shocking in its abruptness.
It’s dastardly Euron Greyjoy and his fleet.
They were apparently hidden in a cove around the point from Dragonstone.
Rhaegal is gone and Dany looks like she can barely comprehend what’s just happened.
Every ship is outfitted with one.
Dany furiously divebombs Euron’s fleet, which is exactly what he wants.
In the lead ship, Grey Worm tells Missandei to flee to one of the skiffs.
The fleet is devastated by Euron’s ships and survivors swim to shore.
Cersei must hope Euron is pretty bad at math, but that’s a problem for another day.
Varys feels that Jon would firmly make the better leader, while Tyrion is sticking with his queen.
“I believe in our queen,” Tyrion says.
“She’ll make the right choicewith the help of her loyal advisors.”
Each of us have a choice to make.
I pray we choose wisely."
It’s unclear what Varys is thinking about doing here, but it doesn’t sound good.
I wish Missandei and Cersei would have had a scene together before what comes next.
King’s Landing: This all leads to a standoff at the massive gates of King’s Landing.
Cersei, Euron, and The Mountain are on the ramparts up high with a trembling Missandei in chains.
Tyrion steps forward and tries to chat with Qyburn for a little Hand-to-Hand diplomacy.
Qyburn is a lackey sociopath so he’s no help.
Tyrion then boldly walks to the gates.
The framing of this sequence by director Nutter is just fantastic.
Tyrion pleas with Cersei to release Missandei and surrender.
We’re all pretty sure this has no chance of working, but Tyrion wants to try.
Missandei knows this is it.
She yells, loud enough for Dany to hear: “Dracarys!”
It’s a last word of defiance and a rather perfect moment for Missandei.
Plus, it’s a clear message to her queen:Burn these fkers.
The Mountain lops off Missandei’s head and it falls down.
And Dany’s reaction …. holy gods.
We have never seen Daenerys like this.
She cycles through so much shock, grief, outrage, and finally pure rage.
Has the Mad Queen emerged?
She’s endured Sansa and the Northerners' perceived disrespect.
She lost so many of her soldiers in the Winterfell Battle and then didn’t get much credit.
She lost her beloved Ser Jorah.
She’s lost a second dragon.
And now she’s lost Missandei.
The Mother of Dragons has had it.
Emilia Clarke has been nominated for an Emmy before but hasn’t won.
I think this episode is her finest work on the show.
Even after a decade of playing Daenerys, she showed so many new colors to the character here.
Also: There’s so much relationship heartbreak here.
Jon and Dany are having trouble.
Jaime and Brienne came together only to split up again.
Lovestruck Tormund is left alone.
Gendry proposed to Arya who rejected him.
And the happiest couple on the whole show, Grey Worm and Missandei, are now forever severed.
Here is the question: What is the name of Missandei’s home continent?
